I Am The Game's Villain

"Milady."

"..."

"Commander?"

I finally turned my face toward Vesryn, who stood in front of me. Behind him, the others gathered waiting for me to speak.

"The alliance army is advancing. It's time," Vesryn said.

The news wasn't unexpected. The Alliance had deployed 2,000 soldiers, a significant force compared to their previous skirmishes. This time, they had fortified their approach, erecting walls of defense and securing every path to avoid another ambush.

"Is Karl Dolphis among them?" I asked.

"No, Commander. He remains on the main ship, far from the shoreline," Vesryn replied.

I sighed, grabbing the sword lying on the table.

Its simplicity didn't matter; I wasn't looking for elegance, just efficiency. It would suffice for my job.

Without another word, I strode out of the tent, the others falling into step behind me. Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

The combined forces of Ruvelion and Teraquin were already assembled, their ranks disciplined and ready. I moved through the soldiers until I reached the front.

From this vantage point, I could see them: the Sancta Vedelia army advancing. Leading them was a new figure, a vampire woman, probably the new commander after the Dolphis guys I had captured the first day and the elf man of yesterday.

Silence stretched as I stood there, surveying the scene.

This was the third day I had stood against the very people I was supposed to support. My once-clear purpose had been overtaken by a single thought—saving my mother. Whatever guilt lingered, I buried it deep.

Clenching the sword tightly, I closed my eyes and took a slow, steadying breath.

"Like yesterday, I'll deal with their Commander. Handle the rest. Show mercy to those who surrender. That's all."

I kicked off the ground, launching myself forward at great speed. The wind roared in my ears as I tore toward the enemy, Vesryn and Rania immediately following in my wake. Behind us, the air shimmered with mana circles, their glow signaling the imminent barrage of spells.

"It's her! Loki! Kill her!" The vampire woman shouted.

A wry smile tugged at my lips. "Famous, am I?"

In a flash, I closed the distance, appearing before her in an instant.

She reacted quickly, her sword slicing toward me in a desperate arc. I parried with ease, tand then with a powerful shove, I sent her hurtling back into her own ranks, her body crashing into the soldiers behind her.

"Kill her!"

"Die!"

The cries echoed around me as they swarmed toward me. Mana circles were ready to be released against me.

"Reflect," I muttered, waving my sword around me, summoning a dozen mirrors.

The air shimmered, and the incoming spells reversed their trajectories, hurtling back toward their casters.

-BOOOM!

My eyes scanned the battlefield until they locked onto the vampire woman once more. Without hesitation, I surged forward.

"You Utopian dog!" She snarled, with quite contempt in her eyes. A crimson mana circle flared to life before her, unleashing a blood-infused attack that tore through the air with lethal intent.

Reacting swiftly, I infused my sword with Ruah. Swinging it down in a wide arc, I cleaved her attack in two. The force of my movement sent a shockwave rippling outward as I closed the distance, slamming my fist into her stomach with all my might.

"Agh!" she groaned in pain, her body hurtling backward, crashing into the dirt.

Before I could finish her, another wave of soldiers descended upon me.

"Get out of my way!" I shouted, annoyed. "The sooner I capture her, the better it is for all of you! Surrender once she's down, and you might still live!"

Grabbing one of them by his shirt, I hurled him into the approaching group, scattering them like pins.

-BAM!

My Ruah-coated fist collided with the ground, sending a shockwave through the enemy lines. Dust and debris filled the air as I carved a path forward.

With a powerful kick off the ground, I rushed toward the vampire woman once more.

But as I approached, a fireball erupted from the ranks, blazing toward me.

"Reflec—!"

-BOOM!

The explosion struck before I could fully activate my mirror shield, the force repelling me backward. My half formed mirror absorbed some of the impact, but pain flared across my body as I skidded to a halt.

Straightening, I fixed the woman with a sharp glare. "Surrender. We won't kill any of you," I repeated.

It was starting to get tiring.

"I'd rather die!"

Damn it!

…

…

The battle dragged on for another half hour. Waves of soldiers came at me continuously to kill me or simply protect their Commander or maybe both.. Yet with every attempt, I pressed forward, cutting down those who left me no choice. Blood soaked my clothes and painted my blade in red.

At last, thanks to an opening created by Rania, I captured the vampire. The Ruvelion soldiers formed a protective circle around me, holding back the others of the battlefield.

She knelt before me. Her crimson eyes glared up at me with seething hatred, even in defeat.

"Order your forces to surrender," I asked, coldly again.

"Never."

"Do you want them all slaughtered?" I asked.

"I'd rather die than be enslaved like the others!" She yelled.

My grip tightened on her bloodstained shirt as I hauled her to her feet, forcing her to meet my gaze. "NOBODY is going to be enslaved! I gave my words!"

"Shut up Utopian!"

"Commander!"

-Spurt!

Before I could react, the vampire woman reached for a hidden blade, her arm darting toward me with killing intent. But Vesryn was faster. His sword pierced her from behind, the blade glowing as it exited through her chest.

Her eyes widened in shock as the knife slipped from her grasp. I held her as the light left her crimson gaze, her body going limp in my arms. For a moment, I stood there, watching as the fire of life flickered out and left only silence.

I let her crumple to the blood-soaked ground, staring at her lifeless form.

"..."

I turned and stepped forward, my voice rising over the battlefield..

"Your Commander is dead! Surrender right now!"

…

…

"How many surrendered?" I asked Vesryn once the battle was over.

"Two hundred, Commander. The others fought until the very end," he replied.

Why?

I clenched my fists, annoyed.

"Throw them in with the others. We have enough supplies for them, right?"

"Yes, Commander," Vesryn nodded.

"Good. I'll leave the rest to you," I said, turning away.

"See you tomorrow, Commander," he added as I walked off.

Don't remind me of that...

I growled under my breath, heading for the car that had been prepared for me. I had demanded the fastest vehicle available, unwilling to endure the slog of a carriage after everything.

Without bothering to change out of my bloodstained clothes, I climbed into the car and slammed the door shut behind me.

I'll deal with Alvara, then sleep at Utopia. Too tired to return to Elyen Kiora tonight…

…

…

…

"You know, I told you yesterday, but just to recap—I'm infiltrated among them to get my mother out of this mess. And, well... you know, I somehow ended up as Freyja's bodyguard." My voice trailed off before picking up again. "And as if that wasn't enough, she entrusted me with her army. An army, Alvara. To beat down the damn Sancta Vedelia forces that came down by ship. Oh, and she made me their Commander. Third day on the job, and today? Today might just be the worst one yet."

I let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through my hair. My boots scraped faintly against the polished floor as I shifted my weight.

Alvara didn't even glance up. She was laying in her bed hugging her knees, but this time she had a book in her hands. That ever-present scowl etched into her face made me think that she was teetering on the edge of snapping. Any second now, she might tell me to get out of her room.

But she didn't.

Why?

Because she knew I hadn't yet given her the day's treatment for Sloth. I had purposefully stalled, using my rants as leverage to ensure she'd listen—well, tolerate—my venting. It was a scummy move, sure, but I didn't have anyone else I could talk to about this.

I sighed, leaning against the wall, my arms crossed as I glanced her way. "You're not even paying attention, are you?"

Her eyes remained glued to the pages, her expression unchanged.

"Of course you're not," I muttered, staring at the ceiling.

But that was fine. She already knew who I was, so it's not like I needed to keep secrets from her. And for some inexplicable reason, I kept finding myself in here, ranting about my day to her, a Major Antagonist who could decide to kill me and everyone else in this place without a second thought if she snapped.

It wasn't like I had anyone else to speak about my guilt issues anyway.

"Anyway," I pressed on, shifting my gaze to the chandelier above. "About today. There was this vampire woman—her Commander, actually. I kept asking her to surrender. Again and again, I told her we wouldn't enslave her or her people. But she wouldn't believe me."

"She…tried to kill me instead. And then... one of the Ruvelion Knights killed her before she could."

The soft flip of a page turning was the only sound following my words.

"I saw that knife coming. For a split second, I didn't move. Like, don't tell me I was ready to accept my death like some tragic antihero?" I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "Yeah, I feel guilty about the deaths. I feel like a traitor. But still, I did it... for my mother." My voice trailed off before I glanced at Alvara. "So, here's my question," I continued, leaning forward slightly. "You. Alvara. You betrayed your own country for revenge and to protect your sister's future. You, of all people, should get what I'm feeling. Do you feel guilty or not?"

At my audaciously rude comment, her cold golden eyes flicked toward me. Then, without a word, she hurled her book at my face.

I caught it mid-air, the force barely registering as I let out a low sigh.

"If you're not going to heal me, get out," she snapped.

"Coming, coming," I groaned, standing up with exaggerated sluggishness.

"Gloves," she reminded curtly as I approached.

"Oh, right." I slipped on a fresh pair, the leather taut against my fingers, before reaching for her hand. As I carefully unwrapped the bandages, I noted her wounds had closed significantly.

"They're already almost healed," I murmured. "No need to rewrap them. You can throw the bandages away tomorrow. Once you're over Sloth's affliction, your recovery will speed up even more."

Alvara's delicate hand rested in mine as I began the treatment. My control over Wrath was even better so I treated her much faster but it drained me faster as well.

Two minutes in, I released her hand, sagging with exhaustion. "That should do it," I muttered, collapsing onto the bed beside her. My head rested on the bed right in front of Alvara's form.

Alvara grimaced visibly in annoyance. "Move."

"Give me a minute," I replied, closing my eyes.

For a moment, the room was silent. Then I felt a faint nudge against my arm. Opening one eye, I glanced down to see her slender, alabaster foot hesitantly pressing against me. Her effort to push me away was... laughably ineffective.

Her foot was soft, delicate, almost fragile—utterly unsuited for shoving anyone off anything. I raised an eyebrow, giving her a look that clearly said: Are you serious?

Alvara froze suddenly as she quickly withdrew her foot. She tucked it back beneath the hem of her dress and hugged her knees closer to hide her feet from me.

Oi.

"I don't have a weird fetish, relax," I said, attempting to lighten the mood.

Instead of easing the tension, my comment earned a glare so murderous I half-expected her to pummel my head to death with a book.

"Hm?" I frowned suddenly.

From my vantage point on the bed, I caught a glimpse of her forehead partially hidden beneath her mint green hair. Something was off. Rising slightly, I leaned closer, brushing her hair aside to get a better look.

There it was—a red, slightly swollen dent on her forehead.

"What the hell?" I muttered. "Why didn't you show this to me the first day?"

No answer.

I turned to her, expecting the usual venomous retort, but she was… staring at me. Her expression was different—shocked, maybe, or something I couldn't quite place.

"I have my gloves on," I reassured her awkwardly, sensing her discomfort as my gloved fingers rested gently against her forehead.

She didn't reply.

"..."

"..."

The silence stretched as my eyes locked with hers.

Now that I was this close, I couldn't help but notice just how pretty her features were. Her golden eyes, different from Freyja's, seemed to pull me in, trapping me in a world where only the two of us existed.

Her face was flawless, incredibly beautiful.

She deserved to be a Princess.

She deserved to be a High Elven Princess.

And she deserved to be considered as a Goddess.

She had that much beauty and attraction in her.

A kind of beauty that felt otherworldly, almost forbidden.

You honestly couldn't blame Lykhor to have fallen for her, he who had been often this close to Alvara.

-Thump!

My heart skipped a beat, then quickened.

"...!"

Realizing my own thoughts were spiraling somewhere dangerous, I abruptly withdrew my hand and scrambled off the bed, nearly tripping in my haste.

This is bad. Really bad.

Alvara, who was staring at me, narrowed her eyes slowly.

"A-Anyway," I spoke up, grabbing some bandages and dropping them onto her bedside table, "here, treat yourself."

Before she could say a word—or before I could embarrass myself further—I bolted out of the room, shutting the door behind me a little too quickly.