"Well, I no longer have any use for-" Amon stopped mid-sentence, a frown forming as his hand instinctively went to his waist. His sword was gone. Panic flickered in his eyes. He patted, searched, and clawed at every part of his body, then scanned the carriage interior frantically.
"Where is it? Where is my sword?!" he finally snapped, voice rising like a whip. The two creatures exchanged nervous glances.
"The sword?" the girl mumbled, confused.
"Ah, right… It was thrown away when you were kicked, and then our carriage ran over it, and it… broke into two," the wolf boy said, almost proudly, as if it were an achievement. The girl clamped her hands over his mouth as soon as she saw the barely restrained rage seething from Amon.
"Guess you're lucky," Amon huffed, chest rising and falling as he tried to calm himself. "Stop the carriage."
The words barely left his lips before the girl screamed at the top of her lungs. The carriage shuddered and came to a halt. Amon stomped toward the door and kicked it open. He leaned out but suddenly grabbed both sides of the frame to steady himself.
If he stepped out, he would have fell into his death. He was…in high of the sky.
Below him stretched the city lights, like stars mirrored on the ground. For a moment, his face went blank. He had expected absurdity with three strange creatures, but this… this was beyond anything he had imagined.
"Oh… we're already at the Sky Bridge," the girl said, looking down, her hair and the carriage drapes tugged violently by the wind.
"Sky Bridge?" Amon repeated.
"Yeah, the bridge that connects the outside with Phobos Academy. I suggest you wait until we reach the academy, then you can kick the door again and get out," the girl said, closing the door as the carriage began to move once more.
Amon stared at her.
"Actually, we were searching for an exact villain candidate, but it seems you accidentally got mixed up with us. We'd like to apologize for that," she added, stepping back, a faint hint of professionalism entering her words.
The wolf boy busied himself collecting the skeleton's bones, placing them together carefully until, almost magically, they reassembled and began ugh being alive again?
"After we land, we'll request a ride back for you, so please bear with us," she said politely.
Amon crossed his arms over his chest. "Villain candidate?"
The girl blinked. "Uh… yes. We forgot to introduce ourselves. We're first years from Phobos Academy, the greatest academy of villains, and we were searching for a villain candidate for our class named, ugh… what was his name again?" She finally looked to the wolf boy for help.
He looked up, brushing a loose strand of hair from his eyes as the skeleton leaned against the wall, panting slightly. "Ugh… right. Deimos Amon is his name," he said matter-of-factly, while both the girl and skeleton stared deadpan.
Amon blinked. "…???"
"S-so that means-?!" The girl's eyes went wide. "You… really are the right candidate? We didn't pick wrong?!"
The boy deadpanned. "Eh… what are you talking about, Gina? His name is Amon Deimos, not Deimos Amon."
For the first time in his life, Amon faceplanted against his forehead. God, he could not deal with this nonsense anymore.
"You goddamn FOOL!!" Gina snapped, throwing her hands in the air. "It was just his name with the surname in front! Aaah… damn fools! Why do I have to work with you idiots?!"
Amon exhaled slowly, eyes half-closed as he looked at the three of them, his patience finally at its limit. "…So… am I a villain now?"
But before anyone could answer, the carriage came to a sudden halt, the wheels screeching slightly against the metal rails. Amon didn't move. He leaned forward slightly as his eyes fixed on them.
"Explain?" he demanded, leaving no room for excuses.
Gina finally sighed, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
"As I said, we were looking for a villain candidate for our new semester. Each class has six members. If we don't fill them, the academy won't consider the class qualified. Already assigned members are searched to see if new candidates are needed to fill the gaps. We find them through the Villain Scroll… It's a record of almost every villain across worlds. And… um… your name was on it, so-"
"Am I a villain?" Amon interrupted, raising a single eyebrow in a flat tone, "All I've done is punish traitors or troublemakers."
The three stiffened again at the coldness in his tone. Why am I a villain? Amon thought, frowning. Shouldn't I be more of an anti-hero type? Confusion flickered across his face.
The wolf-eared boy finally opened a scroll, unrolling it carefully, the edges fluttering in the breeze from the carriage's open window.
"Deimos Amon, from Earth 001. The third son of the current king of the Deimos Kingdom… ugh, so you're… a royal," he muttered, scanning the lines.
"Deemed a high-ranked villain. Deeds: killing, blackmailing, manipulating, spreading fear, mass murder, torturing-"
"Enough," Amon said, pressing his palm against his forehead, his patience fraying.
"So… because of this, I am now chosen for whatever this… stupid academy?" he asked, voice dripping with disbelief.
"It's not stupid! It's the best academy in the world for future villains," the girl said, puffing her chest out. It didn't really change anything, well, Ahem, her chest was flat, but she carried herself with the conviction of a warrior. Very admirable.
"To think we actually succeeded in taking Amon," the skeleton muttered quietly, its jaw rattling. "I always thought the name sounded familiar…"
Amon tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable.
"Well… this isn't the first time the academy tried to recruit you," Gina said in a serious tone. "People before us tried, but none of them came back."
"I never met anyone," Amon replied, calm as ever, in his usual flat voice.
"Of course you don't! How should you meet them when you kill them before they even speak?!" Gina practically shouted, disbelief written across her face. Amon looked away, avoiding her gaze.
"Do not act innocent!" she snapped again.
Finally, Amon relaxed. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back casually against the carriage door. "So… you want me to fill in the numbers of your class, huh?" he asked flatly. The other three nodded quickly, tension radiating off them.
They were clearly anxious. What if he says no? They must have thought. Of course he'd say no… and probably kill all of us.
"Very well," Amon said after a beat in a casual tone, "I shall grant you that wish." A flicker of amusement glinted in his usually flat eyes. Slowly, a smirk tugged at his lips. "I was already bored out of my mind with politics anyway."
The three stared at him, unsure whether to be relieved, terrified, or both. Amon, as ever, seemed perfectly unbothered by their anxiety, because for him, the absurdity of the world had become merely… entertaining.