I'm Neither the Mastermind nor the Villain

Chapter 21

The principal and Kang Yeeun reacted quite fiercely when I suggested we stop fighting and talk.

The principal's translucent form wavered unstably as she glared at me.

Gamigin's contractor frowned as if she had just heard something she wasn't supposed to.

"With reactions like this, I might get hurt, you know. So hurt I might even cry."

"...What's your scheme? That uniform-you dare disguise yourself as an academy student, yet you don't even try to hide you're a criminal. The academy will never forgive you."

"Marbas's contractor? Are you also interested in the Philosopher's Stone?"

The navy-haired principal began gathering magical power,

and the gray-haired contractor infused aura into her sword once more.

Uh......

This isn't what I wanted at all.

"Haha, why are you both so wary? Principal, and Gamigin's contractor. I forgot to introduce myself properly. I'm Baek Sejin, a first-year student at Warna Academy.

Meaning I was admitted through legitimate means. So those misunderstandings are troubling."

Despite my explanation, the principal's suspicious gaze didn't waver.

"Don't lie. Are you so eager to confess you're a criminal? You look like you're in league with that necromancer bitch. The world's gone mad. Demon collaborators invading the academy, how absurd."

The principal continued muttering.

"No, if he's that brazen, maybe he really is a student? ...But if so, he's still suspicious. Then... a third faction? Damn, another force targeting the academy? This is giving me a headache..."

What on earth is she talking about?

Feeling the misunderstanding spiraling out of control, I hurriedly opened my mouth.

"Haha, that's a misunderstanding. First, I'm not on the same side as that demon contractor. And I entered the academy through proper channels."

Upon hearing my words, the principal froze.

That's one of the principal's clones.

One of several clones she's controlling in real time.

The real body is probably in the principal's office right now, manipulating the clones.

"...What did you do?"

Seeing the suddenly motionless principal, Gamigin's contractor spat out in a frightened, wary voice.

"Haha, even if you're curious, I can't tell you. By the way, I haven't heard your name yet. I'm Baek Sejin. May I know yours?"

"...Kang Yeeun."

I learned the name of the villain who appeared in the original but whose name I didn't know.

Whether it's her real name or an alias, what mattered was I heard it directly from her.

"Alright, Ms. Kang Yeeun. How about we have a conversation? You must be exhausted from the earlier battle. Wouldn't continuing to fight be too much?

So why not 'talk' here and now? You realize this is probably the most advantageous position you'll get."

I implied that now was the best time to negotiate, and as time passed, her situation would only worsen-she swallowed hard.

I genuinely wanted to talk.

Fighting would only endanger both sides.

Besides, since Kang Yeeun and I were both contractors of Solomon's 72 demons, in a way, we shared a faint connection.

"...Enough with the threats. I know you're strong, but threatening me is pointless. My life's worthless anyway, so your threats mean nothing."

"Haha, I'll take that as your willingness to talk."

"How is that...! Forget it. What do you want?"

I wasn't sure why my suggestion to talk sounded like a threat to her, but what mattered was she agreed to converse.

"Haha, then how about everyone puts down their weapons first? Ms. Kang Yeeun, and yes, you too, Principal? It's not much of a conversation if you don't put your weapons down."

I set down the sword hanging at my waist.

I also extended my proposal to the principal, who had regained her movement and was quietly observing the situation.

The principal slowly unsummoned her spirits in response.

Whether she checked my information directly from her real body or through the clone, she must have confirmed I was telling the truth-her attitude was much more compliant than before.

I smiled at Kang Yeeun, who was still glancing nervously at me.

"Alright then, Ms. Kang Yeeun? You should put down your weapon too."

At my words, Kang Yeeun slowly lowered her sword to the ground.

Or rather, she tried to.

As she bent down, her body sprang toward me like a coiled spring.

Twisting her body and hand, she aimed straight for my neck.

"Die!"

Instantly, I pulled my body far back and took a small parrot doll from my pocket, throwing it at her.

When the tiny doll suddenly flew at her, she reflexively tried to swat it away with her empty hand-

her outstretched left hand came close to the doll.

At that moment, the magic embedded in the doll activated.

The droppings of Beast Butterflies filled with paralysis venom.

Those droppings exploded inside the doll like a grenade.

The hand she extended to swat the doll was hit squarely by the burst of Beast Butterflies' paralysis venom.

"What the...?!"

Normally, the venom of Beast Butterflies would have slowly invaded her body.

But the venom I enhanced worked exponentially faster.

As a result, her left arm was completely paralyzed in an instant.

Realizing one of her arms was numb, her face turned to panic.

I kicked her legs out from under her.

"Kgh...!"

She groaned as she fell to the floor.

"Why do you keep ignoring what I say?"

I picked up the sword I had set down earlier.

If she had listened quietly and agreed to talk, this wouldn't have happened, but since she didn't, I had no choice.

Meanwhile, Kang Yeeun got back up and glared at me with murderous intent.

"...Paralysis venom, huh."

With her left arm limp, she pointed her sword at me with her right.

"So, you really refuse to talk?"

"Screw your talk! Who the hell threatens people like that and calls it a conversation?!"

"Haha, that's quite unfair. I truly wanted to have a peaceful talk."

"As if you ever intended to talk!"

"So it comes to this, after all."

I felt wronged.

I hadn't shown any killing intent, nor did I have no desire to talk.

I genuinely wanted a conversation. But if the other party refuses, there's nothing I can do.

We'll just have to 'talk' with swords.

"Then let's converse with blades. It's still a kind of dialogue, so I suppose my goal is achieved."

Kang Yeeun, her left arm still hanging limp, charged again.

Since I was blocking the only exit to the surface, she had no choice but to kill me or break through to escape.

Given she refused to talk, this was the best outcome anyway.

Ideally, she would use teleportation magic or something similar,

but such spells require mastery even among mages who specialize in spatial magic, so as a swordswoman, that wasn't an option for her.

That's why, to break out of this encirclement by me and the principal, Kang Yeeun chose to attack me.

The problem with that choice was she was exhausted from fighting the principal, whereas I was not.

"Hup!"

I met Kang Yeeun's aura-infused sword with my own aura-coated blade.

I countered her downward strike from above.

Despite her fatigue, the force behind her sword was fierce.

Kang Yeeun must be feeling quite desperate.

Because she could sense the paralysis venom interfering with her movements in real time.

She was suppressing it as much as possible with magical power, but it was only a matter of time.

She'd taken a direct hit from the venom I had enhanced, without any preparation,

so it wouldn't be long before her entire body was paralyzed.

Even if she managed to expel all the venom, the result would be the same.

Because I wouldn't be standing idle during the time it took her to purge it.

Since Kang Yeeun cannot use her left arm right now, I target her left side.

While parrying her sword with my right hand, I conjured black flames with my left.

The black flames blooming in midair flew toward Kang Yeeun.

Startled by the sudden incoming black flames, she twisted her body to evade them.

"...Kuh!"

But because of that, she left an opening and had to endure the principal's attack.

The gust of wind from behind struck Kang Yeeun's body hard.

And I as well.

As she twisted to avoid the black flames, she belatedly noticed my sword swinging toward her.

Just before my sword touched her, black smoke billowed from one of the bracelets on her wrist.

-Grrraaah!.

A ghoul summoned just in time took my sword's blow instead and collapsed.

The attack aimed at her wrist ended up only cutting through several of her bracelets thanks to the ghoul.

If I failed once, I just had to keep aiming for it.

With my left hand, I kept throwing black flames, chanting spells from my mouth, and clashing swords with my right.

A curse descends.

'Slow the body. Induce hallucinations. Make the legs entangle...'

Very basic curses, the kind you first learn when starting dark magic.

But perfect for use in the middle of combat.

Although these are low-level curses, so they don't work well on martial artists with innate resistance or people who have boosted their resistance with magic,

Just as expected, she wasn't greatly affected by my curses, as her movements hardly changed.

'It's fine, I was just testing anyway.'

The outcome was already decided.

At first, she moved nimbly, but now her movements were gradually slowing down.

The paralysis venom was affecting her.

In the end, she collapsed onto the ground.

"Phew, that was a satisfying conversation with swords."