BJ Villainess Chapter 327

The rings did not allow anyone to approach. They also eradicated all the monsters in the area as if they had evaporated them. But unless the portal in the sky was closed, it was like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

 

I spread my thumb and index finger, lifted them toward the portal, and then closed them together like a clam. As I did so, I traced a line downwards as if sealing an envelope, and the hole in the sky closed up.

 

This method was similar to how holy power was used. Indeed, no learning is ever useless.

 

I think the planet’s affinity with me is amplifying my power even more.

 

In contrast, the planet was intensely hostile toward Ozworld. The environment must have been uncomfortable as if surrounded by piercing thorns, but Ozworld remained focused on me with an unwavering gaze. Meanwhile, the male protagonists, now freed from the horde of monsters, approached and began to confront Ozworld. Around him, people who were not targets of the rings’ purification stood as if to protect him.

 

It was a tense standoff. Although we were significantly outnumbered, for some reason, I felt that we wouldn’t be easily overwhelmed.

 

Upon awakening my core, I realized something. Even the same core can vary depending on the vessel in which it’s contained. Just as a character’s intelligence and magic limits differ based on their potential in <God’s Play>, so too did the core. This meant that not all constellations had equivalent abilities.

 

I’ve become so much stronger, yet I can still feel the gap between me and Ozworld. Although I had significantly closed the gap compared to before my awakening, I still couldn’t claim any advantage. To be precise, I couldn’t gauge him.

 

Ozworld was a monster that had grown by devouring an unimaginable amount of time. Despite this planet being an unfavorable battlefield for him, his mere presence made it impossible to be sure of our safety.

 

However, I believed that even Ozworld would find it difficult to recklessly harm me. If that weren’t the case, he would have already done something to me hundreds of times over.

 

So I made a proposal.

 

“Leave this planet immediately. And never appear before me again.”

 

This was the most lenient offer I could make, considering our past. With Clyde and Hardy from the past here, I had to prevent Ozworld from approaching them. Otherwise, he would certainly kill them both.

 

Ozworld seemed to understand what I was trying to prevent, his expression angry yet smiling. “I can leave here. But I can’t agree with the second part. How can I live without you?” As he said this, he glanced at the male protagonists one by one, his eyes calculating when he could kill them.

 

Euges, who had never experienced such rudeness before, let out a dry laugh, “Hah.”

 

Ozworld spoke to me in a soothing voice as if trying to persuade me. “What can I do to make you come back?”

 

“There’s nothing you can do to undo this.”

 

“I said I was wrong. I can do anything you want and fix anything, so what’s the problem?”

 

“Then can you send me to the person I truly love?”

 

Ozworld’s expression twisted with jealousy and anger. “What do you mean true love, Jiwoo?”

 

“See? You have no intention of giving me what I want.”

 

It was a question I didn’t expect him to answer affirmatively in the first place.

 

At that moment, my heightened senses detected a massive energy wave. The location was the Imperial Palace. Something clearly happened between Ozworld, Hardy, and Clyde in this timeline.

 

The male protagonists were similar to me in power, but their talent in combat was far superior. Any one of them could have easily understood the situation and taken action.

 

I called for the strongest of them, Ilya. “Ilya.”

 

He responded as if he already knew what I was going to say, “I’ll go check.”

 

At that moment, Ozworld glanced into the air as if checking something visible only to him and smirked. “It’s about to collapse, so there’s no need to go, Mr. Ilya.”

 

“What’s about to collapse?”

 

Ozworld pointed downward with his finger. “This world.”

 

Simultaneously, my hearing dulled as if submerged in water. Although I was standing firmly on the ground, I felt a dizzying sensation of falling. In what felt like slow motion, I struggled to turn around and open a dimensional door.

 

The planet would soon explode. A sharp premonition enveloped my entire being, pulling out all my potential.

 

I pushed all the male protagonists, who were rushing to protect me, into the dimensional door. I trusted that the black butterfly had saved Clyde and Hardy.

 

Just as I was about to enter the dimensional door myself—

 

“Where do you think you’re going, Darling?”

 

Ozworld, seemingly existing in a normal flow of time while I was not, wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.

 

How did he break through the rings protecting me? Did he find a way to counter them?

 

Ozworld, as if mocking my attempts to escape, gently held me in an embrace, rubbing his cheek softly against mine. I wanted to kill him as he smiled like he was overjoyed.

 

“There’s no point in wasting your energy going to ‘that world’ since it will soon disappear anyway.”

 

What does that mean?

 

“I’ll make sure your male protagonists vanish without suffering.”

 

As Ozworld touched the dimensional door, the flower wilted instantly. The vines dried up and turned black before crumbling away.

 

Grinding my teeth, I reversed time with all my might. Then, with a sensation of something snapping, I slapped his cheek. Smack! Ozworld’s head tilted slightly to the side, and he chuckled.

 

“…You reversed my time?”

 

“Yes, you b*stard.”

 

I tried to slap him again, but the ground suddenly shook and shattered beneath me, leaving me floating in the air. We were on the verge of being obliterated along with the planet. So, like Ozworld, I tried to open a portal to escape.

 

Ding!

[You don’t have access to this constellation. If you need new registration, please contact the Pantheon.]

 

It seemed that using the core to travel between dimensions was a system-controlled ability. To avoid the system’s interference, I would have to rely on a power like the one I used to create the dimensional door, something purely my own.

 

“There’s no time for a lovers’ quarrel, Jiwoo. Stop being stubborn and come to me.” Ozworld extended his hand to me, looking perfectly at home in this world where red-hot magma was erupting all around.

 

Before he could grab me, the black butterfly flew toward me.

 

—Let’s go.

 

Instinctively, I grabbed the black butterfly.

 

Flash! A bright light enveloped my vision.

 

* * *

Sizzle. The familiar noise of a television brought my eyelids open, and I saw a space I recognized. An old television, a worn-out sofa. Soon, the black-and-white screen flickered on, showing Hardy. But it wasn’t the boy I knew; it was a mature adult. He must have grown into an adult after awakening as the planet’s adversary.

 

[“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”]

 

I sighed in relief. “Looks like the future hasn’t changed.” I had worried that everything had been ruined after the explosion of Planet Signio.

 

[“Yes. Saintess Frea turned back the time.”]

 

“She turned back time?”

 

[“Yes. When news of you and Ozworld from the future spread, the constellations gathered and raised 1 billion coins. So Frea obtained a pocket watch that could turn back time.”]

 

“You mean the pocket watch Ozworld used?”

 

[That’s right. After turning back time, Frea negotiated with Ozworld over the planet’s safety in exchange for transferring ownership of the pocket watch. And well… I won’t go into the details of what happened next.”]

 

I sighed softly, and Hardy gave a bitter smile.

 

[“Love really does blind people, doesn’t it?”]

 

Frea loved everyone. In trying to make a decision for everyone’s sake, she ended up losing everything.

 

Ozworld could never change; he was destined to be the villain.

 

[“But thankfully, while everyone else forgot the rewound time, Clyde retained his memories and prepared for the coming disaster. Thanks to that, he was able to safely awaken as the adversary.”]

 

Hardy continued with a furrowed smile.

 

[“It’s just a pity that Frea rewound time to a point before you and I met, so the memories of us meeting are gone. From what I saw of your broadcast, I think we could have been good friends.”]

 

“We can still become friends now.”

 

Hardy’s eyes widened in surprise as if he hadn’t considered that.

 

[“…You’re right. We can.”]

 

Had he lived so consumed by revenge that forming new relationships had become foreign to him? In his world, he had been a protagonist loved by everyone, like Libby, and it made me feel sorry for him.

 

“Your life’s purpose is to kill Ozworld. Have you thought about what you’ll do afterward?”

 

[“…No.”]

 

“Then come to where I am. I have more than enough to feed you.”

 

My bold declaration made Hardy burst into laughter.

 

[“Hahaha! Ah, really, you…”]

 

He couldn’t continue, shaking his head with a wide grin. Then, he looked at me with a smile still lingering on his face.

 

[“If you had been my creator, I think I would have been truly happy. I’m jealous of Clyde.”]