Rogue Villain-Chapter 385: Shifting Gears

The Voice of the World made a plan. It wanted to break free from Millmeria, no matter what it took. So, it used its connection to The Hero through the Blessing of the World and infiltrated The Hero’s mind and body.

Since it was a skill the world stuck onto The Hero to help him in his journey, the connection wasn’t perfect, and the Voice had to bide its time for when that connection grew stronger or when The Hero grew weaker.

The perfect time came.

Not only was The Hero weak after defeating The Calamity. His use of world power through the Blessing of the World had also strengthened the skill’s connection with his soul and existence.

In the original story, the Voice had guided The Hero rather than controlling him.

It used subtle urges and feelings at first to guide The Hero in subtle ways regarding mannerisms and actions before eventually convincing The Hero that by gathering the power of the world and skewering Millmeria with it, he could stop any Calamity from ever appearing again.

The Hero was skeptical. But he was also tired, exhausted, drained mentally, and in despair. More than half of the world’s population died to The Calamity. Several of those he had formed emotional connections with outside his party died during The Calamity’s attack.

If he could stop that from such a disaster ever taking place again, he wanted to do it. Besides, the Voice had guided him to the right choice several times in the past.

There was no reason for The Hero to doubt it.

When the Voice gently guided The Hero’s hand, The Hero let it.

And before he knew it, all life on Millmeria had ceased, his body left as a vessel for the Voice.

Ackster’s interference in the current timeline changed that sequence of events. He removed The Hero as an obstacle to the Voice’s plan.

It wasn’t maybe the best outcome. But Ackster would rather fight against the powerful Voice than The Hero.

The Voice was just powerful. The Hero was skilled. Combat was like breathing to him. He would adapt to the world power much quicker than the Voice, even if he couldn’t wield as much of it without going crazy. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

However, the Voice was a skill come to life. It was a skill made for the Heroes of Millmeria to reach the good end and allow them to use world power to defeat their respective Calamity.

The amount of world power the Voice could use surpassed Ackster’s guess. And so did its talent for combat. After all, the Voice had watched all kinds of beings and Heroes fight for their lives for countless years.

Ackster and his party found it harder by the moment to slice apart The Hero.

Karandiel’s spears lodged themselves inside The Hero and stopped his body from recovering, but only for as long as they held up against the world power. Mara’s fire blasted The Hero apart. But he pulled himself back together with strings of white light.

And since The Hero didn’t appear to have any blood, Shanshi couldn’t do much.

Fortunately, they were only supplementary aid to Ackster, who was the main damage dealer.

The power of Ackster’s sword strikes, punches, and kicks were enough to damage The Hero, destabilize The Hero’s footing, and delay the accumulation of world power. But that was all he did. He delayed the inevitable.

Ackster and the others could tell they needed a change. They needed something effective against The Hero. They needed something to hit the world power with.

Unfortunately, Ackster’s Smelting Furnace wasn’t having much luck refining the world power into his Ichor.

*Wilma, do you think you can make an opening for Makkel’s fire?*

*It’s worth a shot.*

*Good. If there’s a moment to go all out, it’s now. I need to shift my strength for a moment.*

Karandiel and the others’ faces grew solemn. Weren’t they already going all out?

But Wilma and Kargas hadn’t been very active. So, they stepped up to the plate and got ready to contribute.

Wilma used her ability to see potential and tracked The Hero’s scales to reach his fate. She closed her eyes for a moment to concentrate as she lined her fists with a power she had only recently begun to sense.

She wasn’t sure, but she was pretty sure it was something like the power of fate. Her unique skill had transformed, evolved, and given her the ability to interact with fate itself. It was thanks to Makkel that she came this far. And now, it was time to repay her debt of gratitude to the pyromaniac.

Wilma couldn’t explain it. But when she touched the power of fate, she didn’t necessarily become stronger, faster, or better. However, she saw and felt the chain of action and consequence, of affect and effect.

Even against a foe that far outmatched her in terms of raw power like The Hero, Wilma could walk up to him untouched and start punching him. She avoided detection by pushing aside the action of her walking up.

She walked up, but in the chain of events that the world saw, she didn’t.

Then, with her fists slightly blurry, Wilma started punching The Hero in the face. She broke apart the power of his and the world’s fate that the Voice had siphoned to protect itself.

Wilma didn’t smash the world power, so she didn’t do damage to the Voice or The Hero. But she cracked the power of fate within that world power.

And that was all Makkel needed. His fire found a stray strand of fortune to latch onto. Then, like dry grass in summer heat, The Hero’s fortune caught on fire.

The colorless flame disappeared into the world power and lit The Hero ablaze. They couldn’t see it with their naked eyes. But all of them could sense the air of misfortune and nerve-wracking subtle heat clinging to The Hero as he began stumbling around on the water’s surface like a drunkard.

Makkel’s fire burned bright in the white light of The Hero.