The Villainous Noble Regressed With The Villain System
Chapter 45: Class Division Exam [37]

Chapter 45: Class Division Exam [37]

ACT 12 : THE FINAL FIGHT

The golem advanced—its footsteps like war drums, steady and unhurried, a thing without rage or hesitation.

Dorian and Monica stood side by side, both ragged, bleeding, and breathless.

"I don’t have much left in me," Monica muttered, cracking her knuckles. "You?"

"I barely have a plan," Dorian said, eyes narrowing. "But that’s better than nothing."

The golem lifted its arm, rotating its wrist with a screech of ancient servos. Its shoulder emitted a pulse of mana so strong that the air distorted.

BOOM.

The blast cracked the wall behind them, sending fragments skittering. Monica darted forward in a blur—using her remaining blood mana to leap high and strike its shoulder joint. Sparks flew, but the golem barely flinched.

Dorian had already vanished into the shadows behind it, scanning with precise eyes. Aetheric cores—five of them—two in the legs, one in the chest, two in the arms. The main core glowed faintly inside the chest cavity.

"Chest. Aim for the chest," he called out.

Monica flipped backwards, dodging a blade that extended from the golem’s forearm. "Easier said than done!"

Dorian hurled a small vial that shattered against its leg—frost spread like vines, slowing its movement for just a second. Enough.

Monica surged forward, her hands coated in golden-red fire, slamming them into the golem’s chest with a scream. It staggered, stumbling back.

But it wasn’t over.

The machine recalibrated.

Launched a spinning blade.

Monica ducked.

Dorian tackled her out of the way, both of them hitting the ground hard. The ceiling cracked above them. Time was thinning.

"I’ll distract. You climb," Dorian said quickly.

"You’ll die."

"Probably."

But she didn’t argue.

The next sequence unfolded in silence—Monica scaling its back using loose armor plating as grips, Dorian darting beneath its legs, throwing sparks and shards from his belt pouches to keep its gaze shifting.

She reached the chest. Dorian screamed, "NOW!"

There was a flash.

And a crack.

Then silence.

---

Outside the Dungeon – Southern Forest of Grisha

The rescue camp had sprawled beyond its planned perimeter. The dungeon’s mouth glowed with shimmering sigils to keep the portal stable, while triage tents buzzed with mages, medics, and crying students.

Alicia Rowan stood just beyond the portal, red cloak fluttering with the soft wind. Her arms were crossed, her expression unreadable.

Professor Valerys stood beside her, her hands wrapped around a glowing clipboard.

"We’ve recovered 187 students so far," Valerys said, glancing up. "Some injured, some unconscious. Some just... shaken."

"They’re still coming," Alicia replied calmly.

Valerys studied her face. "You’ve been quiet."

"I’m listening."

"To?"

Alicia looked ahead. "Footsteps. Breathing. Mistakes."

There was a pause before Valerys murmured, "You’re worried about your brother."

"I’m always worried when I don’t see the knife coming," Alicia said. "And Dorian... he doesn’t raise knives. He just rearranges the world so they fall."

A faint explosion echoed from within the dungeon.

Both turned to the entrance.

A silhouette emerged—bloodied, yet standing.

Monica Croft.

Valerys moved to help, but Alicia raised a hand. "Wait."

Monica didn’t stumble. She didn’t waver. But something had shifted in her—her stance was no longer coiled with tension, no longer hunting. Her eyes, still fierce, held a strange calm.

She nodded at them, then walked past silently, cloak trailing ash and dust.

"She’s changed," Valerys observed.

Alicia didn’t respond. She was already scanning the portal again.

A few minutes passed. Two more students emerged—supporting each other. One limping. One whispering something about golems.

Valerys marked them on her list. "That’s 199."

Alicia blinked.

She turned to her.

"How many entered?"

Valerys hesitated. Checked her data again.

"197. There were 197 first-year examinees registered."

Alicia narrowed her eyes. "Count again."

Valerys did.

Then once more.

And for a third time, just to be sure.

She looked up slowly. "Still 199."

A long silence stretched between them.

No one was panicking yet—because the students were being processed quietly, without fuss. None of them looked out of place. No one had noticed anything strange.

And that made it worse.

"No one unaccounted for?" Alicia asked.

Valerys shook her head. "I recognize every face. They’re all students. Names match, mana signatures match. I... don’t understand."

Alicia didn’t speak. Her eyes were on the forest shadows now—where someone should have come out.

But didn’t.

---

Monica’s Perspective

The sunlight hit her face and nearly blinded her.

She winced, adjusting to it as her boots touched real earth again—grass instead of ash. The scent of fresh air nearly made her dizzy.

She had survived.

They had survived.

She glanced behind her, expecting to see him—Dorian Valen.

But he was gone.

Of course, he was gone.

There had been a secondary exit, a collapsed corridor that Dorian had noticed during the fight.

He chose that path, not for safety, but to remain unseen.

To stay a shadow.

Monica walked on, past the guards, past the mages, past the students.

Something inside her had changed.

It wasn’t forgiveness. It wasn’t even closure.

It was something quieter.

Like a fire finally learning it didn’t have to burn everything.

Her chest still ached with old memories, but they no longer roared like wildfire. They smoldered—faint, manageable.

She didn’t know what Dorian Valen was anymore.

But she knew what he wasn’t.

He wasn’t the villain from her past.

And maybe... he wasn’t her enemy in this life.

---

Far From the Crowd

A shadow leaned against the ruins of a broken tree, hidden from view. His cloak was torn, face bloodied, but his eyes were sharp as ever.

Dorian Valen watched the encampment from afar.

He saw Monica emerge.

He saw her walk away.

He smiled, faintly.

Then turned.

His path was not theirs. Not yet.

---

Back At the Camp

Alicia finished the headcount again. Still 199.

She said nothing, but Valerys caught her glance.

"We keep this between us?" the professor asked.

"For now," Alicia said coldly. "But find out who they are."

Valerys nodded and moved off.

Alicia remained, watching the portal.

Her brother had vanished.

Monica had returned.

And two new names had silently joined the ranks.

The dungeon had ended.

But something else had begun.

***********************

Author’s Note :

The first event of the arc, the class division exam has ended.

Tell me your thoughts in the comments.

If you have any suggestions on how to proceed, feel free to drop it in the comments too.

Next, we are going bigger for the second event.

Next Chapter - The Rewards

*******************

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