The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

S W O O S H—

Leon and Lycus dashed toward the demon, their movements sharp and decisive.

The demon remained still, watching them approach with an eerie calmness.

And upon reaching him—

SWISH—

Leon swung his sword down in a swift, precise motion, aiming to carve through the demon’s shoulder!

F W I P—

Lycus followed up instantly, lunging forward with a rapid one-two thrust of his daggers, striking at the demon’s ribs!

But the demon was faster than expected.

With a subtle, almost effortless movement—

TING—

-...

The demon lightly struck the side of Leon’s sword with his left hand—

SWOOSH—

Deflecting it to the side, making Leon’s strike miss entirely!

"Urgh...!"

BAM!

Leon groaned as his weapon hit nothing but the solid concrete floor, sending small cracks spreading from the impact.

And immediately after—

FWISH—

The demon twisted his body, smoothly dodging the first thrust from Lycus!

His glowing red eyes flicked toward Lycus—

And then—

Raising his right hand, claws crackling with dark energy—

CLANG—!

He caught Lycus’ second dagger mid-strike!

"...?!"

Lycus’ eyes widened in shock.

He tried to yank his weapon back—

But the demon’s grip was like iron.

And before he could react—

FWOOSH—

The demon’s left hand lashed forward, his razor-sharp claws aiming straight for Lycus’ face!

The strike was so fast—

It was like a shadow streaking through the air!

But just then—

Leon recovered his balance in an instant!

And without hesitation—

S W I S H—

He swung his sword in a horizontal arc from right to left!

-Huh…?

The demon hadn’t expected such a quick counter.

If he continued his attack, Leon’s blade would slice straight through his stomach.

And so—

BAM! Continue reading on freewebnovel

The demon leaped back with a powerful burst of strength, dodging the slash by a hair’s breadth.

B A M!

Leon and Lycus did the same, retreating several feet away to rethink their approach.

TAP—

And landing lightly on the cracked battlefield, the three fighters faced each other once more.

"..."

"..."

-...

Silence.

Each of them analyzed the situation, reading the battlefield, searching for an opening.

And as that was happening...

The demon smirked.

-What a surprise… To see two young warriors this skilled.

He said.

"..."

Leon and Lycus remained quiet, their eyes locked onto him with cold intensity.

The demon didn’t seem to mind their silence.

Instead, he continued, his voice filled with eerie amusement—

-Would you both consider joining our side? In exchange for power, wealth… anything you desire?

His tone was calm. He wasn’t joking.

But without even thinking about it for a second—

"Fuck off."

"No thanks. I’d rather not join the losing side."

Leon and Lycus responded coldly, one after the other.

And hearing their words—

-Such a shame.

The demon muttered.

Then, with no warning—

S W O O O S H—

He dashed toward the two at an insane speed!

And in the blink of an eye—

FWISH—

He was right in front of them!

TAP—

The demon planted his right foot forward—

Directly between Leon and Lycus, who were standing side by side.

And with overwhelming strength—

S L A S H—!

The demon swung his right hand as he roughly twisted his body to strengthen the attack, his claws extending like deadly blades—

Dripping with malevolent demonic energy!

"...!"

"!!!?"

Lycus and Leon’s eyes widened—

The demon was even faster than before!

But they reacted instantly—

FWIP—

Lycus crossed his daggers in front of him, bracing for the incoming blow—

FWISH—

Leon did the same, raising his sword to block!

And then—

T A A A N G—!

A massive shockwave burst out from the impact!

"URGH...?!"

"GARGH!!!"

Lycus and Leon gritted their teeth, feeling the sheer force of the clash shake their very bones!

SHIIICK—

Their feet scraped against the ground as they were pushed back against their will!

And before they could fully regain their footing—

FWISH—

The demon reappeared in front of Leon!

His left hand was already raised—

-Try blocking this.

He said.

FWOOSH—

And then he unleashed a crushing downward strike!

The sheer pressure made the air tremble!

"Shit!"

Leon cursed—

SWISH—

He forcefully raised his sword up, trying to block it!

And then—

CLANG—!!!

The demon’s claws slammed into his blade!

"GRAAAAAAHHH—!!!"

Leon screamed as an unbearable force pressed down on him!

CRACK-

A sharp pain tore through his left arm—

His bones fractured under the pressure!

CRACK-

The ground beneath him shattered, unable to withstand the sheer force!

’I’m going to get crushed…!’

Leon gritted his teeth as blood trickled from his nose.

’No way I’ll let this fucker kill me!’

And with pure, stubborn willpower—

BAM!

Leon took a step forward!

Then—

Gritting his teeth—

"FUCK OFF!!!"

T I N G—!

He swung his sword upward with all his strength—

Deflecting the demon’s claw up at the last second!

-...!

The demon’s eyes widened—

He hadn’t expected Leon to be able to do that!

And in that brief moment of his stupor—

"[Cross Slash]"

Lycus suddenly appeared behind him!

And gripping his daggers tightly—

S L A S H—!!!

He slashed them in a cross pattern—

Carving deep wounds into the demon’s back!

-Keuk…!

The demon groaned, staggering forward!

And Leon didn’t waste that opportunity too—

With his sword still up in the air—

"DIEEE—!"

SWISH—

He swung it down, aiming to cleave the demon’s skull in two!

But—

-DON’T GET COCKY!!!

The demon roared.

And with a furious expression on his fave—

CLANG—

He caught Leon’s blade with his bare hand!

Then—

With a deadly glare—

TWHACK!

He struck a brutal kick to Leon’s stomach!

"GARGH...?!"

Leon gasped as his body folded over, his vision blurring from the sheer force of the impact!

Blood and saliva blurted out of his mouth.

But then, ignoring the pain once more—

BAM-!!

Leon countered with a kick of his own!

It wasn’t as strong as what he had just received—

-Ugh?!

But it was enough to make the demon stagger back!

And in that instant—

FWOOSH—

PHUCK!!

Lycus lunged, thrusting his right dagger into the demon’s back!

-Grgh...!

The demon groaned—

But Lycus wasn’t finished—

SLASH—

He twisted the blade and tore it sideways—

Ripping open another deep, bloody wound on the demon’s back!

-GAAAAHHH!!!

The demon let out a pained shriek.

And hearing him—

"..."

Lycus smirked.

It was all going well for them—

But then—

B O O M—!!

A violent explosion of demonic energy burst out from the demon’s body!

"Wha?!"

"Gah?!"

TAP-

Leon and Lycus were blown backward, shielding their eyes from the blinding surge!

And when the energy settled—

-...

The demon stood between them.

Still and silent.

And the air around him—

Swooosh~

It was different.

It was darker.

More terrifying.

And feeling that—

"..."

"..."

Leon and Lycus frowned.

The fight wasn’t over.

It was only getting started.

*****

BAM!

Leon and Lycus kicked off and met again.

They stood side by side once more, observing the demon.

And just then—

S W O O S H—

The two tensed their bodies.

"..."

"..."

The air around them had changed too.

Meanwhile—

The demon stood still, his crimson eyes glowing—

And in the next moment—

FWISH—!!!

He vanished!

"!?"

"Shit—!!"

And before the two could react—

FWOOSH—!!!

The demon reappeared right in front of them!

S L A S H—!!!

His right claw tore through the air, aiming to rip them apart!

SWISH—

Leon barely leaned back, dodging by a hair’s breadth!

FWIP—

Lycus twisted to the side, evading at the last second!

But—

FWISH—!!!

The demon followed up instantly, his left claw shooting forward!

"!!!"

Swoosh—

CLANG—!!

Leon blocked with his sword, arms shaking from the force!

TING—!!

"Tch!"

Lycus barely deflected it with his dagger, his stance faltering!

Then—

BAM!

The demon spun mid-air, whipping his leg toward them!

"!?"

And as a response—

Fwop—

Leon ducked.

BAM!

Then Lycus leaped back.

WHOOSH—!!!

The kick barely missed them, sending a gust of wind past their faces!

But the demon wasn’t done there.

And with an absurd speed—

FWISH—

His hands shot out.

FWIP—!!!

And then his clawed hands clamped down on both Lycus’ and Leon’s arms!

"!?"

"Urgh—?!"

The eyes of the two widened.

And before they could even try to struggle—

B A M—!!!

The demon slammed them against into each other!

"GAH—!!!"

"URGH—!!!"

Leon’s and Lycus’ bodies crashed, pain exploding in their chests!

And following that—

B O O M—!!!

The demon threw the two to the ground, shaking the battlefield!

Swoosh~

Dust exploded into the air.

Tap—

The demon stepped on top of Lycus’ unmoving.

And looking at the two on the ground—

-Hah.

The demon grinned mischievously.

And opening his mouth—

-Too bad... If we had met a few more years in the future, our situation would’ve been reversed.

He muttered that.

"Urgh..."

Leon weakly groaned as he opened his eyes and looked up at the demon.

And with a deep frown on his face—

"You haven’t won yet, bastard."

Leon muttered that.

SLASH—

-Urgh?!

And then the demon felt something cut the achilles of his right foot!

"He’s right."

It was Lycus, he was just pretending to be unconscious earlier!