The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 197

Chapter 197 – A Battle Without Help (2)

-Bang..!

Ruin, once again standing alone in the training grounds, wiped the sweat pouring down like rain and gritted his teeth.

“Sigh… Damn it.”

Nothing was going right.

Ever since he failed to recognize Yuria at the ball, nothing had gone his way.

Ruin clenched his fists at the thought of his rapidly deteriorating situation.

“Just hit it, damn it!”

There was no sign of improvement whatsoever. With only three days left until the ranking match, his magic showed no change.

It was laughable that even after all the practice he had done, he could barely hit a single scarecrow.

Time was running out.

There wasn’t enough time to meet everyone’s expectations or to fend off the criticisms that were bound to come his way.

“Damn it… Damn it…!”

The comparisons were inevitable. His peers had all achieved great things.

Michail had obtained the weapon technique known as Aura in just a year, the Crown Prince had mastered both swordsmanship and magic to an expert level, and Yuria, too, was growing rapidly while learning holy magic. Meanwhile, Ruin alone was stagnating, sinking deeper into a bottomless pit.

It’d be a lie to say the comparison didn’t sting. Of all those who had once been called prodigies, Ruin was the most pathetic.

“Isn’t Ruin acting strange lately? His personality’s gotten really sharp, and he can’t even perform basic magic.”

“Come on, it must just be a bad condition. Ruin’s incredibly strong; didn’t he receive direct guidance from the Tower Master?”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I think Ruin is the strongest among the third years! He’ll definitely show us something amazing in the ranking match.”

Ruin had nothing prepared to meet the expectations he had once set.

The pressure weighed heavily on Ruin, and he couldn’t shake off the feeling.

He dreaded the thought of being criticized by everyone. He felt he had to do something.

He desperately needed an immediate way to grow stronger.

To repay the looks of admiration he had once received, the only thing left was to prove it with his skills.

“Damn it!”

-Hisssss….

“Damn it!”

-Hisss…

“Fuck!”

-Pooooof.

The only thing he gained from his efforts was an ever-growing repertoire of curses.

Time marched on.

One day.

Two days.

With no results to show, Ruin stood quietly in the training grounds, his fists clenched in silent frustration.

“This isn’t going anywhere. What do they expect me to do?”

Ruin had so many desires.

He wanted to apologize to Yuria and be forgiven for the mistake he made that day. He wanted to be friends with Yuria again, to feel that happiness he got just from being around her.

But given his current pathetic state, too many obstacles stood in the way of appearing before Yuria, not to mention the likelihood of her accepting him was slim.

His powerful magic.

A brilliant future.

The looks of admiration—he had none of these, and if he approached the dazzling Yuria, he would only seem pathetic. The way people looked at him and his fragile pride wouldn’t allow it, so Ruin hesitated.

Unaware that Yuria had no intention of accepting his apology.

-Tap…

In his anxiety, Ruin gnawed at his nails, trying to steady his chaotic thoughts.

‘Isn’t there some way…?’

-Tap…

‘Isn’t there a way to become strong, even just for a day?’

-Tap!

‘If I could just be strong for one day. After that, I could ask the old man to handle the rest, and everything would work out. That way, both the old man and I could protect the honor of the Tower…’

Ruin continued biting his nails as he searched for an alternative, shaking his head as impulsive thoughts crept into his mind.

‘Are you crazy? That’s absolutely not it.’

He didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of his friend. No matter how desperate, that was something no human should do. It was also embarrassing.

How laughable would it be, after mocking others for resorting to dark magic, for him to do the same? After he had ridiculed those without talent for using cowardly methods?

Ruin let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head as the hours passed without a solution. His fingers began to tremble as frustration built up inside him.

‘…’

And just as his desperation reached its peak,

The sound of footsteps echoed through the entrance of the training grounds, and a woman in a white robe appeared, walking toward him.

She looked to be in her thirties, wore glasses, and had a warm smile.

The woman smiled brightly at Ruin and called out to him.

“Oh my! Ruin, what are you doing here?”

It was a forced smile. It didn’t seem genuine, like she was pretending to be surprised when she wasn’t.

Upon seeing the woman, Ruin hid the nails he had been biting behind his back and responded with a cold expression.

“Professor Shulia.”

Riben Shulia. A professor at the Magic Faculty who specialized in mental-based magic.

She was a popular and well-regarded professor among the students for her gentle demeanor, but she was also a professor Ruin disliked.

Ruin pursued explosive power and strength, not the deceitful art of mental magic. Moreover, he wasn’t fond of Professor Shulia’s empty praise.

Ruin eyed the professor warily.

“What are you doing here at this hour? It’s well past your working hours.”

“I left something behind. But what about you, Ruin? You’ve been here for quite some time.”

“I’m not doing anything…”

“Are you perhaps reviewing your lessons?”

Shulia clapped her hands and interrupted Ruin. She glanced at the sweat-drenched Ruin with a smile and whispered in a soft voice.

“Impressive. Truly impressive, Ruin.”

Ruin felt a surge of irritation at Shulia’s eyes, which seemed to view him as a failure, and he rejected her praise with a click of his tongue.

“Why don’t you just go on your way.”

Shulia clutched the book under her arm tightly as she responded to Ruin.

“How could I leave such a hardworking student here? I never realized you were so passionate about magic, Ruin!”

Praise from anyone other than Yuria didn’t bring Ruin any joy. It felt like an insult, especially since the person praising him wasn’t even better at magic than he was. Having to receive compliments from someone like that only made Ruin frown and sigh in displeasure.

But Shulia didn’t seem to mind Ruin’s reaction and continued talking.

“I never expected that Ruin, who never fails to be runner-up, would ever review his lessons. Other professors have said the same thing. ‘Ruin doesn’t have to do anything. He’ll always end up in the top half.’ They especially thought Ruin would never bother with reviews since you slept through my classes.”

” …”

“But I was wrong. You’re amazing, Ruin.”

“Are you done mocking me? Why don’t you leave now?”

Ruin spoke sharply to Shulia. Listening to her chide him for not paying attention during class didn’t feel good, especially when it was wrapped in saccharine words.

Ruin was irritated by Shulia’s honeyed words, concealing sharp blades beneath them, and wanted to drive her out of the training grounds.

But Shulia, unfazed by Ruin’s cold demeanor, took a step closer to the scarecrow Ruin had been targeting, maintaining her composed smile.

“My, my…”

Shulia, in a murmur, examined the scarecrow that Ruin had hit with his magic and then looked back at him with a pitiful smile.

“Such pathetic magic skills. Looks like you tried a Fireball, and yet you couldn’t even singe the target.”

” …”

“Such a simple spell, too. I never imagined a student at our Academy would be incapable of such basic magic. I always thought our Academy only accepted prodigies….”

” …”

“Fascinating.”

“Goddamn it…”

“Oh no! Ruin, I wasn’t talking about you. I was referring to the student who hit this target. You’re way too talented for this.”

Shulia said it loud enough for Ruin to hear as if hiding barbs in her words.

“After all, you’re talented. You’re a student with both the guidance of the Tower Master and incredible talent. Something like this should be easy for someone like you, right?”

Shulia rolled up her sleeves and continued talking.

“Let me lend you a hand. No, I suppose I should say that I need to learn from you instead. After all, I should learn fire magic from you, as I’m not very good at offensive spells. Isn’t that right, Ruin? Hoho…”

“You’re making me feel really shitty.”

A cold tension filled the air.

The tension between Ruin, who looked ready to unleash magic at any moment, and Shulia, who was sneering down at him, was palpable.

Ten minutes passed in this haystack-dry atmosphere that seemed it could ignite at any moment. Then Shulia began to wave the book she had tucked under her arm in front of Ruin’s face.

“Ruin, do you want to get strong quickly?”

” …”

“I know how. Do you know Hobbes, the student from Class 1-B?”

Ruin stopped himself from lashing out and recalled the rumors he’d heard about a student named Hobbes.

It was a name that had come up before. Hobbes was a student quickly making a name for himself with rapid growth.

Upon hearing the name of a rising prodigy, Ruin swallowed the curses that had risen to his throat and clenched his fists.

Shulia, seeing Ruin hesitate, began to smile slyly.

“In fact, Hobbes was someone I privately tutored. I helped him with his magic, gave him extra lessons… Sure, Hobbes was talented, which is why he achieved such great results, but you never know, Ruin. Studying with me might change everything, don’t you think? Hoho, am I bragging too much?”

” …”

Shulia’s smile grew colder as she slowly began to reveal her true intentions.

“Don’t you want to get stronger, Ruin?”

Ruin lowered his head, staring at the book Shulia held out.

He was being pulled in deeper and deeper.

Despite knowing full well what it was Shulia was offering, he didn’t refuse, continuing to stare at it.

‘I know.’

Only an idiot wouldn’t notice. Of course, he understood why she was suddenly making such suggestions, why she was offering such a suspicious book. Ruin swallowed his bitterness.

‘Damn it, it’s dark magic…’

The very same dark magic his friend had trodden down, the worst kind of magic that he had once scorned, was now revealed as the solution right before his eyes.

This was something he definitely shouldn’t touch, something he definitely shouldn’t get involved in, but Ruin’s mind was clouded, and he found it difficult to hold onto reason.

‘Just once.’

If it’s just this one time, no one has to know. If he keeps his mouth shut, all his worries could vanish. If he discarded his conscience just this once, he could resolve the deep concerns that plagued him. The temptation tugged at Ruin’s desperate heart.

Shulia grinned and whispered.

“Once will be enough.”

A gentle whisper.

“If you just learn once… you’ll be strong again, just like before.”

Ruin reached out for the dark magic tome.

As Ruin’s fingers moved slowly toward the book, Shulia’s grin widened.

And just as Ruin touched the book…

-Fssshhh…

The book began to turn to ash.

Shulia let out a dumbfounded laugh and stared at Ruin.

“Oh…? This shouldn’t be happening, should it?”

Just as Ruin was about to panic, Shulia’s cold voice whispered into his ear.

“Poor Ruin. It seems… this dark magic tome, which forcibly awakens latent abilities, doesn’t work on you… It looks like you have no talent in this field.”

Ruin couldn’t grasp the meaning of Shulia’s words.

His heart, which had thudded nervously.

His pride, which had abandoned his conscience.

All were denied.

It felt like complete nonsense.

“Pathetic.”

***

In the quiet room of the young lady.

“A storybook!”

“Just a moment.”

“Aaah…”

I looked at the young lady, who was rolling up in the blanket, pouting with frustration, and smiled softly.

“Would you please wait a moment? Something interesting just happened.”

I laughed as I felt the ancient magic I had engraved on Ruin activating.

‘You idiot.’

It seemed something interesting was about to unfold.

End of Chapter.