How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 203

The scene shifted back to Kamon Vade’s childhood, a familiar yet different setting from earlier.

But now, Kamon’s eyes held an intensity and hollowness far beyond his years, as though he had lost both his age-appropriate emotions and innocence. He was holed up in the library, reading book after book with feverish determination.

Stacks of books surrounded him, piled like towers. Judging by the sheer number of volumes, there must have been at least several hundred. Yet Kamon kept reading without pause.

“There has to be something… It has to be here.”

Despite his young age, dark circles were etched deeply under his eyes. But he didn’t stop.

“Arrogance, Arrogance, Arrogance… Got it! The Spirit of Arrogance!”

Finally finding what he sought, Kamon let out a rare, triumphant laugh and began to read eagerly.

The Spirit of ‘Arrogance’ is one of the seven fallen spirits, the Seven Deadly Sins. Although the origins of the Seven Deadly Sins remain unknown, rumors suggest…*

Kamon’s joyous expression quickly soured.

“What is this?”

…the Seven Deadly Sins are said to be the fragmented soul of the Demon King. After the hero defeated the Demon King, realizing the Demon King could not be fully destroyed, the hero decided to divide the soul and seal it across the continents. From this fractured soul emerged the seven fallen spirits, the Seven Deadly Sins, each named ‘Arrogance,’ ‘Envy,’ ‘Wrath,’ ‘Greed,’ ‘Sloth,’ ‘Lust,’ and ‘Gluttony.’ If the Seven Spirits were ever unsealed and gathered, the Demon King would be resurrected…

Slam!

Kamon shut the book, shaking his head as he muttered.

“That doesn’t make any sense. So, they wanted my mother to bear the Demon King’s soul? How absurd.”

He sighed and picked up another book. As I watched him, an inexplicable feeling welled up inside me.

‘Who exactly… is he?’

It felt almost like I was watching a soap opera, feeling a strange sympathy for him as I observed his younger self’s desperation and drive.

The scenes of Kamon’s life flashed by quickly, like a movie on fast-forward.

Over the years, Kamon grew from a small child into an adolescent, practicing magic under Marquis Vade’s guidance. He quickly discovered his own talent and rapidly became a prodigy. He stopped frequenting the library and began venturing outside, seeking information and listening to rumors.

Then, as more time passed and Kamon neared adolescence, the pieces of his mother’s secrets began to fall into place.

“My mother was part of the Shadow Organization, and they worship the Demon King.”

Kamon had finally uncovered the truth about his mother’s affiliation and the organization’s purpose.

“Breaking the Demon King’s seal? Heh, crazies like that are a dime a dozen.”

Scoffing, Kamon laughed, then began conjuring spells, testing his own power.

Snap!

With a snap of his fingers—

Fwoosh!

The training ground filled instantly with blazing, fierce magic.

“Hah, soon I’ll be able to match my father.”

‘This must be when it started. His delusions of grandeur… Though, with power like his, it’s understandable, Kamon Vade.’

With that thought, the scene shifted again.

Kamon was back in the library, his expression serious and distressed, frantically searching through books.

“What is this? What is going on?!”

‘…?’

I couldn’t understand his sudden shift in behavior.

Then, suddenly—

Thump!

Kamon stopped searching and straightened, completely rigid.

‘What’s happening now?’

I couldn’t make sense of it, but when I looked into his eyes, they had turned a deep, slate-gray.

Then—

“Haah…!”

Kamon took a sharp breath, as if he’d just emerged from underwater, and began breathing heavily.

“M-My future?”

He looked pale as he muttered, then quickly resumed his search.

Clack, slam! Slam!

“No… no, I have to know. What is this, why is this happening, and what exactly is this world…!”

Though the scenes alone couldn’t provide full clarity, I felt as if I somehow understood his thoughts.

‘Realizing that this world is part of a novel, and that he is merely a character within it…’

Perhaps the “future” he had just glimpsed was the revelation of that very fact.

The screen sped forward again.

In his teenage years, Kamon’s expression turned manic, and he laughed—no, he was crying.

“Yes, so that’s how it is. That’s what it was all along.”

Nodding slowly, he spoke in a low, muttering tone.

“This world follows a fixed path. Whether it’s destiny or fate, everything is hurtling toward a predetermined outcome. And I’m nothing but a cog within that path, like a story… no, like a novel.”

He took a few steps, eventually reaching the same cliffside, where the waves and wind crashed as they had before.

As the Shadow Organization member vanished—

“Kyle Perion.”

Kamon spoke the name of this world’s protagonist.

“You expect me to be sacrificed? For a wretched pest like him?”

Gritting his teeth, he seethed.

“What? The only one who can kill the Demon King?”

Finally coming close to the truth of this world and the future he faced, Kamon shook his head, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

“Don’t make me laugh. I won’t die like that.”

And at that moment—

Fwoooosh!

Countless fireballs filled the sky, blanketing it in a blazing inferno.

As Kamon had once boasted, he had already surpassed his father, Marquis Vade, in strength.

Having witnessed the marquis’s power myself, I could see this was no exaggeration.

‘Incredible…’

A shocking and unexpected sight unfolded before me.

Rip!

Suddenly, a tear appeared in space, and from it emerged a woman with flaming red hair: the Red Mage, Anne Carson.

‘…Ugh!’

The moment I laid eyes on her, a fierce headache hit me, and my vision blurred. A sensation of being dragged down to the ground filled my body.

‘No… I can’t lose consciousness… here…’

I fought hard to resist, struggling to hold on to my awareness. But all I could make out was Anne Carson approaching Kamon Vade, standing on the hill, and beginning to speak.

Yet, due to the piercing headache, I couldn’t make out a single word.

‘Damn it… I can’t…’

The screen, as if mocking my efforts, began to grow distant. And as the image of Anne and Kamon facing each other grew smaller, I felt my mind slip away once more.

***

Boom! Crash!

A thunderous explosion reverberated in my ears.

‘What… now?’

Boom! Bam!

[Master… please…]

[Wake… please…]

Amidst the chaos, I heard familiar voices.

“Airsya? Frilla?”

[You… must wake…]

[Or else…]

Their words were muffled, as if I were submerged in deep water, each word coming through in fragments.

[Damn… fool…]

[Master… wake up…!]

Focusing as hard as I could, I managed to make out their words, bit by bit.

Still, my sight had not yet returned.

‘Why? What exactly happened?’

Trying to make sense of everything, I recalled what had happened before I began witnessing Kamon Vade’s memories.

‘Right… Anne Carson was summoned from the Orb. But how is that even possible?’

The questions remained overwhelming, but I had no doubt that Anne Carson, the previous Red Mage, was the cause of my current state.

‘I need to regain control… immediately!’

Anne Carson had encountered the real Kamon Vade once before, around the time he’d uncovered the world’s darkest secrets. What had transpired between the two back then remained a mystery, but after that, Kamon had proceeded to enroll at the academy, aligned with the Shadow Organization, and eventually attacked Princess Francia. And then, I had possessed this body.

‘What exactly were Kamon’s intentions and goals before he entered the academy?’

That gap in his past… that was the key.

[Useless idiot, you fool!]

[Airsya, stop it. Yelling won’t change anything. Besides, our master is trying to wake up.]

Finally, their voices came through clearly.

Now that I thought about it… these two…

‘Could they be the souls of the Demon King?’

The thought briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. While Frilla seemed reserved, there was no way Airsya, with her temper and bluntness, could ever be the final calamity that would bring the world to ruin.

“Airsya, Frilla!”

With my hearing fully restored, I called their names.

[You really awake now?]

[Master!]

Their voices sounded relieved, and I opened my eyes abruptly.

What greeted me was…

“What… what is this?”

It was pure devastation.

Or rather, a war zone? A wasteland? Flance Imperial Academy was in ruins, to the point where any word describing destruction seemed insufficient.

Around me, a shimmering purple barrier of powerful magic had been erected.

“…What… is going on?”

And then—

Boom! Boom!

Another tremendous blast rang out, and I quickly turned to the spirits.

“What the hell happened here?”

[It’s a battle.]

[A fight among mages.]

“A fight among… mages?”

[Your mentor and the academy headmaster are both fighting.]

“What?”

[They’re currently battling Anne Carson outside this barrier. This shield was created by the two of them.]

So, while I’d been unconscious, Master Jamie and Headmaster Beatrice had engaged Anne Carson?

And all this destruction—the razed structures, the scorched grounds—was the result of a clash between two of the Triadic Mages and the former Red Mage, Anne Carson, leader of the Shadow Organization?

The stream of shocking information made my head spin.

“….”

Outside the barrier, hundreds of glowing swords filled the air, while massive, dark fog billowed up, obscuring the view.

These spells, each uniquely powerful, were the signature techniques of Jamie and Beatrice.

But this sight only made my head hurt more.

“So… why the hell did things end up like this?”

The story had veered so far off course it was now unrecognizable.

When, in the original narrative, had anyone turned the academy into a wasteland?

Flance Imperial Academy was meant to be a home where the protagonist and his allies could grow and train, safeguarded from any harm. It was a place that had always remained protected.

And yet now?

Boom!

The academy’s beautiful medieval buildings lay in ruins, with only dust and debris filling the space that had once been vibrant with life.

“Damn it!”

Shock and dread overwhelmed me, the chaos unfolding around me a storm of fear and confusion.