I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Raul PoV]

The mission began, and Puppeteer's five dolls started causing chaos throughout the area.

Three headed toward the eastern section, two toward the west. Watching their abilities, each doll seemed to wield a different Nature Mana.

"Sound the alarm! Explosions everywhere! We're under attack!"

"Head to the eastern section immediately! We're detecting three enemies attacking there!"

The Aques began moving toward where Puppeteer's dolls were attacking. With this, I hoped the number of guards around the Bishop would thin out.

I leapt onto a rooftop to get a clear view of my surroundings.

There were five main buildings within this religious complex.

The first was the Main Temple, standing at the center of the area.

The second was a study building, located to the east.

The third was the priests' residential building, to the south.

The fourth was the Barracks, where the Aques trained and lived, to the west.

The last was the Medical Camp, to the north.

The most logical choice right now was to head to the Main Temple, since the meeting had only just ended. The Bishop might still be inside.

Having decided my target, I hurried toward the Main Temple.

Plenty of Aques stood guard there — it would be somewhat difficult for me to slip in unnoticed.

Still atop a building, I spotted two Aques walking through an alley between the building I stood on and another.

I leapt down, landing behind the two Aques.

"..."

"Wh-who are you!?"

Both looked startled and drew their swords.

One swung his sword at me, but I dodged, grabbed his head, and slammed it against the wall until he lost consciousness.

The remaining Aques tried to flee, but I used Acceleration to catch up and kicked him into the wall.

He was still conscious.

I walked over, lifted him up, and said, "If you don't want to die, answer my questions honestly, understood?"

The man simply nodded in response.

"State your unit's assignment and location," I asked, pressing a dagger against his throat.

"W-we're heading to the Main Temple," he answered, trembling. "I'm in Second Platoon, First Aques Unit."

"Good."

—Bam!

Once the interrogation was done, I struck his face with my fist, knocking him unconscious.

After that, I began stripping his Aques uniform and put on his shirt, pants, and helmet.

"For now, I don't need to wear this mask," I muttered, walking off disguised as the Aques I'd just defeated. "No one will recognize my true identity wearing this gear."

Once I'd changed, I headed straight for the Main Temple.

I tried to act as naturally as possible to avoid arousing suspicion from the Aques guarding the temple grounds.

If I got caught, I'd have no choice but to fight the Inquisitors here, making the Bishop even more cautious.

"Hey you! Stop!"

Suddenly, I heard someone shout.

I stopped and turned toward the voice. An Aques was walking toward me.

"What unit are you from?" the Aques asked.

"Second Platoon, First Unit!" I answered firmly.

"Second Platoon, huh? Get inside quickly! There's a briefing for First and Second Platoon about this attack," the Aques said, then walked off.

I entered the Temple and saw many Aques already gathered in the main hall, as though waiting for something.

"Attention, everyone!"

I heard someone shout, though I couldn't see clearly from behind the rows of Aques.

"As you know, we're under attack," the man said. "We believe the target of this assault is Bishop Vermind, and the perpetrator is the heretic group, The Masquerade!"

They already knew we were behind this attack, huh? The Temple's military unit was quite sharp, it seemed. They must have specific protocols prepared for situations like this.

"We'll be escorting Bishop Vermind to a safer building for the duration of this attack," the man said. "Inquisitor Meredith and I will lead this evacuation!"

Two Inquisitors, huh? I figured I could defeat them fairly easily if I struck while they were off-guard. Three platoons of Aques wouldn't be much of a problem for me either.

Each platoon consisted of 25 people.

Once the briefing ended, the two platoons formed up. I followed their movements, taking a position on the right flank.

Before long, a man in his fifties, wearing priest's robes, walked into the center of the formation.

That was our target: Bishop Vermind.

"Inquisitor Varo, how are the preparations?" the Bishop asked the man who'd given us our briefing.

"Everything's ready, Bishop! Let us escort you to safety!" the Inquisitor answered.

We then began moving out of the temple area.

I still had no idea where this group was headed. On top of that, I couldn't kill him immediately — a rune was visible on the Bishop's right hand, indicating he'd activated some kind of defensive spell in case of a sudden attack.

I needed to identify what type of defensive spell it was before I could dismantle it with the new ability from my Phantom Thief Profound Codex — Dismantle.

We moved north through the area and arrived at the Medical Camp building.

There weren't many Aques guarding this area. It seemed most had been deployed to fight Puppeteer's dolls in the east and west.

"First Platoon! You'll guard the outside of the building! Second Platoon, guard the inside!" ordered the Inquisitor named Varo.

My platoon then entered the building. I was assigned, along with four others, to a corridor on the second floor, while the Bishop was escorted by two other Inquisitors to another part of the building.

Was the Bishop being taken to some hidden room? I didn't know, but it was time to make my move.

"Hey, come here," I said to one of the Aques stationed here.

"What is it?" the man asked, walking over.

"Look at my hand."

The man leaned in closer toward my fist, and his face showed shock as I struck him hard, knocking him unconscious.

"Hey, what did you do to him!?"

I didn't answer, and immediately began striking and kicking two more Aques until they were both unconscious.

"Damn it! Looks like there's an infiltrator among us!"

The remaining two Aques drew their swords and charged at me.

I dodged their sword strikes and countered with an uppercut and a kick aimed at their heads.

Once I'd taken down all four Aques here, I went looking for the Bishop, who I'd last seen heading up to the third floor.

I climbed the stairs and saw one male and one female Inquisitor guarding a door. Beside the door, an artifact was mounted, shaped like a palm print.

Hmmm... some kind of scanner to open that door?

"Hey, what business do you have here?" the male Inquisitor named Varo asked me.

I didn't answer and kept walking toward them.

"Stop right there," the female Inquisitor said, drawing her sword. "State your business here immediately, or I'll cut you down for refusing an order."

I still ignored her words and focused instead on preparing a counter for whatever attack they were about to launch.

The woman moved quickly, appearing right in front of me in an instant.

She launched a diagonal slash from bottom to top. I dodged with ease and countered with a kick aimed at her head.

—Bam!

But the woman blocked it with her left arm, reinforced with Temper magic.

She then attempted a thrust, but I quickly dodged by leaping backward.

"Raging Slash!"

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

But suddenly, the male Inquisitor appeared in front of me and unleashed a sword slash wrapped in green light.

—Clang!

I blocked it with the sword I held. Still, the sheer force sent me flying sideways into the wall.

"Puncture Purple!"

The woman's sword became wrapped in purple light, and she launched a thrusting attack at me.

I quickly moved my body to dodge her attack.

—Boom!

An explosion erupted as the sword struck the wall, creating a deep crater.

If I hadn't dodged in time, my head would have been obliterated entirely.

Exploiting the woman's open guard, I unleashed a Sweep Kick aimed at her legs, sending her crashing to the floor.

But just as I was about to finish her off with my sword, the male Inquisitor blocked me with a combo attack.

I had no choice but to fall back and create distance again.

"This man's strong," the woman said, getting back up. "Could he be a Performer?"

"He's not wearing his mask, huh?" the man muttered. "In that case, we'll learn his identity once we manage to remove his helmet!"

This was bad — fighting two Inquisitors at once would be difficult if I didn't get serious. I figured I needed to set a trap for the two of them.

"Varo, let's do it the usual way!" the woman shouted, charging at me again.

"Alright, I'll prepare it now!"

Hmmm...? It seemed they were setting up a coordinated attack. I needed to be careful here.

"Night Owl Dance!"

The woman unleashed a seven-hit combo, which I managed to dodge and parry with my sword.

This wasn't a combo meant to wound me — the woman was simply stalling for time, letting the man prepare his spell.

I dodged her final attack and countered with a powerful slash aimed at her chest.

—Cetang!

The woman blocked my attack with her sword, sparks flying from the impact. But the sheer momentum of my strike sent her body flying backward.

"Sealing Magic... Green Square!" the man shouted, casting his spell.

Suddenly, my body was trapped within a green, square-shaped seal.

I tried to break it from within using my sword, but it was useless.

"It's over now... Puncture Purple!"

The woman had already settled into an attacking stance, her sword once again wrapped in purple light.

She then charged toward me, intending to destroy the seal along with my body trapped inside it.

But they hadn't realized they'd fallen into my trap themselves.

—Crack!

Suddenly, the seal trapping me shattered, and the woman's face showed shock at what had just happened.

—Slash!

Without wasting a moment, I beheaded her while she had no chance to react at all.

"No!" the male Inquisitor shouted, seemingly unable to believe his female companion had just died instantly, moments before she would have executed me.

But it didn't take long for him to follow his companion into death. A sword suddenly emerged, piercing through his chest from behind.

I'd used Shadow Link to emerge from the man's own shadow and stabbed him straight through the heart.

His body then collapsed onto the floor, blood flooding the surrounding area.

After killing both Inquisitors, I cut off their hands and pressed them against the artifacts mounted on either side of the door.

Before long, both artifacts glowed, and the door in front of me opened.

Inside, a man in his fifties sat in a chair, sipping warm tea.

"Varo, what's wrong? Has the attack been dealt with?" he asked without glancing over.

I threw the severed hands of both Inquisitors onto the table before the Bishop.

He looked shocked, dropping the teacup he'd been holding onto the floor.

"Who are you, stranger?" the Bishop asked.

"You already know why I'm here, don't you?" I answered him with a question of my own.

I began walking closer toward the Bishop. But my steps came to a halt, blocked by something.

This was... a Barrier...

"How naive of you to assume I hadn't prepared additional defenses for a situation like this," the Bishop said, revealing a rune on his right hand. "This is a tier-ten Barrier — only an Archwizard could ever hope to break through it!"

Oh, is that so? Are you sure about that?

I wanted to laugh, hearing his overconfident words.

With my Phantom Thief Profound Codex, there wasn't a single Barrier I couldn't destroy, and no seal that could ever restrict my movement.

I snapped my fingers and said...

"Dismantle!"

The Barrier surrounding the Bishop shattered into pieces the instant that spell left my mouth.

The Bishop's confident expression twisted into pure horror as I walked toward him, sword drawn.

"Call of Zy—" He tried to cast a spell. But my sword beheaded him before he could activate any further ability.

His body then collapsed onto the floor, drenched in blood.

"Mission complete... target eliminated..."

.

.

.

.

.

[Brian PoV]

Everything was total chaos. Every building in this area was engulfed in flames, splitting everyone's focus between putting out the fires and fighting off enemies who targeted the weakest among us rather than confronting the Aques directly.

We were currently in the western section, fighting off three attackers.

These three attackers felt no pain at all, despite taking countless wounds from us. Their expressions remained blank, and their eyes never blinked once.

Were they even human?

One of them flew straight toward me — there was no way an ordinary human could fly like that.

—Clang!

I blocked her short sword, but she didn't stop, attacking with her leg, forcing me to fall back to keep my distance.

The whole time, I and the others had been struggling badly against these three enemies. Casualties kept piling up, and my own stamina was nearly spent.

I'd use Incursio and crush them with one massive strike.

Gathering mana into my sword, I aimed at the two enemies currently cornering one of the Inquisitors.

"Brian! Cancel your large-scale spell!"

I heard a woman's voice — Inquisitor Elvira was fighting an enemy, her body just as wounded as mine.

"Why? My spell could kill them outright!" I asked her.

"If your spell misses, it risks hitting the building where the priests are hiding!"

Ughhh... I couldn't fight freely in a place like this.

Hearing Inquisitor Elvira's words, I canceled the activation of Incursio.

But one of the enemies fired an ice spear at me. Even though I quickly moved to dodge, the spear still managed to graze my stomach.

I hadn't been able to dodge in time, having just canceled Incursio.

I saw one enemy crawling along a building, its gaze fixed on a priestess healing wounded Aques.

The enemy then charged toward the priestess.

Activating Acceleration and Justice Spirit, I rushed toward the enemy. But it suddenly turned toward me and launched a thrusting attack.

I couldn't dodge in time — its sword pierced my right side, causing a considerable amount of blood loss.

Ughhh...

I collapsed to the ground, clutching my stomach.

The enemy who'd wounded me looked ready to deliver a finishing blow.

—Slash!

Blood splattered everywhere as the enemy's body was cut clean in two.

"Are you alright, Brian?" asked the man who'd just saved me.

"Inquisitor... Marcus..."

That's right — the one who'd saved me was the mentor who'd trained and guided me for this past month.

"Rest for now, I'll clear this place out quickly!" He then rushed toward the other enemies.

I tried to stand, but the wound I'd taken was fairly deep, and the blood loss left my body growing weak and powerless.

"Come on, Brian, let's get you to a priest to heal that wound." Suddenly, Inquisitor Elvira arrived and helped me up.

"B-but Inquisitor Elvira! Inquisitor Marcus is facing those two enemies alone! We need to help him!" I shouted at her.

"Hahaha! Even though you're Inquisitor Marcus's Squire, you still don't know how strong he really is in a fight!" Inquisitor Elvira said, helping me toward a priestess. "Heal this boy — he's lost quite a bit of blood."

The priestess then placed her palm over the wound on my stomach.

"What did you mean by that, Inquisitor?" I asked her.

It was true — I'd never once seen Inquisitor Marcus fight at full strength.

"You didn't know? Inquisitor Marcus was one of the candidates to replace the Holy Knight who died fighting a Performer last year," Inquisitor Elvira revealed. "Though he wasn't ultimately chosen, that alone proves the Temple recognized his strength."

Hearing Inquisitor Elvira's explanation only deepened my admiration for my mentor, currently locked in battle.

"Hey, Brian! Watch this fight closely! I'll show you how a veteran fights," Inquisitor Marcus shouted, dodging his enemy's attack before countering.

One enemy's leg was wounded by the Inquisitor's sword, blood pouring from its body. Still, despite the deep wound, the enemy remained agile, quickly attacking the Inquisitor again.

"Inquisitor Marcus! They won't stop no matter how many wounds they take!" Inquisitor Elvira warned my mentor. "You need to sever their limbs to actually stop them!"

Inquisitor Marcus nodded, his sword beginning to glow red.

But one enemy extended its hand, unleashing a massive fireball toward Instructor Marcus. Still, my mentor showed no panic at all, simply smiling.

He raised his sword above his head with both hands, flames beginning to form around his body before wrapping around his blade.

"Roaring Tiger Flame!"

Inquisitor Marcus swung his sword at the giant fireball, unleashing a wave of flame that collided with the enemy's fire.

Even though the Inquisitor's flame spell was smaller than the enemy's massive fireball, his spell managed to pierce straight through it and struck its target.

Smoke billowed, and before long, the enemy's body lay charred like coal.

"..."

"..."

Just as Inquisitor Marcus finished this exchange, the enemy's companion suddenly appeared before us and launched a thrusting attack aimed at the priestess healing me.

—Bam!

The enemy's body was sent flying — Inquisitor Marcus had suddenly appeared and kicked its face with tremendous force.

Incredible... was this what a Senior Inquisitor's strength truly looked like?

But the fight wasn't over — the previously charred enemy was already charging back toward us.

"Tch, how troublesome," Inquisitor Marcus muttered. "Seems I really do need to sever their limbs to stop them."

That was true — these three enemies seemed immune to every attack we threw at them, for some reason. Only one had been stopped, when the Inquisitor split its body in two while saving me earlier.

The Inquisitor resumed trading blows with the enemy. But the one he'd just sent flying got back up and joined its charred companion in attacking him.

It seemed they'd decided to take down Inquisitor Marcus first before turning back to us.

Earlier, these three enemies had always targeted the weakest among us, running circles around anyone stronger.

That was a coward's tactic.

—Bam!

A loud crash echoed as Inquisitor Marcus kicked one enemy's head, sending its body flying far.

But its companion didn't stand idle, stabbing the Inquisitor's shoulder with its short sword. Still, the Inquisitor simply smiled at the enemy who'd stabbed him.

"Got you," the Inquisitor said, gripping the enemy's arm tightly, the one that had stabbed him.

It tried to pull its arm free, but its effort was useless — the Inquisitor held it firmly in place.

—Slash!

The enemy's head flew into the air, severed without hesitation by the Inquisitor. But he didn't stop there, cutting off all its limbs as well, to ensure it couldn't get back up again.

"Now, just one left," the Inquisitor said, pulling the sword out of his shoulder.

The last remaining enemy charged toward the Inquisitor. But its movement looked odd, noticeably slower than before.

They resumed trading blows. But this time, the Inquisitor clearly had the upper hand over the enemy.

What was actually happening?

"You look confused, Brian," Inquisitor Elvira said, smiling at me.

"Inquisitor, what's happening to that enemy's movement?" I asked her.

"Inquisitor Marcus has an ability called Heavy Touch," Inquisitor Elvira answered. "This ability makes the body of anyone struck by the Inquisitor grow heavier than usual."

She also explained that Inquisitor Marcus's ability could stack multiple times.

"Look over there — this fight's about to end," Inquisitor Elvira said, pointing at Inquisitor Marcus's battle.

The enemy he was fighting simply stood still now. It looked like it was trying to move its entire body, but couldn't manage it at all.

"Judging by its condition, I'd say the stack effect on Inquisitor Marcus's opponent has already reached about 10 tons," Inquisitor Elvira revealed.

Ten tons!? How could any human possibly move with that much weight on their body?

—Slash! Slash! Slash!

Without wasting time, Inquisitor Marcus began hacking his opponent's body into small pieces.

In the end, the three enemies we'd struggled so hard against, sacrificing lives along the way, were defeated by Inquisitor Marcus alone.

"How about it, Brian? Did you see how I fought!?" the Inquisitor shouted, turning to smile at me.

"You're amazing, Inquisitor! I'm so proud to be the Squire you took under your wing!" I answered, filled with joy.

After this, I'll keep training with the Inquisitor to grow even stronger.

"Alright, let's hurry to the Bis—"

But Inquisitor Marcus never finished his sentence. His body trembled, blood pouring from his nose and mouth.

A hand emerged, piercing straight through his chest. His still-beating heart was clearly visible, gripped in that hand, right before my very eyes.

"Brian... Elvira... run..."

After saying his final words, the hand piercing through the Inquisitor's chest crushed his heart instantly.

"No, no, no!"

I screamed and tried to run toward the Inquisitor's body, now lying on the ground, drenched in blood. But Inquisitor Elvira and several Aques held me back, trying to pull me away from the area.

"How is this possible!? Inquisitor Marcus had already hacked his enemy to pieces! How could it possibly get back up and attack him from behind!?" I asked, utterly confused.

"I don't know, Brian... we need to leave this place! There's no way we can defeat it in a condition like this!" Inquisitor Elvira answered, tears in her eyes.

I could only stare at the enemy currently stomping on the head of Inquisitor Marcus's corpse — my mentor, who had always guided me toward what was right.

"I will never forgive you! I will kill all of you someday!"

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

Why am I this weak!? Why can't I defeat the criminals spreading this terror!?

I'm so... weak...

.

.

.

[Raul PoV]

The fight had ended...

Right now, I stood beside Puppeteer, who was remotely controlling his three dolls as they fought against Brian's group.

"Why did you stop me from chasing him, Joker?" Puppeteer asked, sounding irritated.

"We've completed our mission — we should leave before more reinforcements arrive," I suggested, giving him a made-up excuse.

He then turned and began leaving the area.

During that fight, the reason Puppeteer's dolls could return to their original form, even after being hacked to pieces, was because of one of his Profound Codexes, called Re-Construct.

He could repair his creations back to their original state, no matter how severe the damage.

Earlier, when the Inquisitor destroyed two of his dolls, Puppeteer deliberately delayed repairing them, letting his enemy grow complacent.

He let the Inquisitor believe he'd already won the fight before killing him, once his guard had dropped.

The Performers of The Masquerade truly were enemies not to be underestimated.

They became absolutely terrifying, if you had no idea what abilities they possessed.