The Villain has Perished

65 Mark of Pride

I have said it already but Ciel was an eccentric character.

Had he already read my previous life's memories? He should know about the novel if he did. Or maybe he couldn't read memories of my past lives?

No matter the answer, I was an abnormality. Ciel should know it too. Yet he was talking with me nonchalantly.

My existence gave him a newfound source of entertainment and he was busy absorbing it. Everything else was invisible in his eyes.

"I never thought I would meet someone with an Attribute from 0th layer! How did you do it?"

Ciel chattered excitedly. From his behavior, it was clear that the figure sitting on the throne was my 'Summoner' attribute.

This was a new piece of information that wasn't in the novel. The topic of attribute rarely came up as they were very scarce.

I decided to ask Ciel about it. Knowing him, I didn't worry about getting false information. Plus, Ciel would answer me as long as he found it fun.

"0th layer? I don't think I'm following."

"Mhm? Could it be that you don't know?" muttered Ciel under his breath.

His eyes suddenly started shining as if he had found a new treasure.

"If you don't know, then it means your counter side became your attribute willingly! This is the first time I'm hearing something like this! Tell me, how did you do it! What is the name of your attribute!"

"I will, but can you explain your question before that? I can't answer if I don't know what you are talking about."

At my words, Ciel stared at me silently for a second before nodding. "That's a fair exchange, I guess."

He burst into smoke and reappeared 10 meters away from me. A white board appeared behind Ciel and he started writing on it while wearing glasses.

"Attributes are the Beyonders who have merged with their Counterpart on this side. They are varying in strength depending on their layer. The 9th layer ones are the weakest while the ones from the 1st layer are the strongest."

"What is a layer and Beyonder?"

Clap—!

I found myself standing beside the white board, when Ciel suddenly clapped. I was wearing a suit and glasses and Ciel was sitting on a desk with a notebook in front of him.

"The information I gave should suffice for what you are going to tell me. If you want to know more, it will depend on the answer you will give."

My brows twitched but I held back. I needed to be accommodating to know the answers.

"The name of my attribute is Summoner."

Clap—!

Ciel and I exchanged places again.

He massaged his beard that wasn't there a few seconds ago. "You are not lying. It seems you don't know the true name of your attribute."

"...?"

"I haven't met Summoner but I know he is from the 3rd layer, at best. He won't be able to tear me apart from the 'host' even in this weakened state."

While we were talking the figure sitting on the throne didn't react. I could instinctively tell that the figure was 'sleeping'.

"But this is even more exciting! Why would your attribute hide its name if it willingly came to you?"

I didn't tell him that Summoner was a blessing I received from the Gods. It wasn't because I was worried how Ciel would react but because there was no need to spill more information that needed.

Besides, I could get more information about Beyonders from Lumine and elves too.

"So, will you answer my question?"

"I've got your back!"

He smirked and his teeth shined. His antics were beyond me and giving him a reaction felt like a waste of breath.

After drawing an inverted Tower on the whiteboard, Ciel explained.

"'Dante's Inferno'. It is the Counter Side in the shape of an inverted tower. Beings from the inferno are called Beyonders as they come from beyond the planes."

More information that never appeared in the novel started coming up. It was clear that attributes weren't as simple as I first thought them to be.

Suddenly, a third voice interrupted us.

"Noisy"

Whoooosh—!

Black smoke gushed from the figure sitting on the throne. Before we could react, the smoke condensed into black whips and caught us.

"You can use this amount of strength in your dormant state? As I thought, you are definitely from the 0th layer!"

Ciel spoke unperturbed by the show of dominance. He turned to me.

"The inverted tower is divided into 9 layers depending on their distance from the surface, these are 9th to 1st layers. The 0th layer starts after the 1st layer, and it is not known for how long it stretches. Simply put, the 0th layer is the uncharted territoryyyyy."

The black whips holding Ciel flung him away. His words echoed and his figure disappeared after becoming the size of a dot.

An uncomfortable silence fell.

"...Hi?"

I couldn't see behind the robe of the figure but I knew it was staring at me even though it was asleep. It was a weird feeling, honestly.

When the figure didn't reply, I spoke again.

"Can you let me dow— arghhh!!!!!"

An intense pain coursed through my body. The black whips binding me started infusing into my body. I felt as if thousands of needles were prickling me while I was being skinned alive at the same time. I could tell something was being engraved on my back.

Thud—!

"Haaah! Haah! Haah!"

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the pain stopped. I was breathing heavily while trying to stand.

The figure sitting on the throne spoke, "That's one strike. You have six tries left."

"Huff! Huff! What are you t…tallking about?"

A black whip pulled me toward the figure and hung me before it.

"When ◼ eliminated your familiar, it hurt your pride and you killed ◼ in return. With this you have let your Pride dictate your actions once. Let this happen 6 more times and you will have to pay for the sins you have been hiding from."

At that moment, Ciel appeared out of thin air. He stared at my back with wide eyes. "Mark of Pride? Are you...."

Dozens of black whips attacked Ciel but the eccentric God continued to teleport and dodge.

"What is t..he Mark of Pride?"

My voice was raspy from the pain and my vision was becoming hazier by the minute. It was weird I could feel pain in this dream-like state.

"It's a countdown to the guillotine that will make you pay for your sins."

I instinctively understood that the figure wasn't talking about my present actions but about my past life. I tried to recall anything I did that could warrant this treatment but couldn't.

"You can't remember your 1st life, can you? Should I give you a hint?" The figure muttered amusedly. "Find what the non-human part of the present life belongs to and you—"

I cut off the figure mid sentence. These two were treating me like a toy and it was starting to get on my nerves.

"I understand." Taking a deep breath, I continued. "Hiding your identity while sitting on a throne, talking about a hidden past life and drawing a tattoo on my back. You must be that, right? An 8-th grade syndrome victim?"

"..."

"It's okay. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone goes through that phase in this life at least once."

I smiled through the pain.

Suddenly, the figure answered.

"Are you hungry?"

"Huh?"

"You can eat this."

A black whip carrying a beating heart appeared in front of my eyes. "That's a human hea–"

Blood spurted from my mouth and the hole in my chest. My body fell to the floor while slowly losing its warmth.

'Learn to take a joke, will you?'

Unaware of my thoughts, the figure spoke for one last time. "It's due time you returned. Remember..."

The voice was getting further away. It was becoming increasingly harder to remain awake.