Derek Coleman—presently known as Derek Henderson—had been born to a couple running a small store in Blue Intersection.
He was raised in a perfectly ordinary household, but he was shunned by everyone around him, including his parents. Once he awakened to his unique brainwashing magic at the young age of six, he was suspected as the culprit for everything that went wrong. He was always accused of using his magic to force others into breaking the rules.
“My power is terrifying, but I’m sure I’ll get to use it to make someone happy one day!”
Back then, Derek was a kindhearted boy with pure thoughts like those. Even when a thief lied about being manipulated into stealing and Derek was thrown in jail, or when his mother blamed her cheating on him controlling her, he never abandoned his goal of using his powers to help people. While it was true that he could have easily committed all the misdeeds he was accused of if he felt like it, he wasn’t that kind of person.
People hate me now because of my power, but if I use it to help them without doing anything wrong, they’ll come to like me eventually. I just know it, he thought.
Then, at the age of fifteen, Derek was visited by an important girl.
“You’re Derek, right? I heard that you possess a magnificent power.” To his surprise, his visitor was Elise Henderson, the second princess of his kingdom. “I’m thinking of participating in the demon lord’s subjugation, and I’d like you to join me. Won’t you lend me your power for the sake of this kingdom and the rest of humanity?” she said.
Elise’s lovely looks and gentle smile stole Derek’s heart. At the same time, he was thrilled to be given the opportunity to use his powers for someone else’s sake.
So, Derek joined Elise’s party. His brainwashing magic could make enemies fight each other or force them to leak confidential information. He could even ensnare monsters to fight alongside the party. Everyone in the party, Elise included, praised Derek endlessly for his efforts.
“You’re incredible!”
“You might even be humanity’s messiah!”
Back home, Derek had only garnered resentment no matter what he’d done, so he drank in their every word.
“Your power isn’t a wicked one. It’s a wonderful gift meant for bringing happiness to people. Let’s work together until we can take down the demon lord. After that, everyone can spend the rest of their lives smiling,” Elise told him. Nothing would have made him happier.
Eventually, their party destroyed the demon army’s base that had caused the most destruction in Blue Intersection. It was an achievement worthy of having them hailed as heroes upon their return to the kingdom.
“At this rate, we might really take down the demon lord, Lady Elise!” Derek said with an innocent heart.
“No, this is more than enough. You’ve served your purpose,” Elise said before running a sword through that same heart.
“Huh?!” The heart was the source of mana. With it so damaged, Derek was completely helpless. Blood dripped from his mouth as he looked at her. “Wh-Why, Lady Elise? Didn’t you say you want to defeat the demon lord and make the world a better place?”
“No, I only wanted to win in the succession struggle for the throne. Destroying this base will give me plenty of prestige. Why else would royalty like me participate in such a dangerous war? I’d have to be either a complete deviant or an idiot otherwise,” Elise said. The expression on her face was a wicked grin of ambition, completely unlike the gentle and compassionate smile she’d shown Derek so far. “It would reflect poorly on me if it got out that I had someone with a repulsive power like yours helping me, so I’ll make it look like you were never here. I even have a body double ready to replace you.”
“Wh-What? But you said...my power is a wonderful gift...that will bring happiness to everyone.”
“Haven’t you heard of lying? How could I compliment something so repulsive?” Elise’s face twisted into a grimace as if he was literal garbage. She then kicked Derek down the cliff they were standing on.
Derek felt his body floating for a brief moment before sinking into some kind of viscous liquid. The next second, a sharp pain assaulted his senses. He’d fallen into the territory of a belial snake, a type of vicious, venomous snake monster that turned its nest into a poisonous swamp.
“Curse you, Eliiiiiiiiise!!!” Derek shouted at the top of his lungs, ignoring the stinging pain caused by the poison. He’d trusted her, even loved her.
“You’re a real dimwit, aren’t you? No one could ever trust you when you have that kind of power, not in a million years. You make me sick to my stomach. Who would ever love a guy like you?” With those parting words, Elise and the rest of her party had departed.
“Shit, shit, dammit! Damn you all!!!” Derek screamed as he slowly sank into the swamp.
Screw this! I never asked for this power! Everyone, even my parents, hate me and treat me like a villain because of it. I always thought that if I never used it for wicked purposes, a day would come when I could use it to help someone. I thought that I’d finally met like-minded allies.
Now—I don’t care anymore. I’m fine with being your villain. I’ll stop trying to use my power for the sake of others and think of myself. I can live my life and use it to fulfill my own desires, just watch! I’ll get out of here alive and get my revenge on all of you!
Derek swore his revenge even as he writhed in pain from the poison permeating his body.
Elise and her party had made one grave miscalculation: Derek’s brainwashing magic fell under poison magic, a subcategory of the water element, meaning that his body had a natural affinity for poison. Although the poison in the swamp he’d fallen into caused him excruciating pain, it had helped him recover. Enough to survive.
Furthermore, as luck would have it, it was the belial snake’s egg-laying season at the time. Even though food had literally fallen from the sky, it had no choice but to ignore Derek for the seventy-two-hour period of its egg-laying. He slogged through the swamp at a slug’s pace for three days and nights straight and somehow got out with his life, then spent some time healing from his terrible injuries.
During their triumphant return, Elise and her party stopped at an inn, where they held a celebratory banquet. In the middle of the boisterous festivities, they suddenly collapsed.
“Come on, you have to at least check your food for poison! These are your just deserts for getting complacent after having me around to do it for you,” Derek said as he stepped on one of his former allies’ heads. He’d slipped ten times the lethal poison dose into everyone but Elise’s drinks, killing them instantly.
“Help...me...” Elise said through the agonizing pain. Her dose had been carefully adjusted to be just below the lethal level, so she was on the brink of death.
“Very well, I will! After all, I owe you for opening my eyes, Elise. This power isn’t meant to bring people smiles but to satisfy my every desire!” Derek had said. A smile more vicious than the one she’d shown him twisted his face. “I think I’ll give becoming king a spin first. You’ll give birth to my kids, Elise!” His expression was a far cry from the pure one he’d worn only days ago. He oozed malice from every pore like the worst sort of monster.
Elise squeaked with fear. “No...!”
“Relax, I’ll fix you up so you truly enjoy serving me! Ha ha ha ha, aha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!”