I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

Chapter 125

"... What?"

Perhaps because it was an unexpected remark, Ravinia couldn't connect her words properly.

Seeing her like that, Luca thought,

'I don't like White Noise, but I can't ignore the life force inside it right now.'

It was unsettling power, but the tremendous life force accumulated within White Noise was undeniably powerful.

'If I throw it into Space, I should be able to use it later in some way.'

If in there it completely becomes the power of the sky and can be used later, it could be helpful in some way.

'At the very least, it's better than letting her keep holding onto it.'

Thinking so, Luca looked at Ravinia.

She still had a shocked expression.

"You're telling me... to hand over White Noise...?"

It was as if she was asking to confirm if she had heard right.

At that moment.

[White Plague, Albino]

-(The process has been omitted due to satisfying special conditions.)

-(The process has been omitted due to satisfying special conditions.)

-(The process has been omitted due to satisfying special conditions.)

― Contact Ravinia Way. (○)

― Make Ravinia Way and Albino face their own sins. (The process has been omitted due to satisfying special conditions.)

― Release Ravinia Way and Albino from the shackles of fate.

Suddenly, the changes in Hint surfaced in Luca's mind.

'So they could do things like this but made it so I had to look at the phone until now?'

Luca grumbled inwardly, but grasped the situation for now.

― He asked me to tell you he's sorry he couldn't help you at the crucial moment.

― He also said he'll try to find a way so you can connect even when this sort of thing happens again.

The story the god had conveyed through Eltima. It seems the method had been found.

'Even the gods are putting in some effort, huh.'

It was definitely a helpful change at such a critical moment.

There had already been several occasions when Luca had wanted to check the phone during emergencies.

'But why wasn't the hint omitted despite satisfying special conditions?'

It struck Luca as odd during this change in the hint.

Normally, when a hint's special condition was satisfied, its content was omitted, but this time, it was left visible with a strikethrough.

'It's as if... the god wants me to know this hint...?'

Luca wore a strange expression.

'Is it possible... the god wants me to use White Noise?'

Luca didn't want White Noise.

'Even if it might help in the future, the essence of White Noise doesn't change.'

The essence of White Noise was, after all, an ancient weapon that created warriors who could fight eternally by using life force and information.

Of course, the ability to steal the enemy's life force and increase one's own forces was enormously useful, but...

'It's creepy. That sort of thing.'

Even in the original work, there were only a handful of times amid the protagonist's many regressions when White Noise had actually shone.

There was even a time when a powerful person was infected with White Noise, revived repeatedly, and forced to fight, but it was not a cheerful scene.

Sharing information, continuous healing as long as White Noise wasn't completely consumed, and infinite clones as long as the information remained.

'I get that it's all broken, but I don't like it.'

If it were just a disposable tool, that would be fine.

But could he ever use White Noise on Bella or Ottbo?

'Absolutely not.'

Ultimately, it was a power worth holding only to keep it away from the enemy.

Luca judged it was better to hold onto it rather than leave it alone.

He only understood why Whistle had found it so horrifying after seeing it up close.

Even just in text, it was dreadful, but seeing White Noise's power in reality was even worse.

Luca didn't like the idea of leaving it unattended.

No matter how you looked at it, White Noise was a wrongly made power.

It was good in theory, but from an ethical perspective, it was far too problematic.

'Anyway, if I throw it into Space and then later master the power of Space, I could convert it into power of the sky and use it—so do I really have to use it?'

White Noise was a Great Soul, but it wasn't the kind of power he sought.

As he thought that far, a new question popped up.

'Wait a minute. If it's such a problematic thing, why is it a Great Soul?'

The other Great Souls weren't like this.

They had powers you could call at least somewhat reasonable.

'Even in the original story, it got oddly bad treatment. Why was that?'

Luca's mind began working rapidly.

'And the hint is weird too. "Make them face their sins", "release them from the shackles of fate"...?'

The wording was different from usual.

It was almost as if...

'There's some other issue with White Noise itself.'

― Master! The power of lightning is specialized in catching that bug!

― What?

― It's an evil power! The power of lightning is strong against evil powers that go against nature!

― Evil power...?

Suddenly, Whistle's words came to mind.

He also recalled the descriptions of the Great Souls.

― The Great Souls are among humanity's greatest achievements.

― They are truly miraculous powers—born from the transcendence of the unreasonable.

― They can be said to be the crystallization of noble will to destroy evil!

'... So that's how it is.'

Luca understood something.

He roughly understood why even the god didn't want to give up on White Noise so easily.

'It wasn't just contamination of information that made her a villain.'

Thinking that far, Luca looked at the bewildered Ravinia.

'That makes me curious. Just what reaction will White Noise show if its mask is removed?'

As Luca's plan solidified, Ravinia spoke again.

"Don't talk nonsense! I'm the synchronizer of White Noise! If you're not qualified, you can't just take it at will!"

Seeing her so desperate to guard White Noise, Luca smirked.

"You remember, don't you? That I absorbed White Noise."

"T-That's..."

Of course she remembered.

The memory would be in the information he retrieved from Okota.

"The life force of those sacrificed to White Noise will be put to better use by me. Rather than some idiotic fantasy about paradise, it's far more meaningful for their lives to be wielded in my sword."

"... And why is it more meaningful to be wielded by your sword?"

To Ravinia's retort, Luca answered indifferently.

"You know it yourself. That your paradise is meaningless."

"It's not meaningless! If everyone can be happy, how can it be meaningless?"

"White Noise can't generate new life force. That means for your paradise to persist, you'll need to get more life force from the outside."

Luca narrowed his eyes.

"The more people you have inside you, the more life force you'll need. So, how will you procure it?"

"Well... From bad people..."

"And when all the bad people are gone?"

Ravinia faltered.

Luca's words were like daggers.

"You never thought that far. That's your limit."

"Then what was I supposed to do!"

Ravinia screamed, tears streaming from her eyes before she knew it.

"My mother died, everyone I knew died. The place I lived became hell, and I ended up alone. What was I supposed to do?"

When a child not even ten loses her only family, kills everyone she knew, and is left completely alone in the world, what could she possibly do?

Ravinia didn't know.

So, she acted as White Noise whispered.

That was all.

But did she deserve to be criticized for it?

"It comes down to two choices."

Luca's voice remained cold.

"You die helpless on the spot, or you struggle to survive."

"I..."

Ravinia stopped short, teary, then finally burst out:

"I struggled... to survive..."

"Did you? Are you sure?"

Luca spoke indifferently.

"Did you really struggle to live, of your own will?"

"..."

"Did you create Albino, kill people, and make paradise—was it all really your own will?"

At Luca's words, Ravinia's eyes widened in silence.

― If life is hell, where is salvation? That was the question my creator pondered.

― And I am the answer to that question. In me, everyone found salvation.

'Right... in you... salvation...'

― I can give them salvation. In me, they can dream their ideal dreams.

'Dreams...'

― If life is hell, at least in dreams, they can find salvation. That was the answer my creator found.

'That doesn't sound so bad either.'

"... White Noise?"

Ravinia recalled it.

The moment she came to wish for salvation.

White Noise's whisper.

That was the trigger.

Zzzt!

"Urgh!"

The moment suspicion about White Noise sprouted in her mind, a headache hit her.

Ravinia pressed her forehead, and Luca placed his hand on his sword hilt.

"So. Now you realize you haven't been acting of your own will all this time."

"That's... but... Kyah!"

"R-Ravinia! Ahh!"

Suddenly Ravinia and Tron screamed and collapsed.

And from their bodies, white grub-like worms poured out.

"So it was White Noise itself that was the problem after all."

Luca remarked flatly, stepping back a pace. But those numbers couldn't be avoided with just that.

As if a dam had burst, the white grubs gushed out.

Boom! Crash!

Under the enormous mass, the floor collapsed.

Beeep!

"Master!"

Just in time, Whistle rushed over and shrouded him in the power of the clouds.

Luca, watching the multiplying White Noises, spoke,

"Looks like things won't just blow over."

"What do we do, master?!"

Whistle, fidgeting, looked to Luca, who grinned wryly.

"There's only one way to survive here."

"That is...!"

Whistle's eyes widened.

Luca spoke with a hint of regret.

"It's a shame I can't use the life force of White Noise... but whatever I do, I have to fight it anyway."

Muttering, he closed his eyes with a faint smile at Whistle's hopeful tone.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

At the same time, Whistle merged into his body.

― Synchronize

Whoosh──!

Wings resembling the sky—celestial wings—sprouted from Luca's back.

* * *

"Um... I wonder if young master will be okay...?"

Bella paced around the castle with a worried look.

Ottbo, following her, spoke with a tired face.

"If it's Luca, he'll be fine, won't he?"

"Young master Ottbo, even if he's invincible, this time is different!"

"It seems like Luca can handle anything no matter the situation..."

Ottbo scratched his cheek, but Bella had no intention of calming down.

"Just because things have always worked out doesn't mean it'll be fine this time! That sort of carelessness leads to real danger!"

"Y-Yeah. Okay..."

At Bella's reaction, Ottbo broke out in a sweat, then flinched and looked at the castle.

"Hm? I just heard something weird over there..."

"?"

Bella also felt that something was off and looked at the castle.

A moment later—

Crash! Shshshshshhk!

"?!"

The castle walls collapsed as something white poured out like a waterfall.

"T-That's...!"

They were countless white grubs.

They fell, then quickly bunched together to form a gigantic cocoon.

"Young master!"

As Ottbo panicked, Bella sprinted toward the castle.

But before she could enter, she had to halt.

Rumble! Boom!

The sky suddenly darkened and thunder struck.

A bolt of lightning flashed and speared straight into the cocoon.

Crackle─!

The insects touched by lightning turned pitch black, leaving holes in the cocoon.

And from those holes, a blue light resembling the sky poured out.

"Young master!"

"Luca!"

Even from a distance, they could see who it was.

As Bella and Ottbo gasped, Luca glanced in their direction.

"Noisy lot, aren't they."

Even from far off, their voices were clear.

It was thanks to his senses being heightened by the power of the sky.

Rumble!

By now, lubak Castle had entirely collapsed.

All the White Noise that spilled out formed another shape despite the big holes.

A gigantic white giant.

Yet it was made of small human shapes.

― I don't want to die...

― It hurts...

― Set me free from this pain...

Each was 'information' imprinted with grudges.

Luca clicked his tongue as he looked at them.

"Horrible. Of course you'd go mad with something like that inside you."

― The power of the sky. Could it be—the Skybird's contractor?

"?"

At that moment, a bizarre voice—neither male nor female, neither old nor young—echoed in Luca's ear.

He glanced at the white giant.

"Are you White Noise's grudge?"

― Vile one. Even in this era, do you seek to obstruct us?

"Hmph. 'Us,' is it."

Luca regarded it with a strange look, then drew his sword.

"No matter what you are, you die here."

Then Whistle spoke hastily.

― Master. You're stronger than before, but you still can't hold this state long.

"How long can I last?"

― A minute at most. You have to finish it within that time if you can.

At Whistle's words, Luca smirked.

"That's plenty."

― Hahaha. I cannot die. Even if you kill this woman, my main body remains.

At White Noise's words, Luca twisted his lips.

"I know that."

Crack!

A flash of lightning crossed his eyes.

Currently, Luca was synchronized with the Skybird, so he was in the state of having opened the Sky's Eye, overlooking everything.

Moreover, he had a general idea of where White Noise's main body was.

"Found it."

-?

He saw a pure white cocoon.

At that instant, thunder rumbled in the distance.

The moment he heard it, lightning struck down from the sky.

― Argh! You bastard... how did you...!

The lightning struck right where White Noise's main body was.

Watching White Noise collapse with a groan, Luca smiled.

"I told you. I'm the apostle sent to judge your kind. I already know all your secrets."

― Grr... I won't die alone!

White Noise stretched a hand at Luca with fierce intent.

But in his current state in synchronization, it couldn't even reach him.

Crackle!

"!"

A flash ran across Luca's eyes and he stiffened momentarily.

His vision turned pure white for an instant.

Holding synchronization for long was too much for him after all.

"Time to finish this."

― Gaaaa!

Boom!

White Noise, in final defiance, hurled part of the castle at Luca, but he had already disappeared from sight.

― Where did you go!

As White Noise looked around wildly, a voice descended from the sky.

"It is the moment of heavenly judgment."

-!

Kaboom!

With a giant pillar of lightning, Luca's sword struck White Noise's forehead.

The lightning devoured and burned all the white away.

In the end, only Luca and Ravinia—cradled in his arms—remained.

"... Is it over?"

As the sky cleared, sunshine streamed through the clouds, and Luca squinted.

"Mm... mm...?"

Then Ravinia, in his arms, opened her eyes.

She looked up at Luca, and for a moment, her breath caught.

Luca, illuminated by sunlight, was shining beautifully.

"Are you an angel who has come to take me away...?"

"Still spouting nonsense, huh."

Luca clicked his tongue, then flinched.

The wings on his back were fading.

'I need to... get to a safe place...!'

Right now, they were suspended in the air.

With the castle in ruins, there was nowhere safe beneath their feet.

― Master! Any more is impossible! We have to release synchronization!

"Damn... it..."

Luca felt his consciousness blur.

He wanted to at least get Ravinia to safety, but it was impossible.

The last thing he heard as he faded out was a single word.

"Young master!"

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

You know the fight is over when Luca starts fainting...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】