Hero Party's Villain: What's the Point If Heroines Are Not Broken?-Chapter 21- Arrival of Announcement day

Cough

"Argh—thud."Zekk dropped.

His body hit the ground with a dull thud, legs sprawled out as his back slid halfway up the tree trunk before collapsing fully, his head tilted sideways, one eye barely open.

His shirt was torn from the collar down, clinging in shreds to one shoulder while the rest hung loose like a broken rag. Dirt clung to the side of his face, and a faint line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Hey! What the hell—" the girl in his group screamed, stepping back in disbelief.

Riven didn’t even glance her way.

He stood there, shirtless—his own uniform discarded somewhere behind him, sweat lining his collarbones, knuckles scraped. A faint cut bled down his rib. But his breathing was steady. Controlled.

He raised a single finger to his lips and said, flatly, "Shut up, Reena."

She froze.

The silence hit harder than the punches.

Around them, students had gathered like a slow-building wave—at first a few, now dozens. No one said anything at first. Just staring. Watching.

Most of them didn’t even know how it started—only that it had been going on for a while. Some whispered that it had already been thirty minutes since the first hit. Others had seen pieces of it. But none had expected to see this.

Riven—the guy most people only half noticed during classes, known more for his gym tags than classroom chatter—had just beaten down four upper-year muscle heads. Guys nearly his size. One by one. And he was still standing.

"What the hell did we just watch?"

"Wait, he took all of them?"

"Zekk too? You’re kidding."

Some students slowly pulled out their phones but didn’t dare lift them fully. A few had already run to call a teacher. The smarter ones kept their distance.

The rest of Zekk’s group were scattered. One guy curled up near the canal railing, groaning. Another sat on the ground near a bench, legs shaking, nose bleeding. A third had slipped away mid-fight and never came back.

"Hooo, damn man, my ribs hurt." Riven slowly sat down on the stone bench near the canal path, his body finally catching up with the chaos it had just unleashed.

He stretched his back, groaning.

Blackish bruises had already begun blooming across his ribs, shoulder, and under his jaw where a fist had connected hard. His knuckles were raw, some skin split.

Dried blood crusted along the side of his torso. Sweat clung to his skin, dirt layered over it like he’d rolled through a sandpit.

"Damn..." he muttered under his breath, tilting his neck to one side with a click.

"Hold still," came a voice from behind.

Slap

"Agh—Hey!" Riven flinched, twisting his head as a firm, warm muscle-bandage patch was smacked straight onto the bruised side of his back.

His friend—Nilo—stood there, glasses sliding a bit down his nose, sleeves still neat despite everything. A medical roll in one hand, cool as ever.

"It’ll help," Nilo said simply, brushing his hands clean like the job was done.

Riven narrowed his eyes at him. "A little warning, genius."

Nilo ignored the protest and walked over to where the other nerd—the one who had been pinned to the tree—was trying to stand. The boy’s thin legs were wobbling slightly, one knee bruised, his frame clearly not built to take hits like that.

His shirt was half torn at the elbow, and his hands were scraped, likely from being shoved into the bark repeatedly.

Nilo knelt beside him without a word, holding a hand out.

The boy glanced down at it... then up at Nilo.

His glare was sharp—too sharp for someone barely standing.

And with one shaky arm, he slapped Nilo’s hand away.

"I said thank you," the boy muttered, voice low, shaking, but still managing to stand on his own. He pushed his palm against the tree and used one leg to brace, slowly rising.

Nilo stood back, unfazed.

The boy leaned down, picking up his broken glasses—one lens shattered entirely, the other cracked like a spiderweb.

He grabbed the book from Reena’s hand—who had been standing nearby, silent the whole time.

She didn’t say a word.

Just clenched her jaw tightly, watching him go.

The boy limped off with the book tucked under one arm, fingers curled tightly around the frame of the glasses like he refused to let go of even that.

Riven, still seated, ruffled his hair, wincing slightly at the pain shooting down his side.

He glanced at Nilo and raised a brow.

"Isn’t guys with glasses normally humble?"

"How would I know, you dumb—" Nilo adjusted his glasses, tone flat but clearly about to continue.

He didn’t get the chance.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

The sharp sound of formal heels against the stone path echoed across the gathering, slicing through the soft murmurs like a blade. Heads turned. Students instinctively straightened, parting like water around a stone.

Three girls in uniform walked briskly ahead—badges pinned, armbands visible. Behind them came the figure everyone knew even before they saw her.

She wasn’t tall. But she didn’t need to be.

Her presence moved faster than her steps.

Kaela Virelle, Student Council President.

Slightly darker-skinned than most, her tone matched Riven’s—earth-warmed bronze with a cooler undertone.

Her black hair was tied high in a tight braid that swung across her back like a whip, not a single strand out of place.

Her blazer was sharp, cuffs folded cleanly at the wrist, and a silver badge gleamed just above her chest, catching the sun.

Her expression? Tired. Annoyed. Disappointed.

All at once.

She took one glance at the torn-up uniforms, at Zekk still slumped near the tree, the bandage on Riven’s back, and didn’t hesitate.

"What is happening here?" she snapped, voice sharp and cutting. "Are you again fighting, Riven!?"

Instant silence.

Every eye turned toward him like clockwork.

Riven’s mouth twitched. He didn’t even stand—just leaned forward slightly with an exhausted sigh and lifted one hand.

"Oh, come on, big sis. Are you really going to put this all on me again?"

Kaela’s eyes narrowed—but before she could speak, the world around them... paused.

And then it came.

Not a sound, not a broadcast—but a voice.

It rang directly inside their minds.

『 You have been chosen. 15 souls now bear the seal of crossing. You who stand at the edge of fate—listen. 』

Riven straightened. His fingers twitched slightly. Nilo’s eyes went wide behind his glasses.

Kaela froze mid-step, one foot hovering slightly above the stone path.

Reena’s mouth parted. Zekk’s back stiffened against the tree bark, a low grunt escaping his lips.

Even the nerd boy who had just limped off—his body jerked as if someone had whispered directly into his skull.

He looked around wildly, disoriented.

Even the three girls behind the Student Council President and those 3 bullies in Zekk’s gang slowly groaned and moved, hearing it loud and clear.

All of them heard it.

『 The gate to Elvarae awaits. But only those who solve the sacred riddle shall reach the threshold and become the savior of the lost world in the end of time. 』

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