The Villainess Returns with a System

"Wait, Voros! You can't go after him."

"I kill him!"

"I know he has done a taboo but you can't, not right now. This isn't even supposed to be the night we take action and we already dropped three bodies."

Vivian raced Voros in her dress on the stairway down.

"Listen, you dolt! You want to smoke Vladimir out? Be my guest. But how will you do it? What will happen next? We came here to look for clues, to make sure that Anastasia is really alive. If you blow that chance up, you won't get it ever again."

As she finally managed to stop the anger-driven Voros, Vivian started looking down the stairway, making sure nobody was nearby. They just killed the Overseer of the Blackguard slave market as well as two guards on the way inside. Once those bodies are found, the whole place will go on lockdown for days and maybe even weeks, security won't be as lax as tonight again.

The matter that pissed Voros off was the shattered Mithril coin found in the Overseer's safe. From earlier, Voros and Vivian learned that Edmond Black and Ian Grayson were using the Blackguards as their foot soldiers for the Prince's agendas and they wanted to launder the Mithril coins. They wanted to use the Duergar craftsmen in order to reforge the Mithril coins and use them for funds.

The only Duergar who can do that is none other than the best dwarven smith in the Black Market and it is Vladimir, the duergar who wanted to cheat Vivian when she first visited this place. He is one of the few slaves that have quite the relaxed restrictions since his value is immense and from what it seemed, he is in cahoots with the slavers against his own kind.

Such treachery was not uncommon but there were lines that none of the Duergar people dared to cross and even with the threat of death, the duergar wouldn't sing the Mithril song to a human. Hell, most of them even would rather die than forge for humans despite their cowardly and greedy nature.

While Voros was uncommon among the Duergar for reasons for his madness and shenanigans, Vladimir too was uncommon for his excessive attitude as his slaver's favorite pet. That led him to try and reforge Mithril and eventually ended up destroying a coin.

While all the coin and its fragments were collected, Voros still found it unforgivable to treat Mithril like that and it was something deeply embedded in Duergar tradition. Even Vivian herself, as an outsider, couldn't fully understand the drama regarding the subject.

"Alright, I want you to focus. Right now, we are about to walk into a room full of Blackguards to swipe the Slaves' Ledger. Can I rely on you to not be driven by emotions?" She asked.

"Hm!" Voros nodded without saying much.

"Do you know what needs to be done?" She asked.

Voros paused for a while before letting out a long breath and gradually calming down.

"Too dangerous… I do it." He said.

"No need. I remember the layout of the place from the last time we were there. The market's archives should be in a closed room right in the middle of the reception hall. I am still disguised so I will walk over there and take a look around. You stay back, watch me from a distance, and keep your crossbow up."

Voros seemed uncomfortable with Vivian's plan since she is his boss and he shouldn't risk her safety without putting himself in harm's way first, but the plan made sense and even if he had to compare his dwarven affinity to stealth to her, she is way better than him in action.

That's why Vivian stood tall, brought some of her hair to the sides of her face, and calmly walked towards the reception hall where the blackguards were having a party.

At first glance, this place was spacious, circular just like the building itself, and had six rooms in total, three on each side. From where Vivian entered, the first on her left and right were having some Blackguards and prostitutes left drinking and laughing while the second two rooms seemed to be a kitchen and the archives, as for the last two rooms, they were also guest rooms with more Blackguards and prostitutes.

The problem here is that the room is circular so once Vivian steps from the back door, she will be spotted instantly by nearly everyone and so she can only rely on her disguise to pass. Thankfully, the Blackguards were too drunk to see ten feet ahead of them let alone look away from the prostitutes that were accompanying them.

And so she did, confident steps, one foot in front of the other, the casual walks, calm, confident, just like she belonged here, she even smiled at one of the girls who seemed to be sitting alone in the hallway on her own and was awkward enough to smile back.

The reception hall reeked with beer and bodily odors, those who wanted to take their business with the prostitutes would try to hide away behind the barrels or the furniture nearby while those who already had so much fun were passed out from the drinking. Thirteen in total, that's how many Blackguards there are.

"What a shithole this is!"

From within, the old Vivian would rather kill herself rather than walk into such a place. In fact, she'd rather kill herself than go out of the house alone at night, infiltrate a restricted fortress, kill people with cold blood, and dress up like a commoner to be mistaken for a hooker.

She arrived at the archives' door and looked at the vertically-barred entrance with a hefty lock in its center. Something to behold compared to the level of security she has seen so far.

And while she can pick the lock one way or another, it would waste a lot of time and she will be noticed, so what is better than having the Overseer's keychain that she just looted?

But which key though? Vivian asked herself and she looked at the keyhole, which was smaller than usual, and inspected the few keys she had and was about to try some of them if not for…

"Hey! What are you doing there?"

Right behind Vivian was the kitchen, and from it, a voice spoke to her. Rather than one of the Blackguards, it was a woman, a prostitute.

Vivian slightly turned by instinct but her hair covered the side of her face she wasn't seen clearly by the one calling her. Still, she saw the prostitute marching towards her with suspecting eyes.

"You're not one of my girls? Who are you? Did Velma put you up to this?"

Vivian put away the keys and gave a signal for Voros to keep his cool as he was already tracing the prostitute with his crossbow from outside the reception hall. On the other hand, once the prostitute reached Vivian, she forcibly turned her around and held her by her left arm.

"Well… speak up." She shouted angrily.

"I'm…" Vivian wanted to speak and she tried to thin her voice, look down, and act scared, "I'm… Matilda… I was told to come here… sorry."

"Matilda who? We don't have anyone…"

As the prostitute tightened her grip around Vivian's forearm, someone came from the kitchen behind the prostitute while fixing his pants up.

"What's with all the fuss, Beth?" He spoke and approached the prostitute from behind.

"I don't know who brought this girl here. She's certainly not one of ours."

"What?" The man approached hastily and saw Vivian, "Whoa! We got a fresh one? Hey, I'm calling dibs."

"Absolutely not, Ben! We're the ones who got here first, this is our payday."

"Shut up, you dumb whore!"

The man approached and looked at Vivian while licking the lips behind his thick mustache and scruffy beard, he looked at Vivian closely, who averted her face away and wanted to hold her by the chin.

"Wait… that one looks too expensive for us… and I swear I've seen your face somewhere…"

"Good evening, Officer Benjamin."

At that point, it seemed that stealth was no longer an option. The man saw Vivian and heard her voice only for his brain to pause for a second and remember who was in front of him, that pause was all that Vivian needed.

The man's eyes widened and words got stuck in his throat along with a 3-inch thin blade… and it was the end for Officer Benjamin by the hands of the woman whom he guided not a fortnight ago into the Black Market.

Vivian retracted her push dagger while the prostitute in front of her was just realizing what just happened but unlike poor Benjamin, she could see Vivian's blade being retracted from the neck of the staggering Officer Benjamin and heading straight to hers.

She barely raised her arm to take the hit instead of her neck and the pain caused her to cry and try to escape from Vivian but as she turned the other way, Vivian grabbed her by the hair and a blade ten times the length of the push dagger was driven into the back of her head, coming out from that mouth she was so good at using.

SCREAM!

« Quest: Survive! »

And here it was, the beginning scream that announces the start of the ballet of blood followed by the symphony of the system cheering our lead dancer to rumble.

But a dance wouldn't be a dance without proper attire, Vivian called the Night Stroller outfit and to the sight of many beholders, she was donned in darkness and then cladded in black.

Vivian had the tactical umbrella and its blade on the ready as she looked at the shocked and appalled faces of the twelve around her was nothing but the stage to her first step to power… true power.

"Catch her!"

"NOW!"

"Get your weapons."

The Blackguards all got up at once, the drunken, the half-sober, and the naked. They all jumped on their feet and rushed, stumbled, and tripped.

A bunch of drunken soldiers against the prospect of the world's deadliest killer, the Corps de Ballet flocking towards the leading Ballerina.

The first dancer would run towards the swan, raising an object that would appear to be a chair, but the graceful swan would skillfully skip his movement by a lower sidestep, leaving her blade in his way as the razor-sharp edge slices through his abdomen softly and delicately.

It wasn't blood that splattered, it was art… and some guts in the midst.

The second movement was for three dancers to approach in unison, trying to intimidate the swan with their sharp objects that left little for the imagination of a babbling bumbling band of baboons. Be it broken bottles, a broomstick, or most impressively, a worn kitchen cleaver.

Now it was the swan's turn as she had barely finished her first movement. From that awkward position, the answer to the three dancers was her umbrella which spread so suddenly, making the view in front of them bewilder their drunken senses as she simply disappeared from their point of view and the gust caused by the canopy alerted their senses to something unforeseeable.

With her blade held in reverse in her right, she slashes diagonally down low, hitting their feet from where they can't see, her left averts the umbrella away, and her right strikes in the opposite direction but higher than before, delivering a slash of absolute beauty across their beer bellies, and without much delay, one final blade stroke across their necks painting the swan in blood red.

She stood up from the awkward position she was in the center of her six victims and raised the mask of her cowl to cover her face. So far, she wasn't seen well and she wasn't in the mood to kill more prostitutes so long as they behaved.

Either way, five Blackguards are dead, and the majestic and graceful bloody swan.

« Conditions have been met! »

« Slay a foe in direct melee combat! »

« The Medjay Aura has been Awakened! »

« Aura Level registered! »

« You are now Level 1-star Bronze Aura (Apprentice Knight) »

« System Upgrade Notification! »

« Checking Conditions… Level 1-star aura… ✓ — Foes slain in direct combat… ✓ — 15 Common-grade Magic Crystals absorbed… ✓ — 15 Grams of Mithril… ✓ »

« System Upgrade Complete! »

« Combat Mode has been added! »

« You can now automatically view your opponents' levels, health, condition, and fighting class. »

« Other auxiliary non-automatic functions have been added! You can check their details in the "Combat Mode" from the Trait list. »

« New Stats have been registered to your Profile! »

« You can now modify your Attack, Control, Defense, Speed, and Stealth from the Profile Screen! »

« Quest Completed: Medjay Aura Training (Novice) »

« New Quest: Medjay Aura Training (Apprentice) »

« 5 of 13 hostiles have been slain! »

"Minimize! Sir System! Minimize! I can't see shit, dammit!"

—————[ Profile ]—————

— Name: Vivian Moore

— Race: Human

— Level: 1-star Bronze Aura (Apprentice Knight)

ATK: 1 — CTRL: 1 — DEF: 1 — SPD: 1 — STL: 1

(Spare Points: 3)

— Age: 18

— SP: 1597

— Social: Daughter of House Moore (Noble, Count), Director of ViTech (Business) 

—————[ Traits ]—————

— Novice Mithridatism

— Novice Assassin?

— Novice Thief?

— Apprentice Gunslinger?

— Adept Diplomat

— Adept Scholar

— Adept Vocalist

— Expert Pianist

— [Combat Mode]

— [Dormant Records]

— [Karma Sensor]

———————————————