The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

"FUCKING PIG!!!"

Raye's voice thundered with pure rage the moment he laid eyes on the fat merchant.

And without the slightest hesitation—

"W-Wait!!!"

BAM!

A solid punch landed straight on the merchant's face!

He had tried to stop Raye—but of course, he failed.

THUD!

"GAH!!!"

The merchant crashed onto the ground, his massive body slamming hard due to his own weight.

"Huh?!"

The lone bandit's eyes widened in shock at the sudden violence.

"Hey—!"

He turned to confront Raye.

"Huff...!"

But when his gaze met Raye's furious expression—

"...!"

His words immediately died in his throat, he shut up pretty quickly and decided to not interfere.

Anyway—

-...?

Zephyrus blinked, confused.

-...

But when he glanced at Raye and Pyro—

Their serious, burning expressions told him everything he needed to know.

-'Guess they have history with this guy.'

So with that thought, he kept quiet and simply observed, keeping an eye on the unfolding situation.

Meanwhile—

"P-Please—!!!"

The fat merchant raised his hands in a pitiful attempt to shield himself.

But Raye didn't care.

TAP!

He climbed on top of him, straddling his wide stomach, and without hesitation—

BAM!

He launched another punch!

"GHUAK—!"

His head snapped back, but Raye grabbed his collar and pulled him back up.

"You left us to die back in the Misty Forest!"

Raye roared, his voice laced with fury.

BAM!

A fist slammed into the merchant's cheek.

"We were trying to protect you guys—!!"

BAM!

"You ran like a fucking coward—!!"

BAM!

"You abandoned us—!!"

BAM!

"Timmy and Reggie... THEY DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!!!"

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Each word was punctuated with another punch, his knuckles turning red from the merchant's blood.

The fat man couldn't even scream anymore—his lips were busted, his face was swelling, and blood dribbled down his nose and mouth.

And yet—

"..."

Nobody stopped Raye.

Not the nearby merchants, who merely glanced over before minding their own business.

Not the mercenaries, who were used to seeing bloodshed like this.

Not the travelers, who simply whispered among themselves before continuing their own conversations.

A brawl was happening too just a few meters away, after all. This? This was just another daily occurrence.

And in fact—

Based on what they were hearing from Raye...

They figured the fat bastard deserved such a beating.

"..."

Even the lone bandit had no intention of stepping in.

He took a step back, sweat dripping down his forehead.

'M-My employer is going to die...!!'

He gulped.

But then his eyes flickered toward Raye—toward the carnage he was delivering—

And fear gripped his soul.

'But if I try to stop him—'

He saw the murderous glint in Raye's cold, burning eyes.

'—that guy will kill me too along with him!!!'

His knees almost buckled.

So instead of making a move—

He just stood there, silent.

Because right now—

Stopping Raye was the last thing he wanted to do.

BAM!

Another punch.

Raye's breath was ragged, his chest heaving. His knuckles stung, but he barely felt it. His rage drowned out the pain.

His fists trembled as he grabbed the merchant's collar, lifting his bloody face.

"You left us…" Raye's voice was hoarse, his anger barely contained.

"You fucking left us to die…!"

The merchant could barely keep his swollen eyes open, his lips quivering as he struggled to breathe.

"You ran away while we were fighting for our lives!!!"

BAM!

Another punch.

And then—

A memory flashed in Raye's mind.

The Misty Forest.

The agonized screams of his comrades.

And then, after that—

Silence.

Their bodies lying still, not even fully intact.

FWIP—

His grip on the merchant tightened.

"Haaaa... haaa... haa.. a.. aa..."

His breathing grew erratic.

His mind spiraled further.

That wasn't the end of it.

Because back then, after their encounter with the Orc… after losing everything…

He himself—

Raye fell into the shit hole.

He fell deep into that hellish hole.

The underground old mansion dungeon.

He could still feel it.

The crushing darkness.

The suffocating air.

The rooms filled with fucking monsters lurking in them.

He remembered his own blood dripping onto the cold stone floors

The hunger. The exhaustion. The loneliness.

He could've died there.

He would have died there.

But he crawled his way out.

With Pyro and Zephyrus.

And just after losing someone special to him too... Ivan Wallace—his master in swordsmanship...

Anyway, returning back to the present—

"Gurgh...!"

Raye clenched his teeth, his whole body trembling.

"Because of you…"

His voice came out in a low growl.

His fingers tightened around the merchant's collar, nearly choking him.

"Because of you—!!"

His fist cocked back for another punch—

BAM!

And then he hit the fat merchant in the face again.

Raye was annoyed. His friends died—

BAM!

But this fat bastard was alive and thriving.

BAM!

Raye continued punching him.

BAM!

He didn't stop.

BAM!

He did this—

BAM!

Until he was able to calm himself even for a bit.

*****

Raye stood in front of the battered merchant.

"Fuuuu..."

His breathing was steady now, but his eyes were still burning with fury.

On the other hand—

"... grrrgh... rgh..."

The fat man was laying there on the ground, barely conscious.

His face was swollen beyond recognition.

Even with the high-quality potion his group had forced into him, he was still in agony.

"Gahk...!"

His body trembled with every shallow breath he takes, and his mind was clouded with fear!

And looking down at him—

"You should be grateful."

Raye muttered that coldly.

"..."

The merchant barely moved his eyes to look at him.

"I could've killed you right there and then. You're lucky we were in front of a city—lucky there were too many eyes watching."

Raye followed.

"...!"

The merchant shivered at those words.

He believed him.

He knew that if this had happened in the middle of nowhere, he'd already be dead.

"Tch—!"

Raye clicked his tongue and turned away from the fat bastard.

He needed to leave.

The longer he stayed near this fucking pig, the harder it became to restrain himself.

And so—

Without hesitation—

"I'll be taking this."

He took one of the carriages from the fat merchant's group!

"Wha...?!"

"That guy!"

"WHAT?!"

The members of the merchant group were shocked by his bold action.

But—

Nobody tried to stop him.

They didn't even dare to!

Not after seeing what he had just done!

"I'll take some of these too, you didn't pay us back then for our service."

FWISH-

Raye said as he also helped himself to a generous amount of valuables from their supplies.

Gold coins, provisions, and a few equipment.

And again, this time—

"Gurgh..."

Nobody stopped him.

They didn't even speak, just weak grumbling noises.

Then, after all of that—

"Be my coachman."

FWIP—

Raye suddenly said that and grabbed the lone bandit by the shoulder!

"HUH?!"

The bandit's eyes widened in shock, he was scared!

And before he could even process what was happening—

"I'll pay you too, so just shut up and work for me."

FWUMP—

Raye threw him in front of the carriage that he just took!

THUD!

"Urgh...?!"

The bandit landed hard on his knees, blinking rapidly in shock.

"L-Look, man… Can't you find someone else—?"

The words barely left his mouth before he saw Raye's face.

His expressionless but unwaveringly sharp gaze.

A gaze that held no room for argument.

Gulp-

The bandit's soul nearly left his body.

And then, at that moment—

"Let's go."

Raye said that.

"...!!!"

The bandit stiffened.

And immediately—

"O-Okay, Boss!!!"

His mouth acted before his brain could.

And just like that—

"HIYAAAA!!!"

-NEIIIGH!!!

They left with the carriage.

Raye immediately climbed inside the tented carriage as soon as it started moving.

Fwoosh—

Pyro and Zephyrus flew in, following after him.

...

...

Clop- clop- clop—

The carriage rolled steadily along the dirt road, the rhythmic clatter of wheels filling the silence.

"Brrrr... Cold..."

The lone bandit sat outside, gripping the reins tightly.

He was alone.

Driving the carriage.

Trembling.

His body was still stiff from fear, his nerves refusing to settle.

He had no choice but to obey Raye.

But there was one problem in his mind right now—

'Where the hell are we headed?!'

He asked in his head.

He didn't know their destination!

And he was too afraid to ask Raye!

But after a few more agonizing minutes—

He realized he had no choice.

'Fuck it, whatever…!'

And so, after cursing his luck—

He forced himself to calm down, inhaling deeply before opening his mouth.

"Fuuuuu..."

Then finally—

"B-Boss? W-Where are we headed?"

The bandit asked that.

His voice came out loud enough for Raye to hear from inside the carriage.

But seconds passed—

"..."

And he received no answer.

"..."

Only silence.

Swooosh~

Thump- thump- thump—!

The bandit's heartbeat quickened.

'D-Did I mess up?!'

He asked himself, trying to remember everything that he did today.

But then—

After a few more agonizing moments—

"Our destination is the City of Dravenhold."

Raye suddenly went and declared that, answering his question!

And to be more specific—

"... In the center of the Alvah Dukedom."

He added that!