Chapter 9- Constellations

𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚝!

[ 𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚝, 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚛!! ]

Suddenly, the robotic voice of the system began to transform into a more womanly tone, infused with urgency, as it warned the man not to undertake an action that would jeopardize the mission.

[ 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝! 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚗𝚞𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎! 𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝙳𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚎𝚗! ]

SWOOSH

But upon noticing his eyes turning black, the voice instantly seemed to materialize into a small fairy, no more than an inch in height.

With her appearance, the entire world seemed to lose its color, transitioning into black and white, as time around them came to a halt.

The only ones in color were Damien and the fairy, who had secretly worked behind the system to manipulate the plot.

Indeed, the fairy served as Damien's side assistant, helping him wield the perks that come with playing a villain role—such as the System, soul beasts, or special abilities—her task being to adjust things as necessary like penalty, rewards etc.

'....I am in complete control, Lyra, don't panic,' Damien kept his eyes fixed on the figure of the woman, now frozen in a colorless static image after slapping him. She glared back at him with anger and teary eyes, halted by the time stop, his claws poised near her neck yet restrained from harming her or strangling her delicate neck.

It was clear he was under control, evident from him opening the portal for constellation votings, causing the entire world to freeze momentarily until he chose his next move.

As part of his daily routine as a transmigrating villain, he relied on input from his clients, who ultimately suggested his forthcoming actions.

Though not compelled in the slightest, he could easily dispose of the woman who had slapped him.

A woman who ignored the efforts of this body's previous owner to gain her attention. And yet, if he were to kiss another woman, her reaction would be exaggerated—hypocrisy itself seemed embarrassed in this scenario.

Of course, Damien, playing the role of a villain and a star employee in this field, would never become angry just because she slapped him.

His anger stemmed from the pain inflicted by such hypocrites on all the villains he chose to portray.

'Open the Suggestions of Constellations,' Damien ordered, his black eyes tilting slightly upward.

Lyra exhaled in relief, knowing her bonus was secure, and flew upwards. She circled and sprinkled a stardust substance that quickly formed into a screen.

༺═─────Constellations────═༻

𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚞𝚕_𝙲𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚍𝚎 = 𝙷𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑

𝙰𝚕𝚏𝙳𝚎𝚃_𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚖 = 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖, 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍, 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗

༺═─────Constellations────═༻

'Only two?' Damien remarked, noting the limited number of constellations suggesting the next course of action. He attributed it to their ignorance of how the system operated, their roles merely observational and not taking part in doing comments.

'Lyra, didn't you add an announcement?' Damien queried, turning to the fairy.

She flinched, then averted her tiny body, scratching her chin with a broken smile as she realized she had indeed forgotten to announce the special privileges granted exclusively to constellations by Damien—privelege to suggest his upcoming actions.

'Should I request another assistant?' Damien contemplated replacing the incapable fairy who couldn't even handle a simple task, leaving him with just two suggestions for the next plot.

Whenever his eyes turned completely black, he would open the portals for constellations and listen to their suggestions, deciding for himself whether to accept them or not.

With limited options, he reviewed both comments from the constellations.

'Kill her, hmm' Damien mused, focusing on one of the cruelest constellations who relished in suffering.

However, he quickly realized he couldn't simply erase this world, as it required his investment to secure a seat in different worlds and he lacked enough investments.

Technically, all these worlds were real, born from the supreme consciousness of the constellations.

But now each seeking a new path for the destinies of these worlds.

This establishment gave rise to the company where Damien excelled as a star employee in the villainous roles.

And to establish a particular world as his playground, Damien collects investments from constellations in the form of Power Stones, a special currency used exclusively for selecting specific worlds.

Each world has its own price, paid solely in Power Stones.

Observing how one constellation suggested destroying a world that had cost him half of his life savings, Damien closed that window and pocketed the suggestion for future consideration.

As a star employee, he securely kept all suggestions to use at his discretion, disregarding those from constellations that didn't suit his plans in future and using back up he stored for now in future.

'Let's begin then,' Damien said, lifting his finger to select the constellation he had decided upon. In that moment, the sound of his snap echoed, shattering the colorless world like glass.

Snap

"S-stop it!" Amelia cried out, her hand poised after delivering a resounding slap to the man who once claimed to love her more than anyone, now caught in a vulgar situation with another woman.

'Amelia?' Edward's senses tingled with an unfamiliar unease as he witnessed her pulling Damien and Emilia apart and delivering a decisive slap.

Edward recognized the significance of that slap and Amelia's enraged, tear-filled eyes—it hinted at feelings for Damien were still inside her heart which Edward could never accept.

GASP

Every member of the high society present held their breath, shocked at Damien Raphael receiving a slap, regardless of it being from someone like Amelia Crimwell—this was truly unprecedented.

"Heh?" Damien, his eyes back to normal, stared at Amelia unfazed by the slap he received, without blinking, confronting the woman who felt betrayed and cheated upon.

"How could you!—SLAP " Before Amelia could finish, a sharp slap landed on her cheek, causing her body to stagger and tumble to the ground, veins in her neck tensed from her words which was disrupted by a hit on her face.

thud

Her body lay on the floor, hands trembling as tears welled in her eyes, reaching slowly towards her now warm cheeks. She couldn't comprehend what had just occurred. 'N-no, did he just slap me?'

'now, it's your turn' Damien, observing Amelia's fallen form with disheveled hair, formed a smirk and lifted his gaze toward Edward.

"N-NO AMELIA!!" Edward's widened eyes and clenched jaws betrayed his shock and fury as he lunged toward Damien, his body pulsating with internal energy that shattered the floor tiles beneath his feet.

"I could at least hit her back, can't I?" Damien added casually.

"DAMIEN! YOU BASTARD!!!" Edward roared in rage as he swung his fist towards the man who had dared to lift his hand on a mere woman.