A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?

"It must be..." Avendial murmured as he exited the wreckage of the auction house.

The scene before him was a testament to chaos, with the scattered door, broken walls, and shards of concrete strewn about, each element suggesting the violent tumult that had unfolded.

Yet, he pushed these thoughts aside and continued forward, joined by Aecilia as they stepped outside, his gaze settling on the devastation that lay ahead.

Before him stood a man who resembled a behemoth, his body three or four times the size of Avendial's.

He was gasping for breath, his body marred by numerous wounds from which blood flowed freely.

Surrounding him lay the remnants of what had once been a parking lot, now cluttered with abandoned cars and the bodies of several guards who were scattered around, some barely clinging to life.

In the midst of this scene, Leo's unconscious form was slumped against the ground, his head lowered, though evident signs of healing flickered across his body.

Further away, a woman sat with a small rod impaled through a crumpled section of concrete, gasping and gazing toward the hulking figure.

"Haah… bastards," Bordy managed to gasp, his face smeared with blood that obscured his vision, making it difficult for him to see through the crimson haze that clouded around him.

His heartbeat raced as memories surged back of how something that had initially seemed like poison had suddenly started to sap all the psi energy from within him.

It had left him so weakened that he could barely muster the strength to think, let alone act.

With most of his power stripped away, he found himself unable to draw forth the energy necessary to shatter concrete or hurl cars into the air as he had done earlier.

However, the unique nature of his ability—berserker—had come to his aid, transforming the remaining Synergy into raw muscle power.

His body, despite the absence of psi energy, was still enhanced to the point where it possessed the strength to hold its ground.

Yet, there was a miscalculation on his part: he had seriously underestimated the tenacity of his opponent's will.

Bordy stood amidst the chaos that surrounded him, his only focus now on the need to eliminate the two unconscious figures nearby.

Just as the thought crystallized in his mind, a sound broke through the murmur of destruction.

With labored effort, he turned his head, his eyes locking onto two new figures approaching him: a man with silver hair and striking blue eyes who looked back at him in surprise, and beside him, a woman with golden eyes and cascading black hair, her narrowed gaze fixed intently on one of the defeated women he had just left behind.

"S...ist...er," Billie gasped, feeling her body betray her in ways she had never imagined possible.

Despite the intense will to fight that coursed through her, she could sense the reality of her injuries—multiple ribs fractured, likely piercing her lungs.

Thanks to the harps and rigorous training she had undergone, she managed to keep the agony at bay, but the overwhelming feeling of helplessness gnawed at her from within.

In her current state, any typical adult would have already succumbed to unconsciousness, yet she found herself resenting her own body, wishing it could be more like Leo's.

He was a mere construction worker until just days ago, yet he possessed an inexplicable strength, while she, armed with knowledge of martial arts and various fighting techniques, felt utterly incapacitated by a single hit from someone endowed with innate power—an illogical strength that rendered her skills ineffective.

On the other hand, Leo, despite having no formal combat training, was thrust into this chaos, where Bordy was using Billie's lack of physical strength against her and Leo's absence of battle experience against him.

The battle had unfolded far more swiftly than they had anticipated.

After using the pen Marquess had given her, which seemed to neutralize Bordy's abnormal strength, Billie believed she could easily overpower him.

In a moment of exhilaration, however, she made a grave error—she let her guard down.

That lapse cost her dearly when Bordy landed a devastating blow to her ribs, sending her crashing into the unforgiving concrete, where a protruding rod punctured her lungs with cruel precision.

"Damn you! It was you! Wasn't it?" Bordy seethed, his fury ignited as he turned to face the figure who had initially been his target.

Rage bubbled within him as he advanced, step by weighted step.

Despite the sacrifices he had made to bring himself to this moment of reckoning, he knew his death was imminent.

He felt his strength waning and sensed that members of the Sertsul family would soon arrive.

Yet, if he was to meet his end, at least he would do so with honor, taking down the man he had come to kill.

"Marquess, stay back," Aecilia commanded, her expression focused as she assessed the scene.

Billie lay motionless on the floor, seemingly lifeless, while Leo had also fallen, defeated.

However, Aecilia noted that the monstrous opponent before her appeared to be nearing his limits.

Even if the brute had tapped into all his strength, she felt that her chances of victory were much better this time.

Without hesitation, she advanced toward Avendial, who was momentarily taken aback but maintained his composure.

As she approached him, Aecilia turned her palm outward and exhaled softly, "Phew~"

"Come," she beckoned, her voice lilting.

She adopted a fighting stance, her body angled slightly forward, one hand raised near her chest in a claw-like position while her opposite leg was positioned apart.

The other arm lifted toward the sky, resembling a martial arts posture as her eyes sparkled with determination, fixed intently on her adversary.

'Is that… Aikido?' Avendial contemplated.

Residing in the tower, where his strength was altogether negligible, he had taken it upon himself to learn various martial arts from a bygone era, most of which had fallen into obscurity due to modern influences.

However, in order to survive against the towering behemoths of his world, he had honed his skills in multiple disciplines, including Aikido.

This martial art was particularly renowned for its emphasis on adaptability and fluid motion, allowing practitioners to redirect their opponent's attacks.

It offered a significantly increased chance of surviving devastating blows.

Avendial had crafted a unique blend of his acquired knowledge and the artifacts found within the tower, enabling him to withstand initial strikes.

Yet, seeing Aecilia employ this specific martial art made him appreciate her resilience; it was no wonder she had managed to survive until the ninth floor before disappearing into the unknown.

In a place where everyone was awakening, it would have been impossible for someone to manifest an overwhelmingly powerful ability without being noticed.

Just as he had not heard of Aecilia Sertsul awakening any remarkable abilities, it seemed unlikely that a significant power would go unrecognized.

Take Margaret Grafia, for example, who possessed the ability of space manipulation.

Her ability was akin to creating an inventory, allowing her to connect with a specific space where she could store anything she wished.

However, her ability came with a limitation—the pact was a one-time affair.

By unfortunate circumstance, she had linked her perfume shop when she entered the tower, but the perk of her ability was that she could conceal herself whenever danger loomed.

This advantage proved invaluable, allowing her to create another dimension.

This dimension, however, consisted solely of her perfume shop—a sanctuary where she could remain hidden for as long as she desired.

Thanks to this clever use of her ability, she managed to survive beyond fifty floors of the tower.

The reason she was his second priority stemmed from his intention to help her awaken her ability and form a pact with Croceaus Territory.

If that proved impossible due to the limitations of her ability—of which he was still unaware—he would seek to forge a pact with the secret base of the Nightcrawlers.

This would transform her ability into a hidden citadel within the tower.

"YOU INSECTS!" Even without his ability manifesting, the overwhelming surge of adrenaline fueled by his emotions—anger and a thirst for vengeance—made time feel suspended for a brief moment.

His cold eyes remained locked onto the woman before him, who had assumed a defensive pose reminiscent of the martial arts style that the tomboyish woman had employed just moments ago.

His body felt winded and battered, struggling to hold itself together like rusted metal.

Nevertheless, his speed was apparent to the naked eye, but it was clear that his weight and physical presence dominated the scene, resembling a bull charging at a human.

Swish

Without leaving an opening, he swung his fist with full force, aiming to land a hit on Aecilia's face.

Yet, contrary to his expectations, even with all the power behind his blow—creating ripples in the air—his fist met nothing but empty space.

He lost his balance, hurtling forward like a boulder thrown from a great height, only to collide directly with the wall.

It wasn't just that he had lost his balance; his entire trajectory had been redirected as if something far more potent had propelled his body.

In that fleeting moment, time seemed to slow, allowing him to recall the last few memories before impact.

As he sailed through the air, he remembered how, upon contact with her palm, she had expertly maneuvered his punch.

Utilizing both hands, she had turned her body in such a way that all the force he generated was redirected, sending him hurtling away from her instead of being absorbed by her or the ground.

It felt as if his entire center of mass had been shifted, altering the path of his momentum completely.

Thud

"Guhh!?"