Transmigrated as the Villain Between the Heroine and the Villainess

A white light flashed on the battlefield. Then it flashed again.

The pendants had worked. Azrael and Elvara were gone, teleported to the infirmary. Two more students were out of the test.

The sudden quiet was heavy. The fighting stopped. The wild energy from Elvara was gone. All that remained was the soft crackle of the fire in the forest.

Kaelen, Selvara, and Seraphina were the only ones left.

Seraphina was the first to break. Her legs felt weak. She stumbled to a blackened log and sat down hard breathing fast and shallow.

Her mind was a mess. She kept seeing it again and again.

The white energy. The fear as it came for her. Then being pulled back, flying through the air and landing in a heap.

'He saved me.' The thought felt wrong. It didn't fit with anything she knew. 'The person I hate most in the world just saved my life.'

She remembered how he didn't even hesitate. He saw her, frozen and about to die, and he acted. Then he turned around and did something even crazier.

He walked right into that same deadly power letting it hit him just to get to Elvara. He took the pain, the burns, all of it. He hugged her and somehow with just his words he calmed the storm inside her.

'Why?' It was the only question she had. 'Why would he do that?'

The old Azrael was selfish. He was a coward. He only ever did things for himself. But the boy she just saw… he was something else entirely.

She didn't have a word for what he was. She just knew that everything she thought about him was wrong.

Kaelen stood still. The golden energy around him was gone.He didn't think about fighting anymore. He just stared at the smoky hole in the ground.

That was where Seraphina was supposed to have died.

. And he had just stood there. He hadn't moved. He hadn't been fast enough or smart enough. He had done nothing.

The protector. He had failed.

And Azrael, the person he had sworn to punish had been the one to save her. The shame was a cold and heavy thing in his gut. He couldn't make it make sense.

Selvara was the only one who seemed to understand. She stood with her sword at her side, a small, knowing smile on her face. She looked at the empty spot where Azrael had gone.

'That idiot,' she thought. There was no heat in the thought, only a strange kind of respect. 'He's weak or pathetic even. But that will of his… once he decides on something nothing can stop him. He really is trying to write his own story.'

She remembered their conversation in the training grounds. She turned her attention to Kaelen. He looked lost, his guard completely down. There was only one opponent left. The test was almost over.

She was about to move, to end it when a new voice broke the silence. It was a sweet and light sound.

"Brother you look awfully lost in thought."

The voice came from directly behind him.

Kaelen turned quickly. Isolde was there. She had been hiding in the trees. Her uniform was clean. She had a small silver dagger and a bright and calm smile.

"You should watch more carefully," she said. "This is a competition."

Before Kaelen could move, she acted. The dagger in her hand flashed quickly. She poked him in the side just under his ribs. It didn't cut deep but it hurt and made him lose his balance.

He gasped sharply. "Isolde! What are you doing?"

"Silly brother," she said hiding the dagger with a flick. She put her hands behind her back and smiled, looking innocent. "I'm winning the test! You were just standing there, so I took my chance. It's called good strategy."

He stared at his sister. He felt like he was looking at a stranger. "You attacked me from behind. That's a coward's move."

Tssk.

Isolde made a little sound of disappointment. "Honor is for stories brother. I'm more interested in results. Are you going to give up now? It would be much easier for everyone."

Selvara stepped forward, her boots making no sound on the ash. She stood next to Isolde. Now there were two of them. Two of the most dangerous people in the academy, standing together.

"He is all alone," Selvara said, her voice a low purr.

Kaelen looked at Selvara's cold, battle-ready expression. He looked at his sister's fake, smiling one. He was hurt. He was confused. He was outnumbered.

But giving up wasn't in his nature.

He stood up straight, ignoring the stinging pain in his side. He raised his sword. "I'm not surrendering to you."

Isolde let out a dramatic sigh. "You're no fun. You always have to make things difficult." She glanced at Selvara. "I guess we have to play a little longer."

Selvara just smiled.

The final fight started.

Kaelen was like a cornered animal. He fought with pure and desperate anger. He was still strong and his will to fight pushed his tired body to keep moving. But he was fighting a perfect storm.

Selvara was the direct assault. She met his attacks with her own, her black ice clashing against his sword. She was a wall of pure power, forcing him to focus all his attention on her.

Clang!

He blocked one of her attacks but the force pushed him back and his arm muscles was aching.

Isolde was the real danger. She didn't get close. She moved around the fight like a ghost made of wind. She would blow a sharp gust to push his sword away when he tried to strike. She would kick up ash to blind him for a moment.

He wasn't just fighting Selvara. He was fighting the air itself.

"You're getting slow brother," Isolde's voice called out from somewhere to his left.

He shouted in anger and ran at her, swinging his sword wildly. He needed to stop the annoying distraction.

But as he moved a wall of black ice shot up from the ground blocking his path. It was a perfectly timed move. Selvara and Isolde were working together like they had been training for years.

He was stuck between them. He felt his strength going. His moves got slower, his blocks weaker.

He saw a small chance and tried to swing at Isolde.

The sword didn't hit. A strong gust of wind lifted it and threw it out of his hand. It landed in the dirt far away.

He was now unarmed.

He stood there, panting, covered in sweat and dirt.