The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl

Chapter 29: If You Underestimate a Kid, You'll Regret It

I rack my brain to find the optimal move to resolve the situation.

What is the enemy aiming for? Can this be resolved through conversation?

But I can't even speak in the first place.

Finding my own thoughts ridiculous, I smirk self-deprecatingly behind my mask.

The questions I had earlier are of no help in resolving this situation.

It doesn’t matter who the enemy is or what their goal is.

The enemy is an intruder.

They must have come with impure intentions.

An uninvited guest who entered without permission must be expelled.

How?

I go back to square one.

Should I lure them outside and eliminate them?

I glance beyond the enemy. That seems a bit difficult.

Outside the orphanage, a faint dome-shaped barrier surrounds the area.

It looks quite sturdy—seems they prepared an expensive one.

Breaking it isn’t hard, but I’d have to increase my magic power.

The Grim Reaper’s magic leaves traces easily.

Even if I break the barrier and take down the enemy, there's a risk that my identity as the Grim Reaper could be exposed.

I must hide my strength as much as possible to keep my identity a secret.

Hmm…

Wait?! Why am I overcomplicating things? There’s a very simple solution.

Realizing this, I lift the corners of my mouth.

‘All I have to do is hold out until Rene returns.’

There’s no need for me to take them down myself.

I just have to keep them occupied.

All I need is to buy enough time for Rene to defeat the other intruders and return here.

I don’t even need to use the Grim Reaper’s power. If I regulate my magic properly, there’s no risk of exposure.

Of course, if the enemy turns out to be stronger than I expect, things might change.

Well, for now, there’s no better plan.

Now that I've decided, I should act immediately.

Before the enemy makes a move first.

Tap.

I place my hand on my waist. Then, I raise my middle finger.

The enemy flinches at my action.

Immediately after, I dash toward a more open space.

I hear footsteps chasing me. I didn’t expect such a simple provocation to work.

Scanning the area quickly for something I can use as a weapon, I find something suitable.

I run toward a flowerbed, grab a trowel, and take my stance.

The intruder stops in their tracks.

They lower their head, covering their face with one hand, and their shoulders tremble slightly.

After a moment, they lift their head and remove their hand before speaking.

"Kid, do you really think that’s going to work?"

Their voice drips with mockery.

And it’s a voice I’ve heard somewhere before.

I try to recall who they are but quickly stop thinking and tighten my grip on the trowel.

Right now, I need to focus on the enemy in front of me.

It’s true that such a crude tool is difficult to use as a weapon.

Even if I strengthen both my body and the trowel with magic, compared to the enemy’s total magic power, it’s nothing.

But a weapon’s effectiveness depends on who wields it. You never know until you try.

I shrug lightly at their sneer.

I hear them chuckle softly.

‘Now…!’

I swiftly grab a watering can from the flowerbed and hurl it at them.

Like a fired projectile, it hurtles forward with incredible momentum.

The target is their head.

For an ordinary person, such an impact could be fatal.

However, the watering can stops abruptly just inches away from them.

Sssss—.

The watering can that had stopped midair slowly froze.

‘Is this the opponent’s power…? Freezing, huh… What a tricky ability. I have to fight carefully.’

The watering can cracked and shattered.

Normally, I would have been startled by my opponent’s ability, but I kicked off the ground.

My bold action seemed to surprise my opponent.

In an instant, I lunged forward and thrust the trowel I was gripping tightly toward their heart.

At that moment, I felt my opponent’s mana gathering around their heart.

Defense?

Judging that it would be difficult to pierce through with this level of force,

I changed my movement without hesitation.

At close range, I flipped backward and aimed a kick at a new target.

My opponent seemed flustered by the sudden change in attack, and as a result, their reaction was delayed, allowing my kick to land squarely on their chin.

They rubbed their reddened, swollen chin. Losing balance, their legs wobbled.

Not missing the opening, I rushed at them again the moment I landed.

And once again, I thrust the trowel.

Smack! However, it was blocked by something solid, preventing it from piercing their heart.

‘Tch…!’

“You dare…!”

With a voice filled with fury, my opponent quickly reached out toward me.

I placed my hands on their arm and used it to propel my body upward, smoothly flipping over to land behind them.

The moment my feet touched the ground,

I immediately launched a spinning kick at them.

Thud! My opponent let out a groan as my kick struck their side.

They staggered slightly. Letting out a roar, they spun around and swung their arm in a wide arc.

I easily dodged by ducking, then swiftly grabbed their outstretched arm. Pressing my back against their torso, I lifted them with all my strength and slammed them onto the ground.

Crash!

With mana reinforcing my body, even a child’s physique could accomplish this with ease.

“Guh….”

I climbed on top of my opponent, clenched my fist tightly, and repeatedly punched their chest.

Thud! Thud! Thud!!! Heavy sounds echoed continuously.

Even though it was a child’s fist, a punch imbued with mana hurt far more than a normal one.

My opponent groaned in pain, their body twitching.

‘Tch, tougher than I expected.’

I could feel the impact.

Normally, their bones and organs should have been crushed, resulting in instant death.

However, since they also reinforced their body with mana, there was no sensation of bones breaking.

Instead, the more I punched, the more my own fists hurt. Still, since my opponent was clearly in pain, I didn’t stop.

“Graaahhh!”

Mana erupted from the man, and my body was sent flying through the air.

As I fell toward the ground, I twisted my body and caught myself with my hands, landing safely. At the same time, I immediately charged at him again.

He had only just managed to get up, looking exhausted.

I couldn’t give him any time to rest.

His fist came flying toward me with force. I tilted my head to the side to evade it, closed the distance, and struck with my own fist.

My punch landed on his chest.

“Guh—” He stumbled back two steps.

I didn’t let up and continued my relentless assault.

He groaned, gradually being pushed back.

He tried to block my attacks and counter, but none of his strikes even grazed me.

On the contrary, his attacks were large and full of openings, which I exploited to land even stronger blows.

‘What the…? I thought he’d be strong, but he’s nothing special.’

It seemed my opponent, like me, wasn’t revealing his full strength.

Rather, he seemed to be holding back his mana, as if trying to avoid drawing attention from the surroundings.

In essence, this was a battle purely based on martial skill.

‘I thought he was used to fighting since his mana was strong, but he’s a complete amateur.

Is this some kind of high-level strategy to make me lower my guard?

If not… well, whatever.

For now, I need to focus on the fight in front of me.’

“Guh, this little brat…!”

Getting beaten up by a kid must have really hurt his pride.

I could feel his anger.

But because he let his rage control him, he had even more openings than before.

In other words, he was easier to hit.

“Tch… If I can just land one hit, just one hit…!”

His punches and kicks were definitely destructive.

But his movements were large, straightforward, and sloppy, making them easy to dodge.

Even street thugs don’t fight like this.

“Guh…! Why can’t I land a hit?! Why do I keep getting hit even though I’m dodging?!”

That’s because I’m mixing in feints as I attack.

It looks like he’s reading my moves, but his body is reacting too slowly.

Too easy.

Honestly, I don’t think I’m particularly skilled in martial arts.

Everything I’ve learned so far is just from experience in this world.

In other words, I’m at an average level.

That’s why, when I fought Red, I lost in terms of technique.

But this guy is different.

He’s weak.

At the very least, if I keep pressuring him with hand-to-hand combat, I’ll definitely win.

‘If this goes well, I might be able to end it myself.’

The moment that thought crossed my mind, a chill ran down my spine from the sudden surge of cold mana.

“Hahp!”

I instantly stopped my attack and leaped backward.

The ground where I had just been standing froze over.

I kept jumping back.

The ice continued to spread, chasing after me.

As I retreated, I picked up the trowel that had fallen to the ground.

After withdrawing a fair distance, my opponent’s attack finally stopped.

A gap had formed between us.

We stared at each other.

I was still composed, while his breathing was rough.

“Ptooey! Damn it, I didn’t expect you to be this skilled.

You really aren’t just some ordinary brat….”

His voice was filled with irritation, as if he had run into a troublesome opponent.

I found his reaction amusing and couldn’t help but smirk.

It’s not that I’m strong—you're just weak.

“The fun’s over, kid! I don’t have time to play with you anymore!”

I raised my guard immediately.

Tch.

I had hoped to finish this before he started using magic.

Cold energy gathered around him, solidifying into shape.

In an instant, dozens of small icicles formed.

With a snap of his fingers, the icicles shot toward me all at once.

I lowered my stance and kicked off the ground, charging forward.

“No way…! You dodged all of that?!”

‘The attack’s trajectory is completely obvious.’

I evaded all the icicles and closed the distance, arriving right in front of him.

I swung the trowel toward his ankle, but a layer of ice instantly covered it, blocking the attack.

I quickly jumped and aimed the trowel at his throat.

But once again, the ice blocked it.

I couldn’t let him catch his breath.

I kept up my relentless attacks.

Each time, the ice blocked them.

He was so focused on defending that he couldn’t even counterattack.

In that case—

I slightly loosened my attacks.

As if spotting an opening, he reached out with his arm, and I flicked it away with my hand.

A chilling sensation spread through my fingers, making me frown slightly.

Then, I spun my body and delivered a roundhouse kick to his side.

My opponent grabbed my foot.

My foot began to freeze.

I swung my trowel down toward his hand.

Smack!

It was blocked by ice.

“This is the end, kid. Just turn into ice for a moment.”

At his eerie voice, I responded with a slight smile.

This isn’t the end.

I quickly moved my other leg and aimed for his temple.

The hit landed with a heavy sound, and my opponent, shocked, let go and stumbled backward.

Of course, the ice seemed to have prevented a fatal blow, but his head must have been shaken badly.

“This…!”

Cold energy gathered beneath my feet.

The moment I dodged, ice spikes shot up where I had just stood.

I imbued my trowel with mana and hurled it at his head with all my strength.

As expected, ice formed to block it, and the trowel got stuck.

I pushed off the ground, clenched my fist tightly, and punched the handle of the embedded trowel with all my might.

The ice shattered, and I charged in, slamming my head into him.

Thud!

Crack.

A crack formed in my mask, and part of his mask broke.

“……!”

My eyes widened.

As I momentarily hesitated, he touched his mask as if realizing something.

His eyes widened in realization—then narrowed in displeasure.

“Tch! This doesn’t make sense. Something is wrong. The protagonist shouldn’t be in this state because of some brat.”

Those eyes.

Isaac.

Why? How? My mind was suddenly overwhelmed with confusion.

I tried to regain my composure and continue the fight.

“Lily…?”

My body, which had been ready to lunge, froze.

Lena had come out into the yard.

Her voice was drowsy.

She rubbed her eyes.

I was so flustered my mind almost short-circuited.

Did we make too much noise?

What do I do? Should I continue fighting? But if I do…

At that moment, Isaac’s eyes gleamed.

I felt a bad premonition.

He was about to snap his fingers, so I grabbed the fallen trowel and threw it.

“Guh…!” Isaac let out a groan.

I had originally aimed to cut off his wrist, but it only managed to pierce into his arm.

His fingers didn’t stop.

Should I use the Grim Reaper’s power now?

Having no other choice, I prepared to raise my mana and burn Isaac down in one swift move.

But in that moment, the memories of my life here flashed through my mind, and I hesitated for a split second.

‘Ha… This is driving me crazy….’

That brief hesitation made me a fraction too slow.

Snap!

A crisp sound rang out.

I rushed to Lena and hugged her tightly with all my strength.