Eh, well… what the hell am I supposed to do?
I was standing in the auction site that my family runs. The building itself was massive, built from dark stone and polished marble as banners of House Voss hung from tall pillars.
I am sure the place was crowded with merchants, nobles, collectors, and shady buyers whispering to each other behind masks and wine glasses. Though it was usually a slave auction.
Yes, some merchants worked with us. There were rare artifacts and treasures that they managed to drag from ruins or distant lands. Sometimes enchanted weapons, sometimes ancient relics that were sealed in glass boxes. But always…always, the main items were slaves.
Children with special conditions, demi-humans with animal ears and tails, even demon offsprings with faint horns or strange glowing eyes.
I had seen some standing inside iron cages. Some were chained to small stages while buyers inspected them like livestock.
I never liked the way the crowd talked loudly, bidding numbers, arguing with brokers, laughing as if this was nothing more than entertainment. It was complete chaos, a loud storm of voices and clinking coins, and I never liked to attend this damn thing.
To be exact, I never attended after I became self-aware that I am… actually a character inside a game.
Not just a normal character either. They called me V001, Alexius Voss. Firstborn son of Duke Voss. The proud heir of one of the most powerful noble houses in the empire.
And the first god damn villain the protagonist has to plunge to the ground.
I dragged a hand down my face as the headache returned. I remembered it all. I remembered the previous ninety-nine lives of mine. Ninety-nine different attempts, different paths, different choices… yet the result always ended the same.
Dead.
No matter the path I chose, I always ended up dead. I couldn't avoid the storyline even if I were self-aware. Even if I tried to change something. Even if I tried to run away from everything.
Eventually, the hero would kill me.
Or I would die at the hands of other villains.
Yes, the world I belong to is called Hunt the Demons. According to the storyline, this was a world rich with magic.
Mana flowed through the air like invisible rivers. Ancient forests hid monsters and spirits. Kingdoms rose and fell under the shadows of powerful mages.
Fantasy creatures lived here too, elves with silver hair and long lifespans, dragons sleeping in mountains of gold, and yes… demons crawling from dark rifts beyond the world.
And in that grand story filled with heroes, legends, and destiny…
I was nothing more than the tutorial villain meant to die first.
According to the lore, in the past, there were demonic presences known as the Seven Monarchs of Hell. But somehow they died. Somehow their souls traveled far across the world. And somehow they ended up inside humans.
Don't ask me how. How the hell would I know?
The scholars in this world have argued about it for centuries.
Some say the gods sealed them. Some say the monarchs killed each other. Others claim their souls scattered across the land and attached themselves to newborn humans.
Whatever the truth is, the result is the same: those vessels are out there somewhere, living normal lives… until the demon inside them wakes up.
Well, the problem was this.
I, Alexius, bullied the hero when he was young. That means before the main story even begins. The classic setup of a stupid noble brat tormenting the poor kid who later grows up to become the righteous hero.
Right now, I am in my one hundredth and last chance of life. Five years before the main story begins. At this point in time, I am supposed to be a twenty-year-old brat who enjoys bullying people, wasting money, and acting like the world belongs to him.
Which, unfortunately… was very accurate to the original Alexius Voss.
Well, I was also the original owner of this slave auction. This entire place technically belongs to me.
But after I became self-aware, I stopped coming here and let my second brother continue running it. The less I am connected to this place, the better.
Simply because I don't want the hero's wrath.
And sometimes… I actually managed to avoid the hero's storyline completely. In a few of my past lives, I never even met him again. I thought that meant I escaped fate.
But then… always…
The villains would kill me. No matter what I did, one of them would eventually appear and end my life.
So you know… I thought and thought. Again and again, life after life, I kept thinking why. Why the hell do the villains always come after me?
And in the last life, as I was getting killed by the vessel of the lord of wild, I finally understood the reason.
Because the villains…
Were part of the auction.
They were sold here.
Bought here.
Chained here.
Treated worse than animals here.
Somewhere in this very system my family built, some of the future villains once stood on these stages with collars around their necks.
I don't know how many of the seven vessels passed through this place. Maybe one. Maybe more.
But I know at least one thing for sure.
Right now, inside this damn auction…
There is a vessel of a demon.
The future Demon Lord of the Wild.
I sighed as I adjusted my collar, straightening the stiff fabric of my noble coat, then stepped inside.
The moment I put my feet inside, the guards immediately bowed respectfully and greeted me.
"Welcome, Young Master Alexius," they said.
I just forced a smile.
Don't greet me, brat… as if I don't know you become a sidekick for the hero in the future.
My eyes shifted toward the young, newly appointed guard who was smiling at me like an obedient puppy.
Casius Blake.
Trust me, this guy's character archetype was a smiling demon. The type who always smiles politely while planning something terrifying in the background. Even the hero himself was scared of him sometimes.
Well… I should just ignore him.
As I walked down the fancy corridor, I passed by tall lanterns burning with soft blue mana flames. Expensive paintings hung on the walls.
Soon, I approached the heavy double doors that stood majestically in front of me. The doors were carved from dark oak and reinforced with black steel patterns shaped like coiling serpents. Four guards stood before them like statues.
"Welcome, Young Master Alexius," they said in unison.
"Open the door," I said, putting my hands inside my pants pockets, trying to act calm and like the stubborn bastard I was supposed to be.
The guards looked confused.
"Uh… sire, you should probably go to the organizing com-"
"Oi," I snapped with a sharp tone as I cut him off. "The auction is mine, so I will do whatever I want. Open the damn door. Are you deaf?"
Trust me, even though I acted defiant, it scared me.
Oh my god… what if one of these guards is also a vessel? What if I just snapped at a future demon lord and they cut down my tongue right here?