I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Valeria POV]

After helping Geralt's group, we brought them back to our resting area. In front of me, the members of my group were supporting Geralt, who looked completely exhausted after being thoroughly beaten by that perverted bastard.

"Oh, Valeria, you're back? Wait... Why does Geralt look like he's been beaten half to death!?"

The one who said that was Brian. We had finally returned to the resting place of my group.

"Ugh... It's a long story," Geralt replied, clearly reluctant to talk about his defeat at the hands of that perverted bastard.

"You have to tell us what happened if we want to defeat that man here," I said, trying to persuade Geralt to speak.

"Ugh... Fine, fine, fine! I'll tell you, okay?" Geralt said, looking irritated.

Geralt then explained everything from the moment he entered the tunnel, how they rested nearby, and how they resumed their journey the following morning before reaching the bridge where we found his group.

He also mentioned that the man's fighting style was somewhat strange. Throughout their entire battle, Geralt had never once seen that man use his left hand.

"Looks like my theory was correct."

"What do you mean, Valeria?" Geralt asked, looking confused.

"That man's left hand is paralyzed because he used Reject Impact on Elena," I replied before explaining what had happened to Elena.

"But why did he only use that spell now? Why didn't he use it when the two of us fought on the beach on the second day?" Elena asked, resting a hand against her chin as she thought.

It seemed Elena had recovered considerably. However, she probably wouldn't be able to fight again before the exam ended.

"Maybe he thought it would be difficult to survive the remaining four days with only one functioning hand," I reasoned. "I think he was afraid of your signature spell, Elena. That's why he used Reject Impact when he had the opportunity to fight you yesterday."

"Is that so...? So all this time, he had a way to defeat me..." Elena muttered, lowering her head.

I didn't know what was going through her mind at that moment.

However, although that man's condition now appeared to put him at a disadvantage after losing the use of one arm, I knew he must have already taken that into consideration. He had probably prepared himself to fight even while handicapped.

For that reason, we couldn't afford to be careless just because he had lost the use of one hand. We had to be even more vigilant.

I had made a mistake by splitting our forces when entering the mine.

But I had done so because I thought that man had also prepared traps in the other tunnels. Yet, in reality, there wasn't a single trap when we entered the mine.

By splitting our forces, I had given that perverted bastard the opportunity to destroy Brian's group and nearly defeat Geralt's entire group.

I...

I'd been deceived by him again.

Even though I was considered the smartest student in the academy when it came to magic, I was still naive when it came to psychological warfare.

It was obvious now.

He had deliberately collapsed the tunnel Elena entered so that we would assume he had also prepared traps elsewhere. That way, he could easily defeat us one group at a time after we entered the mine.

I...

Still had a lot to learn beyond magic.

"So, what's our plan now?" Brian asked, having remained silent until now.

I don't know.

I wanted to say those words.

But being unable to figure out what to do at a time like this would only lower everyone's morale.

The problem was, I couldn't think of a single way to defeat that man anymore.

Who knew what other despicable schemes he had prepared this time?

All our efforts to hunt him down had been for nothing.

"We have to keep moving."

Suddenly, Elena stood up and spoke.

"We have to remember why we're doing all of this," Elena said, clenching her fists. "To avenge what Raul did to us and make sure our comrades don't fall in vain!"

Hearing her words, the eyes of the other members seemed to regain their fire.

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But what were we supposed to do against him?

He was always one step ahead of us.

Every attempt to hunt him down had ended in failure.

It seemed the others were thinking the same thing as me.

"I know we've failed to catch him time and time again. I know Raul has always outsmarted us with his cunning schemes. But even though we've fallen and failed countless times, we've learned his strategic patterns and fighting style. None of our failures have been meaningless," Elena continued, as though she understood the doubts weighing on our minds.

What Elena said was true.

I already knew how that man operated against us.

He would lure us in, separate us, and take us down one by one.

That meant he wasn't confident enough to fight all of us at once.

"This is our challenge as academy students—to overcome an obstacle no matter what it takes," Elena continued, her voice growing louder. "In the future, we will undoubtedly face hardships just like this. That's why we can't give up or lose heart. No matter how many times we fall, we have to keep getting back up!"

"OUUUHHH!"

"That's right! We won't lose to just one person!"

"I won't stop until that bastard noble receives the punishment he deserves for everything he's done!"

The morale of the group soared once again.

Elena's inspiring words had restored their confidence.

*Is this the difference between us?*

Was it the quality of being able to lead others and make them want to follow you?

"Even though I can no longer fight, I—Elena de Aragon—will lead you in our final battle against Raul de Garcia!"

Yes...

We weren't defeated yet.

Raul de Garcia...

We will eliminate you on the final day.

"Report!"

Suddenly, the three scouts who had been following that perverted bastard returned.

"We followed him. He's heading toward the upper section of the mine."

Hearing this, Elena nodded.

"Very well. We'll go there and defeat him once and for all!"

---

[Ariel POV]

This is so boring...

I've been alone in this dark place for quite some time since Raul left me.

Not only was the place silent and empty, but there were also plenty of disgusting insects crawling across the ground and rocks around me. They were quite annoying.

I didn't want to kill them.

Every living creature had the right to live peacefully, just as the Goddess Diana taught us.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

I heard footsteps.

A black-haired man soon appeared within my field of vision.

"You're back?"

At my words, Raul's black eyes turned toward me.

"Yeah... I'm back, Ariel."

He then sat down and leaned against the stone wall.

He seemed like he wanted to rest for a while.

Raul looked at me again.

I had no idea what he was thinking this time.

Suddenly, my hand began to feel ticklish, as though an insect were crawling across it.

A spider was crawling over my hand.

I carefully picked it up with my left hand and gently placed it on a nearby rock.

"You haven't changed, have you?" Raul said, staring at me strangely.

"What do you mean, Raul?" I tilted my head, unsure what he was talking about.

"If you kill that insect, it won't come back to bother you," he explained, pointing toward the spider on the rock.

"Why should I? I can always move it somewhere else if I'm bothered by insects."

Why hurt another living creature when I could solve the problem without using violence?

"Then what would you do if the insect were much bigger, refused to be moved, and tried to attack your best friend?"

Raul's question reminded me of my battle with Brian and Roland against the Bear Monster—the creature that had killed Sephira.

"Not every insect is as harmless as you think, Ariel, and not all of them can be easily removed," Raul said, standing up again. "One of those insects is standing right in front of you now. You'll have to get rid of me through violence if you don't want me to beat your friends senseless today."

Raul's words frustrated me.

I knew it.

Someday, I would have to choose the method I hated most to solve a problem.

But...

I didn't want to use that spell.

"Stand up. Follow me."

Raul began walking.

"Where are we going?" I asked, following behind him.

"The first-stage exam is almost over."

I had no idea what he was planning.

However, it seemed Brian and the others were already close to reaching us to rescue me.

Was that why Raul wanted to move me somewhere else?

We eventually arrived at a cliff.

The distance between this side and the other was around five or six meters.

"Ahhhh!"

I was startled when Raul suddenly picked me up in his arms.

I reflexively grabbed his arm to keep myself from falling.

He then ran forward and leaped off the cliff.

Raul released his hold on me, allowing my feet to land safely on the ground.

He continued walking.

I had no idea where he was taking me.

Not long afterward, a hole about seven meters deep appeared in front of us.

It was fairly wide, with several smaller holes scattered around the surrounding area.

"Take a closer look at this hole," Raul said.

I stepped closer to examine it.

However, I couldn't find anything particularly interesting aside from the small holes surrounding the larger one.

I turned around to ask Raul what he was planning.

"Raul, what exactly are yo—"

I couldn't finish my sentence.

Raul suddenly shoved me into the large hole.

My body plunged downward from the height.

The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was Raul's cold face as he looked down at me from above.

---

[Raul POV]

After taking Ariel to where she was supposed to be, I immediately headed toward the place I'd prepared for my final battle against them.

I hurried toward Level Two of the mine.

I figured Brian's group and the others were still there and hadn't followed me to the upper levels yet.

Not long afterward, I spotted several of their scouts.

Brian was among them.

"Raul! I've found you!" Brian shouted, his expression filled with fury. "I heard Ariel's scream faintly a little while ago! What did you do to her!?"

Brian's face was flushed with anger.

"Hey, hurry! Report this to the others!" one of the scouts said.

I immediately fled from the area toward the place I'd prepared for our final battle.

"Don't run, you bastard!" Brian shouted as he followed me.

But because I knew this place far better than he did, I was able to easily disappear from his pursuit.

However, it wouldn't be long before they found me.

Not long afterward, I reached my destination.

An area filled with several ravines and rocky terrain—perfect for fighting them.

With Valeria's group now joined by Geralt's, I estimated that I would be fighting around twenty people in the final battle.

I heard footsteps approaching from nearby.

Soon, I saw Valeria, Brian, Geralt, and Elena emerge into the area, followed by several other students.

"Finally, you've arrived," I said to them. "Do you want to be humiliated by me again, just like before?"

Hearing my words, Brian stepped several paces ahead of the others.

"Raul! This time, I'll defeat you and save Ariel!"

Not wanting to be outdone by Brian, Geralt also stepped forward.

"I'll make you pay for everything you've done to me, you bastard noble!"

For some reason, seeing this scene made me feel like the Demon King from the game.

Brian, the Hero, had finally arrived at the Demon King's throne room with his companions to rescue Ariel, who had previously been kidnapped by the demons during the final chapter of *Path of Destiny*.

Yeah...

This scene was exactly like the one from the game.

So this is what it feels like to be the Final Boss?

Not bad.

If that's the case, I should deliver a proper Final Villain line at a moment like this to make the atmosphere more interesting.

"Then come and take her from me, you lowly human."

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