Chapter 333: No, I Said Let’s Just Enjoy the Festival Normally! (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 333: No, I Said Let’s Just Enjoy the Festival Normally! (5)
Villain Catching.
With actual villains and the corrupt heroes who sided with them having infiltrated the Academy, this was the event I came up with to resolve the situation without ruining the festive atmosphere.
The system was simple: distribute wanted posters featuring montages of the infiltrators and award points to anyone who captured them.
This way, the cadets would perceive the coming battle not as a fight to protect the Academy, but as a somewhat intense event.
“Now! The participants playing the villains will not only provide a perfect performance but are also expected to resist desperately—but don’t you worry!”
This plan was only possible thanks to Cheon Mu-jin’s reputation; people expected him to pull off something this extreme just for the sake of entertainment.
“Actually, through recent construction, Shock Conversion Devices—which were previously only in the sparring grounds—have been installed throughout the entire Academy! Physical impact is currently being converted into mental shock, so you can attack or be attacked without any safety concerns!”
To be honest, I didn’t even know about that. Apparently, the Chairperson had consulted with my father and Cheon Mu-jin near the end of the dormitory renovations and installed them to prevent accidents.
“So, feel free to get knocked out! Or beat them until they pass out!”
Cheers erupted as the wanted posters were scattered into the air.
…Even though I was the one who drafted the plan, I couldn’t have pulled this off alone.
Even if I remembered the faces of the Honor Faction members and knew which villains they used as pawns or contractors, I didn’t have the talent to turn those memories into montages in such a short time.
If my father hadn’t rushed over someone with the ‘Memory-to-Art Talent,’ it would have been impossible to produce those montages in the brief window while the enemies were idling, waiting for the festival to reach its peak.
Similarly, I don’t have the eloquence to fire up a crowd like Cheon Mu-jin, nor the wealth to provide prizes that would satisfy them.
And if the Chairperson hadn’t prepared the Shock Conversion Devices without my knowledge, I would have been racking my brain over the potential for casualties.
Lilac was subtly guiding the first-years to cooperate and catch the villains.
Cheon Yu-hak was showing off his battle with a villain to stimulate the competitive spirit of others, while Ha-ni, Lee Yu-na, and Ju Ri-ra were doing the opposite—giving warnings or reminding everyone that this was just an event to ensure the competition didn’t get too heated.
All while subtly protecting everyone from the actual villains.
Everyone was doing their absolute best, all because they believed in a single word from me.
That was why I was able to get this chance to resolve the incident without breaking the framework of the festival.
Of course, problems still remained.
Some cadets would surely grow suspicious of the villains’ sharp, genuine aggression, and since the shock conversion wasn’t omnipotent, I had to ensure no one took excessive damage.
It was also clear that if the Honor Faction started shouting and spreading the forged evidence they likely carried, the situation wouldn’t exactly turn out positive.
Or visitors who weren’t cadets might get caught up in the event.
But everyone had worked so hard to follow my lead.
Those minor issues were now things I could handle myself.
I put on the Pure White Demon Mask and wrapped the Ruyi around my body, transforming it into clothes.
If grinding that Flash bastard’s face into the dirt wasn’t enough of a warning, then fine.
I’ll make you feel it in your very bones—what happens when you reach for things you shouldn’t dare touch, and what the price of uncontrollable greed truly is.
[I shall execute Evil.]
* * *
“…I have no idea what you think you’re doing right now.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
Keras, facing the Chairperson in her office, glared at her with a face of clear indignation.
“Don’t play dumb. I don’t know how you found out we were attacking or how you knew our composition, but do you really think a farce like this will change the outcome?”
“And why wouldn’t it?”
“There’s a limit to making people believe our resistance is just acting or part of an event. If we just grab one of those rampaging cadets and over-attack them, or if my people start spreading the evidence, do you think this stupid stunt will mean anything?”
“There would likely be an uproar. We might even have to stop the festival.”
“Then why are you acting like this? The option to cooperate peacefully is long gone. I’m going to take this as a declaration of hostility against the Honor Faction—no, against the Association itself.”
“I’m not particularly frightened.”
“…What?”
“You should have moved the moment you first entered the Academy. You shouldn’t have given us an hour to respond just because you wanted to wait for the festival to heat up.”
“Do you realize that because of that, our people have infiltrated deep into your festival?”
“If that’s what you think, we’ll just have to see the results. I’m telling you this now so you don’t blame me later, but I did give you a clear warning to leave while you could.”
Keras signaled his subordinates, as if she wasn’t even worth listening to anymore.
“You’re the ones who ignored it.”
The Chairperson calmly delivered the death sentence.
* * *
Upon receiving Keras’s signal, the villains began to move immediately.
They started attacking the charging cadets with what seemed like excessive force and began shouting foul insults to intimidate them.
However, as time passed, it was the villains who began to feel doubtful.
Most of them were B-rank villains classified as violent criminals, with a few A-ranks mixed in. It felt like overkill for a mere threat against the Academy.
“Wow, the acting is so realistic.”
“I actually thought they were real villains.”
“Hey, if they were real, it wouldn’t be this easy.”
The overall level of the students was high, but the skills of certain cadets mixed into the crowd were at a level that absolutely could not be ignored.
“Don’t let your guard down, everyone! You know you’ll get knocked out if you get greedy and get injured, right? The people playing the villains are working hard, so let’s not make any mistakes!”
Especially that guy handling two different unique energies, one in each hand. He had been blocking the attacks of A-rank villains with ease, constantly reminding the cadets that this was all just a show.
“Ha, acting like that must be exhausting. Did you forget this is an individual competition in the end?”
And who was that monster with the spear slaughtering villains a short distance away? Or the swordsman who would ghost toward anyone shouting excessive profanity and cut them down?
“Let’s not get too angry, everyone. They’re just doing their jobs. They don’t really mean it~”
They were doing their jobs, but they definitely meant it.
The villains wanted to retort, but they knew the moment they did, they would be the next ones falling to that sword.
“What the hell is the Honor Faction doing…!”
They needed to hurry up and scatter the forged evidence or something to change the mood.
As if on cue, one of the Honor Faction heroes who had been under attack stepped forward and began to climb to a high vantage point.
Finally, they’re spreading it.
“Everyone! Do you really think this is just an event?!”
He shouted at the top of his lungs, scattering the evidence in his hands as he continued to scream.
“Everything written here is the truth! We aren’t outside personnel brought in for an event; we came here to denounce the Academy!”
Originally, the villains’ role was to run wild and shift the blame onto the Academy, but given the situation, framing it as the Academy hiring real villains for an event wasn’t a bad pivot either.
As the atmosphere began to stiffen slightly at his desperate cries, a voice rang out.
[Indeed.]
The voice wasn’t particularly loud, yet it echoed with absolute clarity through the surroundings.
“Huh?”
“Uh, hey, look over there!”
Descending from the sky with the sun at his back, as if stepping down invisible stairs, was a villain dressed in black and wearing a pure white mask.
[They are correct. The reason ‘we’ have come here today is to reveal the true nature of the ‘Association’ as well as this corrupt Academy.]
Having said that, the man with the ghost mask nonchalantly scattered something toward the cadets. On the papers were records of corruption so foul and hideous that even a villain would scowl at them.
Evidence targeting the Association—specifically the Honor Faction.
As the Honor Faction heroes checked the papers, their faces slowly turned pale.
The implication was clear. Most of what was written on these papers—no, probably all of it—was the truth.
[Crude.]
As if delivering a speech, the villain who had descended from the sky to the ground slowly curled his hand into a fist and scanned the crowd.
[You hypocrites, who disguise yourselves as good because you lack even the resolve for clear malice.]
The crowd was already overwhelmed by the pressure he exuded.
[You foolish masses, who cannot discern the truth.]
And then, as if for a dramatic climax, massive wings made of dragon shadows unfurled.
[I shall judge you by the standards of ‘Evil.’]
While the crowd was still struggling to figure out if this situation was real or just a staged performance for the event—
“Now! This is the climax we put the most effort into! The points for the Boss Villain who just appeared are 100 points! That’s equivalent to capturing ten A-rank villains!”
At Cheon Mu-jin’s voice, vitality returned to the Academy once more.
* * *
The Devil’s Proof.
Spreading a false rumor is easy, but proving it false requires far more effort.
Even if the Honor Faction failed to frame the Academy with perjury and forced crimes, it wouldn’t be easy to uproot the seeds of suspicion.
That was why I intended to prevent the controversial situation from even arising.
If you don’t play along in the stage I’ve built—if the Academy’s ‘scandal’ isn’t framed as a dramatic plot point for an ‘event’—then you’ll be the ones suffering the massive blow.
By me scattering your real crimes, which I remember so clearly.
Since these things were all fully exposed in the future, I didn’t even have to struggle to recall them.
And there wasn’t just one or two types of dirt on them.
Indeed, after the evidence was scattered, the heroes belonging to the Honor Faction stood frozen, their bodies stiff.
The actual villains might not care and keep rampaging.
In fact, some of them looked delighted to have leverage over the Honor Faction, but of course, I had no intention of leaving them be either.
So, I forced them onto the stage.
“Wh-What is this…!”
One villain screamed as shadows swallowed the surrounding area and half-consumed his own body.
“Now! Phase 2 is a battle against villains who have grown even stronger thanks to the Boss Villain’s buff! It won’t be easy from here on out!”
Thanks to Cheon Mu-jin providing explanations at the perfect moments, maintaining the atmosphere wasn’t difficult.
“Wow, they really put a lot of thought into the production…”
“This is Leilan Academy…? This is just an event for the Autumn Festival…?”
See? Everyone thinks it’s a pretty convincing performance.
Now, there was one final problem.
The Academy cadets might not know for sure, but the faculty and famous heroes would know that the Ghost Mask was a real villain.
…Of course, I had already laid the groundwork by saying I called someone to help and that everyone might be surprised to see them.
Even if I warned them in advance, a real villain had appeared at the Academy, so they would at least be on guard.
Still, it couldn’t be helped.
I wanted to send a clear message to the Hero Association, and I felt it would be easier to move later if I established this persona publicly now.
I just hope everyone doesn’t overreact too much.
