I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Brian PoV]

The ground beneath us began to tremble. The girl who had been standing silently all this time suddenly released an incredibly powerful magical aura.

"Arghhh! Retreat! Retreat! That girl is releasing an extremely powerful wave of heat!" one of the Inquisitors cried out in pain, clutching his hand.

Several building walls began to crack. Even the swords wielded by the Inquisitors started smoking and then melting. The Knights were also seen removing their armor.

"Burn them to ashes..." the girl muttered as she began walking toward us.

I could also feel the intense heat against my skin. Reluctantly, I had no choice but to retreat farther away to avoid getting injured.

"Quick! Order the evacuation of the civilians! Stop that girl before she gets any farther!" Inquisitor Elvira shouted.

Hearing Inquisitor Elvira's command, the Mages here began firing magical projectiles at the girl. However, the spells suddenly exploded before they could even reach her.

Could her heat wave also destroy magic that entered the range of her ability?

"Our magic can't reach that girl!?"

"Retreat! Don't get caught in the heat wave she's releasing!"

Everyone retreated again. The girl continued walking forward, destroying every building she passed. Even the city streets were beginning to melt after being continuously exposed to the heat wave she emitted.

Is there really nothing we can do? Should I fire Incursio at the children?

"Everyone who can use Unreality Field, advance with me!" one of the Senior Inquisitors announced. "We will force our way through this heat wave and kill that Cursed Child before she can slaughter the civilians with her power!"

Unreality Field...

Only those who had frequently faced life-and-death battles could use this ability perfectly.

When a human receives a magical attack from someone, the foreign Mana belonging to that person enters their body and mixes with the Mana they already possess.

Normally, having foreign Mana inside one's body was not a good thing. It disrupted the balance of Mana and made it difficult for a human to activate their magic.

However, the foreign Mana that entered the body would gradually mix with a person's original Mana, causing the original Mana to evolve and allowing it to emit an energy that granted immunity against certain types of magic.

This phenomenon was known as Unreality Field.

The more frequently a person was attacked by magical attacks, the stronger their Unreality Field would become.

Six Senior Inquisitors slowly approached the girl. Faintly, the Unreality Fields they emitted could be seen glowing around their bodies, enveloping and protecting them from the girl's heat wave.

• Wosssshhh!

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind swept toward us. The heat wave emitted by the girl grew even stronger, sending the approaching Senior Inquisitors flying backward. Their bodies were visibly blistered and began emitting smoke.

The girl continued walking toward us.

The others and I helped the Senior Inquisitors who had just been thrown backward to their feet and carried them to a safe place where they could be treated by the Priests.

"I will kill you, Monsters..." the girl muttered, staring at us with hatred. "I will destroy everyone who has taken away my happiness..."

Magical particles began appearing around the girl's body. Not long afterward, those particles started glowing brighter and brighter, becoming more radiant than before.

"Brian... Listen to me..."

I heard the Senior Inquisitor I was helping call my name.

"I can feel that girl gathering an enormous amount of Mana..." he said weakly. "Leave me here and get as far away from that girl as you can."

"B-But, Inquisitor! What about—" I began, but my words were cut short.

The Senior Inquisitor stared seriously into my eyes, silently signaling me not to argue with his order.

"Kill... Destroy... Turn them into useless ashes..."

I turned around and saw the girl's body surrounded by glowing magical particles, shining like fireflies in the night.

Steeling my resolve, I released my grip on the Inquisitor's body and activated Acceleration to get away as quickly as possible.

"Take revenge for Sister... Make those who separated us from her feel the pain..."

I looked back.

The light surrounding the girl grew brighter and brighter until, eventually...

• Wuuusshhhhhh!

An enormous wave of heat shot toward us.

The Knights, Inquisitors, and Mages who were still in the area were swept away by the wave, their bodies reduced to nothing but skeletons in an instant.

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I jumped to the right and took shelter behind the wall of a building.

The heat wave reached my position. The left side of my body felt as though it were being roasted alive, and I screamed in pain as I endured the devastating magical attack unleashed by the girl.

After a while, the heat wave finally began to disappear. I looked around to assess the situation.

However, all I could see were piles of black ash—the remains of the unfortunate Knights, Inquisitors, and Mages who had been caught in the heat wave.

"Impossible... The entire force was wiped out by a single attack..."

I could only see a handful of people who had survived the attack. Almost every building surrounding us had been destroyed, leaving barely anything behind.

On the other side, the girl was now kneeling on one knee, her breathing visibly labored.

It seemed she had used an enormous amount of Mana to unleash that devastating attack.

"Reinforcements have arrived!"

I heard someone shouting behind me. Dozens of Mages and Knights were running toward our position.

"Quick! Kill that girl before she can recover her magic!" Inquisitor Elvira shouted.

The others and I nodded before rushing toward the girl.

I won't allow any more people to become victims of this madness, even if those responsible are still children!

Inquisitor Marcus was right. They were extremely dangerous and had to be eliminated before innocent people became victims of their uncontrollable powers.

• Clang!

Suddenly, our advance came to a halt.

The boy standing beside the girl had extended his hands toward us.

"This... is a Barrier..."

We were only thirty meters away from the children.

If this Barrier broke, we would be able to subdue the children quickly.

"Use your strongest attacks and destroy this Barrier!" one of the Inquisitors ordered.

They began swinging their swords against the Barrier blocking our path.

Not long afterward, we heard a crack, making everyone even more determined to continue attacking it relentlessly.

• Crack!

The Barrier blocking our way shattered.

I prepared to activate Acceleration and rush toward the three children.

However, I suddenly sensed a familiar aura coming from behind us.

"What an irony, seeing brave Knights bullying three little children..."

I heard the voice of a man I knew.

It wasn't just me.

Every Knight and Inquisitor present had heard his voice as well.

We stopped moving and turned around.

A white-haired man wearing a black robe was slowly walking toward us.

He was...

The masked man who had helped us defeat the dragon.

"Has the honor of the Knights vanished from your hearts, followers of Goddess Diana?" he asked flatly.

He casually walked toward us without showing the slightest fear of facing dozens of Knights and Inquisitors.

"We don't need a Heretic like you questioning our honor as Knights!" Inquisitor Elvira shouted. "Half of you, eliminate those three children! The other half will hold off the masked man at all costs!"

Several Inquisitors and I nodded before rushing toward the three children.

However, we were suddenly startled by the appearance of five human-like puppets descending from the air and landing beside the three children.

"Damn it! Don't let them escape!"

Three of the five newly arrived puppets picked up the three Cursed Children, who had given us so much trouble, and immediately ran away from the area.

"I remember you! I'll avenge Inquisitor Marcus this time!"

I launched a combination of attacks at one of the puppets.

It attempted to evade my attacks, but I was able to read its movements and delivered a diagonal slash that split its body in two.

After bringing down one puppet, I immediately chased after the three puppets carrying the children.

"I won't let you escape!" I shouted as I launched an attack toward the leg of one of the puppets.

• Clang!

However, someone blocked my sword strike.

It was the masked man who had just arrived.

• Bam!

He kicked me in the head, sending my body flying before it crashed into the wall of a building.

Ugh...

My body was beginning to weaken after fighting the three Cursed Children for so long.

On the other side, I saw the Knights, Mages, and Inquisitors fighting the masked man, who was being assisted by the two remaining puppets still in the area.

Activating Accel, I rose to my feet and rushed toward the masked man.

Upon realizing I was approaching, strangely enough, he simply stood there without making any attempt to evade.

• Slash!

I swung Excalibur at him, but the man caught the holy sword's slash with his bare hand.

"H-How is that possible!?" I exclaimed in shock when I saw that he wasn't injured in the slightest.

"Ah, have you forgotten? I'm the one who summoned this holy sword."

My eyes widened upon hearing the masked man's words.

The man then punched me in the face, sending me flying once again and crashing into a building wall.

My consciousness began to fade.

My head was spinning terribly.

Through my blurred vision, I could see that the three puppets carrying the Cursed Children had already disappeared from sight.

"Damn it... All those sacrifices were meaningless because of their arrival!" I cursed, frustrated by the situation.

The Inquisitors and the others were beginning to struggle against the members of The Masquerade who had arrived.

I sheathed the holy sword Excalibur and picked up a sword lying on the street.

If this holy sword couldn't hurt him, then I would use any sword necessary to defeat him.

"Face me!" I shouted at the masked man.

He glanced in my direction after knocking one of the Inquisitors unconscious.

Activating Justice Spirit, I rushed toward the man once again and unleashed a combination of attacks.

With the buff I currently possessed, I was able to keep up with his reaction speed.

• Clang!

Our swords collided, sparks flying from the impact.

"Why are you protecting them!? Sooner or later, innocent people will die because of their uncontrollable powers!" I shouted at him, my voice filled with emotion.

"Then tell me, is experimenting on them and torturing them the correct answer?" the man asked, staring seriously into my eyes.

Huh?

Experiments?

Torture?

What was this man talking about?

"The shocked expression on your face tells me that you know nothing about what the Temple Authority has been doing all this time."

After saying that, the masked man kicked me hard in the ribs, sending my body rolling across the city street.

I tried to get back up, but my body was too weak.

I was almost at my limit...

• Tap... Tap... Tap...

I heard footsteps.

The masked man slowly approached me.

He raised his sword above his head.

Was he going to kill me?

However, before he could attack me, something made of iron, shaped like a snake, suddenly emerged and attacked the masked man.

Huh, iron?

Could it be...?

"Are you all right, Brian?"

I heard a voice from the side.

A man wearing black armor was walking toward us.

"Holy Knight... Remilio..." I muttered upon seeing one of the nine strongest Knights possessed by the Temple Authority.

He then stood in front of me, facing the masked man I had just fought.

"Leave this battle to me," the Holy Knight said as he drew his sword. "I will exterminate every member of The Masquerade here."

A Holy Knight fighting one of the Performers from The Masquerade?

If I remembered correctly, last year's battle between a Holy Knight and a Performer wearing The Fool mask had ended in a draw, with both of them dying in the fight.

"Looks like you've been having fun bullying my subordinate here, huh? Oh, you're the new wearer of The Fool mask," the Holy Knight said mockingly. "Let's see just how strong this Performer rumored to be capable of killing a Holy Knight really is!"

"I'll be more than happy to show you," the masked man replied. "However, the price will be quite expensive, you know."

"Oh? And what kind of price would be expensive enough for me to witness your supposed greatness?" the Holy Knight said, laughing.

"Your life..."

Upon hearing the masked man's answer, Holy Knight Remilio stopped laughing.

He then drew his sword and took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

• Wooshhh!

Suddenly, the Holy Knight disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He reappeared directly in front of the masked man and launched an attack.

Their battle...

had begun.