Surviving as a Villain at the Academy

1 – Prax Ransel. 18 years old. Incomplete r*pist. (1)

The situation was the worst. It would have been a different story if I reincarnated before Prax Ransel had committed his mistake, but now, at the point where he’s about to do it …… They’ll be here any moment.

The protagonists of the original story and their followers… the executive department of the Celerus Academy where Prax Ransel is currently enrolled. Can I avoid it? No. Impossible.

As long as Prax Ransel was a student of the Academy, avoiding the situation was impossible.

Even at this moment, they’re probably scouring for Aris and Prax, who disappeared suddenly. They’ll arrive in a few minutes.

“Prax, just why…why…?”

So, how am I supposed to respond to this question? Numerous thoughts came rushing into my head.

I recalled the flow of the novel. Prax Ransel. A typical villain in the early part of the story, experience fodder for the protagonists.

Without the villain Prax Ransel, the protagonists would be too weak.

Incapable of even properly combating the opponent standing at the crossroads leading to the flow of the mid-part of the novel.

Meaning, this deranged incomplete r*pist is unquestionably a character that needs to fulfill his role. A role as a malicious villain.

He’s not a simple extra or supporting role.

In the early part of the novel, Prax, who is also the final boss of the third chapter, becomes an opponent blocking the protagonists at every turn through a contract with a demon after this incident.

Such an opponent suddenly disappears? Without proper pacing with the novel’s power inflation, the protagonists will die horribly at the hands of their enemies.

Surely, it would be tough and difficult, but in the absence of a powerful adversary in the early part, they would not gain the insights needed and head to the mid-part of the novel.

There’s a difference in dimension between the enemies in the early part of the novel and the mid-part. But, such enemies could never be defeated with a meager growth rate.

Even if I, as the author, mobilize hidden pieces to support them, those require a certain level of basic insights. Without the foundation, I can’t properly empower them.

While I should be worried about myself, I have to worry about the protagonists. The reason is simple. If the protagonists fail to follow the flow of the novel…the world is sliced into two.

The protagonist is the one who saves the world that descends into chaos due to angels and demons meddling in the later stages. And the protagonist is also the one blocking that fight alone. He certainly has a tremendous talent, but his talent undoubtedly includes abilities that develop through experience.

Therefore, the protagonist who has not accumulated proper experiences won’t be able to overpower exponentially growing opponents, even with the support of other talents. After all, his opponents weren’t merely humans.

At this moment, I had to make a choice. Whether to somehow ensure my safety, or to solidify my position as a steadfast antagonist.

Depending on my response now, the flow of the novel will definitely change. If Fruh truly repents, his childhood friend Aris Winslet will surely forgive him.

How do I know? Because that’s how I set it up. That girl values her memories with Fruh significantly.

For the sake of leaving those memories as memories, she can forgive him for this incident. “Perhaps Fruh lost his senses because he loved you too much. He didn’t want to lose you….” If he shows a somewhat repentant attitude like this, Aris will surely forgive Fruh.

However, if I genuinely play a malicious part, she definitely won’t forgive Fruh.

There’s no reason for her to treat warmly the one who first severed those memories. Originally, Aris Winslet was not overly affectionate to others.

If I choose the former case, she will judge that I have a chance for redemption. She won’t reveal my sins. But, with the latter case… if I act aggressively towards her, she’ll expose my sins. To help me reform.

I had to make a choice. Whether to stay as an antagonist and help the protagonist and his associates grow or to keep living by the skin of my teeth until the world is encompassed by annihilation.

My choice was… of course, the former. This novel is strictly an ‘Academy’ genre. Events occur within the academy in a short timeline where everything is decided.

The Academy is made up of four grades and currently, the introduction of the novel starts when the protagonist and his group become sophomores… at most, I have three years. That’s the only time I can feast and enjoy to my heart’s content.

Why sophomores? Isn’t it simple? Because of the connections with upcoming junior heroine characters.

Anyhow, after that, there’s nothing I can do with this weak body of Fruh. All I can do is wait powerlessly for the end to come.

By choosing to be an antagonist, I could be bisected and killed by the protagonist before then… well. At the very least, I won’t have to die defenseless. I can gain the strength to cling to life some way or another.

By choosing to become an antagonist and have Aris Winslet expose every one of my sins, the demon Astaroth, who snuck into the academy, gets closer.

I can increase my power through a contract with Astaroth. Trusting my contract with him, I could disturb the protagonist and his group from behind as much as I can while still maintaining my boundaries…I can somehow find a way to survive.

The method to fill their experience while disturbing the protagonist and his group becomes surprisingly easy the moment I contract with the devil.

At least it’s better than the world going into total chaos and dying.

So, it’s now time for me to act the part of the antagonist.

Regardless, it won’t be easy to play the universally recognized scumbag of the early novel, but… since the bastard’s lines are eventually what I wrote, I suppose it can pass.

“Why did you do it?”

“Just why, why would you do such a thing…?”

“Because you rejected me.”

“What…?”

“I mean, I –“

He reveals what lies at the bottom of Fraus Rancell’s thoughts, unaltered.

Nothing else was needed, but you were. But you didn’t see me as a man at all.

A friendship that would someday crumble, I didn’t want to play such games with you. All the memories I built with you were meant to trap you in my arms…

Listening to this nonsense, all expression gradually fades from the face of Aris Winslet.

“A game of friendship?”

“Yes. It was merely a game of friendship.”

“But we were friends since we were kids. Were all those times we spent a mere game?”

“Yes.”

Every expression disappeared from Aris Winslet’s face.

“Even now, could you say that it was a mistake, Fraus? Then I can forgive you. I would just forget it as if nothing happened.”

She was whispering softly, but whether from shock or something else, her pupils continued to tremble. Her legs were shaking in denial of what I had said.

It only made sense. The connection between Fraus Rancell and Aris Winslet spanned over a decade.

In fact, all the childhood memories held by Aris Winslet were beads of time spent with Fraus. Now, Fraus, or rather, I am declaring the severance of all that time.

I’m uneasy. I never wished to be a villain to someone. I may not live virtuously, but I swore not to live stabbing a knife into someone else’s heart.

But… I had no choice. To ensure everyone’s happy ending, I had to become the villain. For the characters I’ve lovingly portrayed in this novel to survive, it was the only way.

The moment my role alters, disaster will strike.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that I can singlehandedly guide the narrative to align with the original. There will likely be many bumps along the way. Yet, if I refuse to play the role of the villain, I won’t be able to follow the storyline at all.

That, at least, I must stop.

It is better than everybody dying. Without risking danger, one cannot move forward. Because that’s what this novel is about. Because it’s the world I created.

If I survive until the end of the third chapter, I’m certain that there will be something I can do.

I had to act for that moment.

To secure a time where I could build my own independent narrative after my narrative has completely ended.

Thinking it again, it made me angry with myself for writing such a ridiculous novel.

If I had written a milder story, I wouldn’t have had to painstakingly put on an act of villainy, an utterly unnatural behavior.

…It’s about time. Time for the main characters of the original to appear.

I took one step further toward Holmes. Surprised by my approach, she took a step back.

The story is still at its dawn. Her level, not having achieved considerable growth yet, is definitely below mine as Prue Rancel.

The situation could not be more perfect for staging.

If I’m going to be trash anyway, it would be better to fuel their hostility to the utmost… prompting their growth.

Like an excited beast spying its prey, I darted towards her and grabbed her wrist.

“Le, let me go!”

It was then that she realized that Prue in front of her had changed, that her gentle long-time playmate had changed.

…Well, it’s right that I’ve changed since the content has changed.

And then, I heard the voice I had been long waiting for. A voice I had never heard as Prue Rancel.

“Ares!”

Ruslan Ares. The protagonist of this novel.

A terrifying force pours out towards me, causing goosebumps to rise on my arms.

Ruslan isn’t particularly powerful at this stage of the story, but being the protagonist, he emanated an incredibly sharp aura. Especially as someone who was facing a threat to their life for the first time, the atmosphere felt even more brutal.

Half of Ruslan’s eyes seemed to have rolled back. But even this half-eyed Ruslan had turned pale when he saw me standing in front of Ares.

“Fr…Frah?”

The reason for his surprise was simple. Since Frah had a good relationship with Ares as well as Ruslan and other friends. So even with his eyes rolled back, he couldn’t help but be startled at this unexpected situation.

Whack!

As I stood there looking surprised, Ares swiftly kick me. Everything happened so swiftly that I didn’t have a chance to react.

…Damn it. It hurts.

“You… You are trash, Frah Rancel.”

A bitter cold radiated from Ares’s trembling voice.

Ruslan and his friends, the priest-in-training, Johan, and the mage Diana, who faced Ares’s rage, her condition, and the contempt pouring from her eyes, couldn’t help but be taken aback.

She had never looked at Frah like that before.

“What, what exactly happened here?”

“…”

“Ares. What exactly happened? Why is Frah…?”

Johan asked with a stunned expression. I kept silent, and Ruslan stared at Ares.

“Frah, he tried to, to r*pe me.”

She tried to sound calm, but stuttered as she spoke, clearly shaken by what happened.

In an instant, the atmosphere around us froze. They looked at me as if they had heard something they should not.

……Damn. It sent a chill down my spine.

“Is that true?”

Ruslan’s voice lowered. Aris trembled, desperately trying to fix his disheveled clothes as he nodded.

“Is it true, Prakh?”

He asked me if Aris’s words were true. He was probably asking only because of the facade I had previously shown them.

I couldn’t hesitate here. I had to be scum to them. Only then would the demon, Astarot, who recognized me as the end of humanity, approach me.

“……Yes.”

“Why? Why would you do that?”

“Because that was the only way I could.”

“What?”

“You, who are so fortunate, might not understand, but for a miserable guy like me, no matter how much I thrashed about, I couldn’t win the heart of the one I loved.”

For a moment, Ruslan froze.

“You’re saying you, who claims to love Aris, tried to r*pe him? Have you completely lost your mind?”

“……It’s a pathetic thing.”

“What?”

“Some people spend ten years trying but can’t get what they want, while others get it too easily. Isn’t that right, Ruslan?”

I said it mockingly, and Ruslan couldn’t say anything. he couldn’t. Because Ruslan also knew that Aris had feelings for me.

“So, all of this is my fault?”

“Who said it’s your fault? It’s just… twisted. Dirty. It felt so filthy. Somebody had invested ten years, and then a bastard showed up and snatched it away.”

“Aris’s heart is for Aris to decide.”

“I know that. So? My tolerance is so thin, I can’t stand you looking happy. If I can’t have it, I should tarnish it, as harshly as possible.”

My snide tone further twisted Ruslan’s expression.

“…Was everything you showed me so far just an act?”

An act would be how I display myself to you all.

“An act? An act… Right. To be precise, yeah. Think about it. Who would dedicate themselves like that to someone they’re not even attracted to?”

“What about me, Diana, and Johan?”

“You guys are just thrown in because Aris cared, so you had no choice but to get along with her.”

“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

In that moment, Ruslan’s expression disappeared. It was downright terrifying, like a scene right out of a horror film. With each word I spoke, it felt like the grim reaper was closing in.