"The thrill in being a villain, my boy, is not in achieving your goals, but striving to achieve them. The joy of trampling innocent villagers because they're in your way; the thrill of seizing the artifact from your slain enemy's lifeless grasp; the sheer visceral ecstacy of cackling in triumph as you celebrate your imminent victory! And then, just as you're about to succeed with your dastardly scheme, the hero shows up and you engage in a climactic duel, an epic struggle of good versus evil. But sometimes, yessir, sometimes, you let the poor blighter one-up you; a slight miss of the sword here, an inconvenient step there. And then you let him have his victory, and though you are defeated this time, you still smile with pride, knowing that they are a truly worthy adversary. Otherwise, what's the point? What's the point in even trying to be a villain, if you know you're going to succeed anyway? It all becomes meaningless, yessir, just a sad, lonely waste of existence. We villains need heroes to oppose us, for without them, we are nothing but costumed buffoons with no real meaning in their lives. Without a sense of being, of purpose, a role which we can define for ourselves, we simply become ruthless and barbaric, not caring how things are done or why, only caring that they are done...much like yourself."
Blackmore was grinning, acting out his speech like a true master of the stage. There was no malice, no remorse, no spite. He felt no ill towards Roa. This was, as it were, a speech from the heart.
"And, as it is, Michael, not many people will remember what you have done; you say so yourself, yessir. You see, people rarely remember or make a fuss about things that did happen - they simply accept this prior event as a fact of life, and think little of it. But when they think of something that nearly happened, something that could have been - well, that's what they will remember. Lord knows I could quite easily go slaughter a little village somewhere and take everything, but where's the fun in that? I see no joy in doing something unless you have someone to oppose you. The play is the thing, Michael! And just remember, that when the curtains fall and the audience applauds, they're not applauding because of what happned, because the curtains fell; no, my boy, they're applauding at everything that happened in-between. The curtains will fall at the end of the show, that much they know; what they want to know is, why will it fall, and how? That is why they applaud. That, my dear boy, is what I believe is true villainy."