I Really Am A Villain
Ch. 375 - Strange Island

"The great war had reached its final stage. Our Lord went alone to negotiate with those so-called righteous alliances on behalf of our Ancient Demon Race. But we all knew, you would never compromise. That day, you left by yourself, wearing your battle robe. Blood and fire raged behind you. You listened to the war song from the distant sky and stepped toward the edge of the heavens."

Hearing Paimon’s words, Xu Zimo fell silent.

This battle robe felt deeply familiar, as if it were something tied to his blood.

Like it had always belonged to him.

He gently stroked the crystal box and asked, "Is there a way to open it?"

"This seems to be a seal from the Blessed Epoch. Such seals are unfamiliar to people of the Lightyear Epoch," Paimon said thoughtfully. "Unless you find a Shadowstone."

"What’s that?" Xu Zimo asked.

"A type of crystal that can unlock any seal in the world, but it can only be used once," Paimon explained. "Once it’s used to undo a seal, it's useless. That makes it extremely rare."

Xu Zimo frowned slightly and put the crystal box with the robe away. He made a mental note to remember the Shadowstone.

He and Paimon left the cave. At that moment, Paimon looked around with a strange expression.

"I feel like I’ve been here before," he murmured.

"You’ve been here?" Xu Zimo asked.

"It feels familiar… but I can’t recall anything clearly. Let’s keep moving. Maybe I’m overthinking it."

Paimon hid himself in the void, and Xu Zimo continued walking along the ridge past the cave. The island was covered with dark-element trees.

After walking for quite a while, Xu Zimo was certain, this island was dead. He hadn’t seen a single living creature.

The trees were long dead, lifeless and dry, barely hanging on. He looked up, the sun above hung in the sky like a flat disc, casting soft light down.

Up ahead, the sounds of battle broke the silence of the forest and caught his attention. He pushed through dead branches and bushes. A group of people were chasing and attacking a young woman.

She seemed to be at the peak of the Paragon Meridian Realm. Her attackers were mixed in strength, some at Desolate Meridian, some at Paragon Meridian. The woman was badly wounded, her white dress torn in many places by weapons. Sweat dripped from her forehead, soaking the hair by her ears.

When she saw Xu Zimo, her eyes lit up. She suddenly shouted, “Husband, come save me!”

At her words, some in the group turned their sharp gazes toward Xu Zimo. Without hesitation, they charged at him with weapons, clearly preferring to kill the wrong person than let someone escape.

Xu Zimo frowned but didn’t bother explaining. His sword, Shadow Tyrant, dropped from the sky, carrying the thunder of the void, and annihilated them.

The ground cracked open, dust flying into the air!

Seeing this scene, the remaining few were stunned. They turned and ran without a word.

Xu Zimo snorted. Shadow Tyrant slashed again. A blade aura erupted, cutting through layers of void and carving a massive rift through space. The crashing sound of the explosion echoed as the void collapsed. The fleeing men screamed briefly before being consumed by the blade energy.

…

The woman stood frozen, watching Xu Zimo walk toward her.

She looked terrified, trying to compose herself. Then she smiled and said, “Sir, please forgive my rudeness. In a moment of desperation, I blurted that out. If you want to punish me, I will accept it.”

"Accept it?" Xu Zimo said with a smile, pinching her chin. "How?"

"I leave that to you," the woman said shyly, lowering her head with a red face, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Very well," Xu Zimo nodded.

Then he suddenly squeezed her chin with great force. As the woman screamed, the bones and flesh of her jaw were crushed into powder. Xu Zimo grabbed her hair and slammed her head into the ground, smashing it like a balloon with a single punch.

"Pretty face, rotten soul," Xu Zimo laughed softly as he looked at the body.

The people chasing her must have believed she was carrying something valuable. Xu Zimo searched her body and eventually found a key hidden inside her white dress.

The key’s material was unknown, wrapped in a faint black mist. It felt cold to the touch.

Xu Zimo didn’t know what it was for, but he stored it in his ring.

Continuing onward, he encountered all kinds of people along the way. Everyone was focused on seeking opportunity, no one bothered talking.

As night fell, the island felt increasingly eerie. The dead trees around him looked like silent, howling monsters with clawing branches.

It was deathly quiet. The island felt completely out of place with the rest of the world. As if time and space were separate, like he stood in an isolated dimension.

Xu Zimo chopped down the surrounding dead trees and built a fire. The winter night was freezing.

He held his blade and leaned against a tree by the fire, closing his eyes to rest.

Around midnight, a haunting song woke him. In the eerie darkness, the song sounded jarring, like a duet.

A woman’s voice full of rage, a man’s voice full of sorrow. The sound came from all directions, impossible to locate.

As Xu Zimo listened, a carriage slowly approached from the distance. At the same time, the clouds blocking the moon drifted aside. Moonlight gently shone down.

The carriage was ancient in style, covered with dark red curtains. The horse pulling it was strange, Xu Zimo had never seen its kind.

In front of the carriage sat a coachman in green robes, head lowered so his face was hidden. Around the carriage stood four figures in black, two on each side.

They each held a basket, sprinkling shiny items along the path as they walked.