I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 834: Edenis Raphiel: First Landing

“Look, Arete. We’re finally approaching it,” Milleia breathed, her smile widening as she leaned against the railing of the airship. Ahead of them, the silhouette of the floating landmass grew larger against the open sky.

They would reach the docks in ten minutes or so.

“Hm,” Arete muttered, her expression unreadable as she stared out at the nearing horizon.

Milleia glanced sideways, slightly puzzled by her muted reaction. “Have you already been to Edenis Raphiel before?”

“No, it isn’t that,” Arete replied, shaking her head slowly. “I have simply seen far more breathtaking things in my lifetime. A floating island, while lovely, doesn’t quite shock me anymore.”

“I guess that makes sense. You are Lord Zeus’s daughter, right?” Milleia asked.

Arete gave a small nod.

“So you were born somewhere else, maybe? Jayden told me that he met you when… he was young,” she trailed off, quickly correcting her own thoughts. She heard from Jayden that hehad met Arete when she saved him from Caishen’s attack years ago. Even though no one had actually died that day thanks entirely to the miraculous intervention of Lord Zeus and Arete herself, it remained a deeply traumatic memory for Jayden. It was the terrifying day he had been torn away from his parents and sister, believing them dead.

Arete turned to meet Milleia’s gaze. “Yes, I wasn’t born here. Not in this world, either.”

“You mean… not just outside of Celesta, but another world entirely?” Milleia asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

Arete looked at Milleia’s innocent, bewildered expression and offered a small smirk. “You have no idea how vast it is out there. But I suppose you already have enough on your plate with this world.”

Milleia chuckled softly, a quiet sound of agreement. Arete was right; the world she had been born into desperately needed saving, and she knew she had to keep her focus grounded right here.

“Don’t you miss your parents, then, if they are so far away?” Milleia asked after a moment of comfortable silence.

“Well, I can see my father whenever I want through Jayden,” Arete answered casually. “As for my mother, I don’t really miss her.”

“Then I suppose you are stuck with Jayden forever?” Milleia teased gently.

“Something like that,” Arete nodded, a faint, unexpected blush dusting her cheeks.

Milleia smiled warmly at the reaction before turning her gaze back to the prow of the ship.

Filling their view now was the breathtaking expanse of the floating archipelago of Edenis Raphiel. It was less a simple collection of islands and more a sprawling, airborne continent. Over five hundred distinct landmasses formed a gravity-defying cluster of earth, stone, and civilization. Bound together by invisible forces, the terrain possessed no flat, predictable layout. Instead, Edenis Raphiel boasted a staggering almost pyramidal architecture without hindering each other.

Massive chunks of earth hovered directly besides and above each other in an endless dance. Entire cities were built upon these layered, ascending tiers, suspended in the sky as weightlessly as drifting feathers. It was a masterpiece of engineering, a wondrous creation shaped by the Goddess Raphiel herself, so massive that its true scale could never be fully comprehended from the surface world below.

The vessel was currently setting its course for a smaller, peripheral island known as First Landing. While it served mainly as a skyport, its distinct purpose was catering exclusively to VIP airships. All royalty and high-ranking nobility docked at this private, luxurious gateway, leaving the heavily congested commercial skyports on other islands to less prominent travelers.

Normally, an independent vessel might be redirected, but their ship had been granted immediate clearance to First Landing. Carrying three distinguished members of honor and importance such as Jeanne, Milleia, and Jayden, ensured they received the absolute highest tier of treatment Edenis Raphiel had to offer.

“Looks like we are finally closing in,” Jayden said, stepping up from behind to loosely grasp the railing right beside Milleia.

“It’s so massive, yet it is only a single piece of Edenis Raphiel,” Milleia said, her eyes wide with open admiration. As the airship drew closer to the archipelago, her gaze constantly shifted. Because First Landing was situated in the upper-middle tiers rather than at the very bottom, she found herself not just craning her neck to marvel at the soaring upper islands, but also peering down at the sprawling landmasses suspended far below.

It was a completely surreal, breathtaking sight.

“Yeah, and we haven’t even seen the best parts yet,” Jayden smiled, leaning in slightly so his chest brushed against her back. At this proximity, a faint but intoxicating scent of rosewater wafted from her, perfectly complementing the cascade of pink hair spilling down her shoulders.

He was just about to lose himself in the moment when a sharp pinch on his ear yanked him backward. Thankfully, Milleia was far too captivated by the majestic view ahead to notice his fleeting attempt at flirting.

“Ouch! Arete!” Jayden groaned, aggressively rubbing his reddening ear.

“Hold back until we at least reach the ground, you pervert,” Arete scolded.

“Alright, alright, don’t be jealous,” Jayden laughed easily, wrapping his arms around Arete in a warm back hug. She let out a long-suffering sigh but leaned into his embrace, choosing to stand quietly by his side as they watched the ship begin its final docking sequence into the First Landing station.

Noticing that the docking slope would soon lower, the rest of the group began to gather near the front. Jayden spotted John standing beside Amelia, clearly ready to descend the moment the gates opened.

“Hey, John!” Jayden called out, raising a friendly hand.

John briefly shifted his gaze to Jayden, his expression unreadable. An awkward silence stretched between them as Jayden maintained a hopeful grin.

“In a hurry to get down, huh?” Jayden prompted, trying to bridge the gap.

John simply stared at him for a second longer before turning his head away, ignoring the attempt at conversation.

“Ah…” Jayden let his hand drop, letting out a soft, defeated sigh. For some reason, John didn’t seem to like him at all. Jayden couldn’t help but suspect it had something to do with John’s past closeness with Edward, leaving a lingering resentment.

Looking for a softer landing, Jayden noticed Rubina standing nearby. She had clearly witnessed the entire awkward exchange. Jayden offered her a small, self-deprecating chuckle and waved his half-lowered hand in her direction instead. “I think he hates me.”

Rubina merely stared at him. Her nose crinkled in a visible grimace, and without a single word, she took two steps backward, repositioning herself closer to Simon, who was busy feeding Ember on his shoulder.

“Did I do something wrong?” Jayden muttered, perplexed.

“No, that’s just Rubina. She hates everyone, man,” Tyler chimed in, clapping a reassuring hand onto Jayden’s shoulder. “The last time I greeted her, she told me not to wave at her with my greasy hands.” He flashed a bright, comforting grin.

Jayden couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “At least you didn’t seem to take it to heart.”

A few minutes later, the airship finally slid into its designated berth. With a magnetic thud, the vessel locked perfectly into place. The gates hissed open, and the sleek escalator slope extended downward to meet the platform.

John and Amelia were the first to descend, with the rest of the party trailing closely behind. The moment their boots touched the floors of the skyport, they were greeted by a contingent of White Knights. Standing proudly at their helm was a captain in a white uniform, who immediately offered a perfectly executed salute.

“My Ladies, My Lords. I welcome you to First Landing,” the captain said, a wide smile on his face. Behind him, his entire crew bowed in unison. “Private trams and runners are already waiting. You may select any of them to bring you to your destination, though I believe most of your party already has reserved vehicles waiting?”

“Yes, we do. Just get us out of this port already,” Rubina snapped, brushing past the welcoming committee without breaking her stride.

The captain blinked, quickly bowing his head as male and female attendants in matching uniforms rushed ahead to guide her.

“Don’t be in such a rush, Ruby!” Eric sighed, jogging to keep up with her rapid pace.

Taking that as their cue, the rest of the group followed the attendants deeper into the skyport. As they walked, Eric couldn’t help but marvel at the interior. It felt exactly like a modern Earth airport. Everything was constructed from sweeping arcs of reinforced glass and worked steel, creating a vast, luminous lobby.

They weren’t the only travelers arriving or departing, but the atmosphere was remarkably subdued. Because First Landing was strictly a private skyport for VIPs, it lacked the chaotic, suffocating crowds of Earth’s transit hubs. Behind their group, the clanking of armor echoed softly as knights and attendants diligently hauled the luggage of their respective masters, trailing them out into the floating city.

Because of the chaotic, gravity-defying architecture of Edenis Raphiel, standard vehicles were useless. Moving between the suspended islands demanded an incredibly unique transit infrastructure.

Gleaming sky rails crisscrossed the open air, creating a large web of tracks that mounted steep inclines and plunged toward lower tiers to connect the scattered landmasses. For navigating these dizzying gaps, Sky Trams were the main public mode of transport. Ranging from basic local shuttles to highly sophisticated, long-distance aerial carriages, these trams glided along the suspended rails. For travel strictly within a single island, people relied on Runners. Functioning much like traditional mana cars, Runners were engineered to hover slightly above the ground, allowing them to glide smoothly over steep hills, uneven terrain, and elevated winding roads.

Wasting no time, John guided Amelia straight toward the VIP terminal. Reiner Dolphis had already reserved a private Air Tram for the two of them, and they had a strict schedule to keep.

Their destination was Veyra, one of the prestigious upper-tier islands. Veyra was famous across Edenis Raphiel for its colossal open-air amphitheater, an architectural marvel capable of holding over half a million people. It was the perfect, grandiose stage for the Saintess to make her highly anticipated worldwide debut.

Even with a private tram, it would take roughly an hour and a half to reach Veyra from First Landing. Reiner had explicitly warned John not to be late. Though John technically had little control over the transit times, he felt confident they were running ahead of schedule.

“Looks like we got a private Air Tram too, John,” Eric called out, falling into step beside him.

“Good. If we tried to travel in surface cars, it would take us forever to reach Veyra,” John replied, glancing at the sprawling, vertical cityscape ahead. The physical distance between the islands was massive, but the Air Trams utilized advanced propulsion technology along the frictionless rails, allowing them to reach astounding speeds. It was the only viable way to traverse the archipelago efficiently.

“You’re right about that,” Eric nodded in agreement. “Well, let’s see each other at Veyra, then.” He offered a casual wave to John and Amelia, who waved back before peeling off toward their designated platform. Eric turned and jogged lightly to catch up with Rubina and Jeanne.

Technically, Jeanne had been requested to share a tram with Jayden and Milleia. However, she had chosen to travel with Eric and Rubina instead. Her personal security detail from Celesta flanked them closely, seamlessly merging with the Scarlett Knights to form a merged armored escort.

A short distance away, Jayden, Milleia, and Arete were already boarding their own luxury carriage. Once the luggage was securely stowed and the escorting knights filed inside, the doors of the trams sealed shut with a soft hiss. Moments later, the vehicles launched smoothly onto the sky rails, accelerating into the clouds.

Inside Eric’s tram, the atmosphere was a big contrast to the bustling skyport.

“It’s amazing how we can’t even feel the tram moving at speeds like this,” Eric said, a relaxed smile crossing his face as he strolled down the wide central aisle.

The interior of the VIP carriage was very spacious, resembling a high-end lounge rather than a public transport vehicle. The plush, oversized seats were exceptionally comfortable, and a dedicated private staff was already moving quietly through the cabin, rolling out elegant service carts laden with warm food and drinks for the journey.

“Hey, Ruby, don’t go sit all the way back there by yourself,” Eric called out. He spotted his sister several rows back, already laying flat across an entire padded bench to claim it for herself.

Rubina cracked one eye open to glare at him and let out a long sigh.

“Brother, I barely slept on that ship. Just let me get some actual rest already,” she complained bitterly. Without waiting for a response, she shoved her earbuds in, likely blasting music from her phone to drown him out, and rolled over to face the wall.

Jeanne took a seat across Eric, watching the exchange with a sympathetic smile.

“Looks like she had a pretty tough time on the boat.”

“Yeah, she did,” Eric muttered, scratching the back of his neck as he settled into a plush seat. “It was an unusual trip for us. We rarely travel beyond the mainland shores. Honestly, I don’t think Rubina had ever actually been out on the open ocean before this.”

“It wasn’t exactly a first time for us, however,” Jeanne replied, a fond smile touching her lips as she recalled past memories.

“Yeah, we definitely have to thank your dad for those ridiculous luxury cruises,” Eric laughed softly.

“Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy every second of them,” Jeanne said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Well, I certainly did,” he nodded, chuckling in agreement.

Jeanne turned her attention toward the wide, panoramic window beside her. She had hoped to take in the breathtaking views of the floating archipelago, but the Air Tram was moving so fast that the islands and sky rails outside blurred into streaks of vibrant color. It was a shame to miss the scenery, but the sheer speed of the technology was definitely impressive.

Failing to suppress a small yawn, she slipped off her boots. Taking a cue from Rubina’s setup, Jeanne swung her legs up and laid down comfortably on the long bench directly across the aisle from Eric.

“I think I’m already tired. I’m going to take a nap,” she said, resting her head against the plush armrest. “Just wake me up when we finally get there.”

“How can a legendary Hero of Eden be tired from just sitting around?” Eric asked, letting out a loud, teasing laugh.

Jeanne didn’t offer a verbal response. She simply cracked one eye open and leveled a stare at him until Eric’s laughter died down into an amused chuckle.

“Alright, alright. I surrender. Get some good sleep,” he replied softly, raising his hands in defeat.

Jeanne smiled faintly at his concession before letting her eyes flutter shut.

Left to himself, Eric let out a long, quiet sigh. He adjusted his position, sinking deeper into the comfortable upholstery of his own seat. He had promised to wake Jeanne the moment they arrived at Veyra, but as the quiet atmosphere of the luxurious cabin settled over him, the exhaustion of thelong morning journey finally began to catch up with him. Giving in to the heavy feeling behind his eyes, Eric let his head fall back against the headrest and closed his eyes, deciding a short nap wouldn’t hurt.