The sensation of falling didn't stop when Han-eol hit the floor. It just turned into a different kind of vertigo. One second he was a murderer in a freefall, and the next, he was kneeling in the center of a cathedral so white it made his eyes ache.
'System! Can I change my look? I can't be the Villain if I'm surrounded by three thousand people who want to lynch the Villain!'
A screen flickered, less like a glitch and more like a quiet confirmation of his new reality.
[Trait: Dual Presence Detected]
[Current Form: The Dawn-Walker]
He felt a strange, cold ripple wash over his skin. The jagged, obsidian plates of the Overlord armor didn't disappear so much as they folded inward, hidden behind a layer of shimmering silver steel. His hair, once black as a raven's wing, bled into a stark, snowy Blonde. Even his eyes shifted, the murderous red fading into a calm, piercing amber.
He looked like a masterpiece of divinity. He felt like a total fraud.
Han-eol stood up slowly. The holy sword strapped to his hip felt like a hot iron pressing against his thigh. It hated him. He could feel the weapon's faint, vibrating rejection of his very soul.
'Why did I kill that kid? Why did I do that?'
He looked at his hands, encased in white gauntlets. He expected them to be shaking. He expected his heart to be thundering with the guilt of ending a life. But as he scanned the room, he felt a chilling sense of... nothing.
'I just snapped a person's neck. A kid. And I'm more worried about my mana consumption than the fact that I'm a murderer. Is this the System? Did it just turn off my empathy so I wouldn't have a mental breakdown in front of the King?'
At the far end of the hall, a man in robes heavy with gold jewelry stood up from a throne. This was King Aldric. He looked like he was about to cry from pure joy.
"The prophecy is fulfilled!" the King shouted, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling. "The heavens have sent us a guardian to strike down the shadow of Varkas! Speak, Chosen One! Give us your name and your vow!"
Every knight in the room drew their sword and pointed them toward the ceiling in a silent salute. The pressure was suffocating.
'Vow? I don't even know where the bathroom is. Think, Han-eol. What was the dead guy's name? Leonidas? No, if I use his name, I'm stuck with his life. I need a clean slate.'
"My name is Elian," he said, his voice surprisingly steady. "The light... it brought me here to ensure the balance of this world is maintained."
'The balance? I'm the one who tipped the scale into the trash can. I'm literally the guy they're scared of. I am the Villain they want me to kill.'
"Sir Elian!" the King walked down the dais, his eyes wide with awe. "The Ruinous Overlord, Varkas, has already begun his march. His dark mana was detected in the northern wastes only moments ago. Tell us, how shall we prepare? What is your first command as our Savior?"
Han-eol felt a cold sweat prickle under his silver breastplate. The "dark mana" they detected was probably him falling through the sky. He had to say something heroic. He had to sound like a leader, or they'd start asking why the Hero smelled like brimstone and desperation.
"The Overlord..." Han-eol started, his mind racing. "He is... he is a pathetic worm! A coward who hides in the shadows because he knows I am the only one who can match his strength!"
'I am literally talking shit about myself. This is peak insanity. I'm going to have to go to the northern wastes, set a forest on fire as the Villain, then run back here and put it out as the Hero. I'm going to be so tired.'
"Did you hear that?" the King turned to his court. "The Hero mocks the Great Evil! He calls him a worm!"
The cathedral erupted in cheers. Han-eol just stood there, his hand resting on the hilt of a sword that was actively trying to burn his palm.
'I killed the only guy who knew how to do this job. Now I have to play both sides of a war, Fuck my life.'
"We shall hold a banquet!" the King declared. "To celebrate the arrival of Elian!"
'A banquet? Great. More time to pretend I'm not a level 150 demon in a wig.'