I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Raul PoV]

Black armor, black hair, early thirty...

There was no mistake.

He was Remilio de Banderra—one of the youngest Holy Knights of the Temple Authority of Goddess Diana.

Actually, I already knew that he had come to this city after the chaos caused by the Blackfire Dragon Syrax a few days ago.

That was why, after completing the two missions we had been assigned, Keeper had yet to give us another special mission.

However, while Puppeteer and I were heading toward the orphanage to help Sister Giada, we suddenly sensed a tremendous explosion of Mana coming from this area.

Puppeteer and I immediately rushed over to find out what had happened.

I never expected to find Runa, Thomas, and Deana surrounded by dozens of Inquisitors.

On top of that, I also saw Sister Giada's corpse lying not far from Runa.

There were countless things I wanted to ask about how this incident had happened.

However, our priority was to evacuate these three children and the other children in orphanage from the city as quickly as possible.

After successfully securing the three children, I was about to incapacitate Brian and leave the area.

However, I was suddenly intercepted by someone else's magical attack.

It was Remilio de Banderra—one of the Holy Knights of the Empire.

The two of us stared at each other, our hands gripping our swords tightly.

The wind blew against my black cloak, causing it to flutter behind me. Dust blew into my eyes, forcing me to blink.

But when I opened my eyes again, the Holy Knight suddenly appeared directly in front of me and swung his sword.

• Tang!

Sparks flew when our swords collided.

The Holy Knight smiled before launching another combination of attacks.

I focused on blocking and evading his sword strikes.

However, he suddenly combined his sword combo with several kicks and punches, making his attacks much harder to read.

• Bam!

I blocked his kick with my hand, but the force pushed my body backward.

I noticed several particles of red light forming around Remilio's feet.

He then shot forward and appeared beside me in the blink of an eye.

• Slash!

I avoided his sword slash by jumping backward.

This time, he did not follow up with another attack.

Even though I had successfully avoided his sword strike, I suddenly felt pain in my left hand.

A cut had appeared there, and blood slowly trickled down, staining my hand.

"What's wrong? Is this your first time fighting someone who uses Mana Spectrum?" Remilio asked.

Mana Spectrum...

It was a magical manipulation technique that could only be used by high-level Knights and Mages.

The concept was to turn one's Mana into an extension of a weapon or spell, allowing it to penetrate an enemy's defenses.

This Mana was invisible and could only be sensed by its user.

An opponent could only become aware of it after coming into contact with the Mana.

It was as if the sharp edge of Remilio's sword had been extended by several centimeters.

Thinking back, I had avoided his attack with a margin of only two centimeters.

If I also calculated the depth of the cut I had received, then the Mana Spectrum surrounding his sword extended approximately three centimeters beyond its physical edge.

That meant I had to adjust my timing more carefully whenever I dodged so I wouldn't be struck by his Mana Spectrum.

However, Mana Spectrum could be countered with Unreality Field.

The problem was that my Unreality Field would be destroyed if Remilio's Mana Spectrum overpowered my Unreality Field.

"You also look very young..." Remilio muttered. "Were you only recently recruited by The Masquerade? Is that group of Heretics seriously joking around by making a kid like you a Performer!?"

Besides that, his speed was faster than someone using either Acceleration or Accel.

That was because he was using a spell superior to both of them—

Ashpalt.

"I thought I would get an interesting fight after finding a Performer here," Remilio said as particles of red light began forming around his feet again. "But it turns out I'm only fighting someone who is still 'green.'"

He shot toward me at incredible speed and unleashed another combination of attacks.

I covered my sword and body with Unreality Field, blocking and evading his attacks once again.

"Hoo~ Your Unreality Field is actually quite good," the Holy Knight said with a smile. "Looks like I'll have to put in a little more effort if I want to hurt you this time!"

Remilio's sword became enveloped in a reddish glow before he swung it diagonally.

I managed to block it with my sword.

However, because of the tremendous strength behind his swing, my body was still sent flying several meters backward.

"..."

Suddenly, something pulled on my leg.

My body was dragged toward Remilio.

He smiled before launching a powerful sword strike.

• Taangg!

I twisted my body and blocked his attack with my sword.

I jumped backward, trying to maintain some distance so I could analyze what had just happened.

However, my leg suddenly felt as though it were being pulled again.

My body was dragged toward Remilio, who was already preparing to strike me with his glowing sword.

"Big Bang Slash!" the Holy Knight shouted as he swung his sword with tremendous force.

I blocked the attack with my sword, but my body was sent flying a considerable distance.

I rolled across the ground several times before finally crashing into a building.

Ughhh...

My entire body hurt.

I tried to get back up while analyzing what had happened.

My leg had suddenly been pulled, causing my body to move toward him.

To be honest, Remilio de Banderra wasn't a character who appeared in the game Path of Destiny.

His name had only been mentioned two or three times throughout the game.

That was because he had no significant role in the story of Path of Destiny.

After living in this world for a year, I had begun gathering information that had either never appeared in the game or had never been explained.

That included the Holy Knights.

Remilio de Banderra...

He had only been a Holy Knight for two years.

Before his record was broken by Princess Lunaria, he had been the youngest Knight to ever reach the position of Holy Knight.

If I remembered correctly, he was better known by the nickname—

Metal Knight.

Was that nickname related to his abilities?

I looked at the shoes I was wearing.

There were several metal accessories attached to them.

Realizing this, I removed them and threw away every object containing metal, iron, or steel that was attached to my body.

And finally, I threw the sword in my hand onto the ground.

"Hooo~ So you realized it pretty quickly after all," the Holy Knight said.

He then raised his hand toward the sky.

"Looks like we can finally begin the real battle."

Suddenly, the area around us grew dark.

That was because the sunlight was being blocked by thousands—

No, hundreds of thousands of objects made from iron, metal, and steel that had suddenly risen into the air.

Remilio gathered them together and compressed the mass of metal and iron until it formed a gigantic iron serpent.

The serpent hissed before shooting toward me to attack.

I tried to run and evade it.

However, because of its enormous size, its attack range was equally massive.

Building debris flew in every direction, with some pieces even striking my body.

But it didn't stop there.

The giant serpent swung its tail at me.

Realizing that I wouldn't have enough time to evade, I activated Repel and braced myself against the serpent's attack as best I could.

• Bamm!

My body was sent flying backward.

I crashed through several building walls before finally coming to a stop on top of the city's clock tower.

"Ughhh... That hurt..." I groaned.

But I couldn't relax.

The giant serpent had already turned around and was preparing to attack me again.

It was two hundred meters away from me.

The Holy Knight stood comfortably atop the serpent's head, controlling it with ease.

• Shhiiisshhh!

The serpent hissed before moving toward me at incredible speed.

The reptile opened its mouth wide, revealing two sharp fangs that were extremely intimidating.

I jumped using Axio to evade.

The giant serpent then bit into the clock tower.

I landed on top of its head, immediately activated Accel, and shot toward Remilio.

He swung his sword horizontally.

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I avoided it by sliding across the serpent's head on both knees.

• Bam!

My fist, strengthened with Temper, slammed into Remilio's knee, forcing the Holy Knight to drop to one knee.

I didn't stop there.

I punched his chest, solar plexus, and finally delivered an uppercut to his chin, sending Remilio flying off the serpent's body.

• Shiiissshhh!

The serpent hissed and began twisting its body violently.

I had no choice but to jump back onto the already partially destroyed clock tower, which had been damaged by the serpent's bite.

I looked down and saw Remilio still falling from the height.

He spread his arms while muttering something.

"Stormfall..."

Suddenly, the giant serpent beside me broke apart into several smaller pieces.

Those pieces then transformed into hundreds of swords floating in the air.

"Rain of Kastamir!"

The swords shot toward me.

I immediately jumped toward another building using Axio.

A tremendous rumbling sound echoed through the city as the swords struck the clock tower I had just left.

However, the remaining swords began shooting toward me as well.

I had to keep jumping from one building to another to avoid them.

Even so, several swords managed to slash my body.

As best I could, I prevented their attacks from striking my vital organs directly.

"Meteorite Punch!"

Remilio suddenly appeared from the side and landed a direct punch on my face.

My body was sent flying backward, crashing through and destroying the wall of a nearby building.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

I coughed before spitting the blood that had accumulated in my mouth onto the floor.

His speed, strength, and magic were all superior to mine.

As expected of a Holy Knight.

I rose to my feet and slowly walked toward the destroyed wall where my body had crashed.

Looking out toward the city street, I saw the Holy Knight seemingly muttering something.

Not long afterward, several pieces of metal, iron, and steel floated toward him.

The objects enveloped his left arm, forming a fairly long Railgun.

The Holy Knight's right hand gripped his left shoulder as he assumed a stance as though preparing to fire.

Electricity began flowing through the Railgun attached to his left arm.

Red magical particles began forming around his body before being absorbed into the Railgun.

Was he going to use his magnetic powers to fire a magical projectile faster than the speed of sound at me?

"Try dodging this, Heretic!" the Holy Knight shouted.

The Railgun on his left arm began glowing brightly, as though it were holding back an enormous amount of Mana that was about to be fired.

"Baltazar Cannon—Magnesia Disparia!"

A deep-red laser shot out from the Railgun and streaked toward my position.

I activated Acceleration and Axio and immediately abandoned the building.

• Swoosshhh!

The laser shot past the side of my body at incredible speed.

A tremendous explosion erupted when the attack struck the building where I had been standing moments earlier.

A massive plume of smoke rose high into the sky.

The enormous building was completely destroyed by a single attack, leaving nothing behind.

However, I couldn't relax.

I saw the Holy Knight gathering Mana inside his Railgun again, preparing to fire.

"Eat this! Disparia Barrage!"

This time, it wasn't just one.

Eight magical projectiles shot toward me.

I ran and jumped from one building to another, desperately trying to evade them.

However, two of his projectiles struck my body.

An excruciating pain spread throughout me.

My body collapsed, and I began struggling to breathe because of the Shock Effect caused by one of his attacks.

I forced myself back onto my feet.

My hands and legs were still trembling.

On the other side, the Holy Knight was once again charging the Railgun with Mana.

But this time, I could sense that he was preparing to fire a magical projectile far more powerful than the first one.

The wind began blowing violently around Remilio.

The ground trembled.

Several stones scattered across the area began floating into the air.

Electricity enveloped the Railgun in his left hand.

I activated Acceleration and ran toward the edge of the building before leaping toward the Holy Knight using Axio.

"Fool! You'll have an even harder time dodging this shot while you're in the air!" Remilio shouted, already prepared to fire his spell.

"Baltazar Cannon—Final Destination!"

A blackish-red laser shot toward me.

There was no doubt that if I took that devastating magical projectile head-on, I would die instantly.

That was why I extended my left hand forward and began chanting.

"Endless Nightmare... Never Ending Suffering..."

I gathered a considerable amount of Mana into the palm of my left hand and began reciting the second Chant of the spell.

"Protect Me from Harsh Reality of The Real World..."

The magical projectile was already directly in front of me.

My entire body began to feel as though it were burning, even though the projectile had yet to make direct contact with me.

"Shield of Anguish..."

Magical particles began forming in front of my left palm.

"Mirror... Forceee!"

A shield resembling a lotus flower appeared in front of my left palm, protecting me from the magical projectile fired by the Holy Knight.

His face showed clear shock when he realized that my body had not been destroyed by his devastating attack.

"Arrrrghhhh!"

My left hand trembled violently from the impact between the magical projectile and the shield I had created.

I continued moving forward without stopping, drawing closer and closer to the Holy Knight.

A few moments later, his magical attack finally ceased.

I had also arrived directly in front of Remilio.

"Radical Blow!"

Without wasting any time, I unleashed a combination of attacks on the Holy Knight.

• Bak! Bik! Buk!

My fists struck his solar plexus, ribs, and abdomen, forcing Remilio to stagger backward while clutching his stomach.

But I didn't allow him to escape.

I continued raining powerful punches upon him.

This time, I smashed his face and chin with my fists, which had been strengthened by Temper.

"Die, Shigaraki! Full Vengeance of... SMAAASSHH!!!"

I punched his chest with everything I had, using the buff from my Profound Codex—

Full Vengeance.

Remilio's body was sent flying a considerable distance.

He crashed through and destroyed several buildings before finally stopping after colliding with a statue somewhere in the city.

Silence descended.

The only thing I could hear was the sound of the wind.

However, the result I had hoped for never came.

The Holy Knight was still able to stand after taking my Full Vengeance.

His face was battered.

One hand clutched his stomach.

Blood flowed from his mouth.

He was in terrible condition after everything I had thrown at him.

"Hahahaha! How interesting! How incredibly interesting!" the Holy Knight said, laughing madly. "Yes... This is exactly what a battle between a Holy Knight and a Performer should be like!"

A dense black aura surrounded Remilio's body.

Every piece of iron, metal, and steel in the area gathered once again, swirling around the Holy Knight.

Damn...

It seemed he was about to unleash something even more troublesome.

"Esperanza... Fuego... De la Macedonia!"

All the iron, metal, and steel swirling around Remilio began attaching themselves to his body, forming a powerful and intimidating suit of armor.

His appearance now resembled a destructive Cyborg like those found in the movies starring that Austrian actor.

But that wasn't all.

The mass of metal, iron, and steel also formed nine additional Cyborgs that looked just like Remilio in his current form.

"Is this his Awakening?"

With armor that thick, there was no way my attacks would have much effect on him.

If that was the case, there was only one way I could kill him.

However, first I had to weaken his defenses and finish him off with a surprise attack.

If this plan failed, then my only chance of survival would be to escape from this place and regroup with Puppeteer.

"Are you ready, Heretic!?" His voice echoed as though he were speaking through a powerful loudspeaker.

All nine Cyborgs resembling Remilio shot toward me simultaneously.

They're coming...

I moved to the side to avoid the kick of the first Cyborg, then blocked punches from the second and third.

• Baaamm!

I blocked the powerful kick of the fourth Cyborg, but the force of the attack sent my body flying sideways.

There was no doubt about it.

Every Cyborg Remilio had created possessed the same strength and speed as his original body.

A flash of light entered my field of vision.

I saw Remilio aiming a Railgun attached to his left arm directly at me.

I immediately ran to evade his shots.

Explosions erupted behind me.

The resulting shockwaves pushed my body forward slightly, almost making me fall as I lost my balance.

But I couldn't breathe a sigh of relief.

The nine Cyborgs created by the Holy Knight were attacking me simultaneously once again.

Damn it.

There were too many of them.

I couldn't counterattack while simultaneously freeing myself from their assault.

• Baaamm!

A powerful kick struck my abdomen.

My body was sent flying backward at tremendous speed before my back slammed into a street lamp and I collapsed onto the road.

Ughhh...

My body was almost at its limit.

I couldn't fight ten beings who possessed the same strength and speed as a Holy Knight.

I had to find a way to limit their movements...

I thought I had one way to create such a situation.

However, it would be a gamble.

If Remilio was an honorable Knight, then my plan would work.

But if he wasn't...

I could lose this battle.

After coming up with my plan, I picked up a sword lying on the street.

Besides that...

Where the hell was Puppeteer?

Why wasn't that tsundere old man rushing over to help me fight this Holy Knight!?

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[Puppeteer PoV]

After successfully escaping from the pursuing Inquisitors, I took the three children to a temporary hideout located near a river not far from Grenaut City.

There was a building there where I had moved the children from the orphanage after evacuating them from the city.

Upon arriving, I lowered the children who had been carried by the three puppets under my control.

"Go inside and wait for us," I said to the three children, who were still crying with their heads lowered. "I promise we won't be gone for long. We'll come back here and protect you."

As I turned around and prepared to return to the city, something suddenly tugged at my cloak.

I looked down and saw a blonde-haired girl with red eyes staring directly into mine.

"Please, Puppeteer... Help Joker over there," the girl said in a trembling voice. "I know he's still fighting those bad people. I don't want anyone else to die. I don't want to lose the people who care about me again!"

I simply nodded in response to her request before returning to the area of the city where we had previously fought the Inquisitors and Imperial Knights.

The area had been completely devastated.

Many buildings had collapsed or suffered severe damage as a result of the battle.

There were no signs of civilian casualties.

It seemed they had already evacuated the citizens to another location before we arrived.

• Booomm!

I heard an explosion coming from the east.

"Looks like the battle is still going on over there."

I approached the source of the explosion to find out what was happening.

The last time I had left this area, I had seen Joker fighting one of the Holy Knights.

A formidable opponent and a serious threat to our group.

Could he survive against a Knight of the Holy Knight's caliber?

Even my previous partner, The Fool, had died at the hands of one of the Holy Knights.

However, when I arrived at the site of the explosion, I was shocked to see Joker brutally beating the Holy Knight he was fighting.

Joker delivered an extremely powerful punch directly to the Holy Knight's chest, sending the black-armored man flying and crashing through several city buildings.

However, the battle was far from over.

The Holy Knight was still able to rise and then created nine copies of himself.

"There is no doubt about it. That Holy Knight has activated his Awakening..."

To make a Holy Knight use his Awakening ability...

Joker's combat ability truly couldn't be underestimated.

Yet, at such a young age...

With such a limited amount of Mana...

He was able to keep up with a high-ranking Knight like a Holy Knight.

I suppose there was a reason he was worthy of inheriting The Fool mask.

But let's see just how far your true strength can take you, Joker!

The battle resumed.

Joker was visibly struggling against the copies created by the Holy Knight.

The white-haired man was given no opportunity to evade or launch a counterattack.

"Is this the end for you, Joker?" I muttered as I watched his body become covered in wounds.

It wouldn't be long before he reached his limit and lost if this continued.

"Will you become the next Performer to die at the hands of a Holy Knight?"

Let's see how far the fate of this world will carry you in this great battle!

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[Holy Knight Remilio PoV]

I never expected that I would have to use my Awakening to fight someone so young.

Awakening was a power that could be used once someone had unlocked the full power of their Profound Codex to its highest level.

The Guide would grant a person this Awakening power.

However, after receiving Awakening, the Guide would disappear, and that person would no longer be able to access their Soul Room.

This was because once someone received Awakening, the Guide's purpose and the function of the Soul Room had been fulfilled.

My Awakening ability could create copies that possessed the same speed and strength as me.

However, my copies could not use magic.

But that was more than enough to turn the tide of this battle in my favor.

As proven by the situation now, the Heretic I was fighting was having difficulty dealing with all nine of my copies simultaneously.

After being kicked by one of my copies, the Heretic's body was sent flying and crashed into a street lamp.

He tried to get back up, but his body appeared almost incapable of holding out much longer.

If things continued like this, victory was already within my grasp.

He then stared sharply at me.

I saw a particle of light appear around his leg.

Was he going to attack me directly?

But my copies would always intercept him.

There was no way he could reach me from all the way over here.

On the other hand, I would continue looking for an opening to fire my magical projectiles at him.

He would have no opportunity to fight back.

However, contrary to my expectations, the man suddenly fled north at full speed.

Tch.

What a coward!

All nine of my copies immediately pursued him.

I followed behind them, leaping from one building to another.

From up here, I had a much wider field of fire.

However, I soon realized that the Heretic was currently running toward an area where many civilians had yet to be evacuated.

If we fought there, countless people would die because of my attacks.

That would prevent me from fighting freely and reduce my chances of defeating the man.

It seemed I had to do it now.

There was no other choice but to use this method if I wanted to prevent innocent civilians from becoming casualties in this battle.

It seemed that, realizing he couldn't fight me fairly, the man wanted to involve the civilians to make it harder for me to fight him.

Tch.

Those Heretics truly had no honor when it came to fighting fairly!

Gathering enough Mana, I began chanting the spell I was about to use.

"Target Lock..."

I aimed my right palm at the man and activated my spell.

"Magnesia Ultimo!"

After I finished chanting the spell, the man's body was suddenly pulled backward and merged with the nine copies that had been chasing him.

All the iron, metal, and steel that made up my nine copies now attached themselves to the Heretic's body, preventing him from moving and leaving him suspended in the middle of the city street.

I descended from the building and landed on the street, approximately 150 meters away from the Heretic, who was now completely immobilized.

"This is the end! I will kill you here, Heretic!" I shouted as I aimed the Baltazar Cannon at him.

Seeing his terrible condition, the man appeared panicked and struggled desperately to break free from the iron and metal restraints locking him in place.

But he didn't know that his efforts were futile.

This time, I would not miss.

He would not be able to use that shield of his in this condition either.

I would gather as much Mana as possible and fire one devastating shot that would kill him instantly.

Electricity began enveloping the Baltazar Cannon in my left hand.

Magical particles gathered before being absorbed into the muzzle of the cannon.

My left hand trembled.

Heat began spreading through it as the enormous amount of Mana was compressed inside the weapon.

"Do you have any last words before you face the end of your life?" I asked him.

However, he didn't respond.

He simply continued struggling to free himself.

"What a shame. Go to hell, Sinner!" I shouted as I began firing my attack at him.

"Baltazar Cannon—FINALLL... FLASSSHH!"

A mass of magical energy shot toward the Heretic like a comet.

The path of the projectile was torn apart and sent flying into the air by its immense power.

The wind howled violently.

The ground began trembling.

• BOOOMMMBBBB!!!!

My shot struck its target.

A massive explosion erupted, creating a cloud of smoke that filled the area.

I protected my eyes with my right hand to shield myself from pieces of earth flying in every direction.

Several moments later, the smoke began to clear, revealing a crater approximately thirty meters in diameter.

Its depth was impossible to determine.

The area where the man had been standing was completely gone, leaving nothing behind.

"It's over..." I muttered in relief. "I won this battle..."

Finally, I had killed a Performer.

Everyone would surely talk about this victory.

My name would be written into history as the Knight who managed to kill one of the famous Performers of The Masquerade.

However, as I imagined the consequences of this victory, I suddenly sensed someone's presence behind me.

"Dismantle..."

The instant I heard that word, the armor covering my body suddenly came apart.

A sword then emerged from my chest, piercing through me from behind.

My body went limp.

My breathing became irregular.

Blood began flowing down my body.

I slowly tried to turn my head.

I saw a masked man standing behind me, the very man who had stabbed me with the sword he had picked up before fleeing.

"How... could this... be...?" I asked weakly, unable to understand how he had escaped the powerful magnetic restraint created by my magic.

My vision began to blur.

Death was approaching me.

The man pulled his sword from my body and answered,

"The same way I dismantled the armor covering your body."

My body collapsed onto the ground.

My eyes gazed toward the beautiful blue sky above me on this bright afternoon.

Silence descended.

Then darkness came to claim me.

A sign that I had died at the hands of this man.