The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

"If only I had arrived earlier that day..."

Raye mumbled, his voice hollow.

His hands trembled at his sides as he looked down, eyes clenched shut, trying to suppress the sting of tears threatening to fall.

If only...

If only he had been faster.

If only he had gotten there sooner.

Maybe—

Maybe things would have been different.

That's what Raye was thinking about.

And because of this...

"Ugh..."

Raye remembered the day of the invasion.

Specifically—

The moment he had finally made it to Kyle's shop.

The scene that greeted him.

The suffocating heat, the scent of burning flesh.

The sight of Old Man Rey and the others littering the ground...

And at that moment—

"Ah..."

Raye's breathing hitched.

His chest felt tight.

Gasp!

He gasped as he remembered something from that day.

"...!"

His eyes snapped open, jolting him back to reality.

And immediately—

Fwish-

He turned his gaze to Jerusha.

Then, weakly opening his mouth—

"How's Kyle...?!"

Raye asked that, he sounds genuinely worried.

His voice came out sharp. Urgent.

He needed to know.

But then—

"Koff...! Coff!!"

A sudden cough racked his body.

And following that—

Splurt—

A few drops of blood dripped from his lips!

"Huh?!"

Jerusha's eyes widened seeing that.

"You should go back to your room and rest now!"

She said loudly.

FWOOSH—

She moved instinctively, reaching toward Raye, concern written all over her face.

But Raye—

Fwip-

"..."

He avoided Jerusha's hand and refused to move from his spot.

"..."

Raye just silently looked at Jerusha.

His legs felt weak to move anyway. His body swayed slightly.

His vision blurred.

But—

Even if he felt like he was about to collapse—

Even if his entire body was screaming at him to stop—

"Keuk..."

Raye didn't budge.

Not until he heard her answer.

And realizing this—

"Ugh..."

Jerusha frowned.

Seeing Raye like this—pale, barely standing, yet still pushing himself for answers—

She couldn't take it.

And so—

"Fuuu..."

Fwoop~

With a defeated sigh, her shoulders slumped...

Fwip-

Jerusha's gaze lowered, her expression darkening as she hesitated for a moment.

Then—

Silently—

She finally spoke.

"...Kyle is alright now."

Jerusha said.

Her voice was quiet.

Soft.

And at his words...

'Phew.'

Raye felt a bit relived.

But then—

He immediately noticed that there was something about the way Jerusha said it.

Something off.

"Wait..."

Something that immediately put Raye on edge.

And then, just as he feared—

"...But—"

Jerusha continued talking with a dark expression on her face.

Fwip-

Her hands clenched into fists again.

"Gurgh..."

She bit her lip.

And with visible difficulty—

She forced the words out.

"He lost his left arm."

Jerusha declared.

...

"....."

Raye's mind blanked.

"...Huh?"

He blinked.

Slowly.

As if he hadn't heard her right.

As if his brain refused to accept what she just said.

Kyle...

Lost his—

'His left arm...?'

Raye repeated in his head.

"...No."

Raye weakly shook his head, his throat suddenly dry.

'That didn't—'

'That couldn't be right.'

He said internally.

'Kyle is a cook.'

Raye declared.

And then—

'His hands—'

'They were everything to him.'

He thought of that as a deep frown crept up on his face.

And now—

'One of them was... gone?'

Raye's mind became a mess again.

'No.'

"No, no, no, no—!"

He denied.

And looking at Jerusha in the eyes desperately—

"...Tell me that you're joking."

He said that.

The words tumbled out before he even realized it.

A whisper.

A desperate denial.

But—

"Sorry..."

Jerusha just shook her head and mumbled that as a response.

And contrary to Raye's wish—

She didn't refute it.

"..."

Jerusha just... stood there, looking at him.

And in that moment—

"..."

Raye knew.

This wasn't a mistake.

This wasn't a bad joke.

This was real.

And the weight of that realization crashed down on him like a hammer.

"..."

Raye became speechless.

Three.

Three horrifying news had already been dropped on him.

Not even half an hour after waking up from a month-long coma—

And two of them—

They weren't just about anyone.

They were his family.

(Obviously, not by blood, but Raye considers them as family...)

Old Man Rey—in a coma for over a month.

Kyle—losing his left arm.

And because of this—

"..."

A deep, suffocating weight pressed down on Raye's chest.

His fingers twitched.

A heat started to rise inside him—boiling, festering, spreading through his veins like wildfire.

And then—

"...!!!"

Swoosh~

A low, burning rage slowly started building up inside him.

His brows furrowed.

"Haaa...! Haaaaaa...!"

His breathing turned heavier, deeper.

Fwip—

His hands clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms.

Tight.

Tighter.

So tight that his fingers trembled.

So tight that his own skin started to sting.

And then—

Grit—!

Raye teeth clenched together.

Hard.

So hard that a sharp pain shot through his jaw.

So hard that it felt like they were going to crack.

And following that—

'Urgh...!'

A storm of emotions raged inside him!

Anger.

Guilt.

Frustration.

Hatred.

Hatred towards himself—towards the game scenario—towards everything!

'If only I was stronger.'

'If only I had gotten there faster.'

'If only—'

So many ifs circulated inside of Raye's head.

But he knows it—

'Dammit.'

"Dammit—!!"

He knows he can't turn back time and change what has already happened.

Fwip-

The muscles in Raye's arms tensed, his entire body trembling with restrained fury.

And this fury—

It wasn't just aimless rage.

It had a target.

A clear, undeniable target.

The demons.

Every single one of them.

But especially—

That one.

The noble demon.

The one who stood alongside Rowan.

The one who—just like Rowan—would soon be nothing more than a corpse.

"..."

Raye's breath grew heavier.

Hot.

Ragged.

His thoughts were clouded with a singular, all-consuming determination.

'I'll get stronger... Much stronger...'

Raye thought.

'And then—'

'I'll fucking kill every one of you.'

He declared that in his head, in silence.

'That's a promise.'

Raye said internally.

A vow made not in words, but in the depths of his soul.

A blood-stained oath that only one outcome would be accepted.

And then—

'Especially you.'

Raye's mind sharpened on that noble demon.

The one who needed to die by his hands.

A deep, burning hatred surged through him—

Pop—!

Veins bulged across his forehead.

His fingers dug so deep into his palms that his nails almost broke the skin.

His eyes—

Slowly turned bloodshot.

Raye was stiffening in anger.

And seeing that—

"..."

Jerusha can't do anything but just watch in silence.

She didn't know what to say.

She didn't know what to do.

Because she had never seen Raye like this before.

Not like this.

Not this silent, boiling rage.

Not this raw, violent fury.

Not this Raye—

This Raye who looked like he was ready to tear through the entire world.

'...Raye.'

She wanted to call out to him.

To say something.

But— 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"..."

No words came out of her mouth.

So instead, in silence too—

'I'll always be there for you.'

Jerusha vowed that to herself, looking at Raye with a resolute expression on her face.

She had decided...

'I'll always be just right there to support you.'

Jerusha declared to herself.

*****

Anyway, after all of that—

"Fuuu..."

Jerusha let out a small sigh.

"Come on, let's get you back to your room now."

She said.

Her voice was soft. Not demanding—but almost like pleading.

And this time—

"Okay."

Raye complied.

No resistance.

No inconvenience.

"Thank you for bringing me here, and telling me about them."

He said.

"It was nothing... You have the right to know what happened and see them."

Jerusha replied to him with a small smile.

"..."

Raye just smiled at her too.

And with that—

"Careful..."

Tap... Tap... Tap—

Jerusha carefully helped Raye, guiding him back to his room.

T a p...

Each step was slow, Raye's body was really still weak as fuck.

But eventually—

Creak—

They made it back to Raye's hospital room.

"There..."

Puff—

"Ugh... Thanks..."

Jerusha gently lowered Raye onto the hospital bed.

And after that—

"Rest here for a while."

She fixed the blanket over him, making sure he was comfortable.

"I'll call the doctor and get you some food."

She said.

Then—

Fwip-

Tap- tap- tap—

Thud—

Jerusha stood up and left the room, closing the door behind her.

And so—

"..."

Raye was left alone in the room.

Swoosh~

"..."

The silence was deafening.

And with nothing else to do...

Fwish-

Fwoosh-

Fwaash~

Raye's gaze wandered around the room, taking in the plain walls, the small bedside table, the dim lighting.

It was a boring room.

Too quiet.

Too still.

'What should I do for the time being...?'

Raye asked in his head.

But then—

At that moment—

FWOOSH—

A sudden gust of energy rippled through the air.

And in front of Raye—

FWISH~

A bluish light flickered into existence!

It was a system window.

And it's hovering right before his eyes.

And seeing this—

"Wha...?"

Raye's eyes widened.

Confusion hit him like a brick, he hadn't expected the system window to appear right now.

But ignoring that—

"Hmm?"

Raye read what was written on the window.