Never Die Villain

———!

The alley disappeared.

There was no gradual change. One moment, they were standing in the capital, surrounded by stone walls and buildings, and the next, none of it was there anymore.

A burning world had taken its place.

The sky was black and red, filled with thick clouds illuminated by the fires below. In the distance were mountains covered in lava, with entire rivers of it flowing down their sides and gathering into a massive burning sea.

There was no sun, but it wasn’t dark. There was fire everywhere, more than enough to light the entire world.

The ground beneath them was black and cracked, with molten rock visible through the openings. Flames rose from the earth, and farther away, enormous columns of fire reached high enough to disappear into the clouds.

Then came the heat.

"...!"

The men immediately struggled to breathe. Every breath burned their throats, their weapons rapidly grew hotter in their hands, and within seconds, sweat was already pouring down their faces.

A world of fire.

And right in the middle of it all stood Vera Adelheid Lischke.

Her clothes fluttered in the rising heat, yet the flames never touched her. Lava flowed through the cracks beneath her heels, but Vera remained perfectly comfortable, as though she were still standing in the cold evening air of the capital.

"F-Fuuuck...!"

One of the men finally dropped to his knees.

Then another followed.

The heat continued climbing, forcing even the experienced swordsmen who had surrounded Vera moments ago down onto the ground one after another.

This was no longer a fight.

This was a nightmare.

No, there was a better word for it.

"Hot, isn’t it?"

This was quite literally hell itself.

Vera looked around at the men crawling across the ground, then let out a small sigh.

"I did tell you to stand down."

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuuck...!"

One of the men desperately tore at what remained of his clothes, throwing his coat aside before pulling off the shirt. The others quickly followed his example, apparently believing that stripping away every layer they could would somehow make the heat more bearable.

Vera burst out laughing.

"Now how does it feel to crawl? Hahaha!" Vera pointed at one of the men desperately stripping himself. "Have you lost every last cell in your brain? Taking off your clothes in a place like this? That’s even more stupid!"

"Sh-Shut the fuck up!"

"Hahaha! Why? Feeling embarrassed now?" Vera crouched slightly, grinning at the men sprawled across the burning ground. "What happened to those fancy swords and coordinated attacks?"

One of the men tried to push himself back onto his feet, only to drop down again immediately. Vera watched him struggle for another moment before straightening up, clearly enjoying the reversal far more than she should have.

Then, her smile disappeared.

"For the last time. Who sent you?"

"Fuck...! You... c-crazy woman...!"

Vera sighed.

"Should I just guess, then?" She looked over the men scattered across the ground. "You’re from the North. I’ve seen enough northernmen knights to recognize it."

"...."

"That certainly narrows things down a bit. Considering I’ve suddenly acquired a group of northern swordsmen following me around shortly after returning from the Winter Assembly..."

She tapped her chin.

"Belozersky."

"...."

"Hm." Vera tapped her chin. "Perhaps you were ordered to investigate anyone suspicious who got too close to your ’Young Master,’ then eliminate them if necessary. After all, Ilya suddenly started learning magic, and someone might want to know exactly who taught him."

"...."

Vera watched their faces carefully.

"No. That’s not quite it."

She began pacing slowly between them, thinking through the possibilities aloud.

"Judging by Ilya’s circumstances, and the fact that you’re desperately out for my blood, this feels much more personal than that. Perhaps there’s some crazy bastard who wants to keep him isolated at all costs, someone who prefers him alone, miserable, and dependent on the few people he’s allowed to have around him."

One of the men looked up.

Vera noticed.

"And then that lunatic realized someone else had gotten close to the boy."

She stopped walking.

"Someone who started teaching him magic, gave him somewhere else to go, and perhaps even started pulling him out of that abyss he’d been stuck in."

"S-Spare me..."

One of the men failed to hide his reaction.

Vera’s eyes narrowed.

Then, her smile returned.

"Bingo."

———!

The men screamed.

Flames consumed them all at once. Vera watched without moving as they burned one after another, their screams lasting only a few seconds before their bodies disappeared completely.

Only one remained.

It was the first man who had followed Vera into the alley, and judging by everything she had seen from him, he was the weakest among them.

"...!"

Vera approached and crouched in front of him. She grabbed his chin and forced his face upward, then slapped him across the cheek.

"Pay attention."

Slap——!

"I’m only going to explain this once."

Slap——!

"So stop looking like you’re about to pass out."

"I-I’m listening...!"

"Good."

Vera stopped hitting him but kept hold of his chin, forcing him to look directly at her.

"Now, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to return to the North, find whoever employed you, and tell them exactly what they’re dealing with."

Vera leaned closer.

"A Tenth Circle mage. The only one in existence."

The man’s eyes widened.

"T-Tenth... t-that’s impossible—"

Slap——!

"Y-Yes! Yes, I’ll tell them!" His voice cracked as another wave of heat washed over him. "J-Just stop this burning... please!"

"Sure."

Vera flicked her fingers.

———!

The burning world was gone in an instant, and the narrow alleyway of the capital returned around them as though nothing had happened.

The surviving man collapsed onto the stone ground, gasping desperately as he realized he could breathe without scorching his lungs again.

There was nothing else left.

No bodies remained from the men who had accompanied him. There were no bones scattered across the alley, nor even piles of ash to suggest that several people had been standing there moments ago.

Muspelheim had burned even that.

"Now, scram."

The man didn’t need to be told twice. He scrambled onto his feet and stumbled toward the end of the alley before breaking into a run, never once daring to look back.

Vera watched him disappear.

Then she chuckled.

Tenth Circle?

"Heh."

That was a lie.

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