A rewrite of an old idea. I love the idea, though I did a pretty bad job at constructing the plot in the previous story. It was titled "Their Hero" and so, I'll use it again here.

And ofc, the status of the ff quo is temporary. It will change according to what I have written.

-0-0-0-

"A hero sacrificed their everything for the world, but a villain sacrificed everything for the one they deemed their everything."

A belief, or it could also be considered as an ideology.

It was a hard way to follow, as it was regarded as unorthodox amongst the masses. No, most even looked at its believers as voracious, selfish beings who would threaten the peace of the world.

After all, isn't it only right for a dweller of this world to contribute so it could go on?

So for most people, the fact stood as a wall for them to trespass the boundary to harbour such a belief. A wall filled with treacherous traps and the scorn of thousands of people if one even dared to challenge it

The fear of being scorned, discriminated and rejected by the people all because they wanted to follow an ideology that barely affected their simple, regular days. Such a deep-rooted, yet extremely reasonable fear is sensible for the ordinary people.

But when so many entities exist, such as humans, it is bound for these irregular beings to come. The humans amongst humans who have exceptional capabilities in each of their own fields that brought humanity to its exponential rise.

They are leaders, founders, inventors, heroes, saviors.

They created many things that became parts of the current era. The era where many people who had no real capabilities could live a good life.

They are also dictators, tyrants, oppressors, extorters, villains.

Powerful figures who, with whether their strength, intelligence, connections, or lineage create a hegemony for the sake of dominating the world and seeking revenge for those they deem their enemies by extermination and extinction.

They are also people who just wanted to create a place to give the people they deemed their everything a life worth living.

Such a simple notion is what few sought. After all, it was a goal some achieved it easily, some unintentionally have it since birth, and even ordinary people could have it.

It's what these unfortunate people who have been abandoned and mistreated by the people have to suffer. For a simple notion, they are willing to challenge the treacherous wall.

After all, the world and its people have abandoned them. So would it make a difference if those people scorned them and made their life a living hell?

Might as well risk it all to earn a chance to have a life worth living.

-0-0-0-

"Worthless."

A familiar rough voice filled with disdain. A young boy slowly opened his eyelids, revealing a pair of blank green eyes. His hands moved, sweeping the drowsiness off of his eyes, easily getting rid of many auburn bangs from his forehead.

"A dream."

His eyes recognized the familiar ceiling. Its bland gray color exhibited the boringness and the blankness of his place. The curtain made out of simple fabric blocked off the sun, making the bland room even bland.

"I need some light."

His index finger rises, radiating a faint light. When it moved, the curtain also moved, letting the sunlight into the bland room.

He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes before standing up. At the same time, his figure was blinded by the sunlight, revealing his boyish, cold countenance. A young face with a pair of eyes that reflected untold truths and countless remembrances.

His perfect figure that could not be hidden by the simple shirt told that he was not a simple boy. The sheer amount of scars on his forearms alone is enough to tell what kind of things he has been through.

His eyes moved to the simple stack of papers on the table beside his bed, the top paper having strange markings that indicated the date. They widened a bit before returning to their former state. A small, wry smile etched itself on his face as he muttered, "I have turned 16. It's been 3 years, ain't it?"

He moved his sight, setting it to the window. Behind it showed the bustling town. The fervor of people as they start the day with gratitude, smiling and laughing happily to each other. The sincerity could be seen gushing off from each of their faces.

The boy stared for a few seconds, and then he turned his back to it, looking at the several papers pinned to the wall, with each of them having additional pinned papers that were connected to them by simple lines. They are filled with pictures of distinguishable people, most of them having rather extravagant clothes, with simple descriptions below them. Some have been marked red, black, and green.

"Axel Town and its people shall remain untouched. Don't get your stained hands on it," After muttering a simple set of words, his figure disappeared, leaving the bland room empty and engulfed with silence.

"This Town is too pure for the outside world, so keep the status quo," A tiny sound swirled, along with the small breezes from the boy's sudden disappearance.

-0-0-0-

In the dark alley where the sun doesn't shine, a figure emerged silently. His green eyes glanced around before stopping at the lithe figure crouching on top of a building, the figure seemed to be looking at something.

When he followed its gaze, he found a family of three, happily strolling around the marketplace.

"Chiv."

The little figure stiffened, then it turned to the boy, revealing a pair of violet eyes similar to his blank eyes, with some silver bangs peeking out of her headcover.

"...What's your thought?"

"I just wonder how it feels to be within a normal family. Grace has been the one who took care of me this whole time, so I'm curious how it feels to have a complete family..."

The soft, feminine tone resounded out, shaking the boy's eyes and heart. He took a moment to process her words and with a jump, he landed beside the lithe figure. But when he wanted to answer, Chiv simply grasped his hand with her little one, her now shining violet eyes dead set on his green ones.

"But it doesn't matter, I have Grace. Grace is enough to make me feel complete."

"..."

"Grace always fought for the peace of the Town, keeping it safe from the evil people from the outside. Grace also worked hard to create a warm home for me, accommodating everything I needed. So I think... Grace's love and care are enough for me."

He remembered. The day on the streets when he found a fidgeting bundle at the side of the road. This alley eternalized the moment when he took the violet-eyed toddler Chiv under his wing.

This is the place where he found Chiv and discovered the feeling of love. Pure, unadulterated love that strives to make the person live a life worth living amidst the chaos of this world.

"Do you think it is unfair? Do you envy the children your age who got to enjoy the warmth of a house and a complete family?"

The girl answered with silence, responding by pushing the long sleeve of his clothes, revealing his forearm and the countless scars it held. Each of them has their own stories waiting to be told.

She slowly traced them with her finger, and despite the heightened sensitivity from the scar, Grace remained unresponsive, focusing on the little girl who looked too tender to handle the truth of the world.

"I am."

A sickening feeling of his sinking heart almost plunged him into self-hatred and self-disappointment, and as if knowing how he would react, the girl turned her face to look at him, revealing her nigh-perfect face, with a rare affectionate smile on her usually cold face.

"It's so unfair. How the world treats a pair of parents who are supposed to take care of the children made out of their flesh so highly when there exists a person who would give a desperate, helpless child, whom he has no relation with, everything they need in life, is being ignored. And why do I need to feel the warmth of a complete family when your warmth alone has exceeded it, Grace?"

Grace fell silent. It's not that he remains indifferent. It's the overwhelming gratification and love those violet eyes held that turned him frozen. Such a circumstance is something he never experienced.

"Can a father of an ordinary family remain indifferent to defend his family from the lurking enemies that keep him at the edge all the time? Can a mother of an ordinary family withstand a thousand stabs for a child she doesn't know? I'm sure all but a very few parents couldn't. So I think Grace is concerned about some unnecessary things."

Chiv knew Grace could not handle the barrage of excessive compliments from her, but even the term 'excessive' could only be used as an objective to describe things in this case. In her eyes, those compliments are not excessive at all, just indisputable truths.

"Grace is better than them. Grace is better than most parents could ever be."

The silence was deafening for him, but not for her.

"Besides, I don't want Grace to be my parent. I want–"

"I-I must go now."

Grace quickly distanced himself from her, not before ensuring that he wouldn't touch even a strand of her. His iconic gray scarf swayed. Chiv went ahead to grasp it, intending to prevent him from leaving, but she was a bit tad too late.

He disappeared the same way he appeared.

The silver-haired Chiv turned miffed, leaning to the pillar beside her, her eyes shined in obvious disappointment.

"I know I'm too precious for you, but even a precious thing has to be held by its owner... Especially when it was sentient, you know?"

-0-0-0-

"My bloody hand is not allowed to touch her."

Traversing the town through the top of the buildings, Grace's cold green eyes glinted in determination. The broad daylight wasn't enough for the people to catch his speeding figure, which was equivalent to a blur from afar.

Peace cannot be achieved without spewing countless drops of blood. It's a lesson he learned firsthand, with the world showing its indifference towards his former fate.

It held the same value towards a man who just wanted to shelter his family from the outside world, not to mention a whole town.

The surroundings gradually turned dim as he continued to fast forward, different from the bustling town center. Grace looked around, already familiar with the place. The graveyard where an odd shop keeper purifies the souls and an abandoned, haunted mansion famous for the occasional melodious tone of a girl coming out of it.

As soon as he stopped his march, a man with a monochronic mask appeared by a flock of crows, fine with a formal suit. On his face held a knowing, cunning grin.

"Tehehe, Moi feels an insatiable thirst for them blood. Tell Moi, do thou want to search for their blood as they writhe in pain and grief, and also misery?"

"Stop exaggerating. Just state your price."

The masked man did not answer. He just waves his gloved hand and with a flash, a scroll appears. The man grabbed it by its rim and the scroll automatically opened, showing Grace its content.

"It is as usual. Moi shall not make it hard for thee. A frequent customer of Moi cannot even be counted on two fingers, so just let thee know, this is the best price out of all of the offers Moi has ever given."

A normal person would have their eyes bulged in fear and trembled in place, seeing the content it has, but Grace has thrown all of those thoughts out of the window ever since he decided to fight for his life. He crawled for a chance to live, so would this make a difference?

"And don't forget–"

"–to write my name with my blood on the contract."

He has heard it too many times by now. He is bound to get used to it.

"Real name. The name that has been bound to thy soul when thy parent gives thee the name right after thou were birthed."

The masked man was on the verge of laughing, but he sighed in disappointment when Grace remained still.

A pity, his veins bulged the last I said it...

As if Grace didn't hear him, he simply unsheated the knife from his belt bag. The blank green eyes remained on the contract as the blood was easily spilt when the cutting edge brushed against his index finger, drenching it in his own blood.

Thus, he wrote the only thing he remembered when he woke up back then.

The Devil of Envy's Contract

In exchange for prolonging the privilege of absolute stealth that cannot be traced even by the most potent divine power by a day, for an equivalent exchange, the contractor agreed to fulfil the following terms:

• Haunted by the realistic dreams of betrayal for 30 days straight. (Current days left from the previous contract: 1258 days)

• Humiliated by the haunting past that will come back frequently, dipping the contractor into the pit of shame and humiliation for 60 days straight (Current days left from the previous contract: 2516 days)

• Live in depression and self-hatred, indulging oneself in one's disappointed with oneself, for 365 days or a year. (15330 days or 42 years)

• Permanently deepening the emotional scars. (Current stack: 42 times)

Caution: The privilege shall be retracted the moment the next day descended (In accordance with Overworld Calender and Time)

The contract shall be signed by the contractor to seal the deal.

The contractor,

Grace blankly looked at the contract, the terms still haunting him to this day. Still, what are those things for when he has a reason to kept holding on?

There's no reason if he just live for himself. But there's someone back there, always waiting for his arrival.

Grace's finger swiftly write his name. The name that contained, perhaps, his origin.

A strange, unknown yet so familiar name. It was as if his being knew it was the name he has. The identity he was supposed to harbor.

It's–

Kazuma Satou.

-0-0-0-

An: just have the thought of Vanir being Envy. The guys likes others' disappointment and humiliation, so I guess envious people like seeing others suffer? Idk. Just accept my wild imagination.