Villain Rising: My Job In This New World Is To Cuck The Protagonist

"It wasn’t a hard guess," Ren replied with a sigh as he leaned back. "The guy was a coward... He knew he couldn’t breach the capital’s wards since it’s probably Jace they’re after, so he went after the next best thing to mess with Jace’s head... you. I figured he might pull a stunt like that, so I sent the necklace. Don’t overthink it."

Astrid slowly shook her head with her golden hair spilling over her shoulders.

She didn’t buy his casual dismissal.

She told him what had happened out there in the mud. She kept it brief, but her voice shook slightly when she mentioned the Void-Stalker ambush.

She admitted how her muscles had locked up, how she had been caught completely off-guard and how those shadowy claws had been mere inches away from severing her spine.

"I’m an A-rank mage," Astrid murmured, her blue eyes locked onto his golden ones. "I actually thought I had enough firepower to hold the eastern flank by myself. I thought I could just blast his vanguard until they broke..."

She leaned forward, reducing the physical distance between them to mere inches. The soft scent of her morning perfume mixed with the ambient mana in the air.

"But when the sky tore open... when I felt what his magic was actually doing to the valley..."

Astrid placed her soft, warm hand flat over his heart as she felt the steady reassuring rhythm beating beneath his chest.

"If you hadn’t intervened," Astrid said. "If you hadn’t launched yourself up there and dragged him away... I don’t think I would have made it. My magic hits hard, but his magic was rewriting the rules. He would have broken my barrier. Astelvern would have burned, and my guild as well as many others would have been slaughtered."

She looked at the man lying beneath her.

"Thank you, Ren," Astrid whispered.

She leaned her face closer to his with her breath ghosting warmly across his lips. "You saved my home. You saved my people... You saved your people... You saved me."

Ren reached up with his left hand as he placed his warm palm gently against the side of her neck with his thumb resting softly against her jawline.

He felt the rapid elevated pulse of her heart beating against his skin.

"He woke me up at three in the morning and tried to ruin my vacation," Ren said with a shake of his head. "Besides, I protect what’s mine. You don’t need to thank me for taking out the trash."

Astrid smiled.

A brilliant expression of love illuminated her face. She closed the remaining distance, leaning her body flush against his, fully intending to press her lips against his mouth; however a sharp high-frequency magical chime interrupted the moment.

Astrid froze with her lips hovering barely a millimeter away from his.

She frowned with a sudden flash of irritation crossing her delicate features.

The ringing sound originated from her personal communication mirror resting face-down on the wooden nightstand beside the bed.

She let out a frustrated sigh, pulling slightly away from him. Astrid reached over and picked up the enchanted silver glass and then she glanced at the specific glowing mana signature vibrating across the reflective surface.

Her irritation instantly vanished, replaced by a sudden deep concern.

"It’s Jace," Astrid murmured, tilting the mirror slightly to show the glowing caller signature to Ren.

The Hero was calling...

Ren reclined against the plush silk pillows, resting his hands behind his head.

A slow amused smirk touched the corners of his mouth. He analyzed the glowing mirror with the mind of a seasoned predator watching wounded prey stumble into a trap.

He knew exactly why the protagonist was reaching out...

The continental broadcast of the abyssal invasion had probably dominated the Royal Arcane Network for the past week.

Jace, sitting safely behind the heavily guarded walls of his family’s estate in the capital, had undoubtedly watched the destruction of his aunt’s hometown.

He had watched a man he considered a rival step up and eradicate a Demon King which was a monumental feat the Hero himself was prophesied to accomplish.

Beyond the bruised ego, Ren could see the deeper picture.

The Imperial Academy had not yet started its sessions... Jace was trapped inside the sprawling, suffocating walls of the Matriarch’s estate.

He was surrounded by the finest Royal Healers, high-tier clerics, and his overbearing mother. They had spent weeks attempting to reverse the humiliating damage inflicted upon him during his initial clash with the First Demon King.

They had all failed... and Jace was dealing with a crushing world-shattering reality.

Astrid tapped her thumb against the activation rune etched into the heavy brass frame.

The silver glass rippled like a disturbed pond as the visual transmission remained disabled, defaulting to a purely audio-based connection.

"Jace?" Astrid spoke into the mirror.

Her voice instantly softened, adopting the warm fiercely protective tone of a concerned aunt. "I’m here. Are you alright?"

Normally, a call from the Hero of the prophecy began with a loud boisterous highly energetic greeting.

Jace usually possessed a boundless, almost annoying level of youthful optimism, eager to brag about his latest elemental breakthrough or his preparations for the upcoming semester.

The voice that echoed out of the mirror’s audio receiver sounded entirely different.

"Aunt Astrid..."

His voice was hollow.

It lacked all trace of his usual arrogant confidence. It sounded fragile, deeply exhausted, and fundamentally broken.

Jace refused to explicitly voice his permanent emasculation over an open magical frequency... His pride simply could not endure the humiliation of speaking the words aloud...

Astrid, however, possessed the honed instincts of a veteran adventurer.

She sensed the suffocating despair bleeding through every single syllable of her nephew’s voice.

He sounded like a vanguard fighter who had just watched his entire squad get slaughtered in a dungeon.

"I’m so glad you’re safe," Jace continued with his breath caught slightly in his throat, betraying a massive wave of emotional distress. "I watched the broadcast. Mother forced the entire estate to watch the tactical breakdown of the invasion in the main hall. I saw the size of that horde and I saw the Eighth Demon King."

Astrid’s expression softened. She gripped the mirror tightly with both hands with her heart aching for her nephew.

She understood the crushing burden the Goddess of Light had placed upon his young shoulders, and she sensed that an unseen weight was actively crushing his spirit into dust.

"We survived, Jace," Astrid reassured him gently. "The Guilds held the line. The town is battered, but we’re actively rebuilding. The threat is neutralized so you don’t have to worry about us."

"I should have been there," Jace replied. "I am the Hero. I possess the holy class. I’m supposed to be the shield of the Empire. But when an actual threat materialized... I was sitting in my bedroom, useless. I watched another man step up and do my job."

A heavy, depressing silence stretched over the magical connection.

Ren lay silently beside Astrid, listening to the pathetic self-pitying monologue.

He felt zero sympathy for the protagonist. Instead he viewed Jace’s emotional breakdown entirely as a tactical vulnerability... a wide-open gap in the Hero’s psychological armor waiting to be ruthlessly exploited.

A Hero seeking comfort from his maternal figure was a classic narrative trope. Corrupting that comfort, turning his safe harbor into a broadcast of his own inadequacy, was a gold mine.

’It sure will earn me a lot of points...’

"The estate is suffocating me, Aunt Astrid," Jace confessed.

His voice dropped into a desperate, pleading whisper. "The healers constantly hover over me. They keep bringing me these... restorative tonics. They taste like ash, and they don’t do anything. They stand around my bed with glowing hands, whispering to each other when they think I’m asleep."

Jace took a deep shaky breath, gathering the last remaining shreds of his courage.

"Mother watches my every move," he continued, the pain evident in his cracking voice. "She has this horrible pity in her eyes... She won’t even look me in the face anymore... She looks at me like a broken vase she spent too much money on and not to mention, I can’t get a hold of Lumi. I feel completely broken here... I feel like a caged animal waiting for the Academy to start just to escape this house."

Astrid’s eyes widened slightly.

"Can I come stay with you?" Jace asked softly. "Can I leave the capital and come to Astelvern for a while? I need a break... I need to clear my head... I just need to be around family right now..."

Astrid smiled warmly.

She wanted nothing more than to offer her suffering nephew a safe sanctuary, a quiet place to heal away from the toxic high-pressure politics of the royal court and the suffocating presence of his mother.

She opened her mouth, leaning slightly toward the mirror, fully intending to welcome him with open arms.

"Of cour—"

Ren executed the ultimate manifestation of narrative disrespect.

He identified the exact, perfect microsecond to inflict maximum psychological damage.

He bypassed any standard moral hesitation.

Ren operated as a pure villain, recognizing a massive System Point harvest sitting directly in front of his face!

Ren slid his warm left hand seamlessly beneath the heavy silk blankets. He bypassed her waist entirely and he gripped Astrid’s ass with a firm unapologetic squeeze.

Astrid’s brain short-circuited.

The sudden, bold, highly intimate physical contact shattered her train of thought instantly.

"Haaah~"

A breathy unmistakable moan escaped her lips, carrying directly into the highly sensitive audio receiver of the enchanted mirror.

The magical connection fell dead silent.

"Aunt Astrid?" Jace asked.

His voice laced with deep confusion, derailing his depressive spiral. "Are... are you alright? You sound strange. Are you hurt?"

Astrid’s face flushed a violent blinding shade of crimson. The heat exploded across her cheeks, spreading rapidly down her elegant neck.

Her striking blue eyes widened in paralyzing shock. She glared at Ren, silently demanding he remove his hand, completely unable to form a coherent rational sentence.

Ren simply smirked. His piercing golden eyes burned with wicked intent. He tightened his grip beneath the blankets, pulling her soft hips flush against his muscular side.

Astrid gasped quietly with her free hand flying up to cover her mouth.

"I’m fine, Jace," Astrid stammered into the mirror.

Her voice trembled noticeably, failing to maintain her composed aunt persona. "I’m just... dealing with something at the moment. You can com—"

Ren seized control of the interaction.

He reached up with his right hand, weaving his long fingers directly into her cascading golden hair.

He pulled her face forcefully downward, closing the remaining physical distance between them in a single motion.

SMACK!

Ren crashed his lips directly against hers.

He initiated a deeply passionate kiss as he devoured her words, silencing her stammering response to her nephew.

"Mm~"

Astrid let out a muffled, breathless sound of shock against his mouth.

The enchanted Broadcasting Mirror captured the audio with flawless high-definition magical clarity.

The wet, unmistakable smacking sounds of an aggressive make-out session broadcasted perfectly through the network.

The heavy ragged sound of Ren breathing with the soft hum building in the back of Astrid’s throat, and the distinct rustling of the silk sheets transmitted directly into the Hero’s quiet, depressing bedroom miles away in the capital.

Ren parted her soft lips effortlessly. He deepened the kiss, claiming her mouth while actively holding her close against his chest.

Jace’s voice echoed out of the mirror, cracking with sudden, traumatized horror.

"Aunt Astrid?!" Jace practically shrieked. "Who is there?! What is happening?! Aunt Astrid!"

Ren’s peripheral vision exploded in a blinding cascade of deep red and gold light.

The System recognized the magnitude of the psychological warfare being waged against the protagonist as massive, flashing notification tabs flooded his retinas, obscuring the ceiling.

『CRITICAL SUCCESS! NARRATIVE DISRESPECT ACHIEVED!』

『You successfully executed a public, highly traumatic NTR maneuver against the Protagonist! You established physical and emotional dominance over the Hero’s primary maternal figure while he actively listened in a state of deep despair!』

『Protagonist Status Update: HERO’S MENTALITY FRACTURED! Jace has suffered severe, irrecoverable psychological damage! His motivation to train has plummeted! His emotional stability is currently in freefall! The feeling of severe emasculation has deepened exponentially!』

『Bounty Awarded: +25,000 SP!』

『Combo Bonus: +15,000 SP!』

『Hidden Title Unlocked: [The Architect of Despair] - You actively thrive on the emotional ruin of the righteous! Passively increases psychological damage inflicted on heroic entities by 50%!』

The communication mirror emitted a sharp high-pitched screech.

Jace, unable to process the agonizing audio feed of his aunt passionately making out with another man, violently terminated the connection on his end.

The glowing golden-blue mana signature faded as the silver glass went dark, severing the call and plunging the Hero back into his silent isolation.

Ren ignored the disconnected mirror.

He ignored the cascading waterfall of System Points flooding his account as he focused completely on the beautiful, powerful woman currently pressed against his chest.

He fully expected Astrid to pull away.

He braced for a sharp slap across his face, a fierce reprimand, or at the very least, a stern lecture regarding the inappropriate timing of his actions.

He had, after all, just deeply traumatized her beloved nephew during a moment of extreme vulnerability.

Astrid defied his expectations.

She let the heavy silver mirror slip from her relaxed fingers as the expensive artifact clattered harmlessly onto the thick, plush carpet beside the bed.

Astrid yielded completely to the kiss.

The intense tension from the abyssal invasion... the vulnerability of her near-death experience against the Void-Stalker and the profound gratitude for his divine protection all culminated in a singular release of pent-up passion.

She wrapped both of her arms securely around Ren’s neck, weaving her delicate fingers deep into his thick brilliant blue hair.

Astrid shifted her body weight, climbing fully onto the mattress, pressing her soft warm curves entirely flush against his hard muscular chest.

She returned the kiss with equal hunger.

"Haah~"

Astrid moaned softly directly into his mouth.

She tasted the dark heavily spiced coffee on his breath, mixed flawlessly with his unique masculine scent.

Ren wrapped both of his strong arms securely around her narrow waist. He easily lifted her, repositioning her directly on top of him, straddling his hips.

He thoroughly enjoyed the highly lucrative turn of events... The System rewarded him with endless points, and the physical world rewarded him with the passionate surrender of the Twilight Witch.

He let his right hand slide down the smooth silk of her nightgown, tracing the curve of her spine, pulling her even closer.

Astrid arched her back slightly, entirely lost in the sensation.

They were completely consumed by each other and then a colossal physical impact struck the front of the estate.

BOOM!

The violent interruption bypassed the realm of a polite standard knock.

The sheer density of the physical aura slamming against the front double doors sent a literal, massive concussive shockwave rippling through the foundational bedrock of the manor.

The high-tier, A-rank defensive wards woven directly into the thick stone walls groaned with a high-pitched, agonizing whine, struggling violently to absorb the force.

The thick, enchanted glass in the master bedroom windows rattled aggressively in their wooden frames.

The massive crystal chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling swayed wildly, casting dancing shadows across the room.

Astrid snapped backward, breaking the intimate physical contact instantly.

The blushing, passionate, yielding lover vanished in less than a single microsecond.

The hardened, combat-veteran Vice Guild Leader of the Twilight Guild returned as her striking blue eyes narrowed with terrifying focus.

She threw the heavy silk blankets off her legs, smoothly sliding off the side of the mattress and landing perfectly on her bare feet.

"Stay exactly where you are," Astrid commanded Ren. "You’re on strict bed rest so I’ll handle this."

She forcefully channeled her dense twilight gravity magic directly into her core.

Her vibrant purple aura flared brilliantly to life, illuminating the entire bedroom. She bypassed the large mahogany wardrobe, ignoring her heavy combat armor entirely.

She remained dressed only in her thin white silk nightgown.

Astrid soared out of the open bedroom doors. She banked sharply down the grand, carpeted hallway, accelerating rapidly toward the grand staircase.

The scene at the front entrance radiated intense hostility.

The massive, heavy oak double doors of the manor stood wide open. The reinforced iron hinges were bent inward, groaning softly from the force of the initial impact.

Eternia and Lyra stood directly in the threshold, operating as a completely outmatched vanguard.

Eternia stood in a low, hyper-aggressive, tightly coiled crouch. Her twin swords were drawn and locked defensively in front of her chest.

Her golden slit-pupils were dilated to their maximum, frantically tracking every microscopic movement of the threat.

Lyra stood firmly shoulder-to-shoulder with the Snakekin.

The Sub-Heroine gripped her masterwork steel sword heavily with both hands, the vibrant blue-gold aura flaring intensely around the sharp blade.

Astrid stepped smoothly in front of the two girls.

She utilized her own dense A-rank twilight aura to form a protective, gravity-based wedge, physically shielding her subordinates from the crushing pressure.

Astrid looked out the open doors, narrowing her eyes to analyze the intruder standing calmly on her pristine cobblestone driveway.

The man didn’t look like an abyssal monster, nor did he resemble a standard Kingdom official or a Guild inspector.

He stood incredibly tall, radiating an aura of flawless superiority.

His pitch-black hair was slicked back flawlessly, contrasting sharply with his pale, sharp and incredibly handsome features.

His eyes burned with an intense deeply unnerving crimson light.

He wore a profoundly elegant, master-crafted set of dark, polished armor.

The metal featured intricate, flowing silver engravings depicting snarling predatory beasts.

A heavy crimson velvet cape draped perfectly over his right shoulder, billowing gently in the crisp morning breeze.

The man stood completely relaxed with his gauntleted hands resting casually behind his back.

Astrid gripped her magical staff tightly... She prepared to unleash a point-blank, fully charged Twilight Beam to blast the arrogant intruder completely out of her gates and into the lower district.

The mysterious man smiled.

It was a perfectly calm, entirely unbothered, deeply courteous smile that completely contradicted the massive, ward-shaking shockwave he had just generated.

He stepped up onto the first marble step of the manor then he unclasped his hands, bringing his right gauntlet up to rest flawlessly over his dark breastplate.

He executed a deep culturally perfect bow, offering the Vice Guild Leader the highest form of imperial respect.

"Greetings, Vice Guild Leader Astrid," the man spoke.