The Transmigrated Villain Hates the Main Character

“Mm. Thanks.”
Raon smiled faintly at Siwoo, who was still shaking out the potion bottle with a {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} strangely grim face. The look made Raon tilt his head, puzzled.
Before he could ask, Hamin—who had been lingering nearby with red eyes since the fight—suddenly bowed to him.
“I’m really sorry, Raon. It’s my fault.”
“Huh?”
“And… thank you for saving me.”
“…?”
Raon blinked.
Saving you?
Siwoo had been the one who saved them. Raon had shielded Hamin and rolled aside, but that had only delayed their deaths by a second. If Siwoo hadn’t forced his ability to the limit to get there, neither of them would have survived.
“I didn’t do much. Siwoo’s the one who—”
“But you covered me.”
“Well, yes, but still…”
Raon looked uncomfortable. He’d barely calmed Siwoo down, and now Hamin was the problem. He couldn’t understand why the air had suddenly turned so sentimental.
Hamin’s bright, shining eyes were too much. Raon found himself turning his head to avoid them. He’d never exchanged more than curt words with Hamin before, and that only made this feel more awkward.
“Anyway, don’t worry about it. As team lead, I just did my job.”
“But…”
Hamin’s shoulders drooped, hurt by the brush-off, but Raon was already distracted.
“Yoon Siwoo. How did you even get here?”
“Major!”
Taegun and the soldiers, having finished off the monsters, came running and shouted in relief when they saw Siwoo. Watching them, Raon fell into thought.
The priority now was clear—reunite with the scattered team as fast as possible. If they stayed split up and kept fighting in pockets, they’d be annihilated before even reaching the core, just like in the original timeline.
They had to suppress the Gate differently this time. Raon’s gaze dropped to Siwoo’s hand, still linked with his for guiding.
“Siwoo.”
“Yes, Raon.”
Siwoo turned immediately, his tone softening as he looked down at him. Raon met his eyes.
“Can you use rain again—like before—to locate the others?”
It would be reckless for Siwoo alone. Just finding Raon and Hamin earlier had tanked his levels from overexertion.
But now, his S-class Guide was beside him. His pair Guide, with a 97% match rate.
If Raon maintained guiding throughout, Siwoo could search without his readings crashing again. As Raon expected, Siwoo nodded easily.
“Yes. I think I can.”
“Then let’s find them fast and regroup.”

“Right.”
In the original timeline, with his levels unstable, Siwoo probably thought of this but couldn’t act on it. Director Jang Seokhyeon had been a skilled A-rank veteran, but his match rate with Siwoo was too low for sustained radiative guiding.
Raon gripped Siwoo’s hands with quiet confidence. The moment Siwoo raised his power, rain began to pour once more across the Gate.
Shhhh—
It was always an awe-inspiring sight.
Until now, Siwoo had never been able to use his ability freely. The old Raon—the villain—had refused to guide him, forcing him to hold back. Despite his talent, Siwoo had never been able to unleash his full range.
Raon smiled faintly under the downpour. Watching him now, he felt a strange pride, as if he’d finally set Siwoo free.
“They’re all located.”
“Really? Who’s closest?”
“…Team Leader Seo Dojin.”
“Hmm.”
Siwoo’s voice held a clear note of displeasure.
Still, Dojin’s presence was exactly what they needed right now. And Hamin, his best match, was right here. Raon glanced sideways at him.
“Then we’ll regroup with the Team Leader first.”
“Understood.”
For some reason, Siwoo’s expression tightened, uncomfortable at the mention of Dojin.
Odd. The two hadn’t seemed hostile before—neither in the original timeline nor before the rewind. Even with Hamin between them, they’d been as calm as still water. It had been Taegun, not Siwoo, who’d eventually clashed with Dojin later on.
Raon found it strange but dismissed it. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be serious. He turned to Taegun.
“Siwoo needs to keep guiding, so you organize the formation.”
“Damn it.”
Taegun’s face twisted the moment he saw the two holding hands, as if he’d just witnessed something indecent. He looked away sharply.
Always such an attitude.
Clicking his tongue, Raon deliberately tightened his grip on Siwoo’s hand. The device didn’t sound an alarm this time, but with how wide Siwoo had spread his ability, his readings were bound to drop again soon.
“Let’s go, Siwoo.”
“…Yeah.”
“…?”
Siwoo’s answer came a beat late. He nodded slowly, his hand burning hot in Raon’s grasp.
Walking while guiding was a first for both of them. When Raon’s hand began to slip with each stride, Siwoo’s fingers tensed and caught it again, holding tight.
Cute. Makes me want to pin him down.
Raon bit back a laugh. If there weren’t others around, he’d have dragged Siwoo somewhere quiet for mucosal guiding instead—the efficiency was better, after all.
The thought made him grin. Siwoo’s ears reddened; he turned away stiffly, which only made him look more irresistible.
Focus, idiot.
Raon gave his head a shake.
He’d nearly died a few minutes ago, and here he was daydreaming again. Crazy.
This was an irregular Gate—anything could happen. The timeline had already diverged; even knowing the “story” wasn’t enough now. He had to stay alert.
He scanned the surroundings. Progress was slow because of the Guides.
“Ki-eeek!”
And monsters kept appearing along the way.
Still, with multiple Guides assisting, the fights were manageable.
Then Taegun suddenly cocked his head.
“Huh? I can feel the Captain’s wavelength.”
“Good.”
So they were close to Dojin at last.
Relieved, Raon glanced toward Hamin. If they reached Dojin before his readings dropped too far, Hamin’s guiding would stabilize him and make the Gate suppression far easier.
“Hamin, once you see Team Leader Seo, start guiding immediately, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
Hamin nodded firmly. Raon had been handling nearly all the radiative guiding himself so Hamin could save energy for Dojin. The kid clearly felt guilty about doing nothing till now.
If everything went smoothly—if Hamin guided Dojin right away—they might actually clear the irregular Gate quickly this time.
Some of the others’ statuses were still unknown, but at least their current group hadn’t lost a single person. Maybe, just maybe, the tragedy from before wouldn’t repeat.
Maybe I really can change it.
No more repeating that nightmare. More people could live—and it would be because of him. It was the dream he’d carried ever since waking up in this world. His chest tightened with excitement.
“Captain!”
Taegun called out, spotting Dojin ahead. Raon’s eyes followed—and saw him too.
But Dojin’s face twisted the moment he recognized them. Even from a distance, he was shouting something.
“Huh? Did he just say—don’t come closer?”
“…!”
The Espers with sharper hearing froze in place. Raon felt a prickle of dread. Something was wrong.
Rumble…
“Wh-what’s that?”
The ground shook violently, like an earthquake. Even the veteran soldiers lost composure. So did Raon.
Why now, of all times—!
The earth split open, and a massive arm surged upward—a grotesque monstrosity, dwarfing everything they’d fought so far.
The Gate’s core guardian. The final boss.
But why was it appearing now?
Raon’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
Is it because things didn’t go as before?
The irregular Gate had tried to divide and weaken them piece by piece. But Raon had gathered Guides, restored the Espers’ strength, and—through Siwoo—brought the scattered units together. The disaster from the “story” had been avoided.
So the Gate had changed its plan—manifesting the final monster early, before they could fully regroup.
“Raon!”
“—Kh!”
Boom!
The creature’s first strike alone flattened the area. The shockwave roared outward. Hanging from Siwoo’s arm, Raon gritted his teeth and braced himself.