Chapter 1 – The End

[The End]

'Huh? That's it?'

My mind sparked.

I couldn't help but be shocked.

A well of disappointment brewed in my belly.

'The End?'

'Tch! Same old plot armour bullshit.'

I was livid.

Do you know what is worse than being livid?

…Tch!

It's being furious and yet unable to express your anger.

…Unable to explode.

That was how I was feeling.

I've been following this novel for two years.

Anyone who had read it as judiciously as I have would be angry too.

…The ending was disgusting.

Heck, I was even throwing in Magic Castle gifts from time to time as a motivation to the author.

Don't get me wrong.

I love the story in general but the ending…

…Definitely not this ending.

The author could have done better.

Throws my mind back to the last two seasons of Game of Thrones.

…Or Madara's death in Naruto.

Sigh—

Over a thousand five hundred chapters, only for this to happen.

Instinctively, I swiped my phone screen.

A part of me seriously hoped that another page of texts would roll out.

Unfortunately, no matter how much I tried, nothing happened.

It was truly the end of My Villain Academia.

What was the point if the hero was simply going to win?

…Not the victory that one deserved.

Rather a win simply because he was the protagonist.

…Or because good prevails over evil or however that saying goes.

I could feel my facial muscles tense and my grip around my smartphone tightened.

Raising my head from the phone, I looked around briefly and gasped to calm myself.

I had not wished for anything now than to be inside my room.

That was the one place I could have easily shouted someone's head off.

A place I could vent all my anger and frustration.

Regardless of how disappointed I was, I couldn't show it inside a public bus.

I took another glance at the screen of my phone.

[The End]

Still the same message.

Nothing changed.

I didn't even bother reading the Author's Note as I was not in the tiniest bit interested.

I know the final arc was poor.

However, I hoped that the 200-chapter arc would improve.

Pfft! Nothing like that.

It continued to tip downhill, getting worse and worse everyday.

It's the hope that kills I guess.

I should have stopped reading two arcs ago.

But then, I couldn't.

This novel had 1538 chapters and I read every single one.

I couldn't just drop it.

I was basically a top 5 fan of the author.

…Magic Castles.

…Luxury Cars.

…Dragons.

…Golden Gachapons.

There was no tier of gift that I had not given.

I ground my teeth bitterly as I recalled even the times the author took breaks in-between.

Not that I cared though.

I mean, I'm mature enough to understand that real life happens.

…And real life can be messy as fuck.

I'm sure the author had his reasons.

At least he stayed true to his words of finishing the book.

Oh well, I guess that counts for something.

"Mackerville Junction," the small mic inside of the bus sounded.

"Anyone for Mackerville Junction?"

It was the driver who made a call for the next bus stop.

…My bus stop.

I had been so invested in this novel that it took four calls for me to realise myself.

"Yes, sir!" I shouted from the back of the bus.

"...Mackerville Junction!"

A few seconds more and I would have been trekking back from the next bus stop.

Tch!

Almost an hour, if not even a little more, walk was not something I needed this cold evening.

I'd choose a warm, soothing bath with a cup of hot chocolate afterwards over that walk.

It took no more than five minutes and the bus came to a stop.

I meandered my way through the congested in-bus space until I reached the exit in front.

Escaping this sardine-esque packed crowd, I managed to take a breather for a few seconds.

Then, I reached for my wallet and counted some notes.

"Here you go, sir."

The driver swatted them out of my hands.

His eyes squinted and his brows furrowed as he looked at me.

He gave me such eyes like a father looking at a brat of a son.

Perhaps, it was because I had not answered his call sooner.

He certainly wouldn't understand.

I was not going to explain myself either.

What would I say?

I was triggered because of a novel?

Pathetic.

The door of the bus automatically shifted to one side.

I alighted, making a short jump to the edge of the road as I watched the bus driver past.

"Sheesh! It's crazy cold here."

I had been carried away by the warm temperature inside the bus.

It was warm and cosy enough for me to remove my gloves, forgetting the biting cold outside.

I quickly took the pair of gloves from my jacket pocket and slid my hands into them.

"Ahh…!" I moaned with satisfaction. "That's much better."

Warmth has never felt so good as it did now.

Taking heavy steps on the snow-laden road, I made my way to my apartment.

It was a short journey.

…Barely fifteen minutes from Mackerville Junction.

Little did I know what fate had in store for me at this moment.

I kept my slow, measured pace as I walked.

I was already used to this and didn't mind.

My phone was my companion as I started to check out a new novel to invest my time in.

However, I was discouraged even before I went through a hundred of them.

It was always Milf this or that.

…Sugar mummy this or that!

For Pete's sake guys!

Ahem... well, harem doesn't count in the genres I dislike.

As long as the harem is good, I'm good.

I make exceptions to good harem stories.

But why in the hell am I seeing a web novel with incest.

These new authors are wilding!

A couple of minutes into my walk and I had only discovered one web novel that seemed like an interesting read.

…Light Master by the author, Innocent_Four.

The synopsis was enough for me to add it to my library and check it out later.

I was new to web novels on this particular platform.

The just concluded story was my first ever read on the app.

That book left a remarkable impression on me.

Enough to make me stick around for two solid years.

I'm sure fellow readers would also find my anger justified.

A right turn at the end of one street.

…A turn that would take me to my street.

Then I heard a croaky voice.

"Let's have it."

The voice sounded nothing short of certain.

I tried to turn around and I felt something solid poke my back.

This man poked me with it again and placed his hand on my shoulder.

Feeling how it was sort of a firm mass pressing against my back, I could guess what weapon it was.

…A gun.

I stopped, trying to make sense of what was happening.

I was being robbed.

What kind of tough luck do I have!

"Have what?" I asked, faking ignorance like I didn't understand him.

Something snapped inside of me.

Muscle memory.

Not looking to digress, but I was once into MMA.

Not the big dogs that you see on TV anyway.

…I was on the path to the top until I suffered injury.

A knee injury that ended my career.

It's been four years and I've not forgotten.

It was because of this that I'm stuck with manning a store.

…Muscle memory and flight-or-fight response kicked in.

The fact that I was in danger may have probably awakened the old me.

But this body was different now.

Bam—

My head spun and I staggered forward.

Either this thief was quicker and skilled or I had lost both touch and speed.

He landed the first blow before I could.

Before I could regain balance, I fell to the ground.

Such blunt force.

A strike with the bottom of the gun and his fist was enough to push me down.

I massaged my neck, feeling a pang of ache travelling from there to my head.

I had lost it.

…I had lost grip of the small bag I was holding.

Before I could realise myself, the attacker had already taken it.

My blurring vision was gradually starting to clear.

Despite this, I could make out a faint view.

A faint view of the man counting the money in that bag.

No way, he was going to have it.

If he escapes with that bag, then my life is over.

That was the total of the week's sales from the store I work at.

I was going to do the account with my boss tomorrow.

What am I going to explain to him?

What would even make him believe me given the amount involved?

Mustering courage from out of nowhere, I got up and made my way to the man.

Before he realised it, I was close and managed to put up a little struggle before he shoved me back.

"Give it ba—"

Bang—

Then all I saw was black.

******

(Prison Hospital, Ethernium Security Prison)

Beep— Beep—

The monitor that sat by the bedside beeped ceaselessly .

The graph-like lines on its dark screen were changing.

They were flatlining.

A bad sign.

This prison was giving up.

Only a matter of seconds and he is dead.

"""Code Blue! High Dependency Ward 5!"""

"""Code Blue! High Dependency Ward 5!"""

"Page Dr. Brexham! Now!"

The young doctor was distressed.

He was sweating buckets as he performed chest compressions.

The nurse ran in and out doing different things.

Setting up infusions.

Bagging the patient.

…And finally, calling Dr. Brexham.

Beep— Beep—

The team did their best.

Trying every medical skill they knew.

Regardless, the inevitable happened.

The young doctor cleaned sweat off his forehead as he turned to the nurse next to him.

He shook his head.

This was a signal that all measures had failed.

"Anthony Cross. Aged 16," he said as the nurse noted in the prisoner chart.

"Time of death, 1:06pm. Primary cause of death. Intracerebral haemorrhage following blunt trauma to the head.

"Secondary cause of death, possible pulmonary embolism."

The doctor and nurse continued with making the death report.

However, something strange was happening.

…Happening to the recently deceased.

The doctor did not see or notice this.

Neither did the nurse.

Bzzt—

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