The Heroic Villain 2

by Charles Dean

  “Well, thanks for the help,” Lucas began, hoping to move things along. He had already gotten all the information he needed, and he had a new monster, so he didn’t see any reason to continue hanging around. “If this is it, I’m gonna go head out and get some food. You wanna come? You’ve been really helpful, and although I know you said that you ate before coming here, I’d love to pay you back.” Lucas knew that Jesse was just an NPC, and those were inevitably bound to end up hating him due to his villainy, but he wasn’t going to worry about it. Lucas was the type of guy to even say ‘thank you’ to the AI that served him food at restaurants.

  “I could go for a pizza,” Jesse answered.

  “What about you?” Lucas asked, looking at Eri. He didn’t get a verbal response, but the thing did flick out its tongue, which might have been a response.

  “They don’t really speak until they set up a base,” Jesse explained. “Not really sure why that is. Once you put her in a territory, she’ll turn into a chatterbox though. Don’t worry.”

  “Ah . . . good.” Lucas picked up the tools that he had used to harvest the crystals, gave them back to Jesse, and then patted Eri on the head as if the large dark scaly lizard were just a large dog. “Well, shall we get that pizza?”

  “Definitely,” Jesse said, putting away his stuff and heading with Lucas to the door. “Do you know the way?”

  “Not really,” Lucas answered. He had a little bit of time to kill, so he figured he might as well use it to think about things while getting a quick bite. It’s been a long time since I’ve had good food, Lucas grumbled to himself. I can’t believe we left the royal court before I managed to snag any of the hors d'oeuvres. That’s the only reason to even attend those parties. Lucas sighed as he thought about all the delicious bacon-and-parmesan-stuffed mushrooms he had eaten at the last social shindig he had attended. They had looked rather easy to make, but their flavor had been divine. The small portobello mushrooms had held a little pool of parmesan stuffed with bacon and topped with green onions, parsley, and garlic butter for flavor. Man, now I don’t want pizza. I want those bacon-stuffed, cheese-filled mushrooms.

  “Then follow me. I know a shortcut.” Jesse led the way out of the lecture hall, and Lucas followed behind. He dropped his newly-created Ant-Dragon onto the floor and let it follow behind on its own.

  Lucas didn’t have time to reply as he was immediately confronted with the most ridiculous pair of individuals. One was a male Were-Wolf dressed from head to toe in the most silly-looking, clichéd version of a ninja outfit Lucas had ever seen. The guy even had his face covered just like Lucas remembered seeing in every ninja video game as a kid, but the bottom half was pulled down around his neck so that his full face was completely exposed. To make matters worse, even though the wolf was covered from head to toe in ninja apparel from a 1990s fighting game--with a ridiculous sash on his pants, which didn’t have belt loops, and another wrapped around his head--he still managed to find an excuse to wear oversized leather pauldrons and silly arm blades.

  The girl that was with him was dressed completely opposite. Whereas only the man’s face and ears stuck out of his cheesy garb, only small patches of her skin were actually hidden behind clothing. The incredibly tall female Were-Wolf had on knee-high boots followed by a loose fur skirt that was so short that it was threatening to transform from “child-friendly” to “adult-only” the second she bent over, sat down, or wagged her tail. Her midriff was completely exposed, and her chest piece was more of a tight bra-pauldron combo with a massive boob window that left her cleavage on display. This game didn’t give flat armor values, so she was clearly just leaving herself wide open to slashing and piercing attacks, and those heels would stop her from being able to maneuver well. She was, without a doubt, the definition of every woman’s complaint about the impracticality of video game armor for women.

  She’s gotta be an NPC. If he were a regular player and not still dealing with the loss of Yu Hua, he’d have probably been just like this idiot and surrounded himself with beautiful women too. After all, this world was a fantasy, and beautiful, skimpily-dressed women that would just follow you around were a lot of men’s fantasies. NPC women were part of the reason this particular adult-friendly game still had a player base in an era with newer and better tech that was geared toward the whole family.

  Even so, Lucas couldn’t help but stare for a moment at the pair, surprised that anyone in the Imperium’s noble academy would ever have such ludicrous aesthetics. A player . . . That person has to be a player, and she’s definitely an NPC. But why is a player and his little babe bot in the academy?

  “I finally found you!” the man shouted. He struck a ridiculous pose for a brief moment, and then he struck out with his katana, slashing at the air, before putting it back up.

  Lucas looked over at Jesse. “Friends of yours?” he asked.

  “I don’t know either of them . . .” Jesse replied. “It seems they’re also looking at you, not me.”

  “Of course,” Lucas said. Jesse was just some nobody who didn’t even warrant the attention of anyone, much less a player. “I’m sorry, but who did you find?” Lucas asked, still studying the pair as he tried to figure out what level they were.

  “You, you rotten bastard,” the player growled. “I didn’t think you’d be this fast, but Thomas did. He knew you’d make it here quickly. He even knew exactly where to find you--here in the academy--because he has already foiled your plans.”

  Lucas’s ears perked up. “Who is this Thomas? And what’s my plan?” He was a little amused that a player had sought him out, a little curious as to why, but he was also very interested to know what sort of grand scheme of his was rumored amongst the players. Is this related to me taking over Hesse? Do they think I’m going to take over the rest of the mainland too?

  “Thomas is the man whose love you stole!” the ninja shouted. “And he knows all about your wanton, debaucherous scheme to mind control women! We found video evidence of how you first stole that poor Naga’s will and how that cute Were-Fox was even forced to change class for you! We know you brainwashed the love of Thomas’s life so that she follows you around like a slave! We know your scheme, you evil bastard!”

  Lucas glanced at the woman, who was standing five or six paces behind the ninja-dressed assassin and was seemingly content to watch.

  “Is that . . . Is that true?” Jesse asked. The color drained from his face, and he looked visibly shaken. “Are you brainwashing women to be your slaves?”

  Lucas automatically wanted to deny the accusation since it clearly wasn’t the case, but he held his tongue instead. He enjoyed playing with the women in his party and assumed they liked his company too. He couldn’t be sure about Bonnie--she always required payments for everything--but he was positive that the others, at the very least, enjoyed playing the game with him. After all, there was no other reason for them to be following him around. However, the moment he heard the words, the wheels in his head started spinning. He was being handed a golden opportunity, and he was going to take advantage of it.

  Lucas looked over at Jesse and rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry to say, but it’s all true. This clever young man has figured out that I have the ability to steal women from men no matter how much they love them.” Lucas grinned knowingly and chuckled like a self-satisfied villain as he began casting Meddling Minds. “I shall steal the princesses and queens of this world”--he turned from Jesse to the ninja’s paramour NPC--“and show them pleasure. I will open their eyes to a world that they have never seen before. Only when serving me shall they know their true purpose and their true happiness.”

  Lucas wasn’t sure how the woman would behave, and the NPC even looked a little confused as Lucas rambled on. She wasn’t even holding a weapon, so he didn’t believe for one moment that she’d try to attack the player from behind. But the moment the Meddling Minds spell hit, her eyes opened wider, and she fixed her gaze on Lucas.

  “Yes,” she breath
ed in a husky voice. “You’ll show us pleasure. You’ll give all of us women pleasure.”

  “What . . . Trisha, what are you saying?” the player asked, turning to the woman.

  “I’m saying that he can show us pleasure. He can give women joy that their current partners can’t,” the woman said, never taking her eyes off Lucas.

  “But, but Trish, you can’t mean that! After all we’ve been through, after all our time together . . . How could you?!” the overdramatic man cried out in horror and rage. He then turned to Lucas and bellowed, “Let her free from that spell before I kill you right here!”

  “Aren’t you going to kill me anyway though?” Lucas asked, laughing a little. “I might as well enlighten your woman before I die.”

  Lucas was planning on opening up with Wind Walls to try and keep some distance from his opponent, pushing the enemy away and unleashing a few Scorching Skulls, and then using Wind Wall again to activate the mage’s best tactic in most games: kiting. He would try to run faster than the opponent as he led the guy along toward a slow and painful death. Kiting was a time-honored strategy that had existed from the first dice-rolling game till this one.

  “You’re going to die right here!” the man cried. “You and your crony!” Then the guy did something Lucas hadn’t expected at all. Instead of charging right at Lucas, he pulled out two shurikens and tossed them directly toward Lucas’s chest before drawing his sword and activating a skill.

  Lucas took 227 damage from the two shuriken as the player vanished into his own shadow, which still remained on the ground despite its owner disappearing. What the hell? Lucas thought as he looked at the anomaly. The ninja’s shadow suddenly shifted from the path into the grass next to it, effectively vanishing as well. I can’t kite this bastard if he executes skills like these. Lucas cast Static Web in the general direction of the ninja’s last known location, trying to ensnare the man. The net of Lightning spread out in front of him, and a second later, the electricity traveling across the ground struck the player. The wolf lit up, and his figure was outlined by the electricity as it washed over him. The girl, who also was struck by the same spell, cried out.

  The ninja appeared completely, and he yelled out to his companion, “Trish! Baby, are you okay?!”

  “I’m fine, Jake. Don’t worry about me!” she replied in the most oddly sultry way possible.

  Turning to Lucas, he yelled “Bastard!” and then repeated the same combination of attacks that he had moments ago by throwing another shuriken before holding up his sword and disappearing.

  So, he has at least four weaknesses, Lucas concluded. First, his body only looked like it disappeared into the ground. It didn’t. He was still there, and he still could be struck. Second, his shadow gives away his location. When he moved, his shadow followed him. Third, he’s not nearly as fast as I had expected, which means that this idiot is sacrificing a ton of mobility and speed for a cheap parlor trick. He’s going to have to reach me to stop me from casting, and I doubt he’s that fast. Lastly, the woman is the fatal chink in his armor. He can’t keep his cool when she’s threatened.

  “Well, I think it’s time to play with my next victim,” Lucas declared. He raised his staff and slammed its end onto the ground. There was absolutely no point to him doing so, but Viola had been lecturing him on the theatrics of being a good villain, and he felt like playing up his part for once. A giant Earthen Wall erupted from the ground a few feet away from the walkway, directly between Trisha and Jake. He then began casting Earthen Wall as quickly as he could, erecting over a dozen walls in a matter of seconds. His massive Arcane Energy pool allowed him to chain cast the spells one after the other without any hesitation.

  He’s either going to stay as a shadow and try to solve the maze I’ve just created for him, or he’s going to reveal himself so that he isn’t separated from his girl anymore. Lucas grinned to himself over his solution. He had made sure that his walls were organized like a maze, so the only thing that either of them could do was either navigate the corridors or force their way out. The Earthen Walls weren’t permanent and could certainly be destroyed, but Lucas wasn’t too worried about that. If the ninja-boy destroyed one of his walls to get to him, it’d immediately reveal his location and allow Lucas to light him up with a spell or two before simply creating more walls.

  With the first half of his strategy complete, Lucas began casting Meddling Minds on the girl again. He was fairly certain that he couldn’t use her for combat, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t use her as bait.

  “Jake . . .” the woman groaned. “I think . . . I think he’s coming for me. I’m going to run! Is that okay? Can I run?”

  “Go!” Jake called out to her. “Get out of here before he hurts you, Trisha!”

  Lucas shifted his staff into his left hand and pulled the knife free from his belt with his right. He crept toward Trisha slowly, almost as if approaching a startled animal that he didn’t want to scare off. Before the girl could even turn to run, he released his second cast of Meddling Minds. “Relax,” he told her calmly. “You don’t want to run, do you?”

  “I . . .” She hesitated for a brief moment and then turned toward him. “I don’t.”

  “In fact, you want to come over here.” He gestured toward himself with the knife. “You already know why women serve me so willingly. Come. Experience what they have already. Why, even a pure and innocent girl who shielded herself for decades could be made into putty in my hands,” he continued. Even while talking, he began channeling another Meddling Minds. The current one was going to fade away, probably sooner rather than later if her Charisma stat was high enough, and he wanted to be ready to keep her ensnared as long as possible.

  “I do . . .”

  Jake cursed from the other side of the wall.

  Trisha shambled forward like a mindless zombie, and Lucas quickened his pace toward her. Just before they met, Lucas watched her eyes flicker from left to right and then she began blinking rapidly as if she were just waking up, a good indication that the spell was going to wear off. “Wait,” she muttered. “No . . . No, I don’t . . .”

  She seemed to come alive then. Her entire body tensed up, and her eyes went wide as she realized exactly the predicament she was in with Lucas mere inches away from her. She instantly turned to run, but Lucas lurched forward and wrapped his left arm around her, trapping her against him and preventing her from running. He pressed his knife against her throat a moment later before she could struggle against him, and he felt her body shiver against his own as she instinctively responded to the sharp blade.

  “It’s okay, Jake! Let me die!” she cried breathily. Her plea was barely audible, and her throat barely moved, but it was enough to press her skin against the sharp blade and draw forth a bright-red line of blood.

  Lucas couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. He knew that he had to do things like this if he was going to play the part of the bad guy. He had to act out his part, no matter what, even if it left a bad taste in his mouth. Even though her love for this ninja boy isn’t real, even though it’s just a programmed mimicry of human emotion, I can’t blame him for falling for it. She’s even willing to sacrifice herself.

  He finished channeling his Meddling Minds spell and then whispered into her ear, “You acknowledge your desire for me, yet your lover hunts me. Prove your passion to me if you want to earn my trust. Prove to me that I am the man you want and not him. Torment his ears with the truth, let the air carry the sounds of pleasure and your cries of ecstasy. Make him jealous as a spurned lover should be.”

  “Bu--” She seemed to resist the command for a moment, and her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, yet the second half of the word “but” was a long pleasure-filled moan.

  “Good . . .” Lucas said while turning his attention to the wall. The girl was making just the right sounds to play on his opponent’s deepest fears, which was exactly what he wanted. He pulled the knife back from her throat and readied himself, although he kept h
er tightly locked against him. He didn’t know where Jake was going to come from, but he knew that he was coming.

  “Ah . . . Yes, that’s the spot. That feels wonderful . . .” Lucas grinned as he joined in on the act with her. Trisha looked back at him with a strange expression, but she continued to obey the Meddling Minds command. “That’s right. Tell me how much better I am than he.”

  “YOU FILTHY BASTARD!” A cloud of dust exploded into the air behind Lucas as Jake finally broke through the wall.

  Lucas inwardly sighed at how easy it was to draw out the lovestruck ninja, but his amusement was stifled by his need to react to the sudden attack. He spun around on his heel and used his bodyweight to carrying Trisha around with him, placing her directly between himself at his assailant. Even before he was completely in position, he was already channeling a Scorching Skull. He released the spell a second later, and the giant flaming orb locked onto its target and shot off through the air. With zero hesitation, Lucas began chain casting the spell, launching one after the other as fast as he could.

  Jake knew exactly where Lucas was, but the wall he sprang out of wasn’t close enough to reach him or do anything about it--which also meant that there was no way for him to stop Lucas from unleashing spell after spell. The first Flaming Skull exploded in the wolf-man’s face with a fiery splash, stopping his attack cold. He landed on the stone pavers in a somewhat controlled crouch, his expression a mixture of shock, confusion, and rage over his inability to reach his target with Trisha being used as a human shield and hostage. The second and third skulls struck one after the other a second later, and he howled in rage and pain as his body was engulfed in flame. The high-agility Were-Wolf suddenly fell silent as he threw himself to the side, dodging the next two Scorching Skulls.

  “I’m going to kill you!” Jake yelled.

  “I’m quite certain that was your plan all along,” Lucas said, slowly strafing to the side. He matched his movements and speed to Jake’s, constantly making sure that Trisha was between Jake and himself.