I Saved the Villainess (2)
Think about it. I step outside because a customer arrived, and a stunning beauty with massive tits and red hair drops from the sky like a noble. What the hell am I supposed to say in a situation like that?
Worry? Nah. It's straight-up lamenting my life.
"…Hand her over. And I'll spare your life."
"Whoa, whoa, hold up. Who the hell is this chick?"
"…Just shut up, put her down, and get the fuck out of here."
In an instant, black-clad assassins filled the space around us. Obvious assassins at a glance. And high-level ones at that.
This bombshell must've had escorts, but there wasn't a drop of blood on their clothes. Meaning these were killers of an insane caliber.
"The fuck you talkin' about, oozing killing intent like that?"
"…Fair point."
The moment I said it, every assassin around us hurled daggers at her.
Daggers flying in from all sides in a flash. I didn't dodge.
Ching! Chingchingchingching!
"Goddamn it… what the hell are these?"
"…He's strong. Everyone, be careful."
Luca grumbled as she hopped off the wagon. An assassin who spotted her gulped and tightened his grip on his sword, signaling caution.
She scratched her head roughly, then stared at the woman in my arms.
"What the—? You… you got yourself a harem girl from the Empire or somethin'…?"
"Sigh… come on, Luca, get your head straight."
"Ahem, yeah. No way you'd pull that off. Who'd even go for you?"
Luca knew damn well how many women from the tribe were begging to marry me. Just our usual tsundere bullshit—whatever. The real problem was those assassins.
"Hic… please put me down now. I don't want to get you all in trouble."
She said it through quiet sobs, tears trickling down her cheeks. But if I set her down here, it'd be like saying, 'Here, I plated her up nice and tasty. Leave a review?'
So I hugged her tighter, refusing to let go. She stared up at me with a clueless, wide-eyed look, like she had no idea how the world worked.
"…If I put you down, you'll die right away. You want that?"
"I've made up my mind since you said it… hic! Eep!"
Her eyes said it was real. She'd accepted death. Looking at us—like commoners, or hell, even slaves—and still saying that? She was a seriously good person.
"Name. What's your name?"
"Estellia de Ortes. You get it, right? You're facing off against the Ortes family's black-clad assassins."
Her hiccups stopped as she looked me dead in the eye. But her pupils trembled just a bit.
I smirked.
"Got it. House Ortes, the duke's family…"
House Ortes. No clue, obviously. I never read the novel or watched the anime. But I knew it was one of the three great ducal houses. No reward for saving her? Figures.
"Wh-what?! Put me down now and run!"
"Even if you say that, they won't let us live. Especially after you spilled your family name…"
"True…"
Estellia responded calmly to my words. She knew it too. We were all dead here anyway.
But they say knowing one thing means you're blind to two. No idea how she flew in here, but if she came to survive, that was the right call.
"This is tricky… can I even save you?"
"What do you—?"
I ignored her puzzled question and stared at her intently.
Whap.
"Wh-why are you staring like that…?!"
Black aura swirled around her. She was fated to die right here. An unchangeable destiny. Inevitable.
Not some random accident—this world needed to flow normally, and for that, she had to die here.
"Do you know about Defying Heaven?"
"Defying Heaven? Not ascension?"
Estellia looked clueless. I pulled her close with one arm as I explained. She yelped in surprise at the sudden one-armed hug.
"Kyaa!"
"Defying Heaven means going against the heavens. In other words, defying fate."
She gawked at my out-of-left-field talk. As she opened her mouth to respond, I cut her off.
"You're fated to die here."
"…How would you know that?! I mean, it looks that way now, but…"
"Haha, just say I know. But here's the thing. I love defying fate."
I don't like fate one bit. Heard a million times that defying it turns the stars against you—from my grand shaman dad to the 300-year-old hag sorceress.
But I love bucking fate. Living by some script? That's just like an NPC in a game.
Even possessing this body? Not fate to me.
"They say it's hellish for those who defy heaven. And I've bucked fate plenty of times. So… what happens to me?"
"…"
Estellia didn't answer. Couldn't. She couldn't believe the scene before her.
The elite assassins—top-tier killers dispatched by House Ortes—were trembling like leaves after I'd cut them down in one go.
Cold sweat poured off them; their sword hands and legs shook. Like rabbits cornered by a lion.
"Guess we'll find out what happens to me when we test it, huh?"
"Attack!"
The assassins charged the second I finished speaking. Or tried to.
"What the—?"
Binding Talismans I'd made myself were already stuck to their feet. The moment they moved, the law-force activated, chaining them in place instantly.
Leg-bound, they tried surging aura to cut free. Good luck with that. Could a grand shaman's handmade Binding Talisman be broken that easily?
Answer: no. Unless you're a Swordmaster.
"Wh-what the hell are you?!"
"Quiet. Everyone, shut your mouths."
One assassin yelled. Then the one watching from behind spoke. Probably their leader.
All the assassins clamped their mouths shut at his command. Like the air itself was forbidden.
"…We didn't realize you were someone important. Will you let us withdraw now?"
"Remember what I said? About Defying Heaven."
"Yes. Defying fate…"
The assassin bowed as best he could. At his level, he probably didn't bow often.
I looked at him and said,
"Right. And I can see it. You're not fated to die here. You shouldn't die here."
Did he get it? The man shouted,
"Everyone, run!"
Schwick! Shraaaash!
They all sliced off their own feet. Blood dripping, they fled like they felt no pain.
"But I think you should die here. So your lives end now. That's the fate I set for you."
Why? Why…?
He was a top elite killer, Expert Advanced—just shy of Swordmaster. A veteran who'd assassinated Swordmasters back in the day.
But he'd never felt anything like this. That… massive presence.
He'd seen a church inquisitor once, channeling a god into their body. When the divine descended…
This felt similar. No, stronger.
A stray thought—no, a fatal mistake for an assassin—flooded his mind.
Unfair. How can some stranger dictate my life?
"Must suck, huh? Having some outsider decide your life. That's why I think this."
He was far away. At least three kilometers. Yet it felt like a whisper right in his ear.
My voice rang crystal clear.
"Defy the fate I set. Survive this attack, and you'll be a Defier of Heaven too. One I acknowledge."
Rumble.
His vision warped suddenly.
Poison? No… no sign of it, and poison doesn't work on me anyway!
Illusion magic? From this distance?
Thoughts raced. But he couldn't act.
"Ah… aaah…"
Not poison. Not illusion.
A centipede. Something slithered from behind his eye.
Shaking his ear, out dropped a centipede. Blue-white, like staring at the sky. An otherworldly spirit beast inside him.
"You'll make good feed."
Those were the last words he thought.
***
"Wh-what… what the hell…?"
Estellia couldn't believe it. Those guys had fled in a blink—how were they dead now?
Dozens of blue-white centipedes dragged the assassins back. Then offered them to the giant man like asking permission.
"Mm… yeah, eat up."
Crunch!
Thud thud…
"Urk…"
She'd seen corpses before, but never humans devoured by dozens of centipedes. Estellia puked up everything in her stomach.
Once she'd emptied out and looked up again, she was shocked anew.
"Aigoo, my Cheongbing. Tasty? Special treat, buddy."
"Ah… ah… grrrumble…"
"Whoops, passed out. Not 'cause of you, Cheongbing! Totally not! Don't get upset!"
Crazy bastard…
Estellia blacked out for good.
Luca saw her defenseless and rushed over.
"Where do you think you're going, seducing with your body…? Hmph… like I'd let that happen? No way I'm losing to some Empire bitch."
A whisper so quiet even a 6th Hierarchy great warrior like me couldn't hear. She even used star power to muffle it.
Luca wrapped Estellia tight in the fur coat she'd been wearing.
"Hm. Guess girls know how to take care of each other. Luca's got a good heart, after all."