I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 466: [Event] [Elven Utopian War] [8] Amael's Decision



"Vina."

"Vina? What a beautiful name," I blurted, my voice softer than I intended.

The name rolled off my tongue smoothly, lingering pleasantly in my mind.

Vina flinched, her body tensing as if my words had creeped her out. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as she watched the fire crackling.

[<Stop. She's creeped out.>]

Shaddap.

I wasn't trying to be weird. I just needed to talk to her-to gather some crucial information.

"How long has it been since you saved me?" I asked.

"A week." Her reply was curt.

A week...

I clenched my fist at the reminder of him.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

That man-was an Avatar of Samael, like me.

He used something he called 'Sin of Sloth.'

Damn it!

This wasn't in the game.

[<I think the reason for that is obvious, Amael.>]

'How so?'

[<Nihil created that game, didn't he? The last thing he'd want is for you to easily track down the Sins. That's why there's no mention of Samael or the Sins anywhere. It's deliberate.>]

Right...

Nihil had intentionally kept the truth hidden. He made sure I walked into that encounter blind. But if I'd known the Sins existed, I might've been more cautious before rushing in like an idiot against Durathiel.

And I have no freaking intentions to become that freak of thousands years ago to begin with! [<It's good that you're using the knowledge of the Game Nihil crafted from whatever timeline or reality he foresaw but don't forget, Amael. Nihil's main concern isn't you. He may have omitted or altered details to mislead you, but I doubt he has any real ill intent.>]

'Yeah... I know.'

When I spoke to him, Nihil hadn't struck me as malicious. He was focused-driven by goals I still didn't fully understand. But one thing was clear: he didn't want me gathering the Sins and becoming Samael. Because if I did if I regained all my memories-'my' first instinct might be to seek revenge without caring about the consequences.

But that thinking of him was really angering me.

Everyone saw me as Samael's vessel, his reincarnation, or whatever else they wanted to call it. But I wasn't him.

I wasn't his puppet.

I was just Amael- with Nyrel's memories.

Was it so much to ask to live my own life?

Pain coursed through my body as I dragged myself toward the crackling fire. It was hard but I forced myself forward and sank heavily to the ground across from Vina.

Ignoring the ache radiating through my chest, I turned my focus inward, drawing on Cleenah's Legacy.

'Anna. Samara.'

Relief swept over me-they were safe. But there was something else, something strange. The threads that connected me to them, once vibrant, were severed temporarily. Not by some external force, but by myself.

An unconscious wish.

Since that moment I'd lost control-since Annabelle and Samara had been caught in the aftermath of my loss of control-I'd wished deep down to shield them from myself. To cut off the connection we shared.

And now, it seemed my control over Cleenah's Legacy had grown better, granting that wish without my conscious effort.

I let out a weary sigh, pressing a hand to my chest as a dull ache spread through me.

A week has passed. Normally, I'd pride myself on my recovery speed, but his attack had left wounds that even time struggled to heal. I couldn't stay here much longer, though. Time wasn't a luxury I could afford.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"On a small island," Vina replied. "You won't find anyone or anything here."

The way she said it felt oddly... final, almost as if she were reassuring me I had no other options.

"You live here?" I couldn't stop the question from slipping out.

She nodded.

"Alone? Don't you have any family? A home?"

Vina's gaze shifted, and for a moment, I caught a flicker of something-melancholy, maybe even loss. She didn't answer at the end.

An orphan then...

This world was cruel. It was a lesson I'd learned long ago, but seeing its harshness reflected in someone else's life and this young was quite difficult.

Suddenly, her maturity made sense. She'd had no choice but to grow up fast, to learn to survive in isolation. I wanted to ask why she hadn't sought out a town, a community, but I held back. Maybe she preferred solitude. I could understand that—after all, I'd once been the same after my family's death on Earth.

The silence between us stretched, broken only by the occasional crackle of the fire. Finally, I

spoke.

"I need to leave," I said, breaking the silence.

Her eyes flicked to me, unreadable.

I couldn't stay here. If a week had passed, Sancta Vedelia was surely engulfed in the war. My sister, the others--they needed me.

"Where?" she asked.

I hesitated. I'd expected her to object, maybe even force me to ask for her help to leave this

island. But she was surprisingly... compliant.

"Sancta..." I started, but the word faltered on my tongue.

I wanted to go back, but was it the right choice?

What was I even doing here?

Christina wasn't going to take part in the war, at least not yet. That left me without a compelling reason to join the conflict, apart from one: keeping Victor and Celeste alive. Victor, though, hardly needed my help. He was the protagonist, after all. I knew his recovery was inevitable, and he'd only grow stronger from this war, just like Jayden did at the climax of the First Game. Celeste was a different matter, but I'd already left Annabelle to watch over her. That should be enough to keep her safe for now and she was quite stronger herself since she awakened as Prophetess, once she fully awakened, she might reach another level.

No, there was something far more important to me than this war.

My mother.

I knew where she was.

And with everyone distracted by the war, this was the perfect opportunity to free her.

Still, one question was at the back of my mind: why was Utopia keeping her captive in the first place? Did my father-if he really was my father-have ties to Utopia?

I couldn't tell.

What mattered was that I had a plan right now.

"Elyen Kiora," I murmured to her in the end.

That was where she was-the Capital of the High Elves.

Vina, sitting silently across from me, stared at me.

"You must be aware of the war."

"I am." I nodded once, meeting her gaze.

"Utopia is exterminating humans," she continued. "Killing them or enslaving them. No

human would last a second there."

Her words were telling the brutal truths.

She wasn't wrong.

I was half High Human and half human-a walking red flag to every supremacist in Utopia.

My heritage alone would ensure my death, regardless of any title I held. Even as the heir to the Olphean House, I doubted they'd spare me, even more being the Heir of the one of Houses ruling Sancta Vedelia. But I had no intention of entering Elyen Kiora with my true appearance

anyway.

"It's my problem to deal with," I replied, unwilling to share more than necessary.

Vina frowned, the corners of her lips tightening. "I can't be seen by the others. The seas are

entirely under their watch."

Of course.

I had hoped that, given how she emerged from the ocean as if it belonged to her, she might

have

a beneath the waves undetected.

to slip past their patrols. A hidden vessel, perhaps, or even the ability to navigate

After all, I had seen her save me-her figure swimming effortlessly in the heart of the ocean, glowing faintly with mana. That memory lingered in my mind, clear even as I had slipped into

unconsciousness.

It had been her. There was no doubt about it.

Now, I couldn't force her.

And even if I could, I wouldn't.

She had already saved me-that was more than enough.

I mulled over the situation, trying to piece together a better plan, when Cleenah's voice

interrupted my thoughts.

[<Don't leave right away. Do you wish to die?>]

Her tone was slightly tinged with irritation, but beneath it, there was something else—

concern.

'Cleenah?'

[<You're recovering from your injuries. That man nearly killed you. Are you really planning to walk straight into his domain?>]

I grimaced at her words, painfully aware of how close I had come to death. My chest still

throbbed, the wound still seeping blood. Looking down at it, I clenched my fists.

Durathiel Ruvelion.

The next time we met, he wouldn't hesitate. He wouldn't underestimate me. Something deep inside me stirred-an almost primal instinct that urged me to kill him. It was

dark, insistent, and unfamiliar, as if it didn't truly belong to me. No, it was more than instinct.

It was a compulsion, a cursed connection between us.

We were both Avatars of Samael.

The Sins within us demanded a victor, someone to bear the full weight of all the Sins, to resurrect Samael. It all made sense now, as much as I hated to admit it.

Was that why Leon Cromwell despised me? Why he had hunted me, killed my family on Earth?

And my hatred for him-was it truly because of what he'd done to my family? Or was it just another facet of this accursed bond, this forced rivalry dictated by instincts that weren't even

mine?

Probably both.

But the thought chilled me to the bone.

What scared me most wasn't my hatred for Leon-it was the possibility that it wasn't truly

my own. If my actions, my emotions, were shaped by this cursed connection, then how much

of me was even... me?

[<Edward.>]

Cleenah's voice brought me back to reality gently. It was rare for her to call me by my first

name. I exhaled deeply, steadying myself.

"You're right," I finally admitted.

A year ago, back at Celesta, I wouldn't have hesitated. I would've stormed off, reckless and

unprepared, chasing to save my mother without a plan. I was immature back then-foolishly convinced I could handle everything on my own.

But now...

I had allies at Sancta Vedelia. People I could trust, even if it was difficult for me to rely on

others because of the fear of disappointment.

I had time. Precious time to recover, to train, to become stronger.

'Cleenah.'

[<Yes?>]

'Can you train me? For the next few weeks.'

There was a pause. Silence stretched between us, but I could almost sense the faint smile

curling on her lips.

[<Of course.>]