How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 82

“Ugh. Princess, you need to get to safety… Ugh!”

“Edin, senior!”

The boy, kneeling on one knee and bleeding profusely, was Edin Berzen, known as the Sword Phantom within the academy and regarded as one of the strongest. However, his level was limited to that of his peers, just other students.

“Who are you people?” Princess Francia’s eyes were filled with tension, but she raised her voice louder than usual, trying not to lose her composure.

“It’s over, Francia Khan Flance. Accept your fate.”

“What? Fate? So, you’re going to kill a member of the Imperial family?”

The black shadows said nothing in response to her exclamation, merely holding their weapons loosely. Edin, kneeling and guarding the princess, whispered to her in a low voice.

“Princess, I will buy you some time. You must escape during that time.”

“But, senior…!”

“If you don’t, the situation might become irreversible. Please, Princess, follow my advice… Ugh!”

Around them, many students who were supposed to be guarding Princess Francia had already fallen. The princess, clenching her eyes shut, finally nodded slightly.

“Okay, Edin senior. I’m sorry.”

“It’s my duty, that’s all. Huh!”

Edin, speaking with a determined tone, used his sword as leverage to stand up. He tried to shout at the shadows before him.

“No one will get… Ugh!”

But his actions were abruptly halted.

Thud!

“Your heroics end here.”

A black shadow slipped between Francia and Edin, striking Edin’s nape and knocking him down. Francia, facing the shadow, was paralyzed with fear, unable to move.

“Princess Francia, any last words?”

The shadowy leader raised a bloodstained sword, his voice low and ominous.

Buzz.

The moonlight shone on his sword, illuminating the scene. Francia couldn’t help but think of death as she watched, feeling as if a grim reaper had come to claim her life.

Whoosh!

The shadow’s sword moved toward her, and Francia closed her eyes.

‘Is this really the end?’

There were times—perhaps for a long time—when she imagined her end.

Sometimes she woke up drenched in sweat from terrible nightmares, other times she woke up crying. But those were all dreams, figments of her imagination.

‘But this isn’t a dream.’

In the face of real fear, Francia realized that the past pains she endured were nothing compared to this.

‘This is true death.’

Her body trembled uncontrollably as forgotten memories resurfaced.

‘Francia, you belong to me!’

She recalled the image of someone staring at her with crazed eyes. It felt like a massive snake was coiling around her body, tightening its grip.

‘I can’t breathe.’

Even though she felt she couldn’t breathe, her consciousness became even clearer. The pain intensified, and with no way to stop or escape it, she thought sincerely.

Grit.

‘Maybe it would be better to just die.’

She wished the assassins’ swords would end her suffering.

But…

‘I didn’t expect it to end like this.’

Was this the result of all her struggles to escape the nightmares of her past?

“Goodbye, Princess Francia.”

The voice of the shadowy figure echoed in her ears, preparing her for the imminent pain.

But then.

Thud.

“Move, you idiot!”

An unexpected, familiar voice shouted as she felt herself being pushed. Francia’s eyes snapped open.

She saw a boy taking the hit from the shadow’s sword on his shoulder.

Slash!

“Damn, that hurts like hell!”

“K-Kamon Vade?”

Shocked, Francia shouted. The shadowy leader who had intended to kill her was equally surprised.

“Why are you here?”

Kamon ignored the shadow, focusing solely on Francia.

“Damn it, what are you doing? Stop spacing out and run!”

He grabbed her hand and started running. Instinctively, Francia followed, her feet moving to keep up with him.

Thud, thud, thud!

‘What is this?’

Francia’s mind was a whirl of confusion, trying to piece together what had just happened.

‘Is this a dream?’

But only for a moment.

“Run faster! Do you want to die?”

Kamon’s sharp shout and the feel of warm blood hitting her cheek brought her back to reality.

“…!”

No, this wasn’t a dream. This was real.

Thud, thud, thud!

Regaining her senses, Francia forced her trembling legs to move faster.

“Yeah, that’s more like it. Do I always have to yell…”

For the first time, Francia properly registered Kamon Vade, who grumbled while running.

‘Why?’

Hundreds of questions filled Francia’s mind. Why was Kamon Vade here? How did he know to come save her? Though she had no answers, she shook her head firmly.

‘Surviving comes first.’

“Run faster!”

“I am running! Can’t you see?!”

Francia shouted back irritably, her previous fear and nightmares momentarily forgotten.

* * *

The sudden turn of events caused confusion among the shadows.

“What do we do? Do we chase them?”

“What were you thinking? You should have stopped that bastard from getting here!”

“But he’s that crazy woman’s disciple. How could we stop him?”

“Damn it!”

“Forget it, let’s take this chance to deal with the traitor too.”

One of them suggested harshly, but the leader shook his head and muttered.

“Opposing one of the Three Color Mages is the dumbest thing you could do. We just complete the mission. Chase them.”

“Tch, understood.”

“Just focus on killing the princess. Move!”

The shadowy figures quickly began pursuing the two. The leader, retrieving his sword, barked orders.

“We must succeed. Start a slow, controlled hunt. No one else is here but us.”

Thud!

He also sprinted after them.

* * *

“Ow! My hand!”

Holding Princess Francia’s hand, I dashed forward, her voice from behind making me grimace.

“Damn it, I’m the one who’s in pain. Can’t you see my shoulder?”

You’re the one I got hurt saving, you lunatic! Of course, I kept these thoughts to myself.

“I see it. You’re bleeding.”

Her nonchalant response made my jaw drop.

“What?”

“But can you let go of my hand first?”

“….”

I reluctantly released her hand. As Francia rubbed her reddened hand, I couldn’t help but comment.

“You must’ve been raised quite delicately, huh? Always looking out for your body.”

“Weren’t you raised just as delicately? You’re from the prestigious Vade family, after all.”

No, I was raised quite modestly, actually. That retort stayed lodged in my throat.

‘You wouldn’t understand.’

Sure, Kamon Vade was raised like that, but I, Kang Hyunsoo, was not. Pushing aside old memories, I glanced behind us. Thankfully, there was no sign of the pursuers.

“We don’t have time to waste here. Let’s keep moving; it’s still dangerous.”

Whether they were off guard or letting us think we escaped, we’d managed to get out. But we weren’t safe yet; they could be on our heels any moment.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

“Wait a moment.”

Rip!

“Huh?”

I turned to see Princess Francia tearing her skirt.

“What are you doing?”

“We need to run fast, and this skirt is too long. Also, here…”

She handed me a piece of the torn fabric and pointed to my shoulder.

“Use this to bandage your shoulder. You’re still bleeding.”

“What?”

Her unexpected action left me speechless.

“If you leave a blood trail, they’ll follow us.”

Oh, so it’s not concern for my injury but to prevent the pursuers from tracking us. That made sense.

“You’re more thorough than I thought. Thank you.”

I nodded, taking the fabric to bandage my right shoulder. But…

“Damn it, why is this so hard?”

It was difficult to wrap my shoulder alone.

“Give it here!”

Francia snatched the fabric from me and started wrapping my shoulder herself.

“Can’t a man even do something like this?”

“Careful, that sounds quite sexist.”

“Why? Am I wrong?”

“No, but… Ow! Take it easy, that hurts.”

“Just bear with it. You need to compress the wound to stop the bleeding. Isn’t that basic knowledge?”

“True, but hearing that from someone who’s been attacked twice isn’t pleasant.”

“What? You’re saying that’s my fault?”

“Never mind, just hurry up. We don’t have time.”

“….”

For once, I managed to silence her.

“Done.”

I checked her handiwork; she had wrapped my shoulder quite well. Moving my arm felt much less painful now.

“How is it?”

“Good. I didn’t expect you to be so skilled…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, thank you. Now let’s go.”

Francia adjusted her torn skirt and asked,

“Do you know where we’re going? This part of the forest is unfamiliar to me.”

“….”

Of course, I had no idea. I’d just been running to escape. The Imperial Academy was vast, and I wasn’t familiar with the remote areas.

“We haven’t seen any guards along the way. We need to get back to the academy’s center quickly.”

“Obviously. Do you know the way?”

“Well, no…”

Her hesitation told me she was just as lost.

We were lost in the academy.

“We can’t stay here; it’s too dangerous. We need to keep moving, even if we don’t know where we’re going.”

“Okay.”

Surprisingly, she agreed without argument and started following me.

Thud, thud.

This time, we moved more cautiously, keeping an eye out for any threats.

“Kamon Vade.”

“Yes? What is it?”

Her hesitant tone made me turn to her, answering sharply.

“Why did you come here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just curious. Why did you suddenly show up to save me? You hate me, don’t you?”

“What? Even when I save you, you’re complaining?”

“No, I mean… Never mind. Asking you was stupid.”

“Shh!”

I covered her mouth quickly. She looked annoyed but didn’t protest. We were in a dangerous situation, after all.

Rustle, rustle.

The sound of something moving through the bushes made me tense up. In the distance, familiar shapes emerged.

“Damn it, the pursuers.”

They were the shadows that attacked Princess Francia.

“They’re over here!”

“We heard something over here!”

Hearing their shouts, Francia cursed.

“Stop standing around like an idiot and run!”

At the same time,

“Wendy, help us!”

A cool breeze brushed past my legs.

“What the…?”

“It’s a wind spirit. Now hurry!”

“….”

Thud, thud, thud!

With the help of her wind spirit, our speed increased, and we quickly put distance between us and the shadows.

“Damn it!”

“Huff.”

After running faster than I thought possible, we spotted something.

“Look… there’s something there.”

“A building?”

“Yes. I don’t sense anyone around, but let’s check it out.”

Beyond the dense foliage, we saw an old building on a low hill. Feeling our strength waning, we headed toward it without a word.

Finally reaching it, we found…

“What is this?”

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