I Am The Game's Villain

As we stepped out of the room and into the dimly lit corridor, I found myself hesitating over what to even call her anymore.

"Are you serious, Amaya? I mean… Elizabeth?" I asked.

Her lips curled into a soft, knowing smile. "You can call me by any name you wish, Darling."

Right—she was still Amaya. Yet at the same time, she carried Elizabeth's memories, her entire soul layered with that existence. A Vessel. Just like Elizabeth once was.

I looked her smile, and strangely, the uncertainty faded. It didn't matter. Not really. Whether she was Amaya or Elizabeth or both at once, my heart already belonged to her. If anything, knowing she bore the weight of so many lives only deepened what I felt. After glimpsing fragments of those memories, I couldn't help but feel this fierce protectiveness toward her. It felt like I had failed her in every other lives. This time, no matter what, I swore I wouldn't let anything touch her.

"Yes," she went on, her expression turning serious. "But I'll need to catch Alicia off guard. That won't be easy—she currently holds my greatest part of power."

My brow furrowed. "But she still… looks like Alicia. Sounds like her too, at least sometimes…" My voice trailed off, unbidden memories surfacing of how she had tried to force herself on me—tried to breed me as if I were just a tool.

"That's because she isn't a true Vessel," Amaya explained patiently. "But because she carries Merithra's blood, she can sustain the bond. Still, it's incomplete. Imperfect. And the longer she remains merged with my Original Self, the greater the danger she'll face. Alicia could vanish completely. The only reason she still has a consciousness at all, Darling… is you."

"Me?" I asked, startled.

"Yes. You left a mark on her. A lasting one. When she merged, Alicia's emotions—her attachment, her love—were forcefully woven into the Original Witch. That's why she's so… unstable."

"I–I see…" I muttered.

It made sense. That obsession, the way she clung to me with frightening desperation—Alicia's already fragile emotions must have been magnified a hundredfold under the Witch's influence.

I hesitated, then asked the question gnawing at me. "By the way… who is Alicia, really? What's her connection to you? To the Vampire Witch, to Merithra? She's a Khaos Princess, right?"

For the first time, Amaya's smile faltered. She lowered her gaze, her voice quieter. "I'll tell you everything, Darling. But right now… Alicia comes first."

"Alright." I nodded slowly.

She lifted her eyes again, mischief glimmering faintly there. "And you'll tell me everything too, won't you?"

I knew what she meant. My past life—Nyrel. She had seen glimpses, flashes of what I once was.

"I never thought you would have such a side, Darling," she teased lightly.

I scratched my cheek.

"I'll tell you later," I said at last, my voice trailing off.

It would be a long story. A very long story. But I wouldn't keep it from her forever. If I lived through all this, I would share it not just with her, but with the others who had stood by me. Maybe, if I'd told Alea and Christina earlier—if I'd confessed what I knew about the game, about Edward and Leon—things wouldn't have spiraled so far. And yet… deep down, I felt like Kleines showing them the timeline of Leon had been the right thing. This way, they could see me for who I truly was. No more false masks. No more pretending.

"Darling!"

Before I could respond, Elizabeth—Amaya—suddenly yanked me by the wrist and pulled me around the corner, away from the open corridor. She pressed me against the cold stone wall, her body flush against mine, but her eyes sharp.

"Elizabeth, this isn't the time—" I began, startled.

She shot me a flat, dry look. "As much as I'd love for you to fuck me here and now against the wall, Darling, it'll have to wait. Alicia is close."

I panicked. "She's here? Where?"

"I can feel her. Smell her. She's in her mist form, searching for you."

A cold shiver ran down my spine. "And what do you think she'll do once she finds me?" I asked. I couldn't shake the memory of how I'd tricked her, how I'd put her to sleep with Sloth before things could go too far.

Amaya's hand came up, pressing lightly against my chest. "Shh. Your heart is beating too loudly, Darling."

Then stop pressing your breasts against me and let your hand wander on my private parts!

"Daaaarling~…"

The voice slithered down the corridor, sweet yet tinged with danger. My heart nearly stopped.

Alicia.

"I know you're here," she cooed. "And I can smell you too, you little thieving whore~."

I froze, speechless. Was she… talking about Amaya?

"You stole my alone time with Senior," Alicia said. "That alone deserves hundreds of impalements. And worst of all, you remind me far too much of Beth. Strong, beautiful, perfect Elizabeth… Oh, how I loved her so much~."

Before I could even process that, Amaya's fingers laced tightly with mine, yanking me into a sprint. We bolted down the corridor, our footsteps echoing, before ducking around a sharp corner and pressing ourselves against the wall.

"But I was so, so jealous…" Alicia's voice floated after us, softer now, but darker, more twisted. "Elizabeth was everything. And then… she even stole my Darling Senior away from me…"

-CRACK!

The wall nearby split like dry bark. The air itself thickened, heavy with suffocating pressure that pressed against my chest and made it hard to breathe.

"But I couldn't hate her," Alicia giggled suddenly. "No matter what, I loved Beth. But you, Amaya… I can kill you again and again and again and again… and I will. I'll do it right in front of MY Darling, while he makes love to me again and again. You'll watch us, helpless, again and again~!"

The temperature dropped. Then, like a nightmare peeling into reality, Alicia appeared right next to us. One second empty space—next second, crimson eyes staring, her cheeks flushed a feverish red.

"Found you," she whispered breathlessly, before screaming: "Darling!"

Her arm shot out toward Elizabeth like a blade, but instead of flesh, it struck glass—

Her hand punched through a mirror, shards cascading like icy rain.

A reflection. Not us.

I had layered several mirrors within mirrors, scattering our images like a maze while Amaya and I slipped further away. Through the web of reflections, I saw Alicia staring down at the broken glass, her breath uneven, her eyes hollow yet burning.

"W–Why, Senior…" Her voice cracked. "Why are you always choosing others over me?!!!"

-BOOOOM!

Her mana exploded outward, the pressure of a DemiGod unleashing in full. Windows shattered in violent bursts, stone walls split apart, the ceiling groaned under the strain as if ready to collapse.

"Darling, what did you do to her?" Amaya's accusing voice rose over the chaos.

"I didn't do anything!" I snapped back, but she just gave me that sharp look that made me feel like I'd been caught red-handed anyway.

"It seems you did though," she replied. "She's clearly been in love with you for quite some time."

"What? How? We barely ever—" I started, then faltered.

Amaya smirked. "Darling, she fell for you the moment you broke her engagement with Adrian Dolphis. To her, you were like a shining knight who swooped in to save her."

"Shining what?" I stared at her. "How old is she?!"

"Darling, you're hopeless when it comes to romance." Amaya poked my cheek with a teasing finger, completely unbothered by the collapsing corridor. "Just accept it. And stop rescuing every girl you stumble across. Otherwise, you'll end up with worse than the current Alicia in the future."

"You've got to be kidding me…"

"Senior?"

The word froze my blood.

I turned my head slowly.

Alicia stood there, her hands clasped behind her back, her head tilted at an eerie angle, and a smile stretched too wide across her face.

But the moment Alicia's eyes flicked down to Amaya's hands resting on my chest, her smile snapped away like glass breaking.

Her expression twisted.

"W–wait, Alicia—" I stepped forward quickly, hoping to diffuse whatever storm was brewing.

But Amaya yanked me back hard, and a blade of scarlet energy slashed through the space where my chest had just been.

"Darling, be careful!" Amaya warned, "She may want you alive, but don't think for a second she won't hurt you."

"Are you sure this is what love looks like?!"

Amaya's eyes flickered a bit as she answered, "I've always been starving for love, Darling. So was my Original Self. When Alicia merged with her, those feelings only twisted further. Alicia's emotions are new, fragile, inexperienced. When bound to my Original, they've warped into… this."

Of course. In the end, everything led back to the Original Witch.

I clenched my fists. "Then what's your plan?"

Before Amaya could answer, Alicia's voice rang out. "Stop being so lovey-dovey with another woman right in front of me, Senior!"

She launched forward with terrifying speed.

But Amaya moved just as quickly, surging ahead and seizing Alicia by the hair. With a single motion she hurled her back, slamming her into the corridor wall.

-BOOOOM!

Stone splintered, dust showering down.

I stood frozen for a heartbeat, staring wide-eyed. "…The hell?"

Amaya dusted off her hands and shot me a sly smile. "Don't forget—I'm the Vessel. I still hold the remaining Half of the Original Witch's power."

Then she grabbed my wrist and pulled me into another sprint down the collapsing hallway.

"So that's what Alicia's after, isn't it?" I panted. "The remaining power. She wants it to make herself complete."

Amaya shook her head as we ran. "Alicia can't ever become complete. At best, she'll be overwritten by my Original and become something even more dangerous. At worst, her body will collapse altogether. The only reason she's lasted this long is Merithra's blood—it buys her a little more time. But eventually…"

"She'll die," I muttered.

"Or worse," Amaya said.

"Then what's the solution?" I asked, though I already knew the answer wasn't going to be simple.

Amaya stopped abruptly, her expression hardening. Her gaze snapped forward at the same time mine did.

Footsteps echoed from the corridor ahead.

And then he appeared.

My eyes widened.

Cain Redgrave.

"Cain…" Amaya muttered.

Cain blinked, recognition dawning across his face before his lips curved into a self-satisfied smile. "Lady Elizabeth. It's been some time, hasn't it? I was faithful to you. I even warned you against this man, but you refused to listen. And in the end… you died. Not that it matters now."

I clenched my fists, and stepped forward, placing myself protectively between him and Amaya. "What do you want, you piece of shit?"

His grin widened, mocking. "Your death, Mael. Just as I promised. As for Alicia—she's already in our grasp."

That did it. Rage roared in my chest, and I surged forward, ready to tear him apart. But Amaya's hand shot out, gripping my wrist. Her eyes weren't on Cain—they were fixed behind him.

Footsteps again.

A man with long, pale white hair emerged from the shadows.

Rucain.

He looked me over once, and then chuckled, amused. "So you're the one."

Cain's head bobbed in agreement. "Yes. He's the one—"

-SPURT!

The words died as Cain's head exploded in a spray of blood, his body collapsing with a dull thud.

I reacted instantly, pulling Amaya behind me, eyes narrowed on Rucain.

He smiled.

"I've always disliked him."