Is Always the Hardest

"Today we have a new student. Please welcome Miss..." The teacher then beckoned.

That was my first day at the Royal Academy. As much as I despise the reasons Daddy afforded the most prestigious school in the continent, I planned to use its resources to find the power that would allow me to rule the world.

"My name is Vivianne Aurore de Lacroix. I'm an almighty villainess, and you all will get down on your knees before me one day." I bowed, hitching up the skirt. "Thank you for taking care of me."

After introducing myself like a true dame, I headed to my seat in the back of the class to avoid the authoritative teacher's view.

However, once I was about to sit, I fell on my butt.

"Look who got down already... Kufufu..."

The cheek, holding my chair next to her, was the classic snob-rich archetype, with blond drill and a fan.

Probably the queen-bee around here.

"Tiny like this, it's easier to go down to the floor."

"But a couple of centimeters fall could be deadly."

The girls flanking 'Drills' looked like classic followers, with bland looks that a description would be a waste of words.

In answer to that classic bullying, I pulled Drills' earlocks to make her bump her forehead on the desk.

"Pardons, I just wanted to help the milady take a better look at this low-grade evil deed of hers."

The bell rang. I shall assert myself as the big bad of this school!

"You are done, shortie," Drills hissed, moving her thumb across the neck. "Did you hear right? Y-o-u a-r-e..."

◆◆◆

"Done, Vivi-san... We're so done!" Enid whooped with her skull aloft.

"There's no time for... positivity!?"

The hall of the castle became a gladiator's arena. At one side, Enid and I. The other, a battalion of living armors. Unfortunately, the latter were in our way to beauty—power.

"Enid-chan, call your army—"

However, the armors charged before I could finish my command. It seemed the end until the backup came from above: Enid's new friends swarmed the battalion.

Thank you so much, fellow sons of night!

While the brave psybats distracted our enemies, Enid cast "Morgue," summoning a small group of zombies out of the shades.

"What a stink!" I shouted.

But Enid argued, "Smells like home."

"Where the heck do mountain elves live!?"

Arrrrgh... I hope it won't be a problem when I become an Undead Queen... On second thought, will I smell like that too!!!?

"Seance!" Enid chanted, holding her skull out.

And just like that, an army of ghosts joined our party. In the midst of the terror play summoned by Enid, the latter and I hid behind the remains of a pillar.

"Vivi-san, my undead can hold much longer... is there plan B?"

"Don't underestimate moi, darling,” I held my purse up. "I didn't come just to watch."

Then I took a cabochon out of it. It was no average gem, though. It was a runic one, the main weapon of rune knights. Since crystals were perfect to conduct mana, it was natural to engrave runes inside gems to use them as weapons. Some rune knights use actual jewels, but, honestly, using jewels as consumable weapons seems like a waste of money.

Taking an explosion gem, I knelt above our improvised barricade and threw it on an armor.

"You hit my zombie."

"S-Sorry, it's hard to aim with the hands shaking."

So, aiming with care, I threw a new one.

"Don't you like undead?"

"I'm so sorry!"

Another friendly fire. Rune knights make it look like these cabs hit the target by magic! Damn, Vivi...

◆◆◆

Hang in there.

One semester ago I declared war against my classroom villainess. I'd expected some bullying from her minions the moment I did it. What I did not expect was that the whole student body were her minions. It seems I picked a fight with the most influential duke heiress of the kingdom.

"Fools! You're only worsening your doom! I, Vivianne, will make you beg for mercy!"

It was recess, which meant it was time for me to be tied to the flagpole upside down. My school uniform included skirts, so only the ropes prevented a 'shamier' exposure.

"Let's untie her shirt," Drills proposed, fanning. "This halfling hasn't broken yet."

"Ohohoho! Have one last taste of heaven before doom!" I defied. "Come here, everybody! The sight of a life-time is a skirt away from you!"

I was wearing mini shorts over it so as to feast on their disappointment.

"Gross, no one wants to see this halfling's panties."

"Yeah, even perviness has limits."

Those 'advocating for' me were the school perverts.

"All right, let's just build a bonfire with her books," Drills proposed, opening my backpack in possession of one of her minions. "Let's see... 'Vampire Guide for Dummies'... 'Lugos by Corben Stoffler'... a lot of maps of the Kingdom of Mountains... Those are from the National Library. Where's her school books?"

"So you need school books here? I aced the tests only by paying attention in class," I bragged.

"Untie her skirt, boys!"

"Noooooo!!!!" Everybody cried.

"Yeeeeees!!!!" I cackled.

◆◆◆

"Nooo!" I cried.

At that moment, Enid and I were cornered. Our small undead party was getting the worse off the fight, and we couldn't leave our barricade. It was a situation where there was nowhere to run... except...

Yeees!

"Darling, you learned Doorway recently, did you?"

"Yes... but I must see the place to go there... remember?"

In fact we'd use this spell to leave our coachman behind without paying the remaining payment, but I saw another trick to such a convenient dark spell.

So I whispered in Enid's ear, who nodded and cast, "Shadows that connect the world, show me the path... Doorway," opening a dark hole from the shade.

'Doorway' was a high-tier teleportation spell used to travel through shadows. It couldn't be used to access unknown locations, but it was the perfect escape route for villains, or in that case...

Once our undead returned to the shadows, the armors charged towards the pillar all as one. But, the moment they realized we left, I boasted, "Ohohoho... looking for someone?" from the inner bridge behind them.

Bypass a battalion.

"Vivi-san, they'll follow—"

"Ohohoho... Sorry for leaving you hanging, but beauty awaits us," I performed, covering my smug smile with a hand. "So long, suckers!"

Then I took Enid's hand and ran for our damn lives.

"They are coming!" Enid cheered.

"Sorry, darling, but not for long," I spoiled Enid's mood, reaching into my purse for a handful of gems before throwing it behind, destroying the bridge behind us.

"Oh!"

"See, Enid-chan. Villains also have backup plans to back—ahhhh!"

Midway, something caught me and took me to the sky. I looked up and it was a living Gargoyle statue.

The heck! Living statues are artists' security system...! Did that vampire know people would expect undead and build a necromancer-proof protection!?

Fortunately, before the worst happened, the gargoyle was bumped by a bat skeleton... certainly a psybat's remains animated by my darling savior. Unfortunately, I was in a free fall.

The moment I thought I was doomed, something caught me before I hit the ground. My eyes were clamped shut, but I slowly opened them to take a look at my savior: a zombie. Does puke in your savior count as a villainous deed?

What a carrion stink!

Once I stood up, I realized we were doomed anyway: gargoyles in the sky, the bridge destroyed by one side, and the armors on the other side coming to get us.

So, this is the...

◆◆◆

End.

"Let's stone this nut."

After one year of bullying, it seemed Drills reached the limit and reunited a small mob to take me down.

"Fools! The moment I was about to leave this place for my quest for power, you decided to pick a fight? You will regret the day your parents conceived you!"

"I regret the day I ate that lunch full of laxatives you let us steal."

"Give my shoes back! I know we ditch yours, but..."

"And you switched my backpack with yours before we wet it!"

Of course a villainess wouldn't let herself be bullied without countering. Still, there was I, cornered, just with my backpack on arms like a mother shielding her baby.

"Give me that." Drills hold out her hand. "I'll wet it before we proceed."

I just gave it. It's over...

Right then I used a boan buzzer.

"Calling the police, you coward?" Drills brought her hand to chest. "It's your world against ours, including moi, the Duchess Genevi—"

"What's happening?" A knight queried.

I pointed at Genevi-something before any answer. "Stealers, they stole the National Library!"

"What—"

But before Drills could react, the knight rummaged through my backpack and found my most recent loot: Count Lugos' diary.

Over the course of a year, I'd been stealing the National Library forbidden books without getting caught, since I just kept the haul enough time to memorize it. However, the last one, I let myself be noticed, but it was printed in my memory anyway.

Even a duke family couldn't avoid the problem I'd caused. The mob were caught about to stone a straight-A student, and everybody snitched on each other. The case went to journals, so the school staff and students reached an agreement that Drills would be their scapegoat.

It sure was the end... for Drills.

◆◆◆

"Ossuary!"

With that spell, Enid cast a dome of bones to delay the inevitable.

As we both knelt under the pounds from outside, Enid said, "Vivi-san, let's run. We lost."

My answer was a tight hug. "You learned so fast! I'm the proudest big sis ever... but no."

Enid furrowed her eyebrows as I delved, "A villain never runs away before utter defeat. No matter how much the heroes bully you, Enid-chan, you don't flee until the very end... after all, even defeated, you can accomplish small victories."

"Do you want me to fight until I can't stay on my feet anymore?" Enid whooped as I broke the hug.

"Summed it up well." I held the chin out, crossing my arms. "But I'm aiming for utter victory."

Next, I whispered my plan behind my hands.

The dome was about to be destroyed when it detonated on our foes, shooting bone shards all over them, and left a small elf holding a crystal skull to the sky. "Morgue... Seance... Animate...!"

While the enemies were trying to recover, a small army of bat skeletons, zombies, and ghosts was summoned to the battlefield and formed an 'unliving chain' to hold the armors and gargoyles eager for elvish blood. Yet, our zombies could only serve as 'rotten meat shields' against the armors' weapons, as the skeletons and objects possessed by the ghosts were shattered by the gargoyles' claws.

However, I wasn't there. Once again we used Enid's Doorway to bypass our distracted enemies, allowing me to reach the tower entrance with two stinkies as escort. Since lightning might not strike twice, my loyal underling volunteered to be our bait... maybe too willingly.

After looking back for a sec, I rushed through the stares, with gems in hand, in case of a surprise enemy halfway.

Fight with all your might, darling, then run and hide like a true coward. We are villains, we don't need to win all the fights...

Once I reached the end of the stairway, a small group of armors was waiting for me at the door. With a gesture, my zombies jumped over the formers and blocked their advance just enough time for me to throw my purse at them, literally opening my way.

As the smoke dissipated, a hole where the door was appeared, showcasing an empty crypt adorned with scarlet curtains and lightened by the sunlight coming from their rips. The only furniture in the room was a weather-bitten coffin, but after hearing the chaos from outside, I dashed to open it, and there it was: a pearcut ruby of about two centimeters, or maybe less, shining dazzling as it reflected the sunbeams.

We only need to win once.

'Vampire,' unlike 'necromancer,' was one of the so-called 'Premium Classes.' They require unique items, such as an angel's feather or a dragon's heart, which could be used in rituals with magic circles and enchantments, or...

"Dammit," I gulped.

A way faster approach.

◇◇◇

I was in a situation of fun despair after Vivi-san said we'd need a bait to retrieve the bloodstone. The cunning Big Sis wanted to steal all the fun and let me go catch the stone, but my puppy eyes were convincing enough.

However, all my new and old undeads seemed defeated by the soulless enemies. As the gargoyles approached me like ligers and the armors, half-swording, I heard a flap.

"Time to face the final boss!" Vivi declared after landing with red demon wings.

The pale skin, the fangs coming out of her mouth, and even the dark circles... Vivi-san conquered the true beauty of a lady who just passed away from the pest.

"Honey, bend down."

"Y-Yeah!"

Once I and my zombies got down, Vivi-san yelled, "Blood Flap!" and used her wings to blast a red wave of air that tore the lifeless dolls apart in a second.

It seems Vivi-san studied a book named 'Vampire Guide for Dummies' that teaches how to use Vampire's cheats, but learning all the moves so well without previous practicing was really amazing.

"That was boringly easy... I hope I have more challenges in the future," Vivi hissed, turning her nose up.

"We won!" I cheered, raising my crystal plushie the highest I could.

Vivi's answer was leaning on her knees and asking, "I thought you wanted to be defeated, Enid-chan."

"Shroud the world with darkness will be funnier!"

Vivi's tender smile before my grin just made me smile harder.

The sweetest corpse!

"Vivi-san, how did you turn into this beautiful vampire so fast?" I questioned, hiding my smile under the skull plushie. "Wasn't the ritual too long?"

"I swallowed the bloodstone!" Vivi replied right away, replacing the smile with the eye of the tiger.

Swallowing something that could make you choke... I envy you, Big Sis!

Smiling once more, Vivi interjected, "Okay, Darling. How should I reward your achievements here?"

"Drink my blood!" I whooped without hesitation.

However, Vivi looked away. Her smile also looked... dryer (♡).

"Sorry, but I won't feed on my servants... my family then."

I pouted, but Vivi just prodded my cheek with her knuckle.

"But if you're interested in blood, I thought of an alternative."

Vivi then beckoned me to give my hand. Once I did it, she pierced her hand with her beautiful and slender claw, just enough to draw a drop of blood.

"Why the wince, Vivi-san?"

"Pain and disgust..." Vivi grumbled.

Next, Vivi shook my hand and chanted, "Blood Pact."

I couldn't help but quiver by realizing what just happened. "Am I...?"

"Sharing my cheats."

"Your slave!"

For one moment I could swear Vivi's face cracked like glass. Was she disappointed or shocked?

After recovering, Vivi grabbed my shoulders and cooed, "You are family, darling," before pointing ahead. "Now let's depart! My feast has just started!"

◇◇◇

Enid and I were successful, but there was still a matter to attend.

"Wow, did something hit you on the way to the... 'castle'?"

The coachman I'd abandon. We just returned to the plain through the tunnel, and there was the clown waiting for us in his seat in the carriage.

"Did Count Lugos suck all your blood? Or did you see a ghost and decide to cosplay it?"

"Crimson Gaze!" I cast, shutting the coachman's foul mouth with a trance.

"You sure have no taste!" I spoke, strutting towards the defenseless prey. "Enid-chan called me beautiful... Still, you'll be the first victim I shall taste!"

Once I reached the chatterbox, I sank my fangs on his neck and...

"Urrrgh! What an awful taste!"

His blood tasted like dirty water. For one second I hoped I'd never taste it ever again... until it hit me that my new diet would be that sludge, only.

Well, I asked for challenges... Life would be a boredom without obstacles, and the villain's life is full of them.

After spitting all the bad taste out of my mouth, I gulped and bit my victim again. A life full of hardships awaited me, but it was the life I'd chosen... No, it was the life I was born for!