Correcting the Villainess of the Academy

The darkness had already settled around, allowing us to clearly see the numerous trails of light created by the gunfire.

From afar, I could sense something had changed in the village.

In that moment, the faces of my mother, Jin Ho, and Ina flashed through my mind.

Right now, they were all inside the village.

“Yuna, you stay here! I’m going to the village…”

“No! Absolutely not!”

Ina desperately prevented me from rushing out.

“I have to go check if Mom and my friends are okay…!”

“We don’t even know what’s happening! Just wait and observe for a bit…!”

“That’s exactly why I need to go see!”

“No way! If you really want to go, then take me with you!”

Ina stubbornly pulled me back.

There was no more time to argue, and feeling anxious, I had no choice but to pull Ina along towards the village.

As I hurriedly ran, I stumbled several times down the hillside, but I didn’t feel pain at all.

The village soon became hidden behind trees.

Now, we could only hear sounds.

Ta-ta-ta-ta…

Bang! Kwang…!

The once loud explosions began to subside gradually.

I desperately prayed that it wasn’t anything serious.

I kept wishing that the boastful captain of the guard had fulfilled his duty.

Huff… Huff…!

After running for a while, we finally descended the mountain.

Before us lay a gruesome scene.

I couldn’t fathom what could have happened in such a short time.

Uncontained flames flickered everywhere.

The walls surrounding the village were badly damaged in places.

There was merely an empty hole where the main gate used to be.

Surrounding it were marks that looked like animal hooves scattered chaotically.

All the hoof prints pointed inward, toward the village.

I soon spotted a corpse lying atop the wall.

It was a horrifying sight—its neck brutally torn, leaving only the torso.

What lay beneath it was the necklace of the guard I had happily greeted just this morning.

“No… No…”

Seeing the corpse made my heart race even faster.

“Wait… going further in is really dangerous…!”

“Stay here. I’ll be right back…”

“No! Hyun Ah…!”

I shook off Ina, who was trying to hold me back, and headed toward the village.

I entered the hole we had escaped from and ran down the path behind the village.

The sights inside were far more horrific than what I had seen from outside.

Buildings lay crumbled everywhere.

Dark, sticky liquid of unidentified origin was splattered across the ground.

The flames that hadn’t been extinguished flickered ominously, and thick black smoke began to sting my eyes and throat.

As I cautiously moved while scanning the surroundings, I discovered a body lying in a side street by the square.

It was the captain of the guard.

Unable to protect the village, he still stared defiantly with his eyes wide open even in death.

His blade, which he always wore at his waist, lay broken and discarded in the dirt.

The fact that the captain had ended up like this indicated that the situation had turned dire.

And then I quickly noticed something strange.

Next to him lay several more corpses, their blood pooling around them.

Though they looked somewhat human, they were much larger and covered in black fur.

Where there should have been feet, there were massive hooves. On their necks were the heads of beasts adorned with long, twisted horns.

For a moment, I was stunned by their grotesque appearance, but suddenly the sound of footsteps in the distance brought me back to reality.

The sound was rough and rugged like that of a horse or goat. Instinctively, I hid behind a large tree trunk along the side path.

At first, I thought it might be survivors from the village, but that hope quickly shattered.

Instead of survivors, strange monsters with black, curly fur and beastly heads emerged.

While their sizes and colors varied, they looked just like the corpses I had seen moments ago.

Each of them had dark red stains around their mouths that mixed with saliva.

Their vertically slit pupils were eerily unnerving.

One of them made a crunching sound as it constantly chewed on something.

I didn’t want to know what was in its mouth.

They communicated with each other in a language reminiscent of animal howls. Then, the lead one sniffed the air, exhaling roughly.

Instinctively, I covered my mouth to hold my breath, fearing they might catch my scent.

Fortunately, thanks to the smoke and flames surrounding us, they tilted their heads and moved away.

Only after they had completely disappeared did I finally exhale the breath I had been holding.

I quickly recalled the identity of these monsters.

They were the Demon Race.

Sinners cursed by the gods to become grotesque beasts.

Though they had been expelled to the northern side beyond the walls, they were a vile folk waiting for any opportunity to invade.

The monsters from the story Ina had once told me had just passed right in front of me.

But I had no time to relax, even for a moment.

Before long, I realized that our house lay in the direction the monsters had gone.

“No…”

I forced my unwilling body to rise.

I gripped my trembling hands and pounding heart tightly.

I hid among the debris and moved forward.

Soon, I caught sight of familiar faces in unfamiliar states.

The grocery store grandpa who always gave me extra change when I bought something.

The movie theater sister who always smiled at me.

The neighbor uncle who sang loudly every time he drank.

The people I had smiled and greeted just yesterday were now cold corpses, lying scattered on the ground.

Thud!

It was becoming incredibly hard to keep my sanity.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me.

For a moment, my heart sank, but soon I heard Ina’s breathless voice from behind me.

“Huff… huff… What are you doing, Hyun Ah? Didn’t you see those monsters gathered over there? There are dozens of them. We need to get out of here, fast…!”

“No… Mom… Jin Ho… Ina…!”

“…It’s too late.”

“…What?”

“I just checked that way. The villagers are all…”

The moment I heard Ina’s words, a pain squeezed my chest as if something was gripping it.

With a gloomy expression, Ina continued to pull my hand, persistently trying to drag me away.

Growl…

But just then, a low, strange cry echoed from behind us.

We turned around and soon saw three monsters standing not far away.

The same monsters had returned to find us.

Upon spotting us, they grinned malevolently, their smiles stretching wide.

One tilted its head back to gaze at the sky and let out a scream that seemed to tear the very air apart.

Shortly after, the sound of dozens of hooves shaking the ground began to approach from a distance.

“What the hell are you… why are you committing such… such acts in our village…”

Like it was the most natural thing in the world, the monsters offered no response.

They only grinned that wicked, grotesque smile, drooling as if eyeing a delicious meal.

It wasn’t until the situation reached this point that I began to regain some semblance of sanity.

It became painfully clear that they intended to kill us just like the villagers.

I thought first of Ina’s safety.

Ina had walked into danger because of my stubbornness.

Though it was already too late, I had to find a way to save Ina.

If the alarm system had worked properly, the chaos would have been communicated to adjacent areas by now.

Considering when the explosions first sounded, if we could just get out of the village, help would soon arrive.

That meant now, while other demons hadn’t approached, was our only chance.

“…Yuna, I’ll hold the monsters. You need to escape!”

“What do you mean—!”

In that moment, I made a snap decision and dashed forward, telling Ina as I went.

I charged straight at the demon in front of me.

I fought desperately to create an opening for Ina to escape.

Thud!

Pow!

“Gah…!”

But at just 16 years old, and being rather petite among my peers, there was no way I could hold off three demons that were bigger than any adult man.

As soon as I lunged, they began to beat me mercilessly, and I tumbled into the dirt.

I tasted something warm and metallic in my mouth; it seemed I had started to bleed.

I wondered why they hadn’t killed me immediately by breaking my neck, but then I saw their expressions, almost amused as if watching a monkey perform.

“No…!”

“Hyun Ah!!”

Despite my efforts, Ina simply looked distraught and showed no intention of escaping.

Before I knew it, the demons seemed to change targets and left me to approach Ina.

“I told you… not to!”

I struggled to rise, swaying unsteadily. I stepped in between Ina and the demons again.

But the demon dodged my feeble attack with barely any effort.

Then it extended its claws and slashed me, while I had lost my balance from the previous strike.

Slash!

“Ahhh!”

By turning my head instinctively, I managed to avoid a fatal blow. However, I immediately felt a burning sensation and pain radiating from the skin beneath my eyes.

I sensed a warm liquid trickling down my face.

As I collapsed back to the ground, the demon approached me, gripping my neck roughly and lifting me into the air.

Cough… cough…

“Hyun Ah!!!”

I could feel the merciless grip tightening around my throat.

Far away, I could hear Ina calling my name.

In that moment, thinking I might die from asphyxiation, the demon hurled me against a stone wall.

Crash!!

“Gah… cough…!”

As I hit the wall, intense pain enveloped me, making it feel like all my bones were breaking.

My head felt heavy, and my consciousness began to blur.

The last sight I saw was Ina rushing towards me.

And the demon turning around to target her neck.

Seeing my pitiful state, Ina cried out almost in despair.

“NO!!!!!!”

And the moment our eyes met as she rushed forward, I lost all consciousness.

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