The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

As soon as Raye burst out of the barrier—

BAAAM—!!!

FWOOOOOSH—!!

A powerful gust of wind exploded beneath his feet!

His body blurred—

And then—

FWISH—

He dashed forward, each step shaking the ground!

The town—

He had to get to the town!

Or to be precise, to Kyle's shop!

'Old Man. Pyro. Zephyrus. Kyle...'

His mind raced, his heart pounded.

He was gasping for air, sweat rolling down his face.

Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

But he didn't stop.

Instead—

SWIIIISH—!

Raye went faster.

FWOOOOOSH—!!!

He pushed his body to its limit, propelling himself even faster, the wind howling behind him.

His eyes burned with urgency—

With desperation.

*****

...

And after what felt like an eternity—

Tap—

Raye arrived at his destination.

And the moment he did—

"...!"

He froze in place.

His breath caught in his throat.

Because in front of him—

-GRAAAAAAHHHH—!!!

It was a scene of pure horror!

"AHHHHHH!!!"

"DEMONS!!!"

"MONSTERS!!!"

Screams.

Terrified, desperate screams filled the air.

The town...

It was in flames.

Red and orange embers crackled as houses burned.

Dark, monstrous figures rampaged through the streets.

Shadowy demons with grotesque faces tore through everything in sight.

Flying beasts circled above, swooping down like vultures.

Shattering windows.

Ripping apart buildings.

Devouring people.

The air smelled of smoke, blood, and death.

"Shit..."

Raye's hands clenched into fists.

His jaw tightened.

His chest burned with rage.

But refocusing himself on his goal and gritting his teeth—

BAAAM—!!!

He kicked off the ground!

Dashing straight into the chaos—

FWISH—

Raye slipped through the panicking crowds—

Eyes scanning everywhere.

'Where is he?!'

'Where is Old Man?!'

He asked in his head, wondering if they were mixed in with the townspeople.

And just then—

FWOOOSH—!!!

A massive shadow loomed over him.

Raye's eyes snapped upward, and there—

-KIEEEEEEK!!!

He saw a monstrous bat-like creature, its body writhing in demonic energy.

And with its crimson eyes glowing with bloodlust—

FWISH—

It flew straight toward Raye!

Its massive wings stirred the wind—

-KIIIIEEE!!

Its sharp fangs bared.

Its killing intent was suffocating.

But Raye, annoyed—

"Fuck off...!"

He just cursed at it, his voice dripping with irritation.

And in an instant—

Fwoosh~

A glint of black flashed in his right hand—

[Nyx]

Raye's beloved sword, appearing from his spatial ring.

And tightly gripping its hilt—

SLASH—!!!

Raye unleashed a single, fluid swing!

A crescent arc of light cut through the air—

-Keh?!

The monster didn't even have time to react.

SPLURT—!

Its body split in half!

The monster's black blood splattered on the ground.

And then—

Thud—!

It fell to the ground, lifeless.

And after that—

BAM—

Raye just ran past it.

"..."

He didn't even spare the monster a glance.

Because—

'I have no time to waste.'

Raye thought, frowning.

*****

FWOOOSH—!

Raye ran deeper into the town, heading toward Kyle's newly opened new shop branch.

-GRAAAAAH!!!

-KIEEEEAAAAAK!!!

Monsters—

They lunged at him from every direction!

"..."

But with [Celestria] in his left hand, and [Nyx] in his right—

"HAAAAA!!!"

SWIIIISH—!

SLASH—!!

-KIEK...?!

-GARGH?!!

Raye cut them all down with just one swing each!

"Haaaa... Haaaa... Haaa..."

His breathing was becoming more rough, but he never slowed down.

His vision blurred too, because of lack of oxygen—

BAM!

But Raye just kept running!

He remained focused on his goal!@@novelbin@@

And before he knew it—

Tap.

He reached Kyle's shop.

He had been praying on his way.

But just like the other buildings and houses—

SWAAAAAAAA—!

Kyle's shop was on fire.

"..."

Raye stood still.

The color drained from his face.

'Please...'

He hoped.

He wished.

For their safety.

His heart pounded—

His chest tightened.

It was getting hard to breathe.

But before Raye could even fall into despair—

-Mee...ep...?!

He heard a familiar chirping!

"?!"

Raye's eyes widened.

And without hesitation or whatsoever—

Not caring if it was a trap or not—

FWOOSH—

Raye ran toward it!

It was coming from just behind the shop!

Not inside—

Fwish—

Raye turned to the corner, heart racing.

And then—

His breath hitched.

"...!"

He saw the others behind the shop!

"..."

Raye didn't say anything, he couldn't find a word to utter.

Because there they were.

Old Man Rey—

He was on the ground, unmoving.

Blood spilled from his mouth.

Next, Kyle—

He was unconscious.

And his left arm—

It was gone.

It looks like that it was severed by something sharp!

Then Pyro—

His small, warm glow—

It was flickering.

Fading.

And lastly, Zephyrus—

He was heavily injured.

He has been fighting since earlier.

Fending off enemies.

And seeing the four of them like that—

"..."

Raye's fists clenched.

His grip on his swords tightened.

His rage—

BOILING.

And then—

Fwish-

His gaze shifted—

To them, the enemies.

And there—

-...

-...

Raye saw two demons.

One was super strong, it was obvious just by its presence.

It was as strong as the noble demon that stabbed him in the stomach earlier!

But that's not what caught Raye's attention...

The other demon—

"You...!"

Raye's voice dripped with venom as he muttered that.

His entire body trembled with fury.

The other demon, it was—

The demon that attacked the orphanage!

(Chapter 91-95.)

The one that tried to kidnap Jerusha and make her his wife!

The one Raye swore—

He'd kill.

And at that moment—

-Oh?

-Hmm?

The two demons saw him too.

Their eyes gleamed with amusement—

And cruelty.

-Another toy?

The strong demon muttered in an almost bored tone.

But the other one—

-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!!

It laughed!

Loudly.

Madly.

That demon recognized Raye!

And with a mischievous, twisted grin on his face—

-Are they your friends? No wonder they're getting involved in someone else's business just like you!

The demon sneered, his voice dripping with mockery.

"Tch—"

Raye gritted his teeth.

Fwip—

His grip on [Nyx] and [Celestria] tightened.

He was about to explode—

About to unleash his wrath—

But then—

"...?"

His eyes met Zephyrus' gaze.

-...

Zephyrus was calm.

Steady.

Unwavering...

And seeing him like that—

"..."

Raye was able to calm himself to some degree.

"Hooooo...."

Raye inhaled sharply.

And then—

"Fuuuuuuu..."

He exhaled.

Slowly.

Steadying himself.

Recomposing.

-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!!

The maniac laughter from the demon he know continued.

It was echoing.

Mocking.

And just then—

Fwish—

Raye turned his attention back to the maniacally laughing bastard.

Then, opening his mouth—

A smirk tugged at his lips, though his eyes are still glaring.

And with a pissed off expression on his face—

"How about you?"

Raye asked, his voice was cold.

And without even letting the demon respond—

"Did you call your daddy to get revenge for you because you got your ass kicked by some human?"

Raye followed with that!

-...

Silence.

For a moment—

Just a moment—

The bastard demon—

Didn't move.

Didn't laugh.

Didn't say a word.

-Hah!

Then the strong demon let out a low chuckle.

He was amused.

Intrigued.

But the other one—

His grin twitched.

His shoulders tensed.

And his eyes—

-...

Burned with silent rage.

"...!"

Raye's smirk widened seeing that.

Bullseye!

He hit a nerve.

And that—

Was exactly what Raye wanted.

-YOU FUCKING BUG!!!

BAM!

SWOOOOSH—!!!

The enraged demon then lunged at Raye, his demonic energy surging—

A suffocating wave of pure murderous intent flooding the area.

His crimson eyes—

Burning with hatred.

His claws—

Aimed to rip Raye apart.

And seeing him like that—

'Hah...!'

Raye smiled a little, he was successful in provoking the weaker demon.

Leaving the strong demon still watching!

Still observing.

It was just curious.

Amused.

And because of its pride as a noble demon—

It wouldn't allow himself to gang up on a single enemy!

Not with a mere human!

A race the demons deemed inferior.

And that meant—

This was a one-on-one fight between Raye and the weaker demon!

And that was more than enough...

Raye deliberately made the situation like this!

Fwish—

The weaker demon closed in.

He got closer—

Too close.

And the moment he got really near—

"[Flash]"

Raye muttered that with a sly smile.

FWISH—!

Then he disappeared from where he stood!

-?!

The demon's eyes widened.

But he had seen this before.

So he clenched his fists, his claws digging into his own palms.

His head snapped around—

Scanning.

Searching.

Waiting.

He knows that Raye was going to appear soon.

But then—

"[Flash]"

The demon heard it again!

"[Flash]"

Again.

"[Flash]"

And again!

Fwoosh—!

A blur of movement.

A flicker of black and white.

-What the fuck is happening?!

The demon growled, eyes darting wildly, frustration creeping into his voice.

'Where—?!'

'Where is he?!'

He asked in his head, finding Raye.

And then—

-There.

A deep voice entered his ears.

A calm, composed voice.

Not Raye's—

But the noble demon's.

Fwoosh—

-?!

The demon froze.

Slowly, he turned his head.

And there—

The noble demon stood, unfazed.

Expression neutral.

One hand raised—

Pointing.

The demon followed his superior's finger—

His eyes trailing the direction.

And at the end of that finger—

-...!

His eyes widened.

The demon's body tensed.

Because there—

He saw Raye.

And not just him...

Old Man Rey.

Pyro.

Zephyrus.

Kyle.

All of them—

They were all beside him!

Safe and sound!

Actually, Raye—

He had been rescuing them the whole time!

Using one of his personal skills, [Flash]—

Slipping through the demon's sight—

Dodging his gaze.

Evading his radar.

And one by one—

Raye carried the Old Man and the others to safety!

-...

The demon's jaw clenched after realizing that.

His teeth gnashed.

And even though he's annoyed to even admit it—

The demon had been played by Raye.