I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Valeria POV]

Together with fifteen other members, I entered the southern tunnel of the underground mine.

The place was extremely dark, so we had to take turns using light magic to illuminate our surroundings.

We had to be careful.

There was no telling what kind of trap that perverted man might have prepared for us.

The tunnel was incredibly narrow...

We had probably traveled nearly two hundred meters into it, yet we still hadn't found the end.

No wonder Princess Elena's group hadn't managed to escape through the western tunnel before it collapsed.

After walking for roughly five hundred meters, we finally reached the end of the tunnel.

Beyond it was a large underground chamber with a small river flowing deep into the cavern.

"Keep an eye on your surroundings. If you see anything suspicious, report it immediately," I ordered the group under my command.

We had to remain cautious in a place none of us had ever explored before.

"Valeria, we found a fork in the road!" one of the members called out.

I approached him and found three paths branching out before us—left, straight ahead, and right.

There was no doubt about it.

The path on the left would probably lead us toward the exit of the western tunnel, while the path on the right would likely lead to the eastern tunnel exit, where Brian's group was.

Could Elena's group have survived the collapse and still be somewhere near the western tunnel's exit?

Was that why they hadn't been able to return?

Perhaps their exit had been completely sealed off by the rubble.

"We'll take the left path!" I ordered the others.

---

[Brian POV]

"Come on, hurry! We can't waste any more time!" I ordered the members under my command.

We were currently heading toward the eastern tunnel.

It was the farthest tunnel from the place where the Eagle and Griffon Clans had gathered.

After running for some time, we finally reached the eastern tunnel.

I looked at the other members.

They were all breathing heavily, apparently exhausted from the run.

"Don't waste time! We need to find that cowardly noble as quickly as possible!"

We began entering the tunnel.

I immediately started running as fast as I could.

I wanted to get through this narrow passage as quickly as possible.

I hated fighting in places like this.

"Wait, Brian! Don't go so fast!"

I turned around after hearing one of the members shouting from behind.

They were already falling far behind me.

What was wrong with them?

Did they really intend to become Knights and Mages of the Empire if their stamina was this pathetic?

"Come on."

After running through the tunnel for a while, I finally reached the exit and found myself in a fairly large underground mining chamber.

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I turned around to check on the others.

"Tch. They're so slow!"

Not long afterward, they finally emerged from the tunnel.

Several of them immediately sat or knelt on the ground, struggling to catch their breath.

"We'll search this mine now," I instructed them. "Get up. Let's defeat that cowardly noble as quickly as possible."

We continued deeper into the mine.

I could hear the sound of flowing water somewhere nearby.

There must have been an underground river running through this place.

After exploring the area for some time, we came across another intersection.

I had no idea which path we should take, but my instincts told me that I would find that cowardly noble if we went straight ahead.

"We'll take the path straight ahead!" I ordered the others.

We continued forward.

At least this passage was much wider than the narrow tunnel we had just passed through.

Along the way, we found old mining carts and various pieces of mining equipment.

What exactly had they been mining here in the past?

Not long afterward, we came across a bend in the path and walked around it.

And then I saw him.

About a hundred meters away stood a black-haired man wearing an academy uniform.

"I found you, Raul!"

I could barely contain my eagerness to beat him senseless.

"Oh, Brian, is it? How many people did you bring this time?" the cowardly noble asked.

"It doesn't matter how many people followed me here. I'll beat you with my own two hands!"

Yes...

I would destroy him for daring to kidnap Ariel from me.

I'd turn his body into nothing more than a pile of mangled flesh!

"Where are you keeping Ariel?" I demanded, my voice rising.

Ariel...

She must be lonely and frightened, trapped alone with that cold and despicable man.

But it didn't matter.

I would rescue her from that cowardly noble soon.

"Ah... Ariel? We had quite a pleasant time together, just the two of us," the cowardly noble said, giving me a satisfied smile.

"Brian, do you know how soft Ariel's skin and body are?"

Huh?

What was he talking about?

His words reminded me of the time I had hugged Ariel before my duel with this man.

But Ariel had looked uncomfortable because I had done it in public.

"We spent all this time together, without a single person around to bother us."

The words coming from that cowardly noble's mouth made me furious.

I began gathering mana to activate **Justice Spirit**—the spell I had previously used to defeat him in our duel.

"Have you ever tasted those enchanting lips of hers?" the man asked, placing his index finger against his own lips. "They tasted as sweet as... strawberries."

He spoke as though he were reminiscing about something that had actually happened.

No.

No, no, no!

He was lying!

He had to be making all of this up!

"Stop..."

My heart slowly filled with overwhelming emotion.

For the first time in my life, I felt like I wanted to...

Kill someone.

"Do you know how beautiful Ariel looked when our lips met?"

No!

I didn't want to imagine it.

Damn it!

Damn it!

Damn it!

Ariel...

She belonged only to me.

I wouldn't let another man get close to her, much less speak about her like this!

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

I shot toward him, my body enveloped in golden light.

At that moment, there was only one thought in my mind:

Kill him.

Tear that bastard's tongue from his mouth.

"Wait, Brian! Don't fight him alone!"

I ignored the warnings from the others and accelerated even further, desperate to reach Raul.

He wore a satisfied expression after telling those lies.

Seeing me rushing toward him, the man smiled before turning around and running away.

"You coward! All you can do is run!"

I continued chasing him at full speed.

Ahead of us was another bend, with a cliff at the end of the path.

Raul turned around the corner, disappearing from my sight as the stone wall blocked my view.

"I won't let you escape!"

I increased my speed and rounded the corner.

But the moment I reached the other side, I was shocked.

Raul, who had been running away from me moments ago, suddenly lunged straight toward me.

**—Bam!**

I blocked his punch with my hand.

However, the force and momentum behind his attack pushed my body backward.

I lost my footing and fell over the edge of the cliff.

**—Splash!**

I plunged into an underground river.

The relatively strong current immediately carried my body away from where I had fallen.

"With this, I can easily eliminate the members you brought with you, Brian."

I could faintly hear Raul's voice.

Damn it!

Damn it!

I had fallen for his scheme again!

"You coward, Raul! Fight me fairly!"

I screamed at him.

But the black-haired man merely stared down at me coldly from the edge of the cliff without saying a word.

---

[Valeria POV]

After following the left path for roughly half an hour, we finally arrived at the area in front of the western tunnel's exit.

From here, we could clearly see the landslide that had sealed off the passage.

"Search this area. We might be able to find Elena's group somewhere around here," I ordered the others.

"Understood. We'll report anything suspicious to you, Valeria."

After giving them their instructions, I began searching for clues about what had happened here.

Near the exit of the tunnel, I noticed marks that suggested a battle had taken place.

It looked as though two people had exchanged attacks before being thrown in opposite directions by the force of their respective blows.

Hmm...

Judging from the traces of the battle, one person had been thrown toward the center of the area while the other had been sent toward one of its corners.

I walked toward one of those corners.

Not long afterward, I saw a blonde-haired woman lying motionless near the stone wall.

"Elena!"

I rushed over and immediately checked her condition.

Several blue spots covered her entire body.

"This is..."

Elena's mana circuits had been destroyed.

Without mana circuits, humans were incapable of using magic.

Mana circuits served as pathways through which mana could freely flow throughout the human body.

If those circuits were destroyed, the mana produced within the body could no longer circulate properly. Trying to force it to do so would only cause the body to weaken further.

"What exactly happened...?"

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