Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son

[Tamriel Kingdom, Alfheim.]

Nerissa quietly touched her ear, unbothered by the world around her.

When she was young, Nerissa used to love taking care of her ears.

Wearing expensive earrings even though they hurt them.

Perhaps it was to impress her glorified fiancé that was the talk of the world or perhaps she just liked it.

Those ears had always been beautiful to look at in her younger days but now….

They look like a riot.

The pores that were made for earrings were now split open, making a hideous cut in her long, beautiful ears.

No matter what she does now, the earrings just slip down.

The irony of the situation was that she felt her own life had become like that.

No matter how much she tried she can't go back to her younger self.

The one with no hideous scars or riot but just a beautiful, loving woman.

Leaving behind a shell that had no love to give.

"I believe everyone of importance is here."

A voice pulled her out of her blank state as she looked up.

Nerissa, along with almost all of the powerful elves, sat on a round table.

Diana had taken the place of Mariam, and the new elders have filled the void of previous ones.

At the head sat the new queen of the elves, the one who was appointed just this morning.

"If no one objects, then we can start the meeting." Diana continued, starting the hologram in the middle. "The fastest strategy to counter the Demiurge."

Lorvil, the older brother of Nerissa, was the first to raise a question.

"Are we aware of the reason for the attack?"

Diana tapped on the table, and an image formed on the hologram.

"The official reason they are telling their citizens is that they have avenged her."

"Demiurge princess." Pasithea said quietly. "The one who died a mysterious death?"

"Not mysterious, Your Majesty." Diana corrected her. "The Demiurge claims that we did it."

"They are bluffing."

An elder spoke, he had a youthful appearance along with bright green eyes.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they killed her just to find a reason to attack us."

"As much as you hate them, you have to accept that they aren't barbarians."

Diana said softly, keeping her voice respectful.

"For me, it seems like a third party killed her just to trigger a war between us."

Elder Selyra, the newly appointed elder, questioned. "And who would do that?"

"Someone who will profit from this war." Diana replied grimly. "And terrifyingly enough we don't know who they might be."

The silence that followed after was louder than any argument.

Having a strong frontal enemy was concerning, but a hidden enemy does the most damage.

Diana broke the silence. "We have gathered all the troops and placed them on the borders."

The hologram shifted, showing the border between the lands of Demiurge and Elves.

"We have placed ten thousand soldiers on the three main terrains. Sir Wilhelm has offered to lead the central army, that leaves two vacant positions for generals."

Sir Lorvil spoke calmly. "I will take the mountain terrain."

Diana looked at him in surprise as he isn't the one to take the risk. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." He replied confidently. "It's my duty anyway."

Diana nodded once, crossing the area. "Then we are left with the forest—."

"Nymeria will take over as the general." Nerissa cut in her words before she could finish.

Elder Vincent, that had a wrinkled face, looked at Nerissa. "Are you sending your daughter to war?"

"She is old enough to fight." Nerissa replied with a shred of emotion in her voice. "And we can't let go of such an amazing asset."

"That's your daughter, Lady Nerissa." Diana spoke softly. "I don't think it's appropriate—."

"She is an Avatar." Nerissa interrupted her once again. "Tell me, how many of you can kill an Avatar?"

The silence followed after her words as no one spoke.

"If she wants to send her daughter, let her."

Lorvil said, looking at her. "I will send my son as well, though not on the frontline."

Diana let out a soft sigh before she crossed the last general position as well.

"Now, we need to counter." Diana continued, and the hologram shifted.

"Safe to say, that the morale and trust of elves is at an all-time low… we need to do significant damage to Demiurge to restore it."

"Why don't we do the same thing they did?" Selyra suggested, her wrinkled face thoughtful. "Form a small team and annihilate their royal family."

"It won't work." Diana shook her head. "They should already expect it and be prepared for it."

"Then why don't we send a suicide team?" Selyra said, looking at Pasithea while folding her hands. "That outsider would have been perfect, but the queen had to keep him safe."

Diana frowned, anger flashing past her eyes. "Are you suggesting sending Himmel on a suicide mission?"

"It's a war." Selyra scoffed. "If you can't stomach it, then go hide back in Akasha."

"He is bound to rule the High Elven family." Vincent scoffed. "Can't he do this much?"

"There is a reason he is exempted from the war." Nerissa said, staring at the old elf. "If that jinx helped us, then we were bound to lose."

"You didn't hesitate to send your own daughter but draw a line when it comes to him?"

Selyra spoke, not hiding the contempt and anger on her face.

"Unlike the fools here, I recognise that brat who used to roam around the World Tree."

Nerissa drew in a deep breath, her patience running thin. "Speak carelessly again, and you'll find yourself stripped of that seat."

"Oh?" Selyra raised her eyebrow in mockery. "Do you love him so much—."

"I DON'T LOVE HIM!"

Nerissa finally snapped, slamming the table so hard that it cracked like a spider web.

Selyra, out of fear, quieted down but she still grumbled. "If Lady Mariam was here, she would have sacrificed him."

"Mariam's blood didn't boil when her entire family died." Nerissa said, glaring at her. "And you expect her to wage a war when someone else's family died?"

Selyra opened her mouth to rebuke, but a cold voice echoed within the room.

"The World Tree is going to die in less than a year."

Pasithea said, making everyone turn silent.

"Lady Elife told me today."

Diana blinked in disbelief. "What? But we had—."

"It's rioting faster than she expected." She interrupted tiredly. "And there is nothing she can do."

"...."

"...."

A heavy silence lingered between them as they sat in complete disbelief.

"We have less than a year to deal with Demiurge." Pasithea said, her voice low.

"After that, we will lose our strongest blessings and only goddess knows how we will survive the calamity."

She gestured towards everyone. "If you want to fight, do it now because we don't have much to live anyway."

Silence still wrapped the room like a suffocating blanket.

Diana took the opportunity and changed the hologram once again.

"We have identified who attacked the palace that day."

Six different portraits flickered in the air with one question mark.

"We know five of them, they all are Eternal rank, and the last one is unidentified."

Pasithea's eyes turned colder like never before as she looked at them.

For the first time, she took command of the meeting.

"Put a bounty on all of them."

Her cold voice, filled with hatred, echoed in the room.

"I want all of their heads rolling on my feet…. no matter the cost."

***

[Demiurge Kingdom.]

[Palace of Dignity.]

In the heart of a palace with dull grey colour, a man walked down the hallway.

He was tall, abnormally so, with light brown hair flowing behind him.

His skin was pale blue, yet his head had two corkscrew horns.

He wore an elegant reddish armour that was covered with runes.

Soren, who confidently led his team to massacre the elven royal family, now had a tense look on his face.

Still, he hid it behind his cold expression as he walked down the pathway.

The maids bowed in his direction, giving him looks of admiration, but he didn't seem to care.

Finally, Soren reached an open hall room with sunlight pouring from the windows.

Inside the room, the only sound that echoed was someone sharpening a knife.

And…

At the centre of the hall hung a brown wyvern upside down.

Soren then slowly looked at the man sharpening the knife.

He was as tall as Soren himself, with long blue hair and eyes of the same colour.

The man had a dark tone of blue as his skin colour.

He was none other than Kryllios Demiurge.

The current king of the Demiurge Kingdom.

Soren bowed deeply towards him. "Father."

Kryllios didn't even look at him.

He simply moved towards the wyvern and began making slices on its body.

When the silence was turning unbearable, Soren spoke again. "I have completed your task."

"No," Kryllios said, butchering the wyvern. "You failed your task."

Soren kept a straight face. "I completely annihilated the elven—"

"The youngest lives," Kryllios cut in his words. "Meaning you failed."

"She was in Akasha, father." Soren tried reasoning with him. "If you had given time for her to come back—"

"And I asked you to kill the elven children in her stead by placing the bombs," Kryllios said, not even bothering to look at him. "Yet you let them live."

Soren's jaw tensed, but he said nothing.

Kryllios continued carving the wyvern as if it were nothing more than a practice dummy.

Blood dripped onto the marble floor, forming small, dark pools beneath the creature's hanging body.

"I gave you an order," Kryllios said calmly. "And like always, you failed."

Soren whispered softly. "But children?"

"Think of them as the future of elves instead of innocent beings," he replied, his voice dead serious. "You let their future live and risked ours."

Soren said nothing as he just lowered his head in defeat.

As if unbothered by his presence, Kryllios continued to butcher the wyvern.

The silence once again stretched between the pair.

"Lady Yennefer was incredibly helpful." Unable to bear it any longer, Soren said. "How did you even convince her to join us?"

"I don't have means or power to control the witch who created life."

Kryllios stepped back from the wyvern, its body now carved open.

"It was the house Atretic of Kandam who ordered her, the same family that made you."

Soren's face visibly tensed at the name of Atretic, and for a genuine reason.

He was well aware of those bastards and how cruel they can be to anyone.

"But how?" He frowned. "How can they—"

"Don't change the subject by asking useless questions," Kryllios said calmly. "It won't change the fact that you failed your task."

Soren's jaw clenched as his face visibly morphed into annoyance.

"If you had given me enough time, I would have killed her too."

Kryllios stopped butchering the wyvern as he finally looked at him.

"If I had done that, we would have risked encountering Heir Himmel," Kryllios said, staring into his eyes.

"So what?" Soren asked, trying hard not to look in his eyes. "He is nothing—"

"Demigod Edwin, Demigod Edel and potential demigod Yennefer both refused to face him head-on,"

Kryllios said calmly, walking towards him. "And I saw in their eyes… they fear him."

Soren's voice grew lower. "He is just a child."

"He is an Avatar of two Primordial Gods and a fallen," Kryllios said, standing in front of him. "...Had the elves not banished him from the war, I would have risked everything and sent my entire army to kill him."

Kryllios stepped even closer, now only a breath away from Soren.

His presence was suffocating.

"Do you understand what that means?" he asked quietly.

Soren swallowed, but didn't answer.

Kryllios leaned in slightly. "It means we are lucky he was not there when you attacked."

Soren finally looked into his eyes. "Why start a war when you can't handle a child?"

He didn't reply. Instead, he placed his hand on his cheek.

"I was thirteen when I got my maid and your mother pregnant," he said, his voice deep and cold. "She was my first love… yet your birth took her life."

"I should have killed a bastard like you then and there, but I didn't." Kryllios drew in a deep breath. "Instead, I gave you a purpose to live and sent you to house Atretic."

He slapped his cheek slowly. "I didn't do all that for you to question my decision."

Kryllios stepped back while Soren's body trembled in fear.

"I started the war to erase the mistake my father made," Kryllios said, his voice filled with anger. "I started it so our family name is feared instead of being laughed at."

Soren remained quiet as Kryllios returned back to butchering the wyvern.

Once again, he ignored Soren completely like he wasn't there.

Soren began craving his attention just as

Kryllios expected.

"What should I do now?" Soren asked, his voice soft.

"Prepare for the war," Kryllios said, his voice calm. "You will be leading it."

Soren controlled the happiness that bubbled inside him.

Instead, he asked the question that bothered him. "And what if the Asura interfere once again?"

Kryllios looked back at him. "They won't. Not this time."

"And if they do?"

A smile formed on his face that didn't reach his eyes.

"Then we kill their Princess."