The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

"[Thunderstorm]"

Lena calmly chanted as she blocked Lycus' attack. Then from above the arena—

WHOOSH—

A gigantic bluish magic circle appeared, it was covering the whole arena!

"...!"

Lycus' eyes widened seeing that, and before he could even make his next move—

BZOOM!

A single strand of lightning struck where him and Lena are standing!

"Keuk...!"

He was able to jump back at the last second, but he was still grazed. The damage he received wasn't that serious though.

On the other hand...

"..."

Lena just stood silent, holding her staff. She was unharmed by her own magic. And seeing that—

'Fuck.'

Lycus groaned internally, he already knows what's going to happen.

And just then—

CRACKLE—!

Z O O O O O O O S H—!!!

A countless amount of lightning bolts fell from the magic circle above! It's not fully targeted at Lycus, but the whole arena is covered, giving him no place to run to!

"Tch—!"

Lycus gritted his teeth.

And without wasting any time—he started moving!

SWISH—

His body becoming a blur as he jumped, rolled, and slid between the lightning strikes!

BZZZT—!

B O O M—!

The arena floor cracked and sizzled from each impact. Smoke and dust flew everywhere!

But in that chaos—

FWISH!

Lycus suddenly dashed through a lightning gap and hurled one of his daggers at Lena!

But—!

CLANG—!

Lena deflected it with her mana-coated staff just in time.

Though, even with that—

"..."

Lycus remained calm.

Because that was just a feint.

And from Lena's blind spot—

WHISH!

'Got you...!'

Lycus suddenly reappeared, slashing toward her side!

"No, you don't...!"

TIIIING—!

But Lena twisted and produced a mana barrier just in time! It shimmered with blue light, blocking the hit!

"Tch... You're really hard to fight."

She muttered.

"You too... You're like a walking disaster."

Lycus retorted.

And even as they spoke—

The storm above raged on, showing no signs of ending!

B Z O O M—!!

A lightning just struck again where Lena and Lycus were standing, forcing Lycus to retreat once more!

He worked so hard to close the distance between him and Lena, and he's back to zero.

But nevertheless, Lycus didn't mind that, after all—

'I can dodge the lightnings... I can do this.'

He realized that he can handle this situation pretty well.

And so—

FWOOSH~

He dashed toward Lena again without hesitation!

BZAAM!!

A lightning almost hit him, but he jumped and twisted his body at the last second, avoiding it completely!

Tap—

ZOOSH—!

But as he landed on the ground, Lycus saw another lightning coming down toward him! He was a bit startled by it, though calmly—

WHOOSH~

He covered both his daggers with aura! And with it—

BZZZZT—!!

He intercepted the lightning and nullified it!

'Just as expected, he unlocked aura too.'

Raye thought after seeing that.

Then at that moment—

"[Storm Blades!]"

Lena cast another spell, she just wouldn't let Lycus get near her that easy.

SWISH— SWISH— SWISH—!

Razor sharp crescent-shaped gusts of wind were fired from Lena's hand, and they all flew toward Lycus!

Now, along with the lightnings—he has to worry about them as well!

Lycus frowned at this, but he still have a smile on his face. And without fear—

BAM!

He loudly kicked off the ground and continued advancing forward!

SLASH—!

He sliced through the first gust of wind coming at him!

SWOOSH—

He ducked under the second one, feeling it graze his hair!

The third one came too fast—

But—

CLANG—!

He raised one dagger just in time, deflecting the gust with pure aura coating!

BZZZT—!

And then—another bolt of lightning crashed down, aiming right at his feet!

BOOM—!!

Lycus leapt forward, flipping mid-air, and landed cleanly a few meters from Lena!

"Persistent bastard..."

Lena muttered with a click of her tongue, she was smiling though.

"You bet I am."

Then Lycus replied with a grin.

With that, he charged one last time!

Tap—

And he reached in front of Lena again!

SWISH— CLANG—!

The two of them immediately started exchanging attacks.

"HAAAH—!"

SWOOSH—

Lycus slashed swiftly here and there, his dual daggers gleaming with aura as they weaved through the air with deadly precision!

But Lena—

TANG— TING- CLANG—!

She accurately created mana barriers right where his daggers were about to land, perfectly timed just before each strike could reach her skin!

TSSSK—!

And while she was doing that...

"Ugh...!"

SWISH—!!

ZOOSH—!!

She was also firing off windblades and lightning strikes from her hands!

BZZT! CLANG—!

Lycus parried a few with his blades.

FWOOSH~

But most of the time, he had to rely on his swift footwork and acrobatic movements to dodge!

He flipped, spun, ducked, and rolled between every attack.

But then—

Z Z Z Z T T T —!!!

A heavy lightning strike from the magic circle above charged up and fell—aiming right where the two of them were standing!

It was going to force Lycus to retreat again!

Though—

"...Not this time!"

He muttered under his breath, eyes sharp.

FWOOSH—!!

He crouched low, gathered aura on both his daggers

And then—!

SLASH—!!

He swung both blades upward in an 'X' motion!

CRACK—!!!

A cross-shaped aura wave flew from his daggers—bright red and sharp—

It intercepted the falling lightning mid-air!

BOOOOOOM—!!!

The two attacks collided and exploded in the air, canceling each other out!

"...!"

The students watching couldn't believe what they were seeing!

But—

"[Paralyze!]"

Lena chanted at that exact moment, her palm aimed directly at Lycus—

Z Z Z T T —!!!

A burst of paralyzing mana hit him at point-blank range!

"KEUK—!!"

His whole body froze!

His legs locked, arms stiff—daggers still held in mid-air, unable to move an inch!

He was completely wide open!

The effect would only last on him for a second or two, not that long.

But that time was enough for Lena to win this fight!

"[DIVINE PUNISHMENT!]"

She exclaimed that.

And hearing her words—

"..."

Raye and Jerusha frowned!

They both recognized that spell instantly—it was Lena's strongest attack, the same one she used during the demon invasions!

'That's overkill.'

Raye thought to himself with a twitch of his brow.

Then at that moment—

Z Z Z Z T T T—

The magic circle above in the air changed color to a deeper blue, almost navy—

And the glowing engravings on it started moving like rotating gears, shifting into a new formation.

SWOOSH—!!

A strong burst of mana erupted from Lena's body, swirling violently—

And in the blink of an eye, it was instantaneously transferred directly to the magic circle above!

And then—

Z Z Z Z Z O O O O O O S S S S S H H H H ———!!!

A gigantic lightning bolt shot out of the magic circle—!!

It was huge—so massive it covered the entire arena in a dome of blinding electric light!!

"...!"

Lycus' eyes widened in shock!

He could see it, the divine bolt—approaching at a terrifying speed that made his skin crawl!

And just as it was a few meters above him—

That's when he finally regained control of his body!

"Kh—!!"

B O O O O O O M ———!!!

SWOOOOOOOOOSH—!!!

The divine lightning came crashing down!

It struck the center of the arena with a thunderous roar,

The ground shook violently—

The air was torn apart—

And a wild shockwave exploded outward from the impact!!

The students watching weren't affected thanks to the barrier of the training dome artifact—

"AAHH—!"

"HOLY SHIT!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"GAAAAHH!!! MY EARS!!!"

But even still, many of them screamed in surprise!

FWOOSH~

The smoke and dust from the shockwave was thick, it was taking a while to clear up.

But as they were waiting for that—

Swoosh~

They suddenly saw some particles flying out of the arena!

"Ah! There!"

"Someone is being ejected out!"

Everyone's eyes quickly shifted toward it—they waited, tense and breathless.

Though, they all already knew who it was...

'Lycus is strong, but there's just no way he survives that.'

They thought in unison.

Then...

"Ugh... That sneaky bastard..."

Tap-

Lycus landed outside the arena.

Or so they thought...

"Huh?"

"...?"

"What?!"

The one who was ejected... It was Lena.

"I should've stayed on guard until the end."

She grumbled to herself.