I'm Neither the Mastermind nor the Villain

Chapter 1

"Ugh, why are you doing this to us! What did we ever do!"

Amidst the people collapsed on the floor, a man stood alone, shouting desperately.

Of course, he could say no more.

Because before that, a cold blade had pierced his leg.

"Kugh-!"

The man with his leg impaled by the white-haired woman's sword let out a short death cry and collapsed.

A man approached the fallen man.

A man with black hair and dressed in black clothes, wiping the blood off his sword, stepped toward the collapsed man.

In front of the man lying on the floor, groaning,

the black-haired man in black clothes squatted down.

The black-haired man with narrow eyes smiled slyly at the groaning man.

"Well then... since it seems we're all prepared, shall we begin?"

At the narrow-eyed man's words, the man clutching his leg and groaning suddenly came to his senses.

Was it because he had lost too much blood,

his face was growing pale, but his expression twisted like a demon descended upon the world, exuding an oppressive aura.

Yet the black-haired man and the white-haired woman watching him remained utterly indifferent, as if unfazed.

"W-what do you want! Why the hell are you doing this!"

As if unconcerned for his own safety,

the man shouted at the narrow-eyed man, writhing uncontrollably in rage.

"This bastard......."

As he twisted and convulsed, black smoke escaped from his mouth.

The man watching that scene let out a deliberately regretful sigh.

"Hmm... it seems it's progressed quite a lot."

The white-haired woman, the one who had pierced his leg and caused him to collapse, approached and examined him.

"Can he still be saved?"

"Who knows. They're criminals anyway, so why bother caring."

Ignoring the glare from the woman,

the narrow-eyed man moved his left hand this way and that.

The black smoke flowing from the convulsing man's mouth drifted along the narrow-eyed man's hand.

Finally, the black smoke gathered into one spot, compressing extremely tightly, and formed a black orb.

"Mio will surely feast on this."

The man grinned contentedly and slipped the orb into his pocket.

The black orb inside the pocket rattled as it bumped into other orbs.

Watching that, the man spoke playfully.

"Did you see that, the dark mana that came out of your body? Shouldn't you be grateful? I just saved your life."

Yet whether because the dark mana tormenting him had been removed,

or because he had fainted from blood loss, the fallen man showed no response.

Seeing this, the narrow-eyed man realized the sleep spell had worked properly.

At his gesture, a woman wearing a black mask approached.

"Take him away. After minimal treatment, imprison him in 'that room.' I've extracted the dark mana, but who knows what other measures might have been taken."

At his order, the woman in the black mask bowed her head, then levitated the unconscious man and turned away.

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

The white-haired woman, who had been watching the whole process, pressed him with her question.

Hearing that, the man flashed a faintly suspicious smile.

"I will go eliminate the source. For the sake of peace, of course."

***

Where am I.

This unfamiliar floor beneath my feet and that oppressive unfamiliar ceiling looming over me.

The odd sense of height and my body feeling as light as if I could fly.

And look.

At that man in the mirror.

Who is that man, covering his sky-blue eyes with narrow slits, staring back at me?

Yeah. What the hell kind of situation is this?

"Where... exactly is this place?"

And what's with this weird way of talking?

I stared into the mirror.

When I opened my mouth, the man in the mirror did too. When I raised my hand to scratch my head, so did he.

When I stuck out my tongue, he stuck out his tongue exactly the same way, and when I opened my eyes wide to reveal my sky-blue irises, he showed me his as well.

At this point, I couldn't help but realize what was going on.

"Seems like... I've been possessed?"

I had become possessed by this narrow-eyed man.

*

Well, I know I've been possessed, but...

What the hell did I do to end up like this?

Let me retrace my memories.

What was I doing last night?

Right, I ordered fried chicken. Excited to finally eat chicken after a long time, I headed to the convenience store to buy some beer.

Walking toward the store, I put in my earphones and glanced at my phone.

I played some upbeat music and opened up a novel site.

I was reading an interesting novel while walking toward the store.......

Then, along with a loud noise, something hit me hard, and I briefly lost consciousness. Before I knew it, it felt like I was flying through the sky.

...No way, did I get into a car accident?

Feeling heavy-hearted, I lowered my head and covered my face with my hands.

"This is quite the predicament."

Shut up, mouth.

I raised my head again and looked forward.

But what I saw was not the me I had always known.

For starters, I don't know any guy who looks like this.

I have no idea what work I've been possessed into.

If the story I'm in is a dark fantasy or something like that, in other words, a 'grim' story?

Or maybe the work I'm in is a comic, or a novel. Or perhaps it's a game.

Actually, is this even a work of fiction I'm in?

The most plausible guess is the novel I was reading when I supposedly got hit by that car.

[The Reincarnator Wants to Live], though I'm not certain yet.

I looked around my surroundings.

Neatly arranged bedding and a desk. A longsword leaning diagonally against the wall, daggers hanging all over the walls.

A living room with only a TV, a calendar indicating it's January, a fridge filled with just frozen fried rice and kimchi.

I needed more information.

I turned on the TV.

Coincidentally, the news was on.

It was about a monster committing a terrorist attack in the middle of Busan.

Then came stories about a con artist pretending magic was sleight of hand, and an introduction video about martial artists that had gone viral online.

"This much isn't enough...."

I searched through the house again.

After investigating inside for about two hours, I managed to find a few things.

A wallet, a phone, some documents, and a Warna Academy student ID with the name 'Baek Sejin' and my face on it.

"Warna Academy... that name sounds oddly familiar."

In the end, my doubts were cleared up by the news anchor's words coming from the TV.

".......Next up. Kim Gabyeol, who gained fame as Korea's youngest divine spellcaster, is reportedly enrolling at Warna Academy."

Kim Gabyeol. The moment I heard that name, I was certain my guess was correct.

Kim Gabyeol is a character from the novel [The Reincarnator Wants to Live].

Kim Gabyeol, who received the blessing of Archangel Gabriel immediately after birth and became the youngest divine spellcaster.

She suffers serious injuries while fighting a villain who infiltrated the academy.

Despite her fame within the story, she had little screen time, which made her more endearing, but the fact that she was badly injured as soon as she appeared was so absurd that I still remember it well.

Anyway, I hadn't even finished reading the novel, yet here I am possessing someone. Isn't this a bit much?

Moreover, true to the title [The Reincarnator Wants to Live], this story is full of countless incidents and accidents.

And most of those happen in or around the academy.

If that were all, it would be fine.

But the problem is, I have to go to the academy.

"Honestly, I just want to throw everything away and have fun...."

You might think, then why not just skip going to the academy.

But that's not an option. If I don't get involved with the original plot, this world will end up following the original story.

And then Kim Gabyeol will get seriously injured again.

That's assuming I'm the only one who possessed someone here.

Besides, getting hit again where you were already hit just feels bad.

How would it feel to get hurt again in the same place?

Of course, our Gabyeol probably doesn't even remember she was hurt, but anyway.

Poor Kim Gabyeol, with barely any presence, retires early and even gets criticized by readers for being a nuisance.

"Haha, geez, this is so unfair I feel like crying."

Still, what can I do about it.

The important thing is how I handle this situation now.

From now on, my goal is to train Kim Gabyeol well so that when that villain attacks again, she can overcome it.

And if possible, it would be even better if I could take care of that villain before he strikes.

Besides that, there are plenty of other reasons I have to attend the academy.

First of all, I don't really know much about this world.

And in that situation, if I just skip the academy?

I'll be an easy target for scams.

It's essential to develop the strength to protect myself in this dangerous world.

Plus, Warna Academy is the most prestigious academy in Korea,

so if I graduate safely from Warna Academy, it's obvious that my life will become much easier.

'Come to think of it, maybe going to the academy isn't so unfair after all.'