Transmigrated as the Villain Between the Heroine and the Villainess

The black pillar of energy vanished into the sky, leaving a deafening silence in its wake. The oppressive, malevolent aura that had crushed the forest was gone.

The thing that had been Balzureth, the demon that had worn their friend's face, was gone. Marius Strigoi lay on the ground, his body still and lifeless, the gaping wounds no longer closing. He was finally at peace.

Liora, the goddess, stood in the center of the carnage. Her gaze swept over the scene. She saw the Headmaster's broken body, the headless corpse of the loyal butler, Sebastian.

Her eyes then fell upon Celestria, lying helpless in a growing pool of her own blood, her hand a mangled ruin.

Finally, she looked at Azrael. The power from his Limit Break had faded, leaving him a bruised, bloodied mess, unable to even stand. He was on his hands and knees, the steel cuffs still hanging loosely from one wrist. Tears came to the goddess's eyes.

She came forward, her steps making no sound on the broken earth. She knelt in front of him and gently put a hand on his cheek.

A warm, gentle energy flowed from her palm into his body. The searing pain from his stretched ligaments, the deep ache in his bones, the raw burn on his chest, it all vanished, replaced by a soothing calm. He was healed.

"Finally," she whispered, her voice thick with an ancient sadness. "You came. I was waiting for you, son."

He stared at her, his mind a complete blank. 'Son?' The word didn't make any sense. He was unable to form a question. 'What son? Who the hell is she? Wait... who the hell was Azrael? Who the hell am I?'

She smiled, a sad, motherly smile, and gently patted his hair. "Why is it always you? Why do you have to go through all this?"

"Huh?" was all he could manage.

She stood up and walked back, her gaze moving from him to his sister. She knelt beside Celestria, touching the crushed, bloody hand. The same warm light enveloped Celestria's body. The broken bones knitted back together, the torn flesh mended, and the color returned to her pale face. She was as good as new.

As she healed his sister, Liora's own form began to flicker, becoming transparent.

"Azrael," she said, her voice starting to fade. "My daughter is waiting. Waiting for you. Don't forget her sacrifice."

She looked at him one last time, her eyes pleading. "Please, this time—"

She didn't finish. Her form dissolved into a thousand tiny motes of light and vanished, leaving only the scent of ozone and a profound sense of loss.

Celestria sat up, looking at her perfectly healed hand, then at the empty space where the goddess had been. She looked at Azrael, her face a mask of utter confusion. He could only stare back.

She got to her feet and came over to him. "What was all this?" she demanded, her voice shaking slightly. "What just happened?"

"I am more confused than you are," he said, his voice raw. "Trust me, I don't know a single thing. I don't know who that demon was or what I did to him. And that goddess... it's my first time seeing her."

Celestria looked up at the sky, at the tear in reality that was slowly stitching itself closed. "This can't be a coincidence. It wasn't an accident. There's something missing."

She looked at the bodies of their fallen comrades. "If this was intentional, then I am afraid. Afraid of what might happen next." She looked back at Azrael. "We should move from here. This place is dangerous." She paused. "It feels like a bad omen."

"We must honor them," she said, her voice hardening with resolve. "The ones who fought. You pick Marius up. I will take care of the other two."

He nodded. He walked over to Marius's body and bent down. He hooked his arms under the vampire's shoulders and tried to lift.

He stumbled. His legs, no longer empowered by the skill, buckled under the weight. He fell to the ground in a heap next to his friend's corpse.

Celestria watched him, her cold personality returning. "Why?" she asked, the question sharp and bitter. "Why are demons and gods after a weakling like you?"

She didn't wait for an answer. Using her Aether Creation power, she formed a simple, sturdy cart from the surrounding dirt and wood. She placed the three bodies carefully upon it.

"Let's go back home," she said, her voice flat. "We have things to discuss. And things to do."

He followed her, and they began the long walk back through the silent, broken forest. She pulled the cart, her steps heavy. He walked beside her.

She didn't look at him. It was an awkward, suffocating silence, filled only by the quiet crunch of their boots on the leaves and the gentle creak of the cart's wheels. He had to break it.

"Celestria," he began, his voice quiet. "Why did you want to protect me back then? Wouldn't it have been best if I had died? A weak, cowardly, menace of a noble... a brother like me is a burden to you."

He wanted an answer from her. He knew from the story that, deep down, she still loved the brother he was pretending to be.

She didn't say anything for a long time. But he saw a change in her cold demeanor, a slight trembling in her shoulders.

After what felt like a full hour of walking, she finally spoke, her voice thick with unshed tears.

"I don't know," she whispered. "I don't know why I protected you. Why I put my life on the line for you. Why I let my comrades die for you."

She stopped walking and turned to face him, her violet eyes swimming with a pain he had never seen before. "A person who doesn't deserve it. Not a single bit of it."

"You have caused only trouble for me," she said, the words tumbling out, a dam of grief finally breaking. "While I considered you my only one in this world."

He was confused. 'What did Azrael do to her?'

"You brought only pain into my life," she continued, her voice cracking. "Because of you, my friendship was broken in Elarion, at the Ethereal Nexus Academy. Next, Because of your dirty deeds, I have to be evil. I have to hide your sins, to erase them. You were nothing but a sadness for me. Yet here I am. Still protecting you."

Tears were now openly streaming down her face.

Azrael looked at her, at the raw, unfiltered agony of a sister who had sacrificed everything. He didn't know why, but he felt the crushing weight of her words, the guilt of a life he had never lived.

When and how did this stupid, original Azrael commit these sins?

And what would come next? Who else would come for revenge?