I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Ariel POV]

I have to hurry. There was no way the villagers and the children could withstand an attack from hundreds of monsters.

And the soldiers who were still there—I couldn't let them all be slaughtered and allow all their efforts to become meaningless.

I wouldn't let this village suffer the same fate as Zamora.

—Bruk!

Suddenly, the horse I was riding collapsed beneath me. Riding through the darkness of the night was proving far more difficult than I had expected.

"Aaargh..."

I winced in pain.

My shoulder felt as though it had been broken after I slammed into the rocks scattered around the area.

I quickly healed it with magic, then got back on my feet and continued onward. Fortunately, the village was already close. I could reach it within only a few minutes on foot.

However, the moment I returned to the village, something felt wrong.

The place was eerily quiet, completely different from when I had first arrived here with the others. There were no monster roars anywhere, and it seemed the battle between the monsters and the soldiers had already ended.

I slowly crept along the wall of one of the village buildings and cautiously peered outside.

Then I heard footsteps behind me.

I slipped inside the building and tried to hide from whatever was approaching.

Four Lycanthropes came into view, walking toward me. They were communicating in a language I couldn't understand.

I held my breath, my heart pounding violently as I feared that the four monsters would enter the building where I was hiding.

"Woof! Woof!"

"Woof... woof?"

They began sniffing around, as though searching for something.

No... Don't come any closer!

There's nothing here!

Go away!

Yet, the pack of wolf-men didn't enter the building where I was hiding.

What should I do...?

What am I supposed to do?

They'll find me sooner or later and try to eat me!

—CLANG!

Suddenly, a loud metallic sound rang out from the west, causing the four Lycanthropes to stop searching the building.

—CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound came again.

It sounded as though someone was repeatedly striking an iron rod against one of the building's support pillars.

I had no idea who was making that noise, but whoever they were, their actions caused the four Lycanthropes to leave the building and investigate the source of the sound.

"Phew... I'm saved."

My breathing finally returned to normal.

After making sure there were no monsters nearby, I slipped out of the building and began searching for the place where the children and villagers had been hiding earlier.

It didn't take long before I found the building where I had last met Dio, Sena, and the others.

All the windows were covered with wooden planks. I tried knocking on the front door, but there was no response.

If I shouted for the villagers, the monsters roaming around the area would undoubtedly come to investigate.

But then... how was I supposed to get inside if the villagers wouldn't open the door for me?

"Ah... Isn't that a chimney?"

I noticed a tall structure protruding from the roof of the building.

Activating Axio, I leapt onto the roof and approached the chimney.

I then squeezed myself through the opening, holding my breath as I descended.

My body dropped down inside the chimney. I did my best to slow my fall by grabbing onto the walls as I slid downward.

Eventually, my bottom hit the floor.

My clothes were completely covered in black soot and dust from crawling through the chimney.

"Sterilize!"

I activated a cleansing spell, causing the stains on my clothes to disappear. The sweat, grime, and unpleasant odor clinging to my body vanished as well.

"Sister... Ariel?"

Suddenly, I heard a familiar child's voice.

Dio and Sena came running toward me, accompanied by several other villagers.

"Sister Ariel! It really is you!"

Dio ran toward me, clearly overjoyed to see me.

"Of course I came back," I replied, gently ruffling the boy's hair. "How is everyone doing? What happened after we left earlier?"

I turned toward the villagers around us.

"Sister Ariel... After all of you left..."

One of the villagers began recounting everything that had happened after our group departed.

The soldiers sent to defend the village had been overwhelmingly outnumbered by the monsters attacking it. As a result, not long after we left with some of the women and children, the monsters managed to slaughter every last soldier.

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The villagers could do nothing but watch helplessly as the final soldier was eaten alive by the monsters.

"Then what are you planning to do now?" I asked.

Everyone fell silent.

An elderly man eventually approached me.

He was Lord Hughes—the village chief.

"As you can see, Sister Ariel, we don't have enough food or water to survive here until tomorrow," he said with a grim expression. "We have only two choices left. We can try to escape... or slowly starve to death here."

If we tried to escape, the monsters would surely notice our movements.

The nearest village was twenty kilometers away. There was no way we could escape the monsters over that distance.

Someone would have to stay behind and draw their attention away from the others.

What could I do to help them?

"The only way for us to escape is to head for the dock by the river and use the boats to reach Cataluna Fortress City," Lord Hughes explained. "However, if I remember correctly, that dock is heavily guarded by those monsters. There's no way we can fight all of them."

What could I do?

Everyone here was looking at me as though I were their savior.

I couldn't come up with insane plans like Raul could...

I wasn't as strong or as courageous as Brian when it came to facing monsters...

I was merely a Priestess.

My duty and my ability were to heal people.

But now, everyone needed me.

Every single one of them was entrusting their lives to me.

"Lord Hughes, we'll head for the dock," I said.

"How long will it take for everyone here to board the boats?" Lord Hughes turned toward a middle-aged man.

If I remembered correctly, he was one of the fishermen from this village.

"There are about 117 people here," the fisherman said. "We'll need at least six boats and roughly ten minutes to transport that many people."

He paused.

"As far as I remember, there are only five boats at the dock. That means seventeen people won't be able to cross the river with us."

Everyone turned their eyes toward me once again, as though I were the one who had to decide what we should do next.

"The nearest Patrol Post is fifteen kilometers to the south," I said. "Could those seventeen people reach it safely?"

"I think the adults could," one of the villagers replied. "But don't we need the adults to hold off the monsters if we want everyone else to make it onto the boats?"

"No. I think I can create a Barrier once we reach the dock."

However, I wasn't sure whether my Barrier could withstand the monsters' assault for ten minutes.

I just hoped we wouldn't encounter too many monsters along the way.

"Very well. If we've already come up with a plan..." Lord Hughes said. "Then we'd better try rather than slowly die in this building."

Once we had finished making our preparations, we dismantled the barricade that had been placed against the main entrance.

After everything had been removed, several people cautiously peered through the windows to check the surrounding area first.

"I think we can leave now, Lord Hughes," one of the villagers said.

The village chief nodded.

Several men went out first, followed by the women and children. The remaining men took up positions at the rear of the group.

The dock was two kilometers from the center of the village.

It would take us roughly half an hour to reach it.

We did our best not to make a sound as we moved.

The villagers formed a makeshift perimeter around the group to detect any approaching monsters as early as possible.

Twenty minutes had passed.

I was grateful that we had encountered only a few small groups of monsters so far. All we had needed to do was quietly go around them.

"Monster pack to the east! About a hundred meters!"

"Monster pack approaching from the west! Around a hundred and twenty meters!"

This is bad.

What should we do?

Sooner or later, they'll find all of us.

—Awooooo!

A wolf's howl echoed in the distance.

They had found us.

"Move toward the dock as quickly as possible!" one of the villagers shouted.

Everyone began moving faster.

They no longer cared whether their footsteps were loud enough to reveal our position. Getting to the dock as quickly as possible had become our only priority.

I glanced around.

Several Lycanthropes were already beginning to close in.

—GROOOAAR!

A thunderous roar erupted from behind us.

I turned toward the source of the sound.

A gigantic wolf-like creature, nearly six meters tall, was charging toward our group.

"Hurry! The dock is only a few hundred meters away!" one of the villagers shouted.

Several packs of Lycanthropes had already reached us.

The men in our group began fighting them with whatever weapons they could find.

"Run! Don't stop, and don't look back!"

I could hear the monster's roar.

The gigantic creature was getting closer.

Closer.

And closer.

Then, not long afterward, I heard the sound of rushing water.

The river.

There it was.

The dock the villagers had spoken about, with five boats anchored along the shore.

I turned around and gathered as much Mana as I could into both hands.

—GROOOAARRR!

The ground began to tremble beneath my feet as the giant Lycanthrope's footsteps drew nearer.

It would reach us any moment now.

"Hurry, everyone! Get onto the boats! I'll create a Barrier and hold the monsters back!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

My heart was pounding furiously.

I was still waiting for several men who were fighting farther behind to reach the dock.

But they were too late.

Three men were brutally killed by the giant Lycanthrope before they could make it.

There was no choice.

I had to activate it now.

"Divine Magic: White Bubble!"

A hemispherical Barrier formed around the dock, sealing off the entire area.

The Lycanthropes could no longer enter and attack the villagers.

I stretched out both hands, reinforcing the Barrier I had just created.

But my hands began to tremble when the Lycanthropes started pounding against the Barrier, desperately trying to break through.

—GROOOAR! GROOOAR!

Ugh...

I have to hold them back until the villagers have sailed away.

I glanced behind me.

There were still two boats that hadn't been boarded yet.

—BAM! BAM! BAM!

Cracks began appearing across the Barrier.

At this rate, my magic would collapse before everyone could board the boats.

—CRACK!

My Barrier shattered.

The Lycanthropes flooded into the dock, followed by the gigantic monster.

"Awooo!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

No...

I won't let you hurt the children or the women.

No matter what happens.

"Divine Magic: Chain of Revelation!"

I stretched out my hands toward the monsters.

Several chains of light erupted from the ground, wrapping around and binding the monsters.

I had to hold them for as long as possible.

—GROOOAARRRR!

The gigantic Lycanthrope charged toward me...

Forty meters...

Thirty meters...

Twenty meters...

I have to use that spear.

"Sealing Magic: Lance of Longinus!"

A magic circle materialized beside me.

A spear emerged from it and shot toward the gigantic Lycanthrope.

The spear struck directly into its shoulder.

The enormous monster was hurled backward until its body slammed against a building.

It struggled desperately, trying to pull the spear from its body and free itself from the seal.

But it was useless.

Only the user of Lance of Longinus could release its seal.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

"Aaawoooo!"

More packs of monsters began approaching.

I summoned more magical chains and bound them as well.

I was beginning to struggle for breath.

My Mana was being drained continuously as I held back every monster approaching the dock.

Blood began trickling from my nose.

A sign that my body was reaching its limit.

"Sister Ariel! We're all on board! You're the only one left!" the village children shouted.

I turned around.

Then I smiled at them.

"Go ahead without me! I can handle things here!"

No.

That was a lie.

If I released my chains, the monsters would chase after the villagers, and everything we had done would be for nothing.

I had to hold these monsters back.

At least until the villagers were far enough away that the monsters could no longer reach them.

My body was growing weaker.

The chains binding the monsters were beginning to loosen.

No.

I have to stay strong.

I have to protect them.

"There's no way I'm going to let you feast on the villagers!"

I gathered the last remnants of my Mana into both hands.

"Divine Magic: Chain Crush!"

Suddenly, the chains binding the monsters tightened.

Tighter.

And tighter.

Until they crushed the monsters' bodies.

They were all dead...

I did it.

I managed to save them...

But then I saw another horde of monsters approaching.

They never ended.

More and more of them kept coming.

I stretched my hands toward the approaching horde and tried to activate my magic.

But no matter how many times I shouted the incantation, not a single chain appeared.

I must have run out of Mana.

My vision began to blur.

I could see the horde of monsters charging toward me.

"Is this the end?"

They're all going to devour me, aren't they?

"But... I don't regret it."

That's right.

I saved the villagers.

They would all survive because I had held the monsters back.

"I don't have any regrets at all..."

After saying those words, I began losing consciousness.

My body slowly collapsed.

—THUD!

But instead of hitting the ground, my head suddenly came to rest against someone's shoulder.

"Good work, Ariel..."

The last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was...

The smile of a white-haired man.

His green eyes glowed brightly in the darkness of the night.

"You truly are suited to becoming a Saint..."