At this point, it is necessary to mention Hell’s original setting in the story.
This character possessed a rather complex dual identity.
On the surface, he was an ordinary male student attending the same elite academy as the female leads in Academy City Eden.
He had average grades and a handsome face but a gloomy temperament.
He did not fit in well, making him the type of person who had little presence in class and was easily overlooked.
Secretly, however, his true identity was a high-ranking official in the evil organization known as the Eternal Night Gospel Church—an Adjudicator known as “V.”
He did not come from a combat background; rather, he was an existence absorbed into the organization’s inner circle because of a specific talent.
Along with his code name “V,” he had been granted a very niche special ability—Mutual Slaughter of All Things.
The name of this ability sounded quite intimidating.
Once activated within a certain range, the cognition of any target who “saw” him would be forcibly twisted and inverted.
They would view each other as “mortal enemies” who had to be eliminated, falling into an uncontrollable state of frenzied mutual slaughter until one party died or left the range.
At first glance, this skill seemed like a god-tier ability for group battles. Mass-range forced confusion was enough to instantly dismantle a well-trained team. However, its fatal flaws were equally obvious.
First, it was completely indiscriminate.
As long as someone saw Hell within the range, whether they were enemies or allies, their cognition would be distorted, and they would fall into a mindless slaughter.
This meant that when using this ability, he had to ensure there were no allies around him. Otherwise, it would be a case of killing 1,000 enemies while losing 800 of his own, or he might even be killed by his own people first.
Second, this skill was almost useless in a one-on-one duel.
Only two parties who saw him would kill each other; if only one person saw him, or if he faced an enemy with no vision or a sense of “sight” that did not rely on the concept of “looking,” the ability would fail completely.
Most importantly, this ability had very little effect on the Goddess Angels.
In the original plot, Hell, under the identity of “V,” came to the academy to pretend to be a student so he could secretly investigate the true identity of the Goddess Angel and erase her from existence.
However, after learning that his classmate Luna was the Goddess Angel, he was overcome by lust and developed feelings for her.
Yet, his pursuit—conducted in a gloomy and awkward manner—was rejected by Luna flatly and decisively. Unable to have her, V, who already had psychological issues, turned to wicked thoughts.
He planned to use his status and ability as an official of the Eternal Night Gospel to “capture” Luna by force.
He made many preparations, even going so far as to investigate Luna’s past to uncover her psychological weaknesses.
He designed a very meticulous trap, using a certain trauma from Luna’s past to create an illusion, and then threatened her using her identity as a Goddess Angel.
“Classmate Luna, you wouldn’t want anyone to know you’re the Goddess Angel, would you?”
The plan was nearly successful; in the original story, Hell almost managed to get Luna into bed.
However, several of Luna’s Goddess Angel companions arrived just in time.
They offered the confused Luna a series of “calls of friendship” and “encouragement of bonds.” With just two or three sentences, they “awakened” Luna from her psychological shadow.
Flying into a rage, Hell immediately activated his special skill, Mutual Slaughter of All Things, attempting to make the Goddess Angels who came to the rescue kill each other so he could reap the benefits.
However… what happened next was the ultimate mockery of his existence.
Facing the effects of Mutual Slaughter of All Things, those Goddess Angels only wavered for a brief moment before their eyes became even more determined.
They shouted things about how friendship, bonds, and faith would not be shaken by such an ability. Not only did they not attack each other, but they also supported one another with perfect coordination. Enduring the interference of the ability, they forcibly broke through the cognitive distortion. They then swarmed forward and decisively “finished” Hell, who was still standing there in a daze, unable to believe his ability had failed.
In the original story, Hell never figured out why his Mutual Slaughter of All Things, which was theoretically invincible against groups, had absolutely no effect on those Goddess Angels. Instead, it had merely served as a backdrop for them to showcase the “power of friendship.”
Hell, who had now inherited all these memories, understood it very clearly.
‘She is the female lead, and I am just cannon fodder.’
What was worse was that the Author who had thrown him into this world had specifically chosen the character “Adjudicator V Hell” for his reincarnation. The intent was truly sinister.
This was clearly an attempt to make him experience the same frustration and failure as the original V. The Author wanted to see him think he had victory in his grasp, only to be slapped in the face by the female lead’s “friendship and bonds” halo. Ultimately, he would end up like the original V—another stepping stone on the protagonist’s path to growth, meeting a tragic and predestined death.
Hell lay back in his chair, gazing at the starry sky. A cold arc curved at the corner of his mouth, and his gaze became resolute.
He felt a deep sense of resentment toward being “forcibly” killed and transmigrated into this book world. He was fuming.
‘You want to see me fail? You want me to follow the script you wrote and be killed like a clown in the end? I won’t give you what you want. I will conquer this world, and after I find you, “Author,” I’ll pay you back ten-fold.’
Thus, Hell began to re-evaluate the ability Mutual Slaughter of All Things.
Was it useless? For Goddess Angels who possessed ridiculous settings like “protagonist halos,” “friendship buffs,” and “invincible convictions,” the effect might indeed be greatly reduced or even completely negated—the original story had already proven that.
However… this ability was an absolute “invincible skill” when used against his own people.
As long as it was used properly, Mutual Slaughter of All Things was the perfect tool for purging the organization, eliminating dissidents, creating chaos, and ensuring his own safety within a villainous organization like the Eternal Night Gospel, which was already riddled with internal conflicts and ulterior motives.
Hadn’t the encounter with T and his subordinates just now been a successful test?
Therefore, Hell’s line of thinking shifted completely.
Since it was virtually impossible to win by going head-to-head against Goddess Angels who had “female lead buffs” and “plot armor” according to the logic of the original story, and since his “teammates” were a bunch of idiots with no brains, the ending was fixed. The Eternal Night Gospel was destined to fall, and he would be unable to escape death.
In that case, why should he stubbornly oppose the protagonist group or bother trying to save this doomed, broken organization?
Winning for himself was also a form of victory.
So, Hell’s new strategy was to manipulate them.
It wasn’t emotional manipulation in the traditional sense, but a broader form of guiding, influencing, and even “utilizing.”
He would guide these Goddess Angels and let them fight the Eternal Night Gospel. Both sides would perish together.
During this process, he would skillfully stay out of it, perhaps even secretly fueling the fire, ultimately achieving his goal of staying safe and escaping his identity as a villain and his doomed fate.
Hell’s first target was the female lead he had “pushed” in his past life, the Annihilation Angel Artemis—the girl whose real name was Luna Florea and who was also his classmate.