Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!

Chapter 323: Chapter: 322 Obvious provocation.

”Hey... do you all hate humans that much? I mean, come on. Gathering this many people just to kill two of us feels a little excessive, don’t you think?”

Julius forced a casual smile onto his face, speaking as though they had met under ordinary circumstances rather than in the middle of a life-and-death pursuit.

Every word was carefully chosen to buy even the smallest amount of time while his mind continued calculating countless possibilities.

Unfortunately, before anyone else could react, the tall woman clad in silver armour interrupted him with a vicious grin stretching across her face.

”Yes,” she replied without the slightest hesitation. ”We do hate humans. Though I’ll admit... that’s not the main reason we’re here.”

Julius looked at her in silence, his expression remaining completely unchanged.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes. Her answer wasn’t exactly surprising.

In fact, it was painfully obvious. Even someone blind like Uriel could have guessed why so many powerful figures had gathered. He wasn’t merely another human.

He was Julius Augustus Hayes.

The unconscious girl resting upon his shoulder was Rosalina Valentina.

The sole heirs of two of humanity’s greatest families had appeared deep within Zlycon territory. It would’ve been stranger if the entire continent hadn’t mobilised to hunt them down.

A nervous chuckle escaped his lips as he slowly drifted backwards through the air, carefully widening the distance between them without making it appear too deliberate.

”Well... in that case, perhaps I’ll be leaving.”

His movements remained slow and cautious.

Escaping was still the best option.

”...Damn.”

’If only Mother had taught me even a weaker version of her teleportation spell...’

The thought made him inwardly curse.

At the same time, the woman in silver armour noticed his subtle retreat and couldn’t help laughing.

”You know...” she began, resting the enormous greatsword against her shoulder as though they were having an ordinary conversation. ”I’ve always had a dream.”

Julius didn’t respond.

”I always wanted a handsome man to become part of my harem.”

He blinked once before staring at her robust physique.

The woman looked more like someone capable of splitting mountains apart with her bare fists than building a harem.

...May the gods save whichever poor soul ends up in it.

Suppressing the urge to voice that thought aloud, Julius quietly shook his head before refocusing on the battlefield.

The four experts continued advancing, though none of them seemed particularly hurried. They moved with absolute confidence, almost leisurely, as though escape had already become impossible.

...Well, escaping certainly won’t be easy.

Even so, Julius couldn’t help feeling a faint smile tug at the corner of his lips.

His current condition was, surprisingly, close to perfect.

His mana core remained completely full thanks to Event Horizon, while the injuries covering his body were little more than superficial wounds.

Of course, the price for maintaining that condition had become unimaginably horrifying.

This had been his final use of Event Horizon. Every available moment within the next month had already been consumed by the injuries he had transferred into the future.

Even thinking about the torment awaiting him was enough to send a chill down his spine. Every second of every day his body would continue breaking apart before barely healing, only to shatter again.

Assuming...

He survived long enough to experience it.

Meanwhile, the four experts maintained their cautious advance.

None of them underestimated him despite the overwhelming difference in numbers, and Julius could understand why. After everything that had happened today, caution was only natural.

Perfect.

Just a little longer...

The spell he had been quietly preparing was almost complete.

The woman suddenly smiled again.

”You’re human...” she said, looking Julius up and down without the slightest embarrassment. ”But you’re very handsome.”

She tilted her head.

”So... how about willingly joining my harem?”

Julius eyebrow twitched.

The audacity...

’Woman, I’m Julius Augustus Hayes. Someone like you would have to beg for my attention, and even then I’d refuse without a second thought. There isn’t a woman alive capable of catching my interest..’

...Other than Rose.

Those words naturally remained inside his head.

Instead, Julius placed one hand against his chest before giving her an exaggerated gentleman’s bow.

”My deepest apologies,” he replied politely. ”But I’m already taken. I do appreciate the offer, though.”

The woman sighed dramatically before placing a hand against her forehead.

”What a pity...”

At that exact moment...

’This is it!’

The spell Julius had been preparing finally activated.

A deafening explosion erupted between the two groups as compressed mana violently detonated, filling the sky with thick smoke and violently scattering visibility in every direction.

Without wasting a single heartbeat, Julius turned around and accelerated away.

Then...

”I suppose once I catch you...” the woman’s voice echoed calmly through the smoke, ”...I’ll simply have to force my way into your heart.”

Julius didn’t stop.

”...And the girl you’re carrying...”

His body suddenly stiffened.

”She’s your lover, isn’t she?”

His expression froze.

”The Solarian heir happens to be a man ruled by lust.”

A faint laugh followed.

”I think... she’ll make a wonderful present.”

For one brief moment...the world itself seemed to stop.

Under normal circumstances, nothing would’ve convinced Julius to abandon his escape. He wasn’t proud in the conventional sense. He would lie, deceive, run away, or use every underhanded trick imaginable if it increased his chances of survival.

But...

This wasn’t normal. Julius slowly came to a halt.

Without another step forward...without another attempt to flee...

He simply turned around.

The smoke gradually dispersed, revealing the four experts standing exactly where they had been before, none of them making any effort to chase him. They didn’t need to.

They had already predicted this outcome.

Julius Augustus Hayes was cunning.

He was shameless, he possessed almost no pride whatsoever.

Yet there existed one weakness that had become known throughout the Four Stationary Continents.

Rosalina.

His feelings toward her, his obsession, his madness. The woman hadn’t been taunting him out of amusement.

She had deliberately chosen the one thing capable of stopping him from escaping.

And...she had succeeded.

Julius’ golden eyes settled upon the muscular woman.

Then they slowly shifted toward the unconscious Rosalina resting peacefully against his shoulder.

Deep within his heart...something long buried began to awaken.

For years, ever since Rosalina had accepted him, that terrifying madness had remained asleep beneath the warmth of her affection. It hadn’t disappeared.

It had merely been waiting.

Now...it slowly crawled back into the light.

Its cold fingers wrapped themselves around his heart.

Its whisper filled his mind.

”...Well?” the woman smirked, satisfied that her provocation had achieved exactly what she wanted.

Unfortunately...she had made a mistake.

A catastrophic mistake. She believed she had provoked Julius Augustus Hayes.

In reality...

”...Rose...”

His lips moved almost soundlessly. The murderous aura surrounding him became so dense that even the surrounding mana began trembling.

”...How dare...” His voice dropped into a whisper devoid of all emotion.

”...you...Speak....About...My Rose.”

A suffocating pressure spread across the battlefield. Even the expressions of the four Heavenly Trial experts became noticeably more serious.

The silver-armoured woman frowned for the first time.

”...Everyone,” she ordered quietly, her playful smile completely gone. ”Get ready.”

Her instincts screamed that something had changed.

”...Don’t kill him. He’ll become an excellent hostage against the Hayes Family.”

Julius slowly raised his free hand. Golden mana erupted around his fingertips. His crimson eyes remained fixed upon the woman alone.

”Phoenix of Destruction.”