The Novel’s Antagonist: I walk the path of a Villain

"Black market?" Ariana muttered, raising an eyebrow as we stood in front of a long queue, where tickets for the teleportation device were being purchased.

It was now 3:30 PM.

I messed up.

Sigh.

How did I manage to waste so much time?

…Okay, I do know. But it's still frustrating how fast time slipped away.

"How did you know?" I asked, responding with a question of my own.

She had simply asked where we were going, and when I mentioned Sector 31—the last sector in the outer part of the academy—she guessed it instantly.

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"…That doesn't matter," she said, grabbing my hand and forcing me to meet her gaze. Her eyes were sharp, her expression tense. "What are you going to do there?" she asked, and this time, her voice carried genuine concern.@@novelbin@@

"To buy something, of course," I replied casually.

She sighed, shaking her head. "That place is dangerous. Would you have gone alone if I hadn't run into you back at the dorms?" Her hands tightened around mine, and she squinted at me, clearly pissed off.

"Come on, you're overreacting," I muttered, managing to shake off her grip as I walked towards the counter.

"Two tickets, please," I said.

"Destination?" The man seated behind the laptop-like relic barely spared me a glance.

"Sector 31."

At that, he paused. His eyes flicked up, studying me for a moment before he turned his attention back to his screen.

"ID," he said.

I frowned. "ID?"

"All journeys to Sector 31 must be recorded," he stated flatly.

I sighed but handed him the damn thing anyway.

"That'll be 150 points per ticket," he said, and honestly, I wasn't in the mood to haggle.

Good thing Ariana was here.

I turned slightly, catching her unimpressed stare. She wasn't even surprised at my shamelessness anymore. With a quiet sigh, she stepped forward and placed her hand on the same strange relic from last time. The device fastened itself against her meta-watch, and within moments, the man slid two golden-plated cards across the counter.

"These expire in 24 hours. One-time use only," he warned. "If you attempt to use them twice, there's a 99.9% chance of getting lost in spatial distortion."

With that, he moved on to the next customer.

"Let's go," I said, reaching out instinctively to take her hand—but she folded her arms and looked away, her expression stony.

She was mad.

Sigh.

We walked toward the teleportation gate in complete silence. She kept giving me the cold shoulder, and the longer it went on, the more it got under my skin.

"Come on," I finally said, breaking the silence. "I just plan to grab something and leave. What's the worst that could happen?"

At that, she stopped, turned to me, and raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" she scoffed. "What's the worst that can happen?" Her voice grew sharper as she continued, "The academy doesn't monitor the black market. Heck, they barely monitor the outer city at all! Their priority is the main academy city—not these parts. That means they don't care about us, the yet-to-be-full-students. If something were to happen to you—something like what happened with Miranda—do you really think the academy would care?"

She didn't wait for my answer.

"They wouldn't," I muttered, exhaling a slow breath.

"Exactly."

She stepped closer and, to my surprise, placed a hand against my cheek, her voice softening.

"Listen, Ryan," she said gently. "Just stop this. Stop playing with your life. I know you want to get stronger. I know it's frustrating being the weakest one. But you have me to protect you for now. You have us. Take it one step at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day, you know."

"…Um, there's no Rome in this world," I pointed out.

The punch to my gut reset my thoughts real quick.

"Fuck! Why did you do that?!" I wheezed, clutching my stomach.

She huffed. "For being an idiot."

"It seems this is the only way to make you listen," she said, now practically embracing me by gripping my collar and pulling me down, even though I was clearly taller than her.

"Wait… have you been talking to Nelia?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

For some reason, Nelia and Selena always take advantage of the fact that I'm physically weaker than them. Lately, Nelia has been the worst—she literally bosses me around like I'm some errand boy.

What makes it even more frustrating is her ability to immobilize me at will. But that doesn't mean Selena is any better—no, no, she is not.

The only person who doesn't resort to violence is probably Ariana… but judging by the way she's acting right now, it looks like she's starting to join the gang.

"I did not," she muttered, looking away.

I knew that look.

"Wait… don't tell me Nelia told you to beat me up to prove a point," I said. It was a wild guess, but judging by Ariana's reaction, I was probably right on the mark.

"NO! …No, I mean, WHY?" she spluttered, immediately letting go of my collar and mumbling incoherent words.

Yep. This was definitely Nelia's doing.

Damn it.

That girl has been watching me like a hawk these days.

"Next!" A commanding voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I turned to see the soldiers managing the portal dismissing the last person in line.

"Ticket," one of them said as I grabbed Ariana's hand and stepped forward.

I nudged her, and she quickly handed over the ticket she had been holding. The soldier placed it into a device, and after a brief pause, the screen flickered with several notifications:

[Verification success]

[Authentic]

[Not expired]

"You may go," the soldier said, nodding.

Ariana walked forward without hesitation.

"Ticket," the soldier repeated, and I handed him mine.

[Verification success]

[Authentic]

[Not expired]

"You may go."

I took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.

Whoom!

A strange, discomforting sensation crawled over my skin, the same as last time. My vision blurred for a moment, and then—

I was here.

Weird.

"Wait… have you never been here before?"

Ariana's voice pulled me back to reality. I looked up to find her standing with her arms folded, frowning.

"Yeah," I admitted, still adjusting to the new surroundings.

I glanced around.

Everyone had their faces covered.

There were no students here.

No… there probably were, but they were all in disguises.

"Here," Ariana said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

She handed me a scarf.

I took it, watching as she skillfully wrapped another around her own face, concealing her features.

"Give it," she said, holding out her hand.

I handed the scarf back, and she stepped closer.

"Bend a little, I can't tie it around your head properly," she muttered, pouting.

I smirked. "What? It's not my fault you're still shorter than me even in this world."

Whoosh!

I barely dodged the punch she threw at me.

"What do you mean by that?! Are you saying I'm short?!" she fumed, reaching for me again.

Thankfully, with my level almost reaching hers, I was now fast enough to evade her grasp.

"Calm down," I said, grinning. "You're not short—what, like 5'2? That's normal for girls!"

Whoosh!

She literally manifested her sword.

And then she chased me.

Fuck, this is so embarrassing.

"Shut up! I am NOT 5'2!" she shouted.

I ducked and swerved, leading her into a narrow alley. Then, finally—after so long—

BAM!

Wall slam.

I pinned her against the wall, pressing my hands on either side of her.

"Calm down," I said, panting slightly.

She glared up at me.

"…Let go."

I immediately took a step back.

"Now, bend," she ordered.

I hesitated.

Renay or Ariana, it didn't matter—she was not the type to let things go so easily.

"Fine," I muttered and leaned down.

She started wrapping the scarf around me, carefully tying it into a makeshift mask.

Then, softly, she said, "Ryan."

"Yeah?"

Her hands paused for a brief second.

"I want you to know this…"

I blinked.

She tightened the knot and continued, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"I will do anything to keep you safe."

…

For some reason, that sent chills down my spine.

"Yeah?" I mumbled.

She exhaled, then slowly raised her head and—

"ANYTHING," she added, before pressing a light kiss to my forehead.

…

Damn…. For some reason, that makes me unease.

"Sure," I said.

She reached out and took my hand, her grip firm yet strangely gentle. There was something unreadable in her eyes as she spoke.

"Nelia told me everything," she said softly. "Don't worry, it will all be okay."

I froze. My eyes widened.

I was right!

"Wait… just you? Hold on—what did she even say?" I asked, my voice laced with suspicion.

She grinned, a playful glint dancing in her eyes. "That's a secret."

My stomach twisted at her mischievous tone, but before I could pry further, she tightened her grip around my fingers and leaned in slightly. Her voice dropped, light yet threatening.

"Just know this," she murmured. "The moment I catch you in the hands of any other girl besides her and…" She paused, letting the words sink in before flashing a dangerously sweet smile. "I will castrate you."

I swallowed. Hard.

"And…?" I prompted hesitantly, dreading what she might say next.

She stared at me for a beat, then rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

And just like that, she pulled me into a tight hug, holding me against her as if this entire conversation hadn't just happened.

Yeah… still enemies with Selena.