I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

Chapter 200

― Waypoint is not simply a tool for regulating life force. It possesses a power far greater than that.

― A great power...?

― Go to the battlefield, a boundary between life and death. Once you are there, you'll understand what the true power of Waypoint is.

Following Herote's words, Ravinia set out for the battlefield.

However, she didn't harbor high expectations for the so-called battlefield.

'My own life has been enough of a fierce battlefield already.'

Ravinia's life, as someone who once ran a criminal organization, had been brutal and miserable, something ordinary people could never experience.

For her, the idea that going to a battlefield would offer something different didn't stir much hope.

But when she actually entered the battlefield, it was indeed different.

'So this is... the battlefield...!'

Even running the criminal organization, she thought every moment was intense.

But the real battlefield was different.

Every second was a grueling balancing act on the edge of a blade.

Everyone fought desperately and brutally, either to survive or to kill.

It wasn't just murderous intent in the air.

There was an unknown fighting spirit, a sense of exhilaration and thrill.

Perhaps, it could even be called madness—this horrendous swirl of feelings tormented her.

"If only... if only I had a bit more strength... I could've saved them..."

"No... I hate this... I want to give up now..."

"Please save me... I want to live... I can't die like this..."

Countless thoughts became entangled within her, making her nauseous.

'I hate this...!'

At first, she regarded it as pain and wanted to escape from it.

But in that moment, she remembered Luca's words.

― To save everyone you speak of is a delusion. But to say you will reduce the number of the unlucky by even one—that's an ideal you can reach. Are you willing to use your power for that?

"To reduce the misfortune... even by one person..."

With Luca's words echoing in her mind, Ravinia looked upon the people again.

Some of them were longing for relief, unable to endure their pain.

Some of them, unable to accept their end, wished for a new chance.

Some reproached themselves for those they couldn't save.

Waypoint held power for such people.

"... I see. So, that's what it is."

Something clicked within Ravinia.

With a determined face, she approached the fallen on the battlefield.

She reached out her hand to them.

"Do you have anything you wish for, warriors?"

* * *

"On the battlefield, I inherited the will of many people. In the process, I met many and heard their stories. I also learned what this battlefield was ultimately created for."

Ravinia spoke, glaring at Agreas.

The look in her eyes was no longer that of a weak girl who had tried to rely on Luca after losing White Noise.

Though it was a short time, the harrowing battlefield had transformed her into a true savior, carrying steadfast resolve.

"Devils, and Demonz. They're the ones who created that horrific battlefield."

At her words, Agreas chuckled.

"What are you talking about? Humans are the ones who made the battlefield, for your own interests."

"Of course, humans are at fault as well. But you led them to it. I know because I fought many of your kind on the battlefield."

Tztztztz!

Around Ravinia, pale human figures began to form.

Unlike with White Noise, these weren't clearly defined humans.

They were faint, doll-like forms.

But the spirit radiating from them did not feel like an illusion.

They were warriors, forged in the fire and frenzy of battle.

"If devils like you hadn't existed, such battlefields would have long vanished. That's what the many warriors who entrusted me with the future believed. And so, right here, I'll erase you and make sure such horrific places disappear!"

As Ravinia manifested the power of Waypoint, Agreas spoke with interest.

"How strange~ There should've been an unbreakable curse."

An unbreakable curse.

It seemed the Devil of Wisdom, Agreas, had intervened somewhat in corrupting Waypoint with White Noise.

But at this point, that didn't really matter.

What mattered was destroying her here and now.

Ravinia pointed at Agreas and shouted.

"Deal with that devil!"

Snap!

At the moment she gave the command, the warriors summoned by Waypoint's power vanished.

Ravinia, who'd been pointing at Agreas, was left frozen in disbelief.

"Uh, uh...?"

Agreas gave a thin smile at the sight.

"Heh, heh, to think that Waypoint, whose role is to support another great soul, came here alone. How ridiculous."

Agreas sneered.

"Thank you for being the most troublesome one yet still acting so foolish."

"What... do you mean...?"

Unable to understand, Ravinia was speechless as Agreas smiled sweetly.

"No need to explain, is there?"

Shhnk!

At that moment, the black-armored knight who had attacked Luca appeared and swung their sword at Ravinia.

Realizing too late, Ravinia tightly shut her eyes.

Whoosh—

Then, a gust of wind blew.

Thunk!

"!"

At the same time, Luca suddenly appeared and deflected the knight's sword.

Pii—

With a whistle-like wail, Whistle materialized.

"Hm?"

Agreas looked puzzled at Luca's and Whistle's sudden arrival.

The lab was sealed off, so she couldn't understand how Whistle had entered.

Luca spoke with a nonchalant expression.

"You gave a hint, didn't you?"

"I did?"

Agreas cocked her head, then seemed to find the answer.

"So, you did the same as that mage."

- Hm~ You made a small breach using a connection made before entering the isolated space? Not bad.

That was what Agreas had said when Herote summoned Ravinia.

Luca had gotten a hint from that.

'Whistle's space and mine are connected.'

Although it was a bit much to use the power of space, if there was ever a time to push himself, it was now.

Luca somehow created a passage with his power of space, infused with wind, and Whistle recognized it at once, opened her space, and flew to Luca.

"That's... the Devil of Wisdom..."

Looking at Agreas, Whistle had a devastated expression.

She knew Agreas's strength.

'How do we escape...?'

She knew.

They could not win against Agreas as they were.

All they could do was run.

"Well then, Whistle. Ready?"

"... Master?"

Luca called out.

Whistle looked at him, and Luca twisted his lips into a smile.

"Harmonize."

"..."

Seeing his face, Whistle returned a faint smile.

"Yes."

- Harmonization

Tztztztz!

Whistle vanished and celestial wings spread out on Luca's back.

At the same time, the collapsed Herote and dazed Ravinia regained their senses and stood at his side.

"Whew... Good. Now we're a bit more stable."

"Angel! I'll do whatever I can to help!"

Herote conjured a new magic circle, while Ravinia wrapped herself in pale white tentacles, similar to with White Noise, preparing for battle.

Between them, Luca steeled himself and raised his sword.

"This won't be like before. Devil of Wisdom."

Agreas simply smiled serenely at them.

Moments later, they clashed.

* * *

Boom!

"Kugh."

"Angel!"

An explosion erupted as Luca's body was hurled backward.

The power of the sky flowing from his celestial wings protected him, but he was clearly injured, blood flowing freely.

Ravinia looked at him with a worried expression, but she herself was not unharmed.

"Damn... why is my magic...?"

Herote, once their hope, sat down in despair as well.

"Didn't you say this wouldn't be like before?"

Agreas looked upon them with a mocking gaze.

Her clones were gone, but she herself was completely fine.

It was as if those clones had just been decoration.

"From the moment you arrived here, the future was already decided. I was ready for everything, and you were not. I don't even need to use my authority to know the outcome."

As Agreas spoke, a bizarre script flashed over her eyes for a moment before vanishing.

She smiled gently.

"Of course, that doesn't mean I didn't use my authority. I don't let my guard down. No matter how you look at it, your future is sealed."

"... Don't talk nonsense. It's not over yet."

- Super Regeneration

Luca used Super Regeneration to heal himself as he stood.

Watching him, Agreas chuckled.

"If you stay like this, you'll be dead in under a minute. I don't even have to kill you personally. You won't be able to handle the side effects of harmonization."

"..."

"When you die, those beside you won't be able to do a thing, and they'll die too. Tier 10 magic means nothing to me, and since the Waypoint is alone, it can't do anything either."

Agreas spoke gently—as if reveling in the moment.

"All I have to do is hold out like this. Occasionally, I'll lob some magic at the helpless one in the back, and you'll throw yourself in the way and wear yourself out. Isn't it fun? The one you thought was your greatest asset has become the biggest burden. Hoo-hoo!"

Agreas spat harsh words with a laugh.

Herote, in the back, looked even more dejected at those words.

"I... I'm just baggage..."

Luca glanced back at her in her despair.

He briefly bit his lip, then spoke calmly.

"No. Without her, you couldn't be killed. That's why you try so hard to keep her in check."

"...?"

At Luca's words, Herote looked up with a reluctant face.

"Heh! Bluff all you want, nothing will change."

"Herote. I'll buy you a little more time. So fulfill your lifelong wish."

With that, Luca charged at Agreas again.

But before he could go far, he was slammed back to the ground.

Crash!

"Damn it..."

'... Fulfill my lifelong wish?'

Watching Luca, Herote turned over his words in her mind.

Amid a new, crushing sense of helplessness, his words of trust made her desperately consider what she could do.

Luca rose again and again, charging at Agreas, but never reaching her.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

"Angel!"

Watching him, Ravinia fretted.

She also conjured new white tentacles to attack Agreas, but her strikes did not reach.

Agreas no longer even glanced her way.

As if she knew Ravinia could not tip the scales, no matter what.

'This isn't why I returned from the battlefield.'

She thought she'd grown by meeting so many brave warriors and supporting them, but at the crucial moment, she was unable to help at all.

Yet Ravinia's eyes still shone.

She was not cowed.

The old her would've run or clung to White Noise, but she was different now.

She had inherited the warriors' will on this battlefield.

She had come both to support Luca, and to carry their will and defeat this devil.

She had come to end the creation of such dreadful battlefields, once and for all.

In that moment, a whisper came to her.

- Harmonizer. Our power is to aid the path that a warrior travels.

- But to overcome dangers this great, much sacrifice and unspeakable pain must be endured.

- Can you bear it?

"!"

Ravinia's eyes shone.

Just then, the fallen Luca rose again and spread his wings.

"I've figured it out. The force protecting you—its true nature. You've twisted space, turned it into a maze, and hidden inside."

Luca hadn't simply been charging in blindly.

He'd kept attacking, using the power of wind to seek her location.

And with this last strike, he had found her completely.

Whoosh!

"!"

Cutting through the spatial distortion, Luca appeared in front of Agreas.

His gaze was icy cold.

"Your physical abilities don't seem that impressive. No need for Herote's touch—you die here."

Even as she watched him, Agreas only smiled.

"Oh, impressive. But..."

She clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at him.

"You're a little too late, aren't you?"

"..."

Tremble.

Luca's body would not move.

The recoil from maintaining harmonization for too long had struck.

Besides, his repeated collisions with the ground, endless blood loss, and constant use of Super Regeneration had nearly exhausted his spirit.

Drip.

Blood dripped from his nose.

Luca felt his mind growing faint.

'Damn... just one more step...'

Agreas smiled sweetly at the sight.

"Farewell, boy loved by all."

Twitch!

At that instant, something twitched on Luca's shoulder.

A tardigrade.

"?"

Agreas's smile froze for a moment.

"Angel!"

A little ways off, Ravinia called out to Luca.

Her form was faintly transparent.

'That's...!'

Before they noticed, a faint light had begun to seep into Luca's body from the tardigrade.

That light completely healed his battered body and spirit.

- Transcendence

Luca felt a wave of clarity, as if his mind was being refreshed, while looking down on Agreas.

Unlike before, a trace of disturbance flickered across her face.

Crackle!

Lightning ran over his sword and wings.

"Looks like..."

Luca spoke plainly, swinging his sword.

"I wasn't too late after all."

- Thunder

Craaack!