I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 442  [Event] [Semester-Exam At Vanadias] [30] Victor's Worry

Zone 8

The clearing in Zone 8 was eerily silent, save for the rustle of leaves in the distance. Victor stood there, his gaze fixed on the two lifeless bodies sprawled before him.

They weren't ordinary students. Their twisted, hybrid forms lay crumpled on the forest floor, their once-human features distorted by the monstrous side that had taken them. Their limbs, unnaturally long, were tipped with sharp claws, and their eyes dead yet still flickering strangely.

"What is happening here?" Victor muttered under his breath, his brow furrowed in confusion.

His hand was still bloodied from his fight. These Hybrids had been strong—stronger than most—but he'd managed to dispatch them quickly enough. Yet the fact that they had been here at all disturbed him.

"Behemoth? What are they doing here?" He scanned the area offering little in the way of answers. The academy's wards should have been more secure. Students weren't supposed to be in any real danger during this exam, let alone face an attack from Behemoth, one of the most dangerous organizations known. If they had infiltrated Zone 8, who knew where else their influence had reached?

His hand instinctively went to his pocket where his phone should have been. Useless. All phones were confiscated during the Exam.

There was no way to contact the teachers outside of the trial grounds. If he left now, he'd lose valuable time, and worse, he couldn't shake the feeling that more of Behemoth's agents were lurking nearby.

And then his thoughts turned to those he cared about. "Selene..." Obviously his girlfriend was first.

He knew she was strong, but Behemoth didn't play fair. They were cunning.

He and Selene nearly died against Kara after all.

But it wasn't just Selene. Another face flickered in his mind—Celeste. The newly revealed Prophetess of Sancta Vedelia. Her powers had only just awakened, and the whole island knew of her importance now. That made her a main target for enemies like Behemoth, who would stop at nothing to eliminate a threat like her or worse capture her alive.

Victor clenched his fists. He couldn't let anything happen to them, to her.

He scanned the forest again. Celeste wasn't the only one. He had other friends, people he cared deeply for. Amael, John, Elizabeth—they were all powerful in their own right at least but what about the others?

"I need to find someone." Victor muttered, reaching out his hand toward his Life-Screen. "That message about the target in Zone 9… surely it must be someone from the academy. If I can find them, maybe we can warn the teachers, stop this before it's too late."

The target in Zone 9 was worth 50 points. Whoever it was, they were important. Perhaps they were someone chosen by the academy's staff to help manage the situation or a high-ranking student capable of communicating with the outside. But then a soft sound cut his thoughts. The rustling of leaves—too deliberate to be the wind. Victor's body tensed, every muscle coiling as his senses sharpened. His hand hovered over his weapon, ready to swing it.

"Who's there?" He asked.

A figure stepped from the shadows, and Victor's breath caught in his throat as he recognized the face. It wasn't another hybrid.

"Sirius?" He muttered, eyes wide with surprise.

His brother stood before him, his expression one of equal shock. "Victor?" Sirius took a cautious step back, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the situation. "What team are you on?" Victor couldn't help but chuckle, despite the gravity of the situation. Sirius had always been so serious, especially during exam like this.

"Relax, Sirius," he said, a half-smile playing on his lips. "I'm blue, same as you. But that's not important right now. Look."

He gestured to the ground, drawing Sirius's attention to the two dead hybrids. "W–What?" Sirius stuttered, his eyes darting down "Hybrids? Is this... part of the exam?"

"No. There's no way... It's probably Behemoth," Victor shook his head.

"Behemoth? Again?" Sirius blurted. "Why would they attack us again? What do they want this time?"

Victor grimaced. "I have no idea, but we can't waste time figuring it out right now. I'm heading to the ninth zone to meet with the academy staff. We need to stop the exam immediately and get everyone out of this forest before it's too late."

Sirius nodded, though his focus was already slipping elsewhere. His thoughts snapped toward someone else. His breath caught in his throat, eyes widening with sudden fear. "Sephira…"

"Sirius…"

Victor knew exactly what Sirius was thinking—he felt the same suffocating scare. He wanted nothing more than to find Selene, to see her safe with his own eyes. But Victor didn't know where she was, and searching blindly was too dangerous. His gut told him the only way to protect her—and everyone else—was to warn the academy and stop this. Selene, like everyone, would be saved in due time. He had to trust in that. He had to trust she wouldn't cross paths with Behemoth before then.

"I need to find her," Sirius said, turning his back to Victor.

"Wait, Sirius!" Victor called after him. "If you run into Behemoth–"

"I'll defeat them," Sirius interrupted, and continued looking at Victor, a bit upset. "Don't underestimate me, Victor. I'm not weak."

Victor sighed.

He knew his brother's strength, but Behemoth wasn't just any enemy. There were without doubts members even stronger than those they had encountered before. "I'm not doubting you," he said, softer this time. "But there could be stronger members than we've faced. I am just worried, man."

"And I am worried for Sephira. If she runs into them… I can't just sit here," Sirius replied.

"Do you even know where she is? Running off like this—it's reckless, Sirius!" Victor finally asked how stupid it was to look somewhere without a single hint of her location. Sirius was acting impulsively and Victor knew, in moments like these, that recklessness could get them killed.

Sirius closed his eyes for a moment, as if centering himself, before a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I know where she is. Don't worry."

"..." Victor stared at him in disbelief. 'What the hell is that supposed to mean?!' He thought, barely holding back the urge to shout. That strange 'I can feel her presence' nonsense from Sirius sent chills down his spine. Was his brother really so in love with Sephira that he believed he could just... sense where she was?

Victor watched his brother for a moment, a small part of him wondering if Sirius was just bluffing, pretending to know where Sephira was to avoid being stopped. But as he looked into Sirius's eyes, he realized that wasn't the case. Sirius truly believed he knew where to find her, and nothing could stop him now.

"Wait..." Victor called out, though he knew it wouldn't make much difference.

Sirius paused, glancing back over his shoulder.

"I'm not going to stop you," Victor said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "But be careful, alright?"

His relationship with his half-siblings had never been particularly close. They were always separated by bloodlines, responsibilities, and unspoken problems. Still, he cared about them—Sirius and Alicia especially. Maybe not Cyril though... Sirius's lips curved into a faint smile. "I'll find Sephira, and then we'll both join you at the ninth zone."

Victor nodded, returning the smile. "Good. If you see Selene, Celeste, or any of the others, tell them to regroup with us at the ninth zone. We can't afford to be scattered like this."

"I'll let them know," Sirius promised.

With that, Sirius turned and disappeared into the dense forest. Victor stood there for a long moment, watching the path his brother had taken. His lips twisted into a wry smile. "Good for you, Sirius," he murmured to himself. A genuine warmth filled his chest. Despite everything, it seemed like Sirius had finally found someone who made him happy. Sephira had always been isolated, treated cruelly by those like Alvara. She deserved someone who could lift her out of that loneliness, and maybe Sirius was the one to do it.

Victor's thoughts drifted then back to Selene. His eyes trailed toward the lower zones as if he could sense her as well. "Just be safe, Selene..." The urge to rush off and search for her surged inside him like a flood but he fought it back. Rushing headlong into the lower zones without a plan wasn't going to help anyone, especially not Selene. He had to think clearly—there were other lives at stake, and warning the teachers was the fastest way to save them all, including her.

With a heavy sigh, Victor turned in the opposite direction, heading toward the ninth zone where the academy staff awaited. Once he warned the teachers and ensured the exam was halted, he would look for Selene and the others. He'd make sure they were safe. "If only I could contact those guys…" Victor grumbled thinking about Amael and John.

After all these months he had come to trust them a lot, more than any boys before in his life. It was a nice feeling for him to finally have boys as friends and not only girls around him. It was really making him awkward after all…