The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

Not long after...

Jerusha reached the cabin.

"Oh, you’re here pretty early!"

Old Man Rey greeted her with a warm smile on his face.

-Meep!

-Hello, Jerusha.

Pyro and Zephyrus then followed.

The three of them were really cheerful.

And seeing them like that...

"..."

Jerusha frowned.

Her heart ached.

Her lips quivered, unable to utter a word.

She couldn’t get out the bad news that she was about to tell them.

"Hmm, something wrong?"

The Old Man asked, seeing her disheveled.

"Huh?"

And this snapped Jerusha back to reality.

"..."

She saw Old Man Rey staring at her.

-...?

-...

Pyro and Zephyrus were also doing the same, waiting for her to say something.

"..."

Jerusha remained silent for a while.

But then, with a resolute expression on her face...

"It’s about Raye..."

She started telling them what happened and about Raye’s condition!

...

...

*****

As soon as Jerusha told them everything...

"Let’s go!"

Bam—

-Meep!

-On it!

FWOOSH—

Old Man Rey, Pyro, and Zephyrus quickly closed the cabin and started heading toward the Academy’s hospital!

"I’ll lead you there."

Jerusha said.

And with that...

They went to where Raye was being treated!

...

...

Arriving at the Academy’s hospital...

Old Man Rey was stopped by security.

"He’s with me. He’s also a guardian of a patient here."

But Jerusha vouched for him, so they got in without any problem.

"Where is Raye being treated?"

The Old Man asked, looking around and seeing a lot of rooms.

"I don’t know either."

Jerusha then replied with a small wrinkle on her forehead.

-Me and Pyro can fly around and check the rooms.

Zephyrus suggested.

-Meep!

And Pyro agreed to him.

Old Man Rey and Jerusha were about to leave it to them.

But suddenly...

"Oh, you’re that young lady from earlier."

They heard a voice behind them!

"I wouldn’t forget that purple hair of yours that fast, even though I’m old."

The person added.

And when Jerusha and Old Man Rey turned around...

They saw an old man!

"Ah!"

Jerusha recognized him.

It was the leader of the healers who brought Raye to the Academy’s hospital!

"You looking for the kid with the hole in his stomach?"

He asked casually.

"Yes!"

And Jerusha responded immediately.

"Follow me, I’m on my way to his room now too."

The Healer Old Man said.

And with that...

Tap- tap- tap—

Jerusha, Old Man Rey, Zephyrus, and Pyro silently followed him!

*****

Raye’s room was on the second floor.

And as soon as they got there...

"His life is not in danger anymore, but he’s still not waking up."

The Healer Old Man said that.

"..."

Old Man Rey stared at Raye, lying on a bed, motionless.

He was topless, so the Old Man also saw the huge bandage on his stomach!

"Raye..."

Old Man Rey called, his voice quivering.

Tap- tap- tap—

He walked toward Raye.

And looking down at him...

"..."

A complicated expression appeared on his face.

Though, sadness was evident in his eyes.

"We can’t put a shirt on him yet as it might irritate the wound. But as soon as it heals a little, we’ll put a hospital gown on him, don’t worry."

The Healer Old Man then explained.

And after that...

"I’ll give you privacy, then."

Creak—

Thud—

He left the room.

"..."

-...

-...

The room fell silent.

Jerusha, Zephyrus, and Pyro were just looking at the Old Man.

On the other hand...

"..."

Old Man Rey didn’t know how to react. It was the first time he felt something like this.

And so...

"Wake up soon, brat."

He just muttered that.

His voice was trembling...

...

...

*****

The next day...

The demon’s invasion quickly spread throughout Zion Academy!

And not just to the students...

But also to the civilians living within the academy!

"The demons are starting to move again!"

"Ugh, why can’t they just lay low for another century?"

"I wish they’d just stay silent forever!"

The townsfolk said.

The demons had been silent for more than 50 years since their last war with the humans and other races...

But one had just appeared yesterday in an urban area and even tried to attack an orphanage!

This news caused chaos among the people!

Though, as they heard this...

They also learned that someone had stopped the demon and its lackey!

A student named Raye!

Hearing this, the townsfolk thought of him as a hero who saved the orphanage from devastation!

And knowing he almost died in doing so, they admired his bravery and achievement!

They wished for his speedy recovery too!

On the other hand...

"What?! Raye did that?"

"I can’t believe it."

"If it were Raye from the first semester, he would’ve been the attacker of the orphanage!"

The students were shocked!

But still...

"He really changed, huh."

They didn’t doubt the story to be fake!

After all, they had witnessed firsthand the change in Raye throughout the semester.

"Still, I can’t believe he changed that fast."

"He might be a different person possessing Raye. What do we know?"

"I don’t really care if that’s the case. I prefer him, even if he’s fake, to that idiot original."

The students then commented.

...

...

Meanwhile...

The headmaster held a meeting in his office with the professors.

"The monsters are starting to move toward the safe parts of the forest. They’re slowly making their way to civilization."

Bryan said, looking at the professors.

"I suspected the demons were behind this but wasn’t sure before. Though, their infiltration of the academy confirmed that they’re somehow connected to this."

He added.

Then, turning to Professor Justo, who handled the artifact engineering classes...

"The fact that they infiltrated the academy’s premises without alerting us is also concerning. Please work on that, Professor Justo."

Bryan instructed firmly.

"Got it. I’ll work on it immediately."

Professor Justo replied with a serious expression.

And after that...

They discussed how to improve their security, including teaching students how to respond if they saw something suspicious or encountered a demon.

Then as they deliberated...

"How’s Raye’s condition, by the way?"

Bryan asked, looking at Ramiel.

Sariel and the other professors familiar with Raye also turned toward him.

"Fuuuuu..."

Casually puffing out a smoke...

"He’s still in a coma."

Ramiel declared that!

Sariel and the others frowned at the news, they feel sorry for Raye.

And then, whispering to himself...

"Just as the friendly exchange between the academies was about to happen, one of our main cards is down."

Bryan mumbled that!

...

*****

Three days later...

Outside the academy...

Or to be specific...

In the Alvah Dukedom!

"Hey, did you hear?"

"What? I didn’t hear. I don’t gossip as much as you do."

"Ugh, shut up."

Two maids in the mansion were talking.

Their name were Julia and Jullien.

"So, what is it?"

"It’s about that devil of a young master we had."

"The one that got disowned?"

"Yep."

And their topic was Raye!

"So, what about him?"

Julia asked.

Jullien carefully looked around...

"Apparently, he saved an orphanage from being attacked!"

And then she responded!

"What?"

Julia was shocked.

"Are you sure he wasn’t the attacker instead?"

She asked skeptically.

But shaking her head...

"The attackers were a demon and a demon worshipper."

Jullien clarified that!

"What?!"

And her words made Julia even more surprised!

"Julia, keep your voice down!"

"Ah, sorry."

Looking around to ensure no one overheard them...

"Are you telling me that devil of a young master warded off a demon and a demon worshipper to protect an orphanage?"

Julia asked.

"Yeah, that’s what I heard."

And Jullien immediately responded!

"You sure it’s not just a fake rumor?"

"I didn’t see it myself, but plenty of merchants from Zion Academy said it was true."

"..."

Julia went silent, processing the information.

’Funny how a devil stopped a demon. Evil versus evil, huh.’

She thought, slightly smirking.

’What is even the difference the devil and demon? Aren’t they just the same?’

Then her thoughts just flew somewhere.

Julia was stuck in her thoughts.

But suddenly...

"That’s an interesting story you have there, Jullien."

They heard a voice behind them!

"Huh?!"

"Wha—?!"

They both turned around.

And there...

They saw a handsome man with long, flowing white hair and piercing blue eyes, exuding an intimidating presence!

It was Lucian Alvah—Raye’s biological father and the patriarch of the Alvah Dukedom!

He just looked like a grown-up version of Raye!

Anyway...

"Mind telling me your story in detail, Jullien?"

Lucian asked that with a smile.

But his presence terrified her.

Trembling...

"O-Okay..."

Jullien stammered.

And after that, she began recounting everything she’d heard!

Her voice shaking, and tears forming in her eyes!

"..."

Even Julia can’t move too because she’s scared!

She hadn’t received permission to move yet, so she just remained there, terrified!

...

After hearing the entire story...

"You two can leave now."

Lucian finally spoke!

He was really silent the whole time, scaring the two maids more.

"Y-Yes, Sir!"

"T-Thank you!"

The two maids then quickly ran off.

And left alone...

’Raye, huh...’

Lucian thought of that.

"I didn’t expect to hear his name now."

He muttered emotionlessly.