Chapter 50: Execution. (End)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50: Execution. (End)
Seo In-young.
Well, that wasn’t his real name. It was just one of the many fake identities he’d created to infiltrate the Academy, where he currently served as the Student Council Vice President.
With his easygoing attitude and kind impression, he was a character who even became friends with the protagonist. In the original work, he provided a fair amount of help at times. However, his true identity was the mastermind behind the incidents plaguing the Academy—the final boss of the Academy arc who would eventually drive the protagonist to utter despair.
He was the worst kind of villain, one whom Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak failed to defeat until the very end, only managing to take him down with the help of a Helper.
That was who he really was.
“Hmm.”
A black shadow streaked toward me, turning into a blade that grazed my neck. I barely managed to dodge it by spotting the red sparks—the precursor symptom.
It was ‘Black Shadow,’ the artifact he used as his primary weapon.
In the sense that it manipulated shadows into various forms, it seemed similar to Ruyi, but it had a distinct weakness: its precursor symptoms were obvious, and it couldn’t be used in rapid succession.
“Strange. You’re clearly a piece of trash with sluggish movements and poor reactions. How are you dodging or blocking everything?”
It was true.
I was already holding my ground, somehow dodging or parrying every one of his attacks.
…I did tell him he was going to die here today, but I must look pretty pathetic right now. Regardless, I couldn’t take him down until I exhausted all the recovery artifacts he had on him.
I’d already taken the most annoying one, the ‘Lucky Double Coin,’ so there were probably two or three left.
“If you’re so curious, why don’t you just die quietly? I might tell you as a parting gift for the afterlife.”
“No, I think I’ll capture you and torture the answer out of you slowly. These things only have meaning when you find them out for yourself. Besides, I’m starting to get curious about what your screams sound like.”
“Wow, holy shit. I told you, your dialogue is seriously outdated.”
I managed to snap back, but honestly, I was pushed to my limit.
If I focused solely on the attacks from Black Shadow, another artifact would come flying at me immediately. I was only surviving because the artifacts he used all had clear precursor symptoms; otherwise, I would have been finished long ago.
One of the rings on his hand glowed green.
An embedded spell, requiring no complex calculations, poured out, devouring the caster’s mana. A violent gale erupted instantly, but I managed to withstand it again by pre-emptively raising a wall with Ruyi.
“Again. It’s not that your reflexes are good. It’s as if you know all my artifacts. You’re acting based on the precursor symptoms before the attack even begins. How is that possible?”
Good. He finally paused his assault.
I suppose it would be intriguing. He’d be dying to know.
“You’re right. I know every single one of your artifacts. Actually, I know most artifacts in general, not just yours.”
“If you’re going to bluff, you should pick your opponent more carefully, don’t you think?”
“Oh? Why do you think I’m bluffing?”
“…How much of the world’s history do you think is contained within artifacts? How could a mere cadet possibly know most of them?”
“Is that so? Then think whatever you want. But it’s not just artifacts that I know about.”
I had to slowly grate on his nerves.
He was a clever beast. If I dug a trap too obviously, he’d likely avoid it. I had to slowly provoke him, eating away at his rationality and making him panic. I needed him to get desperate, lose his cool, and become agitated. Only then would I have a chance at victory.
Fortunately, this was something I was quite good at.
“Nonsense.”
The cooldown for Black Shadow must have ended, as he fired a black shadow that spiraled like a drill. If he had awakened and regained his true form, it would be dangerous, but the current strength of Black Shadow—before his Awakening—couldn’t even leave a scratch on Ruyi.
-Of course. If a mere artifact like that could scratch me, I would never have been chosen as this one’s weapon.
Yes, yes. I know you and Ruyi are both very impressive, so please just hold on a little longer.
“…That’s quite a fine artifact. To think it doesn’t even have a scratch after my attack.”
“Right? I told you. I know most things about artifacts. That’s how I was able to get my hands on something this good.”
“I see. It seems you weren’t entirely talking nonsense. You’ve actually made me want to keep you alive and capture you.”
“Haha, the problem isn’t just your outdated way of speaking. I told you already. Do you have amnesia too? You’re dying here today.”
The corner of his eye twitched.
No matter how much you try to act unbothered, that’s not in your nature. You’re pretending to be cool, but you’re more steeped in elitism than anyone. You think humans are inferior creatures—can you really keep enduring my insults?
“I think I need to fix that attitude of yours first. I’ll start by taking one of your arms.”
“Try it if you can, you son of a bitch…!”
The bracelet on his arm glowed, and his form melted into thin air.
“Hyaaah…!”
I immediately recalled Ruyi from its wall form and swung it behind me with everything I had.
Pattern A. When this bastard uses the bracelet embedded with Illusionary Shift to teleport, he always goes for the back.
“…Ugh!?”
For the first time since the battle began, he let out a flustered sound and leaped back to create distance.
The tip of Ruyi, currently in the form of a knife, was stained with a tiny bit of red.
The moment he touched the wound on his face and saw the drop of blood, he lost his reason and began to scream.
“I was going to let you off with just an arm, but you’re rushing to your grave… How dare a mere thing like you wound my body twice…!?”
Honestly, I was terrified.
The fact that a villain was standing right in front of me, intent on killing me, was far more frightening than I’d imagined. However, thanks to the Will of the Saint, my mouth continued to do its job without faltering.
“I told you I know all your artifacts. Did my words sound like a joke to you?”
“You vulgar brat…!”
“Oh, and I wasn’t even aiming for you when I swung that, you moron. Don’t you feel something missing?”
“…What?”
Following my gaze, he reflexively touched his ear.
There it was.
The gem in the earring he was wearing had shattered, unable to withstand the impact.
“I guess you won’t be healing anymore, huh?”
The ‘Elf’s Tears,’ another recovery artifact he possessed, was destroyed. Since he’d used his other artifact to heal those minor wounds just moments ago, it was safe to say he had no artifacts left for rapid healing.
“I see. Fine. If you’re so desperate to die that you came looking for me, it’s only right that I bury you.”
“Cut the crap. Seriously.”
“You…”
Yes, get angry.
“You, of all people…”
I broke it on purpose, even taking a gamble to do so.
“I will never let you leave here alive…! How dare an inferior creature…!”
As he released his mana in a fit of rage, his hair began to flutter and sway.
“Why?”
I was waiting for this exact moment. The moment I could catch him most off guard.
“Is it because those were the earrings you got from your first love?”
The expression on his face as he circulated his mana crumbled.
“What…?”
“Stop the pathetic acting. I know exactly why you infiltrated the Academy, and why you’re living as a villain among the ‘filthy humans’ you treat like beggars.”
“What are you talking about…? My real purpose?”
“Ah, right. I guess you wouldn’t know what I know, would you? Not only did you create a fake personality, but you even hypnotized yourself to set up a double safety measure. You really are one persistent bastard.”
I had to do it now. This was likely the only moment I would be able to dominate the atmosphere.
“You don’t even know why you’re so angry right now, do you? Of course not. There must be a discrepancy in your memories.”
“Urgh…! Stop it…!”
“Nah, I don’t want to. What you really want isn’t something like terrorism. The survival of the villain organization called The Twelve? You couldn’t care less about that. It’s all a fake. But you’re such a world-class idiot that you even forged your own memories just in case your true goal was discovered.”
I looked down at him as he clutched his head, letting out a mocking laugh.
“A psychopath who killed all those people just because he wanted a single woman all to himself. That’s who you really are, isn’t it?”
“I’m asking you what the hell you’re talking about…!”
The self-hypnosis he’d placed on himself was finally about to break. I had one shot.
“Latis Erbashun.”
I called out his name.
“A dog who lusted after his own master, despite being chosen as a servant to serve the Great High Elf.”
All expression finally vanished from his face.
He probably thought that using his own shameful secret as the password to undo the hypnosis was safe because no one else knew it. It wasn’t a bad judgment, actually.
But I was the person who knew this world better than almost anyone. As long as I was his opponent, most secrets in this world were meaningless.
“An idiotic elf who crawled out into the human world just to possess Leilan Claudia. That is your disgusting true nature.”
That was right. And in the original work, he was the villain who eventually claimed the Chairperson. A pervert who turned the cold, dead Chairperson into a doll to keep in his possession. The reason he armed himself with so many artifacts was merely a byproduct of his search for an artifact that could perfectly dominate her.
The scene where the monster, having defeated a vengeful Lilac and crushed a charging Cheon Yu-hak, stole a kiss from the dead Chairperson’s lips was more than enough to make readers boil with rage.
And one of those fuming readers was none other than me.
He’d befriended Lilac as a reliable senior and even gained the Chairperson’s trust, only to betray them and cause countless deaths. I could concede that much for the sake of a novel.
But his ending—his end, specifically—shouldn’t have happened like that.
In the end, he was portrayed as an absolute being that neither Lilac nor Cheon Yu-hak could defeat. The protagonists met their end without ever overcoming him. Because they only managed to barely defeat him with the help of a Helper, the protagonists remained losers to him forever.
He wasn’t even a charming antagonist, nor was he a villain who showed remorse. He was just a mediocre villain who was portrayed as far too noble.
Well, I understood. My friend hated the idea of a ‘cool’ villain to begin with. He argued that villains should just be ugly, violent lunatics.
But there’s a limit, right?
“So, this is where you make your exit.”
Reinforcement.
The all-encompassing talent that shatters the status of all things dwelled within Ruyi. It was the moment Ruyi, which had been a mere replica, temporarily caught up to the performance of the original.
“Split. Become sharp.”
Ruyi, which had returned to a spherical shape, split into countless strands, each transforming into a razor-sharp spear and blade.
The bastard, having come to his senses, pulled out numerous defensive artifacts, but such things were useless before Ruyi, which now possessed myth-grade power.
In the first place, these numerous blades were a bluff. I was inducing him to choose defense rather than evasion.
It hurt.
As the price for drawing out myth-grade power even for a moment, my remaining Innate True Qi was already hitting rock bottom.
However, he would be more desperate than I was.
After shattering all his defensive artifacts, Ruyi instantly returned to its original staff form, and I hurled it down upon him.
“Grow.”
“…Ugh!?”
Most of his defensive artifacts were destroyed, but he wasn’t crushed yet.
“Become heavy.”
So, I increased the load.
“Become heavier.”
“…Aaaaaagh…!?”
A villain who killed many characters and remained nothing but an insurmountable nightmare for the protagonist. He was a character created by my friend, but I had no intention of pitying him.
“I…!”
“More! Heavier…!”
“I cannot die here…!”
Just as he was about to be crushed by the overwhelming mass after losing all his defensive artifacts—
[Confirmed that the character holds a significant role in the main story.]
Yeah, I knew you’d show up. It wouldn’t be right if you didn’t, would it?
“I’ve only just finished the preparations! She’s about to become mine! I cannot die like this…!”
Admiration for a beautiful and noble being.
The moment that turned into a disgusting obsession was after she showed interest in humans. He thought that if she had affection to give to such ugly, fleeting things, she might as well give it to him. That was why he started all this.
What did it matter if countless humans died? It was a trivial matter as long as he could have her. Eventually, realizing he could never fully possess her because she was too strong, he chose to kill her and turn her into a doll.
[Enhancing the character’s talent. Escaping the situation.]
“Ha, so there are things even you don’t know…! If you knew my talent, you should have hidden yours…!”
His gaze fixed on me, and his talent manifested.
That was it. The reason neither Cheon Yu-hak nor Lilac could defeat him wasn’t because of his numerous artifacts. The artifacts were just supplementary; the real reason was his talent, which was so broken people cursed it.
S-rank Talent: Copy. The ability to perfectly replicate the talents of others. He could even copy up to three abilities simultaneously, and the only penalty was that he had to remain within a certain distance of the person whose talent he was copying.
The guy who had simultaneously copied Lilac’s Most Upright Holy Sword and Cheon Yu-hak’s Unrivaled had suppressed the protagonists in an instant.
That was why.
“Haha, so this is your talent? Incredible. Power is overflowing endlessly…!”
The reason I said I was the only person who could defeat him without any sacrifice was because of my talent.
Having finally blocked Ruyi using Reinforcement, the bastard burst into a loud laugh. Reinforcement at a level that could lift a myth-grade artifact whose weight had been increased to the limit.
It was impressive. Something impossible for me.
However, he didn’t seem to realize what the fuel for the power he was exerting was.
How pathetic.
“To think that with a talent like this, that level of reinforcement was your limit. Just how weak are you?!”
“Hey.”
“Are you begging for your life now?! You inferior creature! Throwing away your weapon was your fatal mistake!”
“Why do you always act like such a cheap, third-rate villain?”
“What are you talking about? If you’re going to beg for your life, you should do a better job—”
“If you had been just a bit more serious, or if you had at least shown that you valued your comrades, or if you hadn’t let your guard down and had shown a complete image as a villain… or if at the very least, your love was sincere and you had tried to win her over properly.”
“What nonsense is this?”
“If you had satisfied even one of those things, I wouldn’t have killed you like this.”
“Stop your babbling. I’ll kill you with your own talent…!”
Cough.
“…Huh?”
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
“What is… this…?”
He seemed to have ignored the penalty after seeing me use it so freely, but he was wrong. I was probably your only counter in this entire world.
“Ugh… blegh…!”
“Dizzy, painful, and nauseating, right? I know the feeling well.”
Even reinforcing his physical strength enough to throw Ruyi would have been impossible for a normal human. It was a temporary power-up obtained by consuming the vast lifespan of an elf.
Now, the mastermind of the Academy was dying, having lost his Innate True Qi.
“…I told you, didn’t I? You’re dying here today.”
He looked at me, trembling in terror.