Boring.
That was the first word that came to mind as I finished tying the last hostage to a marble pillar and stepped back to admire my work.
The bank was pristine—too pristine. Polished floors, glass counters, fake plants that screamed corporate trust. It didn't feel real. Not the danger. Not the fear. Just crying holograms and a ticking clock somewhere far away.
I sighed loudly.
"Y'know," I said to absolutely no one, "I dragged you all the way here and not a single hero's shown up yet. That's rude."
No response.
The hostages whimpered. One sobbed louder than the others.
I clicked my tongue.
"So that's how it's gonna be."
I pulled my gun.
The sound of the slide snapping back echoed through the bank like a gunshot all on its own.
"If anyone takes five more steps," I said casually, pointing the barrel at empty air, "I shoot."
To anyone watching from the outside, it probably looked like I'd finally lost it—a manaless girl alone in a bank, threatening ghosts, talking to walls.
But I wasn't stupid.
I could see her.
The mana flow near the entrance was wrong. Not moving. Not reacting. Just… folded. Like air pretending to be empty.
Nothing moved.
No footsteps. No breath. No sound.
The crying got louder.
I shrugged.
Bang.
One hostage dropped, light flickering out as the simulation registered a clean headshot.
The scream cut off mid-note.
"Second question," I said, re-aiming without hesitation. "You wanna watch the rest of them die too? 'Cause I was very clear about not moving."
Still nothing.
I rolled my eyes and pressed the barrel against another hostage's temple.
"Three…"
"Stop."
There it was.
I smiled.
Ten steps from the entrance, the air unravelled.
Wind peeled back first, then light bent sideways, reflections collapsing in on themselves until a woman stepped forward as if she'd been there the whole time.
Lady Aurelian.
I straightened up, spinning the gun on my finger before hopping off the counter.
"Well well," I said brightly. "Welcome to Ari's First National Bank. Are you here to deposit, withdraw, or apply for a loan? I'll do my best to help."
She smiled—calm, composed, infuriatingly regal.
"I received a report," she said, voice smooth as silk over steel, "about a disturbance here. Thought I'd investigate."
"Oh," I nodded, gesturing around. "Yeah. Robbers. Nasty bunch. But as you can see—" I waved at the tied hostages. "—I caught them. Was just about to punish them properly."
Her eyes flicked to the body on the floor. Then back to me.
For a moment, something unreadable passed through her expression.
Then she chuckled.
"I thought Crimson Gale was nothing more than a manaless child playing at hero," she said. "Now I see why Duskfall admitted you."
I blinked.
"Crimson who?" I asked innocently. "Sorry, you've got the wrong girl."
She stepped closer.
"You see," she continued, ignoring me completely, "most people without mana can't perceive it at all. And my concealment technique—wind refraction, light bending, sound suppression—"
She tapped the air beside her.
"—is nearly impossible to detect. Even for veteran heroes."
I tilted my head, listening.
"But you," she finished, eyes sharp now, "tracked me perfectly. That means you're a Sightless Seer. Your perception of mana far exceeds the norm."
I laughed.
Not politely.
I laughed.
"Wow," I said, wiping an imaginary tear. "Gold star for observation. So what are you gonna do with that info? We're from different academies. Different countries. This is just a school event."
Her smile sharpened.
"This will be easy," she said. "After all, you couldn't even beat Voltstrike."
"Oh, that?" I waved it off. "Yeah. Totally. If we went head-to-head under normal circumstances, I'd lose."
I stepped forward, gun lowering—not away, just down.
"But this isn't normal."
The grin I gave her was all teeth.
"I'm the villain today."
I raised the gun again—not at her, but just enough to make the point.
"And villains don't play fair."
I met her gaze.
"This," I said softly, "is gonna be fun."
* * *
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The gun kicked three times in my hand, loud enough to rattle the glass counters and send echoes screaming through the bank.
Lady Aurelian didn't even flinch.
Metal twisted out of the floor and walls at her command, bending like obedient serpents. The bullets slammed into the improvised shields and flattened, clattering uselessly to the marble.
"Tch."
Figures.
I barely had time to roll before a lightning bolt tore through the space where my head had been a second ago. The air screamed. The smell of ozone burned my nose.
I came up on one knee just in time to see a metal pillar—thick as a tree trunk—hurtling toward me, electricity crawling over it like veins of blue fire.
"Seriously?" I muttered.
I drew my swords.
The first strike rang like a bell when steel met steel. The impact hurled me backward, my boots skidding as I slammed into the wall hard enough to knock the breath out of me.
Pain bloomed up my spine but it didn't matter.
Three more pillars followed—faster this time, all of them crackling with lightning.
I ducked under the first, felt the heat singe my hair. Sidestepped the second, sparks grazing my shoulder. Jumped the third, flipping midair and landing hard.
I raised the gun and fired again.
Five shots.
They slowed mid-flight.
Wind wrapped around the bullets, bleeding their speed until they hovered uselessly in front of her before dropping to the floor.
"…Crap."
The gap between us was obvious now.
She had mana for days. I had stamina and spite.
This fight could go on forever.
But it wouldn't.
Time wasn't on her side.
She held five more pillars in the air, suspended effortlessly, lightning threading between them like a crown.
"Stop," she said, voice calm but strained. "This is pointless. You can't even hit me."
I laughed, breathless and sharp.
"Yeah," I said. "And that's exactly why I'm glad I'm the villain."
She frowned.
Then—
BOOM.
An explosion went off to her left.
Not huge. Not lethal. Just enough to matter.
Her attention snapped to it.
That was all I needed.
I sprinted through the smoke, boots pounding, sword flashing. She turned back just in time for the blade to bite into her abdomen.
Not deep.
But real.
She gasped—and the lightning hit me point-blank.
Pain detonated through my body as I flew backward, skidding across the floor, nerves screaming. I tasted blood.
I grinned anyway.
My thumb pressed the detonator.
The pillars exploded.
Metal shredded outward as the charges I'd planted went off in sequence, slamming her through the air and straight into the bank's reinforced doors.
She hit hard.
When she tried to stand, her legs buckled.
Her eyes widened.
I pushed myself up, shaking but upright.
"Took you long enough," I said cheerfully. "Poison's nasty, huh?"
She looked around then—really looked.
The hostages weren't crying anymore.
They were slumped. Unconscious. Still breathing.
The air shimmered faintly.
"Oh," I added helpfully. "Yeah. The air's poisoned. My sword too. Bullets as well. I never planned on winning this fairly."
Her jaw tightened.
Underestimation.
That was the real poison.
She rose into the air anyway, electricity flaring brighter, furious now. Power roared around her as she formed a lightning spear and hurled it.
I deflected the first.
The second punched through my guard and slammed into my left arm.
Everything went numb.
My fingers went slack. The sword clattered to the floor.
I staggered back, breathing hard, staring up at her floating form—radiant, terrifying, still overwhelmingly powerful.
This was it.
I couldn't win anymore.
So I didn't try.
"I'm out," I announced casually. "Catch you later."
Dozens of lightning spears answered me.
I moved.
Dodged. Rolled. Slid. Threw myself through debris as a flashbang and smoke grenade detonated midair, blinding and deafening her.
The world went white and i vanished.
But not before pressing the final switch.
The bank erupted.
Charges embedded in walls, floors, and even the hostages' restraints went off in a controlled cascade, collapsing the structure inward. Fire and smoke swallowed everything.
Lady Aurelian had no choice but to shield herself.
Blinded, poisoned and immobilized.
She was out of the fight.
I ducked into an alley two blocks away, leaning against the wall, chest heaving, arm useless at my side.
Worth it.
"Job well done," I whispered to myself as the sirens wailed in the distance.
This was a Villain's privilege.
—
I was relieved I didn't have to do the dirty work.
That relief lasted exactly three seconds.
Seraphim Ascendant stood in front of me, light folding around him like the world itself had agreed to frame his entrance. Radiant. Immaculate. Exactly as the rumours described.
Now was not the time to admire him.
I tightened my grip on my longsword and planted my feet. Behind me—Calla and Rhea. My job was simple in theory: block him. Delay. Hold the line.
I was the shield.
Seraphim descended slowly, boots touching down without a sound. He smiled, calm and polite, like this was a scheduled meeting rather than a battlefield.
"Greetings," he said. "I assume you're the one standing in my way."
I didn't feel like entertaining small talk.
"I don't take kindly to trespassers," I replied flatly. "Turning back would be appreciated."
He laughed.
A genuine, lighthearted laugh—as if I'd just made a joke.
"I'm the hero here," he said. "I believe I'm the one who makes demands."
So that was a no.
"Then don't blame me if you get hurt," I said.
He nodded thoughtfully. "I won't. But are you even capable of hurting me?"
That was enough.
I lunged.
My blade cut cleanly through his torso—
—or it should have.
A ray of light snapped into place, deflecting my strike effortlessly. I didn't slow. I pivoted, struck again, then again, targeting joints, throat, spine—every vital point I could think of.
Every strike was turned aside.
Light met steel. Steel lost.
Annoying.
I grit my teeth and coated my sword in light of my own. This time, when we clashed, his guard cracked. The deflecting barrier shattered like glass.
Finally.
I went for his neck.
A sword of light materialized inches from his throat and blocked me.
I summoned five more.
They screamed through the air toward him in perfect formation.
He answered in kind.
Five. Ten. Fifteen blades of light bloomed into existence, intercepting mine with surgical precision. Our constructs collided, dissolved, reformed.
This was a stalemate.
I adjusted my pattern, increased my speed and altered angles but nothing. He adapted instantly.
Then—
The bank exploded.
The shockwave rolled through the cityscape. Smoke and debris climbed into the sky where Ari was supposed to be.
My heart skipped.
What just happened?
Was Ari—
Seraphim glanced in that direction, intrigued.
"Oh?" he said. "That's interesting."
He looked back at me, expression sharpening.
"I suppose it's time we escalated. It seems Voltstrike underestimated your team."
I didn't understand what he meant.
I didn't have time to.
Something screamed in my instincts and i moved.
The sky filled with swords.
Hundreds of them—light-forged blades suspended above us like a divine execution.
So this was it.
The difference between a light affinity and a light Gift.
The gap wasn't theoretical anymore.
It was catastrophic.
"I'll get serious now," Seraphim said calmly.
The swords fell.
I blocked what I could—summoning blades, deflecting, redirecting but I couldn't match his output. Where my defense failed, light struck flesh.
Pain exploded across my body.
One blade grazed my shoulder. Another cut my thigh. A third pierced through my side and detonated in a burst of heat.
This was unsustainable.
My guard shattered.
The remaining swords exploded at once.
The force launched me downward, smashing me through the side of a building. Concrete shattered. Glass rained around me.
I hit hard.
Everything hurt.
Seraphim hovered above the ruin, light circling him like a halo of judgment.
This was the end.
Unless—
I swallowed.
The building I'd crashed into still had civilians inside. Holograms, yes—but indistinguishable from the real thing. People screamed and cowered.
My stomach twisted.
I didn't want this.
Even simulated, it violated every principle I lived by.
But I was out of options.
The dust cleared. Seraphim raised more swords, all aimed at me.
"Stop," I said, forcing steel into my voice. "If you care about the hostages in this building."
He tilted his head, unimpressed.
"You won't hurt them," he said. "I can see it. It goes against your moral framework."
He wasn't wrong.
I didn't deny it.
"I'm a villain today," I said quietly. "And villains have privileges."
I gestured behind me—to the civilians, to the neighboring structures.
"I can threaten them. Kill them. Use them as shields. You don't get to decide what I'll do anymore."
Seraphim descended and landed on the roof above me, ensuring I had to look up at him.
Dominance display or power projection it didn't matter.
I had leverage and i hated it.
But leverage was leverage.
I tightened my grip on my sword, heart heavy, resolve cracking—but unbroken.
I just needed time.
Just a little more time.