I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 756: [Final Event] [Blood Moon Festival] [38] Anox

”Sancta Vedelia?”

Sirius lifted his head, his eyes reflecting the dim glow of the room. At the far end, half-buried in shadows deeper than night itself, sat a lone figure wrapped in a flowing black robe. The darkness clung to her like a living veil, obscuring everything except the faint outline of a woman.

It was A-Nox—his mother.

”It is.”

Sirius took a breath. ”May I ask the reason?”

”Eden has marked that place.”

A-Nox said, tapping one clawed finger against the arm of her throne.

”It’s where he plans to raise the core of his future army. Sancta Vedelia will serve as a strategic stronghold in the World below. Even Nihil considers it... significant.”

Sirius lowered his gaze. ”So you wish for me to implant our seed and influence there.”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her shadow-coated face—cold, approving.

”Do it. Regardless of how false the Tree of Eden there may be, a Tree is still a Tree. And every Tree carries potential value for us.”

Sirius bowed once and left.

Infiltrating Sancta Vedelia.

Gaining influence from within.

That was the task A-Nox had entrusted him with.

And Sirius had obeyed.

During the chaotic warring era of Sancta Vedelia—over a thousand years in the past, when every race tore each other apart for control of the so-called Holy Tree of Eden—he quietly established the House of Raven. Using a borrowed vessel, he rose among the vampires and guided them through war after war, expanding their authority piece by bloody piece.

For years, the Raven name grew in power and prestige, etched into history, whispered with respect and fear. But Sirius knew it wasn’t enough. Not for A-Nox.

Then he learned about her.

The Vampire Witch.

The anomaly of Sancta Vedelia.

He observed her from afar long before she ever knew his existence. He watched the moment the King of Valachia captured her. He watched as her blood was drained, again and again, until her body withered. He watched her rage, her revenge, her slaughters. He saw her vanish from the world... only to be reborn through new vessels, carrying the same monstrous brilliance.

He witnessed countless wars break out across Sancta Vedelia.

He witnessed the Holy Tree of Eden crumble, nearly collapsing under its own lies.

He witnessed the Goddess Freyja—one of Eden’s most loyal companions—used as an anchor to hold the dying Tree together, sacrificing herself so Sancta Vedelia would not fall.

Was it right?

Was it wrong?

He didn’t know.

The more he saw, the more he questioned Eden’s righteousness. They who claimed holiness had willingly sacrificed an innocent. Was that justice... or hypocrisy?

Decades passed. Then centuries. Hundreds of years flowing one into another until time itself lost meaning.

And Sirius began to lose himself too.

Who was he anymore?

What was his actual purpose?

With each migration from vessel to vessel, every identity he borrowed chipped away at the core of who he used to be. Little by little, his sense of self thinned, fading like smoke in a storm.

He became a shadow wearing faces.

A duty without a direction.

An echo of the original Sirius.

Until—

He met the child of Nihil.

The vessel of Samael Eveningstar.

Amael Falkrona.

***

-BOOOOM!!

Flames erupted outward as Trinity Nihil collided against Sirius’s blade.

The impact jolted through my arms like a hammer, but I tightened my grip, refusing to let the sword slip even an inch.

”So,” I growled, pushing against him, ”what does Lucifer want, sending one of his obedient little dogs here?”

Sirius’s expression remained calm.

”What do you think he wants?” Hee shot back, bringing his blade down with monstrous strength.

I gritted my teeth as the pressure forced my knees to bend.

I called imemdiately to Wrath.

-BAM!!

My fist slammed into his jaw before the thought fully formed. His head snapped sideways, and he skidded backward, boots carving lines in the ground.

I didn’t wait and lunged.

Trinity Nihil thrust forward, but Sirius flicked his sword upward, and a wave of blackened blood surged into a barrier before him.

”The Vessel of the Sins,” I said through clenched teeth, ”or maybe he wants both.”

Sirius didn’t bother answering. One blink—gone. The next—right behind me.

-BAM!

His kick struck my raised arm like a falling boulder and launched me backward.

Air left my lungs as I spun.

”Anathema’s Fire!”

-BOOOOOM!!!

Purple flames roared to life, swallowing him completely... until a hand burst through the inferno and grabbed my shirt.

His fingers tightened.

-BAM!

My free hand shot forward, smashing into the side of his neck.

Sirius’s eyes widened for half a heartbeat—then he grinned.

I summoned Wrath again, particles gathering around my arm—but Sirius reacted instantly.

-BOOOOM!!

His sword struck faster than I could process. I barely parried with Trinity Nihil before the force sent me crashing downward. The earth cratered beneath me.

I twisted midair, landing in a sliding crouch.

”Hollow Sword.”

Sand whirled in my other hand and solidified into a blade. The moment Sirius flashed into view, I drove it into him.

-BOOOOM!!!

The white sand-lance tore through the air and slammed into his abdomen, punching a spray of black blood from his lips.

But he just smiled again.

Around us, amber light shimmered.

Dozens—no, more—weapons hovered in the air, all aimed straight at me.

-BOOOOM!!!

They fired.

I leapt back, Trinity Nihil a blur as I slashed through the storm of weapons. Others whistled past me close enough to graze my skin. Amunet’s hands tugged my body just a fraction each time, letting my instincts react faster than my mind could follow.

The ground shook violently as explosions tore it open.

Another shockwave rippled.

-BOOOOM!!!

I skidded across the stone, feeling danger snap at my spine. I pivoted and swung Trinity Nihil—and my blade halted an inch from a woman caught in a Blood Moon spell.

-BAM!

Sirius’s kick slammed into my ribs.

Pain exploded through my side as I flew and crashed into the ground, rolling through dust and shattered stone.

I forced myself up, coughing blood, clutching my ribs.

”You won’t last long like this,” Sirius said.

Behind him, dozens upon dozens of Blood Moon–bound people rushed toward me, crimson eyes glowing hungrily.

I stamped the ground, propelling myself forward.

Sirius smiled mockingly.

”You think you can—”

”Ring of Vysindra.”

The words left my mouth in a whisper as my left fist clenched.

The ring around my wrist pulsed—once—then expanded violently.

-BOOOOOOM!!!!

A tidal wave of purple fire exploded outward.

Every people around me was swallowed instantly, bodies lifted off the ground and hurled back as the flames consumed them whole.

”Arghhh!!!”

”N–Nooo!!!”

”ARGH!!!”

”Hyargh!!!”

The screams didn’t even sound human anymore. Whether those people had recovered consciousness at their dying moment or not, their voices still ripped through the air like the cries of souls being roasted alive. The echo of it all clawed at the atmosphere, turning the world into a furnace of agony.

Sirius’s eyes widened for a split second.

”You—”

-BAM!

My fist burst out from a mirror behind him, slamming straight into his face. The impact twisted his head violently and sent him skidding backward across the scorched ground. My Wrath-enhanced punch shattered his nose with a grotesque crunch.

I erupted fully from the mirror, purple flames licking around my body like a hungry aura. Blood trickled from my lips, and I casually wiped it with the back of my hand.

Around us, dozens of figures rushed toward Sirius—men, women, old, young. Ordinary residents of Sancta Vedelia who, a few hours ago, were probably running errands, laughing with friends, living their quiet little lives.

Now they moved like possessed people, their bodies twisted by the blood spell.

”Ring of Vysindra.”

-BOOOOOOOM!!!

A massive ring-shaped shockwave of violet fire burst outward. The world shook as the air detonated. All those people were blown away like blazing scarecrows, bodies tumbling across the plaza, purple fire clinging to them like living tar. Wherever the flames touched the stone, it melted into glowing slag.

”Gyargh!!!”

”I—IT BURNS!!!”

”Karrgh—aghhh!!!”

More screams. More chaos. More bodies collapsing, consumed.

”YOU!!! W–WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!”

I glanced over my shoulder just long enough to see Claudia staring at me, face pale, eyes wide with horror.

Milleia stood beside her, frozen, hand covering her mouth.

I didn’t bother giving them a second look.

My attention snapped back to Sirius. Above us, that ominous red dome shimmered like a blood-soaked sky. My eyes flickered toward it briefly.

”I see.”

Sirius chuckled, steadying himself as he readjusted his grip on his sword. ”Looks like you’ve made up your mind, Amael.”

He shot forward at full speed. I charged as well.

-BOOOOOOM!!!

Trinity Nihil clashed against his blade, and the collision exploded with enough force to send both of us flying backward, boots carving deep lines in the ground as we slid.

More bodies— more victims of the blood spell—staggered toward us from every direction, their steps jerky and unnatural.

”You’re actually making this easier for me,” I said, tightening my grip and sprinting back toward Sirius. Amunet’s invisible hands propelled me forward even faster, their ghostly force pushing at my back.

Sirius flashed a sharp smile, raised his sword—but I didn’t stop for him.

I shot past him in a blur, darting toward one of the towering black blood pillars.

”Sin of Wrath.”

Trinity Nihil carved through the air.

-BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The pillar split apart like rotten wood, cleaved perfectly down the middle. A fountain of dark, tar-like blood erupted skyward before dissolving into an acidic rain that hissed as it fell.

I didn’t waste a heartbeat.

Stabbing Trinity Nihil into the stone, I reached behind me and summoned Khryselakatos, my amber bow. It materialized with a resonant hum, warm and lethal in my hands.

I drew the string back.

Anathema’s Fire gathered at my fingertip—- a blazing amber arrow forming, dripping with destructive mana.

I aimed high and released.

The arrow streaked upward like a comet... then burst apart, splitting into dozens upon dozens of smaller amber projectiles.

And all of them were burning.

They fell upon the crowd like a rain of divine punishment. Every arrow struck true—every spellbound body ignited the instant it was touched, exploding into pillars of purple fire that swallowed them whole.

Not a single scream survived longer than a heartbeat.

I quickly lowered the bow and aimed ahead of me seeing Sirius rushing toward me and released the arrows toward him at full speed but a black blood barrier protected him, countering all arrows.

I put back the bow and withdrew Trinity Nihil a bit late.

-Spurt!

”Ughh...” I grunted as his sword punched clean through my side and ripped out the other end, lifting me off my feet.

The world flipped.

I crashed into the ground, rolled, skidded, stone carving into my back as I tumbled across the ground. Every breath was a knife. My vision blurred at the edges as hot blood poured down my hip.

Sirius didn’t give me time to breathe.

-BAM!

He landed in front of me, one knee bent, hair snapping behind him. His blade dripped with my blood—only it didn’t fall. It clung to the metal, staining it black as tar.

The wound in my side pulsed.

Black veins crawled out from it, spiderwebbing under my skin.

”Blood Art,” Sirius whispered, his eyes almost lazy. ”Inverted Grail.”

The corrupted blood in my body convulsed. Heat turned to ice. My muscles seized, refusing to listen, and pain shot up my spine like a lightning bolt.

My fingers tightened around Trinity Nihil on instinct.

I dragged in a breath, forced Wrath to the surface.

Purple particles surged through my veins like a storm of razors, colliding with the invasive black blood. For a heartbeat, everything inside me screamed—then the tar veins ruptured, bursting under my skin in tiny purple sparks.

-CRACKLE!

A shower of purple embers exploded from my wound as the corruption burned away. I staggered to my feet, one hand still pressed against my side.

Sirius tilted his head, watching with a faint, intrigued smile.

”You burned it out,” he said. ”At the cost of more of your life.”

”That’s fine,” I spat. ”I’ve got plenty left to waste on you.”

Amber light flared above him.

Dozens more weapons unfolded from thin air—spears from all shapesl. They hovered in layered rings around him, aimed straight at my heart.

The blood-soaked and burning ground trembled.

All around, more victims of the blood spell lurched closer, eyes glowing under that suffocating red dome. Men, women, children—faces pale and twitching, veins bulging with corrupted blood, shambling toward me.

I planted Trinity Nihil’s tip into the cracked stone and bent my knees.

”Hollow Step.”

The world snapped.

White sand exploded from my feet, swallowing my body whole for a fraction of a second. I streaked forward as a ghostly blur, reforming right under Sirius’s guard.

-BAM!!

My shoulder slammed into his chest as I ripped Trinity Nihil upward.

Sirius twisted, blade flashing down.

Sparks burst between us as steel met steel. The impact tore a crater under our feet. The air erupted outward in a violent shockwave, sending the closest blood-bound bodies flying like ragdolls.

But Sirius was still just a little stronger.

Our blades locked. His foot slid half an inch. Mine dug three.

”Curious technique,” he said calmly over the screech of grinding metal. ”You hollow yourself out to move.”

”I hollow myself out to kill you.”

Wrath surged.

Purple particles swarmed along Trinity Nihil’s edge, thickening into a jagged aura of flame. I shoved, teeth bared, and the backlash hurled us apart.

We hit the ground at the same time and launched forward again.

-BOOOOM!!

Trinity Nihil clashed against his sword in a blur of motion—strike, parry, feint, spin. His blade moved even faster, every swing leaving behind streaks of black light that rotted the air. My sword carved arcs of amethyst destruction, purple afterimages burning against the red-stained sky.

An amber spike screamed past my ear.

It buried itself in the stone where my head had been a second ago and detonated into shards. Sirius didn’t even glance up as the formation of golden weapons shifted, tracking me from every angle.

He flicked two fingers.

-BOOM!! -BOOM!! -BOOM!!

Amber lances rained down.

I vaulted over one, slid under another, Trinity Nihil batting away a third as it tried to perforate my throat. White sand burst from my free hand, coiling into a curved shield.

The next three amber spears slammed into the sand barrier, bursting it apart in a spray of glittering grains—but that moment was all I needed.

I twisted, drove my blade down.

”Sin of Wrath.”

Purple particles condensed along Trinity Nihil’s edge, devouring light itself. I didn’t aim for Sirius.

I aimed past him.

One of the massive black pillars of blood loomed behind him—a gruesome column of coagulated darkness, pulsing and throbbing like a giant exposed heart.

Trinity Nihil carved through the air.

-BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The pillar split from top to bottom, black blood bursting outward in a horrifying fountain. The air filled with the stench of rust and acid as the raining blood ate smoking holes into the stone.

The red dome overhead flickered further.

The blood-bound civilians didn’t stop. If anything, they grew more frantic, like breaking the pillar had stripped away another layer of their humanity. They screamed wordless sounds and rushed us from all sides, trampling each other in a mad dash.

I dashed toward them.

Sirius blurred to intercept, black blood whipping from his sword in a spiral.

”Blood Art.”

The spilled blood on the ground surged upward, coiling around the ankles of the charging civilians. Their bodies jerked unnaturally, spines bending at impossible angles as invisible strings took control. Their heads snapped toward me in eerie unison.

Then all of them leaped.

Dozens of bodies, moving in perfect and much faster.

I swung Trinity Nihil once, not at them—at the ground.

The stone at my feet disintegrated into a maelstrom of white sand. It shot outward in a circular wave, a spinning ring that tore through flesh and bone like a grinding saw.

-BOOOOM!!

The first line of people was shredded instantly, torsos and limbs ripped apart in a storm of sand blades. But more vaulted over the carnage, clawed hands reaching for my throat.

Purple flames answered.

”Anathemas Fire.”

The fire exploded outward, manifesting as a spiraling pillar of purple hell. The purple flames roared up around me, forming a hungry vortex that swallowed the lunging bodies whole.

They writhed, burned, shrieked once more.

”Amael!!”

Claudia’s scream stabbed into my skull.

I turned.

She stood a short distance away, a staff raised, hair wild, eyes wide with horror and anger directed at me. The bodies I was incinerating reflected in her pupils as writhing silhouettes.

”Stop this immediately!!” She yelled. ”They’re innocent! They’re—”

”They’re already dead,” I cut her off, stepping forward through the purple fire, letting it cling to me.

”We can free them!” Claudia shouted back, aura flaring bright red. ”You will pay for this—”

”No.”

I raised my left hand.

”Ring of Vysindra.”

The band around my wrist pulsed once, then split into a circle of fire that spun furiously. Purple flames condensed around my palm, thickening into an overwhelming torrent.

Claudia’s eyes widened.

”...!”

I thrust my hand forward.

-BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

A colossal wave of purple fire burst from my arm, a sweeping horizontal tide that devoured everything in its path—blood-bound civilians, shattered stone, twisted corpses, and Claudia.

Concentric circles of glowing mana bloomed instantly before her, layer after layer of translucent barriers. The purple fire crashed against them like an ocean slamming into fragile glass.

-CRACK!! -CRACK!! -CRACK!!

One circle shattered, then another, then three at once. Claudia braced, teeth clenched, feet digging furrows into the stone as the sheer force of the torrent hammered her backward.

The last layer held, barely, and the backlash hurled her across the ground. She flew like a broken doll, skidding over the ground before smashing into a toppled statue.

She slid down in a heap, coughing, her staff clattering away from her trembling fingers.

”E—Edward...” Milleia whispered, staring at me in disbelief.

When I looked at her, the white haired girl besides her came in front of her protection and glared at me.

I turned away.

The field around a miles radius was a cratered hellscape now—chunks of melted stone, smoking pits, charred corpses tangled with half-melted blood spikes. The red dome overhead flickered again, visibly weaker, threads of darkness bleeding out of it and flowing back into the remaining pillars.

Three were already gone.

Two still stood.

Sirius hovered above one of them.

He floated there on a swirling cyclone of black blood, cloak snapping like the wing of some ancient beast. His outstretched hand controlled the remaining civilians like pieces on a board—jerking them into my path.

And above him, the amber weapons had multiplied again.

Hundreds now.

”Let’s see how long you will last, Amael.”

I lifted Trinity Nihil and pointed it at him.

Sirius smiled faintly.

He spread his arms.

”Blood Art.”

The remaining pillars convulsed.

The black blood poured outward in colossal waves, flooding the plaza in seconds. It rose up past my ankles, my knees, thick and murky, carrying the twitching bodies of the enthralled on its surface like drifting carcasses.

The amber arsenal descended in a slow orbit, tips aimed at my head, throat, heart.

I stood alone in a sea of living blood.

Wrath thrummed inside me as I called it.. White sand curled eagerly around my feet, swirling up my legs like a coiling serpent.

I stamped my foot.

The ground beneath the blood collapsed.

Or rather, my ground did.

The white sand exploded downward in a spiraling whirlpool, turning everything under me into a collapsing sink of hungry grains. The black blood, the corpses, even the amber weapons dropping too low were all dragged downward, grinding against the storm of sand as if swallowed by a gnashing mouth.

Sirius flicked his wrist immediately.

The blood around the sinkhole surged higher, rearing up as towering serpents that snapped at the edges of my sand vortex. Some of them broke free, forming massive crimson jaws that lunged for my head.

I leaped, using Amunet’s hands to hurl myself skyward, purple flames detonating under my feet like rockets.

I also coated my sword with Wrath.

”Sin of Wrath: Ascent.”

The air dropped away.

I shot up toward him, body wrapped in purple fire, Trinity Nihil blazing with destructive particles. Amber javelins screamed past me, some grazing my arms, my leg, carving bloody lines into my skin—but Amunet jerked me aside at the last fractions of a heartbeat, keeping me just ahead of death.

Sirius’s eyes blazed.

He swung his sword downward.

A vertical torrent of black blood descended, a waterfall of dark blood.

Purple flames erupted from my blade, clashing with the falling darkness.

-BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!

The collision tore the sky.

The red dome above us shuddered violently, fractures racing through it like broken glass. The shockwave blew apart the nearest buildings, shredding rooftops and flinging stone like shrapnel. For an instant, purple and black swallowed everything—light, sound, space.

In the center of it, our blades met again.

Sirius’s strength bore down on me, his black blood screaming, trying to snuff out my purple fire. My arms shook. My bones rattled. My lungs felt like they were filled with shattered glass.

”You can’t win,” he said softly over the howl of colliding powers. ”You’re burning yourself hollow.”

”That’s the point.”

White sand surged from my back like wings.

They burst outward, slicing through the churning blood, stabilizing me in midair. Sand feathers hardened into thousands of razor-thin blades.

I snapped them shut around us.

-BOOOOOM!!

A storm of white knives detonated in every direction, ripping through the colliding sphere of purple and black. The blast hurled Sirius away from me, shattering his blood torrent, tearing one more pillar apart as the shockwave slammed into it.

The red dome overhead screamed.

Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.

Only one pillar remained.

My vision flickered.

My body shook uncontrollably.

Everything hurt.

But I leveled Trinity Nihil at the last remaining column of black blood, purple embers dripping from the blade like liquid stars.

”One more,” I rasped. ”And your pretty cage falls.”

Sirius reappeared between me and the pillar, cloak ragged, half his body drenched in his own black blood.

”At your current state,” he said, ”swinging that sword again should tear your arms apart.”

”You better worry about yourself,” I scoffed.

”Let’s end it then.”

Black blood erupted from Sirius’s skin like a second explosion, swallowing his form in an instant. It crawled over him, layer after layer, until he stood encased in a jagged carapace of hardened darkness. Spikes jutted from his shoulders and elbows, his face hidden behind a featureless helm of pitch-black bone. In his right hand, a long sword materialized—pure night, dripping viscous blood that sizzled when it touched the broken ground.

I drew in a long, steady breath and let my eyes fall shut for a heartbeat.

Everything in my body hurt. My lungs burned. My ribs ached with each breath. The wound in my side throbbed with every faint movement, and every muscle felt flayed from the inside by Wrath. I had crossed the line a while ago; there was no ’after’ in this calculation. Maybe Maria could drag me back from whatever I did to myself. Maybe not.

Didn’t matter.

-Crackle!!

Purple Wrath snapped to life around me. Not fire—shards. Tiny, razor-bright particles burst from under my skin, floating inches away from my flesh like a storm of microscopic blades. They chewed at the air, at the mana, at the black blood mist still hanging over the air. The world dimmed at the edges as the particles devoured light itself.

A dark violet aura wrapped my body. Purple marks crawled along my arms, across my chest, up my neck, burning themselves into the skin like brands.

”Sin of Wrath: Tegmen.”