Ascension Of The Villain

Iyana's head was swirling. She had faced terrifying enemies, political games, and life-threatening danger, but nothing had prepared her for the sheer weirdness coming out of Leila's mouth. And Leila, bless her chaotic soul, didn't seem to notice.

"So, the world I come from—it's, um, different," Leila started, looking all serious.

"I think it's a little too late for me to consider anything normal anymore," Iyana remarked, her voice dry. Seriously, after believing that Leila was from another world, what was left to surprise her?

Little did the poor young lady know what was awaiting her.

Leila's face twisted into a strange grin. "Actually, 'different' doesn't even cover it. It's like, next-level weird—like, people identify as dogs or cats or, honestly, anything, really. Once, I met someone who identified as a peng—"

Iyana blinked rapidly, trying to process. "Excuse me? Humans identify as… animals?!" Her face twisted in sheer horror. This wasn't just strange, this was madness.

Leila waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, yeah. Super normal. Well, not normal normal, but it happens. Anyway! Not the point." She shook her head as if to reset her train of thought, which was already teetering off the rails.

"What I was trying to say is, we have these things in my world called webtoons, which are like... moving pictures? But not really moving? More like drawn stories but online. You follow?"

Iyana stared blankly. "No. Absolutely not."

"Right, right, we will circle back to that. So, there are tons of these webtoons, and a lot of them start with the main character dying—usually by truck-kun—"

"Truck-kun?" Iyana's voice went up an octave. What fresh nonsense is this?

"Oh, yeah, that's just what we call trucks in my world when they... well, y'know, kill people. Happens all the time in webtoons. It's kind of a common trope. Anyway, I was hit by truck-kun—on the way to my graduation, by the way—and then bam! Here I am, in this world."

Iyana's expression was a blend of shock, confusion, and a rapidly rising headache. "Wait... a truck brought you here?"

Leila grinned, as if that explained everything. "Exactly! And now, I am living in this body, which isn't mine, by the way—I was 22, now here I was reborn at the age of 17, which, let me tell you, is super weird. Oh, and I am also a side character in your story."

"Wait—what?!"

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Leila nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! You are the protagonist of my favorite novel! But me? I am just, like, your bestie, y'know, the supporting role. It's cool, I have accepted it.

Better than being the random girl who gets hit by a truck and reincarnated as some villainess, right? Those poor villainesses get way too much hate from their world's people."

Iyana's brain officially stopped working. "So, let me get this straight," she said slowly, rubbing her temples. "You died... in your world... and now you are here, in mine, as a side character? And somehow, I am the main character of this… novel?"

Leila's eyes widened with excitement. "Yes! Exactly! See, you are getting it perfectly! You are like the star of this book—oh, we call it Ro-fan for short, by the way."

"Ro-fan?" Iyana echoed, completely lost.

"Romance-fantasy!" Leila clarified with a little too much enthusiasm. "It's a huge genre. Like, massive. It's literally the thing every transmigrated character ends up in, which is where I come in. So, I am basically the textbook case of someone who dies, reincarnates, and then tries not to mess up the plot. Except I kind of already did when I suggested you erase your memories.

Whoops! But if you think about it, how was I supposed to remember every dialogue from a scene that I didn't emphasize too much on—"

"Wait—so, I never lost my memories in that novel thing?"

Leila slapped her forehead dramatically. "Yes, that's what I am saying! Ugh, I totally messed up. I was just so worried that I might, like, ruin the whole story by doing something stupid, like catching the attention of your love interest—because, you know, that's such a typical trope.

Random modern girl shows up, and suddenly all the hot male leads are like, 'Oh wow, who is this quirky girl?' And I was not about to do that and ruin your life. So, I avoided them."

Iyana blinked, her mind struggling to keep up for the umpteenth time. "Male leads? What are you talking about? I don't have—"

"Oh, you totally do!" Leila interrupted, eyes twinkling. "Like, obviously Easton. He is the male lead. Your love interest, of course."

Iyana's jaw dropped. "Easton is my love interest?! Since when?!"

Leila gave her a look, as if Iyana was the one being dense. "Um, since forever? Excuse me, he is the male protagonist. I mean, c'mon! The cold, brooding prince, secretly in love with the heroine? Total classic Ro-fan vibes."

Iyana looked like she might faint. "Please tell me Easton is not… the man I end up with."

Leila chuckled lightly, waving a hand dismissively. "Who else would it be?" But as she met Iyana's wide-eyed stare, the laughter died on her lips when she saw the horror etched on her face. "Wait… what's with the look? What's going on?"

"I... I don't love Easton. At all," Iyana blurted, her voice thick with disgust.

Leila chuckled again, trying to be casual and positive. "Pfft, that's okay. You will fall in love with him eventually. It's literally fate. Easton is your soulmate." She tossed the word 'soulmate' around like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which flared up an anger within Iyana.

"No, he is not," Iyana's response was quick, sharp, and filled with absolute revulsion. It was like she was trying to spit out poison.

Leila's grin faltered. "He is, Iya, trust me." Her voice turned softer, like she was trying to soothe a wild animal. "I know the ending. He is your happily ever after."

Iyana shot to her feet, pacing as though the room had suddenly become too small. "He can't be!"

Leila's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Wait, what? Why not?"

"Because I am in love with Vyan."

The silence that followed felt like the universe held its breath. Leila stood there, utterly frozen. Then, her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "You… You still love him? Even after the whole memory wipe thing? I thought the point of erasing your memories was to, I don't know, forget him?"

"I did forget him! But…" Iyana let out a frustrated sigh, running her hands over her hair. "I fell in love with him again."

Leila stared at her in total bewilderment. "Oh, my GOD." She groaned, clutching her head like she had just been hit by the world's worst migraine. "I told you! I told you that if you didn't move on from him like, emotionally and healthily, you would just fall for him all over again. Ugh!" She dramatically threw her hands up. "What do we do now? What's going to happen?"

Iyana shot her a look. "Why are you asking me? Aren't you supposed to know?"

Leila's eyes darted around the room as she whispered, "I did know. Until you told me you are not in love with the male lead when the novel is literally about to hit its climax!" She whisper-yelled, like saying it louder would somehow rewrite the rules of fate.

Iyana crossed her arms. "Okay, but what is the problem? So I am in love with Vyan. Big deal. Everything else is the same, right? The world is not going to end just because I fell for the second male lead."

Leila's face went blank. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? I have read plenty of romance novels, too. There is always a second male lead who loves the heroine just as much as the male lead, if not more."

Leila's tone shifted, a cautious edge creeping into her voice. "Iya... why… why do you think Vyan is the second male lead?"

Iyana gave her a baffled look. "Isn't it obvious? Because he loves me." She paused, narrowing her eyes at Leila. "And don't you dare tell me he didn't love me in the novel, so he doesn't love me for real now and all that blah blah. Because I just know he did. He loved me in the novel as well.

And now, he loves me in this world, too—"

Leila let out a small, almost pitying laugh as she stood up, meeting Iyana eye-to-eye. "Oh, he loves you, alright. He loved you in the novel too."

Iyana folded her arms with a triumphant smirk. "See? There you go—"

"But—" Leila interjected, her voice tight with unease.

Iyana's hand shot up like a stop sign. "No. I don't want to hear any 'buts.' I hate buts. Just… don't."

Leila grabbed Iyana's arm before she could storm off. "Vyan," she said carefully, her words slower now, as if trying to brace Iyana for a meteor crash, "is the main villain of the novel."

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