"Gris, I know very well that there is no intention to be a villain in your heart. Your insane father is the one who pushed you into committing those terrible things. Yet, are you determined to atone for all your sins?"
The gray-haired man nodded slowly, his once somber blue eyes filled with newfound hope.
"I implore you, guide me in absolving the sins that weigh heavily upon my soul!"
The golden-haired man smiled, extending a poisoned dagger to Gris. His previously kind smile twisted into a terrifying grin as his lips uttered unexpected words, "End it, Gris! The only path to redemption lies in your death."
Caught in a trance by those chilling words, Gris took the dagger without a moment's hesitation and stabbed it right through his chest.
The venom coursing through the blade acted with unnerving swiftness. Within a mere ten seconds, Gris collapsed to the ground, his body wracked by violent convulsions.
His eyes, usually filled with arrogance, rolled upward and left stark white eyeballs accompanied by uncontrollable tears streaming down his cheeks.
Every tear held the weight of intense guilt, a touching tribute to the sins that tormented his conscience. His teary face was a canvas painted with a symphony of sorrow and redemption.
A heart-wrenching scream filled the air, echoing throughout every corner of the execution hall. Hundreds of eyes stared in tense anticipation. People had gathered to witness Griswalden Silverth's death.
The ecstatic cheers of the audience broke the eerie calm. Satisfaction was evident on their faces as they watched the tragic end of a cruel villain.
In his final moments, Gris lay in humiliation, closing the dark chapter that had long haunted society.
"Long live, His Majesty Lux!"
"May the God of Justice bless His Majesty Lux!"
"Longevity to His Majesty Lux!"
***
Aiden furrowed his brow with a tense expression, his eyes glued to the screen of his device as he read the gut-wrenching death scene that shook his heart.
Griswalden Silverth, his favorite villain in "Rise of the Low-Class Hero," had taken his last breath.
"What is this?" Aiden muttered in disbelief. "No way, Gris just died like that! There's gotta be a plot twist behind his death!"
Rise of the Low-Class Hero is a web novel about people in the medieval era facing the apocalypse. It all began with the deities granting magical powers to humans, but instead, it led them to harm nature and hurt each other.
In a brief but pivotal moment, the Goddess of Mercy successfully implored the God of Destruction to spare humanity from annihilation. As a manifestation of her compassion, she bestowed extraordinary powers upon selected individuals, charging them with the sacred duty to save the world from impending doom.
In a malevolent twist, the God of Destruction formed the Doomsday Committee. Handpicking the most malevolent among humanity, he endowed them with dark powers and unparalleled authority, empowering them to arrange the world's ruin through the unleashing of monsters.
Discussions about the destruction of the earth were not only determined by the Goddess of Mercy and the God of Destruction. The other deities also intervened.
They were divided into three sides: pro, con, and neutral. The pros gave power to the Doomsday Committee, while the cons helped the 'Human Heroes.'
What about the neutrals? Some favored no one, while others gave power equally to heroes and villains. But as time went on, most of them began to take sides.
Griswalden Silverth entered the stage as a promising villain. Known as a talented villain with the rare ability Route of Death, he could accurately predict the best way to take someone's life.
On the virtuous side stood Lux de Amarthia, the protagonist endowed with the extraordinary gift of Rhetoric Dominance. Those who experienced any emotion toward him, pity or love, found themselves swayed and captivated by his words.
His influence went beyond the ordinary, shaping sentiments and perceptions like a philosopher with his rhetoric.
With the help of Rhetoric Dominance, Lux managed to capture the hearts of influential people, forming an unshakable alliance to protect his vulnerable self. This allowed him, a low-class hero, to reach the pinnacle and earn the respect of many.
"No matter how powerful Rhetoric Dominance is, Gris shouldn't be getting hit by that!"
Aiden still could not accept the sudden death of his favorite character. With a heart torn between hope and disappointment, he continued reading the web novel, believing the author would bring Gris back in the next chapter.
But all his hopes were dashed when the author decided to truly end Gris's fate. The story ended with Lux earning the title of "Sovereign Serenity" after successfully overcoming all the villains with his alliance.
Like many happy-ending stories, the world was no longer plagued by villains or other criminal threats. Lux was described as enjoying a peaceful life with his harem and finishing his adventure in perfect happiness.
"Ugh, seriously! That author is such a jerk. I shouldn't have wasted my time on this story!"
Aiden captured everyone's attention at the bus stop, eliciting surprised expressions from onlookers. They had already found Aiden strange since he talked to himself.
He did not pay any heed to their reactions, though. Fuming with rage, he posted his thoughts in the comments section of the last chapter.
[What the heck, man? No heads up about the harem bomb you dropped, and cool, I can roll with that. But killing Gris? Seriously, you gotta step up your writing game. At least give his death some mad epic vibes. Come on!]
As Aiden typed his comment, he had minimal expectations of a fast response from the author. Therefore, when the reply came so quickly, he was stunned.
Wasn't the author supposed to be working or something?
[I'm willing to give you a chance if you think you can outperform Gris Silverth.]
'Wait, what does that even mean?' thought Aiden, assuming the author was joking in response to his anger.
He decided not to consider it, as he had an important schedule that evening. Another notice popped up on his phone.
[Rocky: Are you seriously gonna leave like that? At least swing by her grave once. Man, you gotta have some heart.]
Aiden turned off his phone, ignoring the message from someone named Rocky.
A few seconds later, the bus he was expecting came to a stop. He calmly let a few people board before him. But his heart started pounding as he got closer to the bus entrance.
"Arghhhh, i-it's freaking hurts...!"
Aiden felt a piercing pain in his chest, causing him to lose balance and fall to the ground. The people around him turned their attention, not with judgmental looks as before but with curious and sympathetic expressions.
Three of them made desperate attempts to help Aiden, but their efforts were in vain because Aiden himself had no clue what was happening to him.
Aiden had always maintained his health in every way possible and had never experienced such intense pain before.
In a panic, one of them tried to gather his remaining composure, "Is this a heart attack? Get an ambulance here, now!"
"I've dialed the ambulance."
"We gotta go. We ain't doctors or anything."
"Yeah, maybe that's for the best," the other said, but uncertainty was evident in his voice.
Aiden's frustration grew, and he silently uttered curses under his breath. A sense of helplessness washed over him as he came to the realization that no one around could offer direct assistance.
Each passing moment felt like an agonizing eternity, and doubt crept into his mind, questioning whether the ambulance would reach him in time to ease the tension.
An enigmatic force gripped Aiden as if an unseen hand were wrenching his heart from its moorings. Was it the ethereal touch of the Grim Reaper solemnly executing his duty?
Indeed, the confirmation arrived swiftly as a torrent of weakness flowed through Aiden's body moments later, plunging him into an abyss of darkness. The final echoes reaching his ears were the frantic voices of onlookers demanding information about his condition.
"I'm literally dying. How could I be okay?" was the last thought that crossed his mind.