The Third-Rate Academy Villain Who Refuses to Become a Beggar

It wasn't just coincidence.

It was anxiety.

Knowing that this situation had diverged significantly from the future described in the prophecy book, Gerhard was anxious about whether Aint would be able to safely obtain the artifact.

So he simply wanted to confirm everything to the end with his own eyes.

"But it seems that was a good decision."

That anxiety gave him a chance to prevent the future from taking the worst turn.

"Condolence money?"

Keke, the demon species, whose waist had been half-broken, straightened up elegantly again.

"Arrogant bastard. Your corpse will disappear without a trace, and no one will ever find it."

"Aint, can you get up?"

"Y-yes...!"

Aint struggled to get up, but he didn't look to be in a normal state. Gerhard threw him a potion.

"Drink it."

"Thank you. But why are you here..."

A rock emerged. A black flash pierced through the rock. But in that momentary hesitation, Aint barely managed to duck and avoid the flash.

He rolled on the ground and picked up his fallen sword.

<Are you alright, Aint!>

"Drink the potion and join me, Aint Armian!"

Aint hurriedly drank the potion. By then, Gerhard had already engaged in battle with the demon species.

"Do you think someone like you can stop me?"

"Your voice gets more disgusting every time I hear it."

Masses of magic energy were blocked by a wall of rocks.

—!

Though they were shattered by the subsequent swipe of fingernails, Gerhard brought down his staff in the cloud of dust.

Dozens of stone spikes exploded outward, overwhelming the demon species.

"How pathetic...!"

Taking a short breath and exhaling, the swollen magic energy deflected all the spears.

The next moment, magic energy bristling with spikes attacked Gerhard. Like a storm.

——!

The emerged rock wall was easily torn apart like a rag. The storm hit another wall, but couldn't destroy that one either.

However, Gerhard, unable to withstand the impact itself, was pushed back. Just as he was regaining his balance, a black shadow attacked again.

Boom!

The fingernails stopped right in front of Gerhard's face. A translucent shield was blocking between them.

"You carry quite a lot of crude items...!"

Borrowing the power of an artifact, Gerhard manifested a memorized spell.

Rumble—

The ground beneath the demon species flipped over. Its body momentarily staggered and rose.

Above it, huge stone hands clapped together.

—!

The thunderous sound shook the underground.

A moment of silence. Then Gerhard threw dozens of glass bottles all at once.

Crash! The liquid contained in the glass bottles seeped through the gaps in the clapped hands.

At that moment, the stone hands shattered without form. The demon species' groans mixed with the thunderous sound.

"You...! What the hell is this...!"

Along with an acrid smoke, part of the magic energy covering the creature's entire body was dissipating.

What else could it be but holy water, prepared specifically to catch creatures like you.

"Do I have any reason to tell you?"

Suppressing the desire to mock the creature, Gerhard caressed the bracelet on his wrist.

A lightning bolt struck down.

"Kugh, you damned bastard...!"

Nevertheless, the demon species suppressed its groans and managed to gather the gradually eroding magic energy.

"Do you know something? Actually, the attribute I have the highest affinity with is fire."

The demon species didn't answer. Gerhard wasn't expecting an answer either.

"I mainly learned earth magic, but I didn't completely abandon fire magic. The more cards you have, the better."

Though less so than money.

"And do you know something else? Earth magic is the most useful among all attribute magics for drawing magic circles. Because it's hard to think of a pile of dirt as a magic circle."

So what I'm saying is.

"You're probably pretending to listen to my story to buy time to gather your magic energy, but even that is within my expectations."

At that moment, a magic circle drawn in soil began to glow.

It was a huge magic circle that encompassed a radius of 5 meters around the demon species.

"You damn...!"

————!

A massive pillar of fire engulfed the demon species.

A thunderous sound echoed. Heat swept through the surroundings.

"What are you doing, Aint Armian?"

"...Huh?"

Aint, who had been blankly watching the scene, blinked his eyes.

"I was about to join after drinking the potion..."

"Was there a space expansion magic on that bottle?"

"...That's not it."

"I'll leave the finishing touch to you. My magic is too weak to finish off such a creature."

Gerhard was right. In the place where the flames subsided, the demon species was still standing.

Although its magic energy had greatly diminished, and charred wounds were visible here and there, it was still alive.

Its fighting spirit and killing intent hadn't diminished at all. No, the killing intent had actually intensified.

"It doesn't seem too weak..."

"Surely you're not saying you can't finish it off?"

"Of course not."

Aint stepped forward with a determined expression. Pure white aura rose brilliantly.

"Right, I have to repay the value of the Saint Bird's heart."

Aint kicked the ground.

"Kill...! I'll kill you...!"

The demon species roared, squeezing out its remaining magic energy.

——!

Aint and the demon species crossed paths.

The demon species was still fast. But after being weakened by holy water and the power of light, it wasn't as fast as Aint.

The demon species' outer skin was hard. But it was no longer durable enough to block the sword.

"For me to end so futilely...!"

With those final words, the demon species' head fell...

"Oh wait, don't kill it! We need to find out who's behind it!"

...or rather, its limbs were severed. Its body sprawled on the floor.

"Kugh...! My arm...!"

Aint screamed as his arm was grotesquely twisted, the price for forcibly changing the trajectory midway.

***

<That guy is quite something!>

As Aint reset his twisted arm and poured the potion Gerhard had given him, he realized that Gardner Alpenfassen was extremely excited.

<Even if his magical abilities aren't certain, he knows how to utilize what he has and exploit his surroundings. That's an excellent talent.>

<And above all, he shows no fear against demon species, and his mockery of them is an art!>

'Somehow it seems you've given the highest score to the last part. Wasn't there no mockery at all?'

<You don't know how to see it. The brilliance of anticipating the demon species' thoughts and turning them upside down. And then deliberately informing the demon species of this to torment it.>

<Everything was perfect.>

'If you say so, Gardner.'

Aint's gaze turned to Gerhard, who was resting on a rock.

'Honestly, I didn't expect this level...'