I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

Chapter 198

*Crackle!*

"Kh...!"

As a strange magic array with a dot in the center of the square glowed, Donovan groaned.

But the sound didn't end with a groan. Blood flowed from his eyes, nose, ears, and even his mouth.

Within seconds, his body recovered, but he still looked to be in pain.

"That's harsh. Wouldn't it be easier to just give up now?"

A chilling voice.

In response to the cold voice devoid of emotion, Donovan slowly raised his head.

Silver hair like Miros's and deep purple eyes. But the atmosphere was entirely different.

Eyes so cold they seemed freezing.

A pallor so emotionless it was like a corpse. It was entirely unlike the lively Miros.

"Gardaf... Kisen..."

"So now you just call your master's name as you please."

His name was Gardaf Kisen.

Master of the Marquis Kisen, an 8th-circle mage, and leader of the Kisen mages.

"Self-harm, Donovan."

At that moment, someone standing next to Gardaf Kisen commanded Donovan.

Immediately, Donovan's body twisted on its own.

*Crack!*

"Ghk!"

Donovan once again wore an expression of pain, and Gardaf Kisen turned to the side with a cold voice.

"Miros. Did I ever say you could do as you please?"

"But father! That guy just called your noble name however he wanted! I can't forgive that!"

Miros was there.

To be precise, the 'latest' Miros—the most recently completed of the Miros clones.

"This one is quite strong-willed too."

Gardaf Kisen twisted his lips in displeasure, and the latest Miros grinned brightly.

"Aw, why are you like that? I was made based on your younger self, father. Of course, I'm strong-willed just like you! Isn't that right?"

"... Tsk."

This model had an even slicker feel.

Gardaf Kisen clicked his tongue, then looked at Donovan.

"Huff... huff..."

"To resist mind control even after ending up like that—astonishing. Could your vitality be affecting your spirit as well?"

Whether it was sincere admiration or sarcasm, it was hard to tell in Gardaf Kisen's words.

Looking down at Donovan, he continued,

"Just the act of resisting an order should bring excruciating pain. It's quite a mystery."

"Exactly! How can he not obey? Isn't the Blood Contract broken or something?"

"Impossible. It's a perfect copy."

After the first Miros formed a contract with Donovan, his data was replicated for the subsequent Miros.

That means all the new Miros are bound to Donovan by the Blood Contract.

Donovan is supposed to obey the commands of all of them.

Yet after being brought here, Donovan refused the commands of the other Miros.

Refusing an order subjects him to horrible pain, but Donovan endured it.

—Donovan, this is an order. No matter what, survive until I return to save you.

"..."

He was following the command left by his true master, Miros.

*Boom!*

"?"

At that moment, an explosion sounded somewhere in the laboratory.

Gardaf Kisen and the latest Miros looked in that direction with puzzled expressions.

"Shall I go check it out, father?"

"..."

At the latest Miros's words, gardaf Kisen paused in silence, then turned and said,

"I'll go. You torture him."

"Yes~"

As Gardaf Kisen departed, the latest Miros kept smiling at Donovan, their eyes meeting.

"You heard that? You can look forward to it. I'll be different from the failures."

"... Shut up, fake."

Donovan replied coldly, and the latest Miros closed his eyes in delight, as if getting excited.

"Ha ha! Struggle more! That makes tormenting you so much sweeter."

*Crack!*

"Gaaaaaahhh!"

Donovan's screams did not leak outside of the detention chamber.

* * *

"Here it is!"

"There's an entrance in a place like this..."

Miros led the way to the secret laboratory entrance.

It was a strange door standing by itself amid the ruins.

Its color blended with the darkness, so without knowing it was there, you'd hardly notice it.

"Whew... Please..."

Miros, eyes tense, took a deep breath in front of the door, then chanted a peculiar incantation.

*Tsststst!*

"There!"

A pastel-toned glow filled the space within the doorway.

Miros breathed a sigh of relief and led them inside.

*Whoosh!*

Stepping through the door, they felt themselves transported to another space.

Moments later, the scenery changed to an immaculately clean lab—so different from the ruins outside, it was almost impossible to believe.

"Heh? The facilities are pretty nice, aren't they? Maybe even better than the Magic Tower I used to see?"

Even Herote was astonished.

Before coming to the academy, she'd visited several labs and thus had discerning taste—so this well-organized research facility even impressed her.

"There are several research wings. Donovan's probably being held in that direction."

Miros quickly scanned the surroundings and led the way.

"Wait."

Before they moved, Herote cast some spells on them—perception-blocking magic and trace-blocking magic.

"Don't you have anything like invisibility magic?"

"That's too suspicious. If we get caught by another spell, we can't make any excuses. But with perception interference, if someone notices us, we can just say we're new or from another lab."

"Ho."

Luca nodded at Herote's rational explanation.

'In a secretive place like this, if someone unfamiliar is seen, it's more natural to assume they're a member from another department, rather than an intruder.'

After all, infiltrating such a place was no easy feat.

"Then let's go!"

The three of them hurried to the research wing where Donovan was likely being held. That wing was in the midst of bizarre experiments.

*Snap! Crack!*

"Damn, is this a failure?"

"Did you use too much vitality?"

"No, the test subject was too weakened. Go get refined spirit from the mental research wing."

When various drugs were injected into humans, they transformed into grotesque things.

The researchers calmly suppressed the reactions with magic, and sent for someone from another research wing.

"Hmm... looks stable this time."

"Should I add more vitality?"

"No, we need to test regeneration. Try amputating a limb."

"Yes."

"Skreeee!"

In another lab, they were cutting off the limbs of strange creatures to see how quickly they regenerated.

"This is..."

Watching these experiments, Luca furrowed his brow.

"Fufufu! Didn't I tell you? Even for these people, Donovan is a valuable resource."

Herote was laughing, apparently amused by what she saw.

"Now that they've created Donovan, they seem to think they can make something similar again, so they keep conducting these experiments. Isn't it funny? All their test subjects will only suffer and die if they keep this up."

It wasn't just laughter—it was mockery. Scorn for fools chasing hopeless dreams.

"Well, eventually they'll succeed in making another complete model, and once they repeat it a few times, mass production will be possible."

"We don't need your research commentary. Can't you find any useful information?"

Luca wasn't interested in the experiments themselves.

He cared only for clues connected to the Devil of Wisdom who was funding this research.

That was the real goal; rescuing Donovan was just a means to an end.

"What kind of info are you after?"

"... Information related to the Demonz."

"Then there's nothing for you here. These experiments are obviously based on Donovan's data. Anyone can see that."

With Herote's remark, Luca twisted his lips.

'Do we need to move to another research wing?'

Just then, Herote grabbed Miros's shoulder as he began to rush off.

"Hey, kid."

"Yes?"

Miros shuddered greatly, swallowing hard as he looked at Herote. She gave a sly smile.

"I've found where Donovan is. But if we just rush in together, won't that make escaping difficult?"

"That's..."

"It looks like what Luca's searching for isn't in this wing. So he and I will go to another lab, stir things up and try to get information. Meanwhile, you..."

Herote pointed at Miros's magic circuit.

"Rescue Donovan and escape. And if you can, cause a commotion while you're at it—a two-pronged strategy."

"..."

"Can you do it?"

After a moment's silence, Miros answered with resolute eyes.

"Yes!"

* * *

"What's gotten into her?"

After casting a few spells on Miros and sending him to where Donovan was hiding, Herote drew a puzzled look from Luca.

She glanced around the lab.

"Uhh... Uh..."

"P-please... kill me..."

"Mom... Dad..."

Some of the test subjects were children.

Seeing how experiments had grotesquely deformed them, Herote bit her lips.

"Maybe I stayed at the academy too long? Seeing kids used as test subjects like this..."

*Grit.*

Her teeth made a menacing sound.

"This is making me feel really sick."

"... Is that so."

Normally Luca would have mocked her—'Were you always so sentimental?'—but this time he didn't say it.

—I am Herote Marcato, headmaster of Hernan Academy.

—I cannot stand to see an academy student die before my eyes.

He recalled the original story, where Herote Marcato, as the headmaster, had fought to protect her students.

'Well, if Eltima chose her, I guess she's not a twisted person after all.'

Admiring her inwardly, Luca turned away.

"So do you know where we should go?"

"From what I saw at the entrance, the research wings are divided into three: one is dedicated to Hyperhemia experiments, the second to mind control research, and the third..."

Herote stroked her chin lightly.

"I'm not sure. I'm not familiar with this type of research. So maybe we should check that area out?"

"All right, let's head there."

Luca and Herote moved immediately.

They passed other researchers in the corridors, but as Herote had said earlier, their cover story got them by without much hassle.

"This is pretty fun, don't you think? Can't we do this more often?"

Evidently, Herote found infiltration activities to her taste.

Watching her mood swing so wildly, Luca clicked his tongue.

"We're not here for a joyride."

"Hehe, I was tense at first, but now this is just fun. Should we hit up some other labs after this?"

"Heh..."

Luca sighed, but as they entered another research wing, he stopped at the sudden change in atmosphere.

"This place..."

"Hmm~?"

Herote also took interest, noting the completely different environment, and smirked.

"Isn't this it?"

Rows of incubation pods.

People of all kinds inside.

Among them, one figure stood out.

"Miros was born here."

Another Miros was inside an incubator, eyes closed.