The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

The students were all surprised at what happened.

Their eyes widened, mouths hung open, and disbelief spilled out through scattered voices.

"Wait, what?"

"Huh? How...?"

"Why is she the one ejected?!"

They were confused... Lost for words.

"..."

Sofia, who was worried about Lycus, looked stunned, eyes darting toward the arena. Aria beside her wore the same expression.

They didn't understand what had just happened.

But Jerusha, Raye, Devin, Leon, and Allen...

They witnessed it.

They saw everything that happened in the end.

*****

What happened earlier...

Lena, despite having resistance to her lightning magic, as she had shown throughout the fight—couldn't fully brace against [Divine Punishment]. That spell was simply too strong for her current self to tank head-on.

And so, as the final attack neared its descent, she created a small shield around her entire body to protect herself.

"Kh—!!"

That's when Lycus regained control of his body.

His eyes... they had never left Lena. He'd been observing everything, even while paralyzed; so he saw it.

He saw the moment Lena's shield formed.

And in a desperate, wild gamble—

SWISH—!

Lycus sent a huge amount of aura into the dagger on his left hand; it was the one closest to Lena!

His aura flared violently, like it was on fire—and then—

THUCK!!

His dagger pierced straight through the magic barrier she created!

SLASH!!

With one forceful sweep, Lycus tore a gaping hole into Lena's shield!

Then—

BAM!

He kicked off the cracked ground and dove through the opening, entering the shield in the final second!

And right at that moment—

B O O O O O O M ———!!!

The gigantic lightning up in the air came crashing down, engulfing the entire arena.

Residue from Lena's [Divine Punishment] seeped in through the hole Lycus had made.

BZZZZT—!

"GRGH...!"

He groaned loudly as violent electricity surged through his body, shocking every nerve, burning every muscle.

Inside the shield—

"...!"

Lena's eyes widened in pure disbelief. She never expected Lycus to tear through her barrier and join her inside just to survive!

But while the lightning danced wildly around them, Lena remained unharmed. Her resistance was strong enough to ignore the residue electricity going in!

And after that—

She quickly extended her arms, trying to push Lycus out of her shield!

Lena currently can't cast any spell for a few seconds, she just used a lot of mana in casting [Devine Punishment] and the shield protecting her.

Anyway—

"GRGH...!"

Lycus forced his body to move, gritting his teeth through the agonizing voltage! His body was trembling, his vision blurry, but still—

He moved.

And as Lena's hands neared him—

FWIP—

He grabbed her wrist with his left hand!

"Wha—?!"

Lena's breath hitched. She was stunned that he could still move... and with such strength!

Panicking, she raised her staff, ready to slam it down on his head!

But before she could—

SLASH—

She froze.

Something cold... touched her neck.

And in that moment...

'Shit.'

She already knew what happened.

Lena blacked out on the spot after that.

Lycus had slit her throat open with his right dagger—clean and swift. Even as he staggered, even paralyzed and burned, in close combat... He was still far superior against Lena who's a mage.

But now—

CRACK—!!!

The shield around them shattered.

And with it—

B O O O O O O M—!!!

"GAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Lycus took the full force of the lightning as it came crashing down on him!

The shockwave that followed was monstrous. Light exploded across the arena—

And then silence.

*****

Back to the present, the students turned their eyes back to the arena...

SWOOSH~

The thick dust cloud and debris was still everywhere, making it hard to see anything.

But after a while...

Fwoooooosh—

The haze slowly faded.

And there—

Standing right on top of the cracked arena floor...

"...!"

They saw him.

Lycus.

He was still standing; his silhouette firm despite everything. The students stared wide-eyed, their jaws slowly dropping.

"H-He really survived that..."

"What did he do...?"

"I don't know, man."

"Hmm, finally... Some silent reactions."

Anyway, Lycus looked ragged and ruined— His uniform was mostly gone... His upper body completely bare, revealing his lean, muscular frame!

This unsurprisingly caught the attention of most girls watching.

"A-Ah...!"

"He's...!"

"He's really sexy, huh..."

The girls whispered. And the boys looking at his build became jealous.

Meanwhile, in the booth—

"...Tch."

Sofia frowned and looked away, pouting a little as she mumbled under her breath.

"Hmph... Show-off..."

Anyway...

Smoke was rising off Lycus' entire body. His arms, chest, and left side were scorched black with severe burn marks. Steam hissed with every step he took. Small electric sparks crackled across his skin, still lingering from Lena's final spell.

But even with his condition—

"...Heh."

Lycus smiled.

His body trembled slightly... And then—

S W I R L—

Particles of light began rising from his feet, climbing up his body as he slowly dissolved into glowing dust.

He was being ejected by the [Training Dome Artifact].

Everyone watched in silence, a mix of awe and disbelief frozen on their faces.

Then only after a few seconds...

Tap—

Lycus reappeared outside the arena, standing just beside Lena.

He now has his shirt on, and his body is fully healed. Though, he still looked tired.

"...Hey."

Lena turned to him. Her expression was neutral, but there was a faint smile on her lips.

"Congrats on the win."

"...Thanks."

Lycus replied, glancing at her. Then, with a shrug—

"I would've lost if we were fighting somewhere bigger than the arena..."

He muttered.

Lena blinked once, then chuckled softly.

"I still lost."

She said that simply, brushing off his words.

"Yeah, yeah..."

Lycus smiled faintly, then looked ahead.

And with that, the two of them started walking toward where the others were waiting.

...

...

...

The two reached where Raye and the others are, and there—

"That was crazy...!"

"You both were amazing!"

Everyone praised their performance.

"Thanks."

Lycus said with a tired smile.

Lena just nodded, brushing her hair back.

And with that, the two joined the others again.

Though... The atmosphere around their group aren't really that all chummy at the moment.

After all, they already know what's next.