I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

Chapter 121

Luca did not intend to annihilate Albino completely using Tularik. There were two reasons.

'First, they can't completely destroy White Noise.'

Even disregarding the officers, the core of White Noise wasn't the sort of thing an ordinary person could destroy.

Luca would inevitably have to face it himself.

'And the other, there's the possibility of losing the hint.'

He couldn't be certain about this one yet.

'If the power given by the hint only works when the story is finished, then I have to ensure it reaches its conclusion myself.'

Before carrying out this plan, he had thought it through carefully.

At this point, which was earlier than in the original, Albino might not be that strong yet.

This line of thought came to him after fighting Albino's officers.

'Officers of that caliber should have been stronger, but they were too weak.'

As far as he remembered, Montana, Okota, and Vasco had all been quite strong—at least mid-level master or higher.

Yet, when he fought them, he didn't feel the overwhelming presence he'd once sensed from 'Wylde Traverse'.

'Of course, it could be because that man was a monster, but even factoring that in, they were still too weak.'

Luca knew that his power was like poison to them. Still, even so, they died far too helplessly.

'Is it perhaps before the human farms have been established?'

Human farms. That was the biggest reason Luca hated Albino.

They called it "Paradise" themselves, but anyone who'd seen the reality would agree with the term "human farm".

'If they don't have those yet and haven't gathered much life force, then the Albino organization could be wiped out even at Tularik's hands.'

That would be problematic.

The hint might change under special conditions, but if things ended this anticlimactically, the hint could just disappear.

'Because there's also the case of Kryphi.'

Already, there was precedence for a hint vanishing: "The Nightmare of the Battlefield, the Imitator."

For 'The Shadow Over the Academy' and 'The Eccentric Alchemist, Bern Doyner,' Luca himself had settled things cleanly, but in Kryphi's case, the hint had just vanished due to unexpected circumstances.

'I don't know the exact conditions, but it's better to be careful. If I lost the Albino hint, unlike with the eccentric alchemist, that would be a disaster.'

The substitute hints he received in place of lost ones hadn't been that useful.

Realistically, unless he followed through a hint to completion, all his efforts would be for nothing.

'It won't hurt to play it safe... and, besides, I want to see what Ravinia Way is like these days.'

Before the undying princess, the worst villain had been Ravinia Way.

The very concept of White Noise was quite horrific. In some ways, Ravinia Way was worse than Milia in her days as the undying princess.

'At least Milia was somewhat dignified.'

She had used all sorts of tricks to control the protagonist, but she had never employed anything as viscerally disgusting as White Noise.

'Right now, since Milia hasn't become the undying princess, she's actually pretty cute. I wonder what Ravinia Way is like.'

Every villain Luca had seen so far differed from their original appearance in the story.

He was truly curious about Ravinia Way.

"If I can just find Ravinia Way's location, I'll deal with them myself."

"Yourself... you say...?"

Mark Rodella looked a bit anxious. Luca nodded in reply.

"I understand. Albino's officers are powerful, and I'm just a first-year at Hernan Academy. Besides, I'm also considered far inferior to my brother."

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it that way..."

Mark hurriedly shook his head in response, but Luca spoke calmly.

"But don't worry. That's why I have this friend here."

"?"

Everyone except Luca looked puzzled. And the very subject, Ottbo, twitched his eyebrow.

'Me?'

He wanted to say that, but managed to hold back. He had to see this charade through to the end.

― Just stay put. I'll handle it.

That's what Luca had said. So he decided to simply remain still.

"As I said, this friend is the second son of the Gress family—the main family for drive magic and one of the pillars supporting military supplies for the Hernan Empire."

"A-ah! The magic power train!"

Since Mark was from a martial background, he hadn't immediately remembered what the Gress family was, but then he suddenly recalled the Southern Central Railway had been made by the Gress family.

In amazement, he looked at Ottbo.

"I see, the Gress family..."

"This friend, at his age, can already use drive magic at quite a high level and pilot armored soldiers expertly."

"Oh... An armored soldier...!"

At the mention of armored soldiers, Mark nodded as if in understanding.

Ordinary armored soldiers were too much for even expert-level swordsmen, so if it was an armored soldier from a family that built magic power trains, he could imagine the level.

"And although I'm worse than my brother, I'm also fairly confident in swordsmanship. Above all, my master is the nightmare of the battlefield himself, Kryphi Mosto."

"Oh? Isn't Kryphi Mosto the one who won the Imperial Swordsmanship Tournament two years in a row?"

"So you know him."

At Luca's words, Mark awkwardly pointed to the trophy displayed nearby.

"I lost to him and took runner-up."

"Ah..."

"Ha ha! It's fine. That was in the past."

Mark chuckled softly and patted Ottbo on the shoulder.

"Still, being Kryphi's disciple can't have been easy."

"... Heh."

Apparently, Kryphi didn't have the best reputation.

Luca wasn't surprised, recalling Kryphi's infuriating manner of speech.

With a sigh, Luca continued.

"In any case, we would be grateful if you could focus on eliminating Albino's appendages. According to our family's investigation, the most likely location for Ravinia Way is Lubak's domain. If you could handle everywhere else except there, it would be appreciated."

"Hm... Lubak's domain..."

At the mention of Lubak's domain, Mark groaned. Luca's eyes sharpened.

"Is there something worrying you?"

"There are already some bad rumors going around about that place. It seems Albino has done something to him after all."

Mark sighed and said in a low voice,

"Understood. I'll do as you requested. But could I ask for one thing in return?"

"Go ahead."

At Luca's reply, Mark bit his lip gently, then spoke quietly.

"After all's said and done, please let me know what happened to Count Lubak's family."

* * *

Following Luca's request, Tularik thoroughly severed Albino's limbs.

All the major strongholds were destroyed, and the officers were mercilessly slaughtered.

He started with the primary strongholds, then went on to destroy the smaller bases one by one, rendering Albino powerless in no time.

It was as if he was saying he could erase them at any time.

Just when Albino's remaining members sank into utter despair, unable to resist—

"Lady Ravinia!"

Ravinia Way appeared.

Her arrival moved everyone as if they'd met a savior.

To them, Ravinia and White Noise were no different from gods who had rescued them from torment.

"First, call all the surviving officers and members to Lubak's domain. As long as Count Lubak's influence remains, they won't be able to attack here easily."

Her first order was to summon all surviving members to Lubak's domain.

She wanted to contact other criminal organizations and try a counterattack, but there was no time for that—with Tularik systematically destroying Albino, escape was the only option.

When all the members, driven into Lubak's domain, gathered, Ravinia gave her second command.

"Everyone, surrender your White Noise."

"...!"

White Noise did more than strengthen their bodies; its most vital function was the "preservation of life".

People infected with White Noise would not die until all the White Noise left their bodies; conversely, if all the White Noise disappeared, they would die.

She was, in effect, ordering them to die.

"We obey, lady Ravinia!"

And yet, Albino's members obeyed her absolutely.

White Noise might've affected their minds, but as said before, Ravinia was a savior and a god to them.

Her word was absolute, and this had been the single most important force driving Albino's growth until now.

"With White Noise, we can always start again. I promise I'll bring you all back to life."

As she watched the members slowly die after releasing White Noise, Ravinia vowed this.

As long as the data survived, she could later produce clones of them from the core of White Noise.

All they had to do was survive this crisis.

"Lady Ravinia. Me too..."

"Tron. You stay."

"Yes."

Since she still needed Tron until they left Lubak's domain, Ravinia ordered her to stay behind.

"... Haaa. Now then, let's see what actually happened while I was gone that caused Albino to fall."

Ravinia, having handled the crisis, tried to find out why Albino had been destroyed in her absence.

"Lady Ravinia."

Just then, Tron, face full of anxiety, called out to her. Ravinia tilted her head.

"What is it?"

"..."

Tron transmitted information to her through White Noise.

Okota had said that "a boy with deep green hair and blue eyes" was White Noise's nemesis—that he must be killed.

He'd even hired other criminal groups for the assassination. And, that the person with that description was a member of the Hernan Empire's high nobility, the Traverse family.

But this had instead provoked the security corps Tularik, resulting in the massacre.

That was about all Tron had learned.

"... I see. The Traverse family, is it."

Ravinia slowly nodded. There was no trace of resentment in her manner, but Tron trembled desperately, apologizing.

"I'm sorry! My independent judgment put Albino in danger!"

"It's not your fault. It's no one's fault. Once again, it's just the world that's cast us aside."

Ravinia said calmly, and with a slightly clouded look, gazed out the window.

"We need to find a way to live again. Surviving in this cruel world means we can only struggle on and on."

"Oh my, a tragic heroine if there ever was one."

"...?"

At that moment, a voice sounded from the office of Lubak Castle where they stood.

"Who's there!"

Tron, with a fierce look, raised a hand in the direction of the voice.

The staff of Lubak Castle were all infected with White Noise.

Now that the substance had returned to its core, no one should have remained in the castle.

Sssss...

Like fog dissipating, something opaque faded away, revealing the figure of a boy.

Deep green hair, blue eyes, a face beautiful like a doll—

"You...!"

"There's no need for me to explain who I am, is there?"

Seeing Luca speak dryly, Tron's eyes blazed.

"Wylde Traverse!"

"...?"

They did not recognize Luca and Wylde as separate people.