Ascension Of The Villain

Vyan was numb, his eyes blankly staring at the pools of blood surrounding him. He had never seen this much blood before—or at least that's what he thought, until a scene from his past flashed before his eyes.

"Vee, you have to run," his father said, staring straight into Vyan's newly formed amber eyes, his hands gripping the little boy's shoulders with a desperate firmness.

"But Papa, Ash is still—" Vyan's voice trembled with fear and confusion.

Xandres pulled Vyan into his chest, tears streaming down his face. "Trust me, your brother will be fine as long as you are."

The five-year-old boy couldn't comprehend the weight of his father's anguish, nor did he understand the chaos unfolding around him. All he knew was that his favorite person in the world was in danger.

"But Ash—" he repeated, voice breaking.

"Not another word," Xandres sternly commanded, pulling away. "Benedict, take him." He turned his face away, unable to bear the sight of his innocent son's eyes.

"Papa, I don't want to go. Please!" Vyan cried out as Benedict lifted him into his arms. "Papa! Please!" He struggled, his small fists beating against the old butler's chest. "Benedict, let me go!"

His father's red eyes met his for the last time, filled with a pain beyond words. "Even when things get tough for you, just remember one thing: we love you, Vee."

"No! Papa!" Vyan wailed, reaching out desperately for his father, hoping he would scoop him up like he always did.

Before Vyan could see the strange figures entering his bedroom, Benedict ran with him through a secret passage. They descended the hidden stairs, Vyan's cries echoing in the narrow space.

He was lost in confusion. That morning, people had come and arrested his parents, and now, as midnight fell, their estate was under siege.

"Oh, Lord, the exit," Benedict muttered, spotting a group of men blocking the backdoor.

"Find the second son immediately!" one of them barked. "He must not escape! He must be killed!"

"We must take the other route, Young Master," Benedict whispered urgently to Vyan.

Still bewildered, Vyan nodded, his mind unable to process the nightmare unfolding.

As they hurried through a narrow hallway, Vyan glanced out a window. His eyes widened in horror. Unknown men lay slaughtered in their once-beautiful garden. In the distance, he saw his elder brother, Aster. The eyes that always looked at Vyan with warmth were now cold and merciless, his body drenched in blood.

Aster stood in a pool of blood, panting heavily, faint fire glowing in his palms.

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Despite the horror, Vyan's eyes brightened at the sight of his brother. "Ash—" he choked out, breath catching in his throat as soldiers surrounded Aster, attacking all at once.

Benedict quickly covered Vyan's eyes, a tear sliding down his cheek. "Don't look, Young Master. If you do, you will never be able to sleep again."

The pool of blood from that day had belonged to the enemy. But today, the blood soaking the earth was from his own squad. He had sent them away to avoid the monsters within the forest, believing it was the right call. How tragically wrong he had been.

Aster and their father had sent Vyan away in the hopes of saving him, only to have pushed him into a fate much worse than death.

As for his knights... All along, Vyan had been sending them to death's door.

Vyan dismounted his horse, his footsteps slow and heavy. His gaze fell upon the forest guards, slaughtered in the same merciless manner as his knights. It seemed the monster didn't discriminate between friend and foe.

With a hollow ache in his chest, he trudged to the lifeless bodies of those he had seen almost every day for the past year. He had sparred with each of them, shared jokes, and eaten meals together. They treated him like a younger brother, and he knew all their names, their stories, and their families.

The knights and servants at the estate had always filled the void left by the absence of his family, but now...

"Damon?" he called out, his voice quivering. "Mark? Jenna? Kristan? Marconi?" His eyes scanned each body, desperately hoping for any sign of movement. "Kevin?"

"Please… somebody respond."

Why... why did his bravest knights have to die?

His breath caught in his throat, the urge to cry was overwhelming, but the anger and the determination to save what remained were stronger.

Gathering strength, he checked each of their pulses, refusing to accept their deaths without confirmation. And then, like a fragile hope, he found one still breathing.

"Damon," he uttered, relief flooding him despite the gruesome sight of Damon's crushed leg. "I will take you to the medical facility—"

"Your Grace..." Damon struggled to open his eyes. "I was hoping... you would come."

"Please, Damon, don't talk. I will take—"

"But I need to tell you..." Damon was desperate to speak, ignoring the unbearable pain in his leg. "The monster... wasn't an A-grade."

Vyan's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"It... it was an S-grade."

"What?"

Just when Vyan thought it couldn't get any worse, it did.

An S-grade monster. A creature unheard of for centuries. The ultimate boss of the Forest of Beasts. A monster with the potential to wreak havoc far worse than the tragedy sixteen years ago.

———

At the medical facility, Althea heaved a sigh of relief, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead. The tension in the air finally started to ease, the frantic energy giving way to a calmer atmosphere.

"Wow, Your Imperial Highness, you single-handedly saved every one of them," one of the doctors exclaimed, admiration evident in his voice.

Althea smiled humbly, her exhaustion palpable. "It was all thanks to your assistance. I couldn't have done it without everyone's help."

"Please, Your Imperial Highness, we just kept everyone stable while you treated the critical patients one by one," a nurse said lightly, her tone a mixture of relief and respect.

"And that was a huge help," Althea added, her eyes shifting to the man standing in the corner of the medical tent. "Lord Magnus also helped a lot."

"Yes!" The nurse clapped. "You are very good with urgent diagnosis, Lord Magnus."

"You all flatter me. Thank you," Clyde replied formally, though his heart ached with gratitude and relief. All he wanted to do was hug Althea, overwhelmed by the fact that House Clarinton's knights were safe. This way, no one would be able to blame Vyan for the loss of life. Even with the unexpected monster invasion, no one was harmed—

Suddenly, Vyan appeared out of nowhere, matted with blood, carrying a dying knight in his arms.

The gasps of horror from the medical staff were almost deafening. Clyde instantly recognized the knight and blurted, "What happened to Damon?"

Vyan didn't respond and quickly laid Damon on an empty bed. Without a word, Althea sprang into action, her movements precise and urgent as she focused on stopping Damon's bleeding. Clyde, his heart pounding, approached Vyan.

He grabbed Vyan's elbow and yanked him. "What the hell happene—" Clyde paused, the look in Vyan's eyes—a mixture of sheer helplessness and overwhelming sorrow—broke Clyde's heart. "Vyan, is everything okay?"

"No, it's not… Nothing is okay. The rest of the team… they are dead," he murmured in a daze. "Jenna, Mark, Kristen… they are all no more."

Clyde pulled Vyan into a tight embrace, but Vyan didn't reciprocate; his body was rigid, paralyzed by grief and shock.

"It's all over. An S-grade monster is headed this way," Vyan mumbled, his voice devoid of any emotion. "I can't stop it by myself. It's controlled by black magic, and I…"

"You are weak in the presence of dark magic," Clyde completed, his voice laced with frustration and concern.

"What do I do, Clyde?" Panic rose within Vyan, his eyes widening. "If that monster reaches the camp, it's all over. Tia, Katelyn, Iyana—they're all here. It will kill them. Even if they survive, the stupid imperial family will… I will be blamed like my parents and all the people close to me will be killed—"

Clyde pulled away from the hug and said sternly, "Nothing of that sort will happen. Calm down."

"How do I calm down—"

"Because we got this," Clyde asserted. "If all of us work together, we can take care of this," he assured. "Are Sir Jacques and Spencer okay?" Vyan nodded. "I will bring them as well. And we will fight that ugly thing together."

"But—"

"You stay here. You are shaken up right now." Clyde made Vyan sit on a chair and reassured him, "Everything will be alright."

As Clyde turned around, Vyan recalled the moment Aster turned his back and walked away from him that night—all in order to protect Vyan. His panic surged, and he grabbed Clyde's wrist. "But what if you get… crushed like the others?" His voice trembled.

What if you never come back like Ash?

Clyde flicked Vyan's forehead, snapping him out of his frenzy, and smiled widely. "Who do you think I am? The monster might be an S-grade, but I would like to remind you that I am also an S-tier mage. Don't underestimate me. I am the one who taught you magic."

"I know," Vyan's voice cracked. "But I can't lose you."

Clyde chuckled, his gray eyes softening with affection, and joked light-heartedly, "Please, you wish. You aren't getting rid of me that easily." He patted Vyan's shoulder and squeezed it. "Rest here now. I will handle everything else for you because that's what an aide and a best friend does. Got it?"

Vyan nodded unwittingly, the tight grip of fear loosening slightly.

"Good." With a final grin, Clyde disappeared.

Vyan stared at the ground, his world completely thrown off balance. He used to think he wasn't afraid to lose anything… But little did he know that the more you gain, the more you are afraid to lose them.

The Vyan who had nothing to lose wasn't afraid of anything. He was reckless, fearless, and driven by a desire for vengeance. But the Vyan of the present had so much to lose that he didn't even want to imagine the aftermath of another loss.

He was already in a crisis after losing six of his knights; what would he do if he lost one of his close loved ones? He couldn't let that happen, at any cost.

His mind replayed the image of Damon, bloody and broken, and the sight of his fallen comrades. Fear gnawed at him, a relentless force that made his heart race and his breaths come in shallow gasps.

No, no. He couldn't afford to lose anyone else. He couldn't bear the weight of another failure.

As Vyan writhed in fear, Althea was no different. Even in the midst of performing healing magic, her hands trembled.

From the moment Clyde said he was going to take care of everything, it sounded to her like he was heading off to die. The mere thought twisted her guts in discomfort.

She glanced over at Vyan, seeing the same fear mirrored in his eyes. It was a silent understanding between them, a shared dread that hung heavy in the air. They both knew the stakes, and they both feared the worst.

Closing her eyes, Althea prayed with all her heart, Please, Goddess Hecate, please protect Clyde and everyone else.