I Am The Game's Villain

[<You are really…a monster.>]

Simon was surprised that my attack had landed and caused damage, and he asked, "W-What happened?"

"He is using Ruah..." Aurora muttered, clearly dumbfounded.

Elona was also surprised and asked, "R-Ruah? How?"

Ignoring their questions, I focused my attention on the circle of fire surrounding the scarred man. His body radiated intense heat and energy, fueled by the destructive power of sunfire that could incinerate anything in its path. I, on the other hand, only had my Ruah energy, which was powerful but difficult for a beginner like me to control.

Without warning, he unleashed a wave of sunfire in my direction, forcing me to dodge out of the way while feeling the heat singe my skin.

"F*ck!"

But I refused to back down and summoned my Ruah energy to create a protective barrier that absorbed the worst of the sunfire's impact.

The scarred man continued to unleash a barrage of fiery attacks, causing me to jump and dodge with all my might. I knew I couldn't keep this up for long, and desperately searched for a way to counter his sunfire.

As he closed in on me, I launched a barrage of Ruah energy at him, hoping to disrupt his focus. But he easily deflected my attacks with a blast of sunfire, prompting me to curse under my breath.

Determined not to give up, I lunged at him with all my might, infused with the power of Ruah. But he was too fast, too strong, and easily dodged my attack, sending me sprawling across the ground.

As I struggled to get back up, he loomed over me, his sunfire blazing like a raging inferno. I could feel the heat burning my skin, and I knew I was in serious trouble.

Summoning every ounce of Ruah energy I had, I channeled it into a massive wave of silver lifeforce that surged towards the scarred man.

Oh, amazing.

He was caught off guard by the sudden intensity of my attack, and for a moment, it seemed as if he might falter.

But then, he countered with a massive burst of sunfire, causing our powers to collide in a blinding flash of light and sound. The force of the impact sent me reeling backwards, my body wracked with pain.

That cheat fire!

"You can use Ruah. Interesting…" the scarred man remarked, as I struggled to regain my senses. I knew that I had to act fast, before he unleashed another devastating attack.

As I struggled to regain my senses, I realized that the scarred man was still standing, his sunfire burning brighter than ever before. I knew that I had to act fast, before he unleashed another devastating attack.

"You will come with me as well," his red eye pierced me.

Summoning the last of my Ruah energy, I launched a final, desperate assault on the scarred man. This time, I poured everything I had into the attack, focusing every ounce of my willpower and strength.

The wave of silver lifeforce surged towards the scarred man, colliding with his sunfire in a massive explosion. For a moment, the air was filled with blinding light and searing heat, but then, it all dissipated, leaving only silence and smoke.

That bastard!

He was still standing without injuries!

[<Not really…>]

Oh.

I noticed a new line of blood that formed a cross above his injured eye, adding to his already scarred appearance. The atmosphere shifted from hot to cold, and I couldn't help but take a step back when he glared at me. I felt like I was staring death in the face.

Before I could react, he was right in front of me, his palm crushing my head as he slammed me onto the ground. I let out a painful grunt as he lifted me up again like I weighed nothing.

"F*cker!" I cursed, trying to grab his thick arms, but my efforts were in vain.

The next thing I knew, I was gasping for air as he slammed me onto the ground once more. I spat out a mouthful of blood, cursing him under my breath.

That son of a b*tch!

[<Amael!>]

Ah…I'm losing consciousness…

I immediately bit my tongue and regained a little of clarity.

Enough clarity to irritate that b*tch!

I pulled out as much Ruah I could and punched his chest—rather the place where he put that strange sphere absorbing our mana constantly.

"!"

The man grabbed my wrist and squeezed it tightly to remove my hand.

"Ahhhhhh!" I shouted and clenched my fist tighter.

-Booom!

I flew away at bullet speed and headed straight toward the circle of fire.

Shi-

"I got you!"

Simon's voice rang near my ears as he caught me at time.

Wind blew fiercely around us and everyone one of us started recovering our lost mana.

"I'm fine," I pushed away Simon as I felt even more pathetic and tried to recover my breath. My right fist was burned and had a purplish-black color. It also smelled of burned meat.

[<Too bad your two saintesses would have gladly healed you again.>]

'They are not 'my' saintesses!'

I coughed up some blood and fell to the ground, trying to catch my breath. The scarred man was seething with anger, his eyes locked on me.

"You'll regret that," he growled.

As if I haven't already!

I glared at him as he approached, and before I could even react, his burning fist hit me square in the stomach. The fabric of my shirt began to turn to ashes, and my skin started to blister and turn red.

"Mr. Amael!" Aurora's voice cut through the chaos, and she rushed to my side. "Are you okay? We can heal you!"

"I think he hates me-cough! Miss Avia," I joked weakly, coughing up more blood.

"This is not the time for jokes," she scolded me, worry etched on her face.

But the scarred man wasn't done yet. He advanced towards us, his burning figure towering over us.

"Catch him!" Simon yelled, and two giant hands made of sand appeared to grab the scarred man's sides. Simon channeled his mana, bringing more and more sand to surround him from all directions.

"Let's go!" Aurora helped me to stand up, and we ran as fast as we could.

But we didn't get far before an explosion of sunfire blasted behind us, knocking us off our feet.

"Hold on to me, Mr. Amael!" Aurora shouted, and I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. Our bodies glowed in a golden aura as we moved closer to the circle of fire.

Aurora's hand shot up and a beam of light burst from her palm, dousing the sunfire that engulfed us. She kept pouring mana into the light until the fire receded.

"Now!" I called out, and we both concentrated our magic, leaping out of the fiery circle.

"Elona!" Aurora shouted to our companion, keeping the flames at bay. "Follow us!"

"Got it!" Elona nodded, then turned to Simon. "Quickly!"

Holy sh*t.

The scarred man was now a whirling tornado of sand, but the sand was slowly being replaced by sunfire, forming a raging fire tornado.

"Yeah!" Simon leapt onto his sand and charged out of the ring with Elona close behind.

"M-My Lady! Lord Simon! Are you okay?!" Manu and the other knights arrived, having fought off the remaining mercenaries. They had been unable to reach us earlier because of the raging flames. Those guys are so useless.

"Whoa, Sir Manu!" One of the guards pointed behind us.

"He's back," I muttered, and we all turned to see the freak emerging from the fire tornado. His scarf was gone, revealing his middle-aged face and brownish-grey hair. And a new scar on his right cheek.

Damn...someone had really done a number on him. If he hadn't already been tortured, he surely deserved it.

[<Indeed but he will probably do the same with you since you just added another scar.>]

'Don't scare me like that!'

"Alright, let's move out!" Manu's voice boomed as he directed Bren and Eric to escort Elona and Simon to safety. The knights quickly took action, guiding the Falkrona siblings out of harm's way.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration towards Manu's overconfident behavior. Did he really think he could take down the scarred man alone?

The scarred man spoke with a menacing tone, demanding the surrender of Elona and Simon. I could feel Elona's fear radiating off of her, as she trembled at his threat.

"Don't worry, Lady Elona. Please leave immediately. The Lord will be here soon." Manu tried to reassure her, but I knew that wasn't enough.

I glanced at the fire tornado, growing more and more anxious by the second. How were we supposed to survive this?

"We need to move, now!" I urged the knights, my amber eyes darting back and forth between the scarred man and the approaching tornado of flames. Time was not on our side.