The Villian Who Broke The Story

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Awakening Through Desperation

Chapter 43: Awakening Through Desperation

Inside the gravity chamber, silence filled the room.

Three times gravity pressed down on everything.

Charlotte lay on the ground, struggling to breathe. Every movement felt like carrying a mountain on her shoulders. Sweat covered her body and her muscles screamed in protest.

Standing several meters away, Kael slowly approached with his sword in hand.

His crimson eyes reflected the chamber lights.

"Kael... whatever you think you’re doing, it won’t work," Charlotte said through gritted teeth as she tried to crawl backward.

Kael continued walking.

"That’s the fear talking."

Charlotte’s expression darkened.

The pressure of the gravity chamber made escaping impossible.

Every inch she crawled took tremendous effort.

Meanwhile, Kael moved normally.

As though the gravity wasn’t affecting him at all.

"Isn’t the gravity affecting you?" Charlotte asked angrily.

A faint smirk appeared on Kael’s face.

"I’ve already adapted."

Charlotte clenched her teeth.

The gravity chamber that was crushing her barely seemed to slow him down.

Kael stopped a few steps away.

His voice became calm.

Almost indifferent.

"Do you know how many students are enrolled in the first-year classes?"

Charlotte frowned.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"There are four hundred students in Class D."

"Three hundred in Class C."

"Two hundred in Class B."

"And one hundred in Class A."

Charlotte didn’t understand where this was going.

Kael continued.

"During the first dungeon assignment, nearly twenty percent of the students died."

The room fell silent.

Neither of them needed to be reminded of that fact.

Several empty seats remained in every classroom.

Proof of the academy’s ruthlessness.

"And the academy didn’t care," Kael said.

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed.

"The weak die."

"The strong survive."

"That’s how this school operates."

Kael took another step forward.

"And I guarantee not all of those deaths were caused by monsters."

A chill ran down Charlotte’s spine.

The academy encouraged competition.

Competition created casualties.

That was simply reality.

Kael slowly raised his sword.

"With three hundred and twenty students currently left in Class D..."

His eyes met hers.

"Let’s make it three hundred and nineteen."

Charlotte’s pupils contracted.

For the first time since entering the gravity chamber, genuine fear appeared on her face.

"You psychotic bastard!"

She glared at him.

"You never wanted to help me!"

"You just wanted an excuse to kill someone weaker than you!"

Her breathing became heavier.

Exhaustion was beginning to overtake her.

But Kael merely laughed.

The sound echoed throughout the chamber.

"If that’s what you need to believe, then go ahead."

Charlotte felt rage replacing her fear.

She had trusted him.

Followed him.

Fought beside him inside the dungeon.

And now he was trying to kill her.

Just like the nobles.

Just like the people who always looked down on commoners.

Just like everyone else.

Kael stopped directly in front of her.

The tip of his sword hovered above her chest.

"You can’t do anything about it."

Charlotte’s fists trembled.

Her body refused to move.

The gravity was too much.

Her stamina was gone.

Her mana was nearly depleted.

Everything hurt.

Kael grinned.

"Oh, I’m going to enjoy this."

Then he brought the blade down.

Time seemed to slow.

Charlotte stared at the descending sword.

The pressure.

The fear.

The anger.

The desperation.

Every emotion exploded simultaneously.

A memory surfaced.

An orphanage burning.

Children screaming.

Her younger brother smiling despite his injuries.

His final words.

Get stronger.

No matter what happens... survive.

Something inside Charlotte snapped.

Mana erupted from her body.

CRACKLE!

Blue sparks exploded around her.

Lightning danced across her skin.

Her exhausted muscles suddenly moved.

The gravity that had pinned her down moments ago seemed to disappear.

She shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

BOOM!

The floor beneath her cracked.

Kael’s eyes widened.

For the first time since entering the chamber, he looked genuinely surprised.

Charlotte blitzed toward him.

Electricity surrounded her body.

Her speed multiplied several times over.

The dormant affinity sleeping within her finally awakened.

A Warlock.

Just like in the original timeline.

Only much earlier.

A grin spread across Kael’s face.

It worked. free𝑤ebnovel.com

She awakened.

"Finally," he muttered.

"I have a Warlock on my side."

Charlotte threw her fist forward.

But before the punch could connect—

Everything went wrong.

Her body was still exhausted.

The sudden awakening had disrupted her control.

Her movements became unstable.

And at that exact moment—

Kael’s descending blade completed its trajectory.

Slash!

The sword pierced into her abdomen.

Charlotte froze.

The lightning surrounding her flickered.

Then slowly disappeared.

Silence returned to the chamber.

Kael’s smile vanished instantly.

His eyes widened.

Charlotte stared blankly at the blade lodged in her stomach.

Then her consciousness faded.

Her body collapsed forward.

Thud.

The gravity chamber became quiet once more.

Kael immediately caught her before she hit the ground.

"...Damn."

A complicated expression appeared on his face.

That wasn’t supposed to happen.

He had expected her awakening.

He had expected the lightning.

He had even expected her to attack him.

What he hadn’t expected was for her to lose control midway through the movement.

Kael carefully lowered her onto the floor.

Blood stained her academy uniform.

Fortunately, the wound wasn’t fatal.

At least he hoped it wasn’t.

"I didn’t hit anything important... did I?"

The confidence in his voice was noticeably absent.

Looking at Charlotte’s unconscious figure, Kael released a tired sigh.

The awakening had succeeded.

But the method had clearly been flawed.

Very flawed.

Reaching over to the control panel, Kael finally deactivated the gravity chamber.

The pressure immediately disappeared.

As Charlotte lay unconscious on the ground surrounded by fading sparks of lightning, Kael rubbed his forehead.

"Charlotte is going to kill me the moment she wakes up but at least it worked ."

Somewhere outside the building, Lilith suddenly felt Charlotte’s mana signature spike before vanishing.

Her eyes immediately narrowed.

A dangerous smile appeared on her face.

"Kael..."

For some reason, Kael felt another chill run down his spine.

And this time it was far worse than before.