Villain: The Play of Destiny

Yexuan was dismayed when he went head-to-head against Keith and realised that he had no advantage in combat against the Mortal God, who seemed just as skilled as him at it.

His body was already covered in bruises and blood, and the air left his lungs again when a powerful fist was embedded in his stomach, jolting him with pain that briefly blanked out his mind.

He crashed into an invisible wall and instinctively dodged the Golden Chains that sprouted from the ground, already very familiar with them and understanding that it would be game over for him if he was caught by them.

"Why are you helping him?" He gritted his teeth and looked at Amelia in rage. "Don't you know that he's an evil man?! Does it not weigh in your conscience?!" He shouted the questions, but the Inheritor of the Runic Monarch only looked at him with indifference, not answering him.

He ducked down, dodging Yingying's Sword Slash, and then impossibly manoeuvred himself to kick her on the chin, which was guarded by her Aura Defence, but still sent her flying back.

*crack*

He heard his Runic Shield shatter again as Keith's monstrous punch reached for his head, and even though the shield took away the majority of the force, he still got hit by plenty, which was enough to send him crashing into the invisible wall again.

Yexuan had already figured out that there was another High-Grade Array in play here, and both Rebecca and Amelia were staying back and reinforcing it.

There was simply no option for him to make a run for it, and it was a battle to the death that he had to survive at all costs so that Alana would not be harmed.

He knew that Rebecca's words were not fake and that she would really kill Alana if his sister failed to get over his loss.

That stupid girl did not even realise what sort of evil family she had chosen to trust, and this ached his heart a lot.

Slowly, he started regretting all his actions since he returned in Time.

He should have been wiser and should have kept a more low profile. He should not have taken any action before leaving Gaia.

But his fears and apprehensions were eating him away, and he failed to get over them.

"You will regret it one day, Amelia." He suddenly said. "The day your dear Husband or your dear Sister-Wife, the Blonde Witch, comes after your life, you will regret this moment." He sadly chuckled. "He will kill you in the future."

He tried to distract her, but to his dismay, the coldness in her eyes only deepened, and Rebecca was smirking at him.

"So you like playing mind games too." She taunted him. "It's a shame that such a long life did not teach you any wisdom."

Those words made his eyes go wide in horror, and he momentarily lost his focus, which cost him gravely as Keith, Minami, and Kiara pincered him.

The despicable ability that Minami possessed was simply too hateful, and his weak Aura Soul simply crumbled as soon as she came in contact with it.

Yexuan winced as an unbearable pain assaulted him, and his mind only cleared when he involuntarily coughed out some blood.

He only had two more Runic Shields left, and he could feel the cold embrace of Death that was calling out to him.

"So this is all for the Steele of Time & Space." He finally figured out why they were all hell-bent on killing him.

"Those who play with Time and Death and disrespect the Laws, never have a good end." Rebecca lightly said, and Yexuan closed his eyes momentarily.

He knew she was right. And he had taken the warnings for granted when he chose to return in Time.

Yes, his long life had failed to impart some wisdom to him...

"Maybe so, but I have no plans of dying today." He gritted his teeth. "And if my hand is forced, I will take some of you with me..."

He quickly made peace with the death and then decided to, at least, take one of them out.

Killing even one of them would save millions of lives in the future.

The Dragon Avatar around his body suddenly started to exude yellow flames, and Keith pulled back with the two girls to guard against anything unexpected, no longer rushing to attack him again.

It was exactly what Yexuan wanted, and then he rushed forward, having chosen his target. He decided to take out Keith's cherished daughter whom he liked keeping by his side. Her loss was bound to hurt him a lot.

However, before he could even reach Minami, he was met by a wall of water, and Yexuan gave it his all to prevent his Aura Soul from disrupting due to her hateful ability and barely managed to survive.

Perhaps it was luck on his side or the fact that the girl was not too experienced in combat that she was left surprised and completely open and vulnerable after he managed to break through her Water Wall, and Yexuan was not going to miss out on this golden opportunity.

His hand reached for her as he prepared to teleport her inside the Steele of Time & Space, knowing that if he took her hostage, he might have a chance of making out of this mess as well.

However, something unexpected happened at the very last moment, and when his hand made contact, it was not his chosen target.

His eyes briefly widened as he found Keith suddenly appearing out of nowhere, replacing Minami, and as soon as his hand touched his Aura, he was pulled inside the Steele of Time & Space.

Yeuxan was stunned at what had just happened, but then he rejoiced and immediately locked the Steele, imprisoning the Inheritor of Erebus inside it.

A mad laugh escaped his lungs, reverberating in the area, and the Aura around his body started getting brighter as if it had been invigorated by the new ray of hope.

"I told you, I am not dying today." He grinned and then rushed at Minami again, but was forced to stop in his tracks when Kiara, covered in her Azure Flames, came to her sister's rescue.

The fists of the two girls collided with his Aura Soul, forcing cracks to appear on it, and they were completely unharmed by the hot flames that his Dragon Soul was exuding.

A strenuous battle ensued as Yexuan found himself unable to shake off the two sisters as both Yingying and Iseul would sneak up on him from time to time.

And the damned girls possessed so much Mana that his heart was sour with envy.

He envied how skilled they were with Magic and Elemental Control, and then there were those Special Abilities they possessed that made them near Invincible in their Realm of Strength, something he had to guard against with his all.

Kiara was already brimming with strength that was reaching the limits of anyone who would be at the Completion of the Primal Desolation Realm, and if it was not because she had not passed the Tribulation, and the Laws were blocking her, her strength would have likely broken to the first of the Nine Martial Realms.

It was how ridiculous her special power was.

The four girls were very good at cooperating, and unfortunately, he was not at his best anymore, having taken a lot of damage and suffering injuries that were aggravating slowly, forcing him into a Stalemate with them.

He was hoping that Amelia and Rebecca would lose patience and join the battle, which would give him a chance to escape this place, but even after minutes passed, neither of them directly joined the fray.

With Keith gone, he was confident that he could manage to escape from this place, but both of them seemed to have seen through his intentions, which was why they were not giving in to their anger.

Yexuan did not know why he suddenly started feeling a little restless, and then he noticed and realised something that made him frown.

There was no hint of worry, agitation, fear, or anger in any of their expressions. They all seemed unusually calm and okay with Keith's unexpected disappearance.

And his heart sank when he noticed a slight smile on Kiara and Rebecca's faces.

"You finally figured it out?" The Little Miss of the Demiliore Family mockingly asked as she came rushing at him together with Minami.

"You are slow." Iseul disappointedly said, and Rebecca giggled at her words.

"Maybe you still don't realise it, but you have cut off your last hope of escaping by pulling Keith inside the Steele of Time & Space." The blonde told him. "Now you can not even take refuge inside it to earn yourself more time."

Yexuan felt like his whole world was coming crashing down on him, and he lost his focus again and winced when Yingying's Sword pierced his body, nearly reaching his heart.

A rage that was far greater than any he had felt before, fueled by his humiliation at being played again, consumed his mind.

"No, no, no!!!!" He bellowed as he tried to check on Keith inside the Steele, failing to get a lock on him, and then to add to his fears, he found the Steele of Time & Space begin to resist him...

In a desperate last attempt, he ignored the pain and rushed right at Rebecca, but the hateful girls got in his way, not allowing him to reach her.

Yeuxan began his last struggle, the hardest battle he had ever fought, determined to not die here today because he knew that his loss would doom everyone he cared for and wanted to save.

And for the first time since he returned to the Past, Yexuan regretted his decision to come back in Time.

His desperation grew as he felt the Steele resist him more and more, and just when everything seemed to fall into Darkness, he felt the Divine Dragon's Blood respond, and he felt a rush of power course through him...

Kiara, Minami, Yingying, and Isuel backed off when the Aura around Yexuan's body started going very crazy and grew more potent.

And their hearts tensed up when the enraged roar of a Beast that seemed to shake the entire world came out of the boy with the golden highlights who was completely helpless a moment ago...