The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

After Raye and Leon's final clash, a violent gust of wind tore through the air—

FWOOOOOSH—!!

Debris and dust shot upward, spiraling like a storm inside the arena. The force was immense—but thanks to the [Training Dome Artifact], none of it reached the spectators.

However, what it did—

Was completely shroud the battlefield in a thick, chaotic fog of dirt and smoke.

"..."

"W-What happened?"

"I... I don't know..."

"Is it over?"

"Huh? I can't hear... What the fuck? Hello? Hello...?"

"Shut up, man."

The students' voices echoed in confused murmurs. Some were standing. Some were frozen. All of them… were holding their breath.

They couldn't see a thing.

No silhouettes. No sounds.

Only dust.

The professors were tense too. Sariel, Ramiel, Charles... even those who usually kept their composure were silent now—staring at the arena without blinking, as if afraid they'd miss the moment something moved.

No body had appeared outside the artifact yet.

"..."

Jerusha stared at the arena, her eyes unmoving.

"Leon..."

Aria's hands were clenched together on her lap, her expression unreadable.

Devin stood without a word, eyes widened.

Lycus had his arms crossed, watching every corner of the arena.

Sofia tried to remain calm, but her heart was still pounding.

Lena held her breath, but her eyes remained sharp while watching everything.

Allen squinted his eyes, waiting for the outcome as well.

Everyone...

They all waited.

Swoosh~

Silence blanketed the training ground.

And in that moment—

All they could do...

Was wonder.

Who would still be standing when the dust finally cleared?

Who won the last exchange?

Those questions in their heads.

...

...

...

The dust cloud was so thick... it took a full minute before it even started to fade!

'Gulp!'

Everyone swallowed a mouthful of saliva in nervousness.

They waited...

Waited...

Waited some more...

Fwoosh~

Then the dust cloud finally disappeared! And what they saw—

"Huh?!"

"There, look!"

"Ah, I see him!"

Was Raye, lying on the ground!

"...!"

"RAYE LOST?!"

"What did you say?"

"WHAT—?!"

The arena was a complete mess. It was cracked all over like it was about to collapse at any moment. In the center, where the final clash took place, was a massive crater...

And right in the middle of it— Raye lay sprawled on the ground. Unmoving.

The students' eyes widened in disbelief. But honestly... they kind of expected this already.

After all, Leon was always strong. They've known him like that since year one.

And Raye?

He was known for being talentless when he entered the academy. A weak noble.

So for most of them—

'It makes sense that Leon would win.'

That was what they thought.

But just then—

"I can't hear anything... Whatever, where's Leon?"

A student asked that aloud.

And with that one question.... Everything changed.

"...!"

'That's right...'

'Leon... hasn't appeared yet.'

'Where is he?!'

'Is he hiding? Injured?'

'What the hell happened?!'

The crowd began shifting. Quick eyes scanning the arena. But no matter how much they searched—

They could only see Raye lying on the broken ground.

"...What happened to Leon?"

Someone asked.

And then—

Swoooosh~

Bluish particles floated down from above the arena... gliding softly in the air like feathers.

"..."

Everyone became silent.

Their eyes followed it—Mesmerized. Confused.

"No way..."

"It can't be..."

"Is this... serious...?"

They muttered.

The particles gently hovered down...

And then—

FWISH~

Tap—

Leon materialized from the particles and landed just outside the arena.

"..."

He didn't say a word.

And nobody else could.

Then, everyone in the training ground turned to look at Raye.

Still on the ground. Burned, bruised—

But still there.

Still conscious.

And feeling their gazes—

"...Hehe..."

Raye let out a small, hoarse laugh.

"RAYE WINS!!!"

And at that moment, Sariel finally snapped out of his daze and declared that.

And just like that—

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAHHH—!!!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"WHAT THE HELL?!!"

"HE WON! RAYE WON!"

"What?"

"RAYE WON YOU FUCKING MORON!"

The whole training ground exploded into noise! The students watching couldn't contain their excitement!

And while that was happening—

'He won...!'

Jerusha thought of that, her eyes wide along with her smile

"...Leon..."

Aria softly whispered, stunned.

"..."

Devin, Sofia, Lycus, Allen, and Lena—

They were all frozen.

They watched the fight. They saw how even it was. But to think Raye actually won...?

"That guy..."

Devin shook his head and let out a grin.

"He really pulled it off."

Lycus just blinked slowly, smiling to himself.

Allen and Lena said nothing. But the frowns on their faces?

They weren't out of jealousy.

They were out of respect for Leon and Raye.

...

In this fight—

Raye proved something.

He wasn't just someone who caught up... He was someone they needed to chase now.

...

On the other side—

The professors had different reactions.

Sariel stared at Raye, then nodded slowly to himself proudly.

'I'm glad I let him have a chance to change.'

He thought. (Chapter 14)

"That brat improved quite a bit, huh."

Ramiel stated. He still had his arms crossed, eyes narrowed as he stared down at the boy who suddenly asked him to teach them his electrical attribute. A small smile crept up to his face.

"..."

Charles was genuinely impressed. The Raye he was looking at now was really different from the Raye he hated before.

"Haha, I'm glad I didn't succeed when I tried to make him expelled of the academy."

He muttered under his breath.

*****

After his victory got announced, Raye thought of leaving the [Training Dome Artifact]—and immediately after that, his body turned into particles and flew outside.

The arena got fixed too when the [Training Dome Artifact] deactivated. It's actually an instant fix.

It's really a wonder how it works.

Anyway—

Tap—

Raye materialized beside Leon, outside the arena.

"It's noisy, huh."

He muttered.

"They're all cheering for you."

Then Leon said that beside him. And opening his mouth again—

"It was a good fight. I completely lost."

He added, smiling. No bitterness, no hate.

"Hah, you didn't even use all of your cards against me, how can you say that?"

Raye turned to him and asked with a smirk.

Then in the same manner—

"Because I know you didn't use all of your cards too."

Leon responded without hesitation. He copied Raye's smirk quite well too.

"Meh."

Raye just shrugged his shoulders.

And right at that moment—

"Now... Let's take a look at their status windows!"

They heard Sariel announce that.

"It's here!"

"I want to see!"

"Me too!"

Everyone got excited. Be it students or Professors. They were all curious.

Then finally, without further ado—

SWOOSH~

The status of the two was projected up in the air, and everyone's eyes followed.

And there, they became speechless at what they saw...

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Haha, not this chapter lol :v