"You're becoming what the Council fears most. A person who refuses the role." She smiled slightly. "You're becoming a protagonist in your own. And that disrupts everything."

I thought about the system. The Villain Reformation System that was guiding me. Was it part of the Council's plan? Or something else? Was me being here part of their plans?

"The assassination attempt at the Spring Festival," I said. "That was them trying to get me back on script?"

"Exactly. You were supposed to die. When you didn't just survive but actively prevented it and saved Adrian in the process, something that's completely off-script, you became a priority concern." She pulled out documents covered in strange symbols. "I've been monitoring Council activity through certain... channels. They're confused by you. You saved their chosen hero. That's not a villain behavior. It breaks their narrative categories."

"Good, confused enemies are easier to fight." I said even though I knew the Council are a different type of enemy that could kill me with a single look.

"Don't get cocky. Confused enemies are also unpredictable." She set down the documents. "They will escalate. The poison attempt was a test. Next time will be more direct."

"Let them escalate. I'll handle it."

"That confidence will get you killed if you're not careful." But she smiled. "Though I suppose a little confidence is necessary for what you're attempting."

"You mentioned enforcers earlier. Tell me about them." They are part of what I should know about.

Professor Iris's expression darkened. She moved to a locked drawer, pulled out sketches, crude but detailed drawings of five figures.

"The Council has five members. Each one represents a different aspect of world control."

She laid out the first drawing: a figure in judge's robes, faceless and imposing.

"The Judge. Decides who's hero and who's villain. Who deserves redemption and who deserves death. Pure moral authority made manifest. When the Judge appears, it can literally rewrite someone's role in the world. Turn a hero into a villain with a single declaration."

Second drawing is a figure with a quill, writing in the air itself.

"The Author. Writes events directly into reality. When someone has an 'unlikely coincidence' that saves them at the last moment, that's the Author's work. When a villain makes a 'stupid mistake' at a critical juncture, that's the Author forcing things forward."

Third drawing is a figure with scissors, cold and clinical.

"The Editor removes inconsistencies from the world. People who don't fit. Witnesses who remember things differently. Anyone who threatens coherence." She touched the drawing gently. "The Editor is how they killed Marcus with a clean removal. No traces. Reality itself rewrites to forget they ever existed.

"You should be weary if the Editor first before any of them."

My blood ran cold at that. Complete erasure from existence.

Fourth drawing is a figure carrying a massive tome.

"The Publisher. Harvests the energy from completed cycles. Appears at the end of cycles to collect the accumulated power. When a cycle concludes, hero triumphant, villains defeated, order restored, the Publisher arrives to reap the rewards."

Fifth drawing is a figure shrouded in shadow, with countless eyes.

"The Reader. Observes and influences emotional reactions. Makes people feel what they needs them to feel. When everyone inexplicably loves the hero despite questionable actions, that's the Reader manipulating emotional responses. When everyone hates a villain regardless of their actual deeds, also the Reader."

She gathered the drawings together.

"These five beings aren't just powerful. They're fundamental forces of reality itself. You can't fight them with normal means. They exist partially outside reality, manipulating it like we might manipulate a story we're writing."

"They have weaknesses though," I said. "Otherwise resistance would be impossible."

"Perceptive." She smiled. "Yes. They have limitations. They can't directly interfere too often, it's too obvious, too disruptive to the illusion of free will. They prefer subtle manipulation. Working through agents and suggestions rather than direct action."

"Agents like who?"

"Some Academy Board members are unknowing agents, influenced through suggestions and social pressure. Certain nobles backing Adrian receive 'inspired ideas' that serve the Council's purposes. The Church leadership genuinely believes they're serving divine will, but they're actually following Council-inspired doctrine." She paused. "And then there's the voice in Adrian's head. That's direct Council communication, though he thinks it's divine guidance."

"So Adrian is a puppet."

"A puppet who doesn't know he's being manipulated. Which makes him both dangerous and pitiable." She softened slightly. "He genuinely believes he's destined to be a hero. The Council has been grooming him since birth, probably before. Every 'choice' he makes has been carefully suggested to him. And to be fair, he's destined. He is the Hero and the world will bend that for him."

I thought about Adrian's behavior. His growing desperation. His need to control everything. Suddenly it made more sense, he was fighting to maintain a destiny he'd been told was his birthright.

"Can he be freed from their control?"

"I don't know." Professor Iris looked troubled. "Marcus thought he could save me when we were enemies. He was right, I broke free from my villain role. But I was never as deeply controlled as Adrian is. He's been their project his entire life."

"I'm going to try anyway."

"That's either very brave or very foolish."

"Probably both."

"Then let me tell you about the enforcers. In the world, different nations and countries worship some kind of god or such, but what they're really worshiping is the Council. The enforcers are chosen by this 'gods' to represent the direct will of the Council.

"Different organizations and cults have their own. If there's something they need done, they would send this enforcers."

My eyes narrowed. "Is the Demon King part of the enforcers? How can we keep having different Demon King all the time to fight with?"

Professor Iris sighed. "I don't know. There are lots of things I don't know about the world. There must be others fighting the Council but I've far removed myself that I don't associate with them. I'm afraid you'll have to find out such yourself."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.