"No!"

A scream reverberated in the entire room. The shrill, terror scream came from a woman who was hugging her child tightly like she had seen a murderer. Her pure white dress was stained with crimson red, and messy strands of hair were glued on her profusely sweating forehead. Her uncontrollable shivering shook the scared child who loudly cried on her damp-looking dress.

"Rainford?"

The woman managed to speak audibly through her dry lips. Resounding throughout the room of silence, the somewhat familiar voice resonated deep within his ears.

"Rainford, please get a hold of yourself!"

Jonathan stood in front of the woman. For the past three minutes, he could only stare at the limp woman in front of him. A while ago, he was playing games enthusiastically for thirty hours without sleep to celebrate the end of his overtime office schedules at the weekends. However, he ignored his bodily alarm and his fatigue got a hold of him, falling asleep without turning off his game simulator. The second he woke up, a shrill voice greeted him in a place he doesn’t recognize.

The teary-eyed woman, putting her child gently, ignored the child’s heart-rending plea and stood up weakly despite the scars all over her body. Walking towards him with her shivering legs, the unstable steps that she took had presumably lost its power as she seemed to likely faint whenever he blinked.

In a middle of confusion, he reflexively stretched his hand to the woman out of compassion.

Only to find a blood-covered hand with a glinting dagger in his palm.

When the child suddenly screamed for his mother, Jonathan retracted his bloodied hand in panic as the blood-stained woman put her cold hands on his cheeks. She cried harder when he looked at her straight in the eye, her pale face became impossibly paler.

"S-son, this is not you," the woman shakily said between her ragged breath.

Jonathan glanced at his surroundings and found numerous corpses lying behind him, crimson liquid were flowing near his feet. The sharp metallic smell of blood entered his nose, causing an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Scattered over the vast room, the innumerable deformed corpses were contorted in a way that seemed to had their bones snapped before they died while some bore deep stab marks over their bodies.

He wanted to scream at the horror situation he was currently involved in. He brushed the woman’s hand. Although he didn’t exert any energy, the beautiful woman was thrown near the child.

Frantically, Jonathan turned around and found an intimidating figure. The figure possessed a bloodied platinum blond hair while standing stiffly with his mesomorphic body despite the stature of a child. An extremely handsome visage with a chiseled jaw was latched upon his face. However, betraying his perfect figure, a pair of heterochromatic eyes were looking coldly at him. Under the darkness, the pair of cold azure blue and blazing crimson red orb were glinting along with the dagger he was holding.

When Jonathan stepped backwards in surprise, the bloodied figure in front of him followed his gestures. Jonathan touched his face with his empty hand, as the figure imitated every bit of movement like a decalcomania.

‘This, this can’t be happening.’

The appearance- the scene. Jonathan contemplated the familiar event before him and the terrifying coincidence terrified him. The motions he demonstrated felt too foreign as his point of view suddenly became higher and his body felt a lot lighter. He considered himself crazy as he came to one conclusion.

He was stuck in the body of an antagonist in the latest popular novel he was currently trying to finish reading: ‘Millennia Cross’

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

He rigidly looked at the woman and the child behind him. The woman kneeling on the floor was crying under the merciless eyes as her expression wordlessly asked for mercy. Behind her, the boy started to cry louder.

"Brother, please have mercy."

A surge of compassion filled his heart when he heard the teen’s emotional request. He pitied both the mother and brother to be involved in the accident. Jonathan thought deeply, afraid to change the plot. If a normal guy suddenly got transported into a whole new world, of course, he would panic; in the body of an antagonist at that.

The woman, if Jonathan remembered correctly, was the mother of Rainford Fallan. A dignified, gentle woman who cherished her children and citizens. She was killed by Rainford in this exact slaughter scene. While the brunet behind her, was Rainford’s little brother, Felt Raynore, was one of the main character’s comrade.

If the current scene were to follow the original flashback, then he, as Rainford Fallan, would have to kill his own mother. Jonathan couldn’t stand to see blood, yet alone to see a corpse. Growing up, having to deem justice and emotional preferences as the only righteous act within a sane and rational mind, he couldn’t bring himself to imagine doing such treacherous action.

‘Of all scenes, why did I have to be transferred into this one?’ Jonathan cursed.

Between sympathy and for the sake of sticking to the original plot, he decided to forsake the latter. In his entire lifetime, never had he thought of genocide. The thought of killing itself left him a tremendous pressure.

"Both of you, stand up and get out of here."

Jonathan was surprised by his own voice. What came out wasn’t the warm and reassuring tone that he wanted to deliver from his heart. Contrary to his feelings, a murderous, oppressive voice came out from his mouth. His voice sounded as if it won’t accept any arguments. Fueling his panic in the abrupt change of appearance he was in, his own voice and body didn’t even listen to him. He could feel the awkward smile he wanted to grace his lips became a terrifying frown.

"Brother, why are you doing this?"

In a middle of sobbing, the brittle Felt managed to ask the intimidating figure in front of him, ignoring his mother’s soft plead. Mentally taken aback, hazy memories of distant past passed through his mind in such a way that the familiar voice seem to awaken something within him.

‘Why… Did I do this?’

While he was deep in thought, a large group of men suddenly barged inside the room. Their scary expression started to waver when they saw the pile of corpses behind him. The knives they were holding shook clumsily,

“W-what monster did this?!”

A whimpering sob broke out from Felt’s lips upon their appearance. The servants could barely contain their composure at the repulsive sight in front of them. Corpses and the queasy smell of blood shocked them to their very core. Except from the head butler, as commoners from birth, they never had associated themselves with brutal combats.

Recognizing one of the corpses to be their master, they fell deeper into a state of incredulity as they realized that there was another man in the midst of the slaughter. The familiar lone figure who held a bloodied knife in front of them was drenched and surrounded by blood.

“Everyone, go stand beside the mistress and youngest master,” the oldest one from the bunch spoke out cautiously.

“Young master Rainford?”

Jonathan could audibly hear the closing in footsteps behind his back clearly resounding inside the silent room slowly and steadily. Without himself knowing, his body stood unbudging as if he was petrified in the tense atmosphere.

‘Calm down… I need to devise a plan. I should continue with the farce of being Rainford and force them to stand still with a threat until I successfully escape. Alright, that sounds good.’

With no other plan to think of, Jonathan loosened his tense shoulder and took a deep breath as he garnered courage to face his back.

“All of you-”

“Ah!”

The moment their eyes met with the cold-blooded eyes, all sense of familiarity were put aside instantly.

"Y-young master, we won’t hesitate to use these knives! Please leave the mansion this instant!"

Following the statement, cacophonous shaking voices covered the entire room. As though they were brave, the men held their head high to contradict their shaking legs- trying to show that they weren’t afraid regardless of who he really is or how long they’ve had known him.

“C-cross o-our dead bodies first i-if you wish harm to the duchess and youngest master!”

‘Do I look that scary? Besides, how can I leave if you idiots are blocking the door!’

Shouts of shaking voices resounded throughout the entire room. Jonathan could undoubtedly see their fear. While it was a good thing to see the touching scene of the servants loyalty, he could only bitterly laugh as he was the bad guy here.

Would they kill him? Or they might throw him at some sort of unknown panopticon for him to spend his whole life. The thought continued to branch into myriad questions as he started to feel the ache in his head.

Jonathan gnashed his teeth, ‘If I die at a stupid incomprehensible situation like this, I might as well die a torturous death.’

When a bulky man walked forward, Jonathan took a step back. He analyzed the entire room. The room only had one entrance, but it was blocked by many.

‘What did Rainford do to escape?’ he asked himself, all the while thinking critically. Then, his own question was answered by the sight of massacre around him.

Jonathan racked his brain to rewind his few experiences with the novel.

‘Rainford Fallan. Couldn’t he control time?’ Jonathan could picture himself striking silly poses.

‘Well, escape or die, I have to roll the dice. If I am Rainford then,’

Jonathan stared sharply at the flinching men in front of him and mustered his courage. He felt air gathered around his feet as if he had control over it and warm surging feeling ran through his veins. He remembered Rainford’s cold voice as Jonathan silently whispered with both of his eyes closed shut,

“Time Stop."