I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Raul POV]

The following day, I made my way toward the waterfall area to execute my plan to destroy both the Dragon Clan and the Lion Clan. They would most likely meet at a river that flowed toward the waterfall.

I just hoped Brian would manage to challenge Geralt to a duel this time. Without that, my plan would not go smoothly.

When I arrived, I saw the Dragon Clan and the Lion Clan gathered on opposite sides of the river. They were staring each other down, preparing for battle.

I approached the area and hid behind a tree not far from them. Brian stepped forward and walked toward the bridge spanning the river.

”Geralt de Jimena! I challenge you to a one-on-one duel for control of this area!” Brian shouted, staring at the dozens of Dragon Clan members across the river. ”Accept my challenge if you truly possess the honor of a knight!”

Upon hearing Brian’s challenge, the members of the Dragon Clan began whispering among themselves. Some of them even laughed at Brian.

”What honor are you talking about? You’re just afraid that we’ll crush your pathetic clan, Brian!” one of the Dragon Clan members shouted.

”Exactly! A clan full of losers like yours doesn’t stand a chance against us!” another member added.

Logically speaking, the Dragon Clan would have been better off rejecting Brian’s challenge. They could easily defeat the Lion Clan, which consisted mostly of weaker teams.

However, Brian was Geralt’s eternal rival. Geralt had always wanted to avenge his previous defeat against him.

This was the perfect opportunity to do so.

Geralt stepped toward the bridge. The two blond- and red-haired men stood facing each other.

”Very well. You have your duel, Brian.”

At Geralt’s declaration, all of his team members looked shocked. Brian, on the other hand, smiled, knowing that his plan had worked.

”Geralt! Why did you accept his challenge?! We can easily defeat them if we fight together!” one of the Dragon Clan members protested.

Geralt turned around.

”Calm down. I won’t lose to him again,” Geralt said with a confident smile. ”I’ve trained hard for a moment like this.”

Geralt versus Brian, huh?

There was no doubt about it. After I had forced Brian to awaken his power, unless Geralt had another trump card up his sleeve, he was practically guaranteed to lose to Brian.

Geralt possessed the Codex of Blazing Fury. Its ability was almost identical to the Codex of Villain Destiny that I possessed.

The Codex of Villain Destiny grew stronger as its wielder became hated by more people. Blazing Fury, on the other hand, grew stronger as its wielder developed greater hatred toward a particular person.

That was why, in the future, Geralt would eventually drown in his own hatred in pursuit of greater power. He would betray his family, his country, and even his sister, Scarlett, all for the sake of becoming strong enough to defeat Brian.

”It has been decided!” Brian declared, looking excited. ”We’ll settle this with a duel!”

”I’ll defeat you this time, Brian!” Geralt shouted, sharing the same determination.

The two fighters stepped closer to one another.

Their battlefield was a large bridge stretching across the river. It was quite a fitting arena for a PvP battle if this were a game.

Brian and Geralt took their stances, their eyes locked firmly onto their opponent.

”Accel!”

”Acceleration!”

They activated their respective speed-enhancing spells simultaneously. Both of them then shot toward the center of the bridge, ready to strike each other.

Geralt attacked first, throwing a punch at Brian. However, the blond-haired man easily dodged it.

”Justice Blow!”

Brian counterattacked, his left hand glowing brightly.

”Temper!”

Geralt blocked Brian’s attack. The force pushed his body backward, nearly sending him off the bridge.

”Tch, you’ve gotten better since the last time,” Brian said with a pleased smile, clearly happy to see his rival’s growth.

”Don’t get cocky just because you think you’re stronger than me!” Geralt shouted as he charged toward Brian again. ”Fiery Kick!”

Both of Geralt’s legs erupted with flames as he leaped toward Brian.

The blond-haired man ducked to the left, narrowly avoiding Geralt’s attack.

Seeing Geralt’s opening, Brian immediately threw a punch toward his head.

However, before Brian’s fist could connect, Geralt twisted his body to the right while still in midair and struck Brian’s head with his left foot.

”Aghhhh...!”

Brian’s body was sent flying.

That was an excellent maneuver from Geralt. He had anticipated that Brian would dodge his attack and immediately followed up with another strike.

”How was that? Enjoy the taste of my muddy boot?” Geralt taunted Brian.

”Damn it...! I’ll get you back for that!” Brian cursed, his face covered in dirt. He then spat out the blood that had gathered in his mouth.

”Try it if you can, Hero...” Geralt provoked him again.

A golden light began to radiate from Brian’s hands and feet. A faint aura of mana surrounded his body.

”Sunlight Fury!”

Brian thrust his hand toward Geralt. The golden energy gathered around his fist shot toward where Geralt stood.

Geralt immediately leaped to the side.

Brian’s attack struck the wooden bridge and exploded. Splinters of wood flew through the air from the impact.

”Hey, are you insane? You could destroy the bridge we’re standing on!” Geralt shouted, clearly displeased.

”I don’t care if it destroys the bridge as long as it defeats you!” Brian shouted back. ”Sunlight Fury!”

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He unleashed the same attack again, firing it alternately from both hands.

—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Geralt jumped and rolled across the bridge, narrowly avoiding Brian’s barrage.

He then concentrated his mana into his right hand. A glowing ember began forming in his palm.

”Fire Bullet!”

The ember in Geralt’s palm shot toward Brian at incredible speed.

”Huh? Temper!”

Brian quickly activated his strengthening spell.

—BOOM!

Geralt’s magic struck Brian, and a cloud of smoke erupted where the blond-haired man had been standing.

However, as the smoke began to clear, Brian was still standing firmly.

Several parts of his body were covered in burns.

”Hoo~ You can still stand after taking an attack like that?” Geralt said, genuinely impressed by Brian.

”Yeah... I’m not going to give up.”

Golden light began enveloping Brian’s body.

He had finally activated his Codex.

”Because this is my knight way.”

What an incredibly cringe line coming from an equally cringe character.

Why were lines like that so popular among fans? I had no idea. Perhaps they had watched too much of that yellow-haired ninja who loved eating ramen.

”I won’t lose either after training this hard just to defeat you!”

Geralt’s body was enveloped in flames as well.

I think it’s time.

I began sneaking toward the bridge where they were fighting, moving between the large rocks along the riverbank so they wouldn’t notice my presence.

—BOOM!

An explosion erupted on the bridge where Brian and Geralt were fighting.

Both of them were now covered in injuries from exchanging blows. Their breathing was ragged, and exhaustion was clearly visible on their faces.

”Brian! Brian! Brian!”

”Geralt! Geralt! Geralt!”

The members of each clan began cheering for their respective leaders.

”This is the final one, Brian,” Geralt said as he opened his palm. ”Blazing Vortex!”

A swirling sphere of fire appeared in Geralt’s hand.

It looked like his own version of a Rasengan—a unique spell Geralt had developed specifically to defeat Brian.

”I won’t lose, Geralt.”

Golden light began gathering around Brian’s fist.

”Lightning Fist!”

The two of them charged toward the center of the bridge once again, preparing to clash with their final attacks.

”Briaaaannn!”

”Geraaaaaltt!”

Their attacks were about to collide.

However, just as their fists were about to meet, their expressions suddenly changed to shock.

That was because they saw me suddenly appear between them.

”Huh, Raul? What are you—”

—BAM!

Before Brian could finish his sentence, I kicked him in the head, sending him tumbling into the river.

”How dare you interfere with our du—Aghhhh!”

I punched Geralt in the face, sending him crashing into the river as well.

The two men who had just been fighting as though their lives depended on it were swept away by the river’s powerful current.

A few hundred meters downstream was a waterfall that would send both of them plunging from a great height.

Silence descended over the area.

The members of both clans stood frozen, their mouths hanging open in disbelief at what had just happened to their leaders.

I didn’t waste any time. I immediately turned and ran.

”Chase that bastard!”

”Burn him alive!”

”Don’t let him escape!”

I heard furious shouts from both clans behind me.

Well... It was only natural.

I had just interrupted a duel between their two leaders. Interfering in a duel was considered a dishonorable act for a knight.

I glanced over my shoulder.

Nearly a hundred students were chasing after me.

The expressions on their faces made it look as though they wanted to eat me alive.

”Wind Blow!”

I dodged the spell fired by one of the students.

I needed to reach that cave quickly. No matter how strong I was, there was no way I could defeat all of them here.

I entered the forest, where the students chasing me began spreading out in different directions, clearly intending to surround me.

”Earth Missile!”

Another spell was fired at me.

I turned around and punched the chunk of earth flying toward me, shattering it before immediately resuming my escape.

Not long after, four students appeared ahead of me, running straight toward me.

”I’ll never forgive you, you rotten noble!”

”How dare you interfere with our clan leader’s duel!”

The student at the front threw a punch at me.

I immediately dropped into a slide, gliding between his legs.

After slipping past him, the next two students attempted to strike me with wooden branches like baseball bats.

I quickly got back to my feet and used the Charging technique to rush past them.

Only one person remained in my path.

The man was still stunned by the fact that I had suddenly appeared right in front of him.

”Radical Blow!”

I drove my fist directly into his face.

I heard the unmistakable crack of something breaking inside his mouth.

Looks like I had broken several of his teeth.

—CRASH!

The man was sent flying into a tree.

”Damn! He’s pretty agile!”

”Come on, let’s keep chasing him!”

I activated Acceleration, increasing my running speed.

After running for a while, I finally spotted the cave that was my destination.

I looked behind me and saw that the students were still chasing me all the way here.

Perfect...

Everything was going according to plan.

I entered the cave, and the students followed me inside.

After going sufficiently deep into the cave, I stopped and turned around to face the dozens of furious students.

”Haha! Give up, you rotten noble! You’re trapped in here!” one of them shouted.

”You’ll pay for your dishonorable attack against our clan leader!”

Heh~ You all seem awfully confident after cornering a snake.

But do you know something?

A wild animal becomes even more dangerous when it feels cornered.

”You’ve got it wrong,” I said, giving them an evil smile. ”I’m not the one trapped in here with you.”

I paused.

”You’re the ones trapped in here with me!”

—BOOM!

Suddenly, an explosion echoed through the cave.

The entrance began collapsing, rocks falling from above and blocking the way out. The cave grew even darker as the amount of light entering from outside diminished.

Yes...

I had ordered Scarlett to fire her magic at the cave entrance, trapping them inside.

—GRRRRURURURRHH!

”Huh? What was that sound?”

”Why is the ground suddenly shaking?”

Piers must have destroyed the earthen wall connected to the river.

Not long after, the sound of rushing water echoed through the cave.

I immediately hurried toward the escape route I had prepared beforehand.

Water began flooding into the cave, sending the students into a panic.

”Does anyone have a light spell?!”

”Quick! Get to higher ground! The water is going to fill this place!”

”No! Try destroying the rubble blocking our exit!”

Hahaha! Enjoy your little water park!

After searching for an escape route for a while, I spotted a hole leading upward.

This was the tunnel Piers and I had dug earlier as part of this plan.

After climbing through it, I saw a human hand reaching down toward me.

I grabbed it, and the hand pulled me out of the hole.

”Did you manage to do it, Captain?” Piers asked.

”Yeah... With this, the strength of both clans will be severely weakened.”

I looked down at the hole I had just emerged from. Water was already beginning to fill the area.

”Piers, quickly seal this hole,” I ordered.

”Yes, Captain.”

.

.

.

After carrying out what amounted to a massacre against the two major clans, I ordered Piers to scout both of their base camps and determine how many students had survived my trap.

For now, I was back at our base camp, resting.

For some reason, Scarlett still hadn’t returned.

Earlier, I had ordered her to fire her magic at the cave entrance to trap the students from both clans. Afterward, I had instructed her to return directly to the base camp.

I had deliberately kept the rest of my plan from her.

I was afraid she wouldn’t agree with what I was doing to her younger brother.

—CRACK!

I heard the sound of a branch snapping under someone’s foot.

I turned around.

Scarlett was standing there.

Her expression was blank, but I could feel the Nature Mana radiating from her body even from a distance.

”I went to the battlefield to see what happened there,” Scarlett said coldly.

This was the first time I had heard her speak.

Until now, she had remained mostly silent, responding to my orders with nothing more than a nod.

”I heard you interfered with the duel between Geralt and that man,” Scarlett continued, slowly walking toward me. ”I heard that just as he and his opponent were about to exchange their final attacks, you suddenly appeared and knocked them both into the river.”

Yeah...

I knew what I had done was dirty and dishonorable.

But I hadn’t technically broken any rules here.

”I thought I had misunderstood the terrible rumors about you after seeing how you’ve behaved all this time.”

Flames began emerging from Scarlett’s body.

”But it turns out what they said was true. You really are a rotten noble with absolutely no honor.”

Hearing those painful words from someone as beautiful as Scarlett shook my heart slightly.

Well...

It’s not as though I hadn’t anticipated Scarlett’s anger before coming up with this plan.

Still, I had wanted to avoid fighting her at this stage as much as possible.

”I did it so we could pass this exam,” I said, trying to justify my actions.

”Is that why you didn’t tell me the details of your plan?”

Scarlett’s voice grew louder.

”You were afraid I’d stop you if you dared to defile Geralt’s duel with that man, weren’t you?”

Her eyes were filled with anger.

”Geralt had been looking forward to that duel for a long time. He trained relentlessly for that moment, and you destroyed all of it with your dishonorable actions without even the slightest hint of shame!”

Scarlett’s gaze was filled with hatred.

She clearly wanted nothing more than to beat me senseless this time.

”This is a competition. Things like this are bound to happen.”

The moment Scarlett heard my response, she assumed a fighting stance.

She was one hundred percent ready to fight me.

”Yes... This is a competition, and you destroyed all the hard work my little brother put in all this time!”

Flames engulfed Scarlett’s body.

The leaves around her began catching fire from the heat radiating off her.

”I’ll burn you alive, Trash!”

The moment she finished speaking, Scarlett shot toward me, ready to beat me senseless.