Page 199 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Beneath the stadium where cheers were echoing.

Anxious, Ruin clenched his fists and looked up at the stadium.

“Why does it look so high?”

The round, grayish stadium. The place where he had always won and received everyone’s admiration seemed awfully high today.

He didn’t want to go up.

Because it was like a guillotine made just for him. Ruin, who wasn’t ready at all, was scared to go up. It seemed like the first time since his match with Olivia that he felt this burden weighing down on his shoulders.

He felt burdened by everyone’s gazes.

The emotions that made his breath ragged didn’t seem to subside.

“Haah... haah... Let’s focus. I just need to avoid getting my ass kicked.”

Above Ruin’s anxious head, the announcer’s thunderous voice began to ring out.

-Today’s first match is...! The Magic Department’s senior, Ruin!

-In the first semester’s ranking battles last year, he unfortunately lost to the rising star, Hannah Histania, and remained in the lower ranks, but in the second semester’s ranking battles, senior Ruin took third place and is the pride and pillar of the Magic Department! Senior Ruin is the first to play in this ranking battle. Aren’t you excited?

-So, the first opponent of the Magic Department’s top student, senior Ruin, is...!?

Ruin clenched his fists.

‘Please...’

He desperately prayed that the cold sweat forming on his palms would avoid the name of the strong.

Please let me face an opponent I can win against. Ruin prayed earnestly, but the heavens didn’t favor him.

The announcer pulled his hand out of the box containing the names of many people and brought the microphone, imbued with amplification magic, to his mouth with a surprised voice.

-Uh... This person shouldn’t have been picked.

-The first opponent is... senior Mikhail!

At the announcer’s trembling voice, Ruin’s expression crumbled. Ruin, who had been clenching his fists desperately, powerlessly dropped them and hung his head, mumbling quietly.

“Damn it.”

Nothing ever goes smoothly.

Ruin moved his feet, which wouldn’t budge, with difficulty. Mikhail wasn’t someone he could handle right now.

Even before he lost his powers, he had been a formidable opponent. Honestly, Mikhail was stronger. So, meeting Mikhail in the early stages meant he would definitely lose without being able to use his powers. Ruin couldn’t bring himself to think positively.

Ruin climbed up the stadium, not hiding his gloomy expression.

“Haah... This really sucks.”

Mikhail was already up on the stadium. Mikhail, who was loosening up his back while touching the sword hanging from his waist, was, as always, facing the battle with a serious attitude.

He didn’t seem like he was going to show any mercy.

Ruin hung his head and slowly began to gather his magic power. He thought that if he could at least show something, he could preserve his honor.

No matter how weak he had become, he still had a desperate measure to grab his opponent by the scruff of the neck, so Ruin slowly gathered his magic power and waited for the signal.

‘Master told me not to use that magic because it’s unstable... I don’t know, I’ll figure something out.’

Maybe losing to Mikhail wasn’t such a bad thing. It would look better to lose to Mikhail, who was recognized by everyone, than to lose to some unknown weakling. Ruin waited for the signal to drop from the announcer’s mouth to protect his moderate amount of pride.

After a short while, Ruin took a deep breath as the announcer’s thunderous voice rang out.

‘Let’s see...’

-The match... will begin noooow!

Simultaneously with the announcer’s words, Ruin began to use magic from his hand.

The unique magic that the tower master of the Magic Tower had taught him.

It was a magic passed down through generations, starting with the first tower master. A magic passed on to disciples whose talents were recognized.

[Green Generation]

The moment the light green ripple spread out.

Michael was standing right before Ruin’s eyes.

“Pull yourself together.”

Michael simply destroyed Ruin’s magic, which had taken so much effort, and walked forward. He stood lightly before Ruin as if brushing away a small wind, holding his sword.

Staring blankly at Michael, Ruin thought.

‘What the heck...’

Ruin couldn’t understand this situation.

Because the magic he had used with all his might had been seen through. Even if it was magic he wasn’t used to, it was magic he had learned from his grandfather, yet Michael had simply broken through it and charged in. There was no way he could pull himself together.

Michael spoke in a cold voice.

“Do it properly.”

Ruin’s world began to crumble bit by bit.

*

Michael was pushing Ruin without mercy.

-Clang!

“Dammit...!”

Michael had returned as an even greater monster.

Michael was overwhelming Ruin to the point that he wondered if the Michael standing before his eyes was even human.

The swordsmanship that had shown openings now had no gaps, and Michael’s sword, which had only focused on defense, was no longer passive.

Ruin felt wronged.

He felt so wronged that he couldn’t even speak, his breath hitching.

“What the hell is this!”

Even if he hadn’t had his strength taken away, he didn’t think he could win against Michael now.

They had clearly spent the same amount of time, and he had definitely put in the effort, yet Michael had become several times stronger than him. He looked so pathetic being pushed back like this.

-Thud...!

Michael, who had kicked Ruin in the stomach while he was off guard, spoke in a low voice.

“Ruin. Don’t answer, just nod.”

“What...?”

“What did Hans do to you that day?”

“...”

“That’s why you can’t use your strength now, right?”

Michael spoke in a small voice.

“You weren’t this weak normally.”

“...”

“So tell me. That way, I’ll be able to show you some mercy.”

“F*ck...”

Watching Ruin, who was scratching the floor with his fingernails in unbearable shame, Mikhail asked seriously.

“Honestly, even watching over you has its limits. Ruin.”

“...What?”

“Because we’re friends, I tried to take it easy on you. Honestly, it’s tough. Earlier, I even held back during my attacks, but you still collapsed.”

Mikhail muttered softly, his voice filled with regret.

“I thought I’d gotten stronger, but I guess not.”

Ruin clenched his fists.

He was so embarrassed.

He felt like he was going crazy from being so ashamed and humiliated just from hearing those words. What made him angrier was that he felt grateful for those words.

‘Don’t talk nonsense.’

‘Don’t talk nonsense. How can you say I’m weak when you’re the one who’s as strong as a monster? What do you mean I’m weak?’

Ruin broke down.

‘Then I...!’

‘F*ck, then what am I... I won’t be able to win even if I have the strength. No matter what I do, it’s like I can’t win. What the hell!’

‘I even thought about resorting to black magic...! F*ck, then I. I...!’

Ruin came to a conclusion. He was beginning to conclude that there was a problem with his pride, which had allowed him to hold his head so high and look down on others.

‘Am I untalented?’

Ruin got up from his seat and began to cast magic.

“Shut up!”

“Ruin!”

“I said shut up! You say you’re going easy on me!? You’re looking down on me!? Don’t screw with me! Tell me honestly!”

Mikhail let out an artificial scream, “Ugh,” as he stepped back from Ruin’s magic, which he had cast while spitting out curses.

No matter how much they had clashed, they were friends who had acknowledged each other’s pride and spent time together. Besides, they had been victims [N O V E L I G H T] of Olivia and Ricardo’s evil deeds.

That’s why Mikhail knew about Ruin. He knew that Ruin had a strong sense of pride and that he was obsessed with the way others saw him. For that reason, he had pretended to be pushed back by Ruin, and Ruin had poured out his magic.

“How is it? How is it!? Am I different now?!”

“...”

“Are you starting to lose your sympathy for me?!”

Ruin shouted at Mikhail, who was pretending to struggle.

“F*ck! Don’t! Don’t look at me like that!”

Faced with Ruin’s pitiful appearance, Mikhail lowered his sword halfway and pretended to have difficulty dodging Ruin’s attacks.

Mikhail muttered in a small voice.

“Let’s stop this.”

“...”

“I’ll let you win.”

“What did you say?”

“Anyway, I can raise my ranking during the semester, so I’ll...”

“...F*ck.”

Ruin muttered, letting out a hollow laugh.

“I’ll stop.”

“Ruin.”

“I can’t do this anymore, this is disgusting.”

Ruin pushed away Mikhail’s shoulder that was close to her and shook her sweaty hair.

She was so disgusted with herself.

She was disgusted with being pitied.

She couldn’t stand the students being agitated by Mikhail’s acting and exclaiming, ‘Wow...!’

Ruin raised her hand and slowly walked out of the stadium, saying.

“Surrender.”

Rather than winning like this, it was better to just give up on her own. She felt so pathetic that she didn’t think she could do it anymore.

*

Shuria was laughing.

“Hmm.... There are so many growing sprouts.”

Mikhail too.

Yuriah too.

The Crown Prince was also growing visibly, so she had to watch him. If she left them alone, they would surely become beings that would threaten their cause.

Especially one person.

-The next match is Histania Hannah...!

That student was such an eyesore to Shuria. She wanted to erase her existence. No, she wanted to have her.

“Well... Since she’s going to die today. It’ll be fine.”

Shuria looked at Hannah standing on the stadium with a small laugh.

And Hannah was also looking at Shuria.