Rise Of The Villain : In a World Ruled By Anomalies

Killing intent instantly filled the room.

Astarte noticed it at once and turned toward Aiden. She let out a quiet sigh, as if she had been expecting this reaction from the very beginning.

"This is why I did not want to tell you."

Aiden's expression hardened.

"Why? I am your brother, and I care about yo—"

"Because you are weak," Astarte cut him off coldly.

The words landed like a blade.

In the next second, a wave of purple energy erupted from Astarte's body.

The force swept through the room like a violent storm, and Aiden's killing intent was blown away as if it were nothing more than a candle flame snuffed out by the wind.

Aiden's eyes widened.

He stared at her in shock, unable to speak for a moment.

But before he could say anything, Astarte spoke again, her voice calm and merciless.

"It was cute, but not on a level I find impressive. Let me guess. You are B-Rank, Tier 2?"

Aiden's eyes widened again.

She had guessed correctly.

Exactly correctly.

Astarte clicked her tongue as she muttred in a low voice.

"How can the gap between him and Arthur be so vast when they are almost at the same rank?.....Fascinating. "

Aiden frowned.

"Who are you talking about?"

Astarte dismissed the question with a small shake of her head.

"Forget that. First, let me say this. You are weak."

The remark struck Aiden like an arrow through the chest.

He stiffened.

His face darkened.

"Sister, you may not know this, but I consider myself quite strong. This is the top-ranked academy in the world, filled with countless monstrous talents. I placed eighth in the entrance exam, then climbed higher in the rankings. I am fifth now."

Astarte lifted her teacup again and took another calm sip.

"Still not first-ranked, huh?"

Aiden nearly felt another invisible arrow pierce straight through him.

He leaned back weakly and almost gave up right there.

'Her standards for strength are very high,' he thought. 'I know she is my sister, but she is full of mysteries…'

Then Astarte's voice pulled him out of his daze again.

"If I am not mistaken, that red-haired boy beat you in the duel, correct? He must be ranked first in the academy."

Aiden nearly spat out the tea he had just sipped.

His hand shook.

"You saw that duel just now?"

"Of course I saw it. You lost like an amateur."

Aiden's face turned bright red.

He wanted to bury himself in the floor.

It was bad enough losing.

It was even worse that his sister had watched the whole thing.

"Fuck—"

"Language," Astarte said flatly.

Aiden clamped his mouth shut.

Astarte thought for a moment.

'If I am not mistaken, Arthur was also at the academy,' she thought.

Then she looked at Aiden again.

"Did that red-haired boy also rank first in the entrance exam?"

Aiden, now too embarrassed to even lift his head properly, answered anyway.

"No. That wasn't him. It was a boy named Arthur. That guy ranked first in both the theory and practical exams. You must have seen him today. To be frank, he is quite the monstrous bastard himself."

Astarte's eyes brightened faintly.

"Tell me more about him."

Aiden blinked.

"Why?"

Astarte gave a small shrug.

"Just curiosity."

Aiden sighed.

"Fine. If you saw my duel today, then you must have seen him too. Can you imagine that guy threatening the all-powerful Headmistress, Athena Emberfall, and still living to tell the tale? He even has a very powerful vampire serving him as his servant."

Aiden spoke for a while, explaining everything he knew about Arthur from the first day they had met.

The more Astarte listened, the more fascinated she became.

Finally, Aiden added with frustration, "That is all I know. Can you believe that guy made us all risk our lives and didn't even thank me properly? I am sure as hell going to make him pay a huge amount for it."

Astarte frowned slightly.

"Interesting," she said in confusion. "Isn't he your best friend? The one who helped you countless times, lent you money even though you were living in poverty, and helped you through countless problems?"

Aiden's face twitched violently.

He almost coughed up blood.

"Who the hell told you that nonsense?" he snapped. "That bastard has been nothing but trouble ever since the day I met him. And money? That asshole would sell his soul for money. He even took the money I earned with my blood and sweat."

He conveniently left out the fact that he had lost that money in a bet.

Astarte's expression darkened.

"Looks like my servant lied to me quite a bit, huh."

Aiden's eyes widened.

"You know him?"

Astarte nodded.

"He was the one who brought me to the academy to meet you. He was working for me as my butler."

Aiden's mouth hung open.

He stared at her in stunned silence.

Before he could ask anything else, the door to his house burst open.

Evangeline rushed inside without even knocking.

She looked around urgently, then spotted Aiden in the living room.

"Aiden, come out now!" she shouted. "You have to see what is happening right now!"

Aiden frowned.

"What is it?"

Evangeline didn't slow down.

"A challenge has been issued to all the first-year rankers," she said. "And it is Arthur."

Aiden blinked.

"Wait," he said quickly. "I have someone I want you to meet first."

He pointed toward the seat where Astarte had been sitting.

There was no one there.

Aiden froze.

His expression went blank with horror.

He looked again.

Nothing.

No sister.

No purple-haired woman.

Only the empty seat and the teacup she had used.

His mind screamed in panic.

'No way... was I hallucinating?'

Then a voice echoed inside his head.

< Do not worry. I am not leaving you. I am going to see Arthur. We will talk later. Go and meet him. >

Aiden let out a shaky sigh of relief.

"I knew I wasn't mad," he muttered.

Evangeline stared at him.

"You seem to be talking to yourself again," she said. "Come on, let's go."

She turned and walked toward the exit.

Aiden followed her immediately.

───────────────

Inside the massive, luxurious house, Arthur stood near the entrance and looked around.

"So this is where I will live from now on, huh. Not bad."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"But first, I'll have to kick out the person occupying the number one spot."

A slow, sly smile formed on his face.

'Dear sister,' he thought. 'I hope you will be happy to see me.'

He took a step forward.

Several system notifications appeared before him.

Arthur smiled as he read them.

"I hope you're happy, Aiden. With this, I have repaid my debt to you," he said softly.

"Well, I still can't get over the fact that my friend's sister is a Demon Lord."

He laughed out loud in amusement.

Then he walked toward the entrance of the house.