Chapter 42 – How Did That Shit Guy Redeem Himself?

【Amaterasu PoV】

My divine monitor was showing me a horror movie.

It was a low-budget production starring one clueless teenager and one scumbag on an unwilling redemption arc. I was slumped in my offensively comfortable moonlight chair. My fingers were steepled. My expression was a carefully crafted mask of divine boredom.

Inside, I was screaming.

The screen showed the pathetic little forest where I had last seen my heroes. Ryuuji was there. So was Siegfried, the fake hero I was counting on to betray him. The stage was perfectly set for some classic, friendship-ending drama. A few dire wolves appeared. The perfect catalyst.

I leaned forward, a flicker of hope in my cold, dead heart.

This was it. Siegfried would see Ryuuji as a liability. He’d use the chaos of the fight to “accidentally” get rid of him. It was a classic for a reason.

Then I watched Siegfried throw himself in front of Ryuuji. He was protecting him. My eye started to twitch. It was a small, annoying twitch, right at the corner of my left eye. A sign of cosmic stress.

Fine. Whatever. Maybe this was a long con. Siegfried was just earning his trust before the inevitable backstab. I could respect that. A slow burn betrayal could be very entertaining.

Then Ryuuji screamed.

It was a pathetic, high-pitched shriek. The wolf attacking Siegfried faltered, distracted by the noise. Siegfried used the opening to land a killing blow. I stared at the screen, my divine brain struggling to process the data.

That wasn’t a scream of fear. That was a tactical debuff. A vocal stun. He was helping him.

No. He was training him. He was actively forcing this scumbag to be a better fighter. To be a hero.

My twitching got worse.

Then Ryuuji threw a rock. A pathetic little pebble. It sailed through the air and smacked the last wolf right between the eyes. It was a perfect, non-lethal disabling shot. It created the final opening for Siegfried to win.

He had controlled the entire battle from behind a rock. He used his voice and a piece of gravel as his weapons. He had orchestrated Siegfried’s victory. He was turning my designated villain into a competent hero.

This was not part of the plan.

It only got worse from there.

The monitor showed the glowing blue teleportation rune. A classic dungeon trap. My hope surged again. A dungeon was a perfect place for a betrayal. Limited resources. High stress. No witnesses.

This was my chance.

I watched Ryuuji “accidentally” stumble into the trap. It was a clumsy, idiotic move. Then I watched Siegfried lunge after him, trying to save him. He was a fool. A noble, heroic fool. They both vanished in a flash of blue light.

I facepalmed. My palm made a soft, shimmering sound against my divine forehead. My villain was trying to save my chaos agent. My chaos agent was dragging my villain into a deathtrap. Everything was backward.

The scene on the monitor shifted. Now they were in a dark, grimy corridor. Perfect. The atmosphere was just right for a murder.

A stone golem appeared. It was a high-level mob. It was going to crush them both. This was it. This had to be it.

I watched the golem beat Siegfried back. He was losing. Badly. The golem raised its sword for the final blow.

Then Ryuuji did the stupidest thing I have ever seen a mortal do. He threw himself in front of the descending sword. He was trying to sacrifice himself for the man who was supposed to betray him.

My jaw went slack.

A blinding golden light erupted from Ryuuji’s body. The system notification flashed in my private display.

《Class Unlocked: Divine Lineage》

I knew about this. It was a ridiculously overpowered, rare class. The reason Zeus was so interested in him. The golem disintegrated. The threat was gone.

The light faded. Ryuuji was on the ground, glowing faintly.

I waited for him to stand up. To embrace his new power. To become the overpowered protagonist he was clearly meant to be.

Instead, he started coughing and spitting on the floor. He collapsed, shaking like a leaf. He was faking it. He was pretending the power was a curse. He was actively rejecting his own power-up.

He was sabotaging his own story.

The final scene was a masterpiece of failure.

The monitor showed them in a new cavern. A door appeared. Above it, glowing runes spelled out the words, “Only one can pass.”

This was it. The ultimate test. The moment of truth.

I leaned so far forward I was practically falling out of my stupidly comfortable chair. My heart, which I usually kept on a low-power standby mode, actually started beating faster.

Siegfried had to betray him now. He had to take the escape route and leave Ryuuji to die. It was the only logical, selfish move. It was the only way my plan could still work.

I watched Ryuuji give a noble, self-sacrificing speech. He was trying to let Siegfried go. He was setting up his own tragic end. It was perfect.

“No. A true hero does not abandon his comrades.”

Siegfried’s voice was firm. Resolute. He was rejecting the betrayal. He was choosing the path of friendship.

My eye started twitching again, a frantic, furious rhythm against my skin.

Then I watched, in absolute, soul-crushing horror, as Siegfried grabbed Ryuuji. He spun him out of the way. He took the sacrifice for himself.

“I will not fail you again, Ryuuji! I will prove myself worthy of being your rival!”

He gave a brilliant, heroic smile. Then he stepped through the portal and vanished.

The door slid shut. Ryuuji was left alone. He was furious. I was furious. My villain. My perfect, hand-picked scumbag. He had been completely and utterly redeemed. My plan was in ashes.

My perfect scumbag was gone.

A chime echoed in the silent office.

A small, golden notification box appeared in the corner of my monitor. It was pulsating gently. It had the official, unmistakable seal of the High Council.

The seal of Zeus.

My blood ran cold. My divine stomach dropped into my bare feet. I knew what this was. I had seen it before.

Success was always punished with more responsibility. This colossal, multi-layered, career-ending failure… Zeus would see it as a success. He would see Ryuuji’s ability to redeem a lost soul as a sign of my brilliant mentorship. He would see this as a win.

“No.”

My voice was a choked whisper.

“No, no, no, no, no.”

I stared at the blinking icon. A meeting request. My soul shriveled. My dream of a Brazilian beach evaporated into a puff of cosmic dust.

It was a direct call from the big boss himself.