How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 87

As I listened to Fenrir’s words, a sudden thought flashed through me, while I was giving Endymion relationship advice.

 

‘Maybe the game itself is Selene’s life…’

 

Although the story depicted her powers blooming during the Dilbat episode, I had once hypothesized that this was just a narrative trick and that the game itself was Selene’s life.

 

‘At the time, Yves suddenly interrupted, so I let it go without much thought.’

 

However, later, when I reflected on it alone, I discovered a critical flaw in that hypothesis.

 

Specifically, there was an ending where Selene never awakened as a saint at all.

 

‘So I just dismissed it as a wrong guess.’

 

This was because I thought her reason for regression was tied to her unique abilities.

 

Of course, I vaguely suspected that Selene was trapped in an unwanted cycle of regression, but since there was the common thread of ‘rewinding time,’ I thought—

 

‘I assumed that if the divine mark didn’t manifest, using divine power would be impossible.’

 

But after hearing Fenrir’s explanation just now, I realized I could resolve that issue.

 

If one could instinctively use divine power without being fully aware of it, then even if Selene didn’t awaken as a saint because she never met Yves, regression would still be possible.

 

‘Moreover, now that I think about it, isn’t it possible that after the initial awakening, she could use divine power at any time, regardless of regression?’

 

The moment this thought crossed my mind, I felt a sense of doubt—it didn’t make sense for an ability that had already bloomed to disappear, especially since she retained memories from before the regression.

 

[Hey, are you listening?]

 

A voice interrupted my thoughts.

 

But I had been so deep in my musings that I ended up blurting out what was on my mind.

 

“No. I was thinking about something else.”

 

For a moment, I worried it might have come off as rude, but then I reassured myself.

 

Fenrir, who could read thoughts, probably already knew and had asked anyway. He would understand that I was just speaking my mind.

 

‘But really, I’m such a mess.’

 

Just a moment ago, I had been wary of Fenrir finding out about my possession, but now I found myself amused at how quickly I forgot and let my mind wander to all sorts of thoughts.

 

‘Well, it’s unavoidable. It’s hard to control every thought that pops up unconsciously.’

 

While I was busy rationalizing to myself, Fenrir said something unexpected.

 

[I can’t hear your thoughts right now, so I’d like you to speak out loud.]

 

“Huh? Suddenly?”

 

[Because you’ve become an equal to my own.]

 

Though the sentence was brief, thanks to his earlier explanation, I could somewhat understand what was going on.

 

“So, the light that came from my body was a sign of awakening, and now I’ve finally become someone who can use divine power?”

 

[Correct. And what I found strange was that, as I mentioned earlier, humans usually can’t freely use divine power because they tend to suppress their instincts, even though their inherent abilities are already awakened from the start.]

 

On the other hand, he said it was puzzling that he could still read my thoughts despite sensing divine power in me.

 

“Wait a minute. Yves also has divine power, right? Can’t you read his thoughts too?”

 

[Descendants of gods are an exception.]

 

“Why?”

 

[While it’s true that divine power is in their blood, they haven’t been directly granted abilities by a god.]

 

The more the conversation went on, the more questions piled up in my mind.

 

‘But isn’t it the same divine power? Is there really a difference?’

 

Moreover, it seemed slightly different from what Huluppu had explained before.

 

As I was thinking this, a faint laugh echoed in my mind.

 

[I didn’t pay much attention since I could hear your thoughts directly, but you really are as transparent as Xenon and Huluppu said.]

 

It wasn’t surprising to hear that—I’d heard it too many times.

 

‘On the contrary, I’m getting tired of it.’

 

To the point where I felt like writing ‘I’m aware of my expressions, so don’t mention them’ on a piece of paper and sticking it to my forehead.

 

However, not wanting to waste time on trivial matters, I swallowed the sigh rising in my throat and continued with the main topic.

 

“More importantly, if it’s the same divine power, what’s the difference?”

 

[You know that most descendants of gods can’t use divine power, right? To help you understand, think of it as their divine power being sealed.]

 

“But last time, Huluppu said that even descendants of gods can use divine power if they awaken. He also mentioned that they might use it unconsciously, even if they’re not aware of it. Come to think of it, Huluppu used the term ‘awakening’ back then…”

 

I was pouring out all my questions at once when Fenrir cut me off, startled.

 

[I’ll answer them one by one, so calm down.]

 

“Alright.”

 

I realized I had been firing off questions without giving him a chance to breathe, so I readily agreed.

 

He let out a small sigh and calmly began to explain.

 

[First, the term ‘awakening’ is indeed not an original concept. It started being used after the descendants of gods appeared, as more humans began to instinctively suppress their divine power.]

 

“Ah, I see.”

 

[And even if they’re not aware of it, humans who unconsciously use divine power are extremely rare. You could say it’s one in ten thousand. That’s why I used the term ‘sealed’ earlier.]

 

Fenrir carefully addressed each of my questions one by one.

 

[To begin with, the descendants of gods have their own set of issues, but that’s off-topic, so I’ll skip it.]

 

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m even more curious.”

 

A faint look of exasperation flickered across Fenrir’s blue eyes.

 

‘He’s holding back more than he did when I was talking to Huluppu.’

 

Back then, it felt like I was in a Q&A session with a game developer, firing off endless questions.

 

‘Maybe, as Fenrir said, Huluppu just enjoys talking and was willing to answer all my questions.’

 

I felt a renewed sense of gratitude toward Huluppu, who had patiently resolved so many of my curiosities without showing any annoyance. Meanwhile, Fenrir continued his explanation.

 

[Among the nations with founding myths about descendants of gods, some don’t even believe that divine power flows in their blood.]

 

“Huh?”

 

[I heard from Huluppu that some nations consider it nothing more than a fabrication by their ancestors. If they believe it’s fake, there’s no way their abilities would manifest.]

 

This was information that hadn’t been mentioned in the original work.

 

Well, most of what Fenrir and Huluppu talked about was unfamiliar to me, since the game barely touched on divine power.

 

‘This is so interesting!’

 

I’ve always loved behind-the-scenes stories, so I listened intently, my eyes sparkling at every word Fenrir said.

 

[Ahem. Most people are born with it, so they’re often unaware of their divine power. If they live their lives believing they’re no different from ordinary humans, their divine power ends up being completely sealed.]

 

“Wow! I see.”

 

It reminded me of the saying that humans live according to their beliefs. It seemed like a similar conclusion.

 

‘So, they fail to awaken their innate abilities because of the limits they set for themselves.’

 

Thanks to Fenrir’s apt analogy, it was much easier to understand compared to when I was talking to Huluppu.

 

[Of course, some humans believe without a doubt that they are descendants of gods, but some have never experienced what divine power truly is, so they can’t utilize it properly.]

 

Fenrir’s gaze shifted to Yves. It seemed like the human he was referring to just now was Yves.

 

[Additionally, I’ve heard that recently, there was a human who unconsciously used divine power.]

 

“Among the descendants of gods?”

 

[That’s right.]

 

This was unexpected. None of the romance target characters in the original work had such an ability.

 

I suddenly wondered who among the descendants of gods, aside from them, could use divine power.

 

“Who is it?”

 

[Well. I only heard from Huluppu that such a person exists, so I don’t know their name.]

 

“Ah…”

 

Though it was a matter entirely unrelated to me, I couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of disappointment, my curiosity left me unsatisfied.

 

[Ask him yourself later. That guy seems to be looking forward to meeting you again.]

 

“Really?”

 

[Yes. In fact, the reason I came looking for you in the first place was because of him.]

 

“What did Huluppu say about me?”

 

[No. He just said there was an interesting kid. That piqued my interest. He’s lived as long as I have, so he rarely finds anything amusing.]