I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

"Hmm? What's that?!"

Maggie, who had just returned under the Golden Sacred Tree, suddenly turned her head.

Her eyes were astonished, reflecting the seven-colored flowing light.

In the distant Heavenly Fields, a Glazed Fire Pillar spiraled upward. But quickly, with a tremor throughout the Immortal Realm, the pillar dispersed and reversed, funneling back towards the horizon, eventually disappearing.

"Within that flame, there is actually the power of seven divine paths, even including Nature..."

Maggie suppressed the astonishment in her heart and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"That is definitely not the path power I recognize! Just how many secrets is Jack hiding?!"

It wasn't just her; even the Gatekeeper and Ms. Pain by her side were all in shock.

Among them, the elderly woman in a black dress, Margaret, gazed into the distance and slowly spoke:

"Unbelievable... Even from such a distance, that palpitating feeling has not subsided. It shows that the Azure King's true power is beyond our estimation."

Beneath the Heavenly Fields, in the City of Cats.

On the streets, countless Immortal Realm residents remained kneeling, feeling the divine pressure from the Heavenly Fields, full of awe.

In the Dawn Cathedral next to the central White Tower, the hymns of the believers gradually ceased, and one after another, they clasped their hands, closed their eyes, and bowed their heads.

"Praise the great Azure King."

Asoka, clad in a luxurious gray robe with hair coiled up, slowly opened her eyes, gazing at the sky outside the cathedral, and murmured a prayer.

Now, the elderly City Lord Daye had retired, enjoying a leisurely life of fishing and tea, and Asoka's performance over the years had won her the love of the City of Cats' residents, naturally becoming the new City Lord.

In the City of Cats, Asoka held a prestigious status, and even the clergy of the Dawn Church were very respectful to her.

But there was one thing she couldn't forget.

"Are you missing Senior Lucy again?"

Beside her, the nearly thirty-year-old Felisiano spoke gently.

He, as Asoka's deputy, had also grown significantly over the years, shedding his youthful naivety and becoming more mature.

"Yes."

Asoka nodded.

A flicker of sadness flashed in her eyes.

"The teacher is just one step away from the divine throne, and the whole Immortal Realm is excited. Among the few of us back then, Senior Lucy admired the teacher the most... But now she has no chance to witness this scene."

On the other side, Raphael, captain of the City of Cats' Guard, patted Asoka's shoulder to console her:

"Miss Lucy will be fine."

"I hope so."

Asoka sighed.

She had been closest to her sister Lucy and still worried about her... Although she hoped the teacher could bring her back, she dared not disturb the teacher rashly.

*

*

*

Northern Dawn Empire, Byron State.

The port at Borns, near the far northern coast, was as quiet as ever.

A woman in a light brown waist-tied trench coat, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, leaned lazily against the corner of a general store's wall, smoking and occasionally scanning the dock.

Before long, a medium-sized merchant ship sounded its whistle, lifted anchor, and sailed away, heading into the misty sea.

The woman gazed intently, dropped the cigarette butt, and exhaled the last mouthful of smoke.

"As expected... below high ranks, none can detect the existence of this 'Homeward.' The ship and its passengers are deeply influenced by the great power of fate, experiencing endless cycles."

Ilina had been observing here for more than half a month.

Every morning, the 'Homeward' would leave the port, but by the next day, it would inexplicably reappear at the dock and set sail again, endlessly, as if without end.

Back then, Dagon, Your Majesty, had warned that except for Ilina herself, the last two contestants of the 'Honor Carnival,' Lucy and Boone, were in extremely special states and very dangerous positions.

But before Ilina could hear the end of the warning, Dagon, Your Majesty, was attacked by the Azure King...

There has been no response to prayers since.

Ilina was frightened and, therefore, more cautious.

She didn't rashly seek the last two contestants but instead focused on arranging the Saint Ritual... Thanks to consecutively killing several contestants, Ilina received rewards from Dagon, Your Majesty, and accumulated rapidly.

Until more than half a year ago, she finally successfully elevated to the Deep Sea Saint, Sequence Four [Catastrophe Apostle], gaining more confidence to come here.

"Dagon, Your Majesty's unfinished warning, should be referring to this cycle... If I board the ship, I will be trapped in the cycle, just like those unaware passengers, unable to break free."

Ilina muttered to herself.

Even though she is now a high-ranking saint, her intuition tells her that the power causing the cycle is extremely terrifying, and once she is affected, she too would be powerless to rescue herself.

"Ugh!"

Suddenly, Ilina let out a muffled groan.

A spasm of pain from deep within her soul caused her to shiver all over.

She immediately lifted her arm, and her bloodshot eyes saw the darkened blue-black veins bulging on her arm.

"The bloodline warnings are becoming more frequent..."

Her heart tightened.

Ilina knew very well that if the 'Honor Carnival' doesn't produce a final winner soon, then including herself, the last three contestants would be killed by the deep sea pollution stored in their bloodline.

It was a "prompt" from their Father, Abasye, the Eternal Sleeper Sebastian Pado.

"I can only act today!"

Ilina took a deep breath, clenched her teeth, and made up her mind.

"Although boarding the 'Homeward' will forcibly draw me into the cycle, if I can kill Lucy and Boone in one day, before the 'restart' arrives, I can meet the requirements for victory in the carnival and become the last winner... By then, the Sea God will bestow gifts, surely enabling me to escape the cycle's influence!"

With this thought, she quickly disappeared.

Accompanied by a gust of wind, Ilina sprinted over the sea, catching up in a few leaps with the 'Homeward' that had just set sail, and boarded the deck.

The fish-man mage Boone, leaning against the railing, was flipping through the Mystery of the Deep Sea when he suddenly jolted. He seemed to feel the pull of the bloodline and turned to look.

What appeared before her eyes was the cruel smile of a woman...

*

*

*

The destination of the Homeward, the Explorer Islands.

The eastern coast was being ravaged by pirate attacks.

The hideously deformed and grim-looking anglerfish captain led his men in a brutal spree of burning, killing, and looting, with the cries and screams of the fishermen echoing all around.

Lucy was hiding inside a small fishing boat, poking her head out to silently observe the situation on the shore, her eyes harboring a concealed chill.

Her appearance at that moment was just as it had been, eighteen or nineteen years old, young and beautiful.

That striking dark green long hair of hers fluttered in the sea breeze, magnificently vibrant.

Lucy had no idea that she had already been in this loop for over three thousand times and was unaware that nearly ten years had passed in the outside world.

No matter what happened that day, her physical state and memory would be reset the next morning.

As a result, her memory remained fixed on the day she quietly left Saint Byron Academy without telling Polaris or Asoka and the others.

"Killing the participant Boone is my first step towards victory."

Lucy murmured to herself.

Yet, even when the slaughter on the shore ended and the anglerfish captain was preparing to retreat with his men, the fish-man mage Boone didn't show up as expected.

She couldn't help but feel puzzled.

It was at this moment.

A massive wave, about ten meters high, surged from the sea like a tsunami and crashed into the rickety ship of the anglerfish captain.

With a loud boom.

The ship broke apart into pieces, countless pirates screamed and died; even the Sequence Five anglerfish captain couldn't escape the fate.

Under Lucy's horrified gaze, the wave crushed the burly anglerfish captain into fragments as if with immense weight!

A woman in a light brown trench coat came riding the waves, accompanied by howling wind and thunder, floating directly above the small fishing boat, looking down at Lucy.

"Only you are left, Lucy Payne... I never thought it would be this smooth, and yet my excessive caution cost me so much time."

Ilina's gaze was icy, a smile playing on her lips.

"A high-ranking participant?!"

Lucy looked up, face filled with disbelief.

"How is this possible! If high-ranking individuals participate, what is the point of this 'Honor Carnival'?!"

"Pathetic."

Ilina clearly had no intention of explaining, speaking coldly instead.

She raised her hand, and instantly grasped a blinding ball of purple lightning that crackled and hissed.

And then it suddenly crashed down——

"Die! I am the last winner!"

Crack!!

Lucy stared up in a daze, not expecting to be assaulted by a high-ranking Saint. In that moment, despair filled her heart.

At the same time, there was also a strong sense of reluctance and longing.

"Mr. Jack... Lucy wishes to see you once more."

Lucy's tears fell uncontrollably.

Yet in the next instant, the purple lightning pierced through her body like a spear.

Boom!!!

The small fishing boat was pulverized under the power of the mythical lightning, and Lucy was destroyed in that instant, her body and spirituality entirely dissipating, leaving only a few ashes floating in the sea breeze.

Ilina clenched her five fingers, the residual purple arcs jumping within her palm, and she couldn't help but reveal an uncontrollable excitement and joy on her face.

"Dead! Finally, all dead! Hahahaha! I am the last survivor of the 'Honor Carnival'! I am the winner!!"

Soon, the surrounding waves became even more fierce.

The sky was shrouded by thick, oppressive clouds, with lightning and thunder.

Ilina felt her blood accelerating, her deeper lineage cheering, congratulating her, as if heralding the arrival of a great moment.

Woo woo——

The strong wind swept up, and a familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar figure gradually emerged from the distant sea.

Ilina's expression was shocked, her gaze blank.

Only to see an ancient square stone pillar rising from the sea, with a gigantic fish-headed giant clinging to it.

But that fish-headed giant's head, arms, and waist, along with some other places, were all covered with sores of azure crystallization like scabies.

"Dagon... Your Majesty Dagon?"

Ilina spoke in a trembling voice.

Looking at the horrible appearance of Your Majesty Dagon, she couldn't suppress generating some fear.

The fish-headed giant's bulging eyes, which seemed to never close, were covered with barnacle-like crystals, obscuring its gaze.

Dagon opened its mouth with difficulty, producing the unique hoarse voice of the dying:

"Ilina... Congratulations on becoming the victor... of this carnival..."

It said, mechanically twisting its neck like a marionette, emitting a terrifying creaking noise.

The dreadful crystallized eyes fixed on Ilina's direction.

Ilina couldn't help but wonder what exactly the Azure King had done to Your Majesty Dagon, causing such terrible injuries to the great Lord of Divers.

"You shall receive the supreme blessing of Father!"

Dagon roared.

In its tone, there seemed to be an indescribable excitement and expectation.