Fated to Die in an Academy Novel – Chapter 157

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Honestly, this wasn’t a betrayal or anything.

From their perspective, I was just a villain who said some cryptic things and ran away.

Even if I suddenly appeared and helped them, they couldn’t just say “Thank you for your help! Good work!” and let me go.

The reason they were being so ambivalent right now was probably because I had no criminal record, and they thought I just happened to appear and help them.

“…You have no confirmed criminal records yet, so if you cooperate with the investigation, you can assert your maximum rights.”

The director’s attitude towards me softened considerably, perhaps because she had heard that most of the students I extracted the demonic energy from survived.

“Even if you have committed a crime, as long as it’s not heinous, I’ll try to get you the most lenient sentence. You can also claim leniency for the help you gave…”

But that would be a problem.

[Help?]

The Masked Villain couldn’t have a change of heart yet.

It was a common trope in hero stories for an enemy to become weaker when they joined the good side, right?

Well, that was a joke, but I was going to commit acts of terror and fight the others in the future. Wouldn’t that be a problem?

[I don’t know what you’re talking about. Did you not hear what I said at first?]

That’s why I laid the groundwork beforehand.

[I found it annoying. So I intervened. I would appreciate it if you didn’t misunderstand.]

A line to draw a clear distinction.

I was here to relieve my own displeasure, not out of a sense of justice. This was just a villain who carried out private sanctions for personal reasons.

“…You’re not going to cooperate with the investigation?”

[Of course not. Chairman, I bow to no one but my great master. And there is even less reason for me to bow to those weaker than me.]

The director’s expression soured slightly.

“…Can I ask you just one thing?”

[There’s no reason why you can’t.]

“Good, then why did you interfere? If it was just annoying, we would have taken care of it even without you.”

She was asking…

…if there was some other reason I went out of my way to save them.

[Hmm.]

I stroked the chin of my mask as if I had heard an interesting question and, with a slightly exaggerated motion, slowly raised my hand and pointed to where the devil had died.

[Don’t you think it’s pathetic?]

“…Pathetic?”

[Yes, an incomplete evil. Incomplete evil is pathetic. And it’s the same for them.]

This time, I pointed to the cadets who were being escorted away.

[They’re half-assed. Too soft to be called villains. True evil isn’t like that. The anger they harbor must be their own, and they must bear the responsibility for their actions.]

The surrounding gazes gathered.

I strangely liked the feeling, as if I were the main actor in the spotlight, and everyone else was the audience.

[They shirk responsibility, share an anger that isn’t even their own, and repeat low-level evil deeds. And they delude themselves into thinking they’re villains, that there’s no turning back. That’s what I found annoying.]

The atmosphere was good. I was so charismatic.

[That’s why I executed evil.]

I killed it.

-Your acting is getting better every day. Even I was almost fooled.

“…Yes, I think I have a rough idea of what kind of person you are. Good. Then you must be prepared to take responsibility for your own words, right?”

At her signal, the professors surrounded me, and the cadets retreated.

[Hmm, you’re not all going to attack me, are you? This won’t be enough.]

For the record, I was already prepared to activate the teleportation bracelet.

I was going to talk big game and then run away. I already said before that I wasn’t going to fight today.

“You’re overconfident.”

[You can’t reach me.]

Because I was going to teleport!

“I wonder.”

I turned my gaze in the direction of the voice and saw the professor in a stance.

“I’ve gotten a bit better since the last time we met. Would you like to test it yourself?”

[That’s not a bad offer, but I must respectfully decline.]

“Really? What a shame. I really wanted to test you.”

Hmm, I should probably just run away after a bit.

Just as I thought that, something came into my sight.

One of the fallen cadets was staggering to his feet.

Did no one notice yet? Well, even I wouldn’t have noticed so quickly if I hadn’t seen something strange with my Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils.

It wasn’t demonic energy.

His body was undoubtedly human.

But the soul within his body was completely different from the original, creating a dissonance.

A devil. It was undoubtedly the same devil the director had just dealt with.

Did it manage to escape in spirit form right before it was annihilated? Or did it hide a seed among the cadets so it could be revived if it died?

He was quite skilled. Or maybe that was his talent.

Was his target the Chairman?

She was protecting the fallen cadets while thinking that I would take them hostage, so the devil could easily approach her even without demonic energy.

It seemed like it wanted to take over her body, but for some reason, it didn’t emit any malice, so no one except me had noticed yet.

Not even the chairman herself.

Saving her was a given. Then what was the right move here, right?

The heroes rushed at me.

My worries were short-lived.

I activated the teleportation bracelet I had prepared for my escape and moved right next to the chairman.

The chairman, thinking I was targeting her, shot a wind blade at me in surprise, but I deliberately didn’t dodge and took the hit.

It didn’t hurt much since Ruyi blocked it, and it was important to show everyone that I was attacked.

[Interesting.]

It looked like I was grabbing the arm of a cadet who was swinging a sword to attack the chairman.

[A soul transplant? I didn’t expect you to try and survive this way. It’s quite pathetic. But don’t you think this woman is a bit too much for you?]

A look of shock crossed his face.

This must have been his trump card, and he seemed quite frustrated, but what could he do?

Don’t fight someone like me in your next life.

“W-Wait!”

If devils even had a next life.

A soul being replaced was different from someone being possessed by demonic energy.

I didn’t know how he did it, but the original owner was probably already dead.

Then it was better for me to do this than for the others to do it instead.

A shadow pierced his heart.

I wasn’t planning on killing anyone, but in the end, one died.

I prevented an incident that would have caused many more casualties with just one life.

It was a relatively successful result, but for some reason, I wasn’t happy.

Even though it was just one person, and one of the trashy ones at that…

Perhaps because it made me think that I wasn’t suited to be a hero who saved everyone.

Seriously…

I wasn’t happy.

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Reilan Claudia was flustered.

She was taken by surprise by the villain who suddenly appeared beside her, and he had easily blocked her subsequent attack.

But the biggest reason she was flustered was that the masked man had blocked a surprise attack directed at her, and that the one who had attacked her was one of the fallen cadets.

He had dealt with him so concisely while saying that he was being used by a devil that no one could react.

He looked at the body with a gloomy expression for a moment, then turned his gaze to her.

She couldn’t see his expression because of the pure white demon mask, but she could tell he wasn’t in a good mood.

[Reilan Claudia, you were careless. You rely too much on your ability to sense malice. You should know that there are always ways to deceive your senses, depending on the enemy.]

The masked man approached her.

She unconsciously took a step back.

He took another step closer.

[Remember, you are still needed in this world. It would be troublesome for me if you were to die or get injured carelessly.]

Needed in the world? From a villain’s perspective, it would be better if a hero like her didn’t exist. What was he talking about?

He reached out his hand. For some reason, she couldn’t resist.

[Your life is not your own. Until all of the heroes of the world kneel before my master and adapt to the new laws, you will stay alive. If you are a hero, then be a proper one and become the barrier that stands in our way before perishing as our proof.]

His gloved hand touched her neck.

[Until that day, and even after…]

Why didn’t she feel the urge to run away or resist this man? It was a feeling she had never experienced before.

She felt a strange, dazed, floating sensation. She should be running away, but for some reason, she didn’t feel like he would harm her.

[I will not allow you to die without my permission.]

He said that, let go of her, and disappeared as his arm flashed.

It was the first time…

The first time she was helped by a villain, the first time someone saved her from a crisis.

…And the first time someone came this close to her.

Her heart pounded.

Was she that scared? Maybe.

That masked man was skilled enough that it was strange that he was unknown up until now.

He was at least an A-rank, no, an S-rank villain, so it wasn’t strange that her heart was pounding after a villain like that came so close to her.

“…Chairman? Did that villain do something to you?”

Her cute friend Cathy approached her and checked her complexion.

“No, I’m fine. Why?”

“Your face is very red. Did the villain say something to make you angry?”

“…What?”

My face was red? Why? No, wait. It couldn’t be… How old was I?

“Yes, it must be a mistake. I was just surprised.”

She tried to ignore the question that surfaced in her mind and steeled herself.

…What bad boy? I was only attracted to them for a while when I was young. Of course.

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I roughly took off my mask after teleporting.

“This feels like shit after a long time.”

No, there was nothing to feel bad about. This wasn’t the first time I killed someone after regressing.

It was just that the sensation of piercing someone’s heart was too vivid, and the feelings I had when I took lives in my memories were coming back, making me a bit anxious.

I would get used to this eventually.

“Ah, shit. Ptooey.”

Did I use too much force? My mouth was bleeding too.

“…I’m sorry to the chairman. Damn it, I was just taking my anger out on her.”

It wasn’t like the chairman wanted to be taken by surprise, so why did I take my anger out on her?

-Saint’s Will applies mental enhancement. It insists that you shouldn’t be too burdened by the karma of a necessary killing.

-…Are you okay?

“Yeah, I’m surprisingly fine. I’m not injured, and a lot more people should have died, but it ended with just one death. What’s there to not be okay about?”

Yeah, I’m fine. I was just a bit surprised by the vivid sensation.

I felt a bit bad about what I said to the chairman at the end, but she needed a warning not to die.

And my advice for her to not rely too much on her senses was also necessary.

Perhaps the reason I was so reluctant to kill was because I knew this would happen.

I had to pull myself together.

Did I think I wouldn’t kill a single person from now on? I decided not to hesitate anymore.

It would have been less unpleasant if it were an adult, and not a cadet.

Damn bastards. Why did they keep causing trouble at the academy?

Ah, right. This was an academy story.

I laughed.

“I miss you.”

The words suddenly slipped out.

I miss you.

Yeah, there were many people I missed.

So, I couldn’t just sit here.

Let’s go back.

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“Please, just wait a minute…!!!”

“Get lost…!!!”

…What the hell.

After switching places with my clone and dispelling the clone technique, the clone’s memories flowed into me, and a different emotion replaced my depression as if it was a lie.

Yes, it was annoyance and anger.

Ah, damn it, I should have just left directly.

“Please, just let go of me…!”

“Never…!!!!!”

Aisha, you bitch, what’s your problem now?

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T/N – Damn, immaculate rizz! To think the MC would get two girls in one chapter, and one of them is the chairman, of all people. I don’t blame her, though. The White Oni Mask villain is just too cool.

Also, I find it funny that a High Elf was into bad boys when she was young. Though from what I’ve heard, most girls have been there.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.