Rise Of The Villain : In a World Ruled By Anomalies

Arthur smiled and looked at Athena.

"The top student of the first year has returned, Miss Athena," Arthur said. "But you do not seem very happy to see me."

For a moment, everyone on the training ground went completely still.

Some of them did not even understand what was happening.

Then they saw her.

Athena Emberfall.

The headmistress of Celestia Academy.

The coldness in her gaze was unmistakable, and every student who noticed it immediately understood one thing.

The black-haired boy was in deep trouble.

In the next instant, Athena appeared in front of Arthur.

No warning.

No visible movement.

She was simply there.

The two of them met each other’s eyes.

For a brief moment, the aura around Athena calmed down, though the pressure in the air remained heavy.

"So you are still alive, huh," Athena said in a low voice.

Arthur gave her a faint smile.

"Well, what can I say?" Arthur replied. "I am pretty hard to kill."

Athena’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"I can see that," she said. "But why have you come back?"

Arthur looked at her, genuinely confused.

"What are you saying?" he asked. "Even if I was absent for a while, I am still a student of this institution, you know."

Athena’s voice grew colder than before.

"You are only a student of this academy if I say so," she said. "Otherwise, you are just an intruder."

Her gaze sharpened.

"And I think you already know what happens to intruders."

Arthur blinked.

"Oh, come on," he said. "You are not still holding a grudge over that incident a few months ago, are you?"

Athena did not answer.

Instead, she turned around.

"Meet me in my office in ten minutes, Cadet Arthur," she said.

Then she began walking away.

Arthur watched her go, smiling to himself.

But before he could say anything else, Damian’s voice echoed across the training ground.

"Master—I mean, Headmistress!" Damian shouted. "Are you really letting this guy stay here? He is dangerous!"

Athena stopped.

She turned her head slowly and looked at Damian.

Her voice was calm.

Cold.

"Are you doubting me right now?" Athena asked. "Or do you see me as a weakling who cannot even handle a single child your age?"

Damian’s body trembled.

His eyes lowered immediately.

"I am sorry for doubting you, ma’am," Damian said. "It will never happen again."

Arthur stared at him for a second.

Then he burst out laughing.

Damian’s face darkened as he glared at him, but Arthur ignored it completely.

The moment Athena looked at him, however, Arthur’s laughter died instantly.

He raised both hands slightly.

"Oops," Arthur said. "I am sorry, ma’am. Please lead the way."

Athena looked at him for a moment longer.

Then she said, "Find the way yourself."

In the next second, she vanished from sight.

Gone.

The training ground exploded into noise almost immediately.

Students began shouting over one another.

"Who the hell is that guy?" one third-year asked.

"You do not know?" another answered. "That is the guy who kidnapped Arina Evan Imperius."

"He was supposed to represent the first years this year, right?" one of the first-years said.

"But has he come back?" a second-year asked. "I thought he had already been expelled from the academy after doing something outrageous like that."

"But if the headmistress called him a student," another voice said, "does that mean he will stay a student from now on?"

Arthur ignored all of them.

He looked around the field, his thoughts drifting.

’I was going to ask him for the way to Athena’s office,’ Arthur thought. ’But forget that.’

His eyes landed on the white-haired boy still lying unconscious on the ground.

A cold voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

’What are you doing just standing there? My brother’s hurt. Help him immediately before I start killing everyone here,’ Astarte said.

Arthur let out a weary sigh.

’Relax,’ Arthur replied. ’He is just unconscious. And where the hell are you? I cannot see you.’

’Help my brother first,’ Astarte’s voice came again. ’You do not need to know anything else.’

Arthur reached into his storage ring and pulled out a healing potion.

He crouched down beside Aiden and poured the potion over his face and body.

The liquid glowed faintly as it soaked into his skin.

In the next second, Aiden’s eyes flew open.

The first thing he saw was Arthur’s face.

Upside down.

Aiden blinked once.

"What the hell," Aiden muttered. "Did I die or something? Why am I seeing this dead bastard’s face first thing the moment I wake up after the match?"

Arthur’s mouth twitched.

"You are not dreaming," Arthur said. "Asshole. You got your ass kicked by that other loser."

Aiden’s eyes widened.

"You are real, Arthur?" he said. "But that bastard is dead..."

Arthur clenched his fist.

If it had not been for Astarte, he probably would have punched Aiden right there.

But before he could say anything, he felt several presences rushing toward him.

He turned.

Julia, Aaron, Evangeline, and Isabella were all running toward him.

They wore the black Celestia Academy uniform, and it suited all of them well. The dark fabric hugged their figures neatly, trimmed with silver and gold accents that marked them as academy students. Even in motion, they carried themselves with pride and style.

Aaron and Isabella both had tears in their eyes.

They reached Arthur first and suddenly grabbed him.

"You are alive!" Aaron shouted. "You are alive, Arthur!"

He even blew his nose on Arthur’s clothes without a second thought.

Isabella hugged him tightly as well.

"I knew you would not die so easily," Isabella said. "A dog’s death would not suit you."

A vein popped on Arthur’s forehead.

"You guys are weirdly making me angry," Arthur said. "Even though I know you are happy to see me."

Julia and Evangeline exchanged a glance and nodded.

Then they joined the hug too.

Arthur looked down at the four of them, now practically crushing him from every side.

"Alright," Arthur said. "You are suffocating me. Everyone, please let me go now."

The group released him one by one.

Aiden was now standing nearby, watching them with a small smile.

"So you really came back alive, huh," Aiden said.

Arthur straightened his clothes.

"As I said," Arthur replied, "I am pretty hard to kill."

The moment he said that, everyone except Aaron surrounded him.

Cracking their knuckles.

Arthur froze.

Isabella looked at him with dangerous calm.

"Well," she said, "if you are pretty hard to kill, we will make it easier."

Evangeline folded her arms.

"Do you know what we had to go through because of you?" she asked.

Aiden stepped forward too, his expression grim.

"I almost died because of you," he said.

A chill ran down Arthur’s spine.

"Alright, wait," Arthur said quickly. "Beating me up will not solve anything."

The system’s voice floated into his mind.

’[They risked their lives for you. The least you can do is let them beat you up so they can be at peace.]’

Arthur’s eye twitched.

’Shut up,’ Arthur thought.

Then, just when the situation was about to turn disastrous for him, a new voice rang out like a saving grace.

"Stop all this commotion at once."

Everyone froze.

They turned toward the source of the voice.

A girl stood there, calm and composed.

As the first-year representative, she had every right to command attention.

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.

He immediately recognised her.