The Return of the Shadow Villain: My Role Is My CEO Wife's Furnace

"What should I do?"

He asked himself. 

It would be great if he could see the current condition of the Netherworld. 

Not that he wanted to return there, but his curiosity about certain things gnawed at him, and there were a few loose ends he felt compelled to address.

If he could go there, he wanted to take revenge. Whether it was to Crowley and the other Seven Demon Wings, or to the real mastermind behind his death: whom he had no clue about yet. 

Aside from revenge, he wanted to confirm Lilu's condition.

'It would be a shame if my main puppet died there.'

If Lilu simply passed away, he was a little reluctant. Not out of pity, love, or anything like that, but because he didn't want to lose the doll he had worked so hard to nurture. 

Because of how seriously he took care of the doll, he was willing to give it various special items and rare skills. 

'Yes, since I've invested a lot in you, you should still live there.'

'Wait.'

He suddenly realized something important. If he returned to Earth 10 years before he went to the Netherworld, then it could be that the Netherworld was still in a condition where he had not been there.

That meant Lilu was still an ordinary demon and the Netherworld was still in chaos. 

"But, do I have to die to get there?"

That was a stupid thought.

The game that was similar to the Netherworld was called, The Adventure in the Netherworld. 

Ernest decided to investigate the game if there was a chance. 

Realizing that there was no point in continuing to think about it further, his mind was currently more focused on thinking about what he should do on Earth. 

'Returning to my foster family after two years of running away without giving any news?'

That was not a wise decision. At least in his current condition, it was impossible.

If possible, he actually wanted to go straight back to the place where his foster family was. But he realized that he didn't have the money to pay for transportation.

In other words, he was poor.

It would be great if he came back already successful and had a lot of money, but if he was still poor like this, Ernest was sure he would only be severely insulted. Even if he wasn't insulted, he also didn't have the face to return while in a miserable condition.

Rather than returning while in a poor state, he envisioned returning to his foster family after being rich and having many important connections. Two years lost, then returning in a successful state, wouldn't that be an interesting story? 

'Let's ignore my stupid hallucinations.'

Another option was, 'Awaken and become a hunter?'

Indeed, becoming a hunter would make him rich quickly. Collecting money would be as easy as picking leaves off a tree if he really became a hunter. But don't forget that it was not something he could do because of the curse on his body. 

As long as he had the curse of pain, he would not be able to awaken and become a hunter.

'Can I do anything with my current body condition?'

Obviously, the curse on him would never go away if he didn't do anything. The proof was in his previous life. There he was still an ordinary person even after being a slave to an underground organization for ten years. 

It was only after The Second Disaster struck the earth that the curse of pain in his body could be suppressed. 

The reason was because he managed to obtain the Elixir by accident. 

Although the curse on his body did not completely disappear, he was able to become strong enough to survive—though only for some time.

Until finally, he died in battle and his soul was transferred to the Netherworld. 

While he was happy that his Netherworld self didn't have to deal with the curse of pain, instead, he had to go through an even crueler hell... 

'Am I supposed to think that returning to the past like this is a stroke of luck?'

This time he didn't want to experience a life of suffering again. 

The problem was, if he wanted to escape the curse of pain, he only knew one way, which was to drink the same elixir as his past life. 

Now it was impossible for him to obtain the elixir. 

'Maybe there's another solution to cure the curse on my body? Especially with some knowledge from the Netherworld.'

There was one that he managed to think of.

But before that, he conducted an experiment.

First, he closed his eyes, entered the lotus position, and tried to use demonic-style Mana processing techniques. But as he had expected, there was no reciprocal reaction whatsoever from the Mana in the air or from Ernest's own body.

Finally, he immediately did what he thought would work.

Without further thought, he immediately tried it.

During his time in the Netherworld, he had acquired a magic scroll containing a cultivation technique specifically for humans. 

He had found the scroll in a treasure chest belonging to a demon lord in Duskrend, the first territory he and Lilu had conquered. 

'Come to think of it, why is there a magic scroll specialized for humans in a land inhabited only by the demon race?'

The question suddenly popped into his head. 

What was even stranger was, the language in the magic scroll could only be read by Ernest himself—a former human. More specifically, the technique was written in ancient Chinese. 

Shortly after finding the magic scroll containing special cultivation techniques for humans, Ernest felt so excited that he opened the magic scroll wide in the air. 

Lilu accidentally saw the contents of the magic scroll.

But even after Ernest explained to Lilu that the magic scroll included a fantastic cultivation method, she showed no enthusiasm for it.

Lilu, who was relaxing on the windowsill of an open building, said to Ernest that demons already have their own unique skills when they are born. They didn't need to train to become strong. They only need to fight to improve their powers. 

Therefore, Lilu's indifferent face was all Ernest had at that time.

Ernest remembered how he used to squint his eyes because he was trying so hard to hold back his irritation.

Ernest's mind automatically compared demons and humans.

Unlike in the Netherworld, humans on Earth have to train hard to become awakened and have powers above normal humans. Even hard work wasn't enough. One must also have high Mana sensitivity, as well as great luck, only then would they be able to be awakened. 

As an outlet for his annoyance, Ernest who received an indifferent answer from Lilu decided to memorize the contents of the magic scroll containing special cultivation techniques for humans. Ernest read and engraved every sentence in the magic scroll so that he could still remember it until now. 

The magic scroll was useless to him at that time, because at that time he was also a demon race. 

Automatically he could not practice the contents of the magic scroll. 

But who would have thought that his futile deeds back then would be useful now? 

The story was different now. Since he was currently a human, he was confident that he could master the cultivation technique. 

The name of the cultivation technique in the magic scroll was called Divine Harmony. 

He closed his eyes, maintained the lotus position, and began to practice every word of the breathing technique of Divine Harmony cultivation.