Prologue
FROM THE COCKPIT MONITOR, I looked out into space. Lights sparkled
all around me, and explosions too—like something straight out of science
fiction. Countless tiny streaks of light flashed in the distance, some resulting
in small explosions. Inside each and every one of those explosions, hundreds
or perhaps thousands of lives were snuffed out.
Space battles take the lives of a vast number of people. During one
such battle, where tens or hundreds of thousands of people might perish, I
raised my voice and laughed aloud.
"What's wrong? Is that all you've got?"
The weapon I piloted was a humanoid vehicle—a mobile knight. As
weapons, these fourteen-meter behemoths presented a number of flaws. Why
did they have to be humanoid in form, instead of something like fighter jets?
This fantasy world seemed unconcerned with such rational questions,
however.
My mobile knight was black and titanic. While most other units were
around eighteen meters tall, this one was on the larger side at twenty-four
meters. In my mammoth machine, I grabbed smaller units around me with
my manipulators, as its dexterous hands were called, and crushed my
enemies' machines along with the pilots inside them.
"Please, spare me!"
An enemy pilot begged for his life, but I just smirked coldly and said,
"Die."
There wasn't a speck of pity in my voice. I felt no guilt killing my
enemies, only joy. Trampling another person and taking their most precious
possession from them, their life...that was a privilege only the strong
possessed.
"Weak. Too weak. Isn't there anyone strong?"
I laughed as I piloted my craft, mowing down all the enemies that
approached me. I aimed for their cockpits and the pilots within. I mercilessly
thrust the laser sword gripped in my mobile knight's hand into an enemy
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cockpit, then kicked the unit away, ripping the blade back out.
"You weaklings are nothing but prey! At least try to entertain me!"
All this horror was the work of a boy who appeared to be in his early
teens. In my previous life, I would have objected to such inhuman acts, but
now I knew better. It's the bad people who have all the advantages. That was
why I'd vowed to be a villain in my next life. No—a supervillain!
If someone were to describe my current position, they would call me an
"evil lord." In this strange, fantastical land, humanity had advanced far
enough for intergalactic travel, yet it still had a completely outdated
aristocratic form of government. In this world, I was a count. I ruled over a
planet of my own, terrorizing my subjects. If this were a story, I'd be the
villain for the protagonist to defeat. But in reality...
"Are you done? Come on, come at me! I haven't had enough. Give me
more!"
I chased after the enemies fleeing from my machine and took them
down without mercy, a textbook villain. This world had no heroes. I could
torment the weak all I liked and no one would stop me. In this place, might
made right. That was the conclusion I had reached at the moment of my death
in my previous life.
"Ahh, this is so much fun. Crushing weaklings is the best. It just
confirms how strong I am."
In this world, people warred with giant humanoid weapons and
spaceships. Reincarnated into such a world, I intended to use the immense
power I'd been given to live a life of tyranny.
It all started on that day—the last day of my previous life, when I was
deceived and died in the pit of despair. The harsh memories revived in my
mind, memories of a man who'd led a foolish life, not even realizing that he
was being destroyed. Yes, in my previous life, that fool was me.
***
Why do I have to go through things like this?
I clutched at my chest in my shoddy, one-room apartment. It had been
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bothering me for a while now, but recently the pain had gotten a lot worse. I
would have gone to the hospital, but I didn't have the money.
My hand pawed helplessly at my chest, too weak to exert any force.
The bruised arm reaching into my unwashed T-shirt was thinner than it used
to be. I coughed up blood, staining the filthy futon I lay on.
"Why...is this...happening to me?"
I was in physical pain, but the mental anguish and the frustration I felt
were no less painful. As they say, my life was flashing before my eyes. I was
by no means a saint, but I had tried to live an honest life. I'd never committed
a crime, and I'd lived as best I could according to the standards of virtue set
by society.
I'd gotten a job like I was supposed to, gotten married as expected, had
a kid, and bought a house. Yet I was now shouldering debt and working
multiple part-time jobs. I paid child support every month, yet I'd never once
seen my daughter since the divorce. According to my ex-wife, our daughter
was finally starting to get along with her new husband, which was why she
kept denying me visitation.
Meanwhile, the company I used to work for had fired me for having an
affair and embezzling, neither of which I had done, and I'd had to get
multiple part-time gigs just to survive. I'd never had an affair, and I'd never
embezzled any money, but no matter how much I denied both claims,
everyone around me treated me as though I were guilty. No one believed a
word I said.
I'd never forget the despair I felt at the time. I was treated with such
scorn by those around me that I had to wonder now if I really was to blame
for it all. That was how much their words affected me.
And now, I'd hit rock bottom. I had so much debt that I would never be
able to repay it, and I was living in poverty in a tiny room with hardly any
belongings. Nearly every day, some thug or another came demanding I repay
my debts, but I didn't even remember borrowing any money. Still, for some
reason, there were debts in my name that I was obligated to repay. Now that I
thought about it, it was probably my ex-wife's doing, but I didn't have the
funds or the energy to talk to a lawyer about it.
At some point in the last few years, without realizing it, I'd started to
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waste away. I looked a lot older than I actually was. Every time I glanced in
the mirror, I seemed to be on the verge of death.
"What did I do? Just where...where did I go wrong?"
Every time I coughed, I spat up more and more blood. It looks like this
is the end. Overwhelmed with all this frustration, I was just relieved that it
would finally be over.
That was when it happened.
A man in a striped tailcoat appeared beside my futon. He stood on my
dirty tatami floor in his shoes, a traveling bag in one hand.
"Good evening. And what a lovely evening it is."
I shifted my gaze, and in my hazy vision, I saw a man with a top hat in
one hand greeting me. His eyes were hidden in shadow, so all I could see of
his face was his mouth. He was tall and thin, looking down at me from above.
Something about him didn't seem real. The brim of his hat and the ends
of his tailcoat moved strangely, and though he wasn't on fire, he was emitting
a peculiar smoke. I doubted he was of this world.
"What are you, some sort of ferryman?" I asked, my voice hoarse and
weak. It hurt my chest just to talk. I didn't have the energy to scramble away
in fright, nor did I plan on it. All I felt was a sense of resignation and the
hope that I would finally be free from my suffering.
Then I remembered something. Many years ago, I'd heard that when
you died, an old pet from your past would come to guide you away. I'd had a
dog long ago, but it hadn't come to meet me. Guess that was just made up—
or I wasn't a good owner. If I had one regret, it was that my dog hadn't been
the one to come get me.
The man knelt down beside me, drawing closer, but I still couldn't see
his face above his mouth. The corners of his lips lifted into a crescent-moon
smile, as though he were laughing at me.
"True, I am a ferryman in a sense, though I'm not taking you where
you think I am. The truth is, I'm here to send you to a different world.
Therefore, you can just call me your Guide."
"A d—ff—wor—!" I started coughing, and the man snapped his
fingers.
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I was shocked to find that the view in front of me had completely
changed. I saw a man in an expensive suit having dinner with my ex-wife in a
fancy restaurant. The meal set before them looked delicious, as did the
alcohol they were drinking. I hadn't had anything like that in years.
That wasn't what shocked me, though. How could I be witnessing this
scene that floated before my eyes? I wondered if I was dreaming, but the pain
in my chest felt as real as ever. And it wasn't just physical pain: there was
pain in my heart as well. I also heard the conspiratorial conversation the two
were having.
"You're a real piece of work, aren't you? You foist all that debt onto
your ex-husband, and you make him pay child support too. It's not even his
kid."
Clearly it was me they were discussing, but I couldn't believe what
they were saying. No, I didn't want to believe it.
"It's fine. Legally, it's his kid, and child support is a parent's duty,
isn't it?"
I struggled to wrap my head around it. What was my ex-wife saying?
In the past, she had been kind, even naive, yet here she was talking about
deceiving me with a nasty smile on her face, like a completely different
person. Like a different person, but unmistakably my ex-wife.
"Women instinctively seek out men with superior genes to have
children with. I didn't need a kid with a man like him; I just needed him to
make me some money. Actually, he should be grateful since I allowed him to
marry me. He was only ever worth that much."
The man seated across from her seemed exasperated by her words, but
his expression also suggested he was enjoying it.
"Women are scary."
"You're the one who made me this way, aren't you?"
Watching them only made my chest hurt more. Rage bubbled up inside
me at this scene and at the Guide who'd revealed it to me.
"Oh, don't be angry. I only showed you this because I wanted you to
know the truth. It makes sense, doesn't it? It's not an illusion—this is
something that's occurring right now."
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When I thought about it, it did start to make sense. Until now, I had
closed my eyes to it under the impression that I was merely overthinking
things.
"You have a truly good heart, enduring a life like this and still working
hard to repay her debt and pay child support. Yet all this time, it was nothing
but lies! Can they really get away with such evil? In response to these
injustices, I've prepared a little present for you."
The man merrily removed some pamphlets resembling travel brochures
from his leather bag.
"You've been very unfortunate in this life. In your next life, wouldn't
you like to be happy? What do you think? How would you like to be reborn
in a different world?"
A different world? I could barely process what he was saying, I was so
full of rage and frustration toward my ex-wife. My chest throbbed again, and
I spat up more blood. I realized something else then too.
"W-was the embezzling also—" I asked, regarding my former job, and
the Guide nodded.
"Yes, that's right. That was your boss, who framed you for his crime.
You did nothing wrong."
I get it now. What a fool I've been. I was deceived over and over again.
"You've worked so hard that your body gave out on you, and here they
are, enjoying a decadent meal together. It's just horrible, isn't it?"
I gripped my futon. What had been the meaning of my life? Why was it
ending this way?
"Revenge... Let me take revenge. I can't...let them get away with it. I
want revenge...on all of them."
My tears of frustration felt endless. Even they were bloody now. Why
was this my fate? What had I done to deserve it? I cried at the state of my
body, which could barely move anymore. I would never be able to take
revenge like this.
For a moment, the Guide's smile grew even wider, but it swiftly
vanished. It didn't seem as though he would grant my wish.
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"Unfortunately, your life is at its end. All I can give you is the gift of a
happy second life. This one has been cruel to you, but your next life awaits.
I'm afraid you'll have to give up on revenge."
"N-no!" I squeezed out, barely able to utter the word.
At this point, no matter how much I suffered, I just wanted to make
them suffer too. I would do anything for that—anything!
Yet the Guide just shook his head. "All you can choose is what sort of
world you'd like to live in next. Go and be reincarnated in the world you
desire. A happy life is waiting for you this time."
I sobbed in vexation.
The Guide held out his pamphlets like a magician asking me to choose
a card. One of the worlds he offered was a place of swords and magic,
another a place just like Earth but with the existence of superpowers. In yet
another, the landmasses floated in the air with the clouds. None of them
really spoke to me except for one with a humanoid machine and a space
battleship on its cover. I reached out to this pamphlet, my consciousness
hazy. When my bloody fingers touched the brochure, the Guide began his
explanation.
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"Ah, you're interested in this world? I recommend it. It's a fantastical
place with both advanced science and magic, after all, not to mention an
intergalactic empire. It's really quite fun. People live long lives there as well,
so you can look forward to living much longer than you did here."
I'd chosen without thinking all that much, except how crazy it all
sounded.
What had I even lived an honest life for? For this? To be deceived,
laughed at—without even being able to take revenge for it?
It's so unfair! If this is what happens when you're good, then I should
have enjoyed my life more. I should have worried more about my own
happiness without sparing a thought for other people. Good karma isn't
worth shit. It's all a lie. And if that's the case, then I wanna live for myself.
I'll live for myself as a villain who tramples other people underfoot.
"Hmm, in this world...if you want power, you'd have to be nobility.
These people are culturally advanced, but for some reason, the feudal system
made a big comeback at some point. It's quite interesting." The Guide
continued his explanation as he watched me writhe in pain. "I'll make it so
you're born into a noble house. You'll start your next life as an aristocrat
with a silver spoon in your mouth, as they say."
I wanted to smile at his words, but I didn't have the luxury. I was in so
much pain now that I couldn't even respond. My soul, however, would live
on past this body, and I would never forget this day. Living an honest life is
idiotic. If I'm going to be born an aristocrat, then I'll be able to do whatever
I want in my next life. I'll rule with an iron fist and be as evil as I please.
The Guide was doing his part, setting things up for me. "A count
sounds good. That would put you in charge of a planet."
That sounds great. A pretty important position. I'll be an evil mage—
no, I'll be ruling over a planet, so an evil lord? Anyway, I'm gonna enjoy
myself.
"So you've made your peace? I trust you'll have a nice life next time,
then..."
Yeah. I think I will. I'll make my next life a good one. My life as an evil
lord.
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At that point, my consciousness faded into darkness.
***
The Guide looked down at the man, who had died with a smile on his
face. He twisted around, grinning with insane glee.
"An unhappy life? Gimme a break! People as unhappy as you are a
dime a dozen in this world! You think you had it bad? You're deluded!"
With a snap of his fingers, the image of the man's ex-wife and her
lover was projected into the air once again. Cackling obscenely, he observed
the pair.
"You two sure came in handy, didn't you? Well, I've enjoyed myself
enough. Let's wrap this up."
This man who called himself a Guide was decidedly not the type to
wish for another's happiness. Just the opposite, in fact. He looked down at
the dead man in front of him and laughed, pointing his finger.
"Who do you think made you unhappy in the first place? It was me! I
just wanted to see how far I could make a good person fall. I got a lot more
fun out of it than I thought I would, though, so I came up with a continuation
to make it last."
This Guide was basically a creature composed of malice who loved
unhappiness and lived on it as sustenance. Negative emotions, especially
from people he made miserable, were his greatest nourishment. He had done
it countless times; the man lying before him was just one such victim.
"Now then, before the main course, I should polish off the hors
d'oeuvres."
He reached out and touched the image, and black smoke poured out of
him. It coiled around the pair in the projected image, but they didn't notice.
As they discussed the dead man, their cheerful conversation started to
change.
The man's smile faded, his expression turning grave. He said to the
woman, "Well, we've both had our fun, haven't we? I think it's about time to
end things."
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"Huh?"
The Guide chuckled, relishing this turn of events. "Now, show me how
far you will fall."
Dumbfounded, the woman dropped the knife she'd been holding. "Wh-
what are you saying?"
"I'm saying our little play-relationship is over. It's run its course,
right?"
She looked lost, bewildered. "Are you joking? If you're serious, then
you know you're going down. You think I don't know all the things you've
done?"
The man was cool in the face of her threats. "If you want to put up a
fight, then by all means, do it, but don't forget that the lawyer who helped
you with your divorce is a friend of mine. If you make a scene, you'll be the
one who ends up in hot water. I'll expose you for setting up your ex-husband
and helping his boss embezzle from his company."
"Wh-what about your daughter? You're just going to abandon your
own child?"
"Legally, it's his kid, right? Plus, he's paying child support, isn't he?
I'm sure you'll do fine."
When she realized he was being serious, the ex-wife could only
tremble. She barely managed to squeeze out, "You said you loved me."
"And I did, but I've lost interest—that's all there is to it. If we both
enjoyed it while it lasted, that's fine, right? Just find your next love."
"I can't do that!"
The ex-wife clung to the man, but he peeled her hands off him and
made to leave the restaurant. "Don't touch me. I'm not interested in you
anymore."
"Wait, please, listen to me! I'll do anything! Don't leave me!"
The ex-wife pleaded desperately, but the man simply looked at her with
eyes like ice. They were nothing like the couple who'd been happily chatting
a few minutes earlier.
"What are you, stupid? You really thought I was gonna marry a
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cheater like you? Use your head, why don't you? If your ex-husband fell in
love with you, then he had terrible taste."
If those words were true, then this man had never loved the ex-wife
from the beginning. When he'd said he loved her, he'd lied. Realizing that,
she couldn't even bring herself to speak anymore.
Clapping gleefully, the Guide said, "Fantastic! What will she do next?"
The ex-wife's despair flowed into him. He gobbled up her rage and
sadness—all her negative emotions. They filled the Guide's heart, satiating
him.
With clenched fists, the woman hung her head. "I left my husband for
you."
"Your ex-husband. And you enjoyed driving him into a corner, didn't
you? Don't pretend you're the victim here. You were the one who left him."
"You said it!" The Guide laughed in agreement, then read the ex-wife's
thoughts. "Oh my, she's reconsidering him now, even though he's already
dead. Women sure are tough. It's too bad; the man who loved you is dead,
and his last desire was to have revenge on you!"
The Guide cackled, banishing the scene in order to enjoy the next step
of his plans. "I look forward to seeing if you try to go back to your husband,
or if you try to find a new man. Unfortunately, happiness will never come
to you!"
He'd made sure either option would only lead to more unhappiness.
That was what it meant when the Guide stepped into one's life.
"Now then, I have to guide his soul...to a world where lives are
cheaply consumed. A happy world. For me, that is!"
The Guide couldn't stop smiling, thinking about the world he was
about to enter.
"By the time he realizes it, it'll be too late. This is going to be so much
fun. 'It wasn't supposed to be like this!' he'll cry. He'll be filled with
resentment, anger, sadness...and it'll all be directed at me! He'll hate me, and
his hate will only nourish me!"
The Guide, who loved nothing more than the negative emotions of
humans, spread his arms wide. He simply couldn't contain his mirth when he
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imagined the feelings his scheme would soon produce.
"Whether he becomes a villain and sows despair in that other world or
becomes unhappy himself and overflows with hatred for me, I win! Now, it's
time for my fun to begin!"
No matter how things went, he was certain to enjoy himself. The
Guide's anticipation reached the point of ecstasy.
"Oh, it's almost time. I'll return here after I finish guiding his soul.
These fools...they all rejoice when they hear they'll be reincarnated. These
are truly fantastic times. All it takes is a few sweet lies and they fall for it."
He picked up his bag excitedly and, with a snap of his fingers,
summoned a lavishly decorated wooden door, which looked completely out
of place in the shabby apartment. This was his means of traversing the many
realities. The Guide turned the knob and opened the door, revealing a
swirling mass of black and purple. He stood there for a moment, lifting a
hand to his chin in thought.
In a corner of the room, a small light seemed to observe the Guide. The
vague light watched him in secret, but it gradually grew larger and took on a
more defined shape. Its outline was blurred, but it appeared to be a dog. After
casting a forlorn look at the deceased man, the figure of light glared at the
Guide, though it went unnoticed.
"I don't know how I should make the most of this. Let's see, first I'll
have to decide where to reincarnate him. It's fun enough putting him in a
happy family and making him suffer afterward, and I did just do that...but
maybe better to have him work his way up and then knock him back down? I
wouldn't want him thanking me for the opportunity before the fall, though."
The Guide clapped his hands together. "Well, I'll play it by ear for
now, though at the end, I think torture and a public execution would be good.
I'm looking forward to seeing him curse me and die in despair. Ah! I can
hardly wait." The Guide embraced himself and squirmed with mad glee.
"Your next life should be longer than this one. Longer and more
painful as well! I do hope you'll struggle throughout for the sake of my
happiness!" Making up his mind, the Guide headed through the door looking
rather refreshed. However, unbeknownst to him, the little dog made of light
leapt through the door with him.
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When the door to the other world closed, it vanished from the room,
whose only occupant now was the man's lifeless body.
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