I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 443  [Event] [Semester-Exam At Vanadias] [31] Amelia Scared

Zone 5

John moved swiftly, his footsteps a blur as he darted toward the 5th zone. He had… threate—requested the other students to divulge Amelia's location, and by sheer luck, she was somewhere in the same 5th zone. But something felt off, a gnawing sensation tugging at the edges of his mind.

Students were fleeing the zone, their faces pale with terror. When he questioned them, their responses only heightened his unease: they had felt something heavy, oppressive presence that clung to the air near Some even mentioned a frightening mana emanating from somewhere deeper in the zone.

John's heart sank. He knew that feeling—something wasn't right. Without wasting a second, he dashed toward the source of that ominous mana.

The closer he got, the more clear the mana became. It was dark, thick, and suffocating, wrapping around the trees like leeches. A chill crept up his spine, but there was also something strangely familiar about it. It tugged at a memory he'd buried, one he didn't like to revisit—the time he had saved Amelia. Only then had he encountered such a vile presence.

He had never told Amelia the full extent of the danger she had been in during that incident, for her own sake. He had hoped—perhaps foolishly—that it was a one-time occurrence, that whatever had threatened her before wouldn't resurface. But now, that hope was crumbling.

"Damn it…" John cursed under his breath.

The sight that met him as he broke through the trees was impossible to miss. The entire area had been ravaged, as if a powerful force had torn through the zone. Trees were uprooted, scattered in a circular radius, some shattered entirely. In the center of the devastation, he found her.

Amelia was on her knees, gasping for breath, her entire body trembling. Her disheveled reddish-brown hair hung limply over her face, concealing her expression. John's gaze darted past her, toward the mangled figure pinned to a broken tree nearby. Whoever—or whatever—it had been was beyond recognition. The body was twisted, disfigured beyond belief, making it impossible to tell whether it had once been a man or a woman. What was certain, however, was the brutal end they had met. The pain that person must have endured must have boggled belief.

John's focus shifted back to Amelia.

Selene lay unconscious beside her, her skin pale but not dangerously so. She had clearly been poisoned, though it wasn't as lethal as the poison Amael was currently facing. Still, the situation was dire. But right now, John's entire world centered on Amelia.

He approached her cautiously, as he called out, "Amelia."

She flinched at the sound, her body tensing. But when she recognized his voice, her head snapped up. "J–John?"

The moment their eyes met, she broke. Tears streamed down her face, cascading in relentless waves, her lips quivering uncontrollably. Her breath hitched, and she whimpered like a frightened child.

Without hesitation, John extended his hand. Amelia grasped it tightly, her fingers trembling as she pulled herself into his arms. She clung to him, burying her face in his chest, her sobs muffled against his shoulder.

"I—I'm so scared, John," she whimpered, her voice cracking with fear. "Something's happening to me… I don't know what's going on…"

Amelia's body trembled against his as if the very act of speaking was tearing her apart. John tightened his hold around her, his hand gently cradling the back of her head.

John didn't ask any questions, as he focused on comforting Amelia. His hand moved gently through her hair, the repetitive motion slowly easing the tension from her trembling body. Bit by bit, she melted into his embrace, allowing his warmth and presence to dissolve the fear that had taken root inside her. Her breathing began to steady, her muscles unwinding as the weight of exhaustion finally overtook her. In no time, her eyes fluttered closed, and she drifted into a deep sleep, cradled securely in John's arms.

For a brief moment, John's expression softened as he held Amelia close, watching her fragile form relax. But soon, a shadow fell over his face, and his gaze turned icy.

"Behemoth…" He muttered, his jaw clenched. "Those bastards…"

Something had been done to Amelia—of that he was sure—but what exactly, he had no idea. The game he had relied on for so much information hadn't mentioned anything like this. There was no record of Amelia being abducted or tampered with in this way, which left John at a loss. He regretted killing Nora so quickly, fueled by the blind rage that had overtaken him in that moment. She had known something, something important, and he'd cut her life short before extracting the truth. If only he'd forced her to talk before ending her life, he might have had more pieces of the puzzle. Now, all he had was a blank slate and a slew of unanswered questions.

But John wasn't about to let that stop him. He needed answers, and there was only one way to get them—by confronting someone higher up in Behemoth. Only they would know what was happening to Amelia, and John would make sure they talked. But before that, he had other priorities to handle.

First, Selene. She needed treatment, and he knew all too well that if he didn't attend to her soon, Victor would be on his case endlessly. Besides, he couldn't leave either of them—Amelia or Selene—out in this godforsaken forest.

John cast a quick glance at his Life-Screen, which still displayed the glowing message they had received a few hours prior. The 9th zone. He would have to act fast.

Shifting Amelia carefully onto his shoulder, he bent down to scoop up Selene, securing her by the waist with his other arm like a sack of potatoes. There was a clear favoritism.

With a single powerful motion, he kicked off the ground, launching them both into the air with ease.

"Do you know where Edward is?" John asked, directing his words to Hecate, though he wasn't entirely sure if she could sense his presence from here.

(<No idea, but likely in the higher zones, don't you think?>) John nodded to himself. "Yeah, that's what I thought too." It made sense. Monsters like Edward would be placed in the more dangerous zones, somewhere between the 7th and 9th zones, where their presence wouldn't be so easily ignored. And judging by the attention Edward had likely attracted by now, the teachers would have kept him under watch.

That was good. John needed to find him as soon as possible and discuss their plans moving forward. Whatever quarrels they had, this wasn't the time for pettiness. Behemoth's attack couldn't be a coincidence. It was too well-timed, too deliberate. They had struck at exactly the right moment.

John's thoughts darkened further.

'Utopia… those bastards have fallen lower than I ever imagined.'

His hatred for the outcast Elves of Utopia had long simmered beneath the surface, but now that they had allied themselves with Behemoth, any remaining shred of understanding he might have had was gone. ***

Zone 7

The students of the 7th zone had scattered like leaves in the wind, fleeing from the chaos that engulfed their area. Most sought refuge in the neighboring 6th or 8th zones, desperate to escape the scary battle that had raged for hours. The air had been thick with mana as blasts of golden fire, shards of freezing ice, and unsettling attacks laced with blood tore through the 7th zone. No one wanted to be caught in the crossfire.

For hours, it had been a game of cat and mouse—though in this case, the mouse was Earth. At first, he had held his ground against the combined force of Celeste and Elizabeth, using his SunFire to fight them off. But as Elizabeth's patience wore thin, the balance of the battle shifted. Her calm fury ignited, and Earth found himself no longer on equal footing. His pride urged him to keep fighting, but survival instincts took over, forcing him into a retreat. He wasn't ready to be eliminated from the exam just yet.

Celeste and Elizabeth had pursued him relentlessly, determined to take him down. Earth was a strong opponent, someone they couldn't afford to leave unchecked. But after what felt like an endless chase through the dense forest, he had managed to slip away.

"I think we lost him!" Celeste finally stopped, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she grumbled in annoyance. "Hmph. What a coward," she spat, crossing her arms over her chest, as if taunting him would somehow draw him back out. In truth, she couldn't completely blame him for running—Elizabeth had been terrifying once she lost her temper.

Celeste shot a glance over her shoulder. "Um… are you okay, Elizabeth?" Elizabeth stood a few paces behind her, silent and still. Her crimson eyes had darkened as she stared at her bloodstained fingernails. She hadn't spoken much during the chase, her focus entirely on tracking Earth down like a predator hunting its prey. Elizabeth lifted her hand, examining the blood that still clung to her fingertips—Earth's blood from their earlier encounter. Slowly she brought her fingers to her lips and let the single drop fall onto her tongue. As the blood slid down her throat, her eyes glowed faintly, the crimson hue deepening as her lips curled into a twisted smile.

"Quite similar to Amael's," she mused aloud. "I wonder what they have in common? Perhaps it's their strange fire?"

"Elizabeth?" Celeste's worry deepened, her eyes widening as she watched Elizabeth. It had been so long since she had seen her drink blood so openly, especially in front of someone else. That wasn't like the 'current' her—Elizabeth was usually more composed, more guarded after Connor's death. Still lost in thought, Elizabeth furrowed her brows as she muttered, "Amael's blood tastes much better."

Celeste blinked, her cheeks flushing slightly at the unexpected comment. "R–Really?" She stuttered. She didn't want to know the circumstances under which Elizabeth had tasted Amael's blood.

Elizabeth cast a sidelong glance at Celeste, a faint smile playing on her lips as if she had caught Celeste's unease. "Let's forget about Earth for now," she said, her voice returning to its usual confident tone. "We should head to the 9th zone. That's where the real action will be. All the big players will be there, and if we play our cards right, we can score a lot of points."

Celeste exhaled in relief, thankful that Elizabeth seemed to be back to her normal self. She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. Let's do that."