That was not abnormal for Myles now. He could no longer go into just any town, only towns that they had gained control over. There were a growing number of them, but it still meant that he often got attacked. Most of the time Windy or another dealt with the attacker, but this time it was different. This attack had been a complete ambush. They had been surrounded, and a young girl from the nearby town under Myles's protection was being held hostage. Windy was not able to attack them without hitting the girl, so of course Myles had to act. 

"What is it that you want?" The villain asked, his eyes dark. This was annoying, and beyond that, what kind of scum would use a child like that? It really annoyed him. Even as a villain, and as someone who at this point was the cause of many deaths, such a line was not to be crossed. He had a particular anger towards violence against children. 

"So it seems as if our infomation was true. Myles the demon is soft when it comes to kids." The ring leader said. He was a tall guy with sleek bluish hair and a greasy smile. He held a blade up to the young girl, who was shaking in fear. She did not cry though, which honestly impressed Myles. 

"I simply have boundaries. Those who are not involved shall not be harmed. Though a low class bandit such as yourself would not understand such things." Myles spit out, Windy looking at his master concerned. He dare not say a word though. He had not seen Myles so... well, angry before. 

"Boundaries? Please do not make me laugh. You have killed so so many. Countless adventurers, assassins, guild members, soliders. Yet you say you have boundaries?" The bandit laughed manically. "I wonder what my brothers here would say to that? So tell me, Myles the demon. What do you plan to do? Kill us all along with this child? Or do you intend to try and save this kid to prove a point? Come on. Lets show the world what you truly are, villain." His eyes were filled with hatred, it almost made Myles shiver. Yet he stayed calm on the outside, forcing his anger back. Acting recklessly would be dangerous, particularly to the kid. 

"You all are so quick to call me a villain yet... I do not recall being the one to send people out to kill others. We only ever attack those who strike first. The towns I have taken over all have asked for our protection. So please save the heroic talks for the actual hero." Myles said quietly, raising his hand then. "Now, I will ask you nicely once before I act seriously. Let the girl go. If not." He smiled then, his eyes gleaming with that anger that was boiling away inside. "I will make sure you wish that you were dead."  

From there it happened fast. The bandit lifted his knife to hurt the girl, and Myles felt a surge of energy around him. The surrounding area went black, and before he knew it Windy was holding the girl behind Myles. Those bandits were kneeling on the ground, begging for forgiveness. The main bandit was under Myles's foot. It looked as if he was burning from the inside out. He was begging for Myles to make it stop, shakily reaching up to grab Myles's leg. 

"I did warn you. I said you would wish you were dead." He said, though he felt sick. That power... was not something he had used before. There was actually no spell he had ever studied that had been like that. A sudden swoop of darkness... followed by the bandit he was mad at literally boiling and burning from the inside out. The girl was okay at least, but... The lack of control scared Myles a bit. He then looked at the others and put a hand on his hip. The words coming out of his mouth did not feel like his own. In fact, it felt like someone else was speaking for him. "You... You have one chance to denounce this fool and pledge absolute loyalty to me. I shall ensure you are safe, well fed, and taken care of. As well as your families." He said, smiling as the power swirled around him. Without hesitation each of the men had pledged their loyalty, and that had been that. The poor fool who had held the girl was brought to Windy's wife to be healed. The girl was grateful to Myles, and hugged him even. 

"Thank you, Master Myles! I knew you would save me!" She said. Windy then escorted her back to her family. They would need to up the guards in town to prevent such a thing from happening again. But above all.. Myles learned something crucial. He was legitametly growing in power, and much faster than he thought he was. 

He sat down and looked at his lap before Lydia knocked on the door of his office. She smiled at him once he told her to come in. The young looking lady then sat across from him, taking a deep breath. She looked kind, like a mother would at her son. That almost hurt, though Myles could not say why. 

"Myles... I hope you know that you can talk to me if you need. Windy told me what happened. He said that you looked... actually scared." Lydia said softly, her voice gentle as if she was afraid of breaking him. 

"I was." He admited, shocked at himself for saying that aloud. "Lydia... I am sorry for putting this on you but." He took a breath. "That power was not mine. I know my magic, and that did not belong to me. I felt out of control, like something else was making me act, using my body. I would say I feel violated but I am not sure that is the right word for that." He put his head in his hands, staring down at the ground as if to avoid everything else. This was... much. He knew what he had done was bad, and that.. well, even if they had attacked him first that he was the direct cause of death for many. That however was the first time he had ever really hurt someone personally. It felt awful. 

"It is ok. I came here so you could talk. I am sorry you had to go through that... From what I understand, that was the 'title' of villain acting. I am sure you know, but being dubbed a villain does not just affect you in name, but it actually alters your magic and abilities as well. We of course do not know how such titles are given out, but you have the villain's title. My best guess is that power was apart of that. Since you have not actually been in a situation where you needed to use magic seriously, it likely only came up now since this was a necessary moment." She sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. It was warm. "Hurting people is hard for you... I know you almost killed Windy when you two first met, but that was different wasnt it?" 

"I... did not think it would do that much harm to him, to be fair. I also knew I could heal him once he stopped bugging me. This was different... They had a little kid.. She was shaking and there was nothing that I could do directly." Myles looked up at Lydia, wanting to cry. "Do you really think I am evil?" 

"Evil Myles is not what I would describe you as. You provide a place for those who have no other place. You protect the weak, and all you ever want in exchange is peace. That does not make you evil. I love my husband, but I also know he had killed many. He is a good guy, but... that does not mean he has not done bad things in the past. Now he kills for you, and to protect that peace you want. Fighting and killing for a cause is so different from killing for pleasure. I have lived a long time on this earth, Myles. I have met a lot of truly evil people. You are not one of them." 

"But that power-"

"That power is the power to take control of the situation. It is the power to subdue others. That power is called villanous because it is a threat to the kings. That is not inherently evil." Lydia smiled then and pulled him in for a hug. "Myles, you may be the villain, but all you ever want is a cup of tea. We are here to stand by your side regardless of what happens. I can promise you that much." She then gently moved away before brushing a tear that had escaped away from him cheek. "Because of you, the towns around here have had less crime than ever. Because of you, creatures like dragons, vampires, ghosts, have a safe home. They don't have to kill just to live in peace any more. Little girls like the one you saved have a chance at a fair future. We all know you don't want to do anything crazy, but we all want to stand behind your idea of peace. So be kind to yourself. We can work on controling that power of yours too in time. For now, get some good rest. I will stay with you until you wish to be alone. I know that is perhaps annoying, but it can be nice to have someone else by your side even when things are bad." She said softly, looking at the young villain with kindness. 

Myles allowed her to stay, however his thoughts did float back and forth. This changed a lot. He was finally realizing that this was more than him.. that perhaps he was actually helping people. He wondered what Dmitri thought of him, especially once word of what happened in the woods today got out. He prayed that he would see the truth, that he had just been trying to protect a small girl from being hurt. Though he had an inner feeling that he would be seen as the bad guy. 

Why had all of this happened when all he ever wanted was to be lazy and drink tea.