A Villain's Survival Guide

Leomaris’s POV:

Paradox gave Leomaris the ability to take the form of any mystery he chose. To adapt one was to embody what people believed of it, and the stronger and more relevant the mystery, the more powerful he became and the better he wielded it without his actual self bleeding through.

Now he had adapted the mystery behind his own character, Jester of the End. He hadn’t a clue what was happening to him. His thoughts were different. He felt like a cold-blooded monster.

Only one thing made sense. He’d started the rumours about the Jester of the End himself, but the heavy lifting had been done by the Sovereign of Black Arms, the tourist organisation.

As an Archmage who’d had to flee, tarnishing his image wasn’t an option. So he’d described the Jester of the End as a humorous freak who enjoyed killing without emotion.

He cast a casual look from behind his mask and gave a gentleman’s bow, his hand rising to his head as though tipping a hat that wasn’t there.

"I am the Jester of the End... Sovereign of the Laughing End and a member of Mercy of Death."

He made a gesture.

"I permit you to get on your feet now. Try not to make it tragic."

It looked as though Instructor Moon was being compliant, but he was eager to get words of his own in.

He pushed himself against his own weight, eyes fixed in the distance, past the black cube, in the direction of a magnificent glowing tree.

Without a doubt, the Tree of Life. It had healed everyone else but him, and he found himself wondering why.

Leomaris’s expression darkened. "What is this? Don’t tell me you want your ending to come with sadness. No... no, that is not the purpose of the Laughing End. Even if you don’t want to, you must smile. Laugh!"

Leomaris walked toward him with every intention of forcing a smile across his face, but before he could, Instructor Moon burst into a daunting laugh.

"So the Jester of the End was real? Do you have a dual personality or something? Because this is definitely not the presence of a Philosopher. You haven’t met one before, have you?"

Leomaris grimaced.

’What is this man?’

He wasn’t certain he’d ever met a Philosopher, he couldn’t even say for certain whether his parents had been one or not. But it made him wonder what presence real Philosophers carried, and how Moon could tell them apart so easily despite being caught in his.

Instructor Moon’s laughter grew louder and more daunting.

"I am laughing now, aren’t I? Every ending, every death is a joke... and I am with you on that one. That’s why I won’t be holding back."

The words had barely left Moon before Leomaris’s body moved on instinct, putting distance between them.

The tattoos across Moon’s neck and chest began peeling away, lifted on an exaggerated wind, drifting upward before slowly pooling into the dark puddle below.

Instructor Moon’s creature was dragged into the pool. A shadowy sensation swallowed the wind, sending slashes in its wake, as though the sight of what was truly happening was an abomination and the wind meant to stop it.

The creature reappeared soon enough, fully clad in heavy black armour, even its eyes shrouded in darkness beneath the marks.

The creature’s presence alone was enough to push Instructor Moon clean through Leomaris’s intimidating presence. He stood right before him, cold blue eyes peering deadly over the creature’s shoulder, every bit of him radiating an intent to kill.

The chilling presence forced a step back from Leomaris. He was baffled by the newfound strength, but what nagged at him was how familiar the darkness around the fallen beast felt.

Worse, he could feel the gazes of three people on him. One was the familiar gaze that had been breathing down his neck for weeks.

Another was familiar too, somewhere within this realm, though he was certain it belonged to none of his allies. The last radiated from the darkness surrounding Instructor Moon. Sinister didn’t cover it.

’So the tattoos weren’t for show after all.’

Hardly had that thought settled, his body moved on instinct, wanting to finish Instructor Moon already, because none of those gazes boded well.

He fired immediately, the bullet tore through the thick sensation and struck the fallen beast’s armour. It spun off against the surface, aggressive and relentless, as though it knew it couldn’t pierce through and simply refused to accept it.

Moon’s hand moved across his chest, and so did the creature’s, striking the bullet off the armour. Together they gestured at Leomaris, and a compressed ball of gravity appeared, launching itself at him and striking him by the shoulder, leaving a hole of the same size in its wake.

"Do not be fooled. This is only a fraction of a Philosopher’s true power."

Leomaris let out a sharp, agonising scream and clutched his shoulder. Blood trickled endlessly from the wound, soaking his clothes through, but his mind was already divided, torn between the pain and what Instructor Moon had meant by what he’d said.

"I don’t know how you could imitate a Philosopher, but even among Philosophers, there are layers."

Leomaris clenched his teeth in irritation. He was certain Instructor Moon was a Sorcerer, but if he could wield the power of a Philosopher, that could only mean one thing.

A Philosopher had lent him their power. And whoever it was, there was no doubt, they had to be the sinister gaze he’d felt through the darkness surrounding Moon. This was someone powerful... someone who commands the shadows.

’A true Philosopher would be a problem... I can’t do this.’

The Tree of Life began closing his wound. The pain persisted, but it sealed as though it had never been there. He couldn’t be grateful enough to Charlotte for that tree. The healing brought him a step closer to ending this nightmare.

At a quick gesture from Instructor Moon, the creature lunged, a massive gravitational force collapsing on Leomaris, his legs buckling beneath him.

The fallen beast was already before him, a powerful strike driven into his gut. Before Leomaris could meet the ground, something moved beneath him. The earth cracked, and a chunk lunged upward, striking him hard across the back.

He scowled. "Huh? He can use earth magic?"