Rise Of The Villain : In a World Ruled By Anomalies-Chapter 39 : I’m screwed

The wolf’s corpse lay still.

Steam rose from the massive body as blood spread across the cracked ice.

The mechanical voice had faded.

The dungeon had been cleared.

Only one hour remained before collapse.

Silence swallowed the basement.

No monsters.

No roars.

No system announcements.

Just three people standing in the aftermath.

Arthur and Jordan faced each other across the frozen floor.

The air between them felt heavy.

Jordan adjusted his grip on the floating grimoire beside him.

A faint golden aura flickered around his body.

He smiled slightly.

"Shall we...?" he said calmly. "Only one of us will leave here alive."

Arthur met his eyes without anger.

Without hatred.

Just calm.

"Just wait for a second."

Jordan’s brow lifted slightly.

"Alright," he said calmly. "Go ahead... you can talk to her one last time."

A faint smile crept onto his lips as his gaze hardened

"My plans have changed. Now I’ll have to kill her here—along with you."

He paused, almost amused by his own thoughts.

"As I also don’t have to worry. I’ll come up with a convincing story... and pin the blame on you, Arthur. The Blue Magic Tower Master will back me up as well. After all, he is my master—so I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty when necessary."

Arthur turned away from him without responding.

He walked slowly toward Isabella.

His boots crunched over ice and shattered stone.

Isabella still kay against her wall trying to cover herslef up with both if hands but failing miserably.

Exhausted.

Mana drained.

Her body trembling slightly from overuse.

She watched him approach.

Her eyes were unfocused at first.

Still processing everything.

Arthur stopped in front of her.

Without saying a word, he removed his coat — the black hooded coat he always wore.

He tossed it toward her casually.

She reacted instantly.

Her hands came up and caught it.

For a moment, she just stared at him.

She noticed his bare upper body now exposed.

Lean muscle.

Unscarred skin.

Sharp jawline.

Messy dark hair falling slightly over his forehead.

And those blood-red eyes.

Calm.

Focused.

Her gaze lingered a second too long.

Arthur tilted his head slightly.

"It’s an expensive coat, alright," he said flatly. "If even a scratch comes on it... you’ll have to pay."

Arthur leaned slightly closer, his breath brushing against her ear as he muttered in a low voice, barely audible to anyone else.

"Wait for my signal... and be ready."

Isabella eyes widened for a second as she quickly masked her exoression and gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

She understood immediately.

Arthur was planning something.

Isabella’s mouth twitched.

Her trance shattered.

She looked away immediately.

Without replying, she wrapped the coat around herself.

It was large.

Warm.

It covered her torn clothing completely.

She pulled it close around her body.

Arthur glanced at her once more.

"At least give a nod," he muttered. "Such a spoiled brat."

She gave the faintest nod.

Almost imperceptible.

Arthur turned back.

His eyes locked onto Jordan.

The air shifted.

He took his stance.

Sword angled slightly downward.

Feet grounded.

Breathing steady.

"System... do it."

A faint chime echoed in his mind.

[ Alternative Extraction Conditions Activated. ]

[ Condition: Survive target Jordan zane for five continuous minutes. ]

Arthur’s lips curved faintly.

’So I just have to survive him for five minutes...’

"Activate Omnicognition."

A window appeared instantly.

[ Omnicognition has been activated. ]

The world changed.

Arthur inhaled.

And everything sharpened.

He could hear ice cracking beneath distant rubble.

He could hear the faint buzzing of a fly near the ceiling.

He could sense tiny pebbles shifting across the floor.

Their exact locations mapped inside his mind.

Millions of calculations formed and dissolved every second.

Angles.

Speed.

Mana density.

Jordan’s breathing rhythm.

Micro muscle tension.

With Berserk empowering his body and Omnicognition expanding his cognition—

He felt precise.

Not invincible.

But exact.

Jordan sensed the shift.

"Come on," he said sharply.

"Inferno Volley!"

Mana erupted outward.

The temperature spiked instantly.

Dozens—

Then hundreds—

Of flaming arrows formed around him.

Each arrow burned white-hot at the tip.

The air shimmered under the heat.

Then they launched.

WHOOOOSH!

A storm of fire tore toward Arthur from every direction.

Above.

Left.

Right.

Behind.

Arthur moved.

Not frantically.

Not desperately.

He stepped to the right.

An arrow passed where his skull had been.

He leaned back slightly.

Another sliced past his throat.

He took a small diagonal step forward.

Two arrows collided behind him.

BOOM!

Heat exploded outward.

He kept walking.

Calm.

Measured.

An arrow grazed near his shoulder—

He shifted half an inch.

It missed.

Another streaked from his blind side—

He pivoted without turning his head.

It passed through empty space.

Ice melted.

Stone cracked.

Flames roared.

Arthur walked through it all like he was navigating a quiet hallway.

[ Berserk Remaining Time: 4 minutes 12 seconds. ]

’Plenty...’

A final formation of arrows converged simultaneously.

A perfect kill pattern.

Arthur stepped forward.

Twisted.

Lowered his center of gravity slightly.

Every arrow missed him by less than a finger’s width.

BOOOOOOM!

They collided behind him in a massive explosion.

Smoke swallowed the chamber.

Arthur stepped out of it.

Untouched.

Sword loose at his side.

Red eyes fixed on Jordan.

Calm.

Unshaken.

Arthur’s red eyes did not blink.

No anger.

No excitement.

No fear.

His emotions felt... muted.

Like something inside him had turned them off.

Only calculation remained.

Only distance, angles, mana density, timing.

Jordan felt it.

And it unsettled him.

’He’s not reacting emotionally anymore...’ Jordan thought. ’He’s thinking like a machine.’

For the first time since the fight began, a thin crack formed in Jordan’s confidence.

Arthur stepped forward.

Calm.

Precise.

Jordan’s jaw tightened.

"Execution Lance."

Mana condensed violently in his palm.

Fire compressed inward instead of exploding outward.

It shrank.

Condensed.

Brightened.

A razor-thin spear of white-hot flame formed in his hand.

The air around it distorted.

It wasn’t wild fire.

It was focused.

Dense.

Deadly.

Jordan thrust his hand forward.

The lance shot out like a beam of light.

It struck the ground beneath Arthur.

For half a second—

Nothing happened.

Then—

BOOOOOOM!

The floor detonated upward.

Ice vaporized instantly.

Flames erupted from beneath the surface.

The explosion didn’t just burn outside—

It burned inward.

The heat tunneled through everything in range.

Jordan narrowed his eyes, scanning through the smoke.

’Did that finish him...?’

The flames slowly faded.

The ground where Arthur had stood was a molten crater.

Jordan took one step forward—

A voice came from beside him.

"Too slow."

Arthur appeared at his right side.

Sword already mid-swing.

The blade aimed straight for his neck.

Jordan’s eyes widened.

He threw his body backward just in time.

SHKK!

Steel sliced across his throat.

Not deep.

But enough.

A thin red line opened.

Blood spilled down his collar.

Jordan instantly opened the grimoire floating beside him.

"Healing Zone."

Golden light erupted around his body.

A circular field of soft radiance expanded outward.

The cut across his neck closed in less than a second.

Skin sealed.

Blood vanished.

Arthur did not give him breathing room.

He pressed in.

Relentless.

His sword flashed again and again.

Fast.

Accurate.

A slash across Jordan’s shoulder—

Healed.

A thrust to his ribs—

Healed.

A shallow cut across his forearm—

Healed.

Each wound vanished inside the golden zone.

Jordan activated it repeatedly.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Arthur’s breathing started growing heavier.

His movements still sharp—

But his stamina dropping.

And then he noticed it.

The book.

That grimoire.

Mana continuously flowed from it into Jordan’s body.

Stable.

Constant.

Limitless.

’That book...’ Arthur calculated instantly. ’It’s feeding him mana.’

Jordan smirked.

"Looks like you noticed."

He raised the grimoire slightly.

"As long as this book remains in my hand... killing me is almost impossible."

Arthur didn’t respond.

He only observed.

Jordan’s expression turned cold.

"Wind Severance."

Hundreds of compressed wind blades materialized around him.

Invisible at first—

Then visible as distorted air edges.

They shot toward Arthur simultaneously.

SHHHHHK!

The air screamed.

Arthur moved.

He twisted.

Leaned.

Stepped between narrow gaps.

Dodged most.

Voidmorph Carapace erupted across his ribs and shoulder as several blades slipped through his defense.

Black armor absorbed the worst of the damage.

But not all.

Thin cuts opened across his arms.

One blade grazed his thigh.

Blood sprayed.

Dodging all of them was impossible.

Jordan watched carefully.

"I know you’re using some kind of high-ranking skill," he said calmly.

"And judging by how desperate you’re becoming... your time is about to run out."

His eyes turned colder.

"The moment it does... I’ll cut you in half."

"Enjoy it while you can."

Arthur’s breathing grew ragged.

Sweat mixed with blood on his skin.

[ Berserk Remaining Time: 00:10 seconds. ]

’Ten seconds...’

Arthur’s eyes shifted.

Toward Isabella.

She stood wrapped in his coat.

Watching.

Barely breathing.

Arthur looked at her.

"Hey... makeout lady."

Her face flushed instantly.

"What—?!"

Before she could finish—

Arthur twisted aside to avoid another wind blade.

"As soon as you get your hands on that book... destroy it."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"How is that supposed to happen?! I can’t gather any strength or mana at all right now!"

Arthur suddenly ran toward her.

Jordan froze.

’What the hell is he doing?’

Arthur dashed straight at Isabella.

[ Host. 03 seconds remaining. ]

[ 02 seconds... ]

[ 01 second... ]

He reached her—

And at that exact instant—

[ Berserk Duration has reached its limit. ]

[ Entering Cooldown: 3 Hours. ]

[ Physical Stats Returning to Base Level. ]

[ Severe Fatigue Detected. ]

It wasn’t gradual.

It was violent.

The power ripped out of him.

His muscles instantly felt hollow.

His legs nearly gave out mid-step.

His heartbeat, which had been roaring like thunder, stumbled unevenly.

His vision blurred at the edges.

The strength that made every movement explosive vanished.

His sword suddenly felt unbearably heavy.

Breathing burned.

His arms trembled.

Cold sweat broke across his back.

He almost collapsed—

But he forced his body to move.

Forced his arms to wrap around Isabella.

Her body slammed against his chest.

Her face turned bright red instantly.

"H-Hey! What are you doing?!"

Arthur smirked faintly through the exhaustion.

"You really have a good figure."

Isabella yeelled "GET AWAY FROM ME YOU PERVERT !"

But his grip tightened slightly.

Inside his mind—

’System. I still have one remaining use of Blink.’

’Use it.’

’Swap my position with that book in Jordan’s hand.’

A faint pulse echoed in his head.

[ Blink Activated. ]

Space distorted.

For a split second—

Everything blurred.

The grimoire vanished from Jordan’s hand.

And appeared in Isabella’s arms.

Jordan suddenly found himself holding—

Arthur.

Princess carrying him.

Arthur’s arms now weak.

Barely responsive.

Jordan’s mouth fell open.

"What—?!"

A final window appeared inside Arthur’s vision.

[ Blink — All Uses Exhausted. ]

[ Cooldown Initiated. ]

His body felt like lead.

Strength completely gone.

Jordan’s shock turned into fury.

"You bastard!"

He slammed Arthur into the ground.

BOOM!

The impact knocked air from Arthur’s lungs.

His vision spun.

Jordan’s hand flashed.

A dagger appeared.

The blade moved toward Arthur’s throat.

Fast.

Precise.

Arthur stared up at it.

No strength left.

’Fuck...’

’I’m screwed.’