I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 343  [Event] [Dolphian Kingdom Under Ruins] [29] My Hope

”Show a little more happiness,” Edward asked, a smile on his lips.

”...what?” John replied, his expression hard.

Both of their hands were bound, treated like criminals and guarded closely aboard a ship.

Destination: Sancta Vedelia.

”I said, try to be happy about being with your brother-in-law,” Edward repeated.

”Fuck off,” John shot back.

Sitting on the cold, damp ground, John rested his arm on his knee with an annoyed expression.

”Itʼs also for Laylaʼs sake,” Edward reminded John, his tone serious.

”I know. I just despise this Game,” John admitted.

”What donʼt you hate?” Edward scoffed. ”Except Layla, of course.”

”You seem too carefree, Edward, considering how the First Game ended,” John said but didnʼt finish, noting the stiffness in Edwardʼs expression.

After all, it had barely been a month since Thomenʼs and Elonaʼs deaths.

”Maybe things would have been different if youʼd helped me from the start,” Edward said, his tone indifferent.

”You had your goals, I had mine. I wouldnʼt risk Laylaʼs safety for this wretched Kingdom,” John replied coldly.

”You sound more mature. What kind of mental torture did that idiot King put you through?” Edward arched a brow.

John remained silent.

The truth was, Elonaʼs death weighed heavily on his mind. She had been a childhood acquaintance, and her loss, along with Edwardʼs imprisonment, had deeply affected Layla. Belle Falkrona had been trying to help Layla and Miranda cope, but it was difficult even for her, as she mourned her brother and niece.

”You want Laylaʼs safety as much as I do, but Iʼm sure youʼre not foolish enough to think you can guarantee it, regardless of the events of the Second and Third Games,” Edward continued. ”You can escape Celesta to avoid the First Gameʼs ending. You can even flee the continent of Sancta Vedelia to some remote island to escape the Second Gameʼs bad ending. But if we donʼt stop the Third Gameʼs bad ending... I donʼt know much about it, but Iʼm sure it wonʼt bode well for this world.” John clenched his fists.

He hadnʼt fully participated in the Third Game, but he knew its ending all too well.

”What do you propose then?” John asked.

Edward smiled. ”We keep our cool. Stay calm and collected. You can fight back, but donʼt go overboard. There are plenty of dangerous enemies in there. Acting recklessly right from the start would be foolish.”

”Slow and steady, then,” John agreed.

”Yeah. Personally, I might need some time before I can awaken my Olphean Bloodline. Until then, Iʼd prefer to keep it under wraps and maintain a ʼcalmʼ facade as best I can. You should do the same. Alfred isnʼt around so you better work on your anger issues,” Edward advised.

”Tch,” John clicked his tongue irritably. ”And who killed the Kingʼs brother in a fit of rage?”

”Iʼm pretty sure you wouldʼve done the same if the roles were reversed,” Edward retorted, shooting John a glare.

”What the hell…”

Meanwhile, the other prisoners listened intently to their conversation, with their mouths wide open not understanding a single bit.

John scoffed before something crossed his mind, causing him to fix Edward with a piercing stare.

”Just know that Iʼll never trust you completely, Edward. It was true in Celesta, and itʼll be even more so in Sancta Vedelia. Youʼve played this Game before; Iʼm sure you understand what I mean,” John warned.

”I know, and I wouldnʼt expect anything less from you,” Edward replied with a smile.

”Then youʼd better understand that I wonʼt let you disrupt the plot again. You can intervene if necessary, but it must remain predictable, or weʼll end up with similar outcomes.”

”I know that. But first, we need to gain the strength to awaken our abilities,” Edward agreed.

”Iʼm working on it, just like you should be. You have three Legacies, right?” John asked.

”Even if I do, itʼs complicated,” Edward replied. John snorted. ”Whatever god sent you here certainly favored you compared to me.”

”Are you sulking now? Shall I remind you of the destruction you caused in Celesta alongside Layla in her Villainessʼ route?” Edward shot back.

”Iʼm not the same ʼJohnʼ,” John retorted.

”Then Iʼm not the same ʼEdwardʼ,” Edward countered.

A tense silence settled between Edward and John as they locked eyes, until Edward lowered his cuffed hands to the ground.

”John, youʼre a reincarnator just as much as I am. Iʼm sure you understand, like I do deep inside, that we canʼt erase the parts of ourselves that have always been in ʼtheirʼ genes, or whatever you want to call it. Perhaps... I donʼt know. Maybe accepting it could help us fully inhabit these bodies,” Edward suggested.

John bowed his head slightly. ”...maybe.”

***

-BOOOOM!

”Vysindraʼs Burning Claws!” I summoned a mana circle and unleashed fiery claws towards Lomar.

His hand swiftly countered the attack. ”You are weak,” he stated coldly.

-BAM!

Surprise flickered in Lomarʼs eyes as I appeared behind him, landing a punch on his back. However, his Prana-protected back remained unscathed.

”Blazing Sword of Vysindra,” I thrust my sword towards him, but his tail deflected the burning blade.

Lomar turned to face me, his expression contorted. ”You dare to attack me?”

”Youʼre rather noisy, Lomar,” I retorted, widening my smirk as I swung my leg towards his side.

-BAM!

Though he shifted slightly, he didnʼt seem greatly affected.

”A weakling like yo-”

I thrust my right palm forward. ”Giant Fireball of Vysindra.”

-BOOOOM!

A purple fireball erupted, engulfing him and sending shockwaves through the air. As the smoke cleared, Lomar stood a meter from his original position, his tail coiled defensively around him.

”Your weak attacks wonʼt-” Lomar began.

”Vysindraʼs Reverse Foot Claws.”

-BAM!

I launched myself forward, delivering a powerful kick to his stomach, causing him to slide back slightly.

”Pathetic trash!!!” Lomarʼs frustration showed as his tail coiled around my leg, his sting threatening to pierce me.

Not good.

His poison could easily incapacitate me.

”Samara!” Invisible arms emerged, catching Lomarʼs tail.

He frowned, sensing the resistance.

-BOOOM!

A surge of Prana burst from his body, causing me to grimace.

I summoned white sand around my hand and punched out.

-BOOOOM!

Lomar staggered back several meters.

With my leg freed, I kicked off the ground, gathering more white sand.

Lomar touched his bruised cheek, blood staining his mouth as he glared at me.

”First Movement.” I snapped my wrist, shaping the white sand into a ring.

Lomarʼs eyes widened as he watched the vibrating sand ring.

”Scared, are you?” I taunted, sneering.

Lomarʼs expression turned icy as he gathered mana, summoning a massive mana circle before me. From it, a torrent of dark, sticky hands surged at incredible speed.

Time seemed to crawl as I saw the hands closing in on me.

But my white sand swiftly formed a barrier in front of my body, shielding the vital areas and blocking the hands.

”Come on! Youʼre a Behemoth Commander, yet youʼre hiding—”

”Trash,” Lomar interrupted, appearing above me as his tail lashed out.

”Blazing Wall of Vysindra,” I countered with my other hand, deflecting his tail, but not before it tore a sizable chunk of flesh from my left arm.

Ignoring the poison numbing my left arm, I flinched my hand.

”Ring.”

The Sand Ring shot towards Lomar, embedding itself in his chest.

There was a moment of silence before—

-BOOM!

Lomar vanished from my sight, hurtling towards the ceiling at bullet speed.

”UARGH!” He spat blood, a circular scar forming on his chest.

”Getting beaten so pathetically by trash? That must be humiliating for a Behemoth Commander. Or perhaps youʼre the weakest among them?”

”…!”

Lomarʼs mouth hung open wide.

-BOOM!

I dodged his Prana beam with a leap, but as I looked up, his fist filled my vision.

Fast!

”Ugh!” I hit the ground hard, unable to evade the blow.

”Fucking human trash!”

-BAM!

I rolled to my left, dodging the tail, but another one sprouted from his back and ensnared my left arm.

”A-Amael!!” Celesteʼs voice rang out with concern.

I reached out for the white sand, attempting to form a ring, but my right arm was also trapped by another tail.

Lomarʼs imposing figure hovered over me, his main tail poised ominously in front of my chest, a dark energy swirling at its tip.

[]

”…!”

My left arm was numb, and my right was ensnared by his tail.

I called upon Samaraʼs arms, but they were swiftly countered by his second tail.

”Anathemas Fire!!!” I poured all the mana I could gather into a massive pillar of fire, aiming to engulf Lomar, but he coiled around his tail, his smirk turning into a cold glare as his tail began to freeze.

To my left, Celeste staggered, her hand outstretched.

”Leave him!!!”

”AHAHAAHAH! LOOK AT HIM DYING!!” Lomarʼs laughter echoed.

-BOOOOM!

His tail glowed a foreboding red as it shot towards my chest, piercing my heart.

But Lomar abruptly stopped laughing, sensing something amiss.

”…!”

A massive force rippled behind him as his tail intercepted Trinity Nihil, preventing it from piercing his back.

My body dissolved into particles of sand on the ground, and I reappeared behind him.

Damn it.

Surprising freaks like him doesnʼt seem to work, huh?

Gripping Trinity Nihil tightly, I pushed deeper, but Lomarʼs tail, despite bleeding profusely, resisted.

-Spurt!

Suddenly, Lomarʼs second tail pierced my left side.

I glared at him, pushing through the pain to thrust Trinity Nihil forward. His main tail was slowly disintegrating under the Holy Blade.

”You... bastard!!!”

-SPURT!

His third tail pierced my stomach.

”UAGH!” I spat out a mouthful of blood, his poison corrupting my internal organs completely.

I just wanted to close my eyes forever.

Lomarʼs calm demeanor soon paled as he saw the shining blade nearing his heart.

”RELEASE!!!”

-BOOOOOOOOOM!

I was hurled away at tremendous speed, crashing against the wall due to the sheer amount of Prana surrounding Lomar.

His entire appearance shifted, his strength multiplying several times over.

I had never witnessed so much Prana surrounding someone before.

He grew taller and bulkier, fangs sprouting in his mouth, his eyes turning pitch black.

”KRAAAAAAH!” He unleashed a deafening scream, sending shockwaves of Prana rippling out, eliciting a response from the Behemothʼs Horn.

”A-Amael?!” Celeste crawled to me, clutching her stomach.

She appeared to be poisoned as well.

She shouldnʼt even be alive, but her Prophetess powers might be weakening the poisonʼs effects significantly.

My face lay against the ground, but I forced my body to turn, facing the ceiling.

Soon, Celesteʼs pale, tear-streaked face replaced my vision.

”I-I…!” She reached out her hand to my wounds as a soothing breeze seemed to cover them.

”...are you an…idiot? I have internal wounds, not external…” I muttered, grimacing.

Celeste bit her lip, her hand resting on my stomach, where dark blood seeped out.

”W-Why… why did you come…?” She asked, her voice trembling.

I didnʼt answer.

Celeste nodded slightly, tears choking her voice. ”I… understand. I-I will give up my status as Prophetess… I-I will give up my faith in the Holy Tree…”

”...what?” I frowned.

”A-Another Prophetess will be born, just like when Mama died, a-and you can protect her… so now leave…” Celeste pleaded.

Oh.

I understand now…

She seems to have interpreted my words and desires regarding the Prophetess.

”...what are you blabbering about?”

I tightened my grip on Trinity Nihil.

The poison slowed down, numbing all the pain.

”...I donʼt want the Prophetess,” I mumbled, raising my upper body.

”…B-But…”

I regarded her seriously. ”I want you. I want you to be the Prophetess. Only you are acceptable. You are the best suited. No, you are the only one truly meant for it…”

”…!” Celesteʼs eyes widened as more tears streamed down her cheeks.

Stabbing Trinity Nihil into the ground, I painfully rose to my feet.

”…because you are Sancta Vedeliaʼs Hope.” I gently patted her hair before turning away.

”And my Hope.”

For this world.

”Youʼve finished your transformation, huh?” I called out, but he didnʼt respond.

He seemed in a trance-like state.

I extended my left arm.

”Itʼs my turn then.”

Gripping Trinity Nihil with my right arm, I cut the cuff around my left wrist and did the same for my right wrist.

The ground rumbled violently as I did so.

Lastly, I retrieved the black coin hanging around my neck as a pendant.

A gift from my mother before she handed me over to Oryanna Olphean and Thomen Falkrona, sending me to Celesta.

She sealed away all traces of my Olphean Bloodline for the right moment for my well-being.

”War Goddess, Athena,” I raised the coin high above my head. ”Bestow upon me once more your pure Bloodline and release me from my stigma.”