How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 42

The first to appear was Kyle, accompanied by the sound of footsteps that didn’t fit this place at all.

Click-clack.

Soon, a girl slowly walked in, covering her mouth and nose with a luxurious handkerchief.

“Seeing you again here, Elliot.”

“Damn it, Diana! How long are you going to keep interfering with me?”

“Interfering? Aren’t we in a legitimate competition for the heir position?”

Diana shrugged her shoulders as she answered, causing Elliot to shout out loudly, as if he couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Legitimate competition, my ass. You bribed people around me…….”

“Ha, calling me a bitch in front of all these people. Do you really have a death wish?”

Diana interrupted him with a voice sharp as a knife, her expression turning stern.

“No, I mean…….”

Seeing Elliot retreat slightly in fear, I chimed in from the side.

“Hey, Diana. As I said before, no matter what, threatening your brother with death is crossing a line, don’t you think?”

“Shut up, Kamon Vade.”

“What?”

Her voice was much lower and calmer than when she was talking to Elliot.

“I’d love to tear your mouth open and kill you right now, so keep it shut.”

Why does she have to say such scary things?

Not that I was scared.

Seriously!

“Why should I listen to you? I can say whatever I want with my mouth.”

I replied lightly to Diana and then shifted my gaze.

“Kyle Perrion.”

“Huh?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, that is…….”

“Of course, I called him.”

Before Kyle could answer, Diana Fren cut in, making me narrow my eyes naturally.

“Why? Are your legs shaking because you’re facing someone who beat you once?”

Diana, who had been glaring at me as if she would kill me, smirked and mocked.

“What?”

“I called him just in case, and it seems I did the right thing.”

So Diana personally called Kyle here?

If that means she approached him intentionally rather than coincidentally encountering him like in the original story.

“…….”

I alternated my gaze between her and Kyle as I continued to think.

‘Is this all because of me?’

Is this snowball effect happening because I interfered with the original plot to get the ‘Orb’?

“It seems like you have a lot of enemies around you, Kamon. Otherwise, the Princess wouldn’t have given me such help.”

“The Princess?”

The mention of a completely unexpected figure made me frown deeply.

Could it be that crazy Princess Francia again……?

“Um, Kamon. It just happened that way. Sorry.”

Kyle, who met my eyes, awkwardly scratched the back of his head and mumbled with an ambiguous smile.

Then.

Tap.

“Kamon.”

“……?”

I turned my gaze to the voice calling me while slightly poking my arm.

“Since they’ve caught up to us, we should settle things here.”

“Settle? What are you talking about?”

“Since they must have exerted a lot of effort to get here, their stamina would be low. We, who arrived here first, have a slight advantage…….”

“Wait, Elliot.”

Hey, Elliot, you seem to be misunderstanding something……

This isn’t an issue of ordinary excavation team members or mercenaries’ stamina.

‘They have a completely asymmetrical power, a tactical, no, a strategic weapon!’

A character with the power equivalent to a nuclear bomb is on their side.

“…….”

I looked at Kyle, who was digging his ear with his pinky as if he didn’t have a care in the world, and firmly shook my head, shouting decisively.

“That’s a bit…….”

“Are you hesitating because of Kyle Perrion?”

“What?”

“I don’t know the details, but I’ve heard that you and Kyle have some kind of relationship due to that incident. But I don’t care, Kamon.”

Elliot, who seemed to have made up his mind, grabbed my arm and continued speaking with a solemn expression.

“Not everything in the world is decided by one victory. If it weren’t for you, Kamon, I wouldn’t have had the courage to challenge that crazy bitch again. So now, it’s your turn.”

No, what kind of nonsense is this?

What challenge and what competition are you talking about!

“Kamon, you should also take this chance to have a proper revenge time against that Kyle guy.”

Seeing Elliot talk with shining eyes, I couldn’t help but be taken aback.

This is bad.

This bastard seems to be high on something.

“Hey, wait. Elliot, calm down. You now…….”

“I don’t know what kind of scheme you two are plotting again, but don’t you think it’s too late?”

Diana lowered her voice, speaking with a more chilling gaze than ever.

“Anyway, all of you are going to disappear here.”

Then she immediately commanded.

“Kill them all!”

With her sharp command, the excavation team and mercenaries who followed her began rushing towards us.

Clang!

Elliot, watching this, also drew his weapon and shouted.

“I am the true heir of the Fren family! Wipe out all those traitors!”

“Uwaaah!”

“Kill them all!”

In an instant, people from both sides began swinging their weapons, clashing fiercely to eliminate each other.

And then.

“Damn it!”

Realizing that the situation had already spiraled out of control, I grabbed Elliot’s shoulder and shouted, “Elliot!”

“Kamon, this is our revenge battle…….”

“No, hey! Elliot, stop talking nonsense and listen to me!”

I shook him strongly, then shouted again, “Let’s take only the elite and move to the next stage quickly.”

“What? We’re in the middle of a battle…….”

“Elliot. Wasn’t your original goal to seize the inheritance? If we reach the place where Dranthe’s inheritance is hidden first, it will all be yours.”

“But if I disappear from here…….”

Elliot showed a moment of hesitation, so I spoke firmly once more, “Listen, Elliot. In the last stage of Dranthe’s vault, there’s a powerful trap designed to stop intruders. We can use it to wipe out those guys. If we get there first, the inheritance will undoubtedly be yours.”

“…….”

Elliot Fren looked at me in silence for a moment. Then.

Thud!

He placed his hand on my shoulder and smirked, “You should have said that earlier, friend.”

With a bright smile, Elliot immediately shouted to the people around him, “Excavation team leader! Gather only the elite and move now. The rest, hold on! Grab those guys’ ankles!”

Though we had suddenly plunged into battle, Elliot seemed to decide that betting on a sure win was better than gambling on an uncertain victory.

“Alpha teams, gather! The rest, block the enemies with the mercenaries. Don’t let them get past the stairs!”

The excavation team leader quickly reorganized the situation at Elliot’s command.

Thud-thud-thud!

“Move aside, don’t block the way!”

Elliot and I managed to cross the chaotic battleground and reached the stairs leading underground.

I glanced back slightly.

“Kyle, what are you doing? Catch those guys!”

Watching our movements, Diana shouted irritably.

“That wasn’t part of the deal…….”

“What?”

Diana’s face showed her bewilderment at Kyle’s unexpected reaction.

“I agreed to help with the excavation, not to fight.”

“No one told you to fight! Just block their way and subdue them!”

Diana’s voice was filled with frustration.

“Oh, really?”

“Go and block them now!”

“Yes, yes, you don’t need to shout.”

Finally, Diana’s persuasion seemed to work.

“Ugh!”

In an instant, the soldiers blocking his way started falling one by one.

The excavation team leader urgently shouted at us, “Damn it, get down quickly, we’ll hold them off here!”

“Alright, got it.”

Elliot and I quickly descended the stairs.

Thud-thud-thud!

We arrived at a spacious area with a round, circular altar in the middle.

‘If I activate the altar here, it will descend like an elevator, and the inheritance will be stacked below.’

According to the original story, that’s how it should proceed, but right now, I couldn’t care less about the King’s golden inheritance.

What mattered to me was one thing.

What was intensely catching my eye was the elaborate and gigantic dragon carving at the front of the altar.

It was similar in form to the money-grubbing mini gold dragon I encountered before, but……
“Is this it? Where’s the inheritance?”

Elliot, who had reached the final stage of Dranthe’s vault, started shouting excitedly.

“What do we do now? Kamon!”

Elliot’s urgent voice calling my name echoed in my ears, but I wasn’t in the right mind to answer.

“Orb.”

My eyes were glued to the milky white, round orb placed in the mouth of that gigantic dragon carving.

The ‘Orb’ that I had been desperately searching for was there, flaunting its presence.

‘I just need to get that.’

“Kamon, what should we do now?”

Just as I turned my head to answer Elliot’s urgent voice, I heard a groan from the stairs.

“Ugh!”

Thud!

“Mon…ster.”

“Leader.”

“…….”

Kyle had completely dealt with the excavation team leader who was blocking his way.

“I’m sorry. But if you keep attacking me like that, I have no choice. Anyway, I’m really sorry.”

Mumbling apologies with a genuinely remorseful expression, he then.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

Disabled all the remaining soldiers around him.

“Damn it, Kamon. They’ve caught up with us…….”

Click-clack.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed again.

Diana Fren descended the stairs, a triumphant smile on her face.

“Did you enjoy struggling, everyone?”

“You monster bitch.”

“First a bitch, now a monster. How far will I evolve in your eyes?”

Diana wiggled her fingers at Elliot.

“I think it’s time for my dear brother to give up. How about it? If you surrender now, I’ll let you leave here alive.”

Diana spoke as if she were granting mercy, then turned her cold gaze toward me and added in a chilling voice.

“Of course, not you, Kamon Vade.”

Why am I the exception?!

Then she continued in an even more sinister tone, “I’ll tear apart not only your skin but also your bones, so look forward to it.”

“What?”

Her words, spoken so nonchalantly, sent a shiver down my spine.

‘Something seems terribly wrong here.’