Under the cover of darkness, the horde of villains drew themselves wide so they could surround the entire waterpark and leave no room for escape.

Even if the number of people left standing was only ten, the villains did not kill each other at first—at least not all of them.

Instead, they all focused their strength on their collective enemy, the heroes trapped alongside them under the veil of the crimson barrier.

After all, Artemis, who delivered the final exam conditions in place of Lilith, did not say specifically that only villains are allowed in the ten reserved spots.

"This is pointless. There's barely anyone here. Who was the bastard that decided we should surround them?" a lanky villain exclaimed, furrowing his brows into a gangster look.

Beside him, his healthy friend heard him.

"Beats me. You should save your essence anyway. After this we'll just fuck each other up."

"Not yet, dumbass. There's still that mall we have to take. I heard they have tons of civilians there that's bogging them down."

"Civilians? Is Lilith giving us training wheels? She's giving us an easy win," the healthy-looking villain rubbed his chin in thought. "Then what about the servants? Aren't we cursed to not harm them?"

"You think that bitch can keep up the curse she gave to all of us? I don't give a damn if she's a demon, she has a limit.

After I make it to the top ten, I'll just kill the servants. Simple, right?"

The healthy friend pretended to gasp in awe. "Wah... So scary. But didn't you fail the original exam twice? Once you took a dead hero's finger a year ago and pretended you killed it. Then the second time you poisoned someone to death, but you still didn't pass."

The lanky villain rattled off, "Unlike that stupid exam, this one's different. It's kill or be killed. It doesn't matter how you kill someone, you just gotta be the last one standing."

Suddenly, the lanky villain halted in his tracks and hunched forward, his skin shivering. "Once I see those puppets who failed me, I'll fucking kill them!"

The healthy villain chuckled at the scene. "Unfortunately—well... they're already dead. I saw them suddenly collapsing all at the same time when I was inside the museum."

"Huh. You were inside that whole time? You should've seen the dragon burn those idiots. I mean, did they really think they stood a chance against her?"

"You got that right," the healthy villain replied, stretching his lips into a wide smile.

"Hold up."

Beyond them was a relatively large encampment zone with a few lights on. There was also a larger tent in the middle with a chimney on top that gave off the scent of fragrance.

The villains could also see their temporary allies beyond the encampment, surrounding it from all sides.

There was not a single guard stationed in sight, in fact, the camp was completely defenseless.

A perfect encirclement around their sworn enemies—that thought rang across the villains' minds, and the realization made them freeze in shock.

But when one villain began running toward it in silence, others soon followed until the only noise left was the sound of hundreds of foot stomps.

The lanky villain was the first to reach it despite the slow start.

In front of him, and closest to him, was a tiny tent. How many are inside, he wondered. Only one? Two? Maybe a whole family!

The villain screamed with his mouth closed as he jumped over the tent before landing on top of it to collapse it.

However.

It was empty.

Following the disappointment, he then heard the victorious war cries of the other villains, but they also came to an awkward halt, ruining the suspense and surprise for everyone.

"Yep, they're empty," the healthy-looking villain snuck up behind his friend.

"Thanks for telling the obvious..."

After the villains calmed down, they systematically tore the place apart until only the tent with the fragrant scent was left.

Too big, or too lazy to take it down, the villains were at a lull for a moment. Without a leader, there was a lack of direction.

Because of the sudden lack of heroes to kill, the momentum burned out quickly. With the main enemy still on the run, the only thing left to stop them from killing each other was their own reluctance and fear.

Even leading the charge to the mall was a risky take no one wanted to take, no one wanted to be in the spot light.

For the time being, the duo entered the tent themselves.

The scent was stronger on the inside, and it was clear that it had a hint of meatiness to it.

"Holy fuck, they had a restaurant?!" The lanky villain moved more inward, made himself comfortable in front of a table and a closed grill. "How did they get a functioning grill? And cooking gas!"

"That's truly a wonder..." the healthy man said. He was about to take a seat beside the lanky villain but stopped midway.

The seats had an odd shine despite the lack of lighting. Tracing his fingers across, the healthy villain felt a sticky, oily substance that smelled unpleasant when brought to the nose. He then wiped his finger on the lanky villain, who was too distracted by the grill.

The lanky villain slowly opened the grill cover, revealing an assortment of various meats laid on top. The scent of them was dazzling for the lanky man.

Such an obvious delicacy trap.

The healthy villain stood silently by as he watched the lanky villain help himself. It was probably poisoned after all.

The healthy villain smiled, covering his mouth. "What an idiot. This is why being smart will always pay off in the end. You have a decent blessing; once the numbers have lessened, I'll just kill you. A shame that you'll die early."

"Huh, whaddya say?" The lanky villain blurted out, turning around with grilled meat filling his mouth.

"I must've muttered again. It's a habit of mine."

Turning back around, the lanky villain hoarded all the food for himself. "Don't touch shit or I'll beat the fuck out of you."

Stabbing the last piece of meat with a fork, the villain brought it close to his salivating mouth. The last bit must always be savored as a finishing end to a feast.

A burst of flavors, followed by honey-like fat. Chewing was extremely tempting at that point, but the lanky villain wanted to savor it...

Or not.

Chewing aggressively like a carnivore, the man pulverized the meat with his sharp teeth until—

Crack!

"Ah, fuck my teeth..."

. . .

"!!!" The villain stood up and looked at his friend with a shocked face and a muffled voice.

For no apparent reason, the piece of meat he was eating suddenly enlarged inside his mouth.

It turned into a metal device with a blinking red dot, it was large enough to almost dislocate the villain's jaw.

His healthy friend was at a loss for words.

Instinctively, he looked down and noticed the same shiny coat on the floor as well.

The healthy villain carefully thought about it for a moment.

Perhaps he was also a lanky person in someone else's eyes.

A clueless idiot.

. . .

. . .

. . .

***

On an elevated highway leading to the mall, the heroes lined up in a tight formation.

At the front were the officially registered heroes of the Hero Association who were unlucky enough to be kidnapped here.

Behind them were the hero examinees, and behind them were the civilians; further back was the majority of the hero examinees.

And at dead last was Elizabeth's retinue, which included multiple of the villains' servants such as Fixer and the bartender, and her bodyguards.

Because of the elevated highway, their formation was secure enough to keep the civilians safe since they only had to deal with the front and back.

"What time is it?" Elizabeth asked her closest advisor.

Asmadeas slowed her walking pace for a bit to think before catching up. "It should be almost midnight. This nightmare will soon end, as I've foreseen it."

Elizabeth nodded, then was disturbed by Lionheart.

"Young miss, if you'd like we can make space for you inside the golf cart Lady Fixer fixed," he said.

Elizabeth turned to see a rundown yet somehow functioning vehicle defying impossibility.

Fixer was at the wheel, alongside some other servants. "Come sit with us! Screw walking!"

"...These people should rest. They're finally free; they deserve this much at least," Elizabeth answered.

Hearing that, her bodyguards were put into tears.

Oh how humble, how saintlike, and filled with humility. That's their queen!

But compared to the rest, Lionheart was unsure.

"You just finished fighting those insane villains. I'm sure most of them were ogre level at least... I doubt we could have this many people still alive, even with registered hero help.

If it were not for you... we would all be dead.

So are you really sure you're fine?" he asked with a soft voice.

"I'm fine, but I am worried..." Elizabeth stopped for a moment before turning around.

"Those were the same villains I saw that confronted Ferris... But there are two people missing."

Lionheart shook his head and sighed. "Then those two were smart enough to not face you in combat. As a matter of fact, it's a testament to your battle prowess."

Elizabeth shot her head to Lionheart when she heard his statement. "You've been speaking weird lately... Did something happen? And you're still carrying that sword you picked up from the street too," she pointed out.

"Huh? Eh. What? I don't know what you're talking about," he responded.

Boom.

Suddenly, a distant explosion softly made its way to their ears, it was barely noticeable.

Lionheart looked into the distance. "Did they trigger the trap we made? I can't believe it was that easy."

Elizabeth nodded. "I should thank the people who created the fuel and Fixer who made the detonator, as well as the person who can disguise things with his blessing."

"You mean Tailoring Swift, right?" Lionheart said.

"Yeah, him. He was the one that disguised Ferris, yes?

What did he disguise himself as?"

Lionheart nodded but was puzzled by Elizabeth's curiosity about needless facts. He answered truthfully anyway. "...he transformed... into a pretty cool guy."

"I believe she was asking for a facial description," Asmadeas smiled, butting in from nowhere before facing Lionheart. "You're excused. Go protect the caravan."

Turning around, Lionheart saw the caravan that was already far away. "Miss Elizabeth, we also have to go—

"We'll be having a private discussion. Shoo." Asmadeas ordered.

Knowing her relationship with Elizabeth, Lionheart had no choice but to take his comrades and leave.

Now that they were alone, Asmadeas began speaking in a clear yet whispering tone.

"Don't look back, sister. You should think about what restaurant we should dine at tomorrow, once we're free."

Despite the cheerful future coming from the seer's mouth, Elizabeth's face remained completely devoid of expression.

Her silver hair fluttered across the windy night as she kept staring at the cityscape.

"Sis... is this really that good vision you saw?" she said, almost muttering.

Asmadeas gave off a serious look. "There's no changes. All is going as it should be.

...We should really go now, Queen."

"Dia," Elizabeth suddenly called out, "is Judas going missing yesterday... a part of this?"

For a moment, her ruby-like eyes turned blood red, directly targeting her.

But, Asmadeas collected herself and stood strong. "Do you know that there's a question that always appears in the written-type exam for the heroes?

It could be question number one, or the last question. But it's always there somewhere.

It's quite long, so I'll keep it simple."

Would you sacrifice one life to save more?

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