Transmigrating as an Extra Third-Rate Villain

Reaching into his pocket, the demon clenched his fist before reopening it, revealing countless cards between his fingers.

Throwing the cards right at me like a shuriken, the demon turned away briefly, manifesting more cards and sending them right at me.

Standing completely still, I looked forward, dismissing my two daggers and summoning my corrupted bow.

At the same time, I had already begun to calculate the perfect route my two arrows would need to take to hit intercept every card.

Nocking one of my two arrows, I sent it flying straight at the five cards nearest me, as they were all lined up perfectly.

Not skipping a beat, I nocked another arrow and aimed towards the right. Release the soft and elastic string from my hands, I watched the second arrow hit the first two cards before bouncing off one of the trees at the edge of the illuminated spot and hitting the other three perfectly.

Scanning the area, I frantically looked around for the demon, but he was nowhere to be seen, once again avoiding me despite my enhanced eyesight.

If they could spare a demon to deal with outliers like me, there must be tons of demons attacking the World Tree right now.

Could Lily, the main cast, and the Elven queen defend all of them?

Or would they have underestimated the number of demons due to Lily's book knowledge and not been prepared, leading to their loss in the fight?

In any case, I had to get back to the clearing as soon as possible.

*THUMP~THUMP*

Instantly turning around to the source of the noise, I saw the demon perched on one of the trees like me earlier with an umbrella facing towards me, blocking his lower body.

Nocking one of my arrows, I aimed at the demon and released the arrow, barrelling right at him.

Activating the dash's usage period, I prepared for his attempt to dodge by aiming my other arrow at his right side.

But, he simply stood still.

Keeping the arrow still nocked in my bow, I watched the demon stand unfazed in front of my streaking arrow.

Holding my breath, I watched the arrow get nearer and nearer to the demon unit, and finally, it was right in front of him.

*SPLUNK~SPLUNK*

The arrow passed right through his body like he was a hologram before lodging itself in the tree behind him.

"...a hologram...?"

Under the pressure of my arrow, the tree's trunk instantly cracked, slanting to the right and on the verge of completely collapsing.

Ignoring the tree, I gazed around the clearing before instantly finding the demon again... and another demon and another one.

Three demons were perched on a branch of a different tree, watching me as if I were a museum exhibit.

Attempting to discern the identity of the real demon, I looked up at the one nearest to me and asked.

"Aren't you the one supposed to be putting on the play? It seems like I'm the one doing all the work here."

However, in response, they all opened their mouths at the same time, perfectly timing their voices in unison.

"I need to set the exposition, don't I? Don't worry, you won't be ready for rising action."

...Freytag's pyramid?

How did he know about that?

Was that really a thing in this world, too?

The pyramid describes the events that take place in a piece of literature: the exposition, which is the background and setting, and the rising actions, which are the time used to build up to the climax.

He knew about all that... yet he got it wrong.

Genuinely curious about whether he knew about the full Freytag pyramid, I corrected him.

"I think you mean the inciting incident...also the pyramid is used for works of literature not plays and dramas..."

Standing still, I watched the three figures open their mouths for a second, trying to dispute my claim before immediately closing them.

"...h-how do you know that?"

Was the Freytag pyramid some rare concept in this world or something? That would explain why I didn't know about its existence while a demon of some powerful organizations did.

"..? Because I do. Is there a problem?"

Staring at me with a dazed expression for a second, the three figures simultaneously shook their heads before stammering around.

"N-no, let's just continue this, alright?"

...Are all demons this... civil?

He's making sure I'm ready before he continues the fight..? Was this an intermission or whatever it's called?

"yeah...I'm ready."

As I nodded my head, the three figures instantly sprung into action. Each one of them took off their top hat, and their open umbrella began shining an elegant gold hue.

After examining the three, I decided that winning quickly was more important than keeping my abilities a secret.

Even if they were winning, what if I returned to the World Tree, and all the power-ups were gone?

All of this would be for nothing!

Conserving my mana for the fight, I combined the blood-red substance with my corruption, manifesting a mixed wing on my right shoulder.

At the same time, each umbrella lost its gold hue as a beam appeared from the middle of each umbrella, steadily heading towards me.

Staring at the three beams: one to my right, one to my left, and one right at me, I carefully decided my next actions.

Since two of the figures using the gold beam were holograms, wouldn't their attacks also be holograms?

So, two out of three of these attacks would do nothing to me...wouldn't that be true?

If I wanted to, I could flap my wing several times to maneuver around all three beams to dodge them.

But that just put me on the defensive again, as he could prepare another attack while I was dodging.

Raising my head, I slowed, allowing myself more time to think as the gold beams slowed, still approaching me but at less than half their original pace.

Recalling the initial time I had hit the holographic figure, I compared that scenario in my head to the one in front of me, using my eyes to examine all the abnormalities.

After a moment, a smile, unconscious, appeared on my face.

"I think... I got it."

Well, even if I didn't, I still had a 66% chance of choosing the holographic ones!

I had been quite unlucky recently, hadn't I? I guess some good luck has to balance it out now!