Chapter 2: The Whole Armada Empire is in Flames! (2)
The image of the frozen, apocalyptic duel fades slightly, replaced by the solitary figure of the man in the spiked armor. Abellion Lucius Von Nazaric, who was currently the former mafia underboss Johan Dietrich, took a step back from the terrifying image of his father's impending attack. He gave the reader a confident, slightly weary wave.
"Welp, Hello I'm Johan Dietrich, a Mafia Underboss or should I say used to be."
His voice was a smooth baritone, carrying the deliberate, measured cadence of someone who was used to giving orders in high-stakes environments. The man's demeanor was a startling contrast to the demonic armor he wore. He leaned casually against his massive, dark mace, the weight of the enormous weapon seemingly negligible to him.
"Let me give you the uncensored version of how I got here," Abellion began, adjusting the black glove on his hand. "My previous life was intense. I was a key player, an Underboss, in the Dietrich Italian Crime Family. It was a life built on cold calculation, enforcing loyalty, and making sure our rivals knew their place. It was a stressful existence, but it was honest work—in a criminal sense, of course."
He let out a heavy breath that wasn't quite a sigh, but a sound of deep, bitter remembrance. "The end came during a full-scale territorial war. I was really supposed to die seriously between the war of the Dietrich Italian Crime Family and the Corleone Italian Crime Family." The final confrontation was a bloodbath in a forgotten industrial yard. "I took a round to the chest. I remember the pain, the ringing silence after the last gunshot, and the sight of the dirty corrugated roof above me. I was bleeding out, thinking, 'So this is how a crime boss exits. Not with a roar, but a slow, messy drain.'"
He snapped his fingers. "But after dying bam I was reincarnated as the fraudest villain of the fantasy harem novel." The sheer absurdity of the rebirth still struck him as darkly comical. One moment, a cold concrete floor; the next, a body with golden hair and a world filled with genuine magic.
He quickly addressed the elephant in the room—his choice in literature. "I know I know most people dislike harem novels I dislike it too but the fight scenes and the plot of the story including the lore is too good to ignore tho." He confessed this with a slight, embarrassed shrug. "I read for the grand conflict, the ancient secrets, and the political intrigue, not the dating sim elements, okay? The world-building in this one was top-tier—ancient races, unique magic systems, massive empires. The underlying mythology was why I was so addicted."
He stressed the quality of the main character, justifying his love for the story. "And mind you this is not the same generic type mc because the mc of the novel I read is really a chad." He wasn't some lucky protagonist; he was truly heroic and competent.
"He is really a regressor but not the generic type like there's no meaning behind to his regression, nope not like this novel because the MC really used the Eye of Dragon of Time to go back in time and saved everyone yep he is a heroic type MC and I love reading it seriously." This wasn't some simple do-over. Yulen, the protagonist, had endured the first apocalypse and paid an unimaginable price for the power of the Eye of Dragon of Time, a power that allowed him to rewind the timeline just before the ultimate destruction. This was sacrifice—a burden he carried into his second life.
Abellion paused again, stroking his chin in a minute as he recalled the full title. "Ahh!, I finally remember now the name of that novel is 'The Regressor was Chosen as the Hero's Disciple?!' yep that's the title of the novel I read."
He sighed again because he remembered how he died. It was a mix of the brutal and the mundane. "After dying from a mafia enforcer of the Corleone Family, I was clutching my phone because before that shit happens I'm really reading that novel." He'd been in the middle of a chapter when the lights went out.
"And you know what happened? Bam I am one of the minor villains and what's worse I am reincarnated to that fraud villain and was called Megumin Fushiguro 2.0."
He elaborated on the nickname with theatrical contempt. "Let me break down the slander: Megumin is an anime character famous for one single, spectacular spell that immediately drains all her energy, making her useless afterward. Fushiguro is a guy who has a great power—summoning—but is constantly overshadowed by a literal genius. The fan combination in the novel meant: 'He's the son of two world-savers, but his only decent skill is niche (summoning spirits, which he hadn't even unlocked yet), and he's completely outclassed by the Hero's disciple.' Yep that guy was called by that what's worse he is always centered on the slander of the fans of the novel."
Abellion threw his head back and let out a genuine, booming laugh. "Lol I'm literally laughing on the slander while reading that before. That's cosmic irony right there—I spent my last moments laughing at the character I was about to become. Talk about karma."
The tragedy wasn't just his weakness; it was his lineage. "What's really worse he is the son of the Hero of the Empire and the Saintess, yep those two are legends and yet born a fraud son." His father, Abrellios, was the strongest swordsman alive, the embodiment of martial perfection; his mother, Lutiana, possessed healing and divine magic of mythical proportions. To be their son and possess no obvious talents felt like a cruel joke written by fate.
"I really pity the original Abellion because I couldn't blame him becoming a minor villain after the MC regressed of course." He offered a defense of his predecessor. "In the original timeline—before the Eye of Dragon of Time reset everything—both the MC and the Abellion are friends and they died together trying saving the world." The original Abellion was weak but loyal, dying a hero. "But after the MC regressed he really felt jealous because of how strong he is than him." When Yulen regressed, he was instantly ten times stronger, wiser, and more capable, effortlessly accomplishing feats Abellion could only dream of, overshadowing him from the beginning of the second life. "Poor Abellion truly it's just that the author of him was too cruel that he even made him fraud."
"So how really did he become a fraud?" Abellion posed the question rhetorically, shifting into the flashback to explain the original host's tragic development.
"Well, let's go back a few years. Seriously Abellion was really an orphan or atleast what he knew, wandering the streets until he was found." The moment of his reunion with his birth parents was instigated by Yulen, the regressed MC, who knew where the Hero and Saintess had lost their son years ago. "After the Hero and the Saintess found him thanks on the regressed mc of course, they were ecstatic. For a little while, he was truly happy."
Abellion paused, realizing he'd skipped a crucial piece of background information. "Ohh yeah I forgot telling what's the name of his parents including the MC of the novel too." He scratched his head beneath the helmet, a gesture of faux-awkwardness. "Sorry, so sorry."
"Well Abellion's parents name are: Abrellios Von Nazaric The Hero of the Empire and Lutiana Von Nazaric The Saintess; and lastly the name of the protagonist is: Yulen Carnation."
"Since you already know their names let's continue."
"Abellion really grewed with his parents after coming back to them but he is always felt inferior because of Yulen." Yulen, the Hero's Disciple, was a natural genius who quickly surpassed Abrellios's wildest expectations, largely thanks to his regressed knowledge. "And because even he was even teach any swords art from his father he really couldn't learnt." He simply lacked the core magical affinity required for the Hero's techniques. The original boy was fundamentally ordinary in a world of miracles. He failed every time his father tried to train him.
"I mean atleast he always admit he is weak but he really didn't give up and keep training to become just like father or just as a Master Knight since it's already enough for him because he knew he is not the chosen hero of the prophecy." Abellion was pragmatic. He knew his limitations. He really knew he is not the chosen one and Yulen was the chosen one as his father said which he had heard from the prophetess.
"But he really didn't felt inferior for that but the reason he was always felt inferior it's because of his parents that it seems they spent their time more on Yulen." The original Abellion was a good kid who tried to rationalize the pain. "Yet he still think that's the right thing because he is the chosen one after all and his parents need to hone him in the fullest." They needed to save the world, and Yulen was the key. He was just the background character in his own family.
The slow burn of neglect finally ignited into explosive pain on his nineteenth birthday. "But something happened, after 2 years Abellion is in his coming of age and celebrated his birthday with his parents and Yulen which he treated his own brother." The celebration was lavish, filled with nobles, but Abellion couldn't shake the feeling that he was the least important person in the room.
"Later that night he heard some of the nobles gossips about him and his family." He walked past the main ballroom's entrance, overhearing the vicious whispers. "He really thought it might be because they finally found their son but he hear something different and that enrage him."
The words were like poison darts, piercing the carefully constructed excuses the original Abellion had built to protect himself. He heard them talking about him and Yulen and they really even compare him to Yulen and said that he might not really be their son because of how weak he was.
One pompous noble sneered, "Are you really sure he is their son? Like look at him he is weak and yet unlike Yulen he will catch up Lord Abrellios."
A woman, dramatically in her fan waving it, chimed in with agreement, "I agree it seems he is really not their son but Yulen I mean we can't blame ourselves to reach this conclusion because of how weak he is! He's a pale shadow! Honestly, perhaps Yulen is the true son of the Hero's spirit."
Abellion sighed because he really cant blame him becoming villain. The original boy's world shattered. "Because of the gossips of the nobles he felt jealousy towards Yulen and anger to his parents because of how they can't do anything to help him becoming just like what the original Abellion dreamt of." He didn't want the throne or the title of Hero; he just wanted to be a respected knight, a worthy son, protected from the scorn of others by his parents' love.
The scene shifted, becoming the memory itself. The original, un-spiked Abellion, clad in an ill-fitting formal tunic, stormed out of the brightly lit castle and into the dark, silent gardens.
Then Abellion continued "The original Abellion go outside to get some fresh air and said this."
"Damnit, damnit!" he screamed, hands gripping his head, tearing at his golden hair. "They're right! I'm a joke! A walking disappointment!"
"Why?! Why I was always being compared to him, why I was being like this this weak! Why did I even come back if I was just going to be a punchline?"
Abellion kick the rock to calm his anger and ran his hand through his hair. His face was contorted with humiliation and self-loathing. He looked up at the moon, wishing on a power he didn't believe in.
"If if I was blessed with such powers like him maybe I will become just like him and will not compared from the nobles or being felt neglected to my family anymore."
Then, the true turning point. As he looked around the shadowy garden, his eyes widened in terror. The original Abellion shocked he saw someone. It was a figure that was translucent, faintly glowing, yet undeniably real and terrifyingly powerful—a demonic spirit of immense scale, flickering in the darkness. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with long, ethereal black hair and clothes that looked like they were woven from shadows, but a gaping hole in her chest confirmed her deceased status.
"A- a demon!!!" he gasped, stumbling backward, his heart pounding in his chest. His reaction was pure, instinctive fear.
The Demon then saw Abellion and shrieeeked, a thin, surprised sound, not of malice, but of shock. "Eeeek, how how can you see me?" Her spectral eyes, large and golden, were wide with confusion.
Abellion, still reeling, managed to spit out a confused question. "The hell you mean I can't see you? Demon are not ghosts tho? You look like you're floating, but you're clearly right there, aren't you?"
The Demon the shook her head and then replied "No, I mean how can you see me I mean I'm really dead." She looked at her own transparent hand, a visible tremor running through her form. This was a mystery to her. She had been dead for centuries, unable to interact with the living world, yet this boy saw her clearly.
The original Abellion then ask "Really you are dead ?"
The Demon nod slowly, the motion strangely sorrowful.
Abellion stopped panicking. Instead, he felt a spark of understanding flash in his mind. He wasn't seeing an ordinary demon or a living creature. He was seeing the departed soul. He recognized the specific type of ability immediately from the lore of the empire. And then he hit a realization he can see spirits just like Ghost takers, Ghost takers are the same as Necromancers but they embraced kindness towards ghost and don't use their souls for their own personal gain unlike Necromancers.
He burst out of his despair with dizzying speed. The weakness, the shame—it was all forgotten. This was his power. This was unique. This was something Yulen didn't have.
"Finally! Finally I have my own superpower," he whispered, his voice thick with sudden, exhilarating hope. He threw his fists into the air in pure, unadulterated joy.
"Yehey, fuck yeah woooh!" he cheered, leaping on the spot.
The Demon looked utterly bewildered by his sudden shift from terror to euphoria.
The Demon ask the original Abellion "Are you what they call ghostaker?"
"Yes! It seems I really unlocked my power finally!" He couldn't stop grinning. This wasn't the strength of a hero or a swordsman, but it was his.
He was so grateful to the strange entity who had triggered this epiphany that he ran up to her, oblivious to the fact that she was a terrifyingly powerful spirit.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you!"
The original Abellion hug the demon and then ask her name "What's your name?"
The Demon, completely stunned by the sheer innocence and unexpected embrace, felt a flicker of something she hadn't experienced since she was alive. She hesitated. If this kind boy knew her true identity, she knew his reaction would change instantly. The Demon didn't answer first because if he knew she is the Demon King who was slaughtered by the hero he will not come back and not talk to him anymore. Her heart, or the spectral equivalent of it, sank with the weight of her past.
Then after a whole minute she sighed and decide to tell her name. The time for hiding was over.
"My name is Personia De Fallenia."
She looked directly into his purple eyes, her voice regaining a hint of its ancient, regal authority.
"The Demon King who died by the hands of the Hero of this empire and the Saintess."
The original Abellion shocked and then instinctively go far away to her, stumbling backward several steps. His sudden realization was the only thing that could break his newfound joy. He knew that name—it was a name from the deepest, most terrifying part of the Empire's history.
And then the Demon King said this. She had expected fear, revulsion, and immediate flight.
"I knew you would distance yourself I mean everyone feared my name when I lived, and they fear it more now that I am a ghost."
But Abellion, despite his initial shock, wasn't looking at her with fear. He was looking at her with awe, a childlike wonder shining in his eyes.
But instead of original Abellion fear her he then said "Really?!"
Personia shocked just ask him "Huh?!" Her ghostly form flickered slightly with surprise. She had been feared by armies, yet this boy was just... fascinated.
"Really you're the demon king? That demon king? The one who fought Dad and Mom on the past and straight and almost destroyed the continent the first time?"
Personia just nodded slowly, thoroughly confused. As she did, he saw a man glinting his eyes like a child and the she realized he had the same eyes as that hero who struck his sword through her heart. The resemblance was uncanny, but the spirit in those eyes was totally different.
The original Abellion then continue to speak "I'm I'm your number one fan!"
"Really?" Personia asked, the word coming out as a surprised whisper.
He replied "Yes you are one of those legends and I was always fascinated because you and both of my parents are really strong that the whole world shook on the core between on the fights". For him, Personia was an historical figure, a legendary rival to his parents, not a monster.
Personia, still processing the fan confession, caught the last part.
"Wait your parents?!"
"Who is your parents?"
The original Abellion replied "The Hero of the Empire and the Saintess of course"
Then Personia hit her realization her theory is right the man infront of his is the son of both the heroes who defeated her. The boy who could see her and who had just hugged her was the offspring of the two people who had killed her. The irony, the coincidence, and the sheer audacity of fate were almost overwhelming. This meeting would change everything.
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Johan, now Abellion, snapped back to the present, leaning on his mace. "Alright that's enough backflash we will continue this in Chapter 3."
"Goodbye."
Abellion waved to the readers saying goodbye to them.