I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 617 617: Jack Rengel, Eye of Xenos Arvatra

A tense, suffocating silence filled the air as Roda and I stared at the figure standing before us.

I loosened my grip on her arm, my body reacting before my mind could catch up. Every instinct I had was screaming—no, begging me to run. Now.

Whoever this guy was… he wasnʼt just strong.

He was a monster.

A terrifying, insurmountable presence pressed down on me like a mountain. Even if I used both the Sloth and Wrath Sins, even if I threw every trick I had at him, I wouldnʼt stand a chance. I felt that truth settle deep in my bones like frost.

Then he spoke.

”Well, well… I was wondering what happened to my dear little Medusa.”

His voice was odd—distorted and flat, like a recording played back on broken speakers. No emotion, no cadence. Just hollow words.

And then, slowly, he raised his hand.

In it dangled a head—Medusaʼs head—her eyes closed forever and her neck slick with blood that still dripped in slow, glistening trails onto the ground.

”Sheʼs dead, I see,” he muttered, gazing at the severed head with an air of mock melancholy. ”Such a shame.”

But even as he spoke those words, there was a twisted delight hidden behind them. He sounded almost… pleased.

And then his attention shifted. His gaze fell directly on us.

”Now then,” he said, ”who do we have here?”

Roda and I instinctively straightened, shoulders tight, spines stiff. Our instincts were in overdrive.

”Amael Idea Olphean,” he said, locking eyes with me. ”And… an intruder from a foreign timeline. Alone. And you managed to kill Medusa and destroy her lab all by yourself? Thatʼs impressive.”

He actually started clapping.

Slow claps that echoed far too loud in the stillness.

I didnʼt respond. My hand moved to my weapon by reflex, and Trinity Nihil gleamed as I drew it.

”Who the hell are you?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from trembling.

”Oh, where are my manners?” he replied with a soft chuckle. He brought one hand to his chest and offered a theatrical little bow. ”You may call me Jack Rengel. Iʼm one of the Eyes of the Great Lord Xenos Arvatra.”

My grip on Trinity Nihil tightened.

”Youʼre with the Iris Project, then?” I asked coldly.

”Indeed. I was saved—resurrected, in fact—by Lord Xenos three hundred years ago. A miracle of sorts. Sadly, he was later slain by that wretched King of Celesta by cowardly means.”

He pressed his palm to his forehead sorrowfully.

He was talking about the Third Great Holy War.

Behind me, Roda leaned in, grasping my arm as she whispered.

”Edward… heʼs one of the Iris Projectʼs leaders,” she muttered, eyes wide with fear. ”A monster made by Xenos an ʼEye,ʼ he called them. We need to leave—now.”

There was no mistaking the danger in her voice.

Jack Rengel. The name didnʼt ring any immediate bells—but the title ʼEyes of Xenosʼ did. I vaguely remembered it from the Third Game. Some late-game content maybe, one of the major antagonists of the Iris Project.

”What do you want?” I asked, forcing the words out even as every nerve in my body screamed at me to run.

Running wouldʼve been easy—maybe even smart. But something told me that if we bolted now, weʼd never make it out alive. So instead, I tried to stall, to get some answers. If I knew what he was after, maybe I could work with it—or around it.

Jack tilted his head slowly, his flickering barely visibly eyes staring at us.

”What do I want…?” He repeated, tapping a gloved finger to his chin. ”Well, this would be the perfect chance to get my hands on Samaelʼs Vessel… and the Sin of Wrath, of course. Oh! And recover the Sin of Sloth while weʼre at it—”

Suddenly, he froze mid-sentence.

His body jolted, and he stepped back sharply, his posture unraveling in an instant. His eyes widened, and for the first time, he looked… afraid.

”Hiii!!” He squealed, backing up like a cornered animal. ”That was scary… Very, very scary.”

He lifted both hands in surrender, wide-eyed and trembling—though the performance was so exaggerated, I couldnʼt tell if he was mocking someone or genuinely terrified. But then his gaze shifted back to me, and this time, there was respect in it. Fearful respect.

”I would never,” he said, ”offend a Princess of Khaos.”

Something—or someone—had just threatened him from inside me. But it wasnʼt Cleenah. She was oddly calm, silent, almost smug in a way that told me she knew Jack wouldnʼt lay a finger on me so it was the other one.

Still, the moment passed as quickly as it came.

Jack composed himself, straightening his coat with a tug and brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder.

”But I would still like to recover the Sin of Sloth,” he said politely, as if we were bartering over a misplaced library book. ”Would you be so kind, Amael Olphean, as to return it to us?”

I clenched my fists. If it were up to me, Iʼd rip these damn Sins out of my body and chuck them into the abyss. They were a curse, not a gift. But there was no way—absolutely no way—I was handing them over to the psychos from the Iris Project.

”Go to hell,” I said coldly.

Jack blinked.

Then, his smile dropped like a mask.

”Hell? Already been.”

In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

A heartbeat later, I felt a shift behind me.

He was there.

No time to think.

I yanked Roda behind me and turned to face him, but something hit me before he even moved. A weight—an overwhelming, suffocating pressure—slammed down on me.

My stomach twisted. I felt like vomiting. My limbs locked up, vision darkening at the edges. My knees buckled and I crashed to the ground, barely able to breathe.

Killing intent.

Not just ordinary bloodlust. This was something far worse. Purer. Refined.

It was like drowning in tar.

”E–Edward!” Roda gasped, still standing somehow. She reached out to me, trying to help, but I managed to weakly push her away.

”Run,” I muttered weakly.

My head tilted up—barely—and thatʼs when I saw it. A dark green aura swirling around Jack, thick and malevolent like a stormcloud given form.

I knew that level of mana.

Iʼd felt it before, from Duncan. From Lazarus.

This Jack Rengel…

He was a Demigod.

”I will, however take this intriguing young woman. She seems to have the Prophetessʼs ability. Quite valuable.”

He extended a hand toward Roda, his movement a blur—faster than lightning.

But her eyes flashed white, and with a sudden surge of motion, she twisted away just in time.

She dodged him.

Barely.

But Jack caught up to her in the blink of an eye.

Roda spun around, drawing her sword in one fluid motion. But she never got the chance to swing. Jack simply waved his hand—and in an instant, an invisible force slammed into her with crushing weight. She was sent flying crashing into the earth. Blood splattered across the ground, and a searing pain lanced through my arm as a crimson spray burst from where sheʼd landed.

She didnʼt get back up.

Her body lay twisted, motionless, blood leaking from her wounds in thick rivulets, staining the dirt beneath her a dark red.

”R—Roda…” My voice cracked. I gritted my teeth, forcing my legs to stand despite the crushing pressure that made every breath feel like fire.

Jack chuckled. ”Hm. Missed one Prophetess during the Utopian War, but it seems luck has brought me another~” He smiled as he walked forward, hand outstretched toward Roda like he was picking up a coin.

”Anathemas Fire.”

My fingers dug into the soil. Anger burned through me as I summoned the purple flames, channeling every ounce of rage I had into my fist. Then I punched the ground.

-BOOOM!

The ground cracked beneath me and a searing pillar of purple fire exploded outward, drawing a blazing line straight toward Jack with great speed.

Jack turned lazily toward the oncoming fire. He didnʼt flinch. Didnʼt even raise a hand. And before it could reach him, something—something unseen—shimmered briefly around him. The flames evaporated the instant they touched it, snuffed out like candles in the wind.

Of course, I never expected it to hurt him.

It wasnʼt an attack. It was a distraction.

Behind me, a mirror shimmered into existence, rippling like water. Roda stumbled out of it and dropped to her knees, barely conscious.

Jack tilted his head, intrigued. ”Now thatʼs interesting,” he said. ”So thatʼs how you beat Durathiel, huh? No… you used your Sin, didnʼt you? Show me. Show me your Sin, Amael—no…” His eyes gleamed. ”Nyrel Loyster. The Sin of Wrath belongs to you, doesnʼt it?”

He started walking toward us calmly.

I wiped the blood from my lips and stood between him and Roda.

”E–Edward… leave me,” she whispered weakly, clutching at my sleeve.

I gently pried her fingers away and stepped forward, locking eyes with Jack. The heat in my chest was overwhelming now.

He laughed softly. ”Now thatʼs the look I wanted to see. That gaze… yes. That suits the Holder of Wrath.”

I raised Trinity Nihil.

The blade trembled in my hands as I summoned Wrath. The sword itself rebelled, rejecting the Sin as if it feared the power it was being asked to contain. But I forced it—gripped the hilt tighter, steadying the quake.

Purple particles began to rise around me like burning embers in a storm. The air vibrated with raw emotion. With Wrath.

I could see Jackʼs eyes squinting in pure delight seeing it.

At the same moment, I summoned Vysindraʼs Fire—max output.

The mana surged through me immediately. My entire body screamed in protest, wounds splitting open again with fresh agony, but I gritted my teeth and powered through it. I had no time for pain.

My vision blurred. The world spun.

But I forced my legs forward and launched myself at Jack in a burst of speed, Trinity Nihil raised high, Wrath burning in every cell.

-BOOOOOM!!

The sword struck—but Jack didnʼt budge. He didnʼt even twitch.

A massive force rippled outward as my blade clashed against an unseen barrier around him. It cracked the air itself, but he stood there like a statue.

What the hell is that?

How is he resisting this? Even with Trinity Nihil empowered by Wrath itself, he didnʼt seem bothered?

I clenched the hilt tighter, knuckles white, and roared. A surge of mana exploded from within me like a geyser, a towering pillar of mana bursting into the sky, blasting wind and energy in every direction.

-BOOOOOM!!

The earth beneath us shattered. Cracks spiderwebbed out from my feet. Even the air around us trembled, distorted by the sheer force. Yet despite all that... we were locked in place. Neither of us moved an inch.

Cleenah… I need you help.

[]

Help me. Please.

-BOOOOOOM!!!

A flash of light exploded from my blade—followed by a thunderous crack.

Jackʼs eyes widened, just for a second. And then he was gone, flung backward at terrifying speed, the barrier around him shattering into shards—and with it, his right arm ripped clean off.

I didnʼt stop.

”Rings of Vysindra!”

I raised Trinity Nihil to the heavens, summoning an enormous ball of blazing purple fire that formed above us like a second sun. It burned so hot the sky itself rippled. Six radiant rings of flame swirled around it, orbiting slowly at first... then faster and faster.

And then I fed Wrath into it.

The fire roared in response, crackling and snarling with barely contained rage.

Jack slowly got to his feet. His arm... regenerated instantly.

He looked up, saw the incoming fireball, and then calmly raised his hand.

And just like that, something horrifying appeared.

A single, massive green eye manifested in the sky above him. Easily three meters across. Just floating there—watching.

What the hell… is that?

Every hair on my body stood on end. Just looking at it made my skin crawl. That thing wasnʼt natural—it was ancient. Malevolent.

I hurled the fireball without hesitation.

But as soon as it neared him, the green eye pulsed once—and the fireball vanished.

No explosion. No smoke. No resistance.

It simply ceased to exist.

What the hell!?

Jack chuckled, amused. ”That was quite a hit earlier. Iʼm impressed. You actually hurt me. Makes me wonder… whoʼs helping you, hmm?”

Then—he vanished.

He reappeared right in front of me.

Before I could react, his hand was around my throat.

-BAM!!

He slammed me into the ground with crushing force.

”Aghh—!”

I felt something crack deep inside.

I tried to get up, clawing at the dirt, struggling to breathe—but then the green eye floated directly above me.

Its eerie iris locked onto me.

And I froze.

Completely paralyzed.

I couldnʼt move. Couldnʼt breathe. Couldnʼt even think straight.

I struggled to move. My whole body ached, pinned down by that monstrous gaze—but I forced myself to look.

Jack was walking toward Roda, who was barely managing to stay on his feet. My fists clenched instinctively.

”M–Move…!” I shouted through gritted teeth, forcing every fiber of my being to respond.

And then—

-WHOOSH!

Something massive and blue streaked past me striking Jack head-on with thunderous force.

-BAM!!

Jack was launched backward, crashing into the dirt in a cloud of dust and debris.

The green eye above us immediately swiveled—focusing on the source of the impact.

It was Vina.

Not in her human form—this was her true form. Towering, serpentine, and majestic. Her deep blue scales shimmered with mana.

Without hesitation, Vina surged forward in a blinding dash and slammed herself into the eye.

The Eye recoiled, shuddering from the blow—but it wasnʼt damaged. Not really. It merely flickered with irritation.

But Vina didnʼt wait.

Using that split-second opening, she darted toward us, scooping both me and Roda up and launched into the sky.

The wind struck past us.

”An Enigma Beast…? Wonderful,” Jackʼs voice rang out suddenly.

”...!” I froze.

Because somehow—somehow—he was already there.

Standing mid-air right in front of us.

Vina halted instantly. Her slit eyes narrowed, staring down the enemy. Behind Jack, the green eye hovered silently again—watching.

And then—something stirred the air.

Delicate, shimmering particles began to float around us like falling stardust. They coalesced in front of me, swirling gently into a glowing form.

Cleenah.

She appeared without sound, her feet hovering off the air. Her long glossy green hair flowed and floated while her eyes locked coldly on Jack.

When Jack saw her—his eyes widened in shock. Without hesitation, he stepped back. Fast.

The green eye behind him also retreated, flickering uneasily. Its massive iris trembled, and for a moment… its eyelid twitched as if it were about to close.

Cleenah didnʼt move.

She didnʼt need to.

Her gaze alone froze the world around her.

”Levina,” she spoke quietly. ”Leave.”

Without hesitation, Vina turned sharply and sped away.

The last thing I saw before turning my head was Cleenah—floating there in the sky, facing down both a smirking Jack and that accursed Eye.

I slumped against Vinaʼs scaled back, my vision swimming, heart pounding.

Thank you, Cleenah.