A Villain's Survival Guide

Alicia’s and Alora’s POV:

Alicia was perched at the very edge of her seat, violet eyes sparkling, excitement practically fizzing out of her as she watched Raine and Charlotte’s duel.

She turned to the blonde girl beside her, eyes bright. "Can you see it? Can you see it, Alora?"

Alora’s eyes followed Charlotte for a moment. Countless words circled her, and before long, they began clinging to her body, the wind in their wake nearly sending Raine off her feet, but she pulled back, put distance between them, and held her ground. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Her ability allows her to use her words as a weapon, correct? It was clear in her previous duels, but I didn’t think she could use it on herself."

Alicia nodded in agreement. "Me neither... but I guess we were both wrong. Her words are like spells. And judging by how she has been acting so far, there are rules and regulations guiding them. Even so, the stronger the conviction behind her words, the stronger the spells."

"Hm. Those words she used are likely designed to make her indestructible."

Alora’s eyes shifted from Alicia and found the cadets on the field once more. The wind dropped at last, yet Charlotte’s skin kept on, heaving from the words etched across her body.

Raine, however, didn’t look fazed at all. As though everything happening before her was purely aesthetic, nothing worth losing sleep over.

With a deep breath, she took hold of her sword and settled into her stance. A single moment, that was all it took, and she was across the field, closing the distance between herself and Charlotte at a blistering pace.

Her sword went straight for her neck, but Charlotte narrowly avoided it, losing strands of hair in the process, though you wouldn’t have known it from the look of her.

Raine gave her no time to regroup, driving a powerful strike dead into her gut. Charlotte’s face screwed up in agony the moment it landed, but she moved through it like it was nothing, catching Raine clean across the jaw and sending her crashing into the ground.

Raine was back on her feet in no time. She wiped the crimson from her nose and soon enough had her bearings back, already going at Charlotte again.

Alora watched, teeth firmly clenched. She knew well enough that if that attack had caught her, she’d have needed a moment or two before finding her feet again.

"This doesn’t look like an examination duel at all... it looks like they’re trying to kill each other," Alora said, confused.

Alicia only smiled. "This is a military academy. Death is part of our culture. I like the fury in their eyes. I haven’t seen a duel like this since Rosalith Celeste Runerth fought Cassius McCarty and Cloud Everson a year ago."

Suddenly, a slash of wind blade tore through the field, heading for Charlotte. Panic was plain in her eyes, yet she caught it bare-handed. She tried to stop it cold but couldn’t, and it had her skidding backward at an alarming pace until she deflected it, sending it upward until it disappeared.

"What?! What’s going on? Did Raine just learn something new?"

Alicia was just as confused, but she held her attention on the field a moment longer, and then, just like that, it clicked for her.

"Do you see it? Despite all the attacks Raine has taken, she doesn’t have a single injury."

Alora motioned positively.

"I didn’t know she was this blessed... but if my theory is correct, she possesses something called Divine Aura. Only Divine Entities can wield that power. In fact, I know of only one person with such an ability."

She smirked. "Not only can she enhance her speed and strength with it, but she can also heal herself and materialize the aura itself. I’m guessing she infused the Divine Aura into her sword and launched it at Charlotte. Such a gifted young lady."

Alicia let out a sigh. Moments ago, Charlotte had used words that granted her overwhelming strength, the glowing marks across her body were testament enough, and to think Raine was cut from the same cloth.

She turned her attention to the barely visible barrier holding the crowd from the duel. She knew well enough how powerful it was, and yet the thought nagged at her that these two might shatter it before the whole thing was over.

One relentless strike after another, and Charlotte looked utterly indestructible. Where Charlotte had initially been the one keeping her distance from Raine, the tables had turned. Charlotte’s overwhelming physical strength now forced Raine to keep her at arm’s length, sending one wind blade after another.

Then something shifted, quiet and sudden, in the flow of the duel.

Alicia leaned forward, eyes narrowing as she tracked Charlotte’s movements. They were growing sluggish, and unlike before, she couldn’t turn away from Raine’s attacks without a fight. The struggle was plain on her.

Alora’s attention shifted toward Raine. "What is she trying to do?"

Alicia looked amazed. "It appears she understands what is happening. Oh, wait... that was precisely what she intended from the beginning."

Raine stood with the tip of her sword buried in the sand, left palm pressed against the back of her right, right hand resting on the hilt. She didn’t look like she wanted to fight anymore. She looked like someone who knew it was already done.

Without warning, the glowing words on Charlotte died out, and she dropped cold to the floor. Face up to the sky, her dark hair scattered across the compacted sand.

"Wait... so that was her goal? To overwhelm Charlotte?"

Alicia motioned positively. "Charlotte used her words to enhance her strength, but her physical capabilities appeared to fall short of her expectations. Raine understood she was inferior in physical strength, so she relied on stamina instead, and because she possessed healing abilities, it was the most logical strategy."

Alora was genuinely impressed. This was the whole point of coming, keeping tabs on first-year cadets who could pose a threat to Alicia’s reputation at the academy. And if she was being honest, she was well impressed to find mere Magicians with this much strength and determination.

But the show wasn’t done. The one cadet who’d had Alicia coming all this way would walk onto that stage any minute now. Alora’s eyes drifted to her, watching as she watched the officiator take the stage.

She was excited, but Alora had known her long enough to know that whenever someone got her this excited, it never ended well for them. Not by a long shot.

"Phew... quite the show for mere first-year cadets! I hope you’re entertained, because there’s still more to come, and trust me, this is where things get better. This next match is one most of you have been waiting for, so keep your eyes on the stage!"

The officiator gave his words a beat.

"For the second round of the semifinals — Calamity Leomaris Runerth versus Calamity Lucius Cutler!"

Alicia smiled the whole time as she watched Leomaris take the stage. This was going to be a challenging one, and she was well up for it. She wanted to see if the so-called Apostle of Death could truly hold a candle to her reputation.