I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 24 - The Vain Man (5)

Shreeeeek—!

The air was sliced with a sharp sound.

Following it, a spear rushed forward.

It was a straight, swift attack.

I calmly raised my sword like a shield.

Thunk—!

A heavy impact was transmitted to my hand.

Naturally, my body was pushed back.

The strength behind that attack was unbelievable, especially considering it came from such a slender figure.

As I quickly regained my stance, a taunt came flying my way, as if it had been waiting for me.

“You’re holding out longer than I expected. I thought you’d be down with just one strike.”

Her lips twisted into a sneer.

In her hand was a spear made of ice.

It was Emilia’s ability, [Frost].

“But you’re nothing more than a mere insect!!”

Whoosh—!

From behind, I heard the sharp whistle of something speeding toward me.

I easily twisted my body to dodge it.

Crack—!

An arrow struck the ground where I had been standing.

I turned my head to see shards of ice flying toward me from my blind spot.

It was a surprise attack aimed at exploiting an opening.

But I remained unfazed.

“Oh my~ This is troublesome.”

Swish—!

I casually swung my sword, slicing through the arrow.

The ice fragments scattered to the ground.

“Tch...!”

The girl clicked her tongue as she retreated.

Her blue eyes were filled with deep frustration.

Was she starting to waver?

The phoney top student she had expected to easily overpower was gracefully parrying all her attacks.

I smiled brightly.

“It seems things aren’t going as planned for you, are they?”

“Hah...!”

She let out a bitter laugh.

Perhaps she hadn’t expected to be taunted by someone she had dismissed as an insect.

Her mental state was easily shaken.

“How dare someone like you...!”

“Oh dear.”

Shriiiing!

A sharp, piercing sound rang out.

The emotional thrust of her spear was swallowed by my shadow. We clashed for a moment, our weapons locked in a struggle.

Her eyes, wide with fury, were full of venom.

Grind... Thud!

I shoved the girl back with a rough push, creating some distance between us.

“This is disappointing.”

I continued to tease her with a smile.

“You spoke so confidently, but it’s been 30 minutes, and you haven’t even grazed me once.”

“Shut up.”

“At this rate, being top student is going to be difficult.”

“I said shut up...!”

Ah, how delightful.

This is what dopamine feels like.

Her reactions were so satisfying that it was impossible to stop provoking her.

Even as I deflected the occasional sharp thrust of her spear, I continued to grin and taunt her.

“How about you at least try to hit my foot?”

“I’ll tear you apart. I swear I’ll rip that mouth of yours...!”

“That sounds exciting~! Could you let me know when you plan to do that?”

“How dare you speak to the daughter of Vanity like that...!”

“The level of the Vanity family must be truly remarkable. To think this is the best their heir can do.”

Shriing! Crack, grind...!

The sharper the sounds of our clash, the more Emilia was swept up in her emotions.

Before long, the duel took on a one-sided dynamic.

“Huff, huff...!”

Emilia was panting heavily as if she was exhausted.

Her blue hair was drenched in sweat.

At this point, her legs should’ve given out, but she still clung to her spear.

I guess she really is tenacious.

“Huff... Huff...!”

“You have excellent skills... but you were unfortunate in your choice of opponent.”

This was sincere.

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As much as I enjoyed teasing her, I had no intention of belittling her abilities.

Emilia was undoubtedly one of the top talents of her generation.

Her solid fundamentals, honed through relentless effort.

Her mastery of overwhelming ice magic, her spearmanship, her marksmanship, her psychological tactics—all of it far exceeded the level of a student.

With just a bit of exaggeration, two Emilias could probably take on Charlotte.

Her talent was undeniable.

It was confidence born from solid grounds.

She had every right to be proud.

It’s just... her opponent wasn’t human.

“Haha~ That kind of attack won’t reach me.”

Shriing—!

Once again, I deflected an arrow that came from my blind spot.

The ice shards fell away, powerless.

Even the onlookers began to murmur.

The students were stunned.

–What... What are we even seeing?

–Lady Vanity can’t land a single hit? Is she not in top form...?

–The phoney top student is fighting way too well.

–He’s completely overwhelming her.

–He’s been defending himself the entire time, as if... as if he’s...

‘Toying with her.’

Emilia must have heard the whispers too.

The reactions of the onlookers.

Her carefully constructed reputation was crumbling, and the stage she had meticulously prepared was turning into a trap that ensnared her.

It was a moment that tore open the scars left by her inferiority complex.

“Wouldn’t it be better to give up while you're ahead?”

“......”

I threw her words back at her, the ones she had said before the duel started.

Now that I had decided to take this seriously, I planned to trample her thoroughly, until she was nothing but rags.

Of course, it didn’t seem like she was willing to accept that.

After catching her breath for a moment, she clenched her fists and glared at me.

“...Who do you think you are?”

A sticky sense of murderous intent radiated from her.

How persistent.

It seemed she was determined to see this through to the end.

Emilia discarded her ice spear and began to gather power in her hands.

Her once-clear blue eyes were now clouded.

“I will never lose to someone like you... I cannot, I will not, lose.”

Crackle, crackle—!

Blue sparks crackled around her.

Her mana began to surge explosively.

She was forcing the last of her mana to collide and creating a state of “Mana Overload” through tens of thousands of frictions.

It was a reckless technique that required extreme control just to attempt.

In the turbulent flow of energy.

Her crimson lips recited an incantation.

“O winter of fierce cold.

Meribel, who once brought forth the frost flowers upon an innocent world before records were made.

Heed the call of your rightful heir.

I yearn for your glorious slaughter.

I gather the tears of the fallen witches to build a tower of sorrow.

Erase everything.”

- Emilia’s Frost Magic Ultimate Move -

'Frostbite'

As soon as her incantation ended, the temperature around us plummeted.

Frost began to form at Emilia’s feet.

White puffs of breath escaped her lips.

Behind her, massive chunks of ice floated in the air.

“Haa...”

A sky filled with tens of thousands of ice spears.

I took in the breathtaking sight, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

So, she’s finally using her ultimate move.

I’ve only ever seen this from behind a screen in the game, but seeing it in person is something else entirely.

Shreeeeeek—!

The pressure was no joke.

It was overwhelming.

Even the noisy students in the stands fell silent.

“......”

“......”

Our eyes met for a brief moment.

There was no hint of defeat in either of our gazes.

Only the conviction, or the arrogance, that each of us would emerge victorious.

A fleeting standoff.

“O winter.”

The peace shattered in an instant.

Her crimson lips recited the final line.

“Unleash your fury.”

At the same time.

The tens of thousands of spears that filled the sky all descended at once.

It was like a rainstorm of icy blue.

Shraaaaaa—!!

The torrent of spears was, of course, aimed directly at me.

A deluge of despairing ice.

But.

“Hehe.”

Even in that situation, I smiled.

As if I couldn’t contain my joy.

“How impressive.”

Since she had shown something so spectacular, it was my turn to show her something in return.

I slowly extended my hand.

Dark mist swirled.

I calmly condensed my “Lies.”

Shreeeeeek—!!

The sound of air being torn apart echoed.

I formed my fingers into the shape of a gun and aimed at the falling spears.

The shadows quivered.

“Hehe.”

No need to go overboard like I did with Charlotte.

This time, it was just a simple difference in strength.

I crushed her with pure power.

Gathering the energy in my hand, I murmured the incantation as if pulling a trigger.

“Shatter.”

Click.

The next moment.

The entire arena was engulfed in darkness.

***

The students were all filled with excitement.

The duel between the phoney top student and the villainess.

“Lady Vanity finally drew her sword.”

“I feel sorry for that guy.”

“The Snakes’ heir... He’s surprisingly skilled, but still, he doesn’t really deserve to be the top student.”

“Does it even make sense that he beat the Princess?”

“Well, at least we’ve got some good entertainment.”

Even if they didn’t express it as openly as Emilia did, many students had doubts about the class placement exam results.

For them, this duel was bound to be interesting.

It was a chance to see the boy’s true abilities, which had been obscured by Charlotte’s barrier during the last exam.

“Who do you think will win?”

“Well, obviously, Lady Vanity.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“She’s an outstanding person. If it weren’t for Her Highness, she would’ve taken the top spot long ago.”

“They say there’s no one her age who can match her in frost magic.”

No one expected an upset.

Everyone was familiar with the reputation of the name “Emilia.”

“I’m betting Lady Vanity will win within a minute.”

“Then I’ll bet 30 seconds!”

“Aren’t you all underestimating her? I’m thinking 5 seconds.”

The students in the stands were busy predicting the outcome.

The top student’s defeat was all but certain.

However.

Contrary to the students’ expectations of a quick, one-sided conclusion.

The fight turned into an intense clash.

Shriing! Grind...! Thud!

At first, it seemed like both of them were holding their own.

“What the? He’s holding out longer than I thought.”

“His movements are clean, and his form isn’t bad... Didn’t they say he was just a phoney?”

“Right? He’s pretty good.”

“He’s going to lose eventually, but... wait, what?”

As time passed, the atmosphere began to change.

The balance started to tip.

While Emilia was showing signs of strain, the boy was dodging her attacks with ease.

He hadn’t even attacked once.

“What... What are we even seeing?”

“Lady Vanity can’t land a single hit? Is she not in top form...?”

“The phoney top student is fighting way too well.”

“He’s completely overwhelming her.”

“He’s been defending himself the entire time, as if... as if he’s... toying with her.”

The villainess was clearly being outmatched.

The students in the stands were growing increasingly confused.

It was already surprising that he could hold his own against Emilia, but now he was outright dominating her.

This unexpected turn of events was a shock.

What could this mean?

Rumors had said he was nothing special.

Then what was this scene before them?

“This can’t be real.”

“Lady Vanity is being toyed with...?”

A thought flashed through their minds.

The class placement exam that had caused such an uproar.

Charlotte, who had forfeited.

Could it be that her withdrawal wasn’t just a whim, but a genuine acknowledgment that she couldn’t win against him?

An absurd thought crossed their minds.

“No way... That can’t be...”

The air grew thick with unease.

And at that moment.

The duel raced toward its climax.

“O winter.”

The girl, now cornered, was in a perilous situation.

She was walking a razor’s edge.

Yet she refused to back down.

She forced the last of her mana to explode, drawing out every ounce of power she could muster.

The sky was covered with a deep blue frost.

“Oh my god... What the hell is that?”

“I knew she was a genius, but to think she was at this level...?”

“The entire arena is going to be destroyed.”

“Isn’t someone going to die at this rate?”

“Shouldn’t the overseers stop this...!?”

They frantically looked for the professors, but they simply stood by and watched.

In the end.

The girl’s lips completed the incantation.

The tens of thousands of spears that filled the sky began to move.

“Unleash your fury.”

Rumble—!

A deafening roar that pierced their eardrums.

The raging winter storm seemed poised to swallow the entire world.

It was like witnessing the end of everything.

“Kyaaaah!”

“What do we do?”

“No matter how strong the top student is, if he gets caught in that storm, he’ll be seriously injured at the very least...!”

The students braced themselves for disaster and retreated.

But.

The boy was different.

The snake, who had been smirking all along, remained standing in place.

He raised a finger and pointed it at the sky.

Was he insane?

At a time when even running away might not be enough, he stood there frozen.

The students screamed.

But it didn’t matter.

The boy’s lips moved.

“Shatter.”

For a brief moment, his usually closed eyes opened.

His pupils, shining brightly, were pure white.

Time seemed to stop.

In the next instant.

A small shadow shot from his fingertip.

It pierced through the storm of spears and then quickly spread in all directions.

The sky turned black.

Crack, crack—!

In an instant, it was coated in darkness.

The ice spears, now covered in a black film, froze in midair.

Shadows dripped down from them.

Snap!

The boy snapped his fingers.

Elegantly.

In the next moment.

Clang!!

The tens of thousands of ice spears.

All shattered at once.

The ferocious winter broke apart into countless fragments.

They shattered and shattered again.

Whiiiii—

Black snow fell.

Carried by the gentle breeze, the black snowflakes danced gracefully.

Like a snowfield soaked in night.

It was alien, yet beautiful.

The ground of the arena was soon covered in a thin layer of black snow, and everyone’s gaze was drawn to it.

A faintly glowing spectacle of wonder.

“......”

“......”

The stands were filled with silence.

The students stared blankly at the winter mingled with shadows, completely forgetting the chaos from moments before.

Crunch, crunch—

In the middle of that dreamlike scene, a lone boy walked forward.

The snake asked generously.

“Do you still want to continue?”

His voice was a seductive whisper.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]