I Became the Master of the Villain

The place where we touched was hot. I could feel the rapid pounding of a heart. The sound of a heartbeat, whether it was his or mine, overlapped and thumped in my ears.

I pulled away from Kian’s arms and said,
“Thanks for catching me.”
“It’s nothing.”

Kian’s face, as he looked down at me, was slightly flushed. He must have been flustered too. Since I had suddenly thrown myself on him.
Why did I have to fall in such an awkward way…!
While I was furiously blaming myself inside, Kian said,

“Olivia-nim, this way.”
At the end of his gaze was a white bench. Kian sat me down on the bench and bent one knee. He looked up at me, kneeling on one knee.
“May I take a look?”

It seemed he was worried I had hurt my ankle. I nodded and slightly lifted the hem of my dress.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Kian slowly removed my shoe. The high heel came off, revealing my bare foot. A blue light formed in his hand. He carefully touched my ankle.

The moment his hand made contact, my heart, which had barely calmed down, started racing again. I looked down at Kian, unable to say a word. As he cast healing magic, the faint pain I had felt in my ankle completely disappeared.
It was a light pain that would have gone away even if left alone. And yet, I was thankful that he paid such careful attention. After finishing the treatment, Kian put my shoe back on. I quietly accepted his touch and said,
“Sorry for causing trouble.”

“If it’s you, Olivia-nim, I don’t mind at all.”
Kian replied with a soft smile. At those words, my face flushed hot. My heart rate picked up again.
I should probably have the duchy’s healer examine whether something is wrong with my heart.

***
The garden path continued up the hill behind the mansion. From there, you could see the entire Capital at a glance. The plaza’s bell tower, the red brick rooftops. Even the majestic imperial palace was dyed in shades of orange.
As he gazed at the city bathed in sunset, Kian said,
“I’m glad I got to see you before I leave.”

He said he would be leaving the Capital for a while to subjugate magical beasts. It was news he personally brought me today. He said it was a mission to subjugate the beast horde that had attacked the Barony of Raindorf.
“You just joined, and they’re already giving you such a big mission… Why is the Imperial Court in such a rush?”
Kian smiled like it was no big deal.

“Well, I have to prove I didn’t get my title for free.”
Unlike most mages, Kian hadn’t gone through the academy. Which meant that almost no one had actually seen him use magic. Naturally, there would be people who doubted his abilities.
It’s not like I don’t understand.

I watched as lights began to scatter throughout the darkening city. I knew he was strong, but I couldn’t help but worry.
“Make sure you come back safely.”
Facing me, Kian smiled gently.

“I’ll finish quickly and return. So…”
He tilted his head down to look at me. His silver hair slid down onto his smooth forehead.
“Please stay healthy until then.”

His blue eyes were filled with warmth and affection. As if he regretted the parting… Always such a gentle face.
I wondered how Kian really felt about me. Was he being kind because he was used to treating me as his master?
That’s probably it.

Honestly, that explanation made the most sense. But somehow, thinking that left me feeling strangely down.
***
Barony of Raindorf.

The mages of the 7th Magic Division, dispatched there to subjugate magical beasts, were all full of complaints.
“I mean seriously, how can someone without an academy diploma even be allowed in?”
“Exactly. And a mage who used to be a slave… I’ve never even heard of that before.”

They had no shortage of complaints about their new commander.
Kian—top-grade mage, the first to appear in seventeen years. He had lived as an ordinary person for twenty years before becoming a mage, which meant he hadn’t gone through the academy. In other words, he had never received systematic magical training.
That alone was enough to shock people, but on top of that, he was a former slave.

“They say he used to serve as a night attendant… Is that true? Not just a rumor?”
“Shh, they’ll hear you.”
No matter how powerful he was, the fact that someone with no background had suddenly become their superior naturally stirred resistance among the elite Imperial mages.

Of course, there were exceptions. A few mages welcomed Kian.
“The new commander is seriously handsome, right?”
“For real. My eyes were blessed. It must feel like winning the lottery.”

Though it was a minority opinion, there were mages who said, “I’ll judge once I see his skills, but at least his face is nice.” 
And another small group said,
“I don’t care about his background. As long as he’s powerful, that’s all that matters.”

Amid the chaotic mix of opinions about the new commander, the strategy meeting for the beast subjugation began.
Wearing the white uniform of the Imperial Mage Division, Kian looked around at the mages seated at the table and said,
“As you all know, this mission is to subjugate the wyverns in the Raindorf Gorge.”

Wyverns looked similar to dragons but were smaller, more agile, and far more numerous. Recently, the wyverns had been attacking the Barony, and the damage to the residents had been severe.
Wyverns were high-grade magical beasts. With only the barony’s forces, there was no way to withstand the swarm. Eventually, the baron submitted a petition to the emperor, and as a result, the 7th Magic Division was dispatched.
Pointing to Raindorf Gorge on the map spread across the table, Kian said,

“Excluding the forces assigned to village defense, we’ll head out at dawn to the wyverns’ nest. We’ll eradicate them there.”
Earlier that day, Kian had sent a scouting party to survey the terrain of the gorge. Now that they had returned, they could begin the subjugation tomorrow.
Just then, one mage raised his hand. After receiving Kian’s permission to speak, he asked,

“Commander. What should we do about tonight’s defenses?”
According to the villagers, the wyverns had so far only attacked during the day. But that didn’t mean they could let their guard down at night.
“If the wyverns attack, the top priority is to protect the civilians.”

“And their eradication comes afterward?”
“No.”
“Then…?”

“You all will focus entirely on defense. I will handle the offense.”
A stir immediately spread through the room. Someone spoke up in a flustered voice.
“You mean you’ll face all of them alone?”

“That’s correct. Is there a problem?”
At that composed reply, protests erupted from every direction.
“Wyverns are high-grade magical beasts! And there aren’t just one or two of them!”

“We’ll need to deploy large-scale magic to eliminate them all at once!”
“If we do that, our response will be too slow! Do you know how long it takes to cast something of that scale?”
It was quite rude for subordinates to speak like this to a superior. But Kian didn’t reprimand them.

They were right—casting large-scale magic took a long time.
“There’ll be casualties while you’re preparing the spell!”
Complaints flew from every direction. But Kian simply responded shortly, ignoring the noise.

“That won’t happen. It won’t take that long.”
His [N O V E L I G H T] answer was so firm that the mages were momentarily left speechless.
***

“He’s insane. Totally insane.”
“Total show-off, that one.”
After leaving the meeting room, the mages all said the same thing. Their new commander seemed like nothing but a braggart.

Someone sneered.
“Let’s see how good he really is.”
“If he comes begging for help later, it’ll be hilarious.”

The mages standing watch in the fortress towers laughed mockingly. They passed the time by joking about their new commander.
But as they laughed for a long while—
The smiles vanished from their faces. A black mass, like a storm cloud, was approaching the fortress.

“Emergency alert!”
The alarm bell shattered the silence of the night. Mages, barely asleep, jumped up at the sound.
“That’s…”

What they saw was a swarm of wyverns blotting out the sky. Easily over a hundred. A scale of attack they had never seen before.
Even for mages experienced in battle, the pressure made their bodies freeze for a moment.
“Deploy defensive magic!”

At the deputy commander’s shout, the mages gathered their mana and raised a barrier.
Meanwhile, one person stood alone above the plains in front of the fortress, facing the massive horde of beasts. A white cloak fluttered in the night sky.
“That’s the commander, isn’t it?”

“Is he seriously going to fight that entire horde by himself?”
As if answering their doubts—
A gray thundercloud surged overhead.

Boom!
A deafening roar. For an instant, the sky cracked open.
Countless flashes of light erupted.

Thousands of bolts of lightning struck the ground, piercing through the swarm of wyverns.
Kyaaaaaah!
A scream of agony from the beasts that tore at the ears.

A wide-area offensive spell that allowed neither escape nor hiding. The horde, struck by that overwhelming power, was torn apart mid-air and rained down onto the plains below.
The mages, watching from afar, were in shock. It hadn’t even taken ten seconds to cast such a massive spell.
A final bolt of judgment thundered down to annihilate the very last one.

Before they realized it, the mages had lowered their defensive spells and were all staring at one person.
Even after taking down a hundred magical beasts, not a single drop of blood stained his fluttering cloak.
It was violent—and at the same time, breathtaking. That overwhelming power inspired not only fear, but awe.

In reverence, they thought—
That man might be the strongest mage in the Empire.