I Am The Game's Villain

Durathiel looked at him coldly. ”James Raven. Leave now, and I will spare you.”

James scoffed. Behind him, a crimson seven-layered mana circle appeared in the air.

”Alvara Teraquin is one of my precious students. I won’t let you take her.”

”We have no intention of harming the Teraquin Princess,” Durathiel said. ”We simply need her to nurture the Seed of Eden.”

James’ grip on his sword tightened. His gaze darkened.

”You don’t have the Seed of Eden…”

Durathiel’s lips curled into the faintest smirk.

”I know that Alicia Raven is in possession of it.”

”…!”

”Leora Bloodspire entrusted her family’s artifact—the one she received after leaving Edenis Raphiel—to her daughter.”

James’ eyes narrowed dangerously. ”If you lay a finger on her—”

”Sin of Sloth.”

Durathiel’s voice interrupted as he raised his sword, and suddenly, the air around him shifted.

Shimmering silver particles rose from his blade. The moment James saw them, an unnatural chill crept down his spine.

The air felt heavier.

Without hesitation, James unleashed his mana circle. A surge of rush and fire erupted from it, twisting and swirling violently around Durathiel. The crimson blood coiled in the air, rising above Durathiel before rapidly enclosing him in a growing sphere.

Durathiel tilted his head up, his eyes narrowing as he watched the blood spiral tighter, sealing him in like a prison. He remained still, seemingly unfazed, even as the thick liquid began to harden into a pulsing cocoon.

James leveled his sword at the blood sphere.

”Burn.”

A deafening explosion followed.

-BOOM!

Flames burst forth, consuming the sphere in a ferocious blaze. The blood, instead of being reduced to ashes, acted as fuel, turning the entire mass into a sphere of fire. The inferno roared hungrily, its heat distorting the air around it.

James narrowed his eyes. The attack had landed, but something felt...off. He could sense it. There was no scream, no struggle. Only the crackling of fire.

Then, his gaze caught something—small silver particles escaping through the gaps in the flames, drifting like scattered dust.

Before he could react, a blinding silver light slashed through the burning sphere from above. The entire fiery prison split apart, cleaved open as Durathiel emerged, completely unscathed. His entire body was coated in a gleaming silver substance, shimmering unnaturally against the backdrop of fire and smoke.

James took an involuntary step back, his grip tightening around his sword. ”What the hell…?” He muttered in shock.

Durathiel, floating there, raised his sword.

”Sin of Sloth.”

James immediately heightened all his senses, pushing his concentration to the absolute limit. Every muscle in his body tensed. He couldn’t afford to take any chances. Whatever Durathiel was about to do, dodging would be his only option. He wasn’t sure if he could even block it.

But then—Durathiel stopped.

Mid-motion, he froze. A strange silence settled between them. His gaze, previously locked onto James, shifted abruptly toward the sea, toward a distant boat cutting through the waves.

Alvara’s boat.

James followed his line of sight and cursed under his breath. That boat was already heading straight toward the Utopian Capital, taken over by Durathiel’s men.

Durathiel’s expression changed. Something within him stirred. The Sin of Sloth pulsed in response, resonating with something—or someone—on that boat. His grip on his sword loosened slightly.

And then, without another word, he moved.

In an instant, he kicked off the air and shot forward, streaking across the sea at great speed, heading straight for Alvara’s boat.

James’ eyes widened.

”Wait—!”

He barely had time to react before an overwhelming sense of danger crashed into him. Instinct screamed at him to move, and he barely managed to raise his sword in time.

-BOOM!

A massive, armored knight appeared before him, swinging down a sword with the force of a bull. James gritted his teeth as he blocked, but the sheer impact sent him flying backward. He crashed onto the surface of the sea, skidding across the water before regaining control and landing on the deck of a nearby vessel—one of the Utopian ships.

As soon as his feet touched the wood, he was surrounded. Dozens of Utopian Knights closed in, weapons drawn.

”Great,” he groaned, his gaze flickering back toward Alvara’s direction. His teeth clenched. He had no time for this.

Then, he felt it.

A presence.

Familiar.

A slow smirk crept onto James’s lips as he sensed the arrival of an ally. He sighed, his grip on his sword loosening ever so slightly.