The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 227 - What You Fear Most

—

Eir.

Leah.

Treya.

The three teammates stood amidst the fog, but they weren’t “angry” or hostile. Instead, they hung limply, like puppets on strings, swaying gently as if controlled by an unseen force.

Will froze for a moment.

Was his deepest fear... them?

Hmm... well, if he thought about it, the idea of these three “darkening” did have its terrifying aspects.

After all, their power levels alone were intimidating. Insert a meme-worthy sigh here.

...No, something wasn’t right.

Eir’s ears were drooping.

Leah’s eyes lacked the hearts that usually symbolized her obsessive affection.

And Treya...

Her left eye was covered by a black eyepatch.

These weren’t the versions of them that existed now. These were remnants of who they had been—what they had become due to their pasts.

In the original story, this was how they had appeared. Whether it was because they were too afraid to take a step forward, too tsundere to admit their feelings, or too blind to understand their own desires, they had ended up like this...

As losers.

Not just losers in battles against the new dungeon monsters trained by Shuu, but also as individuals leading unfulfilled lives afterward.

This was likely one of the original story’s intended pleasures—not only to show them being defeated in the present but also to emphasize their bleak futures. It created a narrative where everything would have been better if Shuu had been there to save them.

But...

Something strange was happening.

From above, beams of “light” began to pour down like dye, coloring their forms. The light painted them in vibrant hues, transforming them into radiant “girls in love.” Yet within these colors lurked an unsettling, dizzying undertone—something alluring but also deeply terrifying.

If they had initially resembled lifeless white mannequins, the longer Will stood there, the more vivid and complex their colors became.

However...

Shadows began creeping up from the ground, wielding scythes to block out the light.

Will understood immediately.

“So that’s how it is. As expected of a mental-type boss—you’ve captured this perfectly.”

—In this “fear” challenge’s first stage, his fear wasn’t their “darkening.”

Will drew his sword from his waist once more and stepped toward the clawing shadows.

—It was the fear that they wouldn’t darken.

He feared not seeing them grow. He was terrified that they might remain as they were in the original story.

It had to be said: as a demon capable of reading “memories” and “emotions,” and as a mental-type boss, Lucifa had a sharp understanding of human nature.

But...

Fears like this?

They were nothing worth mentioning.

With a flash of his blade in the dark room, Will cut down the shadows before him.

With that, they would no longer revert to their original forms. They could become what he hoped for...

“Alright then. Looks like that wasn’t enough to stop you. On to the second stage,” Lucifa’s voice echoed from all directions, reverberating through the black space like an announcement over a loudspeaker. She sounded delighted, as though she were sitting in a prime spectator seat enjoying the show.

“You know,” Will muttered under his breath, “this whole three-stage setup is completely unreasonable. You’re just asking for people to quit halfway!”

Before he could finish his complaint, something appeared before him...

A shadowy figure of a man.

His features were obscured by darkness, just like the previous shadows. But...

Will knew exactly who this was.

It was “Shuu.”

Of course, he didn’t know what Shuu would look like in real life—he’d only seen illustrations and animations. Shuu’s description was also painfully generic: “an average-looking guy with black hair and black eyes.”

This recognition felt more like an instinctive understanding—a subconscious acknowledgment.

It was like being in a dream where you couldn’t clearly see someone’s face but still knew exactly who they were.

Was he going to fight Shuu?

To be honest, before discovering that Shuu had disappeared and been replaced by Shuna, Will had imagined this scenario countless times. He’d envisioned having to face off against the original protagonist in a direct confrontation—wondering how he could possibly defeat him.

The answer was always the same: he’d lose completely. Not just because of “fate,” but because Shuu’s strength was simply unparalleled.

Why was Shuu his fear?

Was it because Shuu embodied the ultimate “protagonist” advantage—a symbol of invincibility?

That seemed plausible.

But...

The shadowy figure stepped closer with a calm demeanor. He didn’t appear hostile or ready for battle. Instead...

He stopped in front of Will and reached out to take the sword from his hand.

“What are you doing...?”

Will realized he couldn’t move. Not only was his hand immobilized, but his entire body was frozen in place.

Then...

He watched helplessly as Shuu plunged the sword into his own chest.

Blood began to flow down the blade, dripping onto Will’s hand and pooling in his palm.

“What’s wrong with you?!” Will shouted, trying to pull the sword out, but it wouldn’t budge. He looked up at the figure’s face—

And saw Shuna.

Her beautiful yet determined face now carried a hint of masculine sharpness. Her short black hair began to grow longer, obscuring one side of her face.

Will’s heart tightened painfully.

He couldn’t move. The sword continued to sink deeper into Shuna’s chest.

In that moment, he understood what the second stage represented—what it reflected about his fears...

It was what he had only recently come to realize: his greatest fear was that Shuna was actually the original protagonist and that her fate would inevitably align with Shuu’s path in the original story.

“Tch...”

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Will gritted his teeth and broke free from the illusion’s hold. With a fierce pull, he yanked the sword out of her chest, blood splattering onto the ground.

Even if Shuna was Shuu, Will would never harm her.

As soon as he withdrew the blade, Shuna’s shadowy figure dissolved into nothingness, vanishing from the space around him.

“Not bad, not bad! You cleared the second stage too,” Lucifa’s voice chimed in again, brimming with amusement.

“Huff... huff... huff...”

Will stood there panting, his hands still trembling from the force of pulling out the sword.

So... was this what it meant to “defeat your fears”?

Acknowledging that Shuna might be the original protagonist didn’t “kill” her in his heart—was that considered overcoming his fear?

Will clutched at his chest where his heart was still racing wildly. While Lucifa might consider this a victory for him... he didn’t feel the same way.

Why?

Why couldn’t he bring himself to believe that Shuna was truly the original protagonist?

“Alright,” Will muttered under his breath. “Three stages is too much—just bring on the third one already.”

“Coming right up~!” Lucifa replied cheerfully. He could hear her taking a deep breath before dramatically announcing:

“The deepest fear buried within your heart!”

“Created by me, Lady Lucifa of Tenth Demon Castle! I’ve poured so much of my power into crafting this final stage!”

“The ultimate shadow lurking in your soul—”

“What could it possibly be?”

Before him appeared a door.

Yes.

He was curious too...

After all, these “reveal your inner fears” challenges didn’t benefit the boss—they benefited the participant.

Through this kind of “rule-based” compulsion, participants could gain deeper insights into their own hearts.

“Huff...”

Will pushed open the door.

Behind it lay another pitch-black world.

“Hmm? So what’s this challenge—”

Before he could finish speaking, Will froze as realization dawned on him. Slowly, he lifted his gaze upward.

Hanging above him was nothing more than...

A plain and ordinary...

Slime.