The Dark Lady's Guide to Villainy [Book 1 Complete] [Dark Lord, School, Romance]

Mo's friends now fully turned their attention to her, and she could see the weight of unspoken tension in their expressions—the careful distance they'd all been maintaining while focusing on the Earth's problems.

"During our fight at the Academy, I used my succubus abilities to force an emotional connection without consent." She looked directly at Nyx, her rose-gold energy flickering with the vulnerability of complete honesty. "It's not something I do often and I've only recently started to understand how to control them."

Nyx started to say something, but Mo stopped them with a gesture. "Please, let me finish first. I'm not trying to say that it was an accident or something. It was a conscious decision. Even if under pressure. I knew what I was doing. And that's true, I violated your boundaries, and then I spent three days avoiding both of you because I was ashamed of who I became in that moment."

The silence stretched with the weight of accountability that couldn't be rushed or minimized.

"I've been thinking about this," Nyx said finally, their voice softer and carrying genuine surprise. "About what it means when someone you trust uses power against you without consent. About how to tell the difference between people who make mistakes and people who refuse to see their mistakes as mistakes. I had a lot of that in my life when I was smaller. With…"

They shifted in their chair, their figure losing its form for a brief moment.

"With what my father wanted of me. People always wanted to change me. To make me into something more convenient for them. The irony of being a shapeshifter is that everyone assumes you should be happy to become whatever they need, as if having the ability to change means you don't have a right to choose who you are."

This time, it was Mo who started to say something, and it was Nyx's turn to stop her.

"When we just met, you two were the first people in my life who didn't seem to try to shape me into something I wasn't," Nyx paused and glanced daggers at Valerius. "Not you. You were a prick."

Valerius bowed deeply.

"But then, you broke everything we've built over these past months with a single action," Nyx continued.

"I was wrong, I shouldn't have done that," said Mo. "But also, how else could I stop you at that moment?"

"I think that's the question you should have asked yourself exactly at that moment," said Nyx. "You are powerful. You just have to believe that. And you'd have found a solution if you tried. You just did what was easier for you. Not taking me into consideration."

"I'm sorry, Nyx," said Mo. "I'm truly sorry."

"Words are easy," said Nyx. "But you are the first person who's ever violated my boundaries and then actually taken responsibility. Without making me take a lot of effort to convince you that you did something wrong. Which is significant progress in my experience with magical authority figures."

Lucian cleared his throat, but then fell quiet for a long moment, frost patterns shifting across his hands and spiraling around his collar like thoughts finding their form. "Mo, what you did was wrong—using power this way cuts deeper than winter wind. But unlike the cold that destroys, your acknowledgment offers the possibility of spring." He paused, his voice softening. "Dr. Winters helped me understand that even those we trust can cause harm, and that trust rebuilt on honest foundation grows stronger than what came before."

Mo nodded, processing his words. The poetry of his forgiveness made her chest tight with gratitude and guilt in equal measure. But there was something else she needed to address. "This isn't something we can fully resolve in one conversation," she said. "And Lucian, I owe you an apology, too. I shouldn't have used you as a shield during that moment with Nyx. You didn't have to be pulled into our conflict like that."

"I've been thinking about that," Lucian said. "Dr. Winters pointed out that I've spent so much time trying to be the perfect mediator that I sometimes forget I'm allowed to have my own feelings about situations."

Mo felt tears threatening. "So we're all learning to be better to each other."

"It's a start," Nyx said, some of their theatrical edge returning but softer now. "Though I reserve the right to call you out if you do anything like that again."

"Good," Mo said, meaning it completely. "Please do."

The emotional weight in the room shifted, and Mo found herself moving forward to wrap her arms around both Nyx and Lucian. They held each other for a moment, the kind of hug that acknowledged hurt while choosing to move forward together.

Valerius stood slightly apart, his usual arrogance surfacing in reaction to this communion. Nyx noticed first, reaching out to grasp his arm. "Oh no, you don't get to hover on the edges pretending this doesn't involve you too," they said, pulling him into the group embrace. "We're all figuring this out together."

***

Valerius had been pulled into their group embrace, but as they hesitantly stepped apart, his expression suggested uncertainty about what should come next. The emotional weight of reconciliation hung in the air, but so did the unresolved crisis waiting outside these walls.

"Well," he said with an attempt at lightness, "I suppose you all can send reports of that performance to Dr. Chen and her colleagues as the evidence of successful conflict resolution."

Nyx snorted with laughter. "Oh yes, and maybe let's also document our emotional breakthroughs for Umbra as well. 'Dear Professor Malvolia, please note that we have successfully processed our interpersonal trauma in between preventing multidimensional collapse. Does it qualify for a credit in Minion Manipulation, or whatever?'"

Before anyone could respond, a soft knock came at the door. Dr. Foster's voice carried through, tight with urgency but respectfully hesitant.

"I hate to interrupt, but I've been analyzing the data from our earlier conversation, and there's something else I'd like to show you."

"Come in, we're done for now," Mo called, and Dr. Foster stepped back into the room, her tablet clutched in both hands and her expression suggesting she'd discovered something significant.

But Valerius wasn't done, his expression becoming more thoughtful, as the joke seemed to strike something deeper. "Actually..."

"Well, almost done, obviously," said Mo.

"Haha, yes. Anyway, it would be good to have Dr. Foster here. We can probably help each other out."

"Sure. Do you have a new theory?" she asked.

"Yes. Since the moment we came to this world, we tried to analyze the magical outputs, find similarities between the magical hotspots in different regions of the world. But you know what really connects many of the manifestations?"

"What?" Mo and Lucian said simultaneously.

"What you've just demonstrated here is exactly the model we need to apply to Julian's System. For better or for worse, it became a mediator between emotional manifestations. Take Lucian's experiences. Or… even what Nyx reported about that pigeon revolt in Seattle."

"So, you are basing our next moves on what a few pigeons complained about now?" asked Nyx.

"Actually…" Dr. Foster looked up from her tablet, her eyes widening with recognition. "That's... that's exactly what my analysis is showing. The System isn't just distributing magical abilities randomly. It's responding to social dynamics, power imbalances..."

Valerius didn't take Nyx's bait, either. "All of us here… It's not a coincidence. We've all been trying to do something different. Make things better. Maybe this systemic event is our chance and a chance for all the planes of existence?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Mo. "Not so fast… friend. We have some history between us and not all of it was fun. And that part about changing the universe for the better. Since when do you care that much?"

"Yeah, I know. You are right. It's too early to gauge my intentions," Valerius said. "But I agreed to implement your D.E.V.I.O.U.S. framework, didn't I? And it seems that now I need to push my father to expedite the process even more than before, with the news Grimz sent to you."

He looked at the people surrounding him. Not yet friends, but not enemies anymore. "Taking responsibility without expecting immediate resolution, offering accountability while maintaining working relationships, choosing to rebuild rather than simply move on. That's what we should offer this weird magical System. And maybe it will listen. Shouldn't we at least try? For the academic purposes if for nothing else?"

The room went quiet as the implications settled over them.

"You're saying what? The magic needs relationship therapy?" Lucian asked, frost patterns shifting around his hands as he processed the idea.

"Wait," said Dr. Foster. "You mean it could be sentient?"

"This isn't something completely outlandish, Emily," said Mo. "There are plenty of magical constructs that appear to be or even are sentient. But it's not the right moment to dive into this part of magical theory right now. Just believe that it may be possible. No one ever had to deal with anything like the System before."

"I'm saying," Valerius said, answering Lucian's question, "that we've been approaching this as a magical crisis when it might actually be a social one. Maybe what Mo has already been unconsciously doing here in the Bath area and all over Southern England is exactly what's needed to be done."

"So, you were influencing the events in the area?" asked Dr. Foster. "That confirms it."

Mo looked at her but said nothing.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Julian's System isn't just distributing magic," Valerius continued, "it's creating connections between beings who have never had to coexist before. Never had to feel each other on such a deep level. It has never happened before in the history of the multitude of worlds. Magic was always egoistic. It was always about self, about your own power. Here… everything seems to be connected."

"But here's the delicious irony, darlings," Nyx said, their form flickering slightly as they gestured with theatrical flair. "We seem to be completely outside of this grand interconnected System. It doesn't recognize us, doesn't give us lovely little interface notifications, doesn't invite us to the magical networking party. We're like the people who accidentally took part in creating… what you call it…? social media and then discovered we're somehow not invited to post about our amazing breakfast."

"I don't have a good explanation for that," said Valerius not able to resist smiling. "But what I know for sure, is that the moment of creation of the System was quite a traumatic one. We've all been there. We've all been a part of the process one way or another. If it was traumatic for us, for Julian, for… what was the name of this moth-guy?"

"Milo," Mo said quietly, remembering the gentle first-year student who'd been used as an anchor.

"Yes, him. Maybe the ice-boy is right and this magical System needs some sort of therapy. Or, at least, some understanding."

"Do you mean that you can influence how it works or that you've been the influence because you've been there at the moment of its origin?" asked Dr. Foster.

"Definitely the first one," said Mo. "We've already confirmed that in multiple ways. Both through my agents and on our own. But… if the System is influenced by the people who were present during its creation..."

"Then it may react to more of us being present at the same moment, near a point of extreme power," Valerius said. "We've always explored them alone, one by one. It's time to change the approach."

The thoughtful moment was interrupted when one of Dr. Foster's assistants rushed in: "I hate to interrupt, but we have a problem. A significant one. There's been a new magical hotspot detected just outside Bath."

Mo exchanged glances with her friends. The universe, apparently, had excellent timing when it came to interrupting emotional breakthroughs with impending disasters.

"Coming," Mo said, then looked back at her friends. "I guess we'll have to test Valerius' theory in the field."

"Oh well," Nyx said with brightness, shifting the pallet of their colors to a lighter shade. Still, that didn't quite hide their genuine worry. "Because what this situation really needed was a more immediate practical application of our half-baked theories about reality-altering magical systems."

"At least we're finally talking to each other again," Lucian offered, as they gathered their things. "Not just messaging over these strange devices."

"True," Mo said. "Nothing says 'successful relationship repair' like immediately throwing yourselves into potentially dimension-altering magical phenomena."

Nyx paused at the door, their hand on the handle. "Mo, whatever we find out there... whatever the System has become because of our influence... we handle it together this time. No unilateral decisions."

"Agreed. Though I reserve the right to panic internally if reality starts unraveling."

"Darling," Nyx said, "if reality unravels, we'll all panic internally. The key is maintaining our external composure while doing so."

To demonstrate this principle, Nyx immediately swept out of the back room into the main café space, where they began making elaborate harmonic humming sounds while waving their hands dramatically above their head in what appeared to be some sort of interpretive dance routine.

"ATTENTION, LOVELY HUMANS!" they called out in their most theatrical voice. "Please remain calm while we attend to some light interdimensional crisis management! Continue enjoying your beverages! Reality is only slightly more flexible than usual today!"

Several customers looked up from their books and laptops with expressions ranging from bemused to mildly concerned, though in post-Integration Bath, Nyx's performance barely registered as unusual compared to the levitating sugar packets and emotionally responsive coffee machines.

Mo stared through the doorway at her friend's idea of "external composure," and turned to the others. "That's... that's their version of maintaining dignity under pressure."

"It's working," Dr. Foster observed, watching the customers return to their activities with remarkable equanimity. "No one's panicking."

***

As they left the cafe, the assistant explained: "The new hotspot appeared about forty-three minutes ago near the Roman Baths. Unlike the others, which maintain relatively stable magical output, this one is... growing pretty rapidly. Exponentially."

"We should have felt it," said Mo. "The Baths are just a few minutes away."

"Define 'growing'," Valerius asked evenly, even as his expression suggested he already suspected the answer would be unpleasant.

"Doubling in radius every twelve minutes," Dr. Foster said, checking her tablet. "At the current rate of expansion, it'll encompass the entire city center within two hours. But that's not the concerning part."

"There's a more concerning part?" Lucian asked.

"The magical signatures we're detecting aren't random," Dr. Foster said, activating her holographic display. "They're structured. Organized. Almost like..." She paused, clearly struggling with the implications of her own data.

"Like what?" Mo asked, though she was beginning to suspect she didn't want to know the answer.

"Like the hotspot is trying to communicate. With something. Or someone."

"Well," Nyx said finally, their voice carrying forced lightness, "that's not ominous at all. A magical anomaly that's exponentially expanding and attempting communication. What could possibly go wrong?"

"We'll figure it out together, right?" Mo said, looking at her friends. Three days ago, they'd barely been speaking. Now they were about to walk into an unknown magical crisis as a unified team.

"One question," Valerius said, reminding them of his membership in this team. "If this hotspot is trying to communicate, and it's an integral part of Julian's System... what happens if it succeeds?"

No one had an answer for that. Which, Mo reflected as they rushed through the afternoon Bath toward whatever awaited them, was probably the most terrifying thing of all.

The short walk to the Roman Baths felt simultaneously eternal and instantaneous. Bath's familiar honey-colored stone streets, usually bustling with tourists and locals, had taken on an eerie quality. Not empty—that would have been too obvious—but wrong in subtle ways that made Mo's senses prickle with unease.

Street lights flickered in patterns that almost looked like morse code. A flock of pigeons moved in perfect formation overhead, their flight path too precise to be natural. Shop windows displayed books that rearranged themselves when no one was looking directly at them.

"Is it just me," Nyx murmured, their form flickering between masculine and feminine as they walked, "or does it feel like the historical city center is... watching us?"

"It's not just you," Lucian said, his breath misting despite the moderate temperature. "The magic here is... aware. Responsive."

Dr. Foster checked her tablet, her expression growing increasingly concerned. "The readings are spiking as we get closer. We are almost in its range already."

As they rounded the final corner, the Roman Baths complex came into view, and Mo felt her heart sink. The ancient site, normally a marvel of preserved Roman engineering and a peaceful oasis in the city center, was now wrapped in a sphere of shimmering, opalescent energy that pulsed like a heartbeat.

"Definitely not in the Academy's workbooks," she muttered.

"The sphere was almost invisible behind the walls of the Baths just half-an-hour ago," Dr. Foster said, consulting her notes. "And the energy readings..." She trailed off, staring at her tablet.

"What with them?" Valerius asked.

"It's not like anything we measured before," Dr. Foster said slowly.

The sphere pulsed brighter, and suddenly Mo could feel it. Not just the magical energy, but something else. A presence. Familiar and terrifying at the same time.

"No," she whispered, her rose-gold energy flaring involuntarily. "It can't be."

"Mo?" Nyx moved closer, concern evident in their voice. "What is it?"

Mo moved toward the ancient Bath stone walls, her succubus heritage drawing her forward with recognition that made her stomach clench. The moment her palms touched the weathered Roman stone, the sensation intensified—not just a magical signature, but an emotional imprint. Weeks of studying together, the careful way Julian organized his research notes… falling for someone who'd turned out to be planning the end of the world as they knew it. All of it embedded in the magical energy radiating from the sphere.

"It's Julian," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "He's in there. I can feel his magical signature, his... his presence. He's still existing."

She kept her hands on the stone wall, the connection growing stronger. Not communication—Julian wasn't trying to reach out to her—but presence. The unmistakable essence of someone she'd once trusted completely.

"That's the first time since he disappeared during the ritual that I've felt him," she continued, her voice thick with a mixture of relief and dread. "I was starting to think he might be... that the ritual might have..."

"Well," Nyx said with forced cheer, "this just became significantly more complicated, didn't it? Now we need to deal not only with strange magic, but with this ex business."

"I'm sorry, what?" Dr. Foster asked. "Julian was your boyfriend?"

Before anyone could respond, the sphere began to expand again, its edge creeping steadily toward where they stood. And as it grew, Mo felt something else—a pull, a connection she'd hoped never to feel again.

The magic didn't just have Julian imprinted all over it. It was calling to her specifically. And despite everything Julian had done, despite the betrayal and the manipulation and the reality-threatening chaos he'd unleashed, Mo found herself taking a step toward the sphere.

"Mo, no," Valerius said sharply, grabbing her arm.

"I can feel him," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "He's... he's scared. Confused. I think the ritual did something to him, too."

"Of course it did something to him," Lucian said. "We all saw how he'd dissolved. That doesn't mean we should…"

Dr. Foster's tablet began smoking as energy readings spiked beyond its capacity to measure.

"We need to get closer," Mo said, and she realized with growing horror that part of her actually wanted to. Not because of Julian's fear, but because the System itself was pulling her forward, recognizing something in her that she herself didn't fully understand.

"Absolutely not," Nyx said firmly. "This has 'terrible idea' written all over it in flashing neon letters."

"But if he's still alive in there," Mo said, "if he's trapped by his own magic somehow..."

"Then I'd say: 'good riddance'," Valerius said.

"I couldn't agree more," Lucian said. "In any case, we are a team. Remember? We aren't letting you to go there alone. We do it together. No unilateral decisions."

Mo looked at her friends and felt the pull of the sphere against her better judgment. The smart thing would be to retreat, to call for backup, to approach this methodically. Her agents were definitely more experienced than her. Some of their professors were more experienced than her agents. This assignment was another punishment right from the start. But everything that happened before this moment didn't feel that dangerous and fateful as this call from Julian.

"You're right," she said finally. "But we can't just leave as it is. And if I'm right about our influence on the System..." She looked at Dr. Foster. "How long before the sphere covers the whole city center?"

"Forty minutes, give or…" Emily said.

That was the moment when the sphere blinked with brilliant light and suddenly expanded in all directions. Mo, standing closest to the Roman Bath complex, felt the opalescent energy wash over her first—not painful, but overwhelming, like being submerged in liquid starlight. Valerius, who had tried to stop her earlier, was next to feel the wild magic engulf him. Lucian, Nyx, and Dr. Foster were swept up by the arcane powers a second later.

For a moment that felt like eternity, they were all suspended within the sphere's energy field. Mo felt something profound shift inside her—a connection activating, an interface opening that she'd never known existed. But it was Dr. Foster who reacted most dramatically to the magical immersion. She was shaking, her entire body began to glow with golden light, and frantic System messages appeared and disappeared in rapid succession over her head.

Some of them stayed for a bit longer, before being replaced by the other messages:

[MAGICAL NETWORK ANALYSIS - LEVEL 1 ACQUIRED]
[DIMENSIONAL SIGNATURE RECOGNITION ACTIVATED]
[WARNING: COGNITIVE OVERLOAD DETECTED]

"Dr. Foster?" Nyx moved to steady her.

"I can see it," Dr. Foster whispered, her voice filled with wonder and panic. "I can see the connections... between all of you... the network patterns, the influence streams... Oh my God, what have you done to our world?"

And then she collapsed, golden light still flickering around her unconscious form, as the sphere pulsed once more and Julian's presence pressed against Mo's consciousness—not words, but a desperate, confused moan.