I Got Reincarnated as the Game's Villain

"Ugh," I groaned as I woke up to find myself in yet another unfamiliar scene.

What the hell happened this time?

Blinking rapidly, I tried to adjust my vision, but everything was a blur. Slowly, my surroundings came into focus. I was in… a village?

Everywhere I looked, there were houses—but not the kind you'd find in a normal town. These were ramshackle structures, the kind you'd expect to see in a slum.

"Where is this place?" I muttered aloud, only to realize I wasn't alone.

No, not just one person.

A crowd.

"How did I get here?" someone shouted.

"Where's Jenny?" another cried.

"Damn it! I left my weapons in that cave!"

"Shit! I didn't even eat my share of the food!"

"Where the hell are we?!"

The cries and confusion grew into a chaotic frenzy. It was clear no one had any clue how they'd ended up in the middle of this decrepit village.

"Silence, mortals!"

The voice was deafening, a thunderous roar that cut through the cacophony like a blade. Instantly, all noise ceased as everyone turned their attention skyward. Suspended above us was a figure cloaked in a blinding aura of light, its features impossible to discern.

"You who stand here now have survived the first wave of the trial," the figure announced, its tone cold and detached. "Eighty percent of those brought here are already dead. The second phase will now begin."

As it spoke, the ground beneath us trembled violently.

Wait.

So the first part of the trial was just… a massacre?

It all started to make sense. The lack of edible creatures, the poisonous ones that killed anyone foolish enough to eat them, and the fights that must have broken out over dwindling resources—it was all a calculated effort to thin our numbers. Those who couldn't endure the hunger, those who weren't strong enough to fend off the creatures, and those who underestimated their enemies… they'd all been weeded out.

"The next trial," the figure continued, "will be the final trial. Among you stands one who is me. Kill that person, and you will all be set free. The one who succeeds will also inherit my blessing."

Silence hung in the air as the weight of its words sank in. Then the murmurs began, followed by sharp glances exchanged between those who had once stood side by side as allies. The tension grew palpable.

I wasn't surprised when the battle-hardened maniacs in the group began to smirk, their hands twitching with anticipation.

Weapons were drawn.

Allies were reevaluated.

Betrayal lingered in the air.

I noticed a few people eyeing me suspiciously. Narrowing my gaze, I summoned two ice swords into my hands, their chill biting against my skin. My ether reserves were dangerously low—I couldn't afford to engage a strong opponent. Survival would mean carefully avoiding anyone too powerful.

"Now fight!" the figure bellowed with a laugh that echoed in the sky. Its form began to fade, but its final words rang out clearly:

"You have until sunrise to kill me. If you fail, every last one of you will die here."

That was all the push the crowd needed. Chaos erupted as blades clashed and shouts filled the air. The game had begun, and survival was no longer a matter of endurance—it was a matter of blood.

And I intended to make sure it wasn't mine.

I spun around, countering an arrow that had been shot from my blind spot. Before I could deal with the archer, someone was already upon me with an axe. Forced to abandon my plan, I parried the heavy blow, but one of my frost blades shattered under the sheer force of the impact. I had only channeled a small amount of ether into the blades to conserve my meager reserves, and now I was paying the price.

Without hesitation, I manifested another blade in my hand, the sudden conjuration startling the hulking man before me. He froze for a moment too long. Taking advantage, I drove the frost sword through his abdomen. His eyes widened in shock, then glazed over as life fled his body. He collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Before I could catch my breath, a searing pain erupted across my back. Gritting my teeth, I quickly manifested a thin coat of ice across my body, shielding myself from further harm. I turned sharply to spot the archer perched on a thatched roof, attempting to reload.

But before I could retaliate, someone else had already closed in on him. Moving with the silence of a shadow, a figure crept up behind the archer. By the time the archer realized what was happening, it was too late—a dagger sank into his windpipe, silencing him forever.

My focus, however, shifted to a young man charging toward me, his face splattered with blood. His expression was a mix of rage and determination. My breath hitched as recognition struck. "Leo," I muttered under my breath. How had he even found me in such a crowded place?

Before he could reach me, a sword pierced through his abdomen from behind. "Yikes," I grimaced, watching him falter. He turned, his eyes narrowing as he spotted a smirking young man holding the sword. Without hesitation, Leo grabbed the attacker's blade and plunged it through his own abdomen, driving it into the man behind him as well.

The second man coughed up blood, eyes wide with shock, but Leo was relentless. He spun on his heel, decapitating both in a swift, fluid motion. Flames consumed their bodies almost instantly. Leo pulled out a healing potion and downed it, his wounds knitting together within moments. He straightened, scanning the area for me, but by then, I was long gone.

As much as I would've loved to kill him, I didn't have the ether to take him on. That was the harsh reality. Facing someone stronger than me was a risk I couldn't afford, especially with no way of knowing how many healing potions he still had. Better to avoid a direct confrontation for now.

I kept running. Eventually, I found myself in a village littered with corpses. The sight made me frown.

"Melina," I muttered under my breath, spotting a familiar figure—a slender Elf wreaking havoc, cutting down everyone in her path with reckless abandon.

Others fought alongside her, but what caught my attention was the bow in her hands. My heart sank. "Elven Tears," I whispered. She had retrieved the relic somehow, but how? My gaze shifted to the people fighting beside her—a girl with golden blonde hair, another with fiery red locks, and a young man with green hair. None of them appeared in the game. I didn't recognize them at all.

Yet, the way they fought as a unit, seamless and practiced, made it clear they had been together for a long time. This didn't add up. In the game, Melina was always alone—unless she was with her maids.

She had been cold.

Ruthless.

Heartless.

But now? She almost seemed... normal—if I ignored the way she was slaughtering humans and vampires alike with no distinction.

Fucking racist.

But that wasn't the real problem. The real problem was the girl beside her—the one with golden hair—holding the other relic.

"Chronos Lock," I muttered, my gaze fixed on the glowing blue necklace around her neck. Her movements were abnormal—at least to the eyes of an ordinary human—but my blessing resonated with her presence. I could feel it.

Time distortion.

But that didn't make sense. That relic was supposed to have been retrieved by Auston.

"Argh!" A cry of pain snapped me out of my thoughts. That's when I spotted a young man within their encirclement, fighting off attackers. They all seemed to be protecting something. But what really caught my attention was the young man himself.

Auston Tellen.

He was with her?

Why do they seem like partners? And why isn't he the one holding the relic? No—more importantly—what are they all protecting?

My train of thought was abruptly cut off when someone slipped past my senses, lunging toward me with a dagger aimed straight for my windpipe.

"Damn it!"

It was the same guy who killed that other archer earlier. How the hell did he find me? Wait—did he follow me here? And what's up with his grotesque way of killing people?

A whirlwind of questions flooded my mind, but I didn't have the luxury to ponder. He moved to strike, but I was faster. Letting go of one of my frost swords, I manifested a dagger in my free hand and plunged it into his eye.

"AHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, writhing in agony.

"Here, have a taste of your own medicine," I said, yanking the dagger out with a sickening squelch before driving it through his windpipe.

He collapsed instantly, blood pooling around him. Dead.

Well, that was quick.

I turned my attention back to the group. The young man, Auston, seemed injured, while the red-haired girl frantically tried to heal him. But it was the sight of a small boy within their protective circle that made me pause.

The boy.

He was the one they were protecting. A memory surfaced—something Weaver had said before I woke up: "To escape, kill the weakest of them."

Was he referring to this group? Or just the weakest person here in general?

I'd find out soon enough.

But then I noticed something. A split-second realization spurred me into action.

"Camila!" Melina's voice screamed in warning.

Camila turned to see Auston charging at her with a sword, but she was too stunned to react. Melina was too far away to intervene.

The blade closed in on her neck. Fear paralyzed her—

BOOM!

A shard of my ice struck Auston squarely in the side, flinging him away.

Camila turned toward me, eyes wide in shock, but before she could say a word, I punched her in the gut. She doubled over with a gasp, and I wasted no time ripping the relic from her neck. Then I drove my knee into her forehead, knocking her unconscious.

I straightened, raising a hand. An ice projectile materialized in my palm as I turned toward the boy. His wide, terrified eyes met mine.

"Stop!" Melina's scream echoed, but she was too far away to stop me. So were the green-haired boy and the red-haired girl.

Too late.

The projectile shot forward, striking the boy squarely in the chest. He collapsed instantly, lifeless.

Bullseye.

Two birds with one stone.

For a moment, nothing happened. I could feel Camila's glare burning into me as she clutched her stomach, but then—

A blinding light erupted.