THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 316: No Way Back (1)

Everything happened so fast, some of them barely had time to process it.

As their feet landed on a barren land, utterly devoid of life, the reactions varied among the elite class students who had just been mercilessly thrown into an unknown territory.

Among them was Frey, kneeling on one knee, running his bare hand through the rough sand with a deep frown on his face.

”What just happened?”

It was Seris Moonlight who voiced the question haunting them all.

They were supposed to arrive in the Nightmare Lands, as theyʼd been told.

But the strange deviation during teleportation suggested otherwise—something had gone wrong.

Of course, they had no way of knowing that this deviation had actually saved them, caused by Freyʼs intervention through the system.

Had he not acted, they wouldʼve ended up walking straight into the ambush the Ultras had prepared for them.

The elite students werenʼt fools—or at least, not all of them were.

After scanning their surrounding .. the barren plains stretching far into a distant mountain range, the desolate, grim aura hanging in the air—

”…Ultras Continent.”

Ghost murmured those words. His voice, usually too quiet for anyone to notice, was for some reason heard clearly by everyone in that moment.

Truth be told, they had all been thinking the same thing, but none of them had the courage to say it out loud and face the reality.

”Youʼre wrong!”

Unlike Ghostʼs calmness, a panicked cry rang out from the youngest daughter of Lord Sunlight—Scarite.

It seemed she hadnʼt intended to yell, judging by the way she flinched once all eyes landed on her. Her next words came much softer.

”You donʼt know that…”

In other words, he couldnʼt be sure this was the Ultras Continent.

”T-Thatʼs right… itʼs probably just part of the test.”

”Yeah!”

Both Adriana Heijeforn and Emilia Atarax hurried to agree with Scar, trying their best to hold themselves together and stay positive.

Ghost showed no change in expression, even with the weight of their situation pressing down on them. He simply responded in the same calm tone.

”Thatʼs true. I donʼt actually know if weʼre on the Ultras Continent.”

”Exactly, you canʼt—”

”But…”

Ghost continued, undeterred by their interruption.

”None of you can deny it either.”

”Deny what…?”

He didnʼt bother explaining further—but Snow Lionheart was kind enough to step in.

”Just like we canʼt confirm this is the Ultras Continent, we also canʼt rule it out. And even if this were just a temple test, itʼs hard to believe.”

The teleportation gate theyʼd used was the same one other second-year students went through. But for some reason, only they were here.

Snow had considered the possibility of everything around them being an illusion—but quickly dismissed the idea. Several of them, himself included, had abilities that could detect such deceptions.

No matter how much he thought about it, he kept arriving at the same conclusion.

”Weʼre really in the Ultras Continent…”

He declared grimly in the middle of the barren desert.

”Youʼre telling me weʼre trapped in enemy territory, where every single person wants us dead?”

Danzo scowled, fully grasping the gravity of the situation. Forget returning to the Empire—would they even survive in a land full of enemies on the brink of war?

And again ... they werenʼt seasoned warriors. Most of them were just teenagers, some not even eighteen.

The sight of Emilia and Adriana collapsing to their knees in shock served as a grim reminder of that truth.

”No…”

”What are we going to do now?!”

Tears welled up, and panic spread like wildfire. Their minds simply couldnʼt handle the reality they were now facing.

Unlike Frey and a few others who had been through life-and-death situations before and could stay composed, the rest werenʼt as fortunate.

Emilia Ataraxʼs sobs, the despair and dread taking hold of them all—

It all came to a halt when the sharp clash of swords rang out.

Through a sudden swirl of dust caused by the impact, every eye turned to the two figures whose blades had met.

None of the elite students had noticed when—or how—Frey Starlight had drawn his sword. Nor how he had suddenly struck out at Prince Aegon Valerion, who blocked the attack using a wave of black lightning aura from his own blade.

Freyʼs cold eyes stabbed with a mixture of hatred and contempt toward that filthy prince.

”So you blocked it, huh?” Frey spoke with icy calm, while the prince responded with a trembling blade and a forced smile.

”Barely…”

With a swift slash of his sword, Frey knocked Aegon back. The prince braced his feet to stay grounded, barely holding on.

Despite using Black Lightning, he could only just parry Freyʼs blow—and still got pushed back several meters.

”That smile of yours... Youʼre actually enjoying this, you damn rat.”

Unlike Aegon, who struggled to stay steady, Frey walked toward him with a composed, unhurried pace, holding Balerion like a reaperʼs scythe.

”Frey, what are you doing?!”

After everything theyʼd just been through, no one expected Frey Starlight to launch a sudden attack on Aegon Valerion. The sheer shock of it sent panic rippling through the group.

A few students moved to intervene, but Frey let his aura loose deliberately—unleashing crushing pressure. For most of them, this was their first glimpse of what a Victoriad Champion was truly capable of.

”This isnʼt very polite… Frey Starlight, attacking me like this,”

Aegon swung his sword, his hand still trembling from the last clash, yet the smile never left his face.

Frey simply raised his blade again, pointing it at the prince.

”You knew it. From the start.”

”Thatʼs a God-damn lie.”

Aegon denied it instantly, but Frey didnʼt let up.

He showed no mercy to the foul prince, surging forward with Balerion charged by a wave of dark aura.

This time too, his strike was blocked—but not by Aegon.

Vermithor gleamed brightly as Snow intercepted Frey, steel clashing against steel.

”Thatʼs enough… Frey.”

”Snow…” Frey muttered his counterpartʼs name, still pressing forward. ”Step aside.”

”Look around you!”

Snowʼs voice boomed as his light-based aura clashed violently with Freyʼs darkness.

His words snapped Frey back to his senses, making him finally aware of the situation around him.

Without realizing it, most of the elite class had already started to shift toward Aegonʼs side.

Only a handful remained near Frey—and even among them, most stood in hesitant silence.

”Stop it, Frey. This isnʼt the time or place for this,” said Sansa, stepping beside him, trying to pull him back from the brink.

”Yes! Listen to them, Frey.”

From the other side, Aegon chuckled.

”Youʼre accusing me of causing this catastrophe? I mean, what would I gain by throwing myself into enemy territory alongside the Empireʼs top talents? Does that even make sense?”

Aegon Valerion answered with what he did best—words.

And gods, was he good at them.

”From where Iʼm standing, Lord Starlight… youʼre the one acting like a traitor.”

As Aegon spoke, gazes full of suspicion and judgment turned toward Frey.

In that moment, Frey finally realized the mistake he had made.

The prince had spent years building his reputation and status within the Empire, turning most people into mere pawns who trusted him implicitly.

Even those who hated him—like the witch Selena—had to obey, because he held their parents hostage.

As for Frey, there werenʼt many willing to stand with him against Aegon.

Yet even with the odds stacked against him, Frey didnʼt lose his composure—not for a second.