The Villain's Vow

"Wait, hold on." Julian Blackwood leaned forward from the living room sofa, his voice hesitant. "Hale, are you telling me we're going to some washed up family's house just to call off an engagement?"

Across from him, the middle aged steward, his temples touched with gray but his posture still sharp, gave a simple nod. "Yes, sir. The Vance family has fallen on hard times. Besides, their eldest daughter is blind and paralyzed from the waist down." He added, as if it were the final nail in the coffin, "Someone like that is completely beneath you."

Julian's brow furrowed. Something was off. Something was seriously, terribly wrong.

Why does this sound exactly like the plot of some cheesy urban fantasy novel? he thought, a cold dread washing over him. So, what, the Vance girl makes a miraculous recovery in thirty years, hunts me down, and leaves me for dead in a ditch?

He shot to his feet, pacing the length of the expensive rug. "No. Let me think this through."

He could vividly recall all the ridiculously melodramatic novels he'd devoured in his past life on Earth. That's right. Julian Blackwood was a transmigrator, and he'd been one since the womb. He'd been conscious since before he was even technically a he, back when he was just a spark of awareness in a mad dash toward existence. Using some slick moves and quick thinking, he'd outmaneuvered the competition to win the ultimate prize. In a final, triumphant push, he arrived in this world.

The strange details are a story for another time.

The point was, who gets reborn just to be thrown into a life or death situation twenty years later? He'd thought he'd hit the jackpot. Born the sole heir to the Blackwood family, the most powerful name in Blackwood City, he'd lived a pretty sweet life. But today, just two days after his twentieth birthday, Hale had dropped this bomb about calling off his engagement.

"What if I just meet her first?" Julian suggested, trying to sound casual. You couldn't just break off an engagement like it was nothing. That's how you ended up as the first act villain who gets steamrolled by the returning hero.

Hale looked at him with a helpless expression. "Sir, the Vance family is a nobody." He clearly thought Julian was worried about offending them, not that his mind was replaying scenes from novels like The Underdog's Revenge and The Scion Returns to Settle the Score, all of which ended with his own dramatic, on the spot death.

"No! We can't call off this marriage!" The more Julian thought about it, the tighter the knot of dread in his stomach became.

Hale was floored. He couldn't understand why Julian was so worked up over such a minor family.

It was in that exact moment, as the words left Julian's mouth, that a voice echoed in his mind.

Ding! Host has chosen to honor the marriage contract. The world's plot will now officially begin.

The Villain's Path of Devotion is loading.

Binding to the Target of Devotion.

Loading complete.

Target of Devotion: Evelyn Vance.

Explaining worldview. Explanation complete.

Julian stood frozen, his face a perfect mask of a computer that had just blue screened. In reality, his brain was downloading a massive file of basic information about the world he was in. After a long moment, he snapped out of it and collapsed back onto the sofa, trying to process what he'd just learned.

This world was, in fact, an urban fantasy novel.

Except it wasn't just one. It was a wild, chaotic mashup of every genre imaginable: The Dragon King's Return, The Divine Doctor from the Mountain, The Super Soldier Bodyguard, The God of War is Back, all of them, happening at once.

And Evelyn Vance, according to the System, was the ultimate supervillain who shaped the entire story from beginning to end.

As for why she was the villain, Julian had no idea. The System wasn't talking. He'd have to figure that out on his own.

Ding! As a reward for surviving the life or death crisis upon entering this world, you are awarded one Class D confidential document.

Startled, Julian focused his eyes, and a virtual panel shimmered into view. He clicked on the document.

The Blackwood House, the number one family in Blackwood City, will have its massive fortune targeted by various Children of Destiny.

In the final conflict, the Blackwood House will collapse. Its head and his wife will both be killed.

Because you once showed kindness to Evelyn Vance, she will save your life. However, you will be left permanently disabled, forced to live out the rest of your days in a hospital bed.

Julian's breath came in ragged gasps. He stared at the document, his eyes turning red as his whole body began to tremble. My parents are going to die because of these 'Children of Destiny'? The family is going to be destroyed? And I'll end up a cripple?

Hale watched his young master go from stunned to furious in a split second, and his heart skipped a beat. Surely calling off a minor engagement couldn't cause a reaction like this.

Julian took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down and organize the information. Okay, so Evelyn Vance is a supervillain. We have a marriage contract, and it hasn't been broken yet. That's the key. And since I know the secrets of this world and she's my Target of Devotion. I can choose to team up with her.

Wait. His eyes went wide. Target of Devotion? Where does 'devotion' even come into this?

Ding! The core of this system is Devotion.

As long as the host performs acts of devotion with the Target of Devotion, you can earn Devotion Points.

Training techniques, power levels, martial arts, legendary artifacts, this system's Treasury of Devotion has it all.

All those Dragon Kings, Tiger Kings, and Gods of War will be crushed beneath your feet.

Just remember this: Devotion is invincible.

Hearing the System's explanation, Julian felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders. In other words, as long as he stuck close to Evelyn Vance and racked up some Devotion Points, he'd be unstoppable.

At that thought, his face lit up, his entire demeanor shifting. He shot back to his feet, his intense gaze locking onto the trembling steward.

"Hale, get the betrothal gifts ready. I'm going to propose."

"Huh?"

"I'll handle my parents," Julian said, already pulling out his phone.

"Oh. Right." The whiplash from his young master's mood swings had left the poor steward completely bewildered.

Julian dialed his mother's number. "Hey, Mom."

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay, go ahead."

"I'm going to propose to the Vance family."

"Oh, that's. Wait, what? The Vances? That failing little family?"

"That's right."

"Julian, do you have any idea what the situation is with their daughter? It's not that I'm a snob, honey, it's just that girl."

Julian's tone was firm and righteous. "Mom, I've thought about this. Grandpa made a promise, and as the eldest son of this family, I have a duty to see it through."

"But," Eleanor Sterling started to protest, but she was cut off by a booming voice in the background.

"Eleanor. It shows the boy has a sense of responsibility. As the future head of the Blackwood family, he needs that kind of backbone." Corbin Blackwood, Julian's father, chimed in.

His mother sighed. "Alright, but you be careful. Our family has a lot to lose."

"I get it. I'm not an idiot."

After he hung up, the elegant Eleanor Sterling still had a worried look on her face. Corbin, meanwhile, was sipping his tea with a satisfied smile.

"Drink. Is that all you do?" Eleanor pinched his arm. "Don't you know what's going on with that girl from the Vance family?"

Corbin sucked his teeth in pain. "Honey. That was Dad's decision, and you know the old Vance patriarch saved his life back in the day."

Eleanor just sighed again, her husband's words doing little to soothe her nerves.

In the small study of the Vance family home, slate blue curtains filtered the March sunlight, casting dappled light across a custom wheelchair. By the window, a young woman sat with her posture as straight and unyielding as a soldier's at attention.

Suddenly, a panicked shout echoed from downstairs.

"What are you doing? What are you doing to my sister?"