My Borderline Supervillain-Slash-Hero System
Chapter 96 The Masked Guy’s Identity

Chapter 96: Chapter 96 The Masked Guy’s Identity

The tea ceremony continued as Director Aaron and Dean Kora chatted about various cheerful developments at the academy.

When he sensed the right moment — noticing that she seemed less tense than when she had entered — Director Aaron spoke gently.

"Why did you come to me, Kora?"

Kora glanced at Pudge.

"Don’t worry about him," Director Aaron said, waving off her concern. "He’s one of us now. If it’s nothing personal, then please speak. Tomorrow marks the first day of the Fresher Ranking Tournament. I’ll be busy — and so will you."

His words, if decoded correctly, meant: We’re all busy people, Kora. Speak now or don’t speak at all.

Kora had come to confirm one thing.

After last night’s incident — attacking a fresher and then clashing with Shelby — she needed to ensure the Director hadn’t found out about her involvement.

More importantly, she needed to report the appearance of the masked man who had "killed" her yesterday. But saying everything outright wouldn’t be possible. Her plan was to subtly rope the Director into investigating the man on his own.

She believed this might be the best chance, especially with another Dean present.

"I heard there was a mysterious masked guy causing trouble for one of our freshers near the village outskirts?" she began carefully, testing the waters.

"Hmm. I’ve heard about that. The girl disappeared without a trace," Director Aaron said calmly.

"Sir, I went there this morning to check for clues, and I was suddenly attacked."

She pulled out a hand-drawn portrait and slid it toward Director Aaron.

He examined the drawing, his brows twitching with a brief frown.

"Continue your report. What happened next?" he asked.

"How could I engage someone like that? He’s clearly at your level, sir. Before knocking me out, he warned me—he told me to stay at least a hundred meters away from Zane Carter."

She leaned forward, lowering her voice: "I believe something serious is happening around the fresher, Zane Carter. We must act."

Director Aaron considered the sequence of recent events surrounding Zane. Kora’s claims, unfortunately, made sense.

Unseen by the two, Pudge raised his cup and took a sip of tea. For the briefest moment, a hidden smile touched his lips before he resumed his neutral expression.

"You’re right," Director Aaron finally said. "Zane Carter... he’s the son of that bastard, Zorro Carter. Ever since the Divine Tree incident, people have despised him."

He leaned back, sighing.

"Not long ago, the academy’s internal platforms were flooded with personal information about Zane. I’m certain it was an inside job. Someone high up was deliberately leaking Zorro’s connection to the boy."

He paused, his tone darkening.

"Then, about a week later, everything changed. A masked man attacked all the guesthouses of those noble and super-families involved in the leaks. The next day, all content related to Zane was wiped from our servers. Even the keywords — ’Zane,’ ’Zorro,’ anything connected — were blocked. Still are." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

He looked down at the portrait again, eyes narrowing.

"I think this is the same guy. Could he be... Zorro Carter himself?"

"No, he’s not," Kora replied sharply. "You must already know I’ve been tailing that bastard since we were freshers. I know him well. That masked man is definitely not him. But we can assume he’s somehow related to Zorro."

Seeing the Director deeply pondering, she added carefully, "Sir, I think we should keep an eye on Zane. He’s not even enrolled in the Academy yet, and he’s already stirring up trouble. I’m afraid he’ll turn out just like that masked man."

A sudden thud interrupted her — Pudge had placed his cup on the table a little too forcefully. The other two turned toward him.

"Please, continue. Don’t mind me," Pudge said as he calmly poured more tea.

The Director turned back to Kora. "Something still feels off."

Kora pressed her lips together tightly, then took a slow sip of her tea.

Aaron continued, "The masked man only appears when someone tries to harm the kid. Honestly, his agenda seems... different. So far, he hasn’t killed anyone — only caused property damage. You could almost say he acts like a vigilante. But mark my words, he’s someone very close to Zane."

"Shelby? Nah," Kora scoffed. "He’s nowhere near that level."

"So, you’ve done your research on the boy?" the Director suddenly snapped, glaring at her with sharp eyes for the first time.

Dean Kora shrank under the weight of the sudden, invisible pressure.

"Sir, did I do something wrong?" she asked, her voice uncertain.

The Director held her gaze in silence for a long moment before sighing and releasing his aura.

"Kora, I’ve always known about your past with Zorro. And how he betrayed you—just like he did everyone close to him. But listen to me clearly: Zane is Zane, and Zorro is Zorro. Don’t you dare confuse the two. He’s a student of this academy, and you’re the Dean. Your duty is to guide and protect him — not otherwise."

A flicker of pain twisted Kora’s expression before she quickly masked it.

"Do you understand me?" he asked with a stern tone.

"I understand, sir," she said, nodding seriously. "I promise I’ll stay away from that kid. Besides, that masked man already warned me once. I can’t even get within a hundred meters of him if I value my life."

She forced a wry smile at the end, hoping to trap the Director in a guilt trip.

"Fine. I’ll do what I can to look into the masked man’s identity and recent activities. If that’s all you have to report, you may leave. It’s already late."

Though his words were polite, his tone conveyed another meaning: Leave, Dean Kora. I know it’s your job to report everything, but entering a man’s chambers late at night like this might ruin his reputation. So leave.

Kora gave a tacit nod and exited the room without bidding Pudge farewell — not that he would’ve appreciated it anyway, she thought with a mental scoff.

Still, as she stepped out, a faint smirk curled her lips. She had achieved her objectives: the Director remained unaware of her involvement in the attack on Zane, and more importantly, she had planted a seed of doubt about the masked man.

Pudge left half an hour later, stating he had something urgent to attend to.

As he disappeared into the shadows, his silhouette flickered once more — now appearing silently inside Dean Kora’s sleeping quarters.

She was absorbed in reading something when a chilling voice echoed through the room.

"Remember. I’m always watching you."

Startled, she turned around — but the figure was gone.

She shivered and muttered, "How spiteful..."

"The masked man is in the village... But why is the Director still unaware of his presence?" she whispered, a creeping unease settling in.

Tonight, she had skillfully manipulated even the Director into hunting down the very man she feared the most.

The bitter irony?

The man sitting right across from her all this time — Dean Pudge — was the masked man.