I Am The Game's Villain

After Celeste ran off in tears, I just stood there for a moment. Guilt irking my chest, making me feel like absolute garbage. Maybe I hadn't chosen the right words. Maybe I'd been too harsh. But I needed to push her away—at least for the next month. Claudia's prophecy could clearly not be ignored.

The way she said it, getting involved with Celeste would somehow lead to my death. And then there was that scene I'd witnessed back in Central Vedelia…

No. It was better this way.

If I managed to survive this mess—if she didn't hate me by then—maybe…

But that was a problem for the future. Right now, I couldn't let this eat away at me, no matter how awful I felt.

With a sigh, I turned and started walking toward the cafeteria. Or at least, I tried to. My steps slowed as a headache formed just from imagining what would happen the moment I stepped inside. The stares, the hushed whispers, the not-so-subtle glares. Eating in peace? Yeah, that wasn't happening.

Most of the academy already hated me, and after what just happened, Celeste would probably be joining that list soon.

Victor and John might've been good company, but lately, they were always with their girlfriends—Selene and Amelia. Ever since they got together, those two had barely been around me. They'd officially become henpecked boyfriends. Not that I blamed them.

If things were different, I could've gone to Alvara or Layla, acted spoiled, and ignored my friends too. But neither of them was here.

Rodolf was also out of the question. As for Yanis, he was practically glued to Cylien these days. I needed to talk to him, but not here—not at school. Bringing up past lives and stirring up trauma wasn't something I wanted to do randomly in a hallway. I'd have to ask Rodolf alone first.

For now, though… I had no idea what to do.

I stood still for a moment in the empty corridor, the silence settling in around me.

Is this what loneliness feels like?

[<You should have ate with Celeste before rejecting her. At least you'd have company.>]

That would just make me an even bigger piece of garbage.

Eating with her, sharing a moment, only to reject her right after? That would be cruel. She might've slapped me for it.

Either way, facing her right now would be too awkward, so I decided to go somewhere else.

Right.

A place immediately came to mind—one that wouldn't be crowded at lunchtime. Somewhere I could actually be alone, and maybe, just maybe, find something useful about Behemoth and Deborah Dolphis. With everything that was coming, I needed all the knowledge I could get.

Obviously, I was heading to the academy's library.

The moment I stepped inside, I ignored the pointed stares from the staff. They didn't even bother hiding their disapproval. The archives on the top floor were off-limits to students, but I wasn't just any student—much to their irritation. So I walked right past them without a second thought.

And as luck would have it, Alicia was there.

She was seated at one of the long wooden tables, elegantly flipping through the pages of a thick tome. Skipping lunch, just like me. Either that or she'd already eaten.

For a moment, she seemed completely absorbed in whatever she was reading, the soft glow from the library windows illuminating her calm expression. But the second I stepped in, she noticed.

Her entire body stiffened.

Damn.

I hadn't had the chance to apologize for what I did to her. Weeks had passed, and I never once tried to make things right. Not for the way I treated her. Not for stealing her mother's pendant.

I really had been trash to her.

Closing her book, Alicia stood up abruptly, clearly intending to leave.

I moved before I could think, reaching out and catching her arm.

She tried to pull away, her movements forceful. But I didn't let go.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

Alicia's gaze met mine—sharp, cold.

"Let me go."

"If I hadn't bitten you, we might have lost against Navas. I didn't have a choice." My voice was serious. "I wish I didn't do it, but there was no other option. Believe me. Would you have preferred one of us—or Celeste—dying instead?"

Alicia stopped struggling, but the coldness in her eyes didn't vanish.

And I knew exactly why.

Her pendant.

"The gift your mother gave you… that pendant—it was the Seed of Eden." I sighed a bit. "You've probably realized it by now. I knew too. That's why I took it. Because I needed it."

For some reason, explaining things to her felt more important than it did with anyone else. Maybe because I actually felt guilty.

Deep down, I knew what I'd done to her wasn't justifiable.

"You can call me a traitor, a scumbag, whatever you want. But I'd do it again if I had to." My tone hardened as I met her gaze. "Utopia needed that seed. The people there—the innocent ones, the children—they needed a new Tree. Without the blessings of the original, they would have died. I'm not defending the ones who attacked Sancta Vedelia. But I am defending the people who just wanted to survive. Who wanted their children to live."

I let go of her arm.

Alicia stayed silent. Her expression didn't soften, but the fire in her glare wasn't as sharp as before.

A long, tense moment passed before she turned away, walked back to her chair, and picked up her book again, resuming her reading as if I wasn't even there.

I guess that was better than an outright rejection.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair before turning toward the bookshelves, scanning them for anything remotely useful.

Most of the books were nothing but glorified history records of the first Heads of the academy—entire tomes dedicated to them. Maybe that was interesting to some people, but definitely not to me.

"Do you know where I can find books about Deborah Dolphis and her rebellion?" I asked aloud while flipping through the spines of the dusty volumes.

Obviously, I got no response from Alicia.

She was sulking.

[<She's more angry than sulking.>]

'Really? I just can't picture an angry Alicia.'

[<You're truly a scum.>]

'Oi.'

[<Can't help it. You just flirted with both Elizabeth and Alvara before rejecting Celeste, and now you're trying to hit on Alicia. From a neutral point of view, that's a lot to swallow.>]

…Okay, when she put it like that, I could see why Celeste was pissed.

Still, it wasn't like I was intentionally toying with Alvara or Elizabeth. When I was with a woman I liked, I could only focus on her—everything else faded away. My surroundings, my circumstances… none of it mattered in the moment.

And for the record, I was not flirting with Elizabeth or Alicia!

I grumbled under my breath, shaking my head.

Elizabeth, though… how much had she changed?

She and Alvara had completely abandoned the whole 'dignified princess' act especially Elizabeth. Not that I really minded, but it was jarring. Alvara was leaving soon, so I wouldn't have to deal with her anymore much to my disappointment, but Elizabeth? She wasn't going anywhere.

She didn't seem to give a damn about her kingdom's propaganda against me—or even the fact that I helped destroy Valachia's walls. Her focus was solely on me.

Or maybe… my blood.

I doubted I could talk her down with some poetic speech about love and relationships.

Was she this relentless in the game?

I tried to recall, but I didn't remember her being this… aggressive. That was more Selene's role with Victor. Selene was the Villainess, after all, but since I'd intervened and saved their relationship, I had completely shattered her route. Which, honestly, was for the best. She had been nothing more than a vessel for that Vampire Witch.

Speaking of which…

'By the way, do you know anything about the Vampire Witch, Cleenah?'

[<I already told you—I don't know what happened in the last few centuries. My knowledge comes from secondhand sources.>]

'Still, what do you know?'

Maybe she had something useful.

[<The same as everyone else. She was dangerous. Unstable. She used the Blood Moon to seize control of Sancta Vedelia, completely enthralling the vampire race. To them, she was a living Goddess. In the end, she was killed by the Five Heroes.>]

What a cliché story.

Thinking I had finally found the book I was searching for, I pulled it off the shelf and examined the cover.

[The Madness of Deborah Dolphis.]

"That looks promising," I muttered, taking a seat across from Alicia and flipping it open.

The book was old—practically ancient—yet surprisingly well-preserved. As I skimmed through the pages, I realized it was even illustrated. There was a portrait of Deborah herself, sketched in impressive detail.

She was depicted as a striking woman, her eyes brimming with intelligence. A once-in-a-millennium genius. A healer of unparalleled skill. But her hunger for knowledge had driven her beyond ethical boundaries. She had started experimenting—not just on the dead, but on the living as well. The desperate. The ones who had nothing left to lose.

And thus, the Hybrids were born.

By fusing mana beasts with humans, she had essentially created an entirely new species. Her own family, horrified by her experiments, had imprisoned her. But Deborah was not the kind of woman to be caged. She escaped Sancta Vedelia, vanishing for years.

Then she made the worst possible acquaintance.

Xenos Arvatra.

A man just as twisted as she was, if not worse. A scientist with no regard for morality. Together, they pushed the limits of mortality, and science, perfecting their Hybrid army. And most importantly, they created Deborah's ultimate weapon—Behemoth.

They were partners in madness, each enabling the other's atrocities.

Then, in an almost poetic twist of fate, Deborah returned. This time, she wasn't alone. She marched with an army and razed the Dolphis Kingdom to the ground. Meanwhile, Xenos Arvatra ignited the flames of the Third Holy War.

The timing was no coincidence, even if years had passed between the two events.

In the end, Deborah met her downfall at the hands of Victor Quinn Raven, while Xenos was slain by the King of Celesta. But despite their deaths, their legacies refused to die.

Xenos had been the true founder of the Iris Project.

Deborah had been the creator of Behemoth.

And as always, good people stayed dead, while monsters found a way to crawl back from the grave.

That was what worried me.

The Iris Project was still searching for a Vessel to bring Xenos Arvatra back. And if they succeeded…

Well, that was for the Third Game in let's say about two years.