Chapter 16: Before viewing ③

A father believed his son would become the greatest villain the world had ever known.
It started the day he happened to witness his nine-year-old son beating down the local thugs.

“You’ll be the pride of our family.”

That one sentence lodged deep in the heart of the boy, who was full of dreams.
Seeing the certainty in his father’s eyes, the boy naturally accepted it.

I must be superior to others.

After just one month of sword training, he defeated a master who had trained for ten years—this only reinforced the belief.

I’m a genius.

When adults three to four times his age bowed their heads to him, the boy’s confidence reached its peak.

I’m the protagonist of this world!

Life had never seemed so simple and enjoyable.

People who complained that life was hard or that they didn’t have enough money—he found them pathetic and disgusting.

And yet, somewhere deep in his heart, there was a sliver of understanding for them.

They’re just extras, after all.

All things in the world existed to highlight the brilliance of the boy.
Looking back on his life, it was an undeniable truth.

…And then, someone appeared who first shook that absolute truth.

“My name’s Kizel. Let’s get along.”

The boy—OWEN—stared blankly at the outstretched hand.
He slowly looked up.

A face sculpted like it had been crafted by the gods.
Golden eyes filled with firm resolve looked down at him, as if they held the truth of the world itself.

And reflected in that golden surface… was a completely ordinary boy.

He understood instinctively.

To that boy, Owen was nothing more than that—just another face in the crowd.
A mere trainee.
One of the many people who would pass through his life without significance.
Their meeting meant nothing more than that.

“Get lost.”

So Owen refused the handshake.
If he accepted it, he feared he’d become nothing more than a forgettable peer in Kizel’s memory.

He was the protagonist.
The spotlight of the world had to shine on him.

But before he realized it, everything in his surroundings had begun to revolve around Kizel.
That was the moment Owen was demoted from protagonist to extra.

“Yaaawn. Nothing happened overnight?”

Lost in thought, dawn had arrived.
And with it, the last night watch came to an end.

Owen—Dark Black—nodded in silence.
A short-haired girl approached, acting chummy.

“Today’s the last day of the evaluation match, huh?”
“What was your name again?”
“…It’s Serena. Serena.”

Tch. Unbelievable.
When Black tapped the hilt of his sword once or twice, Serena shut her mouth.

“Tell the Mask Girl to stay hidden and keep a low profile.”

When Black stood up, Serena looked flustered.

“Uh, where are you going?”
“The alliance is over. I’m heading to take down Kizel now.”

His duty as a night watchman was done.
Black cast a glance at Serena’s dumbfounded face and left a final message.

“This battlefield requires me, the wielder of the Obsidian Blade, to risk my life.
Insects like you will die just by getting caught in the crossfire.
Wait for the right moment and surrender.”

With deliberate flair, Black walked into the forest, making sure his cloak fluttered dramatically behind him.
Serena called after him, but he never looked back.

As he pushed through the woods, Black reviewed the intel he’d gathered from other contestants.
He’d heard that Crown and Kizel had been clashing since the second day.

If Crown had held out this long against Kizel, she must be formidable in her own right.

But if Black sided with Kizel, the balance would shift.

Cooperate temporarily to take out Crown. Then, challenge Kizel to a duel.

The final act of the 22nd Evaluation Match would end with a duel between swordmasters.
It would surely go down in history as the most intense match of all time.

Black glanced at the crows that had been following him.

“Brace yourself, Kizel.”

As the crows focused their gazes on him, Black smiled as heroically as he could.

“My one and only rival—the one who handed me my only defeat.”

“What the hell’s with that brat?”

Elicia immediately clamped a hand over Skull Knight’s mouth.

“Heroes aren’t allowed to use bad words~”
“…Fine, now let go.”

[Hmm. Very distinct personalities—quite enjoyable to watch.]
[Exactly as you said! Let’s move on to the next screen!]

The TV screen shifted to an aerial view from above the sky.

At the center of the Yarn Great Forest lay a vast meadow.

It had become barren of trees and shrubs, as every final battle of past Evaluation Matches had taken place here.

And now, two forces faced off against each other in that very place.

Crown, leading 120 ability users.
Kizel, standing at the front of a formation of 30 swordsmen.

The balance of power was obvious.

Though Kizel’s team outclassed their opponents in individual skill, the overwhelming numbers made that meaningless.

Even so, Kizel and his subordinates were calm.
They quietly checked their equipment and prepared for the coming moment.

The one who looked more anxious was Crown.

[We need to work together!]
[Nonsense.]
[If we burn out in a war of attrition, who’s going to stop Yureon?!]
[Yureon is less of a threat than you.]

Kizel’s curt reply made Crown press a hand to her forehead.

[I pulled this alliance together because of her. You may not realize it, but she’s already—!]
[Spare me the act. Pretending to form an alliance so you can stab us in the back—did you think I wouldn’t see through it?]

Kizel unsheathed a blade with a gleaming white body.
He leveled it toward Crown and spoke in a low, composed voice.

[Come.]

[…F*ck.]

[As expected of Kizel! He’s not the kind of man to fall for such a cheap trick!]
[Crown’s anxious performance was top-tier too!]

The core of the 22nd Evaluation Match was the confrontation between Kizel and Crown.

Crown’s alliance was like an unbreachable fortress to any ordinary prospect.
But Kizel, with his brilliant strategies, was dismantling it piece by piece like a work of art.

[And just in time, as the combat zone is restricted, the remaining participants are beginning to converge!]
[Current remaining participants: 196! Of those, a staggering 150 are aligned with Kizel or Crown!]
[It’s practically the finals between those two villains!]

At that moment, the crows zoomed in on the western forest.
There, Yureon, who had remained quiet throughout the Evaluation Match, stood poised and elegant.

[Finally, Yureon has appeared on the battlefield! Will she prove capable of challenging Crown and Kizel?!]

Once the most highly anticipated candidate of this match, Yureon’s reputation had plummeted.
She had spent her time hiding, avoiding combat.

True elites never conduct themselves that way.

The purpose of the Evaluation Match wasn’t simply to win—it was to prove one’s worth to the team leaders.

Ambushing worn-out opponents from the shadows would never leave a good impression.

The only reason to choose that approach was simple:

A lack of confidence in one’s own abilities.
Unlike Kizel or Crown, who overwhelmed others with their performances, she lacked the skills and certainty to do the same.

[Ah, Crown’s alliance is making a move!]

“It’s starting~”

The ground rumbled as a force of over a hundred charged toward Kizel’s team.
Kizel’s side calmly formed a defensive formation, already well-rehearsed.

Elicia’s eyes sparkled.
Skull Knight clicked his tongue and ruffled her hair violently.

“Ahh~!”
“Stop getting swept up in it and start analyzing, you idiot. You look like a soccer fan at a bar.”
“So unfair~! I’m not the only one getting into it~!”

When Skull Knight turned around, he was stunned to find several Heroes in the corner waving cash.

“Fifty thousand won on Crown!”
“Thirty thousand on Kizel!”
“I got twenty on him!”

Skull Knight’s brow twitched.

“Heroes, my a**…”

Kim Dohyeon, sitting on the floor, chuckled.

“Leave them be. They might look like that, but they’re not crossing the line.”
“Haa… Ever since Reminis shut herself in, there’s no one to keep those lunatics in check.”
“……”

Kim Dohyeon’s expression darkened instantly.
Skull Knight clicked his tongue inwardly, regretting his careless words.

“Anyway, one thing’s clear.”
“What is?”
“Anyone who bet on Crown is an idiot.”
“…You’re contradicting yourself now.”
“But you know what I mean, don’t you? Kim Dohyeon.”

Kim Dohyeon only offered a quiet smile.

“Kizel… that guy will reach our level someday.”
“Yeah, he will.”
“And you’re the one who’ll face the swordsmen. What’s your read? Can you handle him?”

Kim Dohyeon raised his sword.
A smile flickered across its smooth, gleaming surface.

“It’ll be an exciting fight. But…”
“But?”
“There are plenty of swordsmen like him in the Double Rank.”
“…Is that so.”

Skull Knight lowered his guard by a notch.

“Still no captain-tier talent in this generation, huh.”
“That’s a relief… it means Seoran will have more time to recover.”

The power of light and darkness is deeply tied to the mind.
When their convictions are strong, wielders of light become stronger than ever.
But when that conviction wavers, their power can all but vanish.

Gwangmyeong Reminis was currently operating at less than a tenth of her peak.

That’s why Seoran was isolating herself—to regain mental clarity.

But suddenly, Skull Knight couldn’t help but wonder:

“Will she really recover?”

“……”

Dohyeon said nothing.
He simply ran a finger down the edge of his blade.

[W-What an incredible battle! Is this really the Evaluation Match?! Are we really watching a fight between mere prospects?!]
[Aaah, Kizel…! Were you hiding this level of power all along?! That’s shameless—absolutely shameless!]
[Look at this dazzling clash! This is the future of villains, folks! You’re looking at the future of Telon itself!]

The casters’ excited voices made everyone chuckle.
Even the heroes cheered loudly, shouting the names of those they supported.

“They’re seriously overdoing it. Can’t even tell who the villains are anymore… or the heroes.”

Skull Knight gave a dry laugh.
Just then, as if she’d been waiting for that moment, Elicia ran up and tapped his lips with her finger.

“Mouth alert, mouth alert~! Did something naughty come out of this mouth~?”
“Okay, okay, I get it. What is this, kindergarten…”

Just around that time—

“……”
“……”
“……?”

A strange silence suddenly settled over the room.

When Skull Knight looked around, he saw that every hero had frozen like statues, as if by prior agreement.

‘An ambush?’

The possibility crossed his mind, just as Elicia, also caught off guard, poked his shoulder.

“What is it now…?”
“…There.”

The moment his gaze followed her pointing finger, Skull Knight understood everything.

[W-What is that?]

Even the caster forgot their role and muttered in confusion.

[What… what is that…]

The once-fierce battlefield in the center of the meadow had come to a standstill.
Every single person stopped moving and looked up at the sky.

–I got so bored waiting.

Flames filled the heavens.

Quite literally, the entire visible sky had turned red.
In the heavy silence, a girl riding a massive phoenix let out a fierce, battle-hungry smile.

–Come out now.

Though her voice wasn’t loud, its resonance reached every ear present.

Embedding intent into pure mana—
It was a technique only possible for those who had reached the peak of mana manipulation.

And in the villain world, reaching that peak meant only one thing.

[At that age… she’s surpassed the Wall of a Thousand…?]

Yureon didn’t even glance at the awestruck participants staring blankly at her.

Her crimson eyes focused solely on the southern forest.

–Let’s settle this.

At the end of her gaze, a masked girl let out a quiet sigh.