I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 616 616: Mission Success

”Ah… ah… ah…”

I sucked in ragged breaths, my chest heaving as I stared at the sight in front of me.

Medusaʼs severed head lay a few meters away from her twitching body, her stone-cold eyes still wide open in a frozen mask of horror but clearly dead.

”Sheʼs… dead?”

Rodaʼs voice came from behind me, trembling and breathless. She sounded even more exhausted than I was as she stumbled closer.

”I sure hope so,” I muttered between gasps, forcing myself to stay upright.

I had beheaded her after all.

There was no way she could survive that. Right?

”What kind of shield did you even use? An ordinary one shouldnʼt have worked against her…” Roda asked, peering at me, confused.

I gave a half-smile.

Yeah, no kidding. Ordinary weapons wouldnʼt have stood a chance against her ability. But Aegis…

Aegis wasnʼt ordinary. That shield had saved my life more times than I could count. It had never broke until now.

I opened my mouth to answer, but before the words could leave my lips—

The ground began to tremble.

Violently.

No, that damn countdown!

I had completely forgotten.

”The whole damn place is gonna blow!” I shouted to Roda. ”We have to run—NOW!”

Without wasting another second, I sprinted ahead.

At this distance, we were practically sitting ducks. If we didnʼt get far enough away, weʼd be lucky to get out with just a few broken bones.

”Y-Yeah, Iʼm co—ugh!”

-Thud!

I skidded to a halt, whipping around just in time to see Roda collapse onto her knees.

Something was wrong.

She wasnʼt just exhausted.

She looked pained, clutching her eyes tightly like she was trying to tear something out.

A small anguished groan escaped her lips.

And then —

I felt it.

Beneath my feet, an ominous surge of mana, dense and twisted, gathered dangerously.

It was going to detonate.

No time to think.

I dashed back toward Roda, throwing myself over her and summoning Aegis behind us in one desperate, sweeping motion.

And then—

-BOOOOOOOOM!!!

A deafening roar drowned everything out, so loud it felt like it was tearing my eardrums apart.

The shockwave slammed into us with brutal force. Even with Aegis absorbing the brunt of it, I still felt my body being wrenched off the ground.

I clung to Roda as tightly as I could, shielding her with my arms, but we were both sent hurtling through the air.

Branches snapped. Trees cracked.

We crashed through them like skipping stones over a violent river until finally I hit the ground.

”Aghhh!”

A raw pained cry escaped from my throat as I tumbled across the dirt, the world spinning wildly around me.

I finally skidded to a stop, coughing up blood, my whole body screaming in pain.

Aegis flickered and disappeared from my hand, drained and spent.

Roda was somewhere behind me, but I couldnʼt move.

I couldnʼt even see straight.

My ears were still ringing like mad, a shrill, disorienting whine that made it impossible to focus.

My vision blurred at the edges, darkness creeping in that I was trying hard to shake away by shaking my head.

There was also a searing pain along my back. I didnʼt even need to check to know my armor had been shredded.

”Ugh…” Groaning once more, I dug my fingers into the dirt, trying to anchor myself.

That was truly reckless, getting hurt like this—but it had to be done.

Medusa was dead.

With a strained grunt, I shifted my battered body and slumped onto my back, desperately trying to catch my breath. My gaze rolled upward, catching a hazy glimpse of the devastation left in the explosionʼs wake.

That woman... she killed all these people.

And now Behemoth would undoubtedly learn of it—hopefully, not immediately.

”Roda,” I called out.

Receiving no response, I forced myself upright with another groan, turning toward where she lay.

Roda was slumped on the ground, unconscious. Fortunately, she didnʼt seem to have sustained severe injuries.

I staggered toward her and knelt at her side.

”Roda.”

At the sound of her name and a gentle shake of her shoulder, her brows furrowed. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

”E–Edward…?”

”We have to get out of here,” I said, standing and extending a hand toward her.

”Yes…” Roda mumbled, reaching up. I helped her to her feet, but she wobbled as she noticed the state of my injuries. Her expression darkened, and she bit her lip in guilt.

”W–Why... Iʼm sorry,” she whispered.

”Sorry? About what?” I asked, brushing it off.

”You could have died...” Roda said, her eyes fixated on my burned, torn back.

Yeah, it probably looked bad—hell, it felt bad—but honestly, it couldʼve been much worse.

”We came here knowing full well we might not make it back,” I reminded her. ”We chose to kill Medusa, whatever the cost.”

”I...” Roda hesitated as we hobbled forward together, my arm supporting her weight. ”I donʼt even belong to your timeline. This is your world... your life...”

I gave a soft chuckle despite the pain.

”Thatʼs no excuse to abandon you,” I said. ”That wouldʼve been a real bastard move. And you wouldʼve done the same for me, wouldnʼt you? Forget it. Weʼre alive. Medusa is dead. Our mission was a success.”

A small, tired grin appeared on my lips.

One thing, at least, had gone right.

Roda blinked in surprise when she noticed the grin on my face, her eyebrows lifting just slightly—then, after a heartbeat, she returned the smile with one of her own.

”I suppose… yes. It was a success,” she said, her voice still tinged with disbelief. ”Honestly, I didnʼt think it was even possible at first.”

”I made it possible,” I replied with a shrug.

Roda raised an eyebrow. ”I kind of helped, donʼt you think?”

”You did,” I acknowledged, giving her a nod. ”But what was that thing at the end?” I added, the image of her strange reaction still vivid in my mind. Something had been… off.

Rodaʼs expression shifted. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as though unsure how to explain it herself.

”That was… my Prophetess ability,” she said slowly. ”Itʼs strange. It reacted in a weird way, almost like it malfunctioned. I think itʼs because Iʼm from another timeline. Two Prophetesses existing in the same world at the same time—itʼs not supposed to happen.”

That made a strange kind of sense. I was about to mention how Claudia had once been a Prophetess too and had coexisted with Celeste… but then I remembered—that situation was different. Claudia had passed the mantle on. She was the predecessor, and Celeste was the current bearer of that title. Technically, there was only one active Prophetess now.

But Roda? She hadnʼt passed anything down. She was still in her prime, fully connected to that power—and now, Celeste was also nearing the peak of her abilities. Two Prophetesses reaching their height at the same time… yeah, that was definitely the kind of paradox the world might want to correct.

”You should probably avoid using your prophetic powers unless itʼs absolutely necessary,” I said.

Roda nodded, but her face tightened with a complicated look. There was turmoil in her eyes. I could only guess at what it felt like, knowing your own power might backfire just for existing.

To lighten the mood, I reached out and tugged playfully on her tail.

”...!” Rodaʼs body jolted as her face turned a shade of crimson, and she immediately shot me a glare full of fire and embarrassment.

”Why doesnʼt your tail disappear?” I asked, genuinely curious.

At that exact moment, her tail vanished into thin air.

…So she could summon it at will?

Huh. That was kind of neat.

After a brief silence, she glanced around and asked, ”How do we get back?”

”Iʼll contact Bryelle,” I replied, pulling out my device. ”Iʼll send her our coordinates so she can send us a boat. We shouldnʼt be too far from Sancta Vedelia, so with a bit of luck, weʼll get through.”

I hoped I was right. Sancta Vedelia is pretty cut off from the rest of the world—phones and normal communication didnʼt work across borders here, which was why Iʼd had to rely on old-fashioned letters to talk with Layla and the others.

”I still canʼt believe youʼre actually close with the Teraquins…” Roda muttered, still riling in disbelief as she walked beside me.

It made sense. The Teraquin family wasnʼt exactly known for casual friendships—especially not with people of my race. And given my current… involvement with Alvara, I didnʼt blame Roda for being thrown off.

She shot me a sideways glance. I was pretty sure she still hadnʼt come to terms with whatever was going on between me and Alvara. Her mind was probably running laps.

”I could say the same about you,” I said. ”Youʼre not the Roda I know.”

She tilted her head slightly, curious. ”Oh? Whyʼs that? Am I different here?”

I nodded a bit. ”Hard to say. I donʼt really know this worldʼs version of you all that well. If Iʼm being honest… I probably know you better than the Roda that exists here. She barely spoke to me. Most of her time was spent chasing after Victor, trying to get his attention.”

Rodaʼs expression shifted, clouding over with a shadow of something unreadable. Her lips parted slightly as if to say something, but no words came out.

I noticed the shift and was about to change the topic to something lighter, but—

I froze.

A sudden chill crept up my spine, so sharp and unnatural it made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Goosebumps erupted across my skin in an instant.

Roda stopped too, her posture stiffening. I didnʼt need to ask—she felt it too.

Together, we turned our gazes forward.

And there he was.

A figure stood in the middle of the path, cloaked in a long, jet-black robe that shifted like smoke against the light. His face—if he had one—was completely obscured. Darkness hung over his hood like a veil, fluid and rippling, as if it were alive. But even through that swirling shadow, we could both make out one thing with horrifying clarity:

A smile.