Villain Hiring: Help! Author Wants Me Dead

Everything was burning.

Not literally, but in my head? It was pure static. Screams. Steel. Threads. Dust.

And right in the middle of that swirling chaos was the body of Bearrend.

The boss monster.

It was massive—easily three stories tall, or it had been before it collapsed into itself like a rotting mountain.

Its armored hide was cracked in too many places to count, black blood leaking like thick ink into the ground, hissing on contact with the soil.

Something about it glowed faintly, like a dying star. That was what kicked all this off. Its death.

Its points.

We all saw it fall, and every team made the same mistake at the same time: we hesitated.

Now?

Now we were at each other's throats.

The second the forest lit up again, all hell truly broke loose.

Everyone moved.

Everyone…except me.

Team A.

Team B.

Team C—well, minus Lina and Kane, who were already dead thanks to Lucas and Isla by the way.

As for me?

My legs wouldn't move.

I stood there like a complete idiot, breathing hard, my heart thudding against my ribs so hard that it pained.

Everyone else had powers.

Everyone else could do something.

But me?

I had nothing.

Not a single trick.

Not a hidden spell.

Just…me. Pixie.

I was practically a deadweight.

All I could do was watch as they clashed around me, the sounds of steel against steel, wind roaring, water smashing into ice, etc, etc.

The ground trembled under our feet, split open by Kael's earth blades. Blades of frozen death rained from above—Isla, quiet and precise, her ice made objects dancing through the battlefield like falling stars.

Erza was laughing, like an actual maniac, swinging her blade so fast it blurred.

She chased Maxin, who ducked behind a wall of shadows, traps popping beneath his feet.

And then there was Aurelia—her charm in full effect, eyes glowing in their hazel fire.

One look and Ciel hesitated mid-attack, long enough for her to slash his arm and send him sprawling back.

Meanwhile, Seraphina stood at the rear, her eyes running between her team's figures to make sure everyone was fine while being ready to intervene and use her powers at a moment's notice.

But me?

I was a goddamn statue. No sword. No shield. Just standing and breathing and existing.

[System Update!]

[5 minutes remaining until Phase 2 ends.]

The text flickered in the air, and that's when everyone lost it.

All at once, all three teams jumped towards the center of the field—toward the broken corpse of the boss monster that had triggered this nightmare.

It lay there like a forgotten god, its twisted body scorched and frozen, half-buried in the cracked earth.

Hollow eyes.

Mangled limbs.

Dead as hell, but still the reason we were all trying to kill each other.

We all charged in.

Everyone but me.

Lina and Kane were gone. Their spots in the formation were nothing more than empty spaces, reminders of how fast this could end. Vayu roared beside me, launching himself into the air, a spiral of wind carrying him toward Isla.

Eren moved like a tank, slamming into Kael with a shout, stones forming around his arms like gauntlets.

Team A pushed in harder.

Dario blinked around like a chaotic teleporting squirrel, never quite hitting anything, but definitely confusing the hell out of Ciel.

Noah was moving calmly, cutting through the battlefield with nothing but confidence and presence.

Every time a thread from Lucas got too close, he drained it like sucking up noodles—like this wasn't a life-or-death situation but just another Tuesday.

And I just stood there.

I crouched behind a rock, watching, clenching my fists so hard my nails dug into my skin.

My chest burned.

My eyes stung.

I didn't want to cry.

I hated how weak I felt.

I didn't want to be protected again. Didn't want to be the "helpless captain" who got shoved behind shields.

I wanted to fight.

I wanted to matter.

Another crash echoed through the forest as Eren's stone wall cracked under Isla's onslaught of icy blades.

Lucas moved like a demon, his mana threads lashing and weaving in every direction, wrapping around Ciel and flinging him straight at Dario, who didn't even manage to teleport in time.

The boy vanished into blue light.

Another one down.

Maxin fell next, Erza's sword finally finding its mark. She didn't even flinch as he vanished—just turned and screamed for more.

Now it was down to us.

One minute left.

Just me, Noah, Lucas, Seraphina, Isla, and Vayu.

I could barely process it.

One minute.

Six of us.

And I was the only one with nothing to contribute.

Lucas's eyes snapped towards me.

His body was trembling. Blood stained his coat and his threads gleamed faintly, flickering like furious snakes, wrapping around his arms.

He was aiming at me.

"No," I whispered.

But he moved anyway.

Lucas bolted toward me, full sprint, eyes crazed.

He didn't care about Noah.

Didn't care about winning fair.

He just wanted my points.

Wanted to end me.

Make me pay for surviving.

"PIXIE!!" Vayu screamed.

I turned my head, looking at Seraphina rushing in from the side, her eyes glowing. "Obey," she whispered, a command from the core of her soul.

Lucas faltered—but only for a second.

He was stronger.

His soul burned brighter.

Her command cracked in his mind and backfired.

The girl gasped, stumbling as blood spilled from her nose due to the recoil of her own skill smacking her brain like a hammer.

"NO!" Vayu flew downward, his winds screaming in protest, shooting toward her, arms stretched.

And Noah?

Noah had been standing still.

Watching.

Planning.

I thought that he would only save me but the look in his eyes as he started sprinting towards me too said otherwise.

He rushed to my figure like a storm, his robe flapping as eyes locked not on Lucas—but onto me.

That was maybe when I realised that as a team captain, even he could not betray his own group again and again and just continue protecting me.

And as much as the realisation left a bad aftertaste in my mouth, I tried to understand him.

His hand reached out to me, fingers open, as I realised that the only person here I would let myself be touched or defeated by…it would be Noah.

Lucas's threads slithered behind him like a second spine, aiming to strike as well.

I don't know what fear took over my brain as I looked at the crazy boy's eyes but I found myself unable to scream.

I couldn't move.

Couldn't do anything.

One thread came flying straight for my chest, its edge glowing like a torch in the light.

It reached me.

And then—

Dinggg*

[PHASE 2 COMPLETE.]

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