[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-am-a-villain-so-what":3,"chapter-i-am-a-villain-so-what-i-am-a-villain-so-what-chapter-56":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I Am a Villain, So What?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1506456,1956,"Chapter 56: Saved","i-am-a-villain-so-what-chapter-56",56,"\u003Cp>Eldric’s shadow loomed over me, blotting out the burning night sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above his palm, a beam of blood-red energy began to condense—dense, unstable, vibrating with the same destructive force that had erased entire blocks of the slums.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That beam was now aimed atme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My body moved on instinct. I flipped over, crawled, scrambled—hands bleeding as I dragged myself away like an animal trying to escape slaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t want to die...!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My voice was a rasp, barely audible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can’t die here!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had only just begun this second life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hadn’t evenlivedyet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They say that your life flashes before your eyes when you’re about to die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now I understood it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana’s tear-streaked face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My quiet evenings on Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My pathetic stats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My failures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My dreams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was stilltoo much I hadn’t done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn it... damn it... damn it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I clawed at the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My points were gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The system was silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the protagonist—Kael—just stood there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So that’s it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laughed breathlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A villain like me is fine to die? I’m just a trigger to awaken the hero? A piece of disposable character development?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is that all I was?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just an extra?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No... shut up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My nails dug into the dirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As if I’d die satisfied with that!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beam reached critical mass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world vibrated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eldric’s mouths opened to unleash annihilation—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—and then a woman’s voice cut through the night like a blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t touch the cadets of my academy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A wave of pressure exploded outward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eldricstopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He recoiled—like prey sensing a predator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A crimson blur streaked past me, landing between us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A red cape fluttered in the wind, embroidered with the Imperial insignia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha Everhart had arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She tapped her earpiece, voice cold and composed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hostile entity confirmed. Samantha Everhart, engaging. I’ll eliminate the threat swiftly and return.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Static crackled in response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Confirmed. We are securing the evacuation route.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She drew her weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A greatsword—massive, two-handed—engraved with runes that pulsed like beating hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red mana surged from her, spiraling upward like flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her presence was suffocating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not wild, not chaotic—controlled, crushing, absolute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eldric’s distorted voice trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[You... You’ve reachedthatrealm...?! Why is someone like you here?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha narrowed her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You fused with a count-ranked demon. It has been some years since I last killed one.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her gaze landed on the caved-in section of Eldric’s chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The divine bullet—Lucien’s divine bullet—was still embedded there, faint holy light crackling through the flesh, suppressing his regeneration and output.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That one shot had reduced Eldric’s power from near full capacity... down to only forty percent at best.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who did this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, Samantha’s eyes swept across the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was only one firearm user among the cadets—Cadet Martin... Lucien Ashborne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did a cadet obtain an anti-demon round powerful enough to embed itself in a Count-ranked demon’s core?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then it hit her like cold lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes widened ever so slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is not a typical anti-demon round.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is... a First-Order Divine Bullet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A relic bullet forged by the Holy Empire—a nation that was slaughtered into extinction centuries ago. A weapon reserved only for Saints, Inquisitors, and Holy Assassins. A weapon that should not exist in circulation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did he...? How did that boy acquire a treasure of the Fallen Empire?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t have time to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Daring to be distracted before me?!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eldric lunged, demon blood boiling, twisted limbs lashing forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha only sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her grip tightened around her greatsword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I suppose I should get serious.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade swung once—clean, decisive, effortless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A raging inferno exploded along its arc, filling the air with roaring flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Count never even finished his scream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His body was split from shoulder to hip—cleaved in a single stroke—and devoured by crimson fire until not even ash remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha tapped her communicator without turning back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hostile eliminated. Returning with one assistant instructor and six cadets. One requires medical attention.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Confirmed. Rescue teams are en route.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything blurred after that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had thought I’d handled myself well. That I’d fought impressively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the end—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My body gave in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world darkened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the last thing I remembered was being lifted onto a stretcher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Later – Imperial Academy General Hospital]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I finally opened my eyes, I was staring at a clean white ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside me, Alicia sat slumped in a chair, fast asleep, her face streaked with dried tears. Her head jerked up the moment I whispered her name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Alicia?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then her eyes overflowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"M-Master...?! MASTER!!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She threw her arms around me, clinging as if I might disappear again. Her voice trembled with every breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was crying. Hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I... didn’t know what to say at first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was so sad?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was so heartbreaking?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fight hadn’t just been dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had beenterrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chaotic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far beyond anything I was prepared for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet... I survived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart was still beating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, I lifted my arms and hugged Alicia back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I’m home,\" I murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later, the medical staff rushed into the room—alarmed by her shouting—and I was immediately subjected to a dozen tests and checks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did I finally learn the full aftermath of what happened that night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After I lost consciousness, Instructor Samantha handled the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eldric was eliminated, but the damage he left behind was catastrophic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many were injured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the estimated civilian casualties... exceeded over a hundred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some knights had lost their lives as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even worse were the discoveries in Eldric’s hidden laboratory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The truth of his research—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The human experiments involving kidnapped children—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The attempts to fuse human bodies with monsters—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The piles of bodies, both human and demon—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It shattered what little sense of safety the slums had left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the biggest question remained unanswered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did a weak alchemy researcher obtain so many demon corpses in the first place?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one had an answer yet. Only theories... none of them comforting.\u003C\u002Fp>",1002,"2026-06-06T04:52:02.137Z",1,"novelbin.me","c100d086be9188142c695ff8e4e0ec0bf2092317c24c388ef106b2a34377190b","i-am-a-villain-so-what-chapter-176","i-am-a-villain-so-what-chapter-55",230,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-am-a-villain-so-what-cover.jpg"]