I Became The Novel's Biggest Antagonist

James tilted his head, considering her words with mock seriousness. "Hmm. That does sound tempting. What do you think, Gin?" He asked toward Gin.

Gin froze, speechless. The casual, almost friendly demeanor James had displayed earlier toward him had vanished, replaced by a frosty one. Even his tone seemed colder.

"Gehenna can offer whatever you desire in exchange for this woman. Just leave her with us, and your reward will be yours."

Understanding the gravity of his situation, Gin spoke quickly. His time was running out, and if he didn't find a body soon, death would claim him. He was barely holding on, conserving his mana and avoiding any unnecessary strain.

"Whatever I want, huh?" James blinked, quite interested.
Your journey continues at empire

Cattleya, on the other hand, could feel a cold sweat forming on her brow. She met James' gaze, and the unspoken message was clear: "How will you respond?"

Her anger flared. To James, this was nothing more than a game, an amusement. But she had no choice. The situation had escalated too far for pride or hesitation.

She had to think of something more valuable than gold.

"By the way, if you have any weird ideas, forget it," James interrupted her thoughts with a gentle smile, "your body holds no value to me. It's worth no more than gold."

The words stung, and Cattleya's face flushed once more.

"I— I never thought of that!"

She wasn't desperate enough to offer herself just to survive. Or so she told herself. But perhaps, deep down, her instincts—those primal urges to survive—had been pushing her toward that idea. Fortunately, it was rejected outright by James.

He wasn't interested in her, not in the slightest. Gold, riches, that's what drove him, not her.

After a mother of thinking, Cattleya spoke up.

"My mother works at Horizon… She's involved in research on ancient artifacts, relics from the ancient era..." Her voice faltered, but she pressed on, "She could probably give you something priceless—worth more than entire fleets of gold."

She hesitated, guilt gnawing at her. She didn't want to drag her mother into this, to involve her in a dangerous exchange. Her mother would do anything for her, though—Cattleya knew that. But that didn't make it any easier. She didn't want her mother to sacrifice something so precious for her, yet she had no other options.

"Artifacts, huh..." James' voice trailed off as the idea took root. While he had previously dismissed gold as his only interest, ancient artifacts piqued his curiosity.

'Could I get lucky enough to find a Relic of Seraphiel?'

His lazy demeanor shifted, and his face adopted a more serious expression, one that mirrored Ivan's gaze.

"Now!"

Before James could even react, he heard Gin's shout. It was clear that Gin had prepared for the worst, choosing to strike first and catch James off guard. His two men had already started incanting a spell, and beneath James, a dark circle materialized, quickly freezing his feet to the ground.

"…!"

Cattleya, who had been standing close to James, should have been caught in the spell as well. But in an instant, James swept her into his arms, his hand firmly gripping her waist, pulling her tightly against him. He shielded her completely from the reach of the dark magic, ensuring the black circle's influence couldn't touch her.

"Well, well..." James' lips curled into a sly smile as he gazed into Cattleya's wide blue eyes. "I guess it's a deal, Cattleya Starlight."

Cattleya, mortified, quickly averted her gaze, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"That's rude," James furrowed his brows. "Deal or not, do you want me to toss you back to the Demon who's been pining for you?"

"De–Deash!" Cattleya blurted out, but her voice faltered as she bit her tongue in the process. The humiliation she felt from the last few minutes was overwhelming—mocked, teased, and worst of all, being held by a man in such an intimate way. She felt utterly exposed.

"Dish? Are you hungry or something?" James raised a brow, purposeful pushing her to edge.

"I–I hate you..." Cattleya's voice trembled, her eyes filling with tears. She was strong-willed, but after enduring so much, her composure finally cracked. The sheltered girl she had been raised to be now showed through the cracks of her facade.

James had seen this before. He remembered how the French Princess had wept when he took her hostage, breaking down under the strain he'd put her through.

"Don't get my shirt dirty," he muttered, his voice a lazy groan. "It's quite expensive."

He ignored Cattleya's furious glare and casually tossed her out of his arms, pushing her out of the circle's reach. Cattleya quickly regained her footing, but when she looked up, her breath caught in her throat.

From the dark circle below James, a massive, toothy mouth emerged, a horrifying Demon's maw.

"Die," Gin said coldly.

James fell, disappearing into the gaping mouth as though the ground had simply ceased to exist.

A sickening munch echoed as the Demon's mouth snapped shut, sealing James' within.

"N–No..." Cattleya let out horrified as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened. "Why...?"

Everything had been going so smoothly for James—why had he been so easily consumed by that monstrous mouth?

"This idiot..." Cattleya clenched her fists into the dirt.

"Take her," Gin ordered coldly, gesturing to his two men.

But Cattleya barely acknowledged their presence. Her mind was consumed with a boiling anger, her heart filled with hatred and anger at her situation and blaming James was the only thing that could calm her

"Acting all high and mighty, only to get eaten by a giant mouth! You are the worst! You said we had a deal! Then you better save me!!" She raged.

Her words fell on deaf ears. The two men ignored her and roughly seized her, dragging her away.

Cattleya didn't resist. She had no strength left. Her body felt like it was being drained, and Travis was still unconscious, knocked out by James earlier.

"The worst..." Cattleya muttered.

She had never encountered a man so obsessed with gold, so callous in his pursuit of wealth, in the end dying because of carelessness.

"I hope you're going to hell!!"

"Hell? I've been there already."

Gin froze, a gasp escaping his lips as he turned around. Cattleya followed his gaze in disbelief.

The Demon's mouth, which had been chewing, suddenly slowly opened—no, it was being forced open by two bloodied hands.

"Impossible..." Gin's face went pale.

"We used an S-Rank Artifact… How…?"

The two men beside him stood in stunned silence, unable to process what they were witnessing.

Then, through the opening, a figure emerged—James, looking fine, his body coated in the remnants of the Demon's insides. The beast had been torn apart, cleaved perfectly in half by James.

"You disappoint me, Gin. I thought we had an understanding..." James said, his voice devoid of its earlier amusement. The smile that had once been playful had vanished.

As Gin's gaze landed on the crimson sparkles crackling around James, a chill of pure terror ran down his spine.

Quickly, Gin reached for an artifact. He grabbed Cattleya's arm and infused it with mana, triggering the teleportation spell.

"L–Leave me!!" Cattleya cried out, struggling in vain as the space around them began to distort.

It was over, she thought. There was no escape now.

The last thing she saw before everything blurred and twisted was James' lips curling into a twisted smile.

-Thud!

Cattleya groaned softly as she landed in a dark, empty place. The air was thick with the stifling stillness, and the space around her seemed vast, stretching endlessly. The only light came from candles flickering on the high ceiling.

"Who was that monster?" Onne of Gin's men asked his hands still trembling unconsciously remembeirng what he had felt in front of him.

"I don't know, but he must die," Gin replied seriously.

It had been a miracle they escaped alive. Gin had kept the artifact as a last resort, prepared for the worst. To buy himself time, he had talked about rewards and bargains—anything to throw off James' suspicion and it seemed to have worked off.

"Bring her. And make sure she doesn't try anything foolish," Gin said, as his men strode toward Cattleya. She knelt on the ground with an unreadable expression.

"Is this your headquarters? How... quaint. It's almost too cliché for demons."

Gin froze, his smirk faltering.

"...!" His head snapped to the side, his eyes widening in shock.

There, standing nonchalantly near the entrance, was James. He surveyed the place with an air of curiosity, his gaze flicking across the hall as though appraising it.

"But I must say, the stench of wealth lingers here," James continued, nodding thoughtfully. "I'd say my decision to drop by was a sound one."

"H–How…?" Gin was in utter disbelief.

"Oh, come now. Isn't it obvious? I just joined you. You can't guys leave me alone there."

Cattleya, still on her knees, felt her chest tighten as she realized what was unfolding. Just as despair had begun to consume her, here he was—James, with his penchant for theatrics appearance. She glared daggers at him.

Before Gin or his men could react, James vanished. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in front of the guards. A faint gasp escaped them before two heads thudded to the ground, rolling lifelessly.

"Now then, let's keep this simple. Hand over every last one of your possessions," James said. "And of course, I'll be taking the Starlight girl with me. Consider it compensation—for breaking both my heart and our deal."