The Extra Villain's Second Chance: A Hero's System-Chapter 22 - 21 - At The End Of The Day

A thin, dark smoke emerged from the black lotus crest on his chest.

What was initially formless smoke quickly transformed into a thin string in Lev's hand.

Judging by the length of the string, he couldn't launch a direct attack because it was too short. However, he wasn't out of ideas. He chose to apply the mana string in his hand to the sword he was holding.

It didn't completely cover the sword; he only placed the mana string at the tip of the blade.

[You have demonstrated excellent control of Dark Mana.]

[Congratulations! Your Mana String skill has leveled up.]

Lev didn't pay much attention to the system notification.

He immediately kicked the ground and slid toward Pox.

The five remaining soldiers tried to stop him, but they failed when Lev chose a cunning method—kicking the ground until their eyes were covered in dust.

Lev moved past them all while they were busy rubbing their eyes.

"What?" Pox looked surprised when he saw Lev suddenly appear behind him. He tried to take a few steps back so that his spearmanship skill could be effective when he used it.

However, before Pox could establish an effective range for his spear to strike, Lev had already grabbed the spear with his left hand. If he had to hold it for long, Lev might not have been able to, but he only gripped Pox's spear to throw him off balance—then immediately let go.

"Let's see, will death make you feel good?! Just like when you wanted to play with someone else's wife and children."

Slash!

Lev slashed Pox's unbalanced body.

It should be noted that Pox was still wearing full-body armor. However, the mana string lv. 2 on the surface of his sword managed to tear through Pox's chest armor until it ripped.

The chest armor plate, face armor, and full-body armor began to peel off bit by bit. Eventually, Lev managed to scratch Pox's skin.

"S-Stooop!"

Pox screamed in pain, begging Lev to stop slashing his body. Indeed, Lev was intentionally slashing Pox's body bit by bit—not killing him outright so he would suffer.

"Hey, it's just a physical wound. Why are you screaming so much?" While slicing Pox's thigh, Lev mocked how excessive his reaction was. "I'm sure the people you've tortured mentally all this time have suffered more than the physical wounds you're experiencing now."

Second by second passed, and scream after scream echoed.

The five soldiers who were supposed to be Lev's opponents stood frozen. They trembled in fear as they witnessed their young master's terrifying behavior, which was unlike his usual dignified demeanor.

'Where is the dignified young master?' Lev could guess their thoughts from their frightened faces.

[You have gained +1 Kill Point.]

As Pox's eyes widened, his life sign fading, a notification message appeared before Lev.

[You have earned +17 Heroic Points.]

[Quest: Siblings' Rivalry completed.]

[You have received an additional reward of +18 Heroic Points.]

[Kill Points: 1

Heroic Points: 35.]

Although the points he earned looked tempting, he was more focused on cleaning up the mess he had caused.

The five soldiers who had initially frozen immediately realized what they needed to do. They picked up the money Lev had thrown and carried their comrades. Some ran to prepare the horse-drawn cart.

'I'm sure they've learned how to perform first aid.'

They immediately stuffed cloth into the severed limbs of their comrades to stop the bleeding. One thing they overlooked was Pox's corpse because Lev had told them to leave it alone.

Lev himself planned to take care of Pox's corpse.

Pox's death, along with the reward from the Hero's System, closed the curtain on Lev's first day back in the past. The chaos that began with a trivial matter ended with the death of a promising soldier for the Razanov noble house.

"I wonder if Andrei will let this incident pass or punish me."

***

The next day, Lev realized that Andrei had decided to let yesterday's issue go. During breakfast, he didn't mention yesterday's incident at all.

Just like Andrei, Boris also remained silent. He even seemed to be hiding the fact that he had taken a letharis pill. Irini, Andrei, and Boris still looked like a harmonious family.

"Is this what peace feels like?" Lev rested in the backyard of the mansion after breakfast. He sat on a small, portable chair.

Not far from him, Daria waved her hand as she ran around the mansion. It turned out that after leaving Lev's bedroom yesterday, Daria had been running since early afternoon... Of course, she rested at night.

'Lucky she didn't see the conflict between me and Boris yesterday.' If Daria found out, who knows what reckless—irrational—action she would take.

When Lev asked, it turned out she had heard the commotion yesterday, but she hadn't seen it because she was busy running around.

"It seems like she's trying hard to lose weight." Not only was she running, but she was also doing push-ups, sit-ups, and other exercises. Drops of sweat soaked through the linen tunic she was wearing.

Lev's reason for coming to the backyard wasn't just to relax and watch Daria.

Soon after, Greda arrived with several servants. Greda's servants carried large white sheets of paper—a canvas for drawing. Some also carried a small table where an ink grinder was placed. The servants placed the canvas and small table in front of Lev and returned inside the mansion.

"Why did you ask me to bring all this, Young Master?"

"... Consider it a new hobby. What about you? Is Boris bothering you?" Lev spoke to Greda.

The answer Lev received was, of course, a shake of the head from Greda. It was unlikely that Boris would dare to cause trouble knowing he couldn't fight Lev.

"Rather than that, I'm more curious about why you suddenly want to draw something. I apologize in advance, Young Master. But can you even draw?"

"Hmm. I couldn't draw before, but after living in an isolated place with someone, I developed my drawing skills. I'm sure I can outdo the street artists."

"... Are you okay, Young Master? Haven't you ever lived in an isolated place with someone?!"

What Lev meant was his experience from his previous life. So, he didn't bother explaining it.

The first thing Lev painted using the brush he held was the faces of the soldiers who had fought against him yesterday, including Pox. He only used a black brush. Since he didn't focus on coloring the faces he painted, his work was completed quickly.

Then he painted all the faces of the soldiers at Razanov's mansion, from the soldiers guarding the front gate to the secret soldiers disguised as gardeners. If he didn't remember their faces or hadn't seen them before, he would pretend to approach them.

Lev felt a little nostalgic when he approached the soldier disguised as a gardener. The gardener was pruning shrubs and rose bushes. Since Lev had once been a gardener on Earth, he knew that this was done to prepare for new buds when spring arrived.

After observing the faces of the disguised soldiers, he returned to sit in front of the canvas and began painting again.

That was when a servant rushed in.