Villain's Survival: SSS Class Infinite Copy Eyes-Chapter 51. Name

Charlotte opened her eyes, dazed.

"...Licht...?"

"You nearly got yourself killed," he muttered, standing up.

"Next time, don’t jump into divine technique without a proper leash on your desires ."

"What is it?" she asked, glancing at Licht.

"It’s a guardian soul," he said. " It’s bound to me through pact, and it exists solely to protect."

"Does it... have a name?"

Licht frowned slightly. "It needs no name. It exists to guard. That is its purpose ."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes.

"That’s not true. Everything that exists has a purpose, and a name gives that purpose meaning."

Without waiting for his reply, she slowly reached out.

The dragon didn’t flinch and allowed her fingers to brush against its scaled face, crackling softly like static.

She smiled gently.

"Tilly," said Charlotte, her voice soft and warm. "That’s your name now."

Licht stared, almost incredulous.

"Tilly...?"

Charlotte nodded, still petting the dragon’s head.

"You protected me when you didn’t have to. And you looked... sad. Lonely, even. No guardian should go unnamed."

The dragon’s eyes shimmered faintly, and for a moment, the tension in the air eased. Its massive head lowered slightly, almost... acknowledging her.

Licht scoffed and crossed his arms.

"You’re sentimental."

"You’re cold," she shot back with a smirk. "Besides, I think Tilly suits her."

Licht glanced at the dragon. "Her?"

"Obviously. Look at those eyes. That’s a she, no question."

The absurdity of naming a guardian soul was not lost on... but when he looked at the dragon again, something flickered in him.

"Tilly, come here."

Although Licht’s voice was cold, Tilly seemed to sense a slight change in it and rushed forward, curling up around him.

But this time, instead of disappearing, she shrank down to the size of a house cat and lazily curled up on Licht’s shoulders.

Licht saw this and his eyes gleamed.

Tilly’s new form was much more compact and could be called out without drawing too much attention.

Another plus side was that this new form was much less intimidating. Even if Licht walked out like this, it was like having a plush toy resting on him, and he subconsciously reached up to stroke her soft scales.

"Ohhh... and what’s this?" Charlotte asked with a teasing smile.

"It’s about efficiency," Licht replied cooly. "It’s more efficient to guard when you can see the surroundings."

"Right..." Charlotte chuckled.

"Mr. Demon, since we’ve now found Tilly’s name, won’t you tell me yours?"

"Pardon?" Licht blinked.

"Well, since this isn’t your real body," she said, stepping dangerously close—her charming blue eyes glowing like they could swallow him whole, "you must have a name, right? Even if demons can’t say their real names, surely there’s something I can call you."

As Charlotte said this, she stepped dangerously closer,

Gulp.

Licht spoke almost involuntarily

"My name is..."

Licht suddenly blinked as his voice caught in his throat like a stubborn fish bone

’No...What was my name again?’

As soon as he had this thought, Licht felt a cold sensation creep up his back.

Licht? No, not that.. I need my real name..."

Licht’s fingers clutched the dragon’s tighter, his fingers digging into the shifting, ethereal scales.

But no matter how deep he searched and looked inward, all that came back was silence

.

In his mind, there was a large, echoing black space where his name should’ve been. Like someone had torn out the first page of his story.

"Why can’t I remember it...?"

Seeing Licht’s expression twist in confusion and pain, Charlotte reached out, but Licht’s hand shot up and coldly swatted hers away.

"Don’t touch me."

Licht’s voice came out cold and callous.

He held his head with uneven breaths as his eyes burned with unnatural violet light

"Don’t ask me that question again," snapped Licht

Charlotte’s expression didn’t change, well, not exactly. Her face remained the same, but something in her eyes dulled just a little, but at this time

After saying this, Licht turned around. He gave no apology or further explanation to Charlotte and just left with his footsteps echoing through the training arena.

....

Licht stepped out into the training field’s dim corridor and walked under the dark night sky as he headed towards his dorm in silence.

As he was walking, Licht reached out his summoned dragon soul

The small, spectral creature curled silently at his side. Its presence was calming, not jst because it was peaceful, but because it was one of his habits.

Licht remembered that the real him that lived on earth had a habit of holding things when he was either thinking or nervous

He reached out and ran a hand slowly along its semi-solid mane, each stroke deliberate, grounding.

He only did this when he was nervous.

"I’m not Licht D. Valtier."

Licht whispered the words like a curse, a truth only the empty air and the dragon soul at his side could hear.

’I remember Earth. I remember playing this game. I remember my job, my apartment, my shitty little coffee maker. I remember it all.’

His voice trembled not with weakness, but with fury.

"So I’m not Licht."

He stared at his hands. They weren’t his. Too calloused. Too elegant. They belonged to a fantasy character in a world of bloodlines and blade arts, not to a man who once filed boring briefs in a dark office and read light novels on the train.

But the cracks were growing.

Every day, the voice of the man he used to be grew quieter. The memories of earth had started to blur at the edges. In their place were his memories. Licht’s memories.

The touch of a valtier’s sword. Memories of odd experimentations and magic theory. None of it felt foreign anymore. Those strange memories felt as if they were becoming real, as if they were becoming his

Licht shivered

"If I lose all my memories of Earth... If only Licht’s memories remain..."

He looked down at his foreign hands, trembling.

"Can I even still be called the same person?"