Otome Game Mob Villain

Chapter 555

A dozen carriages are cautiously advancing along the road leading to the Centaur territory, seemingly wary of something. At the head of the convoy, the masked figure of Gabriel Santos is visible, accompanied by a group of rough-looking mercenaries tasked with guarding the transport.

I leap onto the road, blocking their path, and use magic to create an explosion, blowing a massive hole right in the middle of the road. Simultaneously, a similar explosion occurs at the rear of the convoy. The ground shakes, shockwaves ripple through the area, and a thick cloud of dust rises, enveloping the road. Now, Gabriel and his group can neither move forward nor retreat.

“W-what’s going on?!” Gabriel and the mercenaries grab their weapons, scrambling out of the carriages in a chaotic uproar. It’s less like a stirred-up beehive and more like an anthill in disarray.

“B-boss, it seems someone has destroyed the road in front and behind us. The carriages can’t move,” one of the mercenaries reports.

“What?! Damn it, we don’t have time for this. Whoever’s behind this is playing a dangerous game. Fix the road enough for the carriages to pass. If it can’t be done quickly, force the carriages off the road and keep moving,” Gabriel barks.

“Y-yes, sir!” The mercenaries rush to assess the damage, still unaware of my presence due to the thick dust.

I activate earth magic, manipulating the ground to create a towering wall. The rumbling sound causes the mercenaries to stagger back in shock.

“What now?!” Gabriel shouts.

“Boss, that’s earth magic!” one of the mercenaries exclaims.

As Gabriel and his men stand bewildered, my laughter echoes through the area. “Fufufu, ahahaha!”

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” Gabriel roars. At that moment, one of the mercenaries spots me standing atop the wall and points. “Over there! Someone’s up there!”

“What the…?!” They look up, but the blinding sunlight forces them to shield their eyes.

I stand with my arms crossed, glaring down at them from the wall. “People in this world can be divided into two types: those who care for others, show compassion, and walk together, and those who trample over others, take what they want, and live only to satisfy their own desires. But for those who live by their desires, a day of reckoning will come. This is what people call ‘karma.’”

“Enough of your nonsense! Who the hell are you?!” Gabriel snaps.

“I am Marvellous, leader of the Golden Dawn—no, Gabriel Santos. I am the one who will erase all your evil deeds.”

“W-what?!” Gabriel’s eyes widen in shock. He must have thought his identity was still hidden.

I draw my rapier and declare, “The flames lit in the abyss shall become the light that exposes evil. I am Zero Red, the Celestial Knight.”

As I finish my introduction, Ramul and Aria, dressed similarly to me, reveal themselves behind me.

“I am Zero Blue,” Ramul says.

“Ta-da! I’m Zero Pink!” Aria adds cheerfully.

Our masks are color-coded: mine is red, Ramul’s is blue, Aria’s is pink, Alice’s (who isn’t present) is yellow, and Dan’s is green. Among us, Aria is the most spirited, Ramul is the calm one, Dan is the sharpest, and Alice is the strongest with a big appetite.

Incidentally, Aria’s presence here wasn’t part of the plan. She took it upon herself to join us, leaving the other air squadron members on standby. Naturally, I’ve already instructed her to submit a report later.

“You bastards! You’re the ones who destroyed the road, aren’t you? No mercy! I’ll double the reward for taking you down. Money is no object!” Gabriel’s veins bulge as he shouts, and the mercenaries’ eyes gleam at the promise of double pay.

That money, of course, was illegally extorted from the Foxfolk villagers and should be used for their rebuilding.

“You’re truly despicable. Let’s go, everyone,” I say.

“Understood,” Ramul replies.

“Yes, sir!” Aria chimes in.

As I leap down from the wall, the mercenaries charge at us with their weapons drawn. But they’re nothing more than a disorganized mob, and their skills are no match for us. I swiftly counter their attacks with my rapier, occasionally using my signature ‘Z’ slash to take them down.

Glancing at Aria, I see her energetically taking down mercenaries while humming a tune. Ramul positions himself to cover her back, encouraging her, “Keep it up, Pink. Take them down!”

They seem to be handling things well. In fact, this level of opponent is probably too weak for members of the Second Knight Division.

By the time more than half of the mercenaries around us have fallen, the sound of clashing swords echoes from the rear of the convoy. Alice and Dan must be doing their part as well. The explosion at the back was their doing. After blocking the convoy’s escape route, they’ve been picking off the mercenaries one by one while making their way to join us.

“Boss, our men at the rear report that the ones coming up from behind are also dressed strangely but are highly skilled. If this keeps up, we’ll be caught in a pincer attack,” a mercenary warns.

Gabriel clicks his tongue and glares at me. “I’ll handle the one in the red mask. You all focus on the other two.”

“Y-yes, sir!” The mercenaries around me quickly retreat and rush toward Aria and Ramul.

Even with their numbers, there’s no way those two will lose to such low-level mercenaries. Still, it’s better to be safe.

“You’re not getting away,” I say, generating multiple fireballs in my palm and launching them at the retreating mercenaries.

But Gabriel intercepts them. “Not so fast!” He effortlessly swings the massive sword on his back, deflecting all the fireballs, and snorts. “Your petty magic won’t work on me. Don’t think I’m like the others.”

“...So it seems, Marvellous. No, Gabriel Santos,” I reply, slowly pointing the tip of my rapier at him.

Gabriel’s greatsword, known as a bastard sword, is a two-handed weapon with an unusually wide blade. A child or a small adult could easily hide behind it. If I tried to block it with my rapier, it would undoubtedly break.

“What’s wrong, Zero? Intimidated by my greatsword? Too late for that. I’ll never forgive you for this nonsense,” Gabriel says, lifting his greatsword with one hand and pointing it at me.

His strength is impressive, but I’m not afraid. I glare back at him. “That’s my line. You selfish nobles who exploit and torment the people—I won’t forgive your actions. You’ll return every bit of that money. And learn what karma truly means.”

With that, I lunge forward, thrusting my rapier with precision.