Chapter 0. Prologue
Destroying the original plot really isn’t worth the trouble.
“Groaaaargh.”
“Krrrk, krrrkh.”
“Kiiieee—!”
Monsters of various kinds rushed toward me, each letting out its own bizarre cry.
This was the ‘Army of Ruin,’ seeking to destroy this world, abandoned by the gods, according to its set destiny.
“Hoo-up!”
I channeled my Holy Power into a glorious golden ppatta—no, a baseball bat—and swung it with all my might toward them.
Swoosh.
Blinded by the dazzling Holy Power surging with a fierce wind pressure, the monsters couldn’t even scream and disintegrated without a trace.
But that was all.
The wide horizon was still filled with monsters completely consumed by the curse.
“Seriously, this is too much, no matter what.”
“Sha-haaak!”
Klang!
I knocked away a monster charging at my back with the Holy Power bat, shouting in frustration.
“Wasn’t this supposed to be an R-rated reverse-harem novel?!”
It had been two years and six months since I transmigrated into the body of the Saintess in a dark, high-rated reverse-harem romance fantasy novel.
I struggled to change the ‘Merry Bad Ending,’ where the Saintess, who was supposed to be sacrificed to prevent the world’s destruction, is rescued by the three male leads and spends a passionate final night with them…
“S-Saintess! The Saintess has arrived!”
“Everyone, follow Saintess Linzia!!”
As a result, I ended up standing at the forefront of the final battle against Calix Neferto, the world’s final villain, the ‘Apostle of Ruin.’
Haa. Life certainly isn’t easy.
“…But since I’ve come this far, I have to see it through.”
I repeated the promise to myself.
This was my second life, which I luckily got after overworking myself to death while slaving away at a ‘black company.’
Unlike my previous life, I now possess a stunningly beautiful appearance, and on top of that, a wonderful title: the one and only ‘Saintess’ in this world.
Plus, I got a status window as a transmigration benefit, making it possible to effortlessly level up!
To protect this golden opportunity for a massive life upgrade, I can bravely endure minor side effects of ‘destroying the original plot’!
“Alright. Let’s do this.”
It was just as I gripped the bat handle with renewed resolve.
“The Apostle of Ruin, Calix Neferto, is over there!”
A bloodcurdling shout hammered into my ears.
Following the sound, I turned my head and found him.
“There you are.”
A pitch-black abyss located in the center of the gray battlefield.
He was Calix Neferto, an extra who was only mentioned once in the original novel, but who turned out to be the world’s final villain.
The churning black vortex swirling around him was spreading curses in every direction.
Everything that failed to evade it instantly withered and collapsed. Even the sky lost its blue and turned ash-gray.
Through his wildly fluttering long black hair, I could see a corpse-like pale face.
Without hesitation, I pushed off the ground.
“Calix Neferto—!”
A black greatsword, hovering around the villain as a guard, blocked me as I charged forward with a loud shout.
KABOOOOM!
A ground-shaking clash erupted, and the demonic sword, Eclipse, split in two and fell to the ground.
“…”
Only then did the villain turn his head toward me.
The two eye sockets set within his ghostly pale face were stained black, even the whites.
The complete blackness made them look exactly like two empty holes, which was quite chilling.
“Ugh.”
Goosebumps erupted all over my body, and my hair stood on end, but I tried to ignore it, tightening my grip on the bat.
I concentrated my focus, ready to block and counter his next attack, but strangely, he just stood there blankly.
‘Is it a trap?’
It was suspicious, but I couldn’t just let an opportunity like this slip away.
If I take this guy down, this damn war will finally end.
Then I can truly enjoy the happy days of a high-rated, R-rated reverse-harem heroine!!
Slam.
I stamped my left foot hard on the ground, pulling both arms back over my right shoulder as far as they would go.
“Hup.”
Simultaneously with a short intake of breath, I instantly unleashed my body, which had been coiled to its limit.
KAAANG—!!!
A sharp, clear striking sound, predicting an out-of-the-park home run, cut across the battlefield.
“Krrrk?!”
“Ah…!”
The monsters that were pressing forward, spitting out sticky curses, and the humans who were desperately trying to fend them off, simultaneously froze in their movements.
Silence fell instantly, and even the wind died down.
Only the villain, who had just been smacked in the head with a bat, flew through that quiet space alone.
“I never thought my angry swings at the coin-operated batting cage near my office in my past life would come in handy like this.”
I muttered to myself that you really do live and learn, proudly tracking the parabola the villain was drawing with my eyes. It was then.
‘…Huh?’
I suddenly furrowed my brow.
I felt like a flash of light had momentarily swept across his eyes, which had looked like the abyss of a bottomless pit.
‘Nah. No way. I must have seen wrong.’
As I gave my head a small shake, a series of status window pop-ups appeared before my eyes.
[Subjugation Complete!]
Congratulations!
‘Calix Neferto’ is in an incapacitated state.
You have won the decisive battle against the Final Boss!
[Unclaimed Reward Available.]
Would you like to claim the reward for completing the decisive battle against the Final Boss, <■■ ■■■>, now?
YES / NO
I closed the status window without hesitation.
Although it was blacked out, I knew exactly what that reward was.
The ‘Return to Reality Ticket.’
It’s a cliché used as the final element of conflict in transmigration novels.
“But it has absolutely nothing to do with me.”
Why on earth would I go back to Korea?
My family isn’t there, and I don’t have a pile of money waiting for me.
I’m going to live a long, happy life here as the beautiful and accomplished Saintess!
“Now, the only thing left is to decide which of the three original male leads to choose…”
I saw three handsome men rushing toward me from a distance.
A luxurious lineup consisting of a Holy Knight, a Tower Master of Magic, and a Prince.
“Saintess, are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?”
The first person to reach me was Wayne, the Temple’s Holy Knight and also my personal bodyguard.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“Please do not overexert yourself.”
Although his speech and expression are as rigid as granite, he is a dedicated person who steadfastly protects me more than anyone else.
“Wow. Simply amazing.”
The brown-haired man who approached, his long robe fluttering, was Noel, the youngest Tower Master of Magic.
He might seem a bit frivolous, but he is a Great Mage who reached the 8th Class at the tender age of twenty.
“To send that ferocious demon flying with a single hit. I’m falling for you all over again.”
Skillfully bypassing Wayne’s guard, he stood before me in an instant. He then took my hand and rubbed his face against my palm.
His slightly narrowed green eyes emitted a bewitching light.
Honestly. He knows he’s good-looking.
However, that lasted only a moment before a large hand suddenly reached out and roughly pushed Noel’s head away.
“Get away, Tower Master.”
Noel frowned in displeasure but couldn’t openly protest.
The owner of the hand that pushed him away was Marev Neferto, the Prince of the Great Empire that ruled this continent.
Fitting for a prince likely to be appointed Crown Prince, he was audacious and arrogant, but that was also part of his charm.
“Saintess, Linzia.”
His red eyes, visible through his dark blonde hair, stared intently at me.
At the raw desire wriggling within them, I somehow felt a little embarrassed and subtly turned my head away.
In response, a firm finger grasped my chin and brought it back to its original position.
“…”
In the sudden, strange tension, I could barely swallow dryly.
After watching me intently for a long time without speaking, Marev finally opened his mouth.
“Thank you. And well done.”
The rough fingers holding my chin slowly pulled away.
The spot they had touched remained hot for a long time, as if I had been burned.
‘This is truly difficult.’
I let out a small sigh of exasperation, forcing down the corners of my mouth that kept wanting to turn up.
…Ignoring the continuously blinking status window alarm was my downfall.
A Critical Moment
That evening.
A modest celebration party was held at the camp of the Imperial Palace–Magic Tower–Temple allied forces on the vast plain.
Soldiers sat around a large bonfire, exchanging drinks and catching up.
“Ah—The gate of hope has opened!”
When a few of them, caught up in the excitement, started singing, everyone began to join in.
I was awkwardly clapping along to a song from this world that I didn’t know when,
“Saintess. Could you come with me for a moment?”
Wayne, who had quietly approached, whispered into my ear.
I turned around in surprise, noticing a hint of nervousness on his face.
‘Hmm. Is this a confession event setting?’
Calming my pounding heart, I followed him into the command tent of the allied forces.
The moment I stepped inside, a red cloth covered my head.
Beyond my vision, which was now overlaid with a crimson filter, I could see two more familiar figures.
‘Noel. Marev…?’
As my eyes widened in confusion and shock, an incantation filled with Holy Power struck my eardrums.
[In the name of the Divine, I command thee, specter of another dimension.]
Wait. What is th—…
[Depart from that body and return to the place from whence you came.]
The prayer for exorcism echoed resonantly.
It hurt terribly. A hundred times worse than the rebound I experienced the first time I failed at purification.
[※Error Occurred!※]
Extreme error detected due to external attack!
Emergency Ejection Recommended!
Attempting Forced Shutdown and Reboot!
The status window, sensing the crisis, chimed with frantic warnings.
All the while, the exorcism prayer continued.
[Covet not the power that is not yours, nor the place that is not yours.]
A terrible, soul-shredding agony surged through me.
The precariously shaking status window generated massive noise, and finally began to pixelate and shatter from the edges.
A chilling voice settled over my ears as I choked, unable even to scream.
“See? It would have been better if you had just left quietly on your own.”
It was Marev.
“I didn’t want to exorcise the soul I personally transmigrated, either.”
As I reeled in shock from this fact I hadn’t known, I felt a familiar magic approaching.
It was Tower Master Noel’s.
An invisible force seized my tattered soul and violently tore it away from the Saintess’s body.
Crack.
With a gruesome sound of something that shouldn’t have been severed breaking, I lost consciousness.
And when I came to…
“…Squeak?”
I was a mouse in a cell.
»»» ♡ «««
Notes:
1. Ppatta (빠따): A Korean slang term for a baseball bat, often used in a forceful or aggressive context. Here, it is used humorously by the protagonist to describe her Holy Power-infused weapon.
2. Black Company (블랙 기업 / beullaek gieop): A term for a company that exploits its employees through excessive work hours, low wages, and poor working conditions.
3. Final Boss / Blackened Villain (흑막 / heukmak): Literally means “black curtain,” referring to the ultimate antagonist, mastermind, or final villain pulling the strings behind the scenes.
