The Villain Professor's Second Chance-Chapter 389: The Analysis and the Plan

The sun dipped below the horizon as we approached the secluded cabin I’d scouted in a previous loop. Hidden deep within the thick woods, it was the kind of place no one would think to look for us—if they even knew we were here at all. The cabin was small, unassuming, built from aged wood with moss creeping up its sides. I could already see the thick shadows stretching across its exterior as the day gave way to night. The atmosphere was silent, thick with the unease of what we had just faced.

"Quiet," I muttered, my voice no louder than the wind brushing against the leaves. I signaled for the others to wait as I approached the cabin door, testing it gently to see if anything had been disturbed. The hinges groaned slightly, a protest against the sudden use after years of neglect, but the door swung inward. I slipped inside, my eyes narrowing as I scanned the room—no threats, no signs of movement.

"We’re clear," I called back, stepping further into the darkness. It was cramped, a small table pushed against one wall, chairs that looked ready to crumble, and a single window that let in just enough of the fading light for me to see. It wasn’t much, but it was a roof over our heads.

Lyan was next to enter, his form blending with the twilight as he moved through the doorway.

Lyan pushed open the door, his eyes scanning the dark interior before he stepped inside. "Guess we’re safe for now," he said, his voice echoing in the empty space. He gave a quick nod, taking position by the window, peering out to ensure we hadn’t been followed. Anastasia entered after him, her eyes darting around the room, still wide from the tension of our earlier fight. Her hands trembled slightly as she set her staff against the wall and took a deep breath, exhaling the fear that had gripped her since we had left the altar.

Aurelia, bringing up the rear, shoved the door closed behind her with a force that made the rickety walls shiver. "What a dump," she grumbled, her fiery hair glowing faintly in the dim light. She pulled her cloak tighter around her, looking around with barely-concealed distaste. "You’ve got a real talent for finding the shittiest places, Draven."

"I’m not looking for comfort," I replied, my voice cold as I pulled the scrying tools from my satchel, setting them on the table. I could feel her eyes on me, but I ignored it. There was no time for complaints—not now. We needed answers, and we needed them fast. "Lyan, keep watch by the window. Anastasia, get some rest if you need it. This might take a while."

Aurelia gave a sigh that could have passed for a growl. She flopped down into one of the chairs, the wood creaking under her weight. "So, are you sure you could get the necessary information from those stones?"

"Maybe," I said, glancing at her briefly before focusing on the tools. The crystals, dark and inert now that we were away from the altar, were still warm to the touch—residual energy, traces of the magic they had absorbed during our observation. I positioned them carefully, one after another, aligning their angles to form a makeshift array on the table.

The scrying tools were simple enough in design, but their power lay in the information they held. The data they’d collected at the altar—the resonance of the energy, the flow of mana—was all encoded within their crystalline structures. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting my fingers trace the surface of the central crystal, feeling the faint hum of power beneath its smooth exterior.

"Is that supposed to help?" Aurelia muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. But she was watching—I could see her eyes, the way they flicked from my hands to the crystals, a hint of curiosity hidden beneath her scowl.

"If you want answers, you’ll need to be quiet," I said sharply, my eyes still closed. I let my mind reach out, my magic brushing against the array, coaxing the energy within the crystals to reveal itself. Slowly, the array began to respond, faint lights glowing within the stones, illuminating the carved runes etched across their surfaces.

The cabin seemed to darken around us as I focused on the array, the energy within the crystals coming to life, responding to my magic. The glow of the runes grew brighter, their light casting flickering shadows across the walls. I could feel the mana shifting, twisting as it formed into patterns, sequences that began to make sense, slowly unraveling in my mind.

There was something here—something I had missed before. A connection, hidden beneath the chaos, a resonance that tied the altar to the abyssal plane. The runes on the altar had acted as a conduit, channeling energy from the abyss and focusing it, using it to power the gateway that the guardians had been trying to open. But it wasn’t just random energy—there was a pattern, a specific sequence that the runes followed, a rhythm to the flow that connected the altar to the abyss.

"What is it?" Anastasia asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She had moved closer, her eyes wide as she watched the glowing runes.

I opened my eyes, letting out a slow breath. "The altar—it’s connected to the abyssal plane through a specific sequence of runes," I said, my voice quiet but steady. "It’s not just a random link. There’s a pattern to the energy flow, a conduit that acts as a bridge. If we can disrupt that sequence, we might be able to sever the connection."

Aurelia’s eyes narrowed, her gaze locking onto mine. "You think you can break it?"

"I think we have to," I replied, my tone cold, final. "If we don’t, the altar will complete its ritual, and it will unleash a horde of abyssal monsters. We have two days—maybe less. Tonight, we prepare. Tomorrow, we move." Explore more at novelbuddy

The weight of my words hung in the air, a silence settling over the group as they absorbed the gravity of the situation. Two days. That was all we had. Two days to stop the altar, to sever the connection before it was too late. Failure meant another reset—another loop of death, of despair, of watching this city fall again and again. I couldn’t let that happen. Not again.

"Alright, so what’s the plan?" Lyan asked, his voice breaking the silence. He was still by the window, his eyes scanning the dark forest beyond, but his focus was on me.

I nodded, turning my gaze to the others. "We need to prepare for tomorrow. Anastasia, you’re going to focus on magical disruption—we need something that can interfere with the energy flow without alerting the guardians. Lyan, you’ll handle stealth. You’ll set up the interference points around the altar—we need to be precise, or this won’t work."

Lyan gave a short nod, his smirk returning. "Sounds like a party."

"Aurelia," I continued, my gaze shifting to her. "You’re on defense. If anything goes wrong, if we’re detected, you need to keep them off us long enough for Anastasia and Lyan to do their work."

Aurelia snorted, leaning back in her chair. "So I’m the muscle. Got it." But there was a seriousness in her eyes, a determination that I knew I could count on. She might have been crude, brash, but she was reliable when it mattered.

"Tonight, we make preparations," I said, my voice cutting through any further discussion. "We have one chance at this. If we fail, we’re back at square one. No mistakes. No second guesses."

Anastasia swallowed, her eyes wide, but she nodded, her hands clenching around her staff. "Understood."

"And if it works?" Lyan asked, his gaze meeting mine, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"Then we sever the connection," I replied, my voice cold. "And we make sure this city doesn’t fall."

—---

The night settled in, the darkness growing thicker as we began our preparations. Lyan and Anastasia left the cabin first, moving to scout the area around the altar, looking for the best positions to place the interference points. They moved in silence, their forms disappearing into the shadows of the forest, leaving me alone with Aurelia.

The cabin felt colder without them, the silence stretching between Aurelia and me. She stood by the table, her gaze fixed on the array, her fingers drumming lightly against the wood. I could see the tension in her, the restlessness that always seemed to simmer beneath her surface.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked, her voice breaking the silence. There was no sarcasm, no mocking edge. Just a simple question—direct, to the point.

I glanced at her, then nodded toward the crystals on the table. "We need talismans," I said. "Something that can disrupt the flow of magic. It’ll require precise enchantment work—delicate. If we get it wrong, it could backfire."

Aurelia raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching into a half-smile. "And you want me to help with that? Thought you didn’t trust me with the delicate stuff."

"I trust you to follow my instructions," I replied, my tone cold. "And I need another pair of hands."

She snorted, but there was no real humor in it. She moved to stand beside me, her gaze shifting to the crystals. "Alright, Mr. Genius. Show me what to do."

I picked up one of the crystals, holding it out to her. "These runes need to be carved along the surface," I said, pointing to the faint lines already etched into the stone. "Precisely, no deviations. If you mess up, it won’t work."

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Aurelia took the crystal, her eyes narrowing as she studied the runes. "You really know how to make a girl feel confident," she muttered, but she began to work, her fingers steady as she traced the lines, her magic sparking faintly at her fingertips.

I watched her for a moment, then picked up another crystal, beginning to carve the runes myself. The silence between us was different now—not the tense, uneasy silence from earlier, but something else. Something almost... respectful. We worked in tandem, the faint glow of magic illuminating the small cabin, the runes taking shape under our careful hands.

"You know," Aurelia said after a while, her voice breaking the quiet, "for a cold bastard, you’re not half bad at this."

I didn’t look up, my focus on the crystal in my hand. "Just follow the runes," I said, my tone even.

She chuckled, a soft sound that almost surprised me. "Always so serious," she muttered, but there was no malice in her words. Just an acceptance of what needed to be done.

We worked through the night, the talismans slowly taking shape, the runes glowing faintly as they absorbed the magic we poured into them. It was delicate work, and by the time we were finished, my fingers ached from the precision, from the focus it had taken to ensure everything was perfect.

Aurelia set down her last crystal, letting out a sigh as she leaned back in her chair. "Well, that’s that," she said, her voice tired. "Think they’ll work?"

"They have to," I replied, my voice cold, final. There was no room for doubt. Not now. Not with everything at stake.

She nodded, her gaze meeting mine for a moment, something unspoken passing between us. "Guess we’ll find out tomorrow," she said, her voice quiet.

I gave a curt nod, turning my attention back to the array. There was still something about the altar’s magic that didn’t sit right with me. The connection to Tiamat—the way the energy flowed—it was almost too deliberate, too obvious. It felt like a distraction, something meant to draw our attention away from the real threat.

"What is it?" Aurelia asked, her eyes narrowing as she watched me.

I shook my head, my gaze fixed on the runes. "Tiamat’s power—it’s a distraction," I said, my voice thoughtful. "The real danger lies in the connection to the abyssal plane. If we can sever that, we can stop the horde from coming through."

Aurelia’s eyes widened slightly, her expression shifting. "So Tiamat’s not the problem?"

"Not directly," I replied. "The altar is using Tiamat’s energy, but the real purpose is to open a gateway to the abyss. If we can sever that connection, we can stop the summoning."

She nodded, a determined glint in her eyes. "Then that’s what we’ll do."

I turned my gaze to her, my expression hard. "This isn’t going to be easy. The guardians, the abyss spawns—they’re all going to be in our way. We have one chance. No mistakes."

Aurelia smirked, her fiery hair catching the faint light of the crystals. "Don’t worry, Draven. I don’t plan on dying again. Not this time."

Before I could respond, the door to the cabin creaked open, and Lyan stepped inside, his eyes scanning the room. "We’re back," he said, his voice breaking the silence. Anastasia followed, her eyes wide, her expression a mix of exhaustion and determination.

I looked at them, my gaze shifting from one to the other, taking in their tired but determined faces. This was it. The preparations were made, the plan set. Tomorrow, we would move—and this time, we wouldn’t fail.

"Good," I said, my voice cold, steady. "Get some rest. Tomorrow, we end this."