The Villain's Savior: My Spectacular Comeback

"Give it to her, Brandi. It is for the greater good of the academy."

The words hit Brandi Ratcliff like a bucket of ice water. She snapped her eyes open. Her lungs heaved, sucking in the stale, incense-heavy air of the Dean's office. For a split second, all she could see was the crimson blood from her past life, the feeling of her magic circuits being drained dry until her veins collapsed.

Her heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She blinked, forcing the red haze to clear.

She was here. Silver Peak Academy. The massive, oppressive oak desk. The vaulted ceiling. She was alive.

Dean Obadiah Thorne slammed the base of his wooden staff against the stone floor. The heavy thud echoed off the stone walls, a physical pressure meant to force her into submission.

"Did you hear me, Brandi?" Obadiah's voice dripped with condescension. "Your refusal to hand over the Azure Lotus Artifact is entirely selfish. You are stunting the growth of this institution."

Brandi Ratcliff's stomach twisted. The phantom pain of her past death flared in her chest. She looked at the people standing before her.

Leland Draper stepped forward. His brow furrowed in that familiar, fake expression of concern.

"Brandi, please," Leland said, his tone thick with pressure masked as kindness. "Just give the artifact to Seraphina. She needs it more than you do. You know her core is fragile."

Behind Leland's broad shoulders, Seraphina Lowell peeked out. Her eyes were already rimmed with red. She pressed a pristine white handkerchief to her mouth, her shoulders trembling perfectly on cue.

"I... I don't need it, Leland," Seraphina whispered, her voice shaking. "Don't force her. I can manage my pain."

Brandi Ratcliff stared at that beautiful, hypocritical face. A cold, dismissive half-smile tugged at the corner of Brandi's mouth. She didn't scream. She didn't defend herself like the desperate, naive girl she had been in her past life.

She reached inside her heavy academy robe. Her fingertips brushed the cold, metallic petals of the Azure Lotus Artifact. The moment she touched it, she felt the steady pulse of her own magic connected to it.

Leland saw her hand move. His eyes widened in panic. He thought she was going to attack. He drew his wand instantly, stepping fully in front of Seraphina, his muscles tense.

Brandi ignored his pathetic display of chivalry. She pulled the artifact out. A soft, blue light spilled into the dim office, illuminating the greed that flashed in Obadiah's eyes.

Obadiah stepped forward, reaching his hand out to take the priceless treasure.

Brandi didn't hand it over. Instead, she gripped the lotus tightly and violently severed the soul contract connecting it to her core.

The pain was instantaneous and brutal. Acid burned up her throat. Her vision fractured into jagged white lines. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead as her magic circuits screamed in protest, but she bit down on her lower lip so hard she tasted copper. She didn't make