Episode 126: Small Fry Villain

“Agh… u, ugh…!”

The man with the broken nose groans in pain, looking up at Siegfried with fearful eyes.

“I-I get it! Commander Siegfried!”

Another man shouts in a panic.

“W-we were wrong! We deeply apologize for breaking military regulations… From now on, we’ll swear loyalty to you, Commander Siegfried!”

As he says this, the man puts on a fawning smile.

“W-we may not have the best conduct, but… we’re confident in our fighting skills. We’ll definitely prove useful to you, so…!”

Then, yet another man joins in with his plea.

“Y-yeah, that’s right! So use us! We’re way more useful than those worthless soldiers who are just all talk!”

“—Very well. I’ll give you all a chance to shine.”

Siegfried nods quietly.

“R-really!?”

“Yes. You all—aren’t meant to die here.”

With those words, Siegfried flings something toward the men.

It was invisible to their eyes—but it was tiny kunai formed from his own blood.

The moment they pierce their flesh, the pain from the men’s wounds fades away completely.

Thanks to the power of vampire blood, their injuries have healed.

“O-oh…!”

“A-as expected of Lord Siegfried!”

The men exchange glances with relieved expressions. And inwardly, they smirk.

(As long as we survive… the rest is ours for the taking.)

Siegfried is indeed strong. If they follow him, they’re sure to reap some benefits—.

Such calculating thoughts dominate their minds.

 

◇

 

The next day. In the central square of Dagrom Fortress City, a wooden platform as tall as a one-story house has been set up.

At its center, five men—the soldiers who defied Siegfried last night and were beaten in return—are bound with chains and forced to kneel.

“W-why…”

One of the men mutters in a voice laced with despair.

Before them, the soldiers of the Eastern Front Army have gathered, looking up at the execution platform.

“—Why the hell do we have to be executed!?”

His enraged shout echoes across the square.

Yes, this is—an execution platform.

Yesterday, Siegfried had indeed healed their wounds.

But right after that, his fist came down… and the men lost consciousness.

When they came to, the sun had already risen, and they were restrained on the execution platform.

Quiet footsteps approach from behind.

The men twist their bound bodies slightly and glare at the source of the sound.

“You…!”

Their gazes burn with anger and hatred.

The one approaching them—is the silver-haired youth, Siegfried.

“You lied to us!… You tricked us!”

“Oh…?”

Siegfried tilts his head slightly with a faint smile.

“What a strange thing to say. I—haven’t lied to any of you.”

“D-don’t mess with us! You said it yesterday, didn’t you!? That you’d give us a chance to shine…!”

“Y-yeah!”

Another man shouts desperately.

“We swore we’d be useful to you! Don’t tell us you forgot!”

“Of course, I haven’t forgotten. That’s why I’m about to give you that chance right now.”

Siegfried smiles.

“You all—are villains who are utterly hopeless small fries.”

“W-what…?”

“Commander Bertram and Prince Volfirio… were by no means great villains. They weren’t particularly skilled in strategy, nor did they excel in combat. But even so… those men had their own ambitions.”

Bertram aimed to become one of the world’s foremost art collectors, rivaling even a king.

Volfirio believed in a future where he would ascend to the throne.

“It was a foolish delusion beyond their means. But even so, those men held ideals as villains and dedicated their lives to them. But you’re different. You’re nothing more than petty crooks clinging to immediate pleasures… insignificant lowlifes.”

“Y-you think you can just say whatever…!”

One of the men, still bound, tries to resist and puts strength into his knees to stand up—at that moment.

Siegfried’s kick is unleashed at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

With a dull sound, the man’s knee is shattered.

“Gyaaah!”

“This kind of pointless resistance is also very much like the behavior of a small fry villain.”

Siegfried smiles with satisfaction.

“…Ah, I’ve been calling you small fry villains over and over—but I’m not mocking the existence of small fry villains in particular. It’s precisely because small fry villains like you exist that truly powerful evil stands out all the more.”

Siegfried turns his gaze to the square.

“It seems enough spectators have gathered.”

Confirming that the soldiers of the Eastern Front Army have assembled around the execution platform, Siegfried switches on the sound amplification device.

His amplified voice echoes throughout the square.

“—As announced, we will now carry out the execution of those who violated military orders.”

Switching off the device, Siegfried draws the sword at his waist.

Then, he approaches one of the chained men.

“Do you have any last words?”

“Commander! I-I won’t violate military orders anymore! So please help…”

Before those words can finish, Siegfried’s sword flashes.

—Please help me!

The man tried to shout that.

But in that instant, his head has already separated from his body and fallen.

His open mouth moves silently, continuing a voiceless plea for life—but soon it stops moving.

“Next—it’s you.”

Siegfried advances toward the adjacent man.

“W-why… why do we have to be killed! It doesn’t make sense! It doesn’t… gah… guhah!”

Siegfried’s sword pierces the man’s chest from behind.

“—I explained the reason yesterday. It’s because you all… are weak.”

The man spits out drool and bloody vomit in a gush, tears of agony welling up as he breathes his last.

Siegfried proceeds to the next man with impassive steps.

“W-what the hell! What the hell are you!?”

The man’s face twitches as he looks up at Siegfried with a face full of terror.

“D-didn’t you say you’d give us a chance to be useful!? S-so why is this happening…!?”

“That’s why I’m giving it to you. A chance for you to be useful, and a stage for you to shine.”

“Huh…?”

“You all are the smallest of small fry among villains. But by being executed here, you can make the soldiers aware of the strictness of military regulations. That’s a valuable opportunity for you to be useful. And above all—this is the greatest spotlight for you.”

Siegfried looks down at the man, then sweeps his gaze over the soldiers gathered around the execution platform.

“If you weren’t executed here… from now on, you’d just keep committing trivial crimes and meet a boring end. But now, you’ve been given this grand stage. An execution platform prepared just for you, with many people gathered, dying under the spotlight—it’s an honor far too good for small fry villains, isn’t it?”

“W-what are you…?”

“Ah… no need for words of thanks. Making villains shine is my mission, after all.”

Siegfried slowly raises his sword.

“Stop…!”

As he shouts, the man’s torso is cleaved in two with a single stroke.

“A-ah…”

The man groans in agony, clawing at the air repeatedly as if seeking help.

But after a while—his movements cease.

Siegfried glances at the death, then proceeds to the next man with elegant steps like a stage performer.

“Eek… no… I don’t want this, I don’t… I-I… no! Please forgive me! I don’t want to die! No…! Anything but dying… no!”

As he hears the man’s desperate plea, Siegfried smiles with satisfaction.

“Magnificent.”

After murmuring that, he whispers softly into the man’s ear.

“Last night, you… tried to force yourself on someone who refused. In other words, you ignored their rejection. And now, you’re the one rejecting death. But of course, I have no intention of accepting your rejection. —Isn’t that… beautiful?”

“Huh…?”

“The cycle of evil’s karma turning like this—is more beautiful than anything.”

“H-help! Hel…!”

The man crawls, desperately trying to escape.

—But in the next instant, Siegfried’s sword mercilessly pierces his skull.

“A-ah… n-no…!”

Spitting out words rejecting death, the man convulses, his whole body jerking violently.

And then, just like that… he stops moving.

“Well… this is the last one.”

As Siegfried starts to approach the remaining man.

“Eek… haha, hahahaha…!”

An eerie laugh echoes across the square.

The remaining man looks around with unfocused eyes and laughs loudly.

Then, in a frenzied voice, he shouts rapidly.

“Siegfried von Kreving! This man is the one who killed Commander Bertram! This is a grave crime that mocks His Majesty the King’s authority—in other words, this man is a traitor! If you investigate, you’ll find evidence right away! I’ll say it again! This man is a traitor to the nation!”

His shout, as if tearing his throat, resounds to every corner of the square.

“Hee, heeheehee…!”

The man foams at the mouth while wearing a mad grin.

“H-how’s that! Commander Siegfried! I spilled your secret!”

He’s going to be killed anyway. So before that, he’ll expose Siegfried’s misdeeds… that was this man’s choice.

Right now, nearly half of the Eastern Front Army’s soldiers… thousands of them are gathered here.

With this many people hearing it, the rumor will eventually spread and reach King Luverios’s ears.

(How’s that, Siegfried!)

The man looks at Siegfried’s face as if he’s pulled one over on him—but.

“Ah…?”

The man’s voice flips. Siegfried… is wearing an expression completely different from what he expected.

Siegfried is smiling. As if deeply satisfied from the bottom of his heart.

“—I didn’t expect you to move exactly according to my plans. Small fry villains are indeed easy to manipulate.”

“Huh… ah…?”

“Whether in RPGs or action games, enemies called small fries only make simple moves. It’s the same here.”

“W-what are you…?”

“I should thank you. —For publicly announcing that I killed Commander Bertram. With this, my path as the king of evil has taken another solid step forward.”

“W-what are you saying…”

Siegfried grabs the man’s head with his left hand and lifts it to eye level.

His eyes declare it. Everything is according to the scenario—and.

(Ah… I… until the very end, by this man…)

The exposing blow he released, accepting death. Even that—didn’t reach Siegfried.

No, far from it… even that action was in the palm of Siegfried’s hand. Everything was orchestrated.

“Uwa… ah… aaaaaaah!”

The moment the man lets out a scream of despair and humiliation. Siegfried’s sword flashes.

In an instant—thirteen flashes.

Thirteen consecutive slashes unleashed at a speed invisible to the eye carve up the man’s body, chains and all.

The man’s remains, turned into lumps of flesh and bone, collapse onto the execution platform with a dull, heavy sound.

“It’s a technique too good to use on a small fry like you—but receiving an overkill attack and scattering is also the flower of a small fry villain. Consistent small fry villain behavior until the end—I must say, well done.”

Murmuring that, Siegfried unhesitatingly kicks the corpse off the execution platform and descends.