Monster.
This wasn't the first time I heard someone calling me this word.
I did terrible things in my past life – instigating fights between two friends, manipulating or gaslighting my girlfriend, and bullying a boy in high school to the point he jumped off the roof.
Oh yeah, I never talk about that last part because I'm not proud of it. Thankfully, the boy survived the fall and only broke his leg.
Hey, in my defense, that boy wasn't your innocent nerd-type guy. Oh, no. He used to be a bully himself. I just tried to give him a taste of his own medicine.
Or at least that's what I tell myself. I took it too far and pushed him to the point of committing suicide.
The scary part is – I didn't feel guilt.
Don't get me wrong. I felt remorse but not guilt.
The scariest part is – I did it for fun.
And instead of feeling ashamed of my actions when I heard he jumped off the roof, I was bummed out that I didn't get to see him jump.
I know I'm not a good person.
And there were many times when people found that out.
Some people found out because I let them in; some just thought rationally about the situations I caused by manipulating them and traced the blame back to me, while others were more skeptical from the start.
Either way, when they found out, they only had one thing to call me – Monster.
I'm sure that even Amelia, who has seen a glimpse of what I am capable of, thinks of me as some kind of a monster.
Of course, I don't care about it.
Unlike in my past life, I'm not doing what I'm doing for fun. My survival is on the line here, and I'll do whatever I can to survive.
Even if it means sacrificing the whole world. Better them than me.
I raised an eyebrow at Quinn's remark. "You call me a monster? Look around. Who summoned all these shadow monsters?"
"They're not monsters," Quinn corrected, his eyes scanning the creatures made of shadow surrounding us. "And you know what I mean. Your genius is unsettling."
"Is that a compliment?" I shot a smirk, but my expression quickly turned serious at the next moment. "But anyway. Now I want you to seriously answer one of my questions. Why are you working with Kai?"
This is something that has been bothering me since I discovered Quinn's identity as the second traitor during the mock war.
And earlier, I also saw a flicker of fear in his eyes when he mentioned Kai.
In the novel, Kai was just a minor villain, meant to be a greater challenge than Lucas but smaller than Quinn.
After all, Quinn was meant to be the last obstacle to stand between the heroes and the final boss of the story – the Vampire Monarch.
So why was a future villain of Quinn's caliber scared of a minor character whose role was to serve as a stepping stone for the hero and his allies?
Just when I was immersed in those puzzling thoughts, I saw a troubling look on Quinn's face.
"He, uh… He knows about Shiya," he said, stuttering.
What?!
Wait, what?!
At this point in the story, no one should know about Quinn's necrophilic love life aside from me!
Okay, I know I worded it weirdly, but that's not the point.
How in the world Kai Wiseman, a throwable character, knows a fact that shouldn't be public at this point in the story?!
"How did he-" before I could ask him that, Quinn began speaking again.
"And when I tried to confront him, he…." Quinn averted his gaze and looked away. It was clear whatever he was trying to say was something that had been weighing on him. "When I tried to confront him, he single-handedly defeated me and my legion of shadow slaves."
"..."
My mind went blank for a couple of seconds when I heard that. Did Quinn just say that he utterly lost to a side character?!
He lost to someone other than Nero in a battle of strength?!
I mean, I defeated him too but to do that, I had to severely nerf him beforehand. And even then, I barely managed to put him down.
And he says that Kai Wiseman, who was only supposed to be a small-time character in the grand plot of the overall story, defeated him head-on with his shadow legion fighting alongside him?!
"Fuuuu."
Releasing a long breath, I composed myself and aimed to approach this situation with a calm and logical mindset.
It was crucial for me to systematically assess all potential variables, weigh countless probabilities, and meticulously examine this new information.
In just under a second, several deductions appeared in my mind. Albeit all of them were baseless right now, I could see any of them being true.
It's too early to conclude anything, but I think if Quinn is being truthful, then that could only mean two things:
Either Kai is a transmigrator like me or he is a hidden boss.
Personally, I am leaning more toward the second case.
According to what I have seen of Quinn in this world and read about him in the novel, he isn't the type of person to fall to the dark side just to gain strength.
I mean, I know Quinn was jealous of Nero's power and potential, but it was not to the extreme where he would've shaken hands with the Vampires.
Especially when it was the Vampires who killed the love of his life.
While reading the novel, I just thought that the author created a plot hole by messing up the continuity in Quinn's character personality to add an element of shock and surprise for the readers.
But now that I have experienced such discontinuities myself – like the gap in Lucas' backstory – I don't think they were plot holes anymore.
Quinn had never done some of the things he did in the story… unless someone was manipulating him– pulling his strings and making him dance to their will from behind the pages.
A hidden boss.
I see.
The dots connect now. Many things that I discarded as plot holes while reading the novel make sense now.
This changes my plans.
I can't ignore Kai now as I had planned to do. I'll have to make my move soon.
As I was in the middle of those thoughts while stroking my chin, Quinn called out to me.
"Anyway," slowly, a crooked grin formed on his face. "I think it's time I bring you to Kai."
"....."
…Hah!
I knew it.
From the start, this was a trap. This guy had no intentions of switching sides.
