The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix's Novels Also Desires Happiness

The dense forest was being torn at this moment by a rampaging gale. Innumerable shards of rock, together with shredded leaves and twigs, formed a sky-darkening cloudbank at the horizon, like a tableau of doomsday’s advent.

And at the outer rim of the storm’s domain, countless giant trees met like giants clasping hands, and with twisted, interwoven vines they built a great wall, turning this tract into a... death zone from which not even flying insects could escape.

A death zone aimed at one person alone.

“What’s wrong, Muen Campbell?”

At the center of the death zone, the priest still wore a composed smile, watching the figure not far away.

“Just now you said you were the type who fights better one-on-one, yet why is it that all I see is you fleeing in panic?”

“Cough cough, sometimes the advertisement differs a bit from the actual product—please don’t mind it.”

Muen spat a mouthful of blood and wiped it casually on a broken stone beside him.

At the moment, he was somewhat bedraggled.

No—extremely bedraggled.

His golden hair that had once spread like the morning sun was, under the lash of the storm, swaying left and right like autumn’s withered grass.

After handing his coat to Liya, the only shirt on his body had become tattered as well. The expensive fabric had turned into rags even a beggar would disdain, clinging to him with difficulty, forming a stark contrast with the priest, who remained spotless.

And the flesh exposed from those rags no longer had the marble-hewn lines and beauty of usual; wounds covered him—knife-marks, claw-marks—and even his broad back bore swathes of char.

—That was the result of lightning hidden within the storm striking Muen. If he hadn’t reacted swiftly at the time, half his body would likely have been pierced by heaven’s might and turned to char.

And the cause of such severe injuries to Muen... was merely probing.

Yes—the exchange of the past few minutes was clearly only the priest’s probing.

He still stood where he had from the start; from beginning to end he hadn’t even moved his feet.

Yet in those few minutes he had employed more than five Divine Favors, each capable of putting Muen to death.

But despite wielding such power, he was exceedingly cautious.

He seemed fully aware of his weakness as an ordinary human, so from the very start he hid within a sturdy barrier of Holy Light, using those Divine Favors only at range, carving wounds into Muen bit by bit, like cutting flesh with a dull blade, gradually squeezing Muen’s life and limits.

Like an old turtle hiding inside its shell.

And enemies like that are precisely the most vexing.

Not to mention there was more than one enemy here.

Even Muen, who prided himself on being a human cockroach and an ox that can’t be worn out, began to find it hard to breathe under this tempestuous onslaught.

So, next... what to do?

Only...

“Muen Campbell, I have a proposal.” In what seemed a deliberately granted moment for Muen to catch his breath, the priest suddenly spoke.

“A proposal?”

“That’s right.”

The priest smiled:

“How about you surrender as you are?”

“Mm?”

Unsure what scheme the priest was suddenly playing at, Muen asked, puzzled:

“If I surrender, you won’t kill me?”

“Of course I’ll kill you. That’s the employer’s commission.”

“What difference does that make, then?”

“But of course there’s a difference.”

“Since the end of death cannot be avoided, why not choose a somewhat easier way to die?”

The priest said:

“After all, I am one who serves the Goddess, and a priest who has explained the canon to countless believers. Even if you are my enemy, and even if the employer once required us to kill you in the cruelest manner, I will still grant you necessary mercy.

So, if you surrender, I’ll let you die without the slightest pain.”

The priest’s face was compassionate, as if offering his devout morning prayer.

But the words out of his mouth sent a chill through one’s bones.

Die without the slightest pain...

Muen smiled.

For a villain, that truly was mercy enough.

“But sorry.”

Muen refused in one breath.

“Up to now, the only thing I’m more or less afraid of is death... Mm, no, the cleaver should count as the second thing.

So...”

Muen blinked and asked hopefully:

“Do I get a third option? Like you let me go and we become good friends?”

“No.”

The priest put away his smile and showed pity:

“What a pity, Muen Campbell. I admit—you’re impressive to have held out this long.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“But... checkmate here and now.”

The priest’s cold words fell like the supreme judgment of a god.

At the same time—different from the prior step-by-step pressure—a fierce crisis of death suddenly speared through Muen’s mind.

Long-suppressed malice erupted all at once.

A foul, bloody wind, laden with murderous intent, swept from behind.

But it did not come from the priest’s offensive—it was... the Hyena.

During the priest’s earlier probing, a Hyena that had been hidden and holding back finally bared its fangs at Muen now!

Except...

Was the long-accumulated killing strike really being executed by the Hyena as well?

Muen frowned and faced the Hyena.

By now the Hyena had completely become a monster—scales covering it, bony spurs grotesque, razor talons that seemed easily capable of tearing steel.

Its eyes were a sheet of scarlet; it looked utterly bereft of reason.

But if it was only that, with his speed he could still—

“I said it already: checkmate.”

The faint voice came from behind Muen.

The priest flipped the canon in his hands.

In an instant, the air around Muen solidified.

The rampaging gale seemed to have had a pause button pressed; then the air around Muen turned viscous beyond measure.

Like water.

Like mud.

Like cement!

The viscous gas, accidentally drawn into his lungs, sent burning pain lancing through his chest.

Muen’s breathing fell into disorder at once; worse still, the dreadful pressure, as if he were in the deep sea, made his movements... slow down.

Under time dilation, Muen’s speed could indeed reach something terrifying. Speaking purely of speed, even the Hyena, whose body far exceeded human limits, could do nothing against him.

But that was under normal conditions.

However fast you are...

What if you’re in water?

What if you’re in mud?

What if you’re in cement about to set?

Can your speed still be that fast?

The answer...

No.

“Grr-grrk—ten billion!”

Almost on instinct, the Hyena let out an excited shriek from its slobbering maw, and its talons—steeped in venom and powerful battle aura—stabbed unimpeded at Muen’s unavoidable vitals.

When speed cannot be brought to bear, and when there is no Holy Light to bolster you, the difference in realm and power will, in the end, be displayed in grim reality.

Therefore—

Unstoppable.

“See?”

At this, the priest smiled faintly.

“The speed you pride yourself on is only so much. As I said before, I already know your limits—so naturally you have no chance of victory.”

Pfft—

The sound of talons piercing flesh rang out, bright sprays of blood flying.

Though he was facing away and could not enjoy that face of despair—

Still.

Beautiful.

It reminded the priest of that morning when he left the church.

The blossoms that unfurled from those children then were just as gorgeous.

“What a pity.”

The priest murmured:

“No one ever understands my mercy.”

He slowly closed the holy canon, as if to place a reasonably perfect period on this hunt that had gone beyond all of their expectations.

“Cough cough...”

But—suddenly.

Just as the performance was about to end, the actors ready to bow and offer thanks and then go happily offstage to pick up their boxed meals—

Someone who ought to have played the corpse perfectly at this point let out an ill-timed dry cough.

“A bit hasty, aren’t we? I haven’t even finished my lines.”

“Mm?”

The priest’s hands stilled closing the canon.

He snapped his head up and looked at Muen.

The grotesque monster was sprawled atop Muen as if to tear him apart piece by piece and devour him.

Those razor talons had indeed stabbed precisely into his flesh—just a twist, and he’d be ripped in two.

But at this moment—between the gaps of those talons—two pure-white short blades were crossed, braced dead against them. Even though they still trembled slightly, they kept the talons from advancing the slightest bit.

“How is that possible!”

The priest’s pupils tightened; for the first time he showed a trace of loss of composure:

“You should have been suppressed to your limit! It’s impossible you can still block the Hyena’s attack!”

“It was to the limit.”

Muen looked at the Hyena’s contorted visage—stupid with surprise as well—and grinned:

“But only at the limit is there a chance to break through, isn’t there?”

All at once—like a pent-up river finally smashing through a long-blocked dam—surging battle aura flowed over Muen’s body. Borrowing that instant of eruption, Muen swung his blades and actually forced the Hyena back head-on.

The wound on his lower abdomen left by the talons still bled, but Muen paid it no mind. He only closed his eyes and keenly savored that feeling of pressure amassed to its peak and then suddenly released.

Realm breakthrough.

Third Rank Warrior.

“No wonder protagonists of every stripe love this move. Feels... great.”

Muen let out a long breath, looked at the priest, and smiled:

“Thanks, Mr. Pressure. Without you, I might have had to wait months to naturally reach Third Rank.”

“...Is that so?”

A hidden glint flashed in the priest’s eyes, then quickly calmed. His face went blank:

“And what of it? Even if your realm rose, from Second to Third still cannot resolve your predicament.”

He flipped the canon again.

The storm descended by godly grace once more shrouded the death zone, leaving Muen nowhere to flee.

“You’re not wrong.”

But this time Muen only shrugged, as if he hadn’t felt that terrible pressure at all.

Whether Second Rank or Third Rank—

Against a Fourth Rank monster and a cleric who worshiped who knows how many gods, there was no difference.

Because that degree of rise was not an essential elevation.

If you couldn’t win, you still couldn’t win; it’s not as if, like a protagonist, you could suddenly jump a minor realm and reverse the tide, hammering your enemies on the run.

“But.”

The corner of Muen’s mouth ticked up; he suddenly showed a strange smile:

“Since I’ve achieved my aim, I don’t need to hide anymore.”

“Mm?”

The priest frowned.

Hide?

Hide what?

Did he still have some backhand?

No.

Calm down.

Even if he had a trick he hadn’t used, it wouldn’t change the current outcome.

Any externals, before a god’s grace, aren’t worth mention.

But just then, the priest saw Muen lift his hands and lightly touch the two # Nоvеlight # short blades together.

Arcs crackled. An Alchemical Domain spread out, enveloping Muen—and the Hyena not far away—together.

“?”

The priest frowned again.

Because Muen’s presence... vanished.

It seemed to have been screened out by that strange domain.

...He used this trick to dodge our tracking earlier too.

But why?

Is that his backhand?

Cancel his presence right in front of us?

We aren’t blind!

“Just now, you let me have my fill of fun.”

While the priest hovered between cautious thought and hesitation, Muen—standing within the Alchemical Domain—suddenly began to burn.

Crimson fire.

“Now...”

Shrouded head to toe in crimson flame, Muen looked at the priest and smiled faintly:

“It’s my turn to let you all feel good.”