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As the humans and ‘demons’ were left in an uproar due to how the Veronique was able to so easily infiltrate their defence, into the heart of their attacking force.
She walked calmly, seeing as how none of the strongest figures in the Kingdom was making a move yet. There was no threat so far, even if it was an army of strong trained adults, they weren’t enough to take down the Veronique.
They were fighting for the Crown Prince. The villain that had abducted the future Sun of their kingdoms, that was Corlissa’s image.
She chose the role of a Villainess, it was a mask that gave her leeway. A mask of a saint leaves fewer options in terms of actions that she could take, a white lotus can only show themselves as a kind pure soul. A villainous mask gives freedom, there is no need to worry about how the mask may crack, a villain is the conundrum of the vileness of humans. All the hatred is condensed into the character of the ‘villain’.
Corlissa, who had taken upon the role of Villainess, strove to fulfil that role to the fullest. She would take advantage of the freedom that came with such a facade.
Something that a hero can’t do.
A villain exists to unite people.
To draw the line between good and bad.
A hero existing with no conflict is useless, the greed of human nature will always find something to oppose the hero.
A villain is a hero whose story is untold.
They are a sacrifice for the world, yet they just want to fight for a different cause. They fight for the greater good not for momentary honour.
But no one took Corlissa’s side, not even the people she considered were her close allies, not even the person she considered her father came to her aid. All of them followed the mainstream, not willing to deviate for the sake of their own lives. This was the selfishness of a human.
This was the selfishness that left the feeling of betrayal deeply ingrained into Corlissa’s heart.
A villain is willing to do anything for their loved ones. They are willing to lose them from their side if it meant that they could live happier.
Even though Corlissa had deluded herself into thinking that it was okay that they weren’t supporting her since that meant they would be safer that way, she couldn’t help the burning in her eyes or the feeling of suffocation as if there was something stuck in her throat.
No matter how much she tried to lie to herself, it hurt to lose the people she wanted to protect.
‘It’s for the greater good. It’s for the future,’ she kept on telling herself.
‘A future where they can be safe and happy.’ This is what she wanted, what she thought about every night when she wanted to cry herself to sleep.
Even as she was attacking the world, she buried away the pain only focusing on being an exemplary villain that goes against morals.
‘It’s what the world needs,’ and she wasn’t wrong.
Nothing is a better factor to unite those with more differences than similarities than a common enemy. They don’t care about the feelings of the enemy as long as they can secure their position in life.
She left the Crown Prince at the hideout she had created, she wanted fewer casualties. Leaving him near her while she was in the middle of battling meant that if they could not retrieve their Crown Prince back by the time they started fighting, he had a high chance of getting hit by the attacks that she dodged.
Her disposition of a hero was covered by the meticulously crafted painting of a villain.
However, what happens when the villain is stronger than the hero?
In most stories, no matter how strong the villain or rival is, at some point, they are overpowered by the hero.
In reincarnation stories, the hero is reborn as the villain, then the balance of the world is shifted.
Everything must go in favour of the hero.
So then the hero of the former story would then become the villain. Light can only shine in darkness.
For a world to function, there needs to be good and bad. This is the balance of the world, higher-ups are bad, adults are bad, everyone is bad. Anyone that breaks the law is bad.
Yet the law was built by the insecurities of the privileged so that they can hold onto their power.
Formalities are created by the inferiority complexes of humans that need to satisfy their need to display that they are superior to their fellow beings.
This is why Corlissa could become such a great villain. She went against the world's balance, doing so meant breaking the etiquette of society, an easy way to be blacklisted.
That is why she was getting attacked by so many people who found no issue with ganging up on a single person. They had the power of hundreds of people yet not a single person felt empathy for the villain.
Thousands of small scale magic attacks suddenly began firing at her at an abnormal rate. Not even a hundred humans could produce attacks at this rate.
Her face fell rapidly before hastily regaining her composure.
The last attribution to the world that she wanted to leave behind was being used against her. To mask her suffering behind a mask to continue the image of a villain, that was her fate sealed from the very beginning.
It was all a false hope.
The insight she provided to create an engine, was coming back to bite her, not that she was in a position where she was allowed to care about that.
‘A villain feels no pain.’
Even as she felt the multitude of attacks hit her, her face remained expressionless. Only the slightest tinge of emotion could be seen in her eyes if one cared to look that closely.
With a regretful sigh, she took a deep inhale.
The instant the air left her mouth in a deep exhale, she blinked once before throwing up her sword and the scabbard. Distracting all her opponents before catching the spinning sword with the scabbard on it and then immediately charging.
The way her body moved gracefully yet dangerously, like creating a piece of art yet with the tension of unease. She beautifully weaved through the crowd of people with her sword looking as if it was an extension of her body.
It was like a mesmerizing dance that captivates the audience as they are ignorant to their imminent doom creeping towards them. More people fell, dropping lifelessly to the ground yet creating a pathway clear of bodies like a pathway for Corlissa to dance by.
She artfully twisted and turned to dodge any attacks effortlessly as she continued to create a dance of death. Every single one of them collapsed to the ground without a sound of pain, like they were entranced by a forbidden art unknowing to their demise.
Their lives were at the hands of Corlissa Veronique.
Regardless of whether they were a ‘demon’ or human, they all fell victim to Corlissa’s sword.
Perhaps they had died of concussion, maybe they were just knocked out, there was no way of knowing.
The commanders who were strategizing and managing their troops were slowly losing hope. They were being pushed into a corner so they decided to use their last resort, it went against their pride and morals as people but they had no other option.
Rendall Lancelot, with his crimson hair casting a shadow over his face, ordered, “Send in the students.”