Chapter 1 – "The Tutorial Death"
The hero's blade stops inches from my chest.
For a heartbeat, the world itself seems to hesitate—flames frozen mid-flicker, dust hanging like golden snow. My mind races through calculations the way it always has: distance, angle, probability. None of it matters now.
So this is how it ends.
The cavern trembles as the boss monster collapses behind me, its body bursting into motes of light that scatter across the shattered stone. Heat presses against my back; the air tastes of iron and ozone. The rest of the expedition cheers somewhere beyond the smoke—our party celebrating the victory we should have shared.
Then the sword moves.
It slides through me, clean and deliberate. I don't feel pain at first—just disbelief. I look up at the man who once called me brother.
Elias. The Chosen of Light. Humanity's shining hope.
His face is unreadable, bathed in the glow of divine armor that makes him seem almost sculpted from sunlight. The others stand behind him: the priestess clutching her staff, the knight with lowered eyes, the archer staring at the floor. None of them move. None of them speak.
"You understand, don't you, Rael?" Elias says softly. "The prophecy requires balance. Every story needs a villain."
I try to laugh, but it comes out as a ragged breath. "Balance? You mean sacrifice."
"If the world must choose," he murmurs, "then it cannot choose both of us."
My knees give way. I collapse to the rubble, one hand pressed against the wound as warmth seeps between my fingers. Sparks from the dying monster drift past my vision, tiny stars fading in and out of focus. I was the tactician—the one who built every formation that kept them alive through this cursed tutorial. And this is my reward.
The realization clicks into place like the final piece of a puzzle. The system never needed a strategist. It needed a scapegoat.
I meet Elias's eyes one last time. "Then make sure your story is worth it."
He drives the blade deeper.
A white flare consumes everything. Sound stretches and snaps. The cavern, the flames, the people—all dissolve into static. My body feels weightless, my heartbeat fading into a mechanical pulse.
Then even that stops.
Only darkness remains, cut through by lines of luminous code drifting like cracks in glass.
[SYSTEM ERROR #FATE-001]
> Heroic Path Loop — Incomplete.
> Subject: Rael Corvus — Termination Denied.
> Searching for replacement narrative role…
> RESULT: VILLAIN ACCEPTED.
> Rebinding Protocol Initiated.
A voice—cold, metallic—echoes inside my skull. Each word strikes like a hammer blow.
Villain? The word curls around my fading thoughts. Even dead, I'm still being written into someone else's story.
Fragments flash before my eyes: heroes crowned in glory, kingdoms collapsing under their weight, worlds rewound again and again to the same tragic loop. I see it now—the system isn't salvation. It's a script that won't stop until it finds its perfect ending.
A new line burns across the void.
[VILLAIN SYSTEM BOOTING — 0.3%]
Instinct takes over. I reach toward the letters, and the surface of reality ripples beneath my touch like water.
Cold air floods my lungs.
I'm lying on stone again—the same dungeon, but hollow and silent. The battle's heat has vanished; the air is thin and brittle. Elias still stands before me, or what's left of him—his image flickers, a half-deleted echo frozen mid-smile. Then it fragments into shards of light and fades.
I push myself upright. No wound. No blood. But dark symbols pulse faintly beneath my skin, shifting like living script. I find it hard to believe that I am alive considering I died with a sword through my heart. I really doubt anyone could survive that but the chill through his arms,the the feel of his skin against the ground assures him he is not a ghost.
The world feels heavier, slower, as though waiting for me to speak.
[FATE HARVEST PROTOCOL READY]
> Collect Destiny Points — 0 / 100 acquired.
> Objective: Devour the heroes' fate.
I wondered what all that meant and why it was happening to me. Flashbacks of the party,Lira's smile and Kael's arrogance keeps him silent and in thought.
My heartbeat steadies. For the first time, I feel no fear—only clarity.
Fate killed me once. Now it has given me its own weapon.
I glance at the empty air where the hero once stood and let a thin smile form.
What to do after rebirth, I thought as I started walking.
All I knew was that it was gonna be a lot of fun,which I would enjoy greatly and hopefully everyone else would because my second life was going to be epic.
"Tutorial complete," I whisper. "Let's begin the real game."
Next Time: The Villain System Awakens
Hey everyone, thanks for checking out Villain's System: Devouring the Heroes' Fate!
This story isn't about a perfect hero — it's about what happens when the mind that built heroes decides to break them instead.
Expect strategy, revenge, and power that grows darker the deeper Rael dives into fate itself.
If you enjoy Antihero, System, or Rebirth stories where the villain doesn't apologize for winning — you'll feel right at home here.
Your comments and collections (Add to Library ) help the story reach more readers and keep me motivated to release faster.
Let's see just how far Rael's descent — or rise — can go.
See you in the next chapter!
— Author