This Three Year Old Is a Villainess-Chapter 302
I sprang through the Wardstone and looked around, startled.
“This should be the expected transit route... but there’s no sign of Despair.”
Hurriedly, I drew my magic tool.
“What is that?”
Han Jihyeok’s eyes went wide.
“It’s a tracker. It pairs with the magic tool I used to chase Despair. The power source is extremely rare, so it’s not used often.”
“I’ve been curious. How did you force it to pursue?”
“I fed Crumatus to weaker monsters and sealed them in magic vessels.”
“Magic vessels? You mean those of the Baran Kingdom...!”
“Yes, the ones Heban gave me.”
Magic vessels were essentially robot soldiers—once activated, they would keep moving until someone penetrated their reinforced shell and destroyed their core.
I fixed my gaze on the tracker.
“Something’s off...”
“What is?”
“I input the transit route, so why did it head toward the Imperial Palace...?”
Han Jihyeok and I exchanged anxious looks.
He swallowed dryly. “Let’s head toward where the monster is.”
I nodded and reactivated the Wardstone.
When I opened my eyes, the front of the Imperial Palace was in chaos.
“Kyah—!!”
“Help me!”
“Wait, take me with you—!!”
People screamed as they fled.
“Elderly and infirm first!”
“Hurry!”
Imperial soldiers, ashen-faced, evacuated civilians—many familiar faces among them.
“Jowik!”
“Wonhwa? What are you doing here...? Get to safety!”
“What’s happening?”
“The First Emergency Decree has been issued.”
The First Emergency Decree—an all-out mobilization of the Imperial Army in the worst-case scenario.
I stared at Despair, which had turned the palace grounds into ruin.
‘It’s grown enormous.’
Even accounting for Dalia’s amplification, it was expanding far too rapidly—impossible to predict.
As if...
‘As if someone had tampered with it... could it be—’
A face flashed through my mind.
“Grimie—!”
Han Jihyeok glanced at me. “What are you saying?”
“You said Grimie was the one you gave Crumatus to, right?”
“That’s what I heard... could it be he—”
“What did he do to the Crumatus?”
Surely he knew Dalia was caring for people in District 17. He must have allowed the attack to unfold to harness her amplification.
“You bastard!”
“Erilot....”
Countless bodies lay strewn before the palace—victims of Despair’s assault. Their corpses remained uncollected, trampled under fleeing feet.
“Father, Father...!”
A girl of about five dashed toward a fallen man.
In an instant, Despair’s many eyes all turned on the little girl.
“Pin! Pipi!”
Swoosh—!
Fen and Pipi, the swamp fairies, burst from my sleeve and split the wind.
They caught the girl each under an arm and backed away.
I leapt forward and scooped up the child. “Han Jihyeok, check her father.”
He activated his ward. Despair’s reaching limbs slowed to a crawl within his domain. Seizing the moment, Han Jihyeok slipped beneath an arm and checked the man’s pulse. Then, with a grave expression, he shook his head.
“...He’s gone.”
I looked at the tear-filled child. “Do you see that red banner over there?”
“Mm....”
“If I set you down, run toward it as fast as you can, okay?”
“But Father... Father pushed me away from the monster....”
“...”
I closed my eyes tightly. The face of my own father—killed when I was a child during the war—overlapped with that of the child’s father.
“Your father would want you to run with all your might toward that banner.”
“Waaah—!”
“If you survive, go find Viscount Erilot Astra at the Astra Manor.”
I placed my handkerchief in the girl’s hand. “Can you run?” 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
“...Yes.”
“Then go.”
She shut her eyes and burst into a sprint.
I braced myself and shouted, “Left Wing—!”
Several Imperial soldiers paused mid-chaos and turned to me.
“Those on horseback, head to the National Library banner. I will lend you the Astra Manor’s Wardstone. Evacuate civilians to Astra Estate!”
“Yes!”
“Mechanized infantry will shield the mages; mages, erect wards around Despair from all sides!”
“At once!”
“Yes!”
“Infantry, protect the civilians and gather them at the National Library!”
“Yes!”
“Ku, Liam, attack from the front!”
“Left Wing General, Ku Jackal, at your command.”
“At your command....”
“Kajin, reshape the terrain so Despair cannot approach the Empire’s people!”
“Yes!”
Though they answered stoutly, each was drenched in cold sweat. The terror gripping them surpassed even that felt fighting the Crimson Ghoul. Liam, charged with the front attack, hesitated and made no move.
I slapped Liam sharply on the cheek. His eyes went wide. “Tell me who you are.”
“Erilot Astra....”
“No! What did you call me?”
“Stehma Ridor... (the Source of Flame...)”
Other soldiers murmured in a trance.
“Stehma...”
“Stehma Ridor...”
“Stehma Ridor! ...Karol Ness! (the Supreme Flame Mage!)”
“Source of Flame! Supreme Flame Mage!”
Their morale surged.
Just then, our reinforcements arrived via the summoned Wardstone. Isez knelt before me.
“Left Wing General, Isez reporting.”
‘We must not falter now.’
I was the heart of their courage. Clenching every fiber, I called out:
“I will protect you all. None of you shall die—!”
“Waaaah—!!”
I stamped my shadow and roared, “Ombre, Awen, Fen, Pipi, Minky... Nana, appear!”
Ombre revealed his enormous true form, and monsters poured forth. First to leap was Nana—the ancient monster of deception.
I addressed Nana’s slime-like form. “Nana, that’s a newborn child. Show them your seniority.”
Shraaaar—!
Nana shrieked and charged Despair.
Thud!
Pushed by Nana, Despair fell. From the opposite side, a lone figure blocking Despair stepped forward.
“Alexis.”
“...Yes.”
He was a wreck—but I forced a smile. “I like the strongest man.”
“Of course—”
In an instant, Alexis leapt into Despair’s writhing form, driving his sword deep into its highest peak. He continued:
“—I know.”
Thus began the true subjugation of the ancient monster.
Nobles and ministers assembled in the Imperial Council watched the magic projection anxiously.
[MOVE! Do not let your hand falter! Give Despair no chance to defend!]
Within the projection, Erilot commanded Left Wing soldiers.
“He’s driven Despair into the pit... but will he succeed...?”
A whiskered noble swallowed. “Yes. A monster that cannot die until all its energy is gone.”
“It’s already absorbed countless humans....”
“And it ‘corrupts’ those nearby, transforming soldiers into zombies....”
Bang!
The Emperor slammed the table, sweeping his gaze over the council hall. “Analysis enough—what’s our countermeasure?”
“....”
“....”
Those mid-speech fell silent.
“Well... Lady Astra has the dragon....”
“Are you planning to level the Imperial City—!”
An uneasy hush fell. The Emperor, rising to speak, staggered and sank back.
‘If the dragon fights Despair here, the Imperial City will be ruins.’
The city’s defenses—communication network, magical steel roads, border fortresses—would be destroyed. Recovery would take years. In that void, invasion or rebellion could topple the dynasty.
“A-ah—! By the gods!”
“Waaaah—!”
“Yes! That’s it!”
At that moment, White Knight Kajin reshaped the terrain into a sunken arena. Left Wing soldiers moved in disciplined unison, driving Despair into the pit.
All were remarkable, but most striking was the black-haired youth.
“Who on earth is he? The one who looks fit to slap Daimond Astra’s cheek! He’s better than the knights!”
“Alexis Ishiron. Illegitimate son of Duke Ishiron.”
Eyes turned to Duke Ishiron, who watched the projection silently, fists clenched under the table.
‘Please... Your Highness.’
This broadcast reached throughout the Imperial City, to inform and evacuate the populace. If Despair fell, no entrance could rival this display.
‘Defeat him safely.’
When Duke Ishiron showed his rare solemn expression, Duke Trang spoke up.
“But...”
All eyes fixed on him. “Shouldn’t His Majesty hurry to safety as well?”
“Are we to show the people the Emperor fleeing the palace?”
The Emperor’s support base was the Commoners’ Assembly—his reputation as a benevolent ruler. With popular trust shattered by Crumatus, he couldn’t abandon the palace.
Duke Germo laughed lightly, as if to ease tension. “We know His Majesty loves his people, but Duke Trang has a point.”
“...”
“That ancient monster targets crowded places. If civilians gather here, the palace will be its prize.”
“...”
“If the army fails to subdue Despair, its next target will be this hall.”
“...”
“If our councilors fall to Despair, what becomes of the Empire?”
Nobles nodded vigorously.
‘Yes! You run, and we’ll run!’
‘Lucky that Despair struck District One during the council—no chance to escape!’
The Emperor groaned in thought. Duke Germo added once more:
“Your life is not yours ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) alone. Preserve the Empire.”
“...”
The nobles seized upon his words. “Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Make your decision for the realm!”
Almost all bowed in unison.
“I will move. But to the outer palace.”
“Yes! Then let us hasten!”
They urged the Emperor out, and he departed followed by the nobles. Duke Ishiron rose and shot Duke Germo a glance.
“You’re not coming?”
“I will command the Imperial Consort’s palaces and then join you.”
“...Very well.”
“Why drive His Majesty out?”
Germo grinned chillingly.
‘An old eagle bests a young crow, they say.’
He still had a razor-sharp mind. Germo wore his pleasant mask and said, “I speak from loyalty.”
“...I will watch.”
“Well, what harm could come? Ha-ha.”
Duke Ishiron stared at him, then left. A courtier approached Germo, alone in the hall.
“A message from Grimie: the Messiah’s first awakening succeeded.”
“Quick work. Truly the Messiah.”
“Well, the first awakening is like breathing magic into her.”
“Yes. The second, third, fourth will be the challenge—more time-consuming and far more painful.”
“Indeed....”
Germo smiled softly. “I’m starting to resent Erilot Astra.”
“...”
“If she weren’t a woman, my Messiah would have no suffering.”
The smile vanished. The courtier flinched at the cold glint in Germo’s eyes. Germo rose.
“Announce evacuation to each palace.”
“Yes. Then—”
“You should join His Majesty. To witness the Messiah’s grand entrance.”
“In this portrait, who is the woman, Father?”
“The Messiah.”
“Messiah...?”
“Yes. More precious than anything. Remember we were born for her, Enoch.”
As young guardians admire the portrait of their patron, so too when they see Dalia.
‘Though paternal affection grows with age...’
After long years of hope, the Messiah has come. This is the first chapter of her story—more splendid than any other entrance.
“This is—!”
I screamed. After driving Despair into the pit and sealing the ground, tremors rocked the Earth as the ground burst open from below.
“What kind of efficiency is this?! Should’ve consumed all its fuel by now—why won’t it stop?!”
I ranted; Han Jihyeok shook his head. “Its body rivals a fighter jet, yet uses less fuel than a compact car....”
“Is that a joke?”
He muttered to cope with the madness.
“Aaah—!”
His ward shattering, Han Jihyeok screamed as Despair broke free and began fleeing at incredible speed.
‘Fleeing?’
No—it’s sensed prey!
“Stop it—!”
We had evacuated civilians and used wards on soldiers. Where did its target appear?
We raced after Despair. It led us to the rear gate of the palace.
‘The nobles are emerging.’
“Erilot, look there.”
Han Jihyeok pointed. In the distance by the gate, a figure in black robes watched nobles pass.
“Dalia....”
It was certainly her. ‘Why is she here? What’s she doing watching the nobles?’
I observed those emerging under the dukes’ escort. Hooded figures—members of the Imperial family.
Among them:
“The Emperor.”
The Emperor, Dalia, and Despair. They didn’t use the Wardstone but exited via the back gate along with the nobles.
In that instant, Despair roared through the vocal cords of a human woman it had absorbed.
Skipping past the nobles, it lunged straight at the Emperor.
“No—Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty—!”
Simultaneously, Dalia and I dashed toward the Emperor.
