Transmigrated as the Villain Between the Heroine and the Villainess

Azrael stared at the glowing screen.

"Survival of just a training?" he muttered. "That should be easy."

Then his eyes dropped to the reward.

One hundred thousand.

He felt a cold weight in his chest.

"This system would never give me something like that for free," he thought.

"It won't be easy. Nothing ever is."

He scratched his head and hissed. Hiss.

"Oh, I forgot. Hey system, where was my last reward for the villain's act?"

The blue screen flickered. It took its time.

Then words appeared.

[Quest Failed]

[Reason: Chosen path created an unknown timeline.]

Azrael clenched his teeth. Clench.

"What? I will go mad at this," he muttered. "I am not getting a single reward, not one."

He rubbed his face with his palm.

"System, what's it all about? This timeline thing. And how do you know these timelines?"

There was no response.

The blue screen stayed blank.

Azrael leaned back, his mind spinning.

He thought hard, calculating from the day this all started.

'The real Azrael said to change his fate. Then this system appeared. It was supposed to guide me to a different path. It shows options, like different roads I can choose. It knows about futures… different timelines. That means it's not normal. Someone godlike made this. Was it really Azrael? No. If it was him, he wouldn't have been begging me.'

He looked back at the screen.

"System," he said slowly. "Who designed you?"

The screen pulsed.

Then a line appeared.

[This system was designed by GO****]

[Access denied. System cannot go beyond this scope.]

Azrael froze. His breath caught. Gulp.

"That's more than enough," he thought. "I got my answer. There was no Azrael. It was someone else. GO… what starts with GO? Some name? Or maybe… a god. Yes, that would fit. A god made this."

He clenched his fist, nails digging into his skin.

"But why help me? Why help Azrael at all? What's the game here? I knew this world was cursed, but this is far beyond anything normal. Should I trust the so-called real Azrael? No. I can't take that risk. What if I succeed, only to be betrayed again?"

His jaw tightened.

"I will become stronger," he swore under his breath.

"Stronger than any being that comes my way. Even if I am betrayed, I will carve my own path. Good or evil, demon king or even god… I don't care."

The thought hit him again.

"System, how did I fail the previous quest?"

The answer came fast.

[Reason: Chosen path created an unknown timeline.]

He hissed, shaking his head. Tssk.

"Not this again."

He raised his voice.

"Didn't Azrael tell me to change fate? And now, when I do that, you punish me for creating unknown paths. Isn't that the same thing? You're just controlling me into your own chosen roads. And I bet those roads will only drag me into ruins."

The reply came.

[Response denied]

Then another line followed.

[Suggestion: Take your paths freely. However, no rewards will be given. System will help you take a path from your already chosen path...]

Azrael exhaled through his teeth. Hiss.

There was so much he didn't understand.

But one truth stood out clear.

'This system is not evil. If it wanted to control me, it would force me. But it doesn't. I can choose freely. The catch is the rewards. I can still act, but I might get nothing back.'

His eyes went back to the quest window.

This time the words cut deeper.

[Main Quest – Single Choice]

That meant one thing.

Either accept or reject.

And the reward was one hundred thousand.

Too much. Too clean. Too easy on the surface.

Azrael knew this system well. It never handed out prizes like that.

"This is no normal task," he whispered. "This is god tier."

His body trembled as he thought it over.

"Maybe I should give it a try. But… where is the quest? Where am I supposed to train? With whom? How would I even begin?"

He lifted his head.

"System?" he asked.

No response.

The screen blinked once, then faded away.

Azrael sat there, fists clenched. Clench.

The fire burned low outside the hut, and the festival noises grew quiet.

He laid back on the straw bed. His mind was a storm of questions with no answers.

As the night dragged on, his eyes grew heavy.

Sleep pulled him under.

Morning came fast.

The sun struck the rooftops, and the carriages stood ready at the village gate.

The party walked slowly, carrying their things.

At the entrance, a crowd had gathered.

Villagers waved, voices calling out.

"Safe journey, heroes!"

"Come back to us again!"

Sabrina and her husband stepped forward.

They bowed their heads to Azrael and the group.

"Thank you," Sabrina said, her eyes soft. "You've given us more than you know."

Her husband clasped Azrael's hand firmly. "The village owes you."

Children crowded near the wheels of the carriage.

"Hero! Show us your sword again!"

"Hero, next time, fight an even bigger ghost!"

And then the same persistent boy pushed through the legs of the others.

"Hero, hear me first!" he shouted.

Azrael groaned. "You again."

The boy puffed up his chest. "When you come back, you will train me! Then I will beat Uncle Ben, not in the morning, but in the night, until he cries!"

His mother dragged him back, apologizing, while Azrael pinched the bridge of his nose. Tssk.

The horses stamped the ground, ready to move.

The crowd's cheers echoed behind them as the carriage doors closed.

Azrael climbed inside and froze for a moment.

It was the same carriage from before, the same wooden seats creaking.

And somehow, everyone took the same spots again.

Selvara sat across from him.

Her ice-blue eyes glanced his way, then quickly looked down.

The wheels rolled, carrying them back to the academy.

For a while, no one spoke.

Then Selvara shifted, her hand brushing the hem of her dress.

"You seem lost in thought," she said, her voice low.

Azrael smirked faintly.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not."

Her eyes lingered on him.

She wanted to say more.

Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

Inside her chest, her heart pounded.

'Why do I feel like this?' she thought.

'Why do I want him to notice me? I am a demon, I should not care. But he makes me forget what I am. He makes me… want to be something else.'

She stole another glance at him.

He had closed his eyes, leaning back with arms crossed.

But she could tell he wasn't asleep.

Her fingers clenched into her lap. Clench.

'I can't say it. Not now. Not ever. If he knew what I really am… he would never look at me the same way.'

Azrael cracked one eye open, catching her stare.

'She's burning inside,' he thought. 'She wants to tell me. But she won't. She can't.'

He let out a soft hiss and leaned back again. Hiss.

'And maybe it's better that way. Some truths are too sharp to speak out loud.'

The silence between them grew thick, but it was not empty.

It carried something unspoken, something neither wanted to admit.

Selvara turned her head, pretending to study the passing trees.

A faint blush warmed her cheeks.

Azrael gave the smallest grin, hidden by the tilt of his head.

He knew exactly where this was going.

Hours passed.

The forests thinned, the roads grew smoother.

And then, the walls of the academy rose in the distance.

The gates loomed taller with every turn of the wheels.

The air felt heavier. Colder.

Each step of the horses carried them closer to what awaited.

Azrael opened his eyes fully, staring ahead.

"Back again," he whispered.