The Villains Must Win-Chapter 120: The Void

"How noble of you to sacrifice yourself for Valerian Cross," the bunny said, tilting his head as if amused.

I grinned, stretching my arms into the endless dark sky, feeling the cold seep into my bones. "Well, what can I say? A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to win." I exhaled, watching my breath curl into the night air. "Now, I better get that perfect stars for this—plus an extra. Burning alive isn’t exactly a wonderful feeling, you know."

The bunny twirled his cane lazily, tapping it against the dark floor. A shimmering ripple spread outward, swallowing the void like ink spilling into water. In its place, a glowing galaxy unfolded beneath us—a swirling, endless Milky Way. And then, just like that, it zoomed into a world.

"Your score will depend on the outcome of your decisions," he said. "So let’s watch what happens after you die, shall we?"

Usually, I hated watching the endings. It left a bittersweet aftertaste, like the hollow feeling after finishing a really good game. A punctured hole in my heart, knowing it was over. The thrill, the struggle, the heartbreak—it was all part of the game. The high of victory always came with the weight of loss.

But this time, I couldn’t look away.

Valerian Cross—the man I had envisioned, the one I had shaped with my choices—stood at the center of it all. With him in CROSS, the balance between the Church and the creatures of the night was maintained for years.

Despite his deep-seated hatred for their kind, Evelyn Night’s death left a crack in that armor of prejudice. A small, hesitant understanding took root, stopping him from striking first and asking questions later.

Because of that, many creatures of the night who sought peace found refuge under CROSS. The organization grew unshakable, holding strong against the Church’s pressure and even the power-hungry vampire clans.

Valerian led with strength and compassion, his name sung in generations to come.

But he never married.

Servants whispered that their lord spent his nights visiting a private altar in his mansion—one he built to honor the first witch he had ever made a contract with.

Evelyn Night.

Every evening, he brought her flowers.

Every night, he left small gifts, as if he were courting her.

Some said she had been his greatest love—a tragic love story that never had the chance to bloom.

Others believed she had cast a spell on him, a lingering curse even in death.

When asked, Valerian would only smile faintly, his sharp, piercing gaze softening for just a moment.

"She’s . . . something else," he’d say. And nothing more.

As for Stephany and Lucien Blood?

Ah. Well.

The lovebirds got their happy ending—if you call being exiled, stripped of power, and living in poverty romantic.

The wound Evelyn inflicted on Lucien never healed. His strength never returned. And with his power diminished, his younger brother overthrew him, taking the Blood household for himself.

Thrown out like garbage, Lucien and Stephany had no choice but to live in a run-down hut in some frozen wasteland.

Stephany, born into riches, had never worked a day in her life. She wasn’t accustomed to suffering. And soon, reality hit her like a truck.

They were so poor they made rats look wealthy.

When Stephany encountered Valerian again—by sheer chance—she begged him to take her back to the castle.

He barely even looked at her.

In his eyes, his sister had died the moment she became a vampire. To him, Stephany was the sole reason Evelyn was gone—the reason the woman he loved had been burned at the stake.

There was no hatred. No anger. Just indifference.

That was what broke her the most.

Left with no choice, Stephany turned to stealing, then killing, desperate to reclaim even a fraction of her old life. But soon, she and Lucien were hunted down by vampire slayers. Their love story ended not with eternity, but with a stake through their heart.

I exhaled sharply. "Whew. I say that’s a fitting end."

The bunny gave me a flat look. "The system grants you four stars."

"Four?!" I spun toward him, outraged. "Are you kidding me? That was the ultimate sacrifice! No woman would ever do what I did. Burning at the stake is no joke!"

"If it were up to me, I’d give you two stars," he said dryly. "Four is already generous."

I scowled, crossing my arms. "Maybe I should’ve picked the runaway route . . . But then, the world would be doomed without Valerian in power."

I tapped my chin, thinking aloud. "If I had run with him, he would’ve been on the Church and the vampires’ hit list. And knowing that guy? The one trained since birth to be responsible and dutiful? Sooner or later, he’d crawl back to CROSS, only to find himself against both factions at once. Would that be better?"

The bunny raised a brow. "Are you losing your edge?"

I groaned. "Maybe. I’ve been playing too many RPGs lately. I forgot how romance and otome games work."

Dramatically sighing, I turned back to him. "So? Can I at least move up to B-rank worlds?"

"B-rank is too early for you."

I narrowed my eyes. "Then I’m stuck in C-rank again?"

"Correct. And this time, you’re doing high school romance."

I froze. "High school romance?"

The bunny grinned smugly. "High school romance."

I groaned, rubbing my face. "I eat stories like that for breakfast."

"Good. Then I expect nothing less than a perfect star rating from you."

Before I could protest, a bright light exploded in my vision.

And the next thing I knew—

I was unconscious.

When I opened my eyes—

I was in another world.

A modern one.

And judging by the row of lockers, the faint scent of cheap cafeteria food, and the distant sound of someone getting stuffed into a locker while screaming for mercy—

I was in high school.

Oh great. My worst nightmare just came to life.

Back in the day, when bullying was practically a national sport, I was an unfortunate Olympic athlete—on the receiving end. If there were medals for getting dunked in toilets, tripped in hallways, or mysteriously "losing" their lunch money every day, I’d have been a world champion.

That was the golden era of my tragic shut-in lifestyle, the backstory of why I became a NEET and swore off all social interactions.

But hey, I wasn’t that same person anymore. I had leveled up. I had gained confidence, developed an iron will, and—most importantly—acquired an in-game system that gave me missions and rewards. I had touched grass! Voluntarily!

And now, I was back in this hellhole.

I took a deep breath, then immediately gagged on the scent of overcooked mystery meat.

Still, a game was a game.

And this time, I was determined to be the one doing the bullying.

. . . Metaphorically speaking, of course. Probably. Maybe. Okay, fine, I’d settle for being socially competent.

Then my brain got hit with a tsunami of data. If info dumps were a weapon, I had just been nuked.

In this world, the male lead was Roman Vaughn—and if the name alone didn’t scream badass, then his entire existence did.

He was the quintessential high school heartthrob: rich, effortlessly cool, and devastatingly handsome. A natural athlete, the type who could roll out of bed, smirk, and suddenly have a crowd of girls swooning at his feet. And, of course, he had a playboy reputation—because what was a rich, athletic bad boy without a history of breaking hearts?

And then, against all odds, this bad-boy alpha-wannabe fell hard for Gwendolyn Eldridge.

How?

Well, it all started with a stolen first kiss—one he took purely on impulse, expecting a slap or maybe a dramatic gasp. But instead, Gwendolyn burst into tears and run away.

Not exactly the reaction Roman was going for.

And yet . . . he was intrigued.

Who was this girl?

A brainy nerd with wavy brown hair—always tied in a high ponytail—who hid behind thick glasses that only partially concealed her angelic features and big, beautiful brown eyes. The kind of girl who was never seen without a book in her hands, too lost in her fictional worlds to notice the chaos unfolding around her.

She wasn’t like the girls who usually threw themselves at him. No, she actually cried because of him—not out of love, but outrage. And for some reason, Roman found that irresistible.

Thus began their classic high school romance—a timeless tale of the beautiful, nerdy bookworm and the rebellious, ridiculously attractive bad boy.

Enter the villain.

A tall, skinny geek with a perpetually gloomy aura and a name that sounded like he was born to be misunderstood: Reid Graves.

Even his presence radiated social anxiety. He was the president of the Science and Math Club, a walking encyclopedia, and the proud owner of zero charisma. Naturally, he and Gwendolyn shared many common interests—and, unsurprisingly, he had a massive crush on her.

But there was no love triangle in this story. Oh no.

Just a classic tale of jealousy, drama, and teenage heartbreak—because while Roman was out there being a heartbreaker, Reid was the one always there to pick up the pieces.