I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 458  [Event] [Semester-Exam At Vanadias] [End]

The moment Sephira spotted him, relief flooded her face, and all her earlier hesitation vanished. She ran straight toward him, throwing herself into his arms, gripping him as though he were the only thing grounding her to reality. For a moment, she forgot all her usual shyness, lost in the desperate need for comfort.

"B–Behemoth… I saw Hybrids, and they… they killed everyone except me…" Her voice trembled as she clung to him, her words spilling out in a breathless rush.

Images flashed in her mind—her small group surrounded, attacked without warning. A member of Behemoth descended, slaughtering the people with her. But then, when it was her turn, one of them had paused, coldly assessing her before leaving her unharmed. She could only guess that it had something to do with her race. Another elf, huddled nearby, had been spared as well.

"Where is he?" Sirius asked.

Sephira swallowed, turning back toward the scene. "Um… Cain took care of him…"

Behind her, standing motionless amid the body of a Hybrid, was Cain. Sirius met Cain\'s gaze, his eyes filled with quiet gratitude. "Thank you for the help, Cain."

Cain\'s expression remained unreadable. But then, he looked upward, and his gaze sharpened, as if sensing something far beyond what they could see.

Sirius followed his line of sight, his face hardening. The air above them thickened, charged with a pulse of mana so potent, so overwhelming, that it seemed to press down on them from all directions, seeping through the very air they breathed.

Sephira\'s face turned pale, and she clutched Sirius tighter. Her Half-Elf blood heightened her sensitivity to magic, and what she felt was monstrous—beyond anything she could have imagined. It wasn\'t just powerful; it was suffocating.

"W–What\'s happening…?" She whispered, her voice barely audible, her gaze fixed upwards in terror.

Someone was there, owner of this mana.

She could hardly believe someone with this much mana could exist.

***

"Senior! Please, listen to us!" Celeste\'s voice trembled as she joined Victor in a desperate attempt to convince Jennyfer they weren\'t pulling a prank.

But Jennyfer, still flustered from her earlier reaction, wasn\'t about to be fooled again. Her face hardened, and without a word, she lunged toward Celeste, lightning blade crackling in her grasp.

Celeste reacted instantly, swinging her own sword to summon a wall of glistening ice. The barrier formed just in time, but Jennyfer\'s lightning blade struck it with such ferocity that cracks spread like spider webs across the ice. The wall exploded into a thousand glittering shards, yet Celeste was no longer there.

With a swift leap, she had repositioned above Jennyfer, her blade descending in a swift arc. A surge of icy energy shot from her weapon, coating the tree Jennyfer stood on in a thick layer of frost. The entire tree froze solid, trapping Jennyfer within its crystalline surface.

For a moment, silence reigned, broken only by a faint crackling. Then, Jennyfer\'s mana surged, lightning coursing from her form and shattering the icy prison in an eruption of energy. Frost and ice fragments scattered into the air.

"You\'ve grown stronger…" Jennyfer muttered, her breath visible in the cold air. She\'d barely managed to shield herself with a layer of lightning in time, or the frost would have taken her completely.

"Can you please just listen to us?" Victor shouted again. "Behemoth is really attacking us! We\'re not making this up!"

A part of him regretted not having dragged one of the bodies along to prove it, but he knew that would have been both difficult and quite creepy.

-BOOOM!

Suddenly a massive explosion thundered through the air, the sheer force of it knocking all three to the ground. The shockwave ripped through the forest, blasting trees aside in a circle at least a hundred meters wide. Branches, leaves, and earth were thrown skyward, creating a whirlwind of debris.

Victor instinctively shielded Celeste, wrapping his arms around her as he squinted upward, his vision still hazy from the blast. He could feel Celeste trembling behind him, her eyes widening as she followed his gaze.

"W–What is…" Celeste\'s voice was faint as she looked up, still in Victor\'s protective embrace.

Above them, where the barrier had once stood, silver shards sparkled like scattered stars, remnants of the protective barrier that had been torn away. And in the midst of the destruction, hovering effortlessly in the air, was a figure—a handsome high elf with flowing silver hair and heterochromia eyes.

"Both of you! Get away from here!" Jennyfer shouted. She didn\'t know who this stranger was, but every instinct screamed that he was a threat unlike any they had ever faced.

She took a cautious step forward, her sword crackling with mana. "Who are you?!"

Victor, too, felt the ominous energy radiating from the elf above them. His eyes darkened to a crimson red, his face paling as he tapped into his bloodline, prepared for whatever might come.

"..."

Durathiel looked down at them.

And then it happened.

In an instant, Celeste\'s eyes flashed a blinding white as a vision seized her. She saw it with sickening clarity—Jennyfer, her blade fallen, a spear of energy piercing through her heart, her eyes wide with shock as she crumpled to the ground.

"Senior! Dodge!!" Celeste cried out.

Jennyfer shivered, a chilling sensation creeping down her spine as she instinctively stepped to the side.

—Spurt!

But she was a fraction too late. A silver blade pierced her abdomen, sending a shock of agony through her. She had narrowly avoided a fatal blow, yet the wound was severe. A cold, silver energy pulsed from the blade, seeping into her wound and inhibiting her mana, leaving her vulnerable.

Gritting her teeth, she fought back the rising panic. Desperation surged within her, and before it was too late, she activated her bloodline. Her hair blanched to a stark white, and her eyes flared with an electric blue glow. White lightning crackled fiercely around her wound as she struggled to remain upright, pushing back against the numbing force within her.

The attack had left her badly weakened, and she collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily.

"Senior!" Celeste cried, rushing toward Jennyfer.

"Celeste, no!" Victor\'s voice was filled with dread as he tried to intercept her, his instincts screaming that something was wrong. But it was too late.

Durathiel\'s cold gaze had shifted, his eyes now locked onto Celeste. Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

"Celeste Indi Zestella," he called. "Prophetess of the Holy Tree of Eden. From this moment on, you belong to Utopia."

Before anyone could react, Durathiel vanished—and in the next instant, he was standing beside them.

"...!"

Victor moved on pure instinct, swinging his sword in a deadly arc aimed at Durathiel\'s head. His speed was impressive, even to Durathiel, who raised a silver blade in response, deflecting the attack with ease.

"You must be Victor Raven," Durathiel muttered. "I have no intention of killing you. Stand aside."

Victor\'s eyes narrowed, his grip on his sword tightening. He didn\'t fully understand Durathiel\'s intentions, but he had no intention of allowing Celeste to be taken.

—BOOM!

With a fierce yell, Victor\'s sword erupted in a surge of blood and flame, engulfing Durathiel\'s form in a fiery explosion. But as the smoke cleared, Durathiel was already floating above the forest once more a short distance away, unscathed.

\'This is bad…\'

Victor\'s knuckles turned white around his sword. He could feel it—the chasm between his strength and Durathiel\'s. This was no ordinary foe.

"Celes, take Jennyfer and get as far away from here as you can."

Victor\'s heart pounded as he glanced at Celeste. He knew why they were here—she was their target. The Prophetess of Eden, a prize too valuable to let slip away. As her close friend and a resident of Sancta Vedelia, he couldn\'t let Utopia take her.

"W–What?! I will never leave you alone—"

"He won\'t kill me!" Victor snapped.

There was no time to argue, no time for friendship or sentimentality. This was Utopia they were facing, and the threat was far graver than they had ever encountered.

"Trust me, Celeste," Victor continued seriously. "I\'m sure he can\'t kill me for some reason."

Durathiel\'s gaze narrowed.

"So go!" Victor shouted.

Celeste hesitated, her heart twisting painfully as she glanced between Victor and Jennyfer. But she knew the stakes were too high. Clenching her teeth, she wrapped her arm around Jennyfer\'s shoulders and began to retreat.

"Do you think that just because I can\'t kill you, I won\'t leave you half-dead and take her anyway?" Durathiel lowered his sword, pointing it down as a wind began gathering at its tip.

Victor braced himself, raising his own weapon to block whatever attack was coming.

But in that instant, Celeste\'s eyes flashed white—another vision. She saw it: Victor\'s arm being severed in the blink of an eye.

"Victor!"

—BAM!

A powerful gust of wind slammed into Victor as he barely reacted but he was, hurled backward through the forest. His body crashed against several trees, the impact leaving him sprawled on the ground, blood trickling from his mouth.

"Victor!" Celeste couldn\'t bear to watch it, and escape felt impossible with Jennyfer wounded beside her. She lowered Jennyfer gently to the ground and raised her blade, preparing to fight.

"It\'s useless—" Durathiel said dismissively, but then his gaze shifted, his attention snapping to his left.

A massive orb of purple fire blazed through the air toward him.

With a swift motion, Durathiel summoned an immense wave of mana, his silver sword slicing through the fireball, splitting it in two. But as the flames dissipated, a figure leaped through, sword blazing with amber light.

"A–Amael!" Celeste gasped.

Amael\'s gaze was fixed solely on Durathiel. His face was pale, marks of the Raven Arts active. Four burning rings spiraled around Perseus.

—BOOOOM!

Amael swung his sword, and Durathiel parried, the clash creating a powerful shockwave that rippled through the forest.

Amael, unable to stay airborne, began to fall. But just as Durathiel prepared to strike, something unseen wrapped around his ankle, yanking him downward at incredible speed. He crashed to the ground, landing just before Amael.

Seizing the opportunity, Amael adjusted his stance and unsheathed Trinity Nihil. Celeste\'s breath caught as she recognized the familiar blade, the same weapon that had protected her when Amael had been in a trance.

\'I will kill him.\' At that moment, Amael let go of every calculated plan and plot—his mind consumed with one purpose: to kill Durathiel. White sand coiled tightly around Trinity Nihil, its weight bearing down on his arm with an intense strain, but he ignored the pain. His amber eyes glowed as he glared down at Durathiel, who stood waiting below.

Durathiel\'s heterochromatic eyes narrowed as he noticed the white aura surrounding what seemed to be a Holy Sword. The emblem on his right hand, a glistening silver symbol of Sloth, began to glow.

A sudden pang struck Amael\'s heart as he locked eyes with the emblem, but he pressed forward. With a silver gleam, Durathiel conjured a sword—beautiful, cold, and shimmering with the deadly Sin of Sloth.

"Sin of Sloth," Durathiel uttered, lifting the sword. For an instant, the air itself seemed to freeze.

Celeste\'s face went pale, a dreadful familiarity sweeping over her—the same feeling she\'d felt when Amael had once lost himself in a trance.

[<Amael!>] Cleenah\'s warning changed Amael\'s aim immediately. Sensing the danger, he wrapped himself in the protective coil of white sand, raising Trinity Nihil before him.

Durathiel\'s lips rose a little, as he swung his sword upward. The blade shimmered as it sliced through the air, seemingly cutting through space itself in an arc that reached straight toward Amael.

Amael\'s barrier of white sand barely withstood the assault; it shattered with a force that echoed through the air. In the end, Trinity Nihil bore the brunt of the attack, but the impact sent Amael hurtling upward, pain coursing through him like wildfire.

"A–Amael!" Celeste cried, rushing forward.

Durathiel, however, appeared midair behind Amael in the blink of an eye. Amael gritted his teeth, quickly raising Trinity Nihil once more to shield himself.

"Sin of Sloth."

"Ugh!"

The power washed over Amael, a wave of heavy, nauseating energy. Amael\'s muscles tensed painfully as he felt the oppressive weight of Sloth bearing down on him.

"Fuck this!"

"You should have stayed out of my business, low-race," Durathiel sneered, his eyes filled with contempt.

—BOOOOOOM!

The next blow struck with catastrophic force. Amael\'s vision blurred as a searing pain ripped through his chest, blood spurting from a fresh, deep wound. Despite his attempts to shield himself, Durathiel\'s attack broke through, sending him flying like a comet through the skies. His body sailed at a dizzying speed, away from Vanadias, beyond Sancta Vedelia, and toward the distant ocean.

He barely remained conscious, the vast expanse of blue rushing up to meet him before darkness claimed him. His body fell limply, crashing thousands of meters from the shores of Sancta Vedelia, swallowed by the relentless waves.

Celeste\'s eyes filled with horror, her face paling as she watched Amael vanish beyond the horizon. Tears began to well in her eyes, sparkling as they blurred her vision.

"AMAEL!!!"

Durathiel\'s gaze sharpened as he propelled himself toward Amael\'s unconscious, falling form, his intent clear: to finish him off, his instincts told him that he shouldn\'t be left alive.

But before he could close the distance, an unseen force stopped him cold. It felt as though an impenetrable wall had risen before him, and in an instant, he sensed a presence unlike any he\'d ever encountered.

A woman stood in his way, her figure bathed in a soft, ethereal glow. Long, glossy green hair floated around her, and her vibrant green eyes, otherworldly, stared directly at him, devoid of emotion. She radiated a beauty so profound that it seemed almost unreal, and for the first time, a shiver of genuine fear traced down Durathiel\'s spine.

At the same time he felt like he was going to fall in love if he looked at her too long.

With a slow motion, Cleenah raised her hand.

"Don\'t touch him with your filthy hands."

—BOOOOM!

Durathiel barely had time to raise his sword, activating the Sin of Sloth in attempt to shield himself. But the force of her attack was unlike anything he\'d felt before. He was launched backward, hurtling through the air at bullet speed, crashing violently into the distant reaches of Vanadias, far from where he\'d last stood.

The woman\'s gaze flickered momentarily, her hand seemingly turning translucent before it returned to solid form. She glanced at her hand, expression unreadable, before turning her gaze toward the distant ocean, where Amael had disappeared beneath the waves.

…

…

Amael was sinking. Even in his unconscious state, he felt the crushing weight of water pressing in around him, dragging him deeper and deeper into the dark ocean depths. His lungs burned, his body felt heavy, and each second pushed him further from the shores of Sancta Vedelia.

Then, in the darkness, something nudged against him. His eyelids fluttered open, and he caught a glimpse of a massive, shadowy figure moving through the water. He couldn\'t make out its form, but shimmering blue eyes met his—a gaze that felt ancient.