Reincarnated and Regressed Villain - Make heroines beg for forgiveness

"Haah... Haaah..." Jenny gasped, her chest heaving as she stood over the pile of bodies, her daggers slick with blood.

Her arms trembled from exhaustion, yet her stance remained firm, eyes scanning the chaotic battlefield around her.

"Young miss, please!" a voice shouted from behind.

It was one of the remaining members of the Phoenix Order, his face streaked with dirt and blood as he struggled to fend off two attackers. "You have to run! Get out of here before it's too late!"

Jenny's vision swayed for a moment, her body teetering on the edge of collapse. She could barely hear him over the roar of battle and the pounding in her ears.

The exhaustion from killing so many cultivators was taking its toll, but she forced herself to stay upright.

Running away wasn't an option.

"I won't!" she hissed, staggering but regaining her footing. Her bloodied hands tightened around her daggers. "If I die here, so be it. But I'm not leaving my people behind."

A wave of energy surged toward her as a group of dark-robed cultivators advanced, their leader, a burly man with a scarred face, grinning maliciously. "Look at her—barely standing! This'll be easy!"

Jenny's lips twisted into a snarl. With the last remnants of her internal energy, she surged forward to meet them head-on.

Her body felt like it was moving through water, sluggish and slow, but she pushed through, dodging the first man's strike by a hair's breadth.

Her daggers flashed in retaliation, cutting deep into his side.

"Aghh!?" He let out a strangled cry before collapsing, clutching the gaping wound.

Another came at her, his blade slicing toward her throat. Jenny ducked, her legs buckling under the strain, but she managed to parry his strike and counter with a quick jab to his neck.

Blood sprayed from his wound, and he fell to the ground, eyes wide in shock.

"Young miss!" another desperate shout echoed from a distance, but it was drowned out by the sound of Jenny's heartbeat pounding in her ears. Her vision blurred, the edges darkening as the world spun around her.

Her legs finally gave out, and she collapsed onto her knees, gasping for air.

'Damn you, Ryuk... You killed them all...' she cursed inwardly, her vision fading as she began to tumble forward, her strength completely spent.

Just as she felt herself falling into the abyss, a powerful aura surged around her.

The air itself seemed to hum with energy as a figure appeared, catching her before she hit the ground.

Jenny's eyes snapped open, and through the haze, she recognized the person holding her up. "G-Grandma?" she rasped in disbelief.

The matriarch of the Celestial Phoenix Order stood before her, radiating an aura so intense that even the strongest cultivators on the battlefield paused in fear.

The pressure of her presence alone caused the ground to tremble, and the sky darkened as internal energy swirled around her like a storm.

"Rest, child," the matriarch's voice was calm but carried an edge of fury. "You've done enough."

The remaining members of the Phoenix Order let out a collective gasp as they recognized the matriarch's arrival.

Their spirits lifted as the strongest among them had finally appeared.

The palace, once teetering on the brink of collapse, now seemed fortified by the sheer force of the matriarch's power.

The dark-robed cultivators stood frozen, their arrogance drained as they felt the overwhelming force that now filled the battlefield. One of them, trembling, muttered, "The... the Matriarch is here..."

"Indeed," the matriarch spoke, her voice carrying across the battlefield. "It seems the Empress has lost her mind, sending such weaklings to die."

Before any of the enemies could react, the matriarch moved.

Her body became a blur, an afterimage left in her wake as she darted through the ranks of enemy cultivators.

In an instant, light streaked across the battlefield, followed by the sound of bodies collapsing one after another.

In a mere heartbeat, the dark-robed attackers were no more, their bodies falling lifeless to the ground.

Jenny, though on the verge of unconsciousness, managed to lift her head slightly, watching the display of power.

Her heart swelled with a mix of relief and awe as she saw her grandmother standing amidst the wreckage, her aura still blazing, the last of their enemies reduced to nothing but corpses.

"Grandma..." she whispered, her voice weak but filled with gratitude.

The matriarch turned, her gaze softening as she knelt beside Jenny. "You've fought bravely, Jenny. Now rest. The Phoenix Order still stands, and we will finish this."

"Will you really?"

The chilling voice sent a ripple of silence across the scene.

'?!'

Jenny's heart stopped for a moment, her blood running cold.

She stiffened, her eyes wide as she spun around.

Standing at the edge of the palace stairs, bathed in the dim orange glow of twilight, was a man.

His hands rested casually in his pockets, his black suit absorbing the light, making his presence even more menacing.

His eyes, once a golden hue, slowly shifted to a piercing amber, glowing with an eerie intensity as he stared down at them with a smirk curling at the edges of his lips.

"R-Ryuk?" Jenny's voice trembled, the name barely escaping her lips.

Her heart raced uncontrollably as memories—no, nightmares—flooded her mind.

Her body froze in place, a shiver running down her spine as her hand instinctively flew to her neck.

She could almost feel the sharp, cold blade slicing through her neck once more.

The memory was too vivid—how he had killed her, mercilessly, without hesitation, in her past life.

'No, no, no!' That single moment, replaying over and over in her mind, the pain, the terror.

Her legs trembled, weakening beneath her, and she stumbled backward, her breath coming in shallow gasps.

Fear gripped her so tightly that her fingers dug into her own flesh, trying to anchor herself to the present, but the past kept pulling her back, suffocating her with its horrors.

Her chest heaved, and she felt bile rising in her throat as she looked at him.

The mask covered part of his face, but even with it, she knew.

She would never forget him—his eyes, his aura, that cold, heartless smirk.

He hadn't changed.

He was the same monster who had ended her life once, and now he stood there, as if mocking her existence again.

'Why does he want to destroy my family again? I did nothing to him!?'

Panic swelled inside her chest like a rising tide.

Every inch of her body wanted to run, to escape the terror standing before her.

She was suffocating under the weight of his gaze.

But then—her fear began to morph.

It twisted into something darker, deeper—rage.

Her trembling lips curled into a snarl, her grip tightening on her daggers, her knuckles turning white as that fury consumed her fear.

"Grandma!" she yelled, her voice thick with desperation and anger. "It's him! He's the one—"

But before she could finish, her vision blurred.

The world around her started to twist and contort, her limbs felt heavy, and a numbing cold spread through her body.

Her voice faltered, her words dying in her throat as she staggered forward.

Her eyes, once burning with rage, began to dull, losing their spark.

Her body betrayed her, refusing to move, as though something had taken hold of her very soul.

"Wh-what....?" she mumbled, her voice faint and confused.

A soft breeze rustled beside her, and suddenly, a figure appeared, stepping out from the ethereal mist.

A woman dressed in a white, flowing gown stood at Jenny's side.

Her golden eyes, filled with a strange mix of tenderness and malice, stared down at Jenny, her lips forming a small, knowing smile.

Esme.

She placed a gentle hand on Jenny's head, as if soothing a child.

Jenny's body swayed, her eyes unfocused, slipping into a trance, falling completely under Esme's illusion.

"Rest assured," Esme spoke softly, her voice carrying an ominous undertone. "She will feel hell, yet not die."

Her eyes flicked toward Ryuk, a mischievous glint in her gaze. "You can continue...Ahem, Husban—it's hard" She paused, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks as she coughed delicately, remembering the permission Ryuk had given her when walking the stairs.