I Became A Third-Rate Villain In The Hero Academy
chapter-263

Nay was well aware of what Theo intended to use.

─······It would be better not to use it. In such a pressing situation as now, there are too many variables to consider. Even a minor mistake could leave you crippled.

"That thing" Theo intended to use is a buff that enhances the body using all the energy remaining in the dantian simultaneously with the use of [Overrun].

It was a technique conceived from the thought that a buff surpassing [Overrun] was necessary.

Theo had not only been quietly sitting in meditation to accumulate qi during the past period.

However, [Overrun] itself carries a great cost, as it uses not only the current strength but also future strength.

Moreover, managing a large amount of qi at once is not an easy task for Theo, who is still a beginner.

In the worst case, the qi could flow backward, causing all the blood vessels in the body to burst and leading to death.

But Theo expressed his opinion again.

─That's why I have to use it. If I don't overcome this mountain called Oswald, I can't move forward. I want to try confronting it with all I have.

His attitude was firm.

Nay said,

─······I see. I understand your heart well. Then, try it.

As soon as her words ended, Theo concentrated all his nerves on his dantian.

Grrrr─

Grrrrr──

The sound of qi rising from the depths of the dantian could be heard in his ears.

After scraping together the qi from the very bottom of the dantian, he was ready to use [Overrun].

Then he murmured,

"······Please cover my back, everyone."

Aisha was heading to the battlefield with about 20 members of the Polaris Knights.

Then, they heard an explosion nearby.

Aisha said,

"Let's go faster, Uncle Maverick."

Maverick Walderk, the captain of the Polaris Knights, replied,

"Let's do that. Everyone, move faster!"

─Understood, Captain!

So, Aisha and the Polaris Knights arrived near the battlefield.

The members of the Polaris Knights, wearing heavy armor weighing tens of kilograms and having run on foot, were all exhausted.

Boom──!

But now, they heard an explosion from nearby.

Surely, the enemy was within a minute's distance.

"······."

They caught their breath roughly and waited for Maverick's command.

Maverick, with fierce eyes, said,

"······All troops, prepare for battle."

─Prepare for battle!

Having confirmed the readiness of the members, Maverick shouted as if roaring,

"Finally, today······! We! Dedicate our hearts to Polaris!"

─Aaaaaaah!

"Charge, all troops!"

─Charge!

The enraged knights charged towards the source of the explosions.

However, when the Polaris Knights, burning with battle spirit, arrived at the battlefield, their steps stopped abruptly as if on cue.

"······Hmm."

"Hahaha, this cute little thing! You still had a trick up your sleeve!"

"······Keep barking."

Because there was simply no way to intervene in the intense battle unfolding before them.

Each time the wildly laughing man and the young master swung their weapons, the air tore apart.

It was clear that trying to intervene in their movements would only be a hindrance.

"Huh."

Maverick chuckled dryly and looked around.

Soon, another battlefield caught his eye.

"······We will assist young master's colleagues. All troops, charge!"

─Haaah!

The Polaris Knights charged towards Theo's group, who were facing off against Oswald's subordinates.

Seeing about twenty heavily armed knights charging towards them, Oswald's subordinates were thrown into utter panic.

"We, we're going to die."

"What do we do, what do we do."

The masked man leading Oswald's subordinates in his stead quickly assessed the situation.

Their leader, Oswald, was not commanding in this situation but was completely focused on Theo Lyn Walderk, enjoying himself and laughing madly while swinging his axe.

"Damn."

The masked man knew all too well that in such a state, Oswald wouldn't listen to anything.

The masked man shouted.

"Everyone, withdraw from the scene immediately! Then, regroup at the rally point! I repeat, everyone withdraw from the scene right now──"

"Hahaha, that's going to be a problem."

Taylor interrupted the masked man's words.

Before the masked man could protest, Taylor continued.

"You can't leave here. Not until the duel between your leader and young Master Theo is over."

Having said that, Taylor began to thrash Oswald's subordinates again with the expensive-looking staff in his hand.

Oswald was fully concentrating, focusing all his nerves on his vision because he couldn't catch Theo's movements at all.

Then, he caught a glimpse of Theo charging towards him.

"There! You squirrelly little bastard!"

Oswald quickly swung his axe, but once again, the axe cleaved through empty air.

"Son of a b*tch!"

It was infuriating.

He thought he had won when he managed to hit Theo with the second effect of his axe artifact.

According to the testing results, just being engulfed in the shockwave was enough to split most iron weapons in half.

Naturally, since a human body is weaker than iron, it was taken for granted that a few bones would be broken.

But what was this?

After being hit by the shockwave, the guy started moving like a bolt of lightning as if he had become someone else.

With that kind of speed, a moment's inattention would result in being decapitated instantly.

Even now, it was only thanks to his bloodline trait [Danger Perception] that he was barely managing to hold on.

"······Hoo."

This was the first time he had to use [Danger Perception] so much in a battle.

'It's activated at least 10 times, but I wonder how many more times I can take. Three times? Two times? Once?'

Then, [Danger Perception] was activated. This time it was from behind.

"I can feel it all!"

Oswald instinctively swung his axe towards his back.

Whoosh──!

As expected, the axe only cleaved through empty air. He concentrated again to pinpoint Theo's location, but by then, Theo had already disappeared.

"······."

By this point, the fear he had been pushing away started to creep back in.

Oswald breathed anxiously.

"Huff, huff, huff······."

Where is he? Where is he? Where is he!

He shouted inwardly, but of course, there was no response.

It was nothing but a silent scream, born from fear.

──How much time had passed in such anxiety?

"Aaagh!"

A terrible pain was felt in his left thigh.

A massive pain that exceeded the levels of adrenaline secreted by the intense battle.

The [Danger Perception] that had protected him until now no longer activated.

But the pain didn't end there.

"Uh······"

He then felt his body rapidly falling.

Both of his ankles had been cut off.

Oswald realized it was the end. His intuition was correct.

His body began to be severed piece by piece.

From the ankles to the knees, then the thighs.

After the lower body was finished, it immediately continued to the upper body.

Starting from the wrists to the forearms, and finally to the shoulders.

All Oswald could do was scream, barely making a sound.

"Ke······."

He saw a whirlwind of ash-colored blood before his eyes.

His blood and body parts were fluttering all over the sky.

An ordinary person would have lost consciousness long ago, finding relief.

However, his abnormally strong will did not allow it.

Eventually, the only thing left attached to his torso was his neck.

Theo looked down at Oswald calmly.

"······."

Oswald, whose eyes except for the pupils were dyed in blood, coughed violently.

"Cu, cough. Cough, cough, cough······!"

He summoned all his remaining strength to look up at Theo. But he could not see his face, only up to his collarbone.

"Cough. You monster······. You finally showed your true colors."

There was no reply from Theo. However, Oswald continued.

"I never dreamed I would lose······. But it's ironic. I actually feel relieved. Maybe because I lost completely."

Oswald chuckled, lowering his head.

Theo said,

"Any last words?"

Oswald stopped laughing and lifted his head at the voice, which somehow felt incredibly holy.

But he was too weak to lift his head as before.

Looking at Theo's feet, Oswald spoke.

"Son of a b*tch. Pretending to be cool until the end. Makes me seem like the villain, doesn't it?"

Oswald continued,

"······Since it's come to this, go all the way, you bastard. I'll be watching from hell to see how far you go."

With those words, Oswald breathed his last.

Theo looked down at Oswald's corpse for a moment, then swish─!

He cut off his head with a sword.

Oswald's severed head rolled and stopped at Theo's feet.

For some reason, there was a faint smile on Oswald's lips.