I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 714: [Blood Moon War] [55] The Vampire Witch

All eyes were irresistibly drawn to the figure hovering above the battlefield.

The Vampire Witch drifted in the night sky like a phantom, her silhouette haloed by the red moonlight. A black gown clung to her figure, the deep V-shaped neckline revealing just enough to make the darkness itself seem to shiver around her. The fabric whispered with every movement, fluttering lightly in the cool night breeze as though it had a life of its own.

When her bare feet touched the ground, the landing was soundless—like a shadow descending rather than flesh and blood. Her gaze lowered to Daleliah and Sandor who knelt before her.

”My children seem to be struggling,” she said, her voice emotionless.

Daleliah immediately bowed her head. ”We apologize, Mother.”

The Witch’s lips curved into the faintest smile—one that never reached her eyes. ”Failure... is acceptable. But repeated failures?” Her pale hand lifted, elegant and languid, until a single cold finger hovered just above Daleliah’s head. ”In such cases, one must cut away the common thread that binds those failures together.”

She slowly turned her attention to the army gathered in the distance.

The instant her crimson eyes swept over the Resistance, the knights faltered. A suffocating dread washed over them—thick, inescapable. Several stumbled back, weapons shaking in their hands. Some clutched their stomachs and retched violently, unable to endure the pressure radiating from her presence. And she wasn’t even trying.

A shaky voice broke the silence. ”That sounds... reasonable, Queen Witch.”

Silent footsteps echoed as Rucain stepped forward with a faint smile. ”We shall erase these pawns from existence,” he said, ”claim the Holy Tree of Eden, and cast the Blood Moon Spell upon the world.”

”Elizabeth!”

The Resistance parted as Alicia stumbled into view. Her body was bruised, her breathing uneven, but her spirit hadn’t broken. Her sudden appearance drew every eye.

Rucain chuckled darkly, tilting his head. ”So you’ve returned to us? After he went through such desperate lengths to free you? Foolish girl... that is a mistake you won’t live to regret.” He lifted his hand to strike her down—

—but the Witch’s hand rose first. Rucain froze instantly, lowering his arm in obedience without another word.

Her gaze found Alicia.

”Alicia,” she spoke.

Alicia flinched at the sound of her name, but she straightened her back. ”Yes... it’s me. You... remember me, Beth?”

”I do,” the Witch whispered, her crimson eyes glowing like liquid fire as they reflected Alicia’s trembling figure.

”Then—”

”It’s the Witch! Attack her! Now!”

The fragile moment shattered as the terrified knights, desperate to reclaim their courage, charged forward.

-SPURT!

Before their blades even reached her, Selene flicked her wrist. Blood burst into the air like crimson fountains. A dozen heads were severed in an instant, tumbling skyward before crashing to the ground with sickening thuds.

”W-what...” Someone gasped.

The charge halted as the survivors stared in frozen horror at the headless corpses of their comrades. But by the time they looked up, it was already too late.

-SPURT! SPURT! SPURT!

The battlefield dissolved into carnage. Screams split the night as bodies were shredded apart like paper, flesh and armor alike torn by an unseen force. Heads rolled, limbs were severed, and the ground became a blood-soaked ground painted by Selene’s casual gestures.

Alicia stood frozen, her body locked in terror as she bore witness to the massacre. Her wide eyes turned toward Selene, who now stood calm amid the chaos.

Then, with impossible speed, Selene vanished—only to reappear directly in front of Alicia. Alicia’s breath caught; her body refused to move, locked in place by an invisible grip of fear.

Selene’s crimson gaze bore into her soul, the pupils slowly twisting into vertical slits that pulsed with a terrible blood red light. She leaned closer, smiling, but the curve of her lips was hollow—a soulless imitation of warmth.

”We hold deep love for you, Alicia,” Selene muttered, her voice both tender and terrifying. ”Join me.”

”Let’s become one again...” Selene’s voice was like a lullaby of despair, smooth and deceptively tender as her pale hand reached for Alicia’s cheek.

For a heartbeat, Alicia stood frozen, her pulse pounding in her ears. But then she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood and tore herself free from the invisible grip, her body dissolving into a swirl of crimson mist. She reappeared a few paces behind, chest heaving.

”It seems the merge with the Vampire Witch has awakened her,” Rucain chuckled, his eyes lingering on Alicia’s trembling figure.

Selene’s smile didn’t falter. Slowly, gracefully, she ascended into the air once more. Her hand stretched toward the looming Blood Moon above, fingers curling as if to pluck it from the heavens.

The night trembled.

High in the sky, a colossal mana circle burst into existence, layers upon layers of twisted crimson geometry spiraling around one another. The runes etched within it seemed alive, writhing like serpents of blood.

Viessa’s eyes widened in horror. Her voice cracked as she screamed, ”Defenses! Prepare your defenses immediately!!”

But Selene only gazed down at them, her crimson eyes gleaming. Mercy was an emotion foreign to her; instead, there was ecstasy shining beneath her calm smile.

”This,” she declared, her voice carrying over the battlefield, ”shall be my retribution and ascension.”

She lowered her hand.

The world seemed to pause—an eerie, suffocating silence falling over the knights as they raised their glowing mana circles in desperation. All eyes turned skyward to the massive crimson array pulsing with power.

And then it broke.

At first, blood poured from the circle in a torrent, cascading down like a river from the crimson heavens. The ground was stained red in seconds. Then, with a thunderous crash, a gigantic crimson hand slammed into the earth, shaking the battlefield and throwing countless knights off balance.

From the bleeding portal, a hulking figure emerged. Slowly, horribly, its form revealed itself: a towering giant, over ten meters tall, its body glistening with liquid blood. A single, enormous slit-eye glowed in the middle of its face, staring unblinking at the trembling army below.

But the horror had only begun.

As the blood streaming down its body thinned, new shapes were revealed—eyes. Dozens upon dozens of crimson eyes cracked open along its arms, its chest, its legs, its back. Everywhere its flesh could hold them, more eyes blinked awake, each filled with the same malicious hunger.

Gasps and muffled screams broke from the crowd. Many instinctively stepped back, as though distance could save them from the monstrosity looming above.

The giant’s head rotated toward Selene, the sound of grinding cartilage squelching in the night air.

Floating serenely, Selene extended her hand toward its grotesque face. ”My dear child.”

The creature’s slit-eye dilated, its body convulsing. Then—

”GRRRRAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

The roar that tore from its throat was so loud, that several knights dropped unconscious where they stood, their ears bleeding. The ground itself seemed to quake in fear.

And then its stomach split open.

With a wet, tearing sound, a jagged mouth formed in the center of its abdomen, lined with rows of misshapen, saw-like teeth. From that grotesque maw, countless crimson arms of blood burst outward, writhing and clawing like serpents unleashed from hell.

They shot forward, tearing through the knights’ glowing barriers as though they were nothing more than fragile glasses.

”N-No! Stay back! GYAAAAHHHHH!!”

”Help! Somebody help me!!”

”ARGHHHHHH!!”

The battlefield erupted into chaos as the crimson hands dragged men and women into the gaping stomach-mouth. Screams echoed endlessly, one after another, as armored bodies were ripped apart and swallowed whole. Their final cries were drowned beneath the sound of tearing flesh.

Alicia’s entire body trembled. Her eyes widened in raw horror as she watched the impossible—soldiers devoured alive, their blood spilling like a fountain through a grotesque cavity that split open on the back of the creature’s head.

”GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

The giant roared again, its voice shaking the very marrow of every soul present. The shockwave blasted across the battlefield, freezing knights mid-step, paralyzing them in pure terror. And in their helplessness, the crimson hands surged forth again—tearing through their ranks, seizing bodies, and feeding them mercilessly into the endless maw.

It was not a battle.

It was slaughter.

”S–Stop...” Alicia’s voice cracked as she whispered, her wide eyes locked on Selene.

The Witch didn’t even flinch at her plea. Her pale, bloodstained hands slid slowly up her own face before pushing her long, purplish black hair back. ”Aaah~,” she sighed, shuddering with exhilaration. Her smile twisted upward into something monstrous. Then, with a lazy flick of her finger, the rivers of blood that had spilled from the crimson giant’s cavity surged upward.

It was as if gravity itself bent to her will. The blood reversed course, streams of red climbing back into the night sky, funnelling into the still-glowing circle above like an inverted waterfall.

Alicia staggered back, her boots slipping on the slick, blood-soaked ground. Her breath caught in her throat as another colossal hand pushed through the circle. Then another. And another.

The air split with a deep, rumbling tear as new shapes emerged.

Another crimson giant pulled itself free. Then a second. Then a third. Within moments, five towering monstrosities loomed over the battlefield, their countless red eyes blinking open like lanterns of hell.

It was a nightmare given form.

The Resistance knights faltered, their faces warped with terror. Every attack they hurled—arrows of flame, spears of lightning, blades glowing with mana—splashed harmlessly against the giants’ thick, pulsating hides. Nothing pierced. Nothing slowed them.

Within a single minute, the death toll rose by the thousands. The ground ran slick with blood, screams clawing endlessly at the night as soldiers were torn apart and devoured alive.

Alicia’s body shook uncontrollably. Her stomach twisted at the relentless sound of flesh ripping, bones crunching, and the pitiful cries of her allies being dragged into the abyss of monstrous maws. She lifted her gaze back toward Selene—hoping, praying for even a glimmer of mercy.

There was none.

Selene’s lips curled upward in a small, serene smile. Her crimson eyes glowed with unholy delight as she continued to summon more and more abominations from the circle. It was as if each death was a hymn sung to her, each scream a note of beautiful music for her.

”Damn it!! Run! Retreat!!” Gruna’s voice cut through the chaos.

”Behind you, Gruna!!” Cedric shouted.

She spun just in time to see one of the writhing crimson arms whip toward her. Gruna twisted her body, narrowly dodging the strike, and shot forward toward the nearest giant. Her chest expanded, her jaw unhinged, and with a mighty roar she unleashed her Prana Breath.

-BOOOOM!!!

The torrent of Prana slammed into the giant, its brilliance lighting the battlefield for a moment. The monster staggered backward under the blast... only to open its hideous maw and swallow the attack whole.

The light disappeared. The thing swallowed it like a treat.

Gruna’s eyes widened, disbelief washing over her. ”You’ve got to be kidding me...”

The giant raised its head. Instantly, every single eye across its body swiveled toward her.

”GRUNA! RUN THE HELL OUT OF THERE!!” Cedric roared as he bolted toward her.

But it was already too late. Dozens of crimson arms lashed out, coiling around her body like constricting serpents. She felt them pierce her skin—needle-like mouths hidden within the hands sinking into her flesh. A cold, invasive sensation spread through her veins as her blood was siphoned away. Her limbs weakened. Her Prana faltered, slipping from her control.

Gruna screamed in rage, detonating her Prana in a desperate burst. Dozens of arms shattered and dissolved into steaming blood. But for each one she destroyed, ten more sprouted from the giant’s maw, wrapping around her again and again.

Her strength dwindled as more blood drained from her. Her eyes flicked toward the gaping, jagged mouth opening before her, lined with teeth ready to consume her whole. Terror stole the fight from her heart. She shut her eyes tight, bracing for the end.

But then—chill.

A biting cold spread across her skin. The arms clutching her stiffened, frost racing along their length, climbing up and over the giant’s grotesque body. In an instant, the towering monstrosity was engulfed in ice, its writhing form frozen mid-motion.

”Cleara...” Gruna breathed in disbelief.

From the rear, Cleara stood with her arms extended, frost mist spiraling around her as her spell kept the abomination locked in place.

”Now!!”

Ernest, having just recovered, surged forward. His blade gleamed faintly amber as he slashed through the frozen arms, breaking them apart in sharp, echoing cracks. The bindings around Gruna shattered, and she collapsed, her body trembling violently.

”Viessa!” Ernest shouted. ”She’s lost too much blood!”

Viessa darted to Gruna’s side immediately, her trembling hands already glowing as she knelt beside Gruna.

Meanwhile, Cleara’s gaze shifted toward the figure above.

Selene hovered in the blood-red glow, her hands weaving patterns as more abominations clawed their way into existence.

Cleara narrowed her eyes.

If Selene unleashed these monstrosities beyond the borders of Sancta Vedelia... if she fed them the blood of innocents until they numbered beyond count... The Blood Moon Spell would have all it needed.

The city, the people, perhaps even the continent itself—everything would drown in red.

Cleara’s fingers curled into fists. Or rather—Khione’s did.

Her eyes lifted once more to Selene. The Vampire Witch’s expression was serene, almost playful, as if she were savoring the screams and the heavy air of terror around her.

”Merithra...” Cleara whispered under her breath, bitterness cutting through her voice. ”What exactly have you unleashed upon this land?”

Before she could act further, movement caught her eye.

Alicia.

She launched herself forward, rapier flashing. The grotesque beasts prowling the battlefield didn’t even acknowledge her presence—they passed her by as if she were invisible.

But not everyone ignored her.

Rucain stepped into her path, his smile stretching unnaturally wide.

”You should be rejoicing,” he said. ”You’re a vampire yourself. Doesn’t this thrill you? To see Selene rise, to witness her claim this land... and soon, the Holy Tree of Eden itself?”

”You’re insane,” Alicia snapped, her crimson eyes flashing as she brought her rapier down in a sharp, precise arc.

Her movements had grown sharper, quicker. For a heartbeat, Rucain’s expression flickered. She was faster than he expected.

But not faster than him.

He tilted his head, the blade whistling past his cheek, and his smile widened. In a blur, his hand lashed out. Alicia tried to retreat, her steps light, but he was already there. Fingers like iron closed around her throat and lifted her into the air.

Her feet kicked helplessly. She clawed at his grip, gasping, but no air came. Her lungs burned.

”Such a pity...” Rucain muttered, his smile faltering into something colder, almost disappointed. ”Even though you seem to share the Lord’s blood from what I understand.”

Alicia’s eyes darkened. With her last strength, she swung her rapier fueled by sheer will.

But Rucain’s other hand caught her wrist. There was a sharp snap.

”Ugghhnn!!” The cry tore from Alicia’s throat as agony shot through her arm. Her rapier slipped from her grip, clattering uselessly to the ground.

Rucain’s smile turned cruel. He raised his free hand, nails glinting like blades in the moonlight, and lowered them toward her chest.

”Now,” he whispered, eyes dark with hunger. ”Let us taste the blood of Merithra..”

Alicia’s vision blurred, the world spinning as her strength bled away. Her lips trembled as she tried to form words.

”Se...nior...”

Her arm hung limply at her side. The fight drained from her body.

And then—

-BOOOOM!!

The world split with the sound. Rucain’s eyes went wide as an unseen force slammed into him. His body was hurled across the battlefield, skidding and crashing violently until he tore into the earth a hundred meters away, his fingers gouging deep lines into the soil to halt his momentum.

Alicia felt her body falling, weightless—until strong arms caught her mid-descent.

Through the haze of her failing vision, she saw him. White hair falling into his face. Amber eyes cold and something else... something gentler, just for her.

Tears welled and spilled from her eyes. Her trembling fingers grasped weakly at his arm, clinging to the only solid thing in the chaos around her.

”I’m here, Alicia.”