I Became the Master of the Villain

It was as if time had stopped.
Olivia’s tightly shut eyelids opened. The moment she looked at him, ripples spread through Kian’s sky-blue eyes. His voice, as he called out to her, was filled with moisture.

“Master…”
The one he thought had died was alive. Though she was so weak it seemed she might snap at any moment, she was breathing properly. That miraculous reality was simply too hard to believe.
As she looked at him, she faintly smiled.

“You were alive…”
She seemed to have trouble continuing her words and panted heavily. At that, Kian suddenly came to his senses as though splashed with cold water.
This was not the time for this. He had to save her.

The boulders that had been falling like meteors did not head toward the knights. As if returning to where they had been, they fell vertically back to the place where Kian had been standing.
At the unexpected situation, confusion appeared on the faces of the knights.
“……!”

As the masses of dirt and stone fell, a deafening roar erupted, and thick dust billowed up. When the dust that had clouded the surroundings settled and visibility was secured—
Kian and Olivia were already nowhere to be seen.
***

Along with the sensation of floating, the scenery of knights on horseback and the torn-up plains swirled and twisted. A strange feeling swept through her whole body, as if space had been compressed and traversed all at once.
I realized I was moving in defiance of the laws of physics, and that the man holding me had made it happen. Thus, the realization naturally followed.
Kian had awakened as a mage.

I looked up at the face that felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Kian’s beautiful face was deeply shadowed with worry. He spoke in an anxious voice.
“Master, please endure just a little longer.”
I knew that he was trying to save me. As I clung to my fading consciousness, I answered with a groan.

“……Mm.”
Once again, space twisted, and the distorted scenery gradually returned to its proper form.
What appeared before me was the grand mansion of the Ashford Duchy.
When I, covered in blood, and Kian, also stained with blood and dust, appeared, the previously quiet mansion turned completely upside down.

“Young Lady! What in the world happened?!”
The ashen-faced butler ran out. The sleeping staff all woke up at once and bustled about, and one servant ran off to summon the healer.
Perhaps because I had lost too much blood, all the noise around me began to feel increasingly distant. In the end, only the soft voice coming from above my head echoed in my ears.

You’ll be all right now, Master.
Perhaps because of those words, I let go of the thread of consciousness I had been holding onto.
***

As he moved the unconscious Olivia into the mansion, Kian thought.
She would not die. He could not even imagine the opposite. No—he must not allow it to happen.
“Kian, bring the Young Lady this way!”

The butler, rushing as though out of breath, guided Kian. He laid Olivia down on a clean bed. Soon after, hurried footsteps rang out.
It was the Duke of Ashford, who had awakened in the middle of the night after hearing of his daughter’s injury. Seeing his daughter, covered in blood, he let out a groan.
“Ah… Olivia… What in the world…”

A face that had completely lost its usual composure. Behind him, clutching his daughter’s cold hand and sighing, a young woman appeared.
It was Christine, the healer, who had rushed over upon hearing that Olivia was in critical condition after being attacked by an assassin. Her face was filled with a deep sense of dismay.
Olivia’s condition was more serious than expected. Judging by the amount of blood lost, she had already bled far too much.

If any more time was wasted, there would be no chance of survival. Christine quickly positioned herself beside Olivia.
“I’ll begin the treatment.”
She gathered the mana from her entire body and cast powerful healing magic on Olivia. Explosive healing energy gathered in her hands. A dazzling halo of light enveloped Olivia’s wounds.

Mana began to pour out of her body like mad. Sweat beaded on her forehead.
As the healing mana took effect, Olivia’s wounds began to heal. Because visible improvement was evident, the expressions of those present gradually brightened.
But that was only for a moment. Even after several minutes passed, Olivia’s closed eyes showed no sign of opening.

Christine’s breathing became rough, and her whole body was drenched in cold sweat. Due to the prolonged casting of the highest-level healing spell, she was experiencing mana depletion.
A bitter feeling swept across her heart. Olivia’s heart had stopped beating a while ago. She had tried her best to revive the stopped heart. But it was not enough.
To make matters worse, even her mana had run dry. In the end, Christine had no choice but to stop the treatment. The Duke of Ashford asked urgently.

“Why… why are you stopping?”
“There was too much blood loss before she arrived. I’ve done everything I can, but just now, the Young Lady’s heart has stopped.”
Christine delivered the cruel reality in a voice laced with guilt.

“I’m terribly sorry to say this, but the Young Lady… is unlikely to wake again.”
The face of the father, about to lose his daughter, was painted with unspeakable despair. He clutched at Christine’s robes and pleaded.
“That can’t be. Please save my daughter. Please, I beg you…”

“……I’m sorry.”
Kian stared blankly at Christine, who had bowed her head like a sinner.
He held Olivia’s hand, lying there as if dead. Her hand was ice-cold. Her lips had turned bluish. Her face, whiter than white, was pale beyond measure.

A suffocating despair took over his entire body.
She had died…? That couldn’t be. His heart pounded as if it were about to burst. He felt like he might forget how to breathe. He couldn’t accept the reality before him.
He could not send her off like this.

The reason Kian had stayed quiet until now was because he had trusted the healer’s skill more than his own. He couldn’t gamble with the precious life of Olivia. But… she couldn’t save her? If that was the case, he never should have left her to someone else from the beginning.
Kian pushed healer Christine aside. Christine stumbled back and asked weakly,
“What are you trying to do?”

“I will save my master.”
With what means? Christine almost asked, but then closed her mouth.
Because from Kian’s hands, a blinding burst of mana exploded, enough to temporarily rob sight.

Healing mana, painting the surroundings in white, enveloped Olivia’s body. Christine was left speechless at the unbelievable sight.
What is this man? How can a human… possess this level of mana?
She had never heard anything about the being standing before her. How had she never known about such a powerful mage until now? But rather than suspicion, what sprang up within her was hope.

If it’s him, maybe he really could do it. Maybe he could bring Olivia back to life.
Right now, the only miracle was the man in front of her.
Kian focused all his senses on his fingertips. He channeled his mana to detect the damaged areas of her body.

His fingers stopped on Olivia’s chest. Unlike the other organs, her heart had no motion—like a broken machine, not a single movement could be felt.
Kian concentrated his mana there. He imbued all of his mana with the properties of healing and cast regeneration magic.
As Kian’s magic took effect, the dead cells began to regenerate, and her blood flow surged anew.

“H-how can this be…”
Among those present, only Christine could understand what Kian was doing. She couldn’t close her mouth, dumbfounded.
This was an act that had stepped into the realm of creation. A feat impossible without power close to that of a god.

Next to the shocked Christine, Kian continued without pause, pouring an enormous amount of mana into Olivia.
Even if people said it was impossible, he could not give up on her.
Giving up on saving her was the same as giving up on life itself.

He pleaded to her, who could not hear.
Please, open your eyes. Just like always, look me in the eye and smile gently. Tell me that this life that began again because of you… wasn’t just a dream.
“…Haa…”

His mana consumption was so severe that Kian panted for breath.
He didn’t care if he could never use his powers again. If he could save her by offering up all the mana he had—
Just as he made up his mind, a very faint movement caught his eye.

Kian’s eyes widened. In his sky-blue irises, indescribable joy bloomed.
Her eyelids trembled. Her fingertips moved ever so slightly.
What should he call that small gesture?

To Kian—
It was the very embodiment of a miracle.