When the Villain Joined the Knights to Avoid Doom Flags, but Somehow the Heroines Started Approaching Him - Chapter 42: Villain vs Criminal ②

Chapter 42: Villain vs Criminal ②

The ice sculpture created by Yulis.

From within it, Haku broke free, shattering his way out and revealing himself.

(So this is the ice prison Ronye mentioned… It’d be bad news if I kept getting hit by that.)

No, more importantly—

What did he just say? That he figured it out?

As soon as he escaped, a brief moment of doubt crossed Haku’s mind.

(But it doesn’t matter! I was prepared for my magic to be somewhat understood!)

Haku’s magic shared the damage accumulated on his own body with his opponent.

Blunt trauma, cuts—even poison.

Any and all external and internal injuries could be inflicted on another with a slight delay.

Eventually, anyone fighting him would likely notice this.

But realizing it and knowing how to counter it were two entirely different matters.

(Can they still attack, knowing it’ll come back to them? Once the possibility becomes certainty, human instinct kicks in—self-preservation gets in the way, and they can’t keep attacking properly!)

Once it reached that point, the fight would be on Haku’s terms.

The damage his opponent inflicted wouldn’t come back to him—it was strictly one-sided.

That’s why, if he pressed the attack from here, the match would be decided—

“That’s why I said, you’re too naive!”

“Wha—!?”

Just as Haku readied his knife, Yulis’s palm struck his jaw with precision.

“Your magic isn’t just about ‘transferring damage,’ is it?”

As Haku reeled backward, Yulis reached for his sleeve again.

In the blink of an eye, Haku was once more trapped inside a block of ice.

“To be precise, your magic shares your injuries with others, and then heals your own wounds.”

With that, Yulis unleashed a powerful kick, slamming directly into the ice sculpture and striking Haku’s stomach.

“…!!”

“In other words, you’re not invincible. If you were, you wouldn’t bother dodging fatal attacks.”

If he could transfer all damage to others with no downside, there’d be no need to keep fighting—he could simply take himself out and end things.

But Haku had avoided the spear Yulis threw and dodged the hammer that swung toward his face.

That meant there was a risk—a reason he couldn’t afford to take certain hits.

—If he died, he would die for real.

Even if his magic allowed him to recover, there was no coming back from a fatal injury.

“That’s why…!”

A sharp, intense pain shot through Yulis’s abdomen, feedback from Haku’s magic.

“So, now that you know, what will you do? Will you recklessly try to land a fatal blow? Let me remind you, there’s still one unanswered question—”

“Yeah, you’re right. There’s still one crucial piece missing.”

Haku coughed violently but kept advancing toward Yulis, knife in hand.

That single unresolved question lingered in the air.

“If you die, what happens to your opponent? Since I’ve already figured out most of this, you might as well give me a little more insight, right?”

“Heh, I like that attitude!”

Clang! Clang!

The sounds of the dagger and knife clashing echoed between the two.

“Just as you guessed—if I die, you’ll die too! The injuries you’ve taken won’t disappear! Whether I live or die, once I’ve suffered a fatal wound, my opponent will receive the same fatal wound! That’s how my magic works. Even if my self-healing fails, the damage-sharing curse remains intact!”

“………………”

“So now that you know, what will you do? Will the brave hero who showed up all gallant-like before the princess just tuck his tail between his legs and run away? Forget appearances, forget pride—are you going to run, ‘hero’?”

A reckless, all-or-nothing resolve.

Without it, there was no way to kill Haku.

If your opponent could mercilessly kill you while you couldn’t kill them, it would feel like a dead end.

There’d be no point in continuing the fight. Running away would be the only option.

It wouldn’t be strange to think that—

“How many times do I have to say it?”

BAM!!!

From behind Haku, another Yulis swung a massive hammer straight into his head with full force.

“〜〜〜!?”

“How long are you gonna underestimate villains, you worthless fool?”

Haku’s mind raced with questions.

Why? After explaining everything, how could Yulis still attack without hesitation?

Even now, the damage was surely being reflected back onto Yulis himself.

“Even if you recover, you still have to take the damage initially. That builds up a mental toll, separate from the physical pain.”

Imagine this—

Even if your body were immortal, what if someone kept inflicting injuries on you endlessly?

It would be unbearable. The fact that you could heal would mean you’d experience that pain over and over again.

Pain is meant to be a warning system, alerting the body to stop further harm.

It’s a signal that says, “Never go through this again,” preventing excessive damage.

But if that signal kept triggering, over and over—

“…A test of endurance like this? It’s nothing.”

With that, Yulis delivered a spinning kick, striking Haku from both sides.

“Compared to someone else dying, it’s nothing.”

He clenched his fists desperately, driven by the desire not to die.

Ever since his reincarnation, that fear had been his constant companion.

He had lived his life always dreading the unknown destruction flags that could appear at any moment.

He hated pain, but he feared death even more.

And yet, to his own surprise—

“Seeing someone get hurt right in front of me… that’s what I hate the most.”

That’s why he could keep clenching his fists.

Even though he felt every blow he delivered reflected back onto him, he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

Punches, hammer strikes, kicks—again and again, from the front and back, Yulis’s relentless attacks hammered into Haku’s body without pause.

“You’re insane… you self-righteous bastard…!”

“Say whatever you want.”

With that, Yulis gripped the war hammer tightly and, with one final swing, slammed it into Haku’s cheek.

“Gah!?”

“I’m used to insults by now.”

Haku’s body bounced off the ground, slamming into a tree.

Pain radiated from his cheek and from the impact of the blow—pain that refused to leave his body.

(W-Why…!?)

Was his body finally reaching its limit?

Had the pain overwhelmed him, causing him to lose the endurance battle?

(No, that can’t be it! There’s no way someone raised in comfort could beat me!)

Then, there was only one possibility—

(…I see. I’m out of magic power!)

The difference in their total magic reserves was likely a factor.

But more importantly, Haku’s magic simultaneously performed two tasks: sharing injuries with others and healing his own body.

Compared to Yulis, Haku’s magic consumed twice the amount of energy.

In other words, just by simple calculation, it was inevitable that Haku’s magic would run out first.

“You didn’t notice!? But that’s strange… When using magic, the body usually gives clear warnings of depletion—”

“It hurt, didn’t it?”

Tap.

Yulis walked forward, gripping his ice war hammer, his footsteps sharp against the thin layer of ice beneath him.

“Running out of magic is like a warning bell—a built-in alert system for mages. But your body isn’t some supercomputer that can flawlessly monitor everything at once.

When it has to choose, it prioritizes warnings of life-threatening danger over anything else.”

“…!”

“So, while you were getting hit, your body ignored the signs of magical depletion. It’s not surprising you didn’t notice it happening.”

A test of endurance couldn’t go on forever.

But as long as Haku’s bizarre ability was rooted in magic, it had a clear limit.

All Yulis had to do was aim for that breaking point, and the outcome would naturally reveal itself.

“Now then,”

Yulis addressed Haku, who was struggling to rise.

“You’ve enjoyed this little event enough, haven’t you? It’s about time for the curtains to fall.”

Haku had no magic left.

No options to attack, save for the single knife in his hand.

(…Ah.)

As Yulis approached slowly, battered and bruised, but still holding a clear weapon, Haku finally understood.

(A comeback from this point is impossible… isn’t it?)

There was the option to flee.

But unlike Ronye or Chloe, he didn’t have any flashy or convenient magic to make an escape.

Could he really outrun Yulis, who, despite his worn-out appearance, still seemed ready to fight?

(…Survival comes first.)

In the end, he had always acted for his own sake.

And he didn’t think there was anything wrong with that.

In a world devoid of light, he had managed to survive this long by prioritizing himself above all else.

That’s why the logical choice here was to bet everything on the slim chance of escape.

He should turn around and run.

And yet—

“Ehh, another mission with Haku? Fine, but we’re splitting the reward evenly! Also, you’re buying me steak when we get back!”

“…Having Haku around makes things easier. I only want to do what’s necessary. Oh, and I’ll take steak too. Don’t forget.”

—For some reason, truly, for some unfathomable reason.

The image of those twin girls he had spent so much time with flashed through Haku’s mind.