The Villainous Noble Regressed With The Villain System-Chapter 38: Class Division Exam [30]

ACT 5 : THE REGRESSORS

The red mist thickened like a living veil, and from within it stepped a woman — no, something far more dangerous.

She walked with the ease of a predator, slow, deliberate, each step echoing against the damp stone as though the very dungeon itself recognized her.

"Hello, my dear friends," she said, her voice sweet but hollow, as if it echoed through empty cathedrals, through memories long forgotten. "So many threads, tangling again. Races grasping for power, and still—none of them understand."

I raised my guard instantly. Monica’s breath caught.

The woman stepped fully into view now.

Pale skin, almost glowing under the crimson fog. Her once-human body twisted slightly in symmetry, elegant but warped. Wings of blood and bone folded along her back like a regal cloak. Her eyes — one red, one pure black — stared straight at Monica.

"Did you know," she began casually, "that the elves once bargained away their future to seal a minor demon prince? Or that the dwarves swore fealty to my kind to save their dying forges?"

Her tone was light, like a noble gossiping over tea.

"Yet here they are now—playing politics in courts and councils. Pretending the age of monsters is over. The audacity is adorable."

Monica didn’t respond.

She stood, slowly. Her face expressionless, but I saw the light in her pupils sharpen — she knew who this was.

Without a word, Monica raised her hand.

Flames burst forth.

A cone of high-density fire magic, condensed and accelerated, shot toward the Radiata One. The very walls of the dungeon scorched black as the spell detonated.

And for a second... just a second... the red mist cleared.

Silence.

But then—

Crack.

The flames split like glass, shattered by an invisible barrier.

The Radiata One stood unharmed, her hand extended lazily. Smoke curled from her palm.

"No hesitation," she said softly. "You remember me."

Monica didn’t answer. She stepped forward, casting another spell — this one laced with molten arcane glyphs.

Radiata One moved like water.

Graceful. Effortless.

She vanished from sight, appearing just behind Monica in a blink.

Her hand pierced through Monica’s shield spell with a sickening crunch and slammed into her gut.

Monica gasped, blood spilling from her mouth as she flew back, crashing into the far wall.

But before she hit the ground, she twisted her body and launched another fireball mid-air, a delayed ignition spell.

It exploded point blank.

Even I flinched from the heat.

Still, when the smoke cleared—

Radiata One stood again, her black-and-red wings spread wide, eyes glowing.

"Impressive," she said. "But not enough."

She darted forward like a crimson shadow, slamming Monica into the floor with one hand, then twisting her ankle with a crack. Monica screamed, and yet her expression didn’t change. Still blank. Still cold.

That’s when I moved.

I rushed forward, dagger drawn. It was stupid, suicidal even, but leaving Monica alone wasn’t an option anymore.

Radiata turned toward me, still crouched over Monica.

"Another one?" she laughed. "The coward from earlier."

I slashed at her neck.

She caught the blade between two fingers.

Snapped it.

Then, her palm glowed red.

Blood magic.

She slammed it into my chest.

My ribs cracked.

I flew backward, hitting a jagged stone pillar. My breath vanished in a second, and pain bloomed across my entire body.

But I still moved.

I bit down on the pain and channeled dark mana through my hands, releasing a cursed spell I had prepared for emergencies.

Chains of spectral darkness erupted, aiming to bind her limbs.

She smiled.

Then—blood surged out from her back, forming jagged blades midair, cutting through the chains like string.

"Why do you struggle?" she whispered. "You don’t even understand what you’re facing."

She was in front of me now, a blur. Her foot dug into my abdomen, pinning me to the floor.

"Just like before," she murmured.

Before?

I didn’t understand.

She leaned down, face inches from mine.

"I remember you, Dorian Valen. You were just as irritating back then."

Then she turned her gaze to Monica, who still lay bleeding, barely conscious.

"You too. Always playing the tragic heroine."

She raised her hand. A blood spear formed in her palm, spinning.

And then, as if she couldn’t contain it anymore—

She grinned, eyes wild with laughter.

"Should I say it?"

The mist twisted around her as she raised her voice.

"I—AM—A—REGRESSOR TOO."

Silence followed.

Only our shallow, broken breathing filled the cavern.

She dropped the blood spear, letting it splash onto the stone like crimson wine.

"Third cycle, if you must know. And this time... I’ve decided to stop *pretending* to be human."

She laughed again, slow, echoing.

And I realized then—

We were completely, utterly outmatched.

***

"What’s happening, Ms. Valerys?", Alicia asked in confusion, as soon as she heard of the mishap at the exam site.

"....We don’t know that yet. The entrance to the dungeon is completely closed, some kind of red mist is blocking the pathway. The city guards dispatched, went on to investigate from another point of entry into the dungeon, but it seems like that one is blocked off too.", Valerys said in a concerning tone.

"....How is that possible? We checked multiple times with the City Guard, to investigate, if this dungeon was safe or not. How can something so unexpected happen?", Alicia thought aloud.

"Whatever the reason is, doesn’t matter right now, Alicia.", Valerys addressed.

"This might very well put every first year’s life in danger. So we need to think of a way to resolve this, and rescue the students."

Valerys closed the file with a flick of her hand. Her brows were furrowed deeper than Alicia had ever seen before.

"The enchantments we laid at the dungeon entrance are not responding. I tried triggering the emergency beacon—no reaction."

Alicia stood still for a moment, processing the information. Her hands were clenched tight at her sides.

"And you said all teleportation pathways are blocked?"

Valerys nodded grimly. "Even the divine-linked sigils. Whatever’s inside... it’s cutting off every channel like it knows how this system works."

Alicia’s breath hitched. That wasn’t just danger.

That was intelligence.

"What about the monitoring artifacts we left inside the dungeon? The crystal orbs, the scrying panels?"

Valerys turned toward a nearby projection screen, tapping several runes.

Nothing.

Just static.

"Something is jamming the magical frequencies."

Alicia’s mind raced. She remembered how calm Dorian looked before the exam started. That same strange indifference in his expression—like he already knew what was going to happen.

And now this?

No. There was more going on here.

"What about the emergency instructors? The Invigilators?"

"They haven’t reported back," Valerys said, her tone dark. "Which likely means they’ve either been incapacitated... or worse."

For a brief moment, Alicia thought she saw fear in the older professor’s eyes.

That terrified her more than anything.

"...Then we don’t have much time," Alicia said quietly. "There are students in there. Hundreds of them. We need to get them out."

"I’ve already sent a message to the Headmaster," Valerys replied, motioning toward a high-tier communication circle now glowing dimly in the air. "He’s away on a diplomatic mission to the northern spire, but this will reach him by dawn."

"Dawn?" Alicia’s voice cracked slightly. "That’s hours from now!"

Valerys didn’t answer.

Alicia turned back toward the dungeon’s blocked entrance.

The mist was thick, like blood had stained the air itself.

Only one way remained for her.

The only way to save those students.

It was something she wanted to avoid at all costs, but desperate situations calls for desperate actions.

And she told her last line of plan to Valerys.

"I think, I should call my brother here."

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Author’s Note :

Please comment down your thoughts.

Next - ACT 6 : THE RESCUE

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