How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 45

“Stay still, Kamon.”

Kyle Perrion, the protagonist of the original novel, stood before me as if he were the hero of this story, invincible against any adversity. I couldn’t say a word.

“……”

Ha, Kyle. Are you really going to keep doing this until the end?

“Kamon.”

Kyle called my name again in a slightly hushed voice, then looked around and continued.

“Did you do all this?”

“……”

“Answer me, Kamon. Did you do all this?”

Why do the protagonists in novels and comics always act like this? They see the results right in front of them. Why ask when the answer is obvious?

“What if I did?”

“What?”

“What if I did it all? What are you going to do about it?”

I shot back, annoyed.

“You asked me the same thing earlier, so why are you asking again now? What answer do you want to hear?”

“Kamon, you……”

“Yeah, I did it. I did it all!”

From the start, this situation had veered far from my plans. Kyle appearing here, Diana hindering me until the end, and now facing Kyle in this place—all of it!

“So, is this the answer you wanted?”

Kyle nodded slightly at my sneering question and replied.

“Yes. Kamon, you’re right. There’s no point in asking now.”

“What?”

Kyle slowly moved his hand to his sword and muttered.

“What’s done can’t be undone, but at least I can manage it somehow.”

Shing!

“Kamon, from now on, don’t take a single step. If you move even a little……”

Raising the tension, Kyle trailed off before finishing briefly.

“I’ll cut you down.”

His overwhelming presence left me feeling suffocated.

‘So, this is how it ends?’

Ha, after all I’ve been through to get here, everything falls apart like this.

No, this is just bad luck. This is someone’s prank to keep me from winning!

“Damn it, seriously!”

With the monster-like Kyle Perrion blocking my way, there was no chance of escaping with the “Orb.” He had broken through the powerful traps and was unaffected by the shockwave of the “Orb.” What could I do against him?

“……”

No, no. Kang Hyunsoo, don’t give up till the end. There must be a way out.

‘Even if you’re caught in a tiger’s den, stay calm and you’ll survive.’

I can’t give up here.

Then,

“Kamon. Put down that orb in your hand.”

“What?”

“Put it down. Either place it on the ground or throw it to me.”

Kyle’s stern command felt like a bolt of lightning in my mind.

‘This is it!’

“Okay? Then catch this.”

Whiz!

“What?”

Kyle quickly reached out and caught the flying “Orb.”

Clap!

“Good. You made the right choice, Kamon. There’s no need for us to fight…… huh?!”

Vroooom!

‘It’s working!’

Thud!

“Ugh.”

Kyle, holding the “Orb,” plunged his sword into the ground and knelt on one knee.

“What is this……?”

Tatatak!

I swiftly moved to a hiding spot, away from Kyle.

‘It’s going to explode soon.’

The “Orb,” having absorbed a certain amount of mana, would emit a massive wave and cause a light explosion.

‘Just like it did before.’

Since I couldn’t feel mana, I wasn’t affected when the “Orb” absorbed it all, but Kyle wouldn’t be the same.

‘If all his mana is drained, something will change.’

So, I would endure the explosion and retrieve the “Orb” afterward.

With a hasty plan in mind, I crouched down, bracing myself against the light’s shockwave to avoid passing out.

Thirty seconds, one minute, two minutes… then about three minutes passed.

“What? Why hasn’t it exploded?”

Could it be the protagonist’s luck again?

“Damn it, again?!”

I quickly emerged from my hiding place and surveyed the area.

And there,

“What?”

I saw Kyle lying unconscious on the ground.

The “Orb,” rolling towards me slowly, fell to the ground.

“What’s going on? Why didn’t it explode?”

Unlike before, the “Orb,” which had absorbed a lot of mana, didn’t release a light shockwave.

I couldn’t understand why it had turned out differently, but…

“Well, whatever. Works for me.”

With a smile, I retrieved the “Orb” from the ground.

“Heh, heh heh. I did it. I did it!”

Looking at the unconscious Kyle, I muttered to myself.

“Guess I’m really on the villain path now.”

No matter what Kamon Vade had done before, I was the one who had caused this mess.

Even if someone accused me of being a villain, I wouldn’t be able to argue.

“Well, but…”

Life is about striving for what you want, clashing and fighting for it.

I wanted the “Orb,” and others failed to get what they wanted.

It’s not about who’s good or evil. It’s about everyone pursuing their desires.

‘Just think of it as a valuable life experience.’

“Alright, time to go.”

With a satisfied smile, I took a step forward.

Then,

Sparkle.

“Huh?”

Something caught my eye, emitting a faint light in the darkness.

Step by step, I approached the light without realizing it. There lay Diana Fren, unconscious.

Twinkle.

The light that caught my eye again came from a large diamond necklace around her neck, roughly the size of a fist.

Gulp.

‘That must be worth a fortune, right?’

While my main goal was to get the “Orb,” and I had achieved that, I thought, ‘Why not go all the way and become a real villain?’

The shimmering diamond necklace ignited my greed. My gaze shifted to Diana’s sleeping face.

“You were the one who accused me of being a thief first, weren’t you?”

Snatch!

With that thought, I slowly reached out and seized the enormous diamond necklace.

“Oh, right.”

I suddenly remembered that Elliot probably had something valuable on him too.

“He definitely had a ring on his hand.”

I began to feel around Elliot’s right and left hands, looking for something valuable.

“Ah, here it is.”

As I lifted his hand to remove the ring,

“Gah!”

“Fuck! That scared me!”

Elliot stirred and groaned in pain, slowly opening his eyes.

“Ka…mon?”

Hearing him call my name, I quickly grabbed his left hand and shouted, pretending to be concerned.

“You’re awake, Elliot!”

I put on an expression and tone as if I had been worried about him.

“What… what happened…?”

Elliot, still not fully conscious, mumbled towards me.

“Dranthe’s Secret Vault flooded. All the artifacts are underwater now.”

“What? Floo…ded?”

“We don’t have time to stay here. We need to get out.”

I hurriedly helped Elliot up, pretending the situation was urgent.

“What about Diana? What happened to that crazy bitch?”

Barely standing, Elliot asked about his sister in a trembling voice. I silently gestured to the opposite side with my chin.

Elliot saw the unconscious Diana and muttered,

“She’s… fainted.”

Shaking his head, he spoke again.

“I remember being swept away by a sudden flood, but after that, I don’t know. What the hell happened?”

He didn’t seem to realize that I had triggered the trap.

“The trap was triggered, and the vault flooded. That’s all.”

I gave a brief explanation, omitting the part where I was the one who flooded the vault. There was nothing to gain from admitting that.

Then, Elliot pointed at the “Orb” in my other hand and asked,

“Kamon, what’s that?”

“……”

Damn, he’s so curious about everything.

“It’s a trap item.”

“Huh? A trap item?”

“It’s an artifact designed to drain all health and mana from anyone who touches it, mistaking it for a treasure. Want to try?”

“N-no, thanks!”

“We need to get out of here quickly. If someone regains consciousness…”

Twitch!

As I was speaking, I saw Kyle’s body twitch slightly on the ground.

‘He’s already recovering?’

Despite being drained by the “Orb,” how could he recover so quickly?

“Hurry! If someone wakes up, we’re screwed.”

I urgently pulled Elliot, but he was still weak from the berserker potion’s aftereffects, groaning and shaking his head.

“Kuh, Ka…mon. Go slower…”

“We don’t have time for that. Grab my shoulder!”

I half-dragged the still groaning Elliot as we moved quickly.

Then,

Thump!

I saw Kyle’s upper body rise.

“Hurry up!”

Tatatak!

We quickly climbed the stairs before Kyle could fully get up.

Finally, as we left the altar ravaged by water and the magical explosion,

“……”

“What the…?”

The mercenaries of both Diana and Elliot, who had been fighting above, were all lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious.

‘Did the “Orb’s” power reach here?’

I recalled the blinding light explosion and shook my head.

What does it matter? Right now, the priority is to get out of here.

With that thought, I grabbed Elliot harder.

“Hurry up.”

“Wait a minute. Ugh! I’m still…”

“We need to move faster.”

Otherwise, Kyle would catch up to us.

At that moment,

Step!

I heard footsteps behind us and immediately knew.

‘Damn, it’s Kyle.’

“Elliot, run!”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

“Just run!”

I shouted and started sprinting at full speed.

Elliot followed, albeit clumsily.

“Wait! Why are we running suddenly… Kamon, wait up!”

I started to run quickly, following behind me.

He started running after me as quickly as he could