"Damn, that rascal moves so incredibly fast..." the sage old man muttered quietly to himself, munching on a large handful of popcorn at the apex of the cloudy sky while lazily riding his grand companion.
It was a freaking 500-meter-long dragon.
Naturally, because of his high vantage point, he could easily observe everything within his sprawling clan, witnessing every single minor event as it unfolded across the territory below.
"Well, good for him, I suppose. Heh, I wonder exactly how that spoiled brat will feel when she discovers what her sister... Ah, never mind all that, I am dying anyway."
He finished eating the rest of his popcorn, eager to witness the upcoming crazy developments before his ultimate demise, having already clearly foreseen his own inevitable end.
...
"Argh, that hurts like hell..." Urek groaned miserably, slumping heavily onto the hard ground after getting ruthlessly pummeled left and right by an enraged Selene.
She followed after Wenya once she finished beating him completely black and blue.
"Still, it is not too bad... I honestly didn’t expect that outcome."
Ding!
[ Wenya Affection +5! ]
[ Wenya - 8/100 Stranger (Ashamed) ]
[ Selene Affection +2! ]
[ Selene - 7/100 (Satisfied) ]
[ Make Wenya Laugh - As a designated villain, it is highly surprising that you managed to make a positive contribution to the world... though that is hardly your proper role. ]
[ Villain Points -30 ]
[ Tsundere Walk-Out? - Wenya was humiliated to the absolute point of storming out... truly a classic villainous act. Splendid job. ]
[ Villain Points +50! ]
[ Beaten Black and Blue - Selene thrashed you completely... For the greatest and most notorious villain in existence, damn, that is incredibly embarrassing. ]
[ Villain Points -50! ]
[ Fate -20 ]
[ Fate +30 ]
[ Fate -30 ]
Urek’s bruised face twitched in sheer irritation as he quickly skimmed the glowing text floating right before his eyes.
What was significantly worse was that he had suffered a heavy net deduction from his overall score!
’Is that ridiculous penalty even possible...?’
[ Of course it is. You desperately need to act more villainous... so stop behaving like a helpless domesticated cat. You are a complete embarrassment to the entire villain community... ]
’Thank you so much... for the lovely compliment...’
[ You are a villainous host... ]
’Yes, I suppose I am...’
Urek had officially had enough of this nonsense. It was much better to play along with this absolute scam of a system, or else his precious lifespan would be cut incredibly short.
His blood boiled fiercely every single time the sarcastic interface offered its annoying feedback.
"Now what exactly am I supposed to do next? I am completely all alone here..." Urek sighed deeply, spreading his tired limbs wide and staring blankly up at the dark ceiling.
’Then again, this quiet moment isn’t so bad...’
...
Meanwhile, inside a ragged, very simple interior room, a tall man stood up, calmly smoking a strong cigarette, thoroughly satisfied with last night’s long session.
That thorough, intense plowing had definitely been worth all the effort.
Creak... click.
The wooden door opened slowly.
"Boss!"
"What is it now, you fool? Did your strange hallucinations finally vanish completely?"
"Yes, Boss. They are entirely gone now..."
"Then why the hell are you back here in my room? I have already explicitly assigned you your main objective for the day." The leader turned around slowly, narrowing his cold eyes at the sneaky rat.
"I have already finished it, Boss! I am always your most highly competent subordinate, after all!"
"That was incredibly fast and don’t flatter your ugly self; you are merely my low-level minion."
"Ah... yes, of course, Boss."
"So, tell me, why are you standing here again?"
"I came to share some excellent, exciting news with you, Boss..." The rat sat down casually on a wooden chair as his superior gave him a small nod to proceed.
"Hoh... and what is this wonderful news you speak of?"
"Well... it is about inciting a massive, deadly stampede and causing widespread chaos across the district, Boss."
"What kind of absolute insanity is that?! Are you completely out of your tiny mind? We are just small insects hiding away in the dark shadows, and you’re boldly suggesting something dangerous like that?!" He rubbed his aching temples as his blood began to simmer once more; never in his entire life could he manage to keep from shouting whenever he was dealing with this annoying rodent.
The lackey was truly a major handful, never ceasing to pester him with totally absurd ideas.
Just the other day, he had foolishly proposed sending someone to the fighting arena to earn quick coin... and look exactly what happened because of that.
His other useful underling got completely pulverized and sent away to the afterlife.
Or perhaps straight down to hell.
"No, it is honestly not a terrible concept at all, Boss... it is actually the finest one we have had so far!"
"Stop aggravating me right now! You are utterly full of nonsense!"
"Tsk... fucking pig," the rat quietly muttered under his shallow breath.
"What did you just say?" The leader quickly snapped his head around; he hadn’t fully caught the rude remark since he was incredibly irritable and the minion’s voice had been so quiet.
"Nothing at all, Boss... Oh! I just remembered, I brought you a generous share of my personal winnings from last night."
"Hoh, now that is exactly what I am talking about... hand it over immediately, my splendid rat."
"Yes, Boss... take a good look at this." The rat rummaged deeply through his dirty pocket, appearing to search for the cash offering carefully...
Squelch!!
Instead of money, what the gang leader instantly received was a gaping, bloody puncture right in the middle of his chest.
"Argh!!! Fuck... what the hell are you doing to me, rat?!"
"Stop talking right now and just die quietly, pig. You speak entirely too much for your own good." The voice was suddenly as frigid as ice, making the dying tyrant shudder in pure terror.
"W-who... are... you... cough, cough.." No matter how much physical strength he desperately exerted to detach himself from the fierce assailant, the stubborn intruder refused to budge even an inch.
Despite being a Tier 2, he was utterly and completely helpless against this force; he lacked the basic vitality even to exert an ounce of defensive force as his vision blurred, and his consciousness gradually slipped away into darkness.
"Heh, you don’t ever need to know that, Swine. I will personally manage your entire syndicate beautifully for your sake... Keke."
Squelch!! Pwasshh...
Urek, who was perfectly disguised as the rat...ripped the beating heart cleanly out of the boss’s bleeding torso without the slightest bit of physical effort, as if he were simply squashing an insignificant little bug on a dark whim.
"Hmm... it is surprisingly still beating, huh? Too bad for you, old buddy. I am a strict pacifist, after all..."
Thrud...
The heavy corpse collapsed straight down, warm blood pooling quickly across the dusty floorboards.
Just like that, the cruel gang leader met a brutal, sudden end, a highly fitting demise for a gluttonous hog.
He lived his life like a dirty beast, so he absolutely had to perish just like one. It was entirely pitiful.
Fwoshhh... fwosshh...
Then, the bright magic manifested once more as the flesh and bone slowly reformed from head to toe, altering his physical appearance entirely into that of the dead man.
"I am the boss now... Keke. Let us prepare for the glorious carnage."