I Am The Game's Villain Chapter 743: [Final Event] [Blood Moon Festival] [25] Kleines’ Truth

Previously on I Am The Game's Villain...

The battle for Central Vedelia intensifies as James and Melfina confront Cyril, who mocks his father’s failures while the Blood Moon pulses above. Despite a coordinated assault of frost and blade that seemingly overwhelms him, Cyril reveals the true horror of his power: an ancient blood art that grants him near-immortality and rapid regeneration. Exploiting a momentary opening, Cyril brutally impales Melfina, absorbing her life force to heal his own wounds. As the Headmistress collapses in her final moments, a horrified Celeste arrives to witness her grandmother’s fall at her brother's hands.

"Celeste..."

My footsteps halted abruptly. My pupils dilated as a colossal column of brilliant white light erupted toward the heavens.

There was no mistaking it; that was Celeste.

However, beneath that radiance, I sensed something else. A subtle, almost familiar residue of mana triggered a cold shiver that raced up my spine.

Nevia...

Had she met with some misfortune?

Tightening my grip into white-knuckled fists, I forced my legs to resume their sprint. My pulse thundered in my ears like a war drum as I raced across the ruined rooftops. In the distance, the glow throbbed with increasing intensity—the Blood Moon Spell remained in effect. Though it lacked the sheer cataclysmic scale of Elizabeth’s version, its potency was intensifying by the moment.

"...!"

My survival instincts flared, and I threw myself backward just in time.

—BOOOM!

A geyser of golden flames scorched the spot where I had stood, vaporizing the rooftop instantly. The resulting shockwave slammed into me, tossing scorched debris and burning embers through the air. I threw up an arm to protect my eyes as the environment dissolved into a chaotic swirl of heat and grit.

I hit the fractured earth hard and let out a pained grunt. I didn't require a visual to identify my assailant.

"You look quite occupied, Nyrel."

Earth.

It had to be him.

He drifted down from the sky, touching down gracefully amidst the drifting soot with a grin.

"Get out of my way," I hissed, fixing him with a murderous stare. "I don't have a moment to waste on you."

"But Nyr, you are the reason I'm here," he replied, his smile widening. "Aren't you pleased to see me? Come, let's catch up. Like we used to. Do you recall our school days?"

"I'm not interested in talking." I attempted to bolt past him, refusing to lose another second.

As expected, he launched an attack the instant I turned away.

Golden fire surged toward me—but my limb was already wreathed in violet flames. The two opposing powers slammed into each other in mid-air, detonating into a cascade of sparks that illuminated the shadowed alleys.

"Heldora has been agitated," Earth remarked, his grin growing more predatory. "Furious. Ravenous. He isn't willing to let you slip away so easily this time."

"Have you already forgotten the events in Fangoria?" I asked frostily.

For a fleeting second, his smile wavered before shifting into a more malicious sneer. "Fangoria? Hm. You’ll need to clarify. Quite a lot transpired there. Are you perhaps referring to... Elizabeth’s demise?"

—BOOOM!!

My fist connected with him before he could finish his sentence, wreathed in a roar of purple fire. The force of the blow shattered the pavement beneath us. Earth blocked the strike with his forearm, grunting as the intense heat scorched his flesh—yet his smile remained, his eyes burning with a manic fervor.

"That’s the spirit, Nyr!"

Another blast shook the atmosphere as golden flames billowed around him. I leaped back as the concussive force tore through the surrounding structures.

"This time," he snarled, his voice warping as his power surged, "things won't go as smoothly for you, Nyr."

Fire erupted from his pores, swirling with molten radiance. Golden scales began to manifest on his arms; horns pierced through his scalp; his pupils sharpened into the slits of a predator, glowing like liquid amber.

I ground my teeth together.

I truly did not have time for this nonsense.

***

Alvara stood in silence, her golden gaze locked onto the titanic pillar of white light.

She recognized Celeste’s mana signature immediately.

Yet, there was an element to it that felt... peculiar.

Unfamiliar.

Her initial urge was to investigate, but her attention turned to the girl lying motionless at her side.

Sephira.

She lay unconscious, restrained by Alvara’s botanical bindings. Fortunately, Alvara had refrained from using her thorned vines; nonetheless, the smooth coils were wrapped securely around Sephira’s limbs and torso to prevent any sudden outbursts.

She leaned over, monitoring the girl’s chest as it rose and fell with steady, rhythmic breaths. At the very least, she had regained her composure and escaped the trance that had gripped her.

Subduing her had been a struggle. Alvara recalled the unnatural sensation she had detected within Sephira—an alien presence embedded deep within her being. She had been forced to use her vines to reach inside, purging the foreign entity through Sephira’s throat. It had been a brutal process that nearly caused the girl to suffocate, but it was unavoidable.