Transmigrated as the Villain Between the Heroine and the Villainess

Kaelen's legs trembled as he stood.

Every muscle burned, every bone ached, every cut stung like fire. His body was ruined, broken by Azrael's fists and his own desperate strikes.

But the man in the dark hood was not Azrael. He was something else.

He had walked through the slaughter like he owned it. Like the blood and the screaming were nothing but a stage for him.

This wasn't a duel.

This was an execution.

Kaelen's chest rose and fell, heavy with rage.

'No. I will not fall here. I am Kaelen Valerius. I am the hero. I am a prince. I do not lose.'

Golden light flared around his battered body. The last of his strength. His last stand.

With a raw cry, he charged. His aura burned bright, holy power coating his sword as he pushed his ruined body forward.

The hooded man only smiled. He didn't even raise a hand.

A swirling vortex of black Aether appeared before him. It spun in the air like a whirlpool, sucking at the light itself.

Kaelen's sword slammed into it.

Darkness exploded.

The golden aura around him dimmed as if it were being eaten alive. His holy power crumbled, pulled apart by the black energy.

Tendrils shot out of the vortex. Long, cold whips of shadow pierced his arms, his legs, his chest.

Kaelen screamed. A raw, broken sound that cut through the chaos of the arena. His body convulsed as his own strength was stripped away.

The man flicked his wrist, casual as a bored teacher dismissing a class.

Kaelen was hurled backward, crashing into the sand. His sword slipped from his fingers. His aura died out. His body twitched, then went still.

The crowd gasped. The sound wasn't cheers. It wasn't even cries. It was silence.

The hero of the manga lay in the dirt like nothing more than another casualty.

The hooded man walked slowly, each step deliberate. He reached Kaelen's limp form and grabbed him by the foot.

The body of the golden prince dragged across the bloody sand, leaving a trail behind.

From the center of the arena, Azrael's chest tightened. His own body throbbed, his shoulder screaming, but none of that mattered.

'What's happening?' his mind raced. 'He lost. Just like that. Is this… because of me?'

The memory of their fight flashed through him his fists slamming into Kaelen's face, his mocking grin as he beat the golden boy into the ground.

'Did I break him before this fight could? Did I crush him so badly his Battleborn Will didn't answer when he needed it most? Shit.'

For the first time, panic ran through Azrael like cold water.

He thought of moving. Of doing something. Of standing in front of Kaelen even though he hated him. But his body betrayed him. His Limit Break was gone. His arm was half-dead. His stamina burned out.

'The story's broken,' he thought, dread in his chest. 'The hero wasn't supposed to lose here. Losing him means everything ends. Without him, the future of this world… it's gone. I can't fix it. Not now.'

His fists clenched weakly. Clench.

'But I'm still standing. If the world is going to collapse, then I'll be strong enough to face it. Even if I'm the only one left.'

The hooded man kept dragging Kaelen like he was a trophy.

But before he could reach the broken wall of the arena, light flashed.

"Get your filthy hands off him!"

Seraphina landed hard in the sand, crystal shards scattering from her boots.

Her body blazed with Aether, pure crystal energy radiating off her in furious waves. Her hair whipped in the wind her power created, her eyes full of fire.

Behind her, fire and lightning tore through the air. Orion and Lyra came together, side by side, their faces grim, their weapons ready.

A streak of white starlight shot from the stands. It smashed into the ground in front of the hooded man, throwing up a plume of dust. He stepped back, just slightly.

Elvara dropped beside Seraphina, her eyes glowing, her staff raised. Starlight wrapped around her like a mantle, her small frame burning with power she herself barely understood.

The hooded man looked at the four of them. Seraphina, Elvara, Orion, Lyra. The strongest of their generation, standing shoulder to shoulder in defiance.

He let out a soft, amused laugh.

Pss.

Azrael's eyes narrowed. 'Why are they protecting him? It's suicide. But… wait.'

He saw it. The way their powers formed a rhythm, fire with lightning, crystal with starlight. Not perfect, but close. Together, they weren't random. They were a storm.

'If they fight as one… they might actually stand a chance.'

The battle erupted.

Seraphina thrust her hands forward. A forest of crystal spikes shot from the sand, sharp as blades, surrounding the hooded man.

He floated into the air with a lazy tilt of his head. The crystals snapped beneath him like glass.

Orion and Lyra combined their power. Lightning wrapped around flames, the two energies twisting together into a roaring tornado. It shot forward, a storm hot enough to scorch stone.

The man raised his hand. Darkness pooled into a wall, swallowing the firestorm whole.

Elvara struck from above. Beams of starlight fell like arrows. They hit the sand, burning holes into the ground. But the man moved like smoke, sliding between each one.

For a moment, the four of them had him moving.

They shouted, coordinated, pressed him from every side.

But it wasn't enough.

The man's lips curled into a smile. Slow. Cruel. "Impressive," he said, his voice low. "But you are still just children."

He clapped his hands.

BOOM!

A black shockwave burst from him. Silent, but heavy as stone. It slammed into them all at once, breaking their combined rhythm.

Seraphina screamed as she was thrown across the sand. Elvara hit the ground hard, her staff skidding away. Orion and Lyra crashed together, the breath torn out of them.

They groaned, bruised, bloodied, struggling to rise.

The hooded man sighed.

Tssk.

His voice was pitying. "A waste of time."

Kaelen's body was still tethered to him by a dark tendril. He began to drag again.

"We're not done yet!"

Orion staggered to his feet, lightning sparking weakly around him. His body trembled, but his eyes still burned. He charged, faster than thought, a streak of desperate defiance.

The hooded man didn't even turn.

Snap.

A spear of black energy shot from the ground, piercing Orion's chest clean through.

The boy stopped mid-stride. His eyes widened. Blood bubbled from his lips. He fell. His lightning flickered out.

"ORION!"

Lyra's scream ripped through the arena. She dropped to her knees beside his body, tears pouring down her face. Her hand shook as it clutched his arm, but his eyes had already gone glassy.

The scream turned to rage. Fire erupted from her body. Not controlled, not shaped wild, burning, desperate. She hurled it at the hooded man, a sea of flames that lit up the whole arena.

He didn't even blink.

A single wave of his hand. Darkness spread like water, smothering the fire in an instant.

Lyra collapsed, her body shaking, the last of her energy gone.

Seraphina and Elvara froze. Terror rooted them to the sand. Their eyes stayed locked on the hooded man, their minds blank with fear.

He turned to them, calm again.

"Will you not avenge your comrades?" he asked, mocking. "Pathetic. But I suppose it doesn't matter. You will die all the same. You delayed me. You killed my followers. You wasted my time."

A sphere of black energy swirled in his palm, growing larger, heavier. He aimed it straight at Elvara.

Her knees shook. She couldn't raise her staff. She knew this was the end.

Then—

Clang!

A blur cut in front of her. Azrael.

His gauntlet smoked, the black metal glowing faintly from where it had deflected the blast. His left shoulder screamed in agony, the joint barely holding. His arm hung limp, useless.

But he stood.

The hooded man's eye twitched. "Another pest," he growled, his tone dark and sharp. "I'm losing patience. All of you just die already!"

Dark energy pooled again in his hands. The sphere this time was twice as large, the air warping around it.

Before he could release it, a new sound tore across the arena.

Crack.

Then another.

And another.

Like ice splitting on a frozen lake.

Walls of black ice shot up in front of Azrael. One, then another, then another. Ten thick barriers, one behind the other, forming a frozen fortress.

The dark sphere hit the first wall. It shattered. The second broke. The third cracked. The fourth splintered. Each one slowed the blast a little more.

By the time the last wall broke, the sphere was nothing but smoke and heat. A rush of steam rolled over Azrael's body. He blinked through it, alive.

The hooded man's head whipped to the side. His voice was sharp, furious.

"Selvara. What are you doing?"

At the edge of the ruined wall, Selvara stood. Her hands glowed with black frost, her pale eyes steady.

She had chosen.