Transmigrated as the Villain Between the Heroine and the Villainess

He woke up. The first thing he thought about was the messy replay of the day before.

First, the tough fight with the hero. Then, the scary meeting with Isolde, who now seemed interested in him.

And last, the fight with the first-year bullies. It had been the busiest and scariest day of his new life.

He got out of bed in his dorm room. His body was still full of deep, painful aches.

The dorm was a special thing, much closer to the class buildings than the big Ashveil house.

He walked to the academy, but the cool morning air did not calm the worry in his stomach.

He got to the second-year class building and went inside. The moment he walked in, the room went quiet. All eyes were on him.

He ignored them, his face showing a cold, uncaring look, and took an empty seat in the back.

From her seat near the middle of the room, Seraphina Vane watched him. She was confused.

'What happened to him?' she thought, her amber eyes narrowed as she thought.

He didn't even look at her. Not once. The old Azrael would have been a real pain.

He would have found a way to sit near her, to give her a proud smile, to start some stupid talk to get her attention.

But this new version… he didn't even look at her. It was strange.

The class began. Professor Vivienne Cindral walked to the front, and everyone immediately paid attention.

"Today, we will talk about the basic rules of Aether," she began, her sharp, golden eyes looking over the students.

"Many of you, born into powerful families, think you already get it. You are wrong."

She tapped a finger on her desk. "You think of Aether as a tool, a pool of energy you use for your spells and moves."

"That is how a child thinks. Aether isn't a tool. It's the life of the world, and you are just a small part of it."

The class was not like anything he had ever imagined. He learned so much.

"The Aether inside you is your life force," the professor explained. "It is what makes you alive."

"Your rank- Beginner, Apprentice, Expert- is a measure of how much of that inside Aether you can control."

Many students already knew this and looked bored. But for Azrael, it was all new. He was paying full attention.

Some students saw his strange attention, and their looks changed from fear to confusion.

He raised his hand. The whole class, even the professor, stared at him in shock.

Azrael Ashveil had never asked a question in his life.

"Yes, Lord Ashveil?" Professor Cindral said, a little surprised.

"Professor," he began, his voice clear. "You said our rank is based on our control of our inside Aether."

"But how do you get more control? How do you move up in the ranks?"

The professor's eyebrows rose a little, impressed by his direct question.

"A good question," she said. "There are two main ways. The first is the way for rich people: Aether Stones."

She explained that Aether Stones were pure Aether turned into crystals, found deep in the earth.

"By taking in the pure Aether from these stones, you can quickly increase the amount of your own Aether, making your rank go up."

Azrael's heart leaped. He knew about this item from the novel. But his hope was crushed when he remembered the truth.

"However," the professor went on, her voice sharp, "this way is not for most people. A single, one-pound stone costs more than five hundred gold coins."

"That is a price that even rich noble families would find hard to pay all the time."

Now it was clear. The hero, Kaelen, was a prince just in name. He never had that kind of money.

"The second way," she said, looking serious, "is the way most of you will have to use. It's the hard way, the risky way. It's called Aether Absorption."

A low sound of talking went through the class.

"After a living thing dies, the Aether inside its body stays for a short time. You can take in this leftover Aether into your own body."

"The Aether from a person is too weak to help much. But the Aether from a magical beast… their bodies are full of it."

"Kill enough beasts, take in enough of their leftover Aether, and you will get stronger."

She held up a finger. "But be careful. This way is dangerous. The Aether from a beast is wild and messy, full of its animal feelings."

"If your mind is weak, or you take in too much too fast, you risk Aether Sickness. You will turn into a monster before you die."

The class was over. Professor Cindral looked at the clock on the wall. "Before you leave, I have an announcement to make."

'Here it comes,' Azrael thought, feeling that he knew this bad thing was coming.

He leaned back, a smart smile on his face. He began to repeat the words in his mind a second before she said them.

'Students, as you all know, we have a test to check your powers again and make the new rankings.'

"Students," the professor announced, "as you all know, at the start of the school year, we have a test to check your powers and make new rankings."

'This time, it will be the same,' he copied in his head. 'Teams will be made. Two from each year. You can't team up with other teams.'

"Teams of six will be made, with two students from each year: first, second, and third. Your goal is simple: survive and collect points."

'Beating a person gives you ten points,' he continued his silent talk. 'The last hit is what counts. But the ranks give a boost. Rank one gets a hundred points.'

"Beating an opponent will give your team ten points. And know that only the final blow counts," the professor said.

"Also, your own rank before this test will give your team an extra one hundred points. All other rules will be given tomorrow. Now, for the team announcements."

Azrael was bored now. He knew what was coming. Kaelen's team would be really strong.

He gulped as he remembered one of the third-years on the hero's team from the novel. 'Why am I scared? It's not my problem.'

The professor began reading from the scroll. After calling a few teams, she got to the hero's.

"Team Five," she read. "From the third year, Orion and Lyra. From the second year, Kaelen Valerius and…"

'And Aurelia,' Azrael copied with a proud grin.

"…Gareth of House Valois," the professor said.

Azrael's grin froze. 'Gareth? Who the hell is Gareth?'

"And from the first year," she went on, "Paul, and… Elvara."

His mood dropped. He grabbed his hair, pulling it tight. 'What the fuck happened here? The plot… it's changing!'

Then he remembered. Elvara. Her being here, as a student, had broken the story.

'Fuck,' he muttered under his breath.

The names were being called, but his copying was gone. He started to panic. Then, his name came.

"Team Seven. From the second year, Azrael Ashveil and Seraphina Vane."

Their eyes met across the room. They both looked just as scared.

"From the third year," the professor continued, "Selvara Tharros and Zeyric."

Hearing Selvara's name, Azrael banged his head on the desk. Thud.

'My stupid, cursed luck!' he screamed in his mind. 'Damn it all! Who the hell wrote this novel?!'

Selvara Tharros. The Ice Witch of the North. A third-year with demon blood in her veins.

She wasn't purely evil, but an agent of chaos. She was one of the major obstacles the hero was supposed to overcome.

And now, by some twisted joke of fate, she was on his team.

But the professor wasn't done.

"And from the first year…" She paused, looking at the last name on the list for his team.

"Princess Isolde Valerius."

Hearing that name, Azrael felt like his soul left his body. The world went silent, the colors faded.

One scary thought filled his mind.

'I'm dead.'