The Villain Professor's Second Chance

Aurelia laughed. She didn't just laugh—she threw her head back, her voice filling the entire room, echoing off the stone walls. The fiery queen didn't bother to hide her amusement as Lyan stood there, his eyes narrowed at the blonde princess as if he was seeing an alien. The poor girl looked absolutely stunned, her eyes wide and mouth slightly open as if the words had failed her.

"Y-You don't remember me?" the blonde princess stammered, her face a mixture of disbelief and something else—hurt, maybe. Her hand rested over her heart, as if she had just received a blow.

"Of course, he doesn't remember you," Aurelia stepped forward, still smiling in that way of hers, the kind that made it impossible to know if she was teasing you or if she genuinely found you ridiculous. She walked to the middle of us, breaking the awkward moment between Lyan and the blonde princess, who still looked frozen in shock.

Aurelia flicked her platinum blonde hair, a glimmer in her fiery eyes. "Well, boys," she began, "I suppose some introductions are in order since someone here seems to have a memory worse than a goldfish." She turned towards Lyan first, a sly smirk crossing her lips. "This," she gestured towards the blonde girl, "is a princess from the Astellia Kingdom.

Different from our world, just to be clear," she added, her tone filled with mock seriousness.

The girl, still looking embarrassed, gave a small nod. "I'm Anastasia," she introduced herself, her voice softer now, a bit unsure. She looked at Lyan as if expecting a reaction, but he remained as stoic as before, his eyes fixed on her.

Aurelia grinned, moving on as if Anastasia's identity meant little more than an aside in her grand story. "And me," she placed a hand over her chest, tilting her head as if to announce her grand arrival, "I am Aurelia. Aurelia of Regaria," she stated simply, conveniently leaving out her title as queen. Her gaze shifted towards me, her eyes narrowing slightly as she paused.

I knew what was coming—Aurelia's sharp mind never missed a beat, and her gaze was too perceptive for my liking. My muscles tensed as I waited, my eyes narrowing as a silent warning.

"This," Aurelia finally continued, pointing towards me, a smile playing at the corners of her lips, "is Dravis. Dravis Granger. An adventurer."

I felt myself ease slightly, though I kept my eyes locked on Aurelia. She gave me a knowing smile, her gaze telling me she had understood omsething else. It's unknown to me if she has know the truth or not. Still, she had done what I wanted—she had kept my identity hidden. I gave her a curt nod, acknowledging her effort.

Anastasia blinked, her eyes darting between me and Aurelia. "I… uh… nice to meet you, Dravis," she said, though she still looked a bit lost.

Aurelia laughed, her hands on her hips as she glanced at Anastasia. "Come on, princess, snap out of it! We've got more important things to worry about than whether some demon remembers you." She gave Lyan a quick glance. "Or whether this bastard even cares about introductions."

Anastasia shook her head, taking a deep breath. "Right, right… Sorry." She looked around, her eyes scanning the dilapidated castle interior. "But really… where are we?" Her tone shifted, a hint of frustration creeping in. "What is this place?"

Lyan shrugged, a nonchalant expression on his face. He rested his sword on his shoulder, his eyes drifting to the crumbling walls. "This?" he echoed, raising an eyebrow. "This is the castle of a certain former demon lord. Already dead, of course." He paused, a hint of a smirk forming on his lips.

"Well, I just killed the demon lord, actually." He tilted his head towards Anastasia.

"Then, suddenly, there's a rush of demons and… you suddenly appeared." He turned to Aurelia, his expression unreadable. "You and your… entourage."

Anastasia pouted, her arms crossing over her chest.

Find your next adventure on empire

"I was hoping for a warmer reception than that," she muttered, clearly not amused by Lyan's attitude.

"And you don't remember me?" she added, a hint of hurt returning to her voice, but Lyan ignored her.

"The world of demons," he said simply, his tone void of any emotion. He turned to me then, his eyes narrowing.

"This place is the demon world."

The words hung in the air, heavy and filled with meaning. The demon world. I frowned, turning the idea over in my mind. Why were we here? What purpose was there in us being dragged to a world filled with demons? My thoughts raced, and then, instinctively, I summoned the quest status board again.

It appeared before me, its usual ethereal glow illuminating only one instruction: Protect the Queen.

I scowled, dismissing it with a wave of my hand. Protect the Queen—that much I had already known. But what was the true nature of the threat here? What dangers lay hidden in this world, waiting for us to uncover them? My instincts screamed that there was more to this place, something I hadn't yet grasped.

Lyan turned to me, a curious look on his face.

"And you?" he asked, his gaze piercing.

"What's your objective here, Dravis?"

I didn't answer immediately, my mind still piecing together the fragments of information. Then, something in Lyan's expression shifted—an intensity that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

"My objective," he said, his voice low, "is to kill the demonic dragon god, Tiamat."

My eyes widened at his words. A dragon god? Not just any dragon, but a demonic dragon god—a creature that existed beyond normal understanding. The implications hit me like a ton of bricks.

"A dragon god…" I muttered, mostly to myself, my mind reeling. "Not just a dragon, but a demonic one at that…" This wasn't just a matter of protecting Aurelia. This was something far bigger—a fight against a creature that, by all accounts, was the stuff of legends.

How long would it take us to defeat a dragon god? Was this even possible? The difficulty was going to be beyond anything we had faced before. I found myself slipping into my own thoughts, analyzing every aspect of this revelation. The risk, the power it would take—and the sacrifices we might have to make.

As my mind whirled, I felt a tap on my back. My head snapped up, and I turned to find Aurelia standing beside me. Her eyes met mine, her gaze steady.

"Don't think too much about it," she said simply, her tone softer than usual. "We can do this."

I didn't reply immediately. I simply gave her a nod, acknowledging her words. She had a confidence that I envied at times—a certainty that no matter what the world threw at her, she could overcome it. It was both admirable and frustrating, the way she seemed to believe nothing could stand in her way.

Lyan's voice broke the moment between us. He had been watching us—his dark eyes flickered between Aurelia, Anastasia, and me. His expression remained unreadable, but there was a hint of curiosity in his gaze.

"The three of you…" Lyan began, his voice calm, "are really humans, aren't you?" He seemed to come to some kind of realization. He shook his head slightly, his expression relaxing, and then pointed towards a door at the far end of the room.

"Let's go," he said, his voice firm, commanding. "We need to find a safe place—this castle isn't secure anymore." He glanced towards the crumbling walls, his gaze sharp. "Staying here is dangerous."

I exchanged a glance with Aurelia, and she simply shrugged.

"Well, lead the way, demon hunter," she said, her tone dripping with her usual sarcastic edge.

Anastasia looked at Lyan, her eyes still holding a hint of frustration, but she nodded, falling into step behind him as he started walking towards the door. I followed, my mind still turning over everything that had just happened, everything that was about to happen.

A dragon god… Protect the Queen… A demon world… Nothing was making sense, but somehow, we were in the middle of it all. I clenched my fists, my resolve strengthening. Whatever it took, whatever challenges lay ahead—I would figure this out. There was no other choice.

Aurelia fell into step beside me, her expression more serious now as she glanced my way.

"Hey, Dravis," she said, her voice lower than before, almost hesitant.

"Just… don't lose that head of yours, okay? I kind of need it to stay sharp." She gave me a half-smile, her fiery eyes meeting mine.

I let out a slow breath, nodding. "You won't need to worry about that," I replied, my voice steady, my gaze forward.

"We'll get through this. Like the quests before,"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Aurelia nodded, satisfied, and we continued on—following Lyan through the crumbling halls of the demon lord's abandoned castle, ready to face whatever came next.

But the questions still lingered in my mind, swirling like a storm that refused to settle. A dragon god, Tiamat. A demon world filled with unknown dangers. And us, standing at the center of it all.

One thing was certain, though. I would protect Aurelia, no matter the cost—because that was my mission, my purpose. And if that meant facing off against a dragon god, then so be it.

I was ready.

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