My Dad Is a Popular Villain in a Comic Book - Chapter 8

The rat that arrived before him in the moonlight was, judging by its demonic energy, merely a low-level monster. Such monsters usually possessed the intelligence of a human child, their thinking simple, and apart from their demonic aura, they weren’t much different from ordinary animals. Weak low-level monsters couldn’t even necessarily win a fight against wild beasts.

Yet, as this rat spoke, its tone was that of an adult.

“You went to persuade that man to join us. What was the result?”

Jade knew that this rat was being controlled by some unknown monster to communicate with him. That monster hid in the shadows, spreading rumors among the monsters while never revealing its true face. Even though it was a fellow monster controlling another, Jade disliked such types.

“Failed. What about the others?”

“Is that so?” The rat’s tone wasn’t surprised by this outcome. “The others are all dead. I assumed the man was in a weakened state; I didn’t expect him to still be that powerful.” The rat pondered cautiously, lost in thought.

“Are you… using us to probe him?” Jade couldn’t help but ask.

“To think you’d ask such a question did that man say something?” The rat sounded surprised, as if seeing an idiot finally get a clue. “I merely told you of that child’s ability and location. Didn’t you all rush there one after another of your own accord, hoping to obtain the soothing medicine?”

That was true.

But thinking back on the dream he’d just had, Jade felt increasingly disgruntled. He didn’t know what to make of that dream perhaps it was just a case of “thinking by day and dreaming by night,” his own imaginings of what might happen if Albin were captured.

Could such a situation satisfy me? Of course not!

“You said before that the child was the Demon Race’s only hope, and that having him as a blood slave would save other monsters. That was a lie, too, wasn’t it!” Jade was dissatisfied. “The child is so small and so weak; it wouldn’t be enough for all the monsters to feed on.” Whether Albin was human or monster, or however many people he was shared among, he realized that this path was a dead end.

The rat responded coldly: “The flesh and blood of a mere child could never save all the monsters. I never said I wanted all monsters to enjoy the soothing medicine. That was just your misunderstanding; you were too wishful, too naive.”

The rat’s attitude only further confirmed Jade’s dream. Jade angrily lashed his tail against the ground, making the fallen leaves rustle.

“Liar!” He blurted out the situation from his dream: “You just want to use him to control a portion of the monsters!”

The low-level monster rat, the Albin from the dream, the companions who had all died this time—everyone was being manipulated by him. Once he mastered the soothing medicine, what would become of the other monsters being controlled? Would everyone end up “broken” like the Albin in the dream? Jade still felt a sense of dread just thinking about it.

He doesn’t care about his companions at all; he’s been using them from start to finish! This isn’t for the good of all!

“You liar! I won’t listen to your words anymore!” Jade said viciously. “With Zeman protecting that child, you won’t succeed!” He realized that even though the guy knew Zeman was in a weakened state, he only dared to manipulate everything from the shadows, sending other monsters to probe while he remained cowardly and shrinking back. He’s a cowardly bastard. If he could ever drag the guy’s true form out, he would surely whip him to pieces.

The rat remained calm in the face of his accusations. “To think you’ve decided to stand on their side. Then, you are no longer of any use.”

Before Jade could react, the rat erupted with powerful demonic energy that a low-level monster shouldn’t possess. Gloomy, viscous energy instantly enveloped him like a cluster of purple-black venom. When the energy dispersed, only the lifeless corpse of a green snake remained on the ground.

“Stupid mid-level monsters like you are a dime a dozen.”

After confirming Jade’s death, the rat’s mature demeanor vanished, returning to that of an ordinary monster rat. The rat squeaked, gnawed on Jade’s corpse, and left shortly after.

A long time passed, and the sun had risen. The broken snake carcass on the ground writhed, leaving behind a snake skin.

Jade revived. He felt fortunate that the rat didn’t know about his ability. “I’m no mid-level monster; I’m high-level!” He held his head high, though he quickly drooped it again due to his severe injuries, scouring the area for insects and earthworms to replenish his energy.

There was plenty of food this time, and having successfully replenished his energy, he began to feel melancholic. To think that the things in the dream were all real. Thinking of Albin’s state in the dream, Jade gritted his teeth and decided he had to go warn him to beware of the rat.

Dragging his heavy body and unable to spare time for rest, he hurried toward the hunting cabin while his demonic energy was still recovering. He crawled cautiously near the cabin, waiting for Zeman to be away, and used the tip of his tail to roll a pebble and knock on the door.

“Who is it?” Albin poked his head out, looking left and right, but saw no one.

【Down here. 】

Looking down, he finally saw the tiny green snake.

“Jade! Thank goodness, I thought I wouldn’t see you today!” Albin had just begun to rejoice when he noticed Jade’s body was even more severely injured; in many places, his scales were gone, and the bloody flesh was still stuck with grass clippings and mud.

“What happened to you?” Albin carefully picked him up. The mere sight of his wounds made Albin feel the pain himself, and he hurried him inside to clean the wounds with warm water.

【I encountered a nasty rat. 】 Jade mentioned the encounter: 【You must be very careful in the future of any rat with a black cross star in its eyes like mine; you absolutely must not believe its twisted lies! 】

“Eh? Why?”

Since there was no medicine, Albin tried to heal him with magic power but failed, so he could only bandage him with cloth strips, tying a bow at the end. Jade, wearing the bow, said solemnly: “He’s targeting you; he wants to capture and use you. You’ll end up covered in wounds it’ll be miserable.”

Albin was stunned for a moment. That sounds, exactly like the human trash who adopts me in the original story, right?

Albin had originally thought that by escaping the previous fire, he wouldn’t meet the “trash,” but it seemed he had already been targeted. Perhaps the “trash” had been adopting him with a goal in mind from the very beginning.

But why? Albin asked, puzzled: “What does he want to use me for?” Albin couldn’t fathom what he had that was worth using.

【I don’t know, either. 】 Jade turned his head, seemingly examining the bow behind him, not daring to tell Albin about the soothing medicine. For one thing, he felt a bit guilty; for another, he felt this child was too defenseless! If he knew the truth, he might not even need the rat’s instigation before foolishly letting others drink his blood.

To verify this, Jade tentatively asked: 【If… and I mean if, there were many, many people in the world who were sick and going mad, and they would hurt others when they went mad, but you had the ability to soothe their condition and stop them would you save them? For example, if your blood could soothe their madness. 】

“Of course I’d save them!” Albin said without hesitation. “If my blood could not only save patients but also protect other innocent people, then of course I’d donate blood to save them!”

Jade: …

We’re doomed; this kid really is that stupid!

【It’ll be very, very painful, you know, and it will last a long time. 】 Jade threatened.

Albin was most afraid of pain; hearing this, he was indeed a little scared, but still asked: “How painful? Is it more painful than dying? Will I die?”

【Probably not. 】

“Then of course I’d still save them!” Albin puffed out his chest. He was a person who had experienced death!

【You idiot! 】 Jade felt his own conscience throbbing with pain.

Suddenly scolded, Albin looked innocent, his red eyes blank and confused: “Why are you scolding me?”

Jade straightened up on the table and lectured him from a high position.

【You idiot! How much blood can you have? You won’t be able to save many people that way. 】 He seemed to have forgotten that he, too, had once naively believed that one child could save an entire race.

“I see!” Albin suddenly realized it was a trick question! He looked at his slender arms and nodded deeply: “You’re right.” If there were many people to save, his little bit of blood certainly wouldn’t be enough. “Then what’s the right answer?”

Jade’s aura softened. 【I don’t know, either. 】

Albin mused: “Then can we research why my blood can save people and then develop a special medicine?”

Jade was stunned. 【How would you research it? 】

“I’m just a child, I don’t know, but it must require very advanced technology.” Albin imagined the laboratories he had seen on TV and in various advertisements.

【Technology? What’s that? 】 Jade shook his head, confused.

Albin couldn’t explain it clearly: “Anyway… it’s something not available here.”

Jade drooped his head, disappointed.

Albin added: “Then we could prevent everyone from getting sick in the first place, or directly solve the reason for the sickness?”

The curse came from the gods how could that be solved? Even if the curse were temporarily removed, it would enrage the gods and bring down even more terrifying curses, right? Unless… we get rid of the gods themselves?

This thought suddenly popped into his head, giving Jade a huge fright. While monsters resented the gods, they were gods, after all; no monster had ever thought they could defeat the gods. Some monsters even chose to devoutly worship the gods, begging them for forgiveness.

Albin asked, puzzled: “Why did Jade ask me this? Is it because my blood.”

【Just asking! Testing you, that’s all! 】 Jade quickly interrupted his conjecture. In any case, Albin must never know the truth!

Albin didn’t dwell on the topic. He brought a honey-roasted rabbit leg to his patient, Jade. “This is the rabbit leg my father roasted last night; it’s super delicious! It’s even better than the bread and cheese you had last time. I saved one for you; you should taste it quickly!”

【Why are you being so good to me? 】 He cleaned his wounds and fed him. This kid has no idea I wanted to eat him before! He’s clueless! Clueless! Clueless! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!

“Because I think Jade is my friend.” Albin blinked. “Didn’t Jade come to tell me about the bad guy? Thank you for warning me.”

【Who’s your friend! 】 Jade turned away, 【Are you trying to bribe me? 】 He was a dignified high-level monster! How could he be swayed by a mere sugar-coated bribe! Besides, he still didn’t know if this child was human or monster.

Albin looked at him with sparkling eyes and asked directly: “Can I?”

As if attacked, the frequency of Jade’s tail-wagging increased abnormally. N-no matter what, anyone who can talk to me must be a companion! He avoided Albin’s gaze and said reservedly: 【If this rabbit leg is delicious, then I’ll reluctantly grant your request. 】

Under Albin’s expectant gaze, he took a bite of the rabbit leg and was instantly amazed, devouring it greedily.

Albin rested his elbows on the tabletop, smiling as he supported his chin while watching him: “Hehe, my father’s craftsmanship is pretty good, isn’t it!”

【Well, I guess it’s not bad. 】 Jade kept eating without looking up. He threw the remaining meat-laden bone into the air and swallowed it, bone and all, in one gulp. 【By the way, who is your father? 】

“It’s Mr. Zeman, of course. He agreed to be my father last night!” Albin thought for a moment, “You probably haven’t met him yet.”

Jade, currently gorging himself, suddenly choked, freezing as if he’d consumed poison.

Zeman?!

Is this the rabbit leg roasted by that terrifying Apocalyptic Demon Dragon?

In a daze, he had an illusion that he, too, had been brushed with honey and skewered on a branch, set over a fire, and the one roasting him was Zeman.

Albin grew nervous: “What’s wrong? You’re so small, how can you eat bones like that?”

Jade regained his composure and swallowed the food in his mouth. 【I’m fine. My ability is [Gluttony], which allows me to easily devour prey many times my own size. 】

Seeing that the snake’s body didn’t bulge after swallowing the rabbit leg, Albin finally felt relieved.

At the mention of Zeman, Albin thought of one more thing.

“If I’m being targeted by bad guys, Father will be in danger, too, won’t he…” His brows furrowed, and he even felt a twinge of regret: “It’s all my fault for wanting to recognize him as my father.”

Jade:  ?

Who are you saying is in danger? Is it the strongest human who slaughtered his way through the Abyss and became a nightmare for monsters, or the future Apocalyptic Demon Dragon who will be feared by all of humanity?

Jade was about to tell him Zeman’s true identity when he opened his mouth and suddenly thought:

If he finds out Zeman’s true identity now, and later finds out the truth about the soothing medicine from elsewhere, this child will definitely offer his blood to Zeman! He’ll be a sheep entering a dragon’s mouth!

No! I can’t tell him!

Jade cleared his throat and said: 【Don’t worry, the rat’s target is only you. And the rat is a coward; as long as you are by Zeman’s side, he won’t dare show himself in front of you. 】

“Eh? Really?”

【Of course! So, you must never leave Zeman. 】

As it stood, Zeman didn’t pose any threat to Albin; on the contrary, he would protect the child. Albin felt relieved hearing this. So that human trash was just a trafficker who only dared to pick up lone children.

“Thank you, Jade!” Albin reached out and touched his snake head. “Are you really unwilling to come with me? My father and I are leaving here today, and I might not be able to see you again in the future.”

The dangerous high-level monster lowered its head and allowed him to stroke it.

【We will meet again. 】

After leaving the hunting cabin, Jade found a place to continue resting and recuperating. He was very curious about the realistic dream he’d had and longed to return to that world to see what had happened to the child.

He drifted into a deep sleep and found himself arriving at the same place, just as he’d hoped. But judging by the changes in the forest scenery, it seemed to have been quite a while since the last dream.

[The Green Snake] snuck into the manor once again. It seemed he had come several times already, and he looked quite familiar with the path. As he entered, however, he saw [Albin] cutting his wrist, and he hurriedly tried to dissuade him: 【What are you doing! I told you I don’t want your blood! 】

The weak [Albin] noticed his presence, caught the blood in a container, and said to him: “No, this is my own research.”

【Research? 】

“Yes, I want to research a way to save all monsters. If I can do that, Father will surely like me even more.”

[The Green Snake] was also somewhat excited: 【Is there a way? 】

“There hasn’t been any progress with blood yet; it seems I can only start by unraveling the curse. But there are too few books about the gods on the manor’s bookshelves. Jade, could you bring me some relevant books when you come next time?”

[The Green Snake] wilted instantly, whispering: 【I can understand human speech, but I don’t know how to read human writing. 】

In short, he was illiterate and couldn’t tell which books the other party wanted.

[Albin] chuckled: “It’s okay, I’ll ask Father for them next time; Father will surely give them to me as a gift.”

【What gift, he’ll just demand more of your blood. 】 [The Green Snake] grumbled with dissatisfaction, then asked, 【What is this way to break the curse you’re talking about? 】

“To break the curse, one must inevitably deal with the gods, so I’ve been thinking: it would be better if the gods didn’t exist.”

“—I want to find a way to slay the gods.”

[The Green Snake] froze.

【Slay… slay the gods? 】

“Because it seems like the only method that hasn’t been tried yet.” [Albin] smiled shyly. “To verify the feasibility of this method, I need a large amount of data regarding the gods.”

[The Green Snake] gazed at his earnest expression.

【Even if it were feasible, you couldn’t do such a thing alone, could you? 】

“Yes, it’s impossible to do it alone, but I’m not at that stage yet anyway…”

【Isn’t that perfect? Leave this place with me, find the books you need, and find the companions you need. I know a high-level monster lurking in the human world who should be able to help. 】

【This is a curse imposed on us monsters; it should be us monsters who deal with it ourselves. 】

【Anyway, I’m not afraid of death. Feel free to find me for such things. 】

Jade’s dream was suddenly interrupted.

He woke up in a daze.

That child… did he actually have the determination to slay the gods for the sake of us monsters?

Did he manage to leave the manor? Did he find a way? Was the curse broken? What happened to that child afterward?

He rolled around on the grass, struggling to fall asleep again, but he could no longer enter that kind of dream.

LET ME SEE!!!

Jade looked at the bandage on his body; the unhealed parts showed a faint pink due to his earlier movements.

Pink… Someone popped into his head.

I remember! He could go find that high-level monster mentioned in the dream perhaps that person had had the same dream as him!