Chapter1: Villain Saint LV99

Os Empire, Crimson Forest, temporary encampment of the Rose Knights.

“Everyone’s first monster hunt, and you’ve done this well already. I’m quite satisfied.”

Black skirt swaying, Isavel clasped her hands before her abdomen, passing among the Rose Knights resting on the ground like a sovereign inspecting her domain.

Ascetic black hair and black eyes, a faintly glowing transparent teardrop earring on one side, paired with the black ribbon at her snow-white throat—every gesture radiated an unspeakable mystery and allure.

Many knights, with a single glance, felt budding affection stir in their hearts.

Yet that affection burst like foam, pricked by her own hand.

Stopping before a young knight, Isavel crouched, lifted the girl’s chin with a finger, gently wiped the grime from her cheek, and spoke in a tone tinged with pity:

“You’re… Aria, yes? You look exhausted. Your face is a mess. Rest well when we return.”

“But before that, can you tell me why there’s no blood on your sword?”

At those words, terror flashed in the girl’s innocent eyes. She clutched her sword tightly, body trembling from the question alone.

“Was it lack of courage to strike the monsters, or did you find killing them cruel? Aria, can you tell me the reason?”

Isavel’s smile was radiant; before her, any excuse seemed forgivable.

Yet… the truth was the opposite.

She spoke with a smile, but the air grew eerily colder. The other knights turned to the girl, worry in their eyes.

Seeing the girl tremble harder, Isavel’s expression unchanged, thoughts racing.

She had once been a boy on Blue Star, dead from overwork and inner strife. When she opened her eyes again, she was a female infant in this foreign world.

Like the protagonists in her past life’s novels, she possessed extraordinary magical talent. At twenty, her strength had reached this world’s pinnacle—LV99.

With that power, she easily earned the goddess’s favor, becoming the Saintess of the Os Empire, wielding influence rivaling the empress.

From then on, she had no further ambitions.

Just as she prepared to slack off and enjoy isekai life, the goddess issued a divine oracle: in six years, the Abyss seal would shatter completely. The evil dragon would crawl out and destroy the world.

The way to save it: gather the divinely blessed, train them into demigod warriors above LV90, and slay the dragon the moment it emerged.

Obeying the oracle, she allied with the empress, assembled the forty blessed souls, and formed the Rose Knights.

Then a new problem arose.

These blessed were currently ordinary people without strength. How to turn them into demigods in six short years?

Their talents were decent, but compared to hers, fireflies to the sun—no comparison.

Achieving this in six years was nearly impossible.

The goddess offered two paths.

First: life-and-death training.

Only by racing death could strength surge.

Push them to the brink in every session, and they might gain dragon-slaying power in six years.

Downside: constant pressure would twist their minds, and she, the enforcer, would likely face their vengeance afterward.

Second: give them love and care.

Believe in the knights as they believed in the goddess, trust they could become demigods through effort and defeat the dragon.

Isavel would become their confidante, clearing every obstacle, helping them grow.

Ideally, let them taste the world’s beauty, so they’d fight desperately to protect it.

Of course, this path had flaws—it was a gamble from the start, betting love could birth near-impossible miracles.

Both paths had merits and risks. Choose death training and risk retribution; choose love and surrender to fate. Anyone would hesitate.

Except Isavel.

Her choice: I want both.

So now, facing a knight who dared not kill on her first hunt, Isavel would play the true villain, teaching them the meaning of life-and-death training.

The girl spared the monsters; death would greet her in return.

“A soul untouched by killing is this naive and fragile. Pity—the Rose Knights are no greenhouse. To stay, you must ascend your soul.”

Isavel rose, smiling, lifting her right hand like a goddess scattering sunlight, voice laced with fervor:

“Now, I grant you the grace to ascend.”

“On the first floor of the Hecate Monster Dungeon roam many weak, pitiful creatures like you. Starved for days, desperate to live.”

“You will be sent to the deepest part of that floor, to stay with them. Kill your way out or become their meal—your choice.”

As her words fell, a golden-haired knight leapt up.

“Saintess, if you do this, Aria—she’ll die!”

“Oh? So certain?”

Tilting her head, Isavel blinked innocently.

“Saintess! Aria just hasn’t adjusted. She’ll manage later…”

“If she dies, she dies.”

The golden-haired girl’s breath caught. She stared in disbelief, unable to fathom the Saintess’s coldness.

“Saintess…”

“I’m doing this for your sake. A knight who can’t kill monsters—what knight is she? The Rose Knights have no need for dead weight.”

Isavel smiled wider.

“Or do you want her to stay, drag you down on the battlefield, and get you all killed?”

“…Saintess, please give her one more chance!”

“The dungeon is her chance. Walk out, and she remains a Rose Knight. Fail to—heh, useless knights have no right to exist.”

With that, Isavel pointed at Aria. A golden teleportation circle bloomed beneath the girl, whisking her from sight in an instant.

“Oh, one last reminder before I go: anyone who dares aid her privately—”

“Shares her crime.”

Her gaze swept every knight. Lips parting, voice soft and sweet, yet the meaning chilled like an abyssal demon.

Done, she turned away, black skirt carving a decisive arc, leaving the entire band of heroes trembling in terrified silence.