I Am The Game's Villain

"Ugh!"

A surge of liquid burned its way up my throat, and I stumbled to the side, out of sight, to retch. My body convulsed as bile and gastric juices spilled out. The sharp, acidic taste stung my mouth. Not that I could've kept anything down anyway; the nausea hit me the moment I opened my eyes.

Pain radiated through my jaw, and my body felt weak, heavy with discomfort.

It had been days since we landed, but walking wasn't the issue. The real problem was the sea of death that surrounded us.

Corpses.

Endless, horrific, and nauseating.

Vampires, dark elves, blood elves—it didn't matter. Their lifeless bodies were strewn across the ground, feeding the crows that circled like harbingers of doom. Not metaphorically either; I had seen those wretched birds pecking at the rotting flesh of soldiers who had fallen days ago. The air reeked of decay—pungent, and suffocating.

Sometimes, we'd pass by bodies torn apart, limbs scattered like discarded remnants of a grotesque feast. This morning, I'd woken up to the sight of a man's stomach torn open, his guts spilling out in a gory display. The wound, no doubt mortal, had left him to die in agony.

The image was seared into my mind.

And now, here I was, bent over again, purging what little remained in my stomach.

"Disgusting…" I muttered bitterly, wiping my lips with the back of my trembling hand. Grabbing a bottle of water, I rinsed my mouth, though the foul taste lingered.

Once wasn't enough. It never was. The horrors repeated themselves every day, every hour.

"How did someone like you end up as the bodyguard to two Elven Princesses?"

A voice filled with suspicions rang behind me. I froze, my gut twisting—not from the nausea this time, but from recognition. Shuria.

Of all people, she was the last one I wanted to see me like this.

"I'm a bodyguard, not a damn coroner!" I snapped, throwing a glare her way.

She didn't flinch. Instead, Shuria stared at me impassively before holding out a towel.

"Here."

I hesitated for a moment before snatching it from her hand. "Thanks," I muttered, wiping my mouth clean. Once done, I offered it back to her, but she simply stared at it, her icy gaze sending a shiver down my spine. Without a word, she turned and walked away.

Annoyed, I tossed the towel aside and followed her.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked, trying to shift the focus.

"Meat," she replied curtly.

I grimaced. "No vegetarian options?"

"No."

"What about for people who are vegetarians? You don't care?" I pressed, frowning.

She shot me a sidelong glance. "Since when are you vegetarian?"

"Always have been."

"Really?" She said with a scoff. "Funny how that lines up with the exact same time you started throwing up every morning."

I groaned in answer.

But when I saw today's breakfast, I wanted to throw up again.

The sight of the greasy meatballs and spaghettis along the strange blood elf side dishes turned my stomach again. Still, I begrudgingly grabbed a plate, knowing I'd have no choice but to eat if I wanted to survive.

Shuria didn't say another word, but her pointed look spoke volumes. I could practically hear her judgment as she walked away, leaving me alone with my unwanted breakfast.

"Hey! Look who it is?! The vomiting Princess!"

Laughter erupted from the blood elves around me. My grip on the fork tightened instinctively, the metal bending slightly under the force.

It wasn't the first time I'd heard this insult, but it still stung. As if being mistaken for a woman wasn't degrading enough, they'd gone a step further and granted me the dubious title of 'Princess'. Humiliating didn't even begin to cover it.

"Don't pay them any mind, Loki."

A familiar voice interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to see Edryn approaching with a warm smile. He was a blood elf, like the rest, but one of the rare few I could tolerate—perhaps even like.

"Edryn, I've told you this before," I began, exhaling in exasperation. "I'm gay. I like women. Just so we're clear."

Saying I was gay was the only way to make the men ran away.

Edryn's expression twisted into a grimace, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "And I've told you before—I have a wife. And kids. Waiting for me back home."

"You might be polygamous," I countered flatly, half expecting him to admit to some obscure blood elf tradition.

"No, I'm not." He laughed. "Can't you just accept my friendliness without assuming the worst?"

No, because I'm secretly a half-human.

Edryn sighed and shifted uneasily, glancing toward the horizon. "Tonight's the moment, isn't it?"

I studied his face, unsure of how to respond. The chances of survival tonight were slim, and Edryn—despite everything—was someone I genuinely didn't want to see die.

Over the past week, I'd come to appreciate his presence. He wasn't like the others. Not all blood elves were irredeemable, and even the idiots mocking me earlier seemed more like obnoxious jesters than malicious predators. Their laughter, while irritating, was genuine rather than cruel.

Still, their past actions left a bitter taste. The group I'd been assigned to—Shuria's contingent—was unusual. They killed soldiers without hesitation yeah, but they let civilians go. No enslavement. No cruelty. It was... confusing.

Hatred had been easier when things were black and white.

"Just pray you're lucky," I said finally, the words feeling hollow even as I spoke them.

Edryn nodded.

I wasn't here to make friends or form bonds. My mission was clear: find Viessa and kill her. Yet her name nagged at me.

Why did it feel so familiar?

It was right there—on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't remember where I heard it.

After breakfast, we resumed our march toward Valachia. The atmosphere within our ranks had shifted dramatically. What had once been filled with jokes and laughter was now cloaked in an oppressive silence. Nervous glances and tightened grips on weapons spoke louder than words. Each soldier felt the weight of the task ahead.

By Elashor's orders, we had split into smaller contingents, each army consisting of a few thousand soldiers. The strategy was clear: attack from all sides to breach Valachia's walls. Elashor himself led the main force aimed at the southern gates, while we were tasked with advancing toward the western gates, roughly a dozen miles away.

Commanding our detachment was Shuria, who had Elashor's and his army's trust. There was no denying her capabilities, but her obsession with Elashor sometimes bordered on distracting.

-BOOM!

A thunderous explosion tore through the nigh suddenlyt, loud enough to rattle the ground beneath our feet. Birds that had been resting in the trees above scattered into the twilight sky, their wings beating a frantic rhythm as they fled the source of the disturbance.

"They've started the attack," Edryn muttered.

The assault had begun, and Valachia's defenders would already be scrambling to respond. Shuria, standing at the head of our formation, clenched her fists tightly before turning to us.

"Let's move! We need to support them from the western side!"
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At her command, the army surged forward, soldiers jogging despite the bothersome weight of their armor. I followed them with no real choices.

The rest of the run was really not amusing at all. Fortunately, after nearly an hour of marching, it finally came into view.

Valachia.

The city loomed in the distance, its silhouette marked by plumes of black smoke and flickering flames. The last time I had been here, had been for my engagement to Elizabeth. Now, instead of celebration, the city burned in chaos.

I forced myself to ignore the obliterated villages we passed along the way. Yet, as we neared the battlefield, there was no denying the magnitude of what awaited us.

To our left and right, I spotted other Blood Elf commanders rallying their troops as they pressed their own assaults against the walls.

"Everyone!" Shuria's voice rang out. She raised her sword high. "Our objective is the eastern gates! Breach them, and we can take Valachia without unnecessary bloodshed!"

At her signal, the archers positioned at the rear sprang into action. Hundreds of bows rose in unison, each drawing on the mana of their wielders. The sky above us shimmered with the light of countless mana circles, their patterns pulsing as they prepared to unleash devastation.

As the foot soldiers surged forward, they followed Shuria's lead. Despite my reservations about her, there was no denying her ferocity. She charged toward the gates as if she alone could bring them down.

She was truly something.

"Loki."

Edryn's voice pulled me from my thoughts. Standing beside me, he didn't move to follow the others. Instead, he held out a small ring and a few folded letters, his expression uncharacteristically serious.

"If I don't make it…can you give these to my wife and kids?"

I glanced at the letter, realizing it was the one he had been diligently writing over the past few days.

I took them from him almost reflexively, frowning as I did.

"Give it to them yourself," I said, my voice tinged with unease.

Edryn laughed lightly. "I've got a bad feeling about this one. And let's face it, you've got a better shot at making it out alive."

Before I could respond, he turned and sprinted after Shuria.

I stared down at the objects in my hand, the letter and the ring feeling heavier than they should.

What am I thinking?

I shook my head, forcing the intrusive thoughts aside. I wasn't here to play messenger or caretaker.

I tightened my grip on the items, putting them away, and began running after them. The gates of Valachia loomed ahead.

I wasn't here to fight the Tepes Army, they were my allies…

I was here for Viessa.

And I was here to kill her.