I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Raul POV]

Okay... How should I explain the current situation?

Originally, I intended to help the Knights and mages here so that the number of casualties caused by the dragon's attack wouldn't increase any further.

However, the Knights here had fallen into despair and given up after seeing their enemy remain alive even after they had completely destroyed its body.

I couldn't let them stop fighting. I still needed their help to defeat the Blackfire Dragon—Syrax.

That was why I decided to reignite their fighting spirit by reciting the Knight's Oath spoken by the Legendary Hero—Pendragon—when he was inducted as an Imperial Hero.

The oath that everyone must swear when they are inducted as an Imperial Knight.

However, I never expected that the oath I had casually recited would summon the Holy Sword Excalibur right into my hands!

I stared at the golden-colored sword in my grasp.

This weapon was one of the ten SSS-Class Artifacts in the game.

Holy Sword Excalibur—a sword capable of cutting through anything and ignoring any defense possessed by its enemy.

This meant that no matter how powerful someone's Barrier or physical attributes were, this sword could pierce through them with ease.

Furthermore, the sword possessed an effect that amplified magic imbued with the Light Nature of Mana, making it exceptionally compatible with Brian.

Its effect became even stronger when fighting against demons.

That was precisely why this sword was so feared by the Demon King and his followers.

But how had this sword been summoned simply because I recited that oath?

I had absolutely none of the qualities required to become a Hero!

"Don't just stand there! Use the Holy Sword you're holding and defeat that Momster!" one of the Inquisitors shouted.

"B-But I'm a Heretic! My heart is far too tainted to wield this sword!" I replied half-jokingly.

"That doesn't matter! Hurry up and defeat that damn monster!"

No, no, no, no...

If everyone saw me using the Holy Sword Excalibur, I would become a target for all the powerful factions in this world!

The Demons would come after me for an obvious reason, while the Temple's authorities would intensify their hunt for me because they would never tolerate a Holy Sword bestowed directly by the Goddess being wielded by a Heretic.

No matter how unparalleled this sword's abilities were compared to other weapons, I didn't want to take such an enormous risk.

My influence and strength weren't enough to deal with these two major factions yet.

"I remember that sword..." Blackfire Dragon Syrax said, pointing at the weapon in my hand. "That is the weapon used by the Knight of Light to cut off my two proud wings! How can a weak human like you summon it?"

The "Knight of Light" was the title used by creatures other than humans and demons when referring to the Hero Pendragon.

"I'll destroy that sword along with your body until both are reduced to ash!"

Syrax charged toward me, but all the Knights and Inquisitors here immediately tried to intercept him.

I glanced to the side.

A blond-haired man was still standing there in a daze, staring at the phenomenon surrounding the appearance of the Holy Sword Excalibur.

He was the one who should wield this sword.

He was the one who possessed Pendragon's Codex.

And he was the one who should become the symbol of security for this continent.

Without thinking twice, I threw the Holy Sword Excalibur toward Brian.

"Huh? Why are you giving this sword to me?" Brian asked, looking confused.

"This sword will be far more useful in your hands," I replied. "Listen carefully. You must kill Syrax with Excalibur. This has already become your destiny."

I looked directly into his eyes as I said those words.

"My destiny...?" Brian muttered as he stared at the Holy Sword Excalibur in his hands.

"The two of us will fight the dragon again," I said, explaining our next strategy. "Right now, the dragon is in its Humanoid form. In this form, we won't be able to land attacks on it as easily as before."

Syrax's Humanoid form was smaller and far more agile than his dragon form.

Although he had lost a considerable amount of his power in this Humanoid form, he would now be much more effective against humans in close combat.

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"I and the others will intercept its attacks. Don't commit to an attack until the dragon is in a position where it can't easily evade you." Brian listened to me seriously. "Only this sword can easily injure it. Don't let him take it from you."

"I understand," Brian replied.

I turned around and walked toward the dragon, which had just sent several Knights flying after they tried to block its path.

The dragon looked at me and smiled wickedly as it approached.

"You want to fight me alone, Human? Aren't you afraid of dying? Hahaha!"

"A dragon that has lost most of its strength doesn't frighten me at all," I replied as I drew my sword.

"Hooo~ So you know about it after all," the dragon said. "The person who resurrected me was only able to restore twenty percent of my original strength. If I had the power I possessed when I was still alive, it would have been incredibly easy for me to destroy this city and slaughter all of you."

The dragon rushed toward me and threw a punch.

I dodged to the side, but it immediately followed up with a Spinning Kick aimed at my head.

• Bam!

I blocked it with my arm, but the force was so great that my body was sent flying backward.

I stab my sword into the ground to stop myself from being thrown any farther.

Then I saw flames gathering inside the enormous mouth located on the dragon's chest.

"Power Blast!"

A fiery laser shot out from the mouth and came rushing toward me.

I immediately activated Acceleration and dodged to the side.

The dragon stopped its attack and avoided Brian's combination of attacks after realizing that its attention had been diverted toward me.

I quickly closed the distance again.

Brian managed to leave several scratches on the dragon, but Syrax successfully landed a punch directly against his face, sending him crashing into a building.

I thrust my sword toward the dragon's eye, but it nimbly dodged before kicking me in the stomach and sending me flying in the same direction as Brian.

"Ughhh... Any other plans?" Brian asked as he tried to stand.

I wiped the blood from my mouth.

That kick had hurt like hell.

"Of course. As usual, you'll gather Mana into your sword," I replied. "This time, don't fire your magic from a distance. Fire it when you're directly in front of the dragon with a thrust."

"I understand. But how are we going to stop its movements? Its smaller body makes it incredibly agile now!" Brian asked.

"I'll take care of that," I replied. "Attack immediately when I give you the signal."

After explaining the plan, we were suddenly startled by a fiery laser shooting toward us.

The two of us quickly dodged.

A massive explosion erupted when the fiery laser struck one of the city's buildings.

"Now! Execute the plan!" I shouted at Brian.

"Understood!"

I dashed toward the dragon and engaged it one-on-one, giving Brian enough time to gather Mana.

"Come at me, boy! Show me what you've got!" the dragon shouted with a grin.

My sword wouldn't be able to penetrate those hard scales.

This time, I would fight it with my bare hands.

• Bam!

I threw a punch reinforced by Temper directly at its face.

However, the dragon didn't dodge.

It simply stood there as my fist struck its face.

"Is that all the strength you have?" the dragon said mockingly.

Without stopping, I followed up with a Spinning Kick.

But this time, the dragon caught my leg and threw me high into the air.

The dragon then fired three fireballs from the mouth on its chest.

I drew my sword, enveloped it in an Unreality Field, and slashed through all three fireballs.

The dragon then leaped toward me as I began falling from the sky.

• Bam!

Its head slammed into my stomach with tremendous force, sending me flying into one of the clock towers standing in the city.

"Ughhh... That really hurt. I think one of my ribs cracked from that headbutt."

However, I saw the dragon fire another fiery laser toward me.

I immediately leaped from the tower and drove my sword into its wall to slow my descent.

The dragon charged toward me again, attempting another headbutt.

I avoided it by jumping and landed on the ground.

A large hole had been left in the tower by the dragon's impact.

"Tch, I missed!" the dragon said as it emerged from the building, visibly annoyed.

It then fired dozens of fireballs from the mouth on its chest toward me.

Activating Acceleration, I ran and leaped in a zigzag pattern to avoid all of its attacks.

Several explosions sounded behind me.

My body was thrown forward.

It seemed that one of the fireballs had exploded directly behind me.

I tried to get back on my feet, only to see the dragon descend from the clock tower and land directly in front of me.

"I'll kill you now!" the dragon said, its hand becoming enveloped in lava.

Hearing those words, I laughed.

"Really? I think you're the one who's going to die for the second time, Syrax."

I pointed behind the dragon.

Syrax turned around after sensing something.

Brian had already gathered a tremendous amount of Mana into the Holy Sword Excalibur and was ready to use it.

The dragon attempted to charge toward Brian and kill him before he could attack.

However, it suddenly found itself unable to move its legs.

That was because I had activated Shadow Lock and stepped on its shadow, preventing it from moving at all.

"Now, Brian!"

The blond-haired man charged toward the dragon with Excalibur shining brightly in both of his hands.

He thrust the sword into the mouth on the dragon's chest.

However, the attack wasn't enough to kill it immediately.

"You think I'll die to a brat like you!?" the dragon roared as it struggled to move its body.

"No! My attack isn't over yet!" Brian shouted as his body began to become enveloped in golden light. "With this sword, with this power, I will not fail to protect everyone again! I will prove that I am worthy of becoming a Hero!"

Seeing Brian prepare his finishing attack, I immediately leaped away from the two of them.

"EX---CALIBUUUUR!"

Brian shouted the name of his sword.

A tremendous magical wave erupted from Excalibur, obliterating the dragon's entire upper body.

The wind howled like a storm was raging through the area, while the thunderous roar of Brian's magical wave filled the surroundings.

The light produced by the attack was so blinding that I had to shield my eyes with my hand.

When the attack finally ended, only the lower half of the dragon's body remained.

Silence descended upon the battlefield.

The Knights and mages stared at Brian after witnessing him kill the dragon, unable to immediately celebrate their victory.

But then Brian raised his hand into the air, displaying the Holy Sword Excalibur for everyone to see.

"The enemy has been defeated! We have won this battle!" Brian shouted loudly.

Everyone was stunned.

The sight of Brian standing there with the Holy Sword Excalibur in his hand, standing before the corpse of the monster that had just devastated the center of the city, was almost identical to the paintings depicting the Legendary Hero Pendragon defeating the Blackfire Dragon—Syrax—in the distant past.

On this night, a Hero of humanity had truly been born again.

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[Noble Vampire Vilmore POV]

The battle was over.

There was no doubt about it.

That was the sword the Hero had wielded throughout the ages.

At last, after luring him out by resurrecting the dragon, we had successfully discovered his true identity.

"Master, we've found our target. Seeing how everyone is exhausted after fighting the dragon, wouldn't now be the perfect time to kill the Hero?" Nuna, one of my subordinate True Vampires, asked.

"You're right. However, I can sense several powerful individuals heading this way, and they're not far from here," I replied. "It would be extremely risky if we failed to kill him quickly."

I stood up and turned my attention toward the white-haired man wearing the black robe and mask.

"I can sense it, Nuna. That man was the one who killed Yuna last month," I said to her. "Once our mission is complete, we'll kill him as well and avenge Yuna."