How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 152

“Hah…”

Chelsea took a deep breath, forcing her legs to move faster as she ran.

Thud, thud!

But then…

“Hmm, not bad for someone your age, but you’re still way too slow.”

A middle-aged man who had somehow caught up to her spoke in a mocking tone.

“Let’s see where our little mouse came from…”

Swish, swoosh!

“Whoa there.”

Chelsea suddenly drew her sword and attacked, but Parkon effortlessly dodged it.

“So, you’re not a mouse, but a fierce little stray cat.”

Just as Chelsea was about to regain her distance and prepare to strike again—

Snap!

With a snap of Parkon’s fingers, the ground beneath Chelsea began to turn into a swamp.

“M-Magic?”

Caught off guard, Chelsea muttered to herself. Parkon shrugged and replied casually.

“Not entirely my power. I borrowed a bit of strength from an artifact.”

“……”

Realizing that her escape route was blocked, Chelsea glared coldly at Parkon.

‘The difference in our abilities is greater than I thought.’

Even after just one exchange, Chelsea understood that Parkon was several levels above her in skill. She bit her lower lip hard.

“Don’t take it too hard. After all, experience plays a role, too.”

Parkon’s mocking words made Chelsea grip her sword tightly.

‘If I strike quickly, maybe I can find a way out…’

“Whoa, whoa, if you’re thinking of drawing your sword again, I’d advise against it. I might lose my patience.”

Chelsea knew he was underestimating her and toying with her.

“Is there no chance you’ll just let me go?”

“That would be difficult. I can’t exactly relax knowing someone out there knows my identity.”

“I don’t know which group you belong to or what you want.”

“That may be true, but you do know that the village chief is involved, don’t you?”

“……”

With no response to that, Chelsea kept her mouth shut and continued to glare at him. She knew that her current predicament was a result of her own decision to follow the village chief.

And the reason for that was…

Grinding her teeth, Chelsea assumed a defensive stance with her sword.

“Looks like we’ll have to fight to the end, then.”

“That’s right. I don’t much like a stray cat that doesn’t resist.”

With a sly smile, Parkon pulled out two small, circular blades from his robes.

“Chakrams?”

“Oh, you know this weapon? It’s popular in the western deserts. It suits someone like me perfectly.”

Seeing Parkon wield the circular blades favored by assassins, Chelsea’s eyes filled with even more caution.

“Well then, shall we dance?”

Swoosh, swish!

Chelsea didn’t wait for him to finish speaking; she struck first.

But…

“Oh?”

Tap, whoosh!

With a light movement, Parkon avoided Chelsea’s attack and spun his weapons towards her wrists.

“Hup!”

Clang!

Chelsea quickly spun her sword to deflect the blades that were flying at her.

“Impressive. You don’t seem to lack experience, even at your age. Are you an academy student?”

“……”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Parkon muttered to himself and then shook his head.

“Killing an academy student here isn’t worth the trouble. I don’t want to provoke the monsters there.”

‘Monsters?’

Chelsea wondered what he meant by “monsters” in the academy. While she knew about Jamie and the presence of two of the Tri-color Mages, most people would only think of the Red Mage Beatrice, the acting dean, as the academy’s “monster.”

“In that case, I’ve made my decision.”

As if coming to a conclusion, Parkon put away his weapons and smiled lightly.

“I’m in a bit of a rush to meet someone important, so I think I’ll just kidnap you.”

“What?”

Chelsea, confused by the unexpected turn of logic, asked in disbelief.

“See? That way, I won’t risk provoking the academy by killing a student, and it works out well for both of us. Don’t you agree?”

Parkon’s chilling smile made Chelsea blurt out a curse.

“You crazy bastard.”

“Well, that’s a compliment I don’t often hear…”

Swoosh!

Before Parkon could finish his sentence, Chelsea’s sword was already swinging at him again. He laughed softly as he dodged her attack.

“While it’s good to take the initiative, don’t forget that it can leave you more vulnerable.”

Tap, swoosh!

Moving much faster than before, Parkon slipped behind Chelsea and aimed a chop at her neck.

“And now, I’ll…”

Whoosh, bang!

“Kuh!”

At that moment, a small fireball came out of nowhere and struck Parkon directly, catching him off guard.

“Damn it, that hurt!”

His right cheek burned by the unexpected fireball, Parkon, now visibly irritated, shouted in frustration.

Swoosh!

“You damned bitch!”

But Chelsea didn’t stop. She continued her assault.

‘This is my first and last chance. If I don’t kill him now, I’ll be the one who dies.’

With that thought, Chelsea gritted her teeth and put all her strength into her sword.

Slash, stab!

“Argh!”

Caught off guard by her relentless attacks, Parkon was unable to regain his composure and left openings for Chelsea to exploit.

With each strike, Chelsea wounded him further, and finally…

‘This is the end.’

Swoosh!

Chelsea’s sword flew toward his neck.

“You filthy… bitch!”

But at the last moment, Parkon regained his senses and threw himself to the ground to avoid her fatal blow.

‘…I missed!’

Thud, roll!

Rolling across the ground, Parkon barely escaped Chelsea’s attack, ending up covered in blood and dust as he quickly put distance between them.

“Haah, haah. That was way too close.”

Parkon, now far away from Chelsea, muttered with a pained expression.

And then…

“You’re dead now, you crazy bitch.”

Growling in anger, he gripped his chakrams tightly, ready to strike.

But at that very moment…

“No, you’re the one who’s dead.”

A soft voice spoke, followed by the incantation of a spell.

“Gladis Sektor Caelum.”

Suddenly, a sword of light, capable of cutting through anything, appeared in front of their eyes.

* * *

“Are you okay?”

“……”

I asked Chelsea, who was staring at Parkon’s corpse, now split in two. But she remained silent, her gaze fixed on me.

“Chelsea?”

“You… Kamon? How did you…”

Though her words were jumbled, I understood what she was trying to say and nodded.

“I was there too, at the village chief’s house.”

“Oh? I see. But why?”

“Well…”

[For a very gruesome revenge, obviously.]

Ignoring the spirit Airsya’s noisy interruption, I continued slowly.

“I noticed something suspicious about the village chief’s behavior earlier. But Chelsea, why were you there?”

“Oh? Uh, well…”

Chelsea hesitated for a moment before looking away and replying.

“I found it strange too, so I wanted to check it out.”

“Ah, I see.”

The conversation felt awkward, but we soon continued naturally.

“Anyway, I’m glad I got here in time.”

“Yes, me too.”

Nodding, Chelsea glanced at the remains of Parkon, split in half, before turning back to me.

“Thank you, Kamon. You saved my life.”

“No need to thank me. You were already overwhelming him before I arrived.”

After seeing the village chief’s corpse turn into a black mess, I had hurriedly followed the traces of Chelsea and Parkon.

When I finally found them…

‘I saw that guy crawling on the ground like a beaten dog.’

Before I could even marvel at how Chelsea had pushed him so far on her own, I had quickly summoned the sword of light and finished him off.

[But was it okay to kill him so easily?]

The jealous spirit, Airsya, snickered, but I shook my head.

‘He was much stronger than expected. If he hadn’t been caught off guard or had no openings, we would’ve been the ones in his position.’

From his movements and actions alone, I could tell how skilled he was.

Moreover, Parkon was someone with enough talent to become the Branch Manager of the Shadow Organization.

‘Even the village chief called him a combat monster.’

Regardless, we were lucky to have defeated him. After quickly erasing our traces and finishing up, we returned to the village.

Despite the early hour, the entire village was brightly lit.

“What’s with all the lights?”

Just then, we heard voices coming from within the village.

“Fire!”

“Oh no, what’s happening?!”

“Get some water, quickly!”

As people ran around frantically, we noticed that the village chief’s mansion, where we had been hiding earlier, was now engulfed in flames.

“……”

Chelsea and I exchanged silent glances at the sight.

* * *

“Are you telling me to believe that?”

Princess Francia’s sharp voice accused us as I tried to explain.

“It’s true. We were just out on patrol.”

“Yes, Kamon is right.”

The village chief, the Shadow Organization, and all the complicated matters entwined with the Empire and the royal family, not to mention my involvement, made things very tricky.

I had asked Chelsea to keep what she knew a secret, and thankfully, she agreed. We were now explaining the sudden fire to those who had spent the night searching for us.

“Then you should have told us. We’ve been searching for you all night, Kamon.”

Kyle also seemed a bit disappointed.

“That’s something I should apologize for.”

“I’m sorry too, Kyle.”

Kyle waved his hands with an awkward smile, trying to dismiss our quick apologies.

“Hah, I really don’t understand why you all seem so eager to get into trouble.”

Princess Francia sighed deeply, shaking her head, as she informed us that the village chief’s mansion had been completely burned down in the fire, leaving no trace of anyone inside. It was as if no one had been there in the first place, causing the villagers to become quite unsettled.

“Although no one is saying it outright, I think the villagers are suspicious of us.”

“That’s strange. If nothing was found, why are they suspecting us?”

Kyle tilted his head in confusion, prompting Princess Francia to calmly explain further.

“In situations like this, outsiders are always the most suspicious.”

Then she looked directly at me and continued.

“I know, I know. Even though Kamon may be wicked and twisted, he’s not the kind of person who would wipe out an entire family and set their house on fire.”

At that, the jealous spirit Airsya tilted her head in confusion.

[Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?]

‘I have no idea.’

It wasn’t like I had asked for her to clarify anything, so her unsolicited remark made me wonder if she was feeling guilty about something.

While I was mulling over that, Princess Francia spoke up again.

“In any case, it’s true that we had a confrontation with the village chief yesterday, and many people witnessed it. So we should leave this place immediately.”

Her firm tone made Chelsea raise her hand slightly as she asked a question.

“What about Fabian?”

“Oh, that…”

Kyle began to speak hastily, but before he could finish, the door creaked open with a loud thud, revealing a familiar face.

“I’m awake. What? What’s going on?”

It was Fabian.

TL Note: Rate us on NOVEL UPDATES