The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 101.
Bailey’s condition had already become dire.
Her clothes were torn in countless places, and blood trickling from the wounds stained the fabric a dark crimson. Her ankles swelled grotesquely, and each step sent spasms of pain across her face.
Thanks to her proximity and superhuman resolve, Bailey reached Kirien faster than Artiela could.
She threw her arms around him at once.
As though she would bear every ounce of pain destined for him herself.
The spider splayed its fangs wide and thrust one of its enormous legs toward the pair.
“Your opponent is me!”
Artiela, rushing in from behind the spider, sent a blade of light slashing across its flank. All eight of the spider’s eyes swiveled toward her in unison.
The click-click of its fangs snapping together was menacing—but not at its intended prey.
The creature catapulted itself forward on those long, spindly legs, hurling toward Kirien and Bailey. One massive limb came crashing down, aimed squarely at Bailey’s back.
And there was no barrier left to shield her.
“No!”
Bailey squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped herself around Kirien, who towered above her.
The moment seemed to stretch before Artiela’s eyes as though moving through syrup. Her own body felt the same—caught, immobilized, unable to move.
Artiela glanced down at herself.
‘When did it lay the Spider Web?’
As the creature had leaped upward just moments before, it had scattered its sticky threads across the floor—a trap to keep her at bay. In terrain like this, the spider’s speed remained undiminished.
While Artiela thrashed against the strands, the spider’s foreleg struck Bailey’s back. She staggered under the blow, and Kirien’s arm, cradled in her embrace, went limp.
Then a vision flashed before Artiela’s eyes.
Bertia in Kirien’s arms, drawing a final breath—the future the Divine Tree had shown her, now on the cusp of becoming real.
“No matter what you hear or what happens, if your heart begins to waver, look only upon the Duke’s face. You must never abandon our Duke.”
“I find the young lady truly endearing.”
Someone who had cherished her from the very beginning. Whether it was Bailey speaking, or Lord Bertia borrowing her form—either way, that person had become precious to Artiela.
Artiela wreathed her feet in Aura mingled with Holy Power.
The moment the spider began to raise its leg to strike again.
“Step away from my mother!”
Green-tinged Holy Power ignited the Spider Web to ash. Freed, Artiela launched herself at the creature.
More precisely—at Bertia.
The collision sent a deafening crack through the air; one of the spider’s legs was severed and fell to the ground. As it dropped, the Holy Power radiating from Artiela’s body turned the severed limb to pristine white ash.
“Didn’t I warn you?”
Artiela’s Bardo sang through the air once, twice, three times, each stroke cleaving the spider’s legs from its body one by one.
“Oh, blessed heavens!”
From behind, the priest stared in awe at the spectacle unfolding before him.
The torrent of Aura and Holy Power—this was not the Holy Knight Order Commander he knew. Her Holy Power flowed without limit, already consuming the carcass of the dead Demon Beast, purifying the Magical Taint itself.
Artiela had awakened her Holy Power anew.
Her pale, ever-dimming white light had transformed; her color now burned with vivid clarity. The golden Holy Power shimmered brilliantly alongside her green Aura, rippling across her Bardo.
Artiela kicked off the ground and soared forward, cleaving the enormous spider in two.
As the creature died, the Magical Taint it scattered in all directions was purified by her green Aura and golden Holy Power, returning to the natural world once more.
“Hah… hah…”
The exhaustion was crushing. She’d barely eaten properly since they began their journey, had rationed her sleep as she rode, and had fought Demon Beasts numerous times along the way.
She hadn’t merely taxed her Aura—she’d burned through her mental reserves wielding Holy Power without restraint.
Yet there was no time to collapse.
“Kirien! Mother!”
Artiela spun around urgently.
Bailey lay sprawled out, still cradling Kirien. And Kirien’s eyes, looking down at her, had turned deathly cold.
His hand began to move toward Bailey.
“Wait, just a moment!”
Artiela lunged forward to stop him.
“You don’t actually want to lose this body, do you?”
At her question, Kirien—or rather, the Source of Evil within—smiled widely.
“Don’t you remember the oath Kirien swore?”
“I do. If anyone tries to harm you, this flesh will die.”
“Exactly. So you’ll stay still, won’t you? I don’t have the strength to fight you now, and if you try to kill Bailey, the only way I can stop you is by sacrificing myself. That won’t do, will it?”
Would a threat actually work?
“Fine, that won’t do.”
Fortunately, it had.
“So I’ll just take the cursed Holy Knight’s soul instead.”
No. That was not a concession at all.
* * *
At that moment, Ushiel was reviewing a report on demon beasts emerging from the local Temple. Fortunately, thanks to Artiela and Kirien’s swift response, there appeared to be no major incident.
That demon beasts, which had been quiet for some time, suddenly swarmed forth in numbers—it must be the work of the Source of Evil.
Yet something troubled him.
‘Demon beast emergence reported to the Imperial Court from the Border.’
It was a message Sernia had sent through a messenger bird in secret.
The Temple had not yet received any report of demon beasts discovered at the Border. But this was hardly unprecedented.
One of the neighboring kingdoms had harbored dark mages expelled from the Empire, and they occasionally summoned demon beasts or caused disturbances within imperial territory, claiming vengeance.
So whether this was genuine or fabricated was something that needed to be verified.
‘I’ll have to go investigate myself.’
Accompanied by a few holy knights.
Before Artiela returned, he rose from his seat with the intention of resolving this matter. But just then, Freil, the vice-commander of the Holy Knight Order, appeared.
His face was ashen.
“Holy Maiden, Holy Maiden, something terrible has happened.”
“What is it? Have more demon beasts appeared?”
“No, it’s not that—the Divine Tree…….”
Freil’s expression was one of utter despair. At his appearance, Ushiel’s mind leapt to the calamity that might befall the Divine Tree.
The tree withering and dying.
That could mean one of two things.
Since the Divine Tree shared its fate with the Holy Maiden, the wilting of its leaves would signify the current Holy Maiden’s death.
If the trunk or roots were to rot away entirely, it would be a harbinger of the world’s destruction.
“Go and see for yourself.”
Ushiel too grew tense at the sight of Freil’s tear-stricken face.
He knew well that the Holy Maiden was human and could die at any time. But he had never truly considered what it would feel like to know of death in advance. Still, she was the Holy Maiden—he’d assumed she would remain unmoved.
Or would she not?
As he walked toward the tree, he watched the priests and holy knights gather with worried faces, whispering amongst themselves before bowing their heads and disappearing in low spirits. His unease only deepened.
Ushiel stood on the path where the tree came into view, his expression tense.
“What in the world is this terrible thing everyone speaks of?”
But somehow, it looked completely fine? Had Artiela known how wound up he was, she would have laughed at him.
“Look—the flower of our commander and Kirien’s has wilted! Something must have happened to both of them.”
“…….”
Were the holy knights’ minds filled with nothing but muscle? The priests were much the same.
“What shall we do, Holy Maiden? Do you think something has befallen them?”
“I believe it’s time we taught the clergy some basic biology.”
“Pardon? Suddenly, what do you…….”
“The flower must fall so that the fruit may bear!”
The faces of the holy knights and priests who had been wearing such gloomy expressions suddenly brightened.
“Ah!”
“Aaah!”
“Of course!”
“Ha…….”
Ushiel pressed his palm to his forehead. But another concern deepened as he watched the pleased faces of the priests and holy knights.
“So that’s why they stayed out…….”
“Love truly makes one gaze upon the stars.”
Surely the Source of Evil hadn’t attacked Kirien too?
* * *
At that very moment, Artiela was attacking Kirien—or more precisely, the Source of Evil that inhabited his body.
She feinted at seizing Bailey, pulling her toward herself, and the Source of Evil tightened its grip on Bailey in response. In that same instant, Artiela released her strength.
The creature lost its balance.
Without hesitation, Artiela wrapped her entire body in golden Holy Power and drove her palm firmly against Kirien’s chest.
“A beautiful light. How exquisite it would be mixed with darkness.”
The crimson eyes gazed upon the golden Holy Power as if entranced, curving into a smile. It seized Artiela and fell backward.
Just as she intended, Bailey slipped free from its grasp.
Instead, the creature pulled Artiela into its embrace.
“Ah! Mmph!”
Artiela’s eyes widened. For it had drawn her face toward its own.
And their lips met.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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