A Villain's Survival Guide

Three men faced the Endbringer. Two had chains wrapped around its hind limbs, and a third stood before it, sword drawn, readying himself to take its head off in one clean stroke.

Leomaris and Lucius stayed behind the headless statue, watching without a word. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Leomaris especially couldn’t help it. He wanted these men to put the creature down and be done with it. Something wasn’t right, though.

"They look extremely worn. Do you think they have been trapped in this realm for all this time?"

Lucius said. Leomaris was already ahead of him. The only one among them worth looking at was the one at the rear, readying himself to slay the creature. The other two were nothing but skin and bones.

Shirtless, their ribs would have been plain to count. How they’d kept something that aggressive in one place was beyond him.

"I believe they have been here for several months at least. However, the one with the sword is different; a week or two is the best estimate."

No sooner had Leomaris spoken than the swordsman drove his boots into the ground hard enough to crack the pavement and launched himself straight up at the creature’s head. The praying mantis struck before he could reach it.

The blade carved through the limb without resistance, taking it clean off. He caught the force of the contact and threw himself backward, landing where he’d started.

Lucius let out a disappointed sigh. "I had considered killing them and taking the creature’s head, but judging by his strength, that is not a viable option."

The others had been landing lethal blows left and right and hadn’t managed a scratch. Raine and Charlotte, of all people, should have had something to show for it, but nothing. And yet this bloke had taken its limb off in one swing. That was what sat with Leomaris. The swordsmanship was too familiar.

"They are not particularly strong; he simply understands how to wield a sword properly."

The words had barely left his mouth when it clicked. Cloud’s fighting style, unmistakably. Cloud was a different beast, his ability letting him point out weak points and cut through anything. But Leomaris had learned swordsmanship from the man himself. He’d know it anywhere.

"Have you heard of the third-year Cloud? He uses a more advanced version of this technique."

Lucius’s eyes slowly drifted toward Leomaris. "The cadet who confirmed that you’ve perfected the Mercy of Death technique?"

"They must have learned from the same master..."

The dark hair and the build were Cloud’s to a tee, but the man himself looked nothing like him.

"Come on, Jack. Get this over with!"

One of the men holding the creature down called out to Jack, the swordsman. Jack let out a frustrated snicker and turned his attention back to the Endbringer, weighing up where to strike next.

Another yell from the others, and Jack was already moving. He leapt, struck, and came down without the creature’s head. Same as before.

"It is supposed to be tired, isn’t it? Those kids fought it for three days. How are you still struggling?"

The frustration was plain enough. The creature had torn through most of the buildings around it, yet the two men kept pace. One building to the next, nothing but skin and bone, and still held it down.

But their words were enough to give Leomaris and Lucius a fair idea of why the men had chosen this particular moment to attack.

"So we weren’t the only ones biding our time..."

"I think so. But why would they attack at this time in particular? Raine and Charlotte could have done some damage to the creature, and they could have attacked after that."

Lucius’s expression darkened. "I don’t know, but if these people kill the creature, not only would we leave the realm without the Endbringer’s head, but we wouldn’t have gotten any experience either."

Leomaris sneered. ’Why is someone this strong still interested in getting stronger? As a mercenary, hasn’t he fought people stronger? Even when he wasn’t a mage, he still faced stronger opponents... what’s with this obsession?’

None of those words could have left his mouth. Not when Lucius hadn’t breathed a word about being a mercenary.

"Are you suggesting that we stop them...?"

His eyes found Jack, who wouldn’t stop attacking.

"Stopping them is our only option. Or we can try to kill them once they’ve defeated the Endbringer. Clearly, they’ve got more experience fighting one, this isn’t their first raid. We can wait for them too, and once they’ve killed it, we take them on."

Lucius turned the words over in his head. "You aren’t wrong. They are strong, but since we are both close-range mages, we stand a better chance of taking them on instead of the Endbringer."

His expression darkened soon after. "But wouldn’t the others attack as well? Once they win, Raine and Charlotte would be here, and Alfred and Warner too. That would turn into a war where victory would ultimately mean nothing in the end."

That much was plain. This was exactly what Instructor Moon had wanted, an all-out war between the cadets, each one scrapping for a better reputation.

’Wait... why didn’t I think of this... what if Instructor Moon sent these mercenaries over? He could’ve done it to raise the stakes. If I don’t get killed by my own mates, I’ll likely be killed by these mercenaries... and they are clearly not ordinary.’

He let the thought go. These men had been around for months, Instructor Moon sending them over was a stretch. Though the strength of those skinny men was something else, for people who’d clearly not eaten properly in months.

But his gut said otherwise, and he went with it. Thermy were mercenaries, he was certain of that. They were in it for whatever they could get from a Rune Realm. These were warriors born from hunger.

That was what he chose to believe.

No sooner had the thought settled than something chilling cut through the air. Glowing white words formed into chains and wrapped around the two men, binding them to the ground.

The Endbringer felt the restraint loosen and lunged forward without hesitation. Jack tried to scarper, but the creature was too massive. It crushed him, splashing blood across the concrete.