Transmigrated as the Villain Between the Heroine and the Villainess

Azrael Ashveil was missing.

The news spread through the academy like a disease. For a full day, he hadn't been seen. His dorm room was empty. He hadn't attended a single class.

The whispers started immediately, growing louder with every passing hour.

"Did you hear? He's gone. Just vanished."

"I heard Kaelen Valerius finally did it. After that humiliation in the classroom yesterday, he must have finished him off."

"No way. The Headmaster would never let that happen. It was probably one of the other families. The Ashveils have a lot of enemies."

Some declared him dead, a satisfying end for the villain who had finally pushed his luck too far. Others thought he had run away, a coward unable to face the consequences of his own sharp tongue. The entire academy was a buzzing hive of rumors and morbid speculation.

Amidst the chaos, Professor Vivienne Cindral tried to maintain order in her lecture hall. But even her sharp gaze couldn't quell the undercurrent of gossip.

Suddenly, the heavy oak doors to the hall were thrown open with a deafening bang.

BANG!

Every head snapped towards the entrance. A figure stood silhouetted against the bright hallway light. She was tall, elegant, and radiated an aura so cold and deadly it sucked the very air from the room.

It was Celestria Ashveil.

She walked into the room, her silver hair pulled back in a severe bun, her violet eyes burning with a controlled fire. It was a killing aura.

The students near the aisle physically recoiled from her, their faces pale with terror.

She ignored them all. Her gaze swept across the room and locked onto one person. Kaelen.

In a blur of motion too fast for most to follow, she was across the room. She reached out a single, pale hand and grabbed him by the neck.

With no visible effort, she lifted him from his seat, his feet dangling uselessly in the air.

He couldn't do anything. Her grip was like iron, a cage of pure, overwhelming power. No one came to his rescue.

Professor Cindral took a step forward. "Matriarch Ashveil, this is..."

Celestria's head turned just enough for her gaze to fall on the professor. It wasn't a threat. It was a statement. A promise of annihilation. The professor froze, the words dying in her throat. She knew when she was outmatched.

Seraphina was terrified. She stared at Kaelen, his face turning a dusky red, his hands clawing uselessly at the grip around his throat. She had to do something.

She stood up, her own voice trembling slightly. "Lady Celestria! Why are you doing this?"

Celestria's burning gaze shifted to her. She didn't say anything at first, just held Kaelen up like a trophy. Then she spoke, her voice a low, dangerous hiss.

"You were there too. Yesterday. When my brother and this one had a heated conversation."

Seraphina swallowed hard. "Yes, but it wasn't a heated conversation. It was just... he was insulting us."

"Insulting," Celestria repeated, the word tasting like poison. "And for insulting you, you plotted behind his back and abducted him."

The accusation hit Seraphina like a physical blow. "What? No! We didn't do anything! Yes, he insulted me, but we would never think of doing something like that! Especially me... he saved my life."

Celestria's gaze snapped back to Kaelen, her grip tightening. "Then it may have been him. Just tell me, prince. Where is he? Tell me, and I will let you go."

Kaelen wanted to speak. He wanted to protest his innocence, to scream in outrage. But he couldn't. His throat was crushed.

All that came out was a strangled, gurgling sound. Celestria, blinded by her own rage, didn't seem to notice he was suffocating.

Just as his vision started to go dark, a strange, shimmering circle of light appeared in the air right in front of Celestria. A figure stepped through it.

It was Headmaster Theron.

He moved with a calm, unhurried grace. He reached out, his hand passing through Celestria's arm as if it were smoke, and grabbed Kaelen. He pulled the choking boy back through the shimmering portal.

The portal closed on one side and opened again three seats back. Kaelen tumbled out onto the floor, landing in a heap, coughing and gasping for air.

Celestria spun around, her face a mask of fury. "What is this, Theron? Get out of my way before I destroy this whole damn place."

"Celestria," the Headmaster said, his voice calm and steady. His portal skill was legendary. He could create dimensional doorways anywhere he could see. "You have it all wrong. He is innocent."

"How can you be so sure?" she spat. "Elvara told me everything that happened yesterday! She saw the anger in his eyes, the need for revenge! He was about to beat Azrael before he was stopped! Now tell me, do you have anything in his defense?"

"Yes," Theron said simply. "And not just his defense. I know who abducted him."

Her anger faded, replaced by a sharp, cold curiosity. "Are you sure? Then who? Tell me. Was it the council of our kingdom? Or someone else?"

"It was neither of them," the Headmaster replied, his expression grim. "The one who surely abducted him was someone I know. Someone you know."

"Don't play games with me," she warned. "Just give me the name."

Theron's eyes met hers. "Marius Strigoi."

She stared at him, a flicker of disbelief in her eyes. "Don't try to fool me. Why would he do that? If this is your trick to divert my anger, then you have failed."

"And why would I lie?" he countered. "I could easily defeat you, and you know that."

Pss. Celestria let out a short, cold laugh. "Do you still think so? You were stronger than me back in the Nexus academy, Theron. But things are different now. We are different."

Her tone hardened again. "Tell me why you said his name. What made you so sure?"

"I don't know why he did it," the Headmaster admitted. "But my Aether sense told me it was him. I would not be wrong about that. We have been with him there for too long. There is no mistaking his Aether presence. And besides that, a vampiric presence."

Celestria's mind raced. It made no sense, but Theron was not a man who made baseless claims.

"It has only been one day," she said, her voice dropping, her rage now focused into a sharp point. "We can catch him. And we can get our answers."

Her tone narrowed down. "Help me find him. You have the skills to get to him, and with your portals, we can hurry."

He nodded. "The direction I was last able to track him is leading towards the Verseile Forest. He was moving at a fast pace, perhaps using a carriage."

"It doesn't matter where he goes or how he gets there," Celestria said, already moving towards the door. "He will be found."

Sebastian joined at her side. The three of them left the stunned classroom and ran.

They moved through the academy grounds, a blur of motion. Theron would open a shimmering portal a hundred yards ahead, and they would pass through it, appearing instantly further on, only for another portal to open ahead of them.

They were teleporting across the land at an impossible speed.

As they leaped through another portal, emerging on a dusty road far from the academy, Theron spoke, his voice serious.

"Do you think, even if we catch him, we can defeat him?"

"I don't get why he is doing this," she said, her eyes fixed on the horizon. "But if he wants a defeat, we will give him one. We have you, me, and Sebastian. Of course we can."

He looked at her, a shadow of doubt in his wise eyes. "You are underestimating our year's ace of the academy, huh? Don't forget, Celestria. Our year had the most powerful monsters the world has seen in a century. And among all of us," he paused, "he was the one at the very top."