When Vinny opened his eyes yet again, he found himself in a campus drowned in blood and fire, surrounded on all sides by an unbearable sea of corpses and shattered ruins.

The campus, where blood flowed like a river, was filled with a thick, choking stench of iron that made one want to retch.

This place, its face utterly changed into a land of chaos, could only barely be recognized as Carillian Academy from the vague outlines that remained.

Carillian Academy—how did it end up like this??

Vinny’s heart lurched. This was the complete opposite of the magnificent, vibrant campus of the past. When he compared it to the Carillian Academy he remembered, all he felt was endless shock and bitter emotion.

And yet, Vinny unexpectedly realized that this scene—this situation—carried a faint sense of familiarity, as if he had already seen it somewhere before.

How? How could he possibly have seen something like this? Not even in a dream would he have seen a scene this hideous and unbearable, right??

Ah, right.

A flash of understanding cut across Vinny’s mind. He seemed to remember where he had seen this sight before.

Wasn’t this the very scene from the BAN END of Carillian Citrus from his previous life, where the villain big-bad Vinny slaughtered everything in sight??

How could this be? Why had he come here??

“Are you admiring your own masterpiece?”

A cool, familiar girl’s voice woke Vinny’s consciousness. He slowly lifted his head. The familiar black-haired, violet-eyed girl looked down on him from on high, staring at him coldly, without the slightest trace of emotion.

Behind the cold, black-haired beauty, several luxurious golden spears inlaid with gems floated in the air, guarding her flanks like utterly loyal sentinels.

“I…” Vinny tried to move, but found that his whole body was covered in wounds. His legs seemed to have been pierced through by Isatia’s Spirit Soul; without any strength to support himself, all he could do was kneel on the ground. He couldn’t even manage the simple act of lifting a hand.

“Do you have any last defense? Save it for hell. You can confess your sins to the Goddess after that.” Isatia spoke each word distinctly. Her voice was sharper and colder than the golden spears behind her.

“Incorrigible demon. The unforgivable sins you committed against the people of the Tyrelis Continent—letting you die this easily would be far too cheap.”

“A descendant of House of Facilis, and one day you actually degenerated into this.” Isatia’s tone was still icy, but now that ice carried deep loathing and unbridled disgust.

In the next instant, several golden spears pierced straight through his body.

Just like before, he wasn’t given the slightest chance to explain. He didn’t even know where he could begin to explain from.

What… was this??

Vinny’s eyes went wide. He opened his mouth, but whether his throat was clogged full of blood, or for some other reason, not a single word came out. All he could do was lift his gaze upward like this, until at last he toppled over onto the ground.

What on earth were all these things??

Why was he…?

Could it be that everything he had done up to now—all of his efforts—had been for nothing??

Vinny didn’t know. All he knew was that his consciousness was growing more and more muddled, and the haze hanging over his head seemed to be growing heavier and heavier.

In that span of time, countless images flickered through his mind. Eyes open, eyes closed—he saw a familiar sword thrust through his chest.

The burning pain in his heart spread at once. Vinny felt like every breath he took tore at him so badly it was splitting his heart open, and in front of him stood a silver-haired girl and a golden-haired girl, both staring at him with indifferent expressions.

“Lackey of the Demon Pillars whose sins overflow—go to hell.” Aesphyra folded her arms, smiling as she spoke.

But unlike her usual smiles, the smile on Aesphyra’s lips now was nothing but cold mockery and killing intent.

Vinny’s heart clenched. He had never seen Aesphyra smiling at him like this. It felt as if countless cold blades were stabbing into his heart, then ripping it apart from every direction. His whole being felt like it was plunging into a frozen abyss.

In Mirexia’s eyes there was still disappointment, but clearly, she felt that his end was nothing but his own doing. She no longer held the slightest attachment to him.

“Looks like no matter how many chances we give you, it can’t change your rotten core.”

“You’re still the same as ever.” Aesphyra’s lifeless eyes stared at Vinny.

Vinny wanted to say something, but not a single word would come out. The pain drilling through his heart—he didn’t even know if it was because his heart had been torn apart by the holy sword, or for some other reason—made him wish he were dead.

He quickly realized that the ones looking down on him coldly weren’t only Aesphyra and Mirexia. Isatia was there too, face expressionless, and Shicodale as well—so timid he didn’t even dare look at Vinny, as if merely letting Vinny appear in his field of view would cause him mental contamination.

‘Do you understand now?’

‘Stereotypes don’t change just because of what you do.’

In his dazed haze, Vinny heard a voice beside his ear, its pitch so blurred he couldn’t tell if it belonged to a man or a woman.

‘Open your eyes and take a good look.’

Vinny lifted his gaze in confusion and found countless people standing below the platform. They were shouting up at him, expressing how delighted they were by this execution, as if his death were the outcome that everyone had always hoped for.

‘Have you gotten a good look at the faces of these people? The crowd is ignorant. They won’t change their view of you because you changed, nor will they thank you for saving them. It’s always been that way.’

‘You think you got a chance to start over, but in reality? Every last one of them is harboring ulterior motives toward you. Every one of them has designs on you.’

‘From beginning to end, you’ve always been standing alone on an island.’

‘You’ve always been by yourself. The only person you can trust has always been you—and pure power.’

‘Only when you yourself possess pure, overwhelming power does the truth exist. Only then can you shut all their mouths.’

‘What? For a world that will spit on you forever no matter what you do, are you really still reluctant to let go?’

‘A world like this—even if it were destroyed, what would it have to do with you? Rather than drifting along with them, you might as well follow your own nature.’

At those words, Vinny said nothing.

Head lowered, all he could hear were the countless filthy curses and cheers from the crowd below. When he lifted his head, all he could see were the Destiny Heroines’ icy, merciless faces—their deep loathing, their wish to tear him limb from limb—and the holy sword stabbed into his chest, tirelessly drinking away his life.

Forcing him to spend his final moments in endless despair and pain.

‘Lonely? Desperate? Good. That’s how it should be. This is your true fate.’

‘If you don’t choose to resist a fate like this, if all you do is run away, then you can only sink deeper into this abyss.’

‘If you don’t kill, you’ll be killed.’

Those words repeated in Vinny’s mind like a curse that wouldn’t stop playing, and Vinny remained silent from start to finish. All that greeted him were the Destiny Heroines’ chilling indifference and killing intent, and the crowd’s spit and abuse.

When all was said and done, that silver-haired girl so familiar to him walked up to him with an expression utterly unfamiliar, and mocked him without mercy.

“With that look on your face, don’t tell me you’re still hoping I’ll show you mercy?”

“Pfft, pfft, did I hit the nail on the head? That expression you’ve got right now is really funny, Classmate Vinny~ just like a wounded little dog.”

“You don’t seriously think I’d be friends with some freak—some thug like you, do you?”

“All right, happy game time’s over. I’ve tormented you this long, my great grudge is paid back, and I’ve had my fun.”

“Now, please go die.” Aesphyra said with a teasing smile.

‘Still planning to sit there and wait for death?’

‘Are you going to keep running away until you die, or are you going to risk everything once?’ The voice paused for a moment.

‘Whether you can rewrite your fate depends on how you choose. After all, not even gods can save someone who refuses to save himself.’

The scene suddenly shifted. Vinny found that he had been freed from the execution grounds. The surroundings turned into a night so dark he could scarcely see anything; the people who had mocked, jeered, and cursed him were gone.

The only thing that hadn’t changed was Aesphyra, still standing right where she was, staring at him silently.

And at his side stood a luxurious sword, coiled about with a flying dragon and glimmering with golden light. Its magic-power was vast, and it felt as if the instant he drew it, he could easily overturn the world, gaining power enough to rival everything.

All he had to do was reach out, and he could touch it.

‘What are you still spacing out for? The silver-haired woman in front of you has ill intentions. She’s always wanted to kill you, and now she’s going to do it. If you don’t save yourself, today will be the day you die.’

‘If you don’t draw the divine sword, you’ll find enemies wherever you look.’

‘Without pure power, all you can do is lie there on the chopping block.’

“Pure… power?” Vinny felt the haze over his mind growing thicker and thicker. His consciousness was becoming more and more clouded. He was gradually losing the ability to think normally. The scenes he’d just experienced had tormented him beyond endurance. At this moment, he instinctively and desperately wanted to escape this situation.

“What I need… is pure power?”

Vinny didn’t know. Right now all he knew was that the sword before him was incredibly tempting, as if it were silently urging him on, pushing him to hurry up and claim it, to draw it and make it his.

‘What are you still waiting for? This is the moment. There’s still some distance between her and you. If you reach out for the sword right now, she won’t have time to stop you at all!’

At those words, Vinny reflexively stretched out his hand toward the radiant divine sword.

“Vinny, stop.”

Right then, Aesphyra called out to him.

Vinny froze.

Because in that one line from Aesphyra, he felt a familiarity he hadn’t felt in a long time—unlike the earlier coldness that was nothing but pure malice and chill.

It was only a few words, but in those few words Vinny sensed a long-lost warmth.

Urgency, worry, solemn focus—and a faint hint of care.

That complex tangle of feelings in her tone made Vinny blank out for a moment and halt his movement.

And seizing that very instant, Aesphyra moved fast, darting in and kicking aside the hand Vinny was stretching toward the “divine sword.”

‘What are you spacing out for?! Do you have any idea how dangerous this woman is?? She’s a Hero bearing the [Holy Sword]!’

‘You clearly had a chance. Hurry up and attack this woman, take back the divine sword, or you’ll have no chance of winning!’

Staring at Aesphyra, who now stood firmly between him and the “divine sword,” refusing to yield even an inch, Vinny was stunned.

His gaze met Aesphyra’s. In those eyes, there was no drive to hound him to the ends of the earth, no malice toward him, not a shred of coldness or killing intent. There was only sternness, depth, calm—and a sliver of urgency that almost never appeared in her eyes.

“Vinny, are you trying to die??” Aesphyra’s words finally carried emotional fluctuation—but coldness was the one thing they didn’t contain.

“Aesphyra?” Vinny looked at her with clouded, unfocused eyes. Right now he was like someone who had just nearly drowned and barely been dragged out, full of fear and terror toward everything around him.

“You… Aesphyra?” Vinny was just about to say something when the earlier scene of Aesphyra killing him suddenly surged up in his mind—the image of her leading the Destiny Heroines and the crowd to execute him.

‘Don’t go near her. You and she are mortal enemies. She will never let you go, and she will never forget the hatred of the past.’

‘The only thing you can do right now is take advantage of her guard being down and seize the divine sword. Otherwise, all that awaits you is being marched to the execution grounds.’

‘Don’t blank out. Don’t cling to wishful thinking. Have you forgotten what she did to you??’

That voice appeared again, disrupting Vinny’s judgment and thoughts.

“Aesphyra… will kill me?”

‘Of course. You don’t actually think a Hero would spare a demon like you—an enemy of life and death with a sea of blood between you—do you?’

‘Right now, only if you rise up and resist do you have the slightest chance to live.’

“……” Vinny pressed a hand to his forehead and fell silent. Then he walked toward Aesphyra. He walked toward the “divine sword.”

‘Yes, that’s it. Earn her trust, pretend to surrender, and then when she’s off guard, seize the divine sword!’

Under Aesphyra’s gaze, Vinny walked toward her, but he stopped three steps away.

He did not follow the voice’s instructions. After a brief moment, he lifted his eyes, those panic-stricken pupils locking onto Aesphyra.

“Aesphyra… are you here to save me, or to kill me?” Vinny asked blankly.

“Classmate Vinny, if you can even ask that question, you really are a hopeless idiot.” Aesphyra stood where she was, arms folded.

She didn’t answer the question directly, but her tone answered in her place.

Hearing that familiar tone, the taut string inside Vinny snapped all at once. He collapsed forward like a puppet with its strings cut, falling into Aesphyra’s arms—and Aesphyra caught him without the slightest hesitation or guard.

The cool fragrance of roses and camellias rushed into his nose at once. That familiar body scent made him feel, in an instant, just like someone who had nearly drowned and finally been dragged ashore, suddenly wrapped in security, as if someone had gently placed him down beside a warm campfire.

“Idiot.” Aesphyra held Vinny, letting him sink into her embrace. Her tone was clearly scolding him, but her actions were as gentle as could be, the complete opposite of her words.

She stroked Vinny’s hair and felt his whole body trembling, like a child who had just escaped danger and returned to his parents’ side.

This was the first time she had ever seen Vinny this pathetic in front of her, casting aside every last shred of his mask and pride.

The guy who used to be best at acting tough and mouthing off had become this fragile, this breakable.

Aesphyra didn’t know why, but seeing it made her chest tighten uncomfortably.

For a while, she probably didn’t even realize that her woman’s instinct to nurture was surging up like a breached flood.

“All right, it’s over. I’m here. With me protecting you, no one’s going to hurt you.” Aesphyra hugged Vinny closer, letting him curl up in her arms, and whispered into his ear.

“Huuh, huuuh! Classmate Vinny! A-are you okay??”

And right after that, Shicodale hurried over as well, panting, with Mirexia rushing along behind him.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep