How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 198

Thud!

“Urgh!”

With a loud clash, Chelsea, who had rushed forward, was thrown back, collapsing to the ground. The dark shadow that had suddenly appeared in front of me and launched a surprise attack was none other than—

“Shador?”

It was the elder of the shadow organization who had ambushed us at House Vade, nearly killing us before my father, Marquess Baran, had dealt him a crushing blow.

“Damn it!”

He cursed, but he looked vastly different from the last time I’d seen him.

“I’ll kill you for sure this time, Kamon Vade,” he spat, eyes blazing with rage. His face was half-covered in burn scars, his left eye hidden by an eyepatch, and—

‘…His arm’s gone?’

His right arm was completely missing below the shoulder, leaving him an utter wreck.

[Didn’t I tell you? Your father gave him a thorough lesson,] Airsya’s amused voice chimed in beside me.

‘I knew he got punished, but I didn’t think it was this bad.’

[Surviving at all was a miracle, really.]

As Airsya closed her eyes, recalling the scene, Frilla tilted her head curiously.

[I can’t quite follow the story. Care to explain, Airsya?]

[It’s not necessary. Don’t trouble yourself with it,] Airsya replied bluntly, turning her head away.

Ignoring their chatter, I refocused on Shador, who now stood before me, battered and enraged.

“Why are you here?” I demanded.

“Shut up and die!”

Whoosh!

Invisible blades flew toward me, just as they had before. However, whether due to his injuries or my own growth, the attacks felt slower this time.

“Barrier.”

Clang!

I easily deflected his attack with a simple barrier spell, then stepped back to help Chelsea, who was still on the ground.

“Chelsea, are you alright?”

“…Yes.”

I quickly helped her to her feet, then turned to face Shador with a taunting smile.

“Alright, my turn now. Fireball!”

Fwoosh!

Dozens of fireballs materialized in mid-air, each aimed directly at him. While I didn’t have enough strength left to use The Sword that Splits the Sky again, I could still bring out my best spell.

Swoosh, boom!

“Tch.”

Seeing the fireballs hurtling toward him, Shador clicked his tongue and dodged, weaving through the explosions with surprising agility before swinging his remaining arm fiercely.

Whoosh!

Another wave of invisible blades shot toward me.

“Not this time!”

Clang!

I blocked the attack again with my barrier, causing Shador’s expression to stiffen.

“Kamon Vade, how dare you!”

“What’s wrong? You seem a lot weaker. Are you in pain? I mean, you’re half-blind and missing an arm, so…”

“Argh! What are you all waiting for? Kill him now!”

Infuriated by my taunt, Shador shouted furiously, and—

Swish, swish!

“…!”

Suddenly, a group of shadowy figures appeared out of nowhere, rushing toward us with weapons drawn.

“Die!”

“Haaah!”

The shadows charged, weapons raised, ready to strike.

“Be careful, Kamon,” Chelsea warned, stepping forward with her sword raised, preparing to defend against the onslaught.

But just then—

“So many bugs around here, aren’t there?”

Whoosh!

An all-too-familiar voice sounded from above, followed by the appearance of a massive sword of light over our heads.

“……!”

Jamie, the Yellow Mage, looked down at Shador with a mocking wave.

“Long time no see, huh?”

She greeted him with a chilling smile, her presence alone enough to send shivers down my spine.

Ignoring her, Shador barked orders at his men.

“Damn it, ignore her! Charge and kill him!”

The shadows, likely hoping that getting close to me would prevent Jamie from attacking, rushed forward heedlessly.

“Fools. Such a waste of effort,” Jamie snorted.

With a wave of her hands, the massive sword of light split into hundreds of smaller blades, raining down on the shadows.

Swish, swish, swish!

“……!”

The shadowy figures, realizing the danger too late, looked up at the countless falling blades with horror.

But just as they were about to be skewered—

Slash! Whoosh!

A powerful sword aura swept through, tearing apart the descending blades.

“Finish them off now!” Vitell Romanoff’s thunderous voice rang out, echoing in their ears.

At the same time, his powerful aura sliced through the hundreds of light blades descending from above.

“You… madman…!” Jamie gasped, visibly shocked by the unexpected interference.

Then—

“Hellfire!”

Jamie cast a high-level fire spell, far more intense than Fireball, hurling it at Vitell Romanoff.

Swish!

But he effortlessly sliced through it, once again severing her spell in two, before roaring another order.

“All Bellington Knights, attack the Yellow Mage!”

Following his command, Markon and the knights launched their sword auras at Jamie in unison.

“Tch!”

Caught off guard, Jamie quickly maneuvered her remaining swords, directing them at the attacking knights.

“Aaagh!”

“Hrk!”

Several knights fell instantly, unable to even defend themselves against the blades of light.

However—

“Just buy time! Hold her off for as long as possible!” Markon shouted, understanding Duke Romanoff’s strategy.

Despite Jamie’s formidable power, the relentless, self-sacrificing assault of the elite knights forced her to spend precious time on each one.

“You damn pests! Hellfire!”

Jamie, growing increasingly furious, unleashed a barrage of powerful spells. But even with her relentless attacks, the knights’ willingness to sacrifice themselves bought Duke Romanoff a few invaluable moments.

“Heh, well done, Vitell Romanoff,” someone muttered with dark satisfaction.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

With a crash, Chelsea, who had leapt forward to block the attack, was knocked back. Shador, the dark shadow who had ambushed us, was none other than—

“Shador?”

The elder from the shadow organization who had ambushed us at House Vade, narrowly avoided death at the hands of my father, Marquess Baran.

“Damn it!” he cursed, his appearance vastly altered from before. His face was marred with burn scars, his left eye concealed under an eyepatch, and—

‘…His arm’s gone?’

Shador’s right arm was missing below the shoulder, leaving him a tattered remnant of his former self.

[Didn’t I tell you? Your father gave him a thorough beating,] Airsya remarked.

‘I knew he was punished, but I didn’t realize it was this bad.’

[Surviving at all was a miracle,] she said, nodding as if recalling the scene.

Ignoring their banter, I refocused on Shador.

“Why are you here?” I demanded.

“Shut up and die!” he growled, unleashing an invisible blade.

Clang!

I quickly threw up a barrier, but Shador and his shadows kept up a relentless assault.

“Barrier!”

Crack! Crack!

The barrier quickly began to crack under the constant onslaught.

“This is the end!” Shador sneered, his invisible blade slicing down and shattering my barrier.

“Damn it!”

“Stay behind me, Kamon,” Chelsea ordered, stepping in front of me and slashing down one of the advancing shadows with her sword.

Swish! Slash!

But the continuous attacks from the shadows’ swords, invisible blades, and projectiles were overwhelming.

Clang! Clang!

Despite her efforts, Chelsea couldn’t fend them off indefinitely.

Thunk!

“Ugh!” Chelsea finally took a hit, letting out a painful groan as she dropped to one knee.

“Chelsea, are you okay?” I asked urgently.

“I’m fine. Just… get out of here,” she said, trying to catch her breath.

‘Airsya, Frilla, is the teleportation formation ready?’

[It is ready, but…]

[If you activate it now, everyone nearby will be transported with you.]

‘Damn it. This is the worst possible setup.’

With the enemies pressing close, there was no way to escape cleanly.

“Chels—”

Suddenly—

Whoosh!

“Huh?”

A black whip, tipped with a sharp blade, cut through the air toward me.

I heard an all-too-familiar laugh behind me and turned to see—

“Diana Fren?”

She stood nearby, a twisted smile on her face, laughing maniacally to herself.

“Time to die, Kamon Vade.”

“Crazy bitch!” I cursed, trying to move out of the whip’s path.

Thud!

But—

Swish!

The whip altered its course, homing in on me.

‘I can’t dodge this.’

I knew instantly it would be impossible to avoid. The whip’s blade was aimed directly at my heart, and death seemed to flash before my eyes when—

“Tempus Cohibet.”

An all-too-familiar voice echoed out of nowhere.

Vrrrrm!

Everything around me began to slow down dramatically.

Tap.

“Whew, just in time.”

With a flourish of a vibrant red dress, a stunning woman appeared, giving me a sly wink.

“Right?”

“Dean…?” I stammered, recognizing her instantly.

“Hey! Didn’t I tell you to call me big sister?” came the stern response from Beatrice, the Red Mage.

‘I thought that was only when it was just the two of us…’

Before I could respond, Beatrice moved with lightning speed, unaffected by the slowed-down surroundings. She grabbed Chelsea and me, pulling us to a safe distance.

Snap!

With a quick snap of her fingers, a thick, dark mist radiated out from her, spreading fast.

Then—

“Aaagh!”

“Guh!”

Thud!

The shadows that had been attacking us were engulfed by the mist, collapsing to the ground with dying screams. Even Shador, the strongest among them—

Swoosh!

“Arrrgh!”

Thud!

He let out a final scream before losing consciousness and collapsing.

Finally—

Whoosh!

The whip that had been aiming for my heart slashed through empty air instead.

Diana Fren’s face contorted in frustration as she screamed.

“Noooo!”

She let out a drawn-out wail, as if in slow motion, disappearing into the dark mist that enveloped her.

With our attackers defeated in an instant, Chelsea collapsed to the ground, her voice weary.

“It’s over… finally.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, sitting down beside her.

“Good work, Chelsea.”

“You too, Kamon,” she replied with a tired smile.

As we caught our breath—

“Phew, this is why getting old is no good.”

Beatrice shook her head as she watched Jamie, who was on the other side, unleashing carnage on Vitell Romanoff and the Bellington Knights with overwhelming force.

“What a nasty personality. I’m definitely not going to age like that,” she muttered.

And all I could think was—

‘You and my master really aren’t all that different…’

Of course, I kept that thought strictly to myself.