Chapter 1

Prologue

During an ominous night where a red moon rose, red flames enveloped the entire building.

“Arghh! Save me!”

“Stay away! Don’t come here! Argh!”

The imperial palace was in flames. Endless screamings, clashing weapons, and the heat that melted everything down.

All of them led to blood, death, and demise.

A pale blonde woman, in the midst of the grand and magnificent blazing palace, stood by the window with a glass of wine and observed the moon.

Her red lips twitched.

“Is the end coming for me, at last?”

A brief, inaudible whisper diffused through the air.

The sound of death approaching, accompanied by the smell of blood carried by the wind, pounded in her chest.

“I’ve been waiting for so long.”

For this exact moment.

The minute she ended her sentence, the door swung open.

And a man entered.

Unlike the bloody sword he held, the man had infinite soft, pink hair with eyes that resembled amethysts.

“It’s been a while, Iros.”

“Saintess.”

Iros, who resembled spring, was crying.

He was weeping hot tears from the corners of his eyes that were as red as the raging fire.

He begged.

“Please, please Sierra. I beg you…..Stop this, now. It’s already over, the empire and your reign.”

“I know.”

Born as an illegitimate child of a Count, she lived a life inferior to a dog. However, she was chosen by the Gods to become a saint and took advantage of the position to invade the imperial family.

She captured and killed the imperial family, one after another. She even seized the imperial family and brought the grandiose empire to its demise.

‘The Fall of the Empire.’

She lived with only one goal in mind.

And the moment she had been waiting for has come. The moment to mark the end of her goal.

The man, who was once her sword, will end it.

Even when everyone viewed her as a villain, he was the only one who still called her a saintess.

“Please, I beg you to stop this. Right now, leave everything behind and come with me—”

“If you have come to kill me, don’t hesitate to do it.”

Unlike him whose heart was weak, hers was cold.

“… Do you really want to end up like this? Is that all you have to say to me? How could you do this to me, Sierra!”

“What else should I say? I was the villain who destroyed the empire and killed many people. You are the temple’s ‘sword’ who has come to punish me. Isn’t that enough?”

When she replied calmly with a slight laughter, Iros cried out with a hoarse voice as if he was about to collapse.

“Why, why are you so unbothered by your own death! What on earth are you doing?”

There was no response to the desperate cry. The conversation ended there.

With his head lowered, Iros approached Sierra and pointed the sword at her neck, who made no resistance.

His body was trembling horribly, so much so that it could be seen clearly.

“I will ask you one last time. Have you ever regretted it? Have you ever thought that you should stop, even for just a moment?”

“…..”

Seeing Sierra who stood motionless even as the cool blade touched her neck, Iros bit his lip and slashed her neck.

Splat. Blood splattered and her body slowly collapsed.

Smash! The glass shattered as it crashed down onto the marble floor with a sharp sound.

Blood smeared on the cold floor, and her mesmerising eyes lost focus.

Tears flowed down from Iros’ eyes as he watched her collapse.

“Why didn’t you ask me to save and protect you?”

“……”

“If that had been the case, I would’ve protected you even if my entire body was torn apart.”

“Cough.”

“A heartless being. A selfish woman until the end. I wish you would stop for me, even for just a moment.”

Tears of resentment flowed down. The tears streamed down his pale cheeks and he bit his lip.

The dying Sierra watched those tears drip on the floor while bleeding silently.

Her breathing slowed.

“I loved you.”

“……”

“I hate you, but I love you. And I hate myself for that.”

The low voice trembling as he confessed his love, faded lightly.

‘Me…You liked me?’

That was what she’d wanted to ask, but she neither had the energy nor the will to open her  mouth.

Even if she’s realised his feelings now, reality won’t change. He had slashed her throat and she was now bleeding to death.

As a saintess, she could use her divine power to survive, but she didn’t. She was already too far gone.

‘At last…..it’s over.’

I had no regrets.

‘But if I had known this ending earlier, and I could go back in time to live again. Then….’

She closed her eyes, thinking that she would never face such an ending again, and that she could try to live differently.

‘God, if you ever love your creatures, my wish…’

Please grant it.

Her unsteady head gradually fell, and the notorious villainess who destroyed the empire met her death.

Then, the hand of the world’s clock began to tick backwards.

＊  ＊  ＊

Time passes by in a small apartment in Seoul, Korea.

“It ended like that? Is the author crazy?!”

Kim So-won, who was holding her smartphone, frantically scrolled up with her eyes wide open.

However, no matter how madly she scrolled and stared at each black letter, the content did not change.

[ Sierra, the villainess who turned the young second prince into a puppet emperor and ruled over the empire, was destroyed by the furious citizens and the three guardians of the temple.

Her evil deeds ended when the ‘Guardian Sword’ decapitated her. ―END― ]

The English word END written at the bottom was painfully embedded in her eyes.

It really ended.

“No. In the first half, the main character was abused during her childhood, became a saint, committed evil deeds, and became a villain. Then in the second half, she captured the imperial family and murdered them.”

And at the end, the rebellion was futile, her head was cut off, and her death was the ending?

How did the rebellion occur? Why did the protagonist die in such a short time without any further explanation?

It was a R19, devastating novel but it had been perfect until the end.

Of course, she hadn’t doubted that the ending would also be perfect but turns out it ended with just two paragraphs.

“Did the author uploaded the wrong file?”

So-won pondered over what she had just said. There was a possibility that that was the case, so she carefully checked the author’s note below.

[Thank you for loving ‘Mad Saint’ until now.] 

That single sentence was the end of it.

“Arghh! Author! Come out here, author!”

So-won threw a fit until foamy saliva appeared in her mouth. Even then, the ending on the screen never changed.

“Ugh. When I return from the rehab center, I’ll email a lengthy complaint to the author.”

So-won, who was burning with intense hatred for the author, tightened the cast on her hand and prepared to head out.

Before she left the front door, she habitually glanced at the trophy and gold medal in the cabinet.

Finally, she lingered her gaze at the bow hanging on the wall as always.

“Ah, I’ll be late for rehab.”

So-won glanced at her watch once more before opening the door and running towards the pedestrian crossing.

Luckily, the red light turned green so she was able to rush without any delay. But suddenly, a light shone brightly from the side.

She then turned her head- bang! With a loud banging sound, the world was upside down.

‘….Huh?’

Her vision shook like an earthquake and she felt the sensation of floating in the air.

Then, she was pulled down by gravity like a falling bird.

Thud! The sky appeared with a sound.

“Hey! Hey, are you okay?! Oh my god, there’s a lot of blood!”

“Someone, please call 119! A person just got hit by a truck here!”

I could hear sounds buzzing around me.

‘It hurts. It hurts so badly. Am I going to die?’

Her entire body was throbbing painfully and with her blurred vision, she could see blood pouring out rapidly.

Fear trickled through her. Who wasn’t afraid of death? At the very least, she hadn’t wished for it.

‘Mom….it hurts. I’m scared.’

After a certain amount of fear and pain had passed, her eyes gradually closed as if she was about to fall asleep.

“I shouldn’t fall asleep.”

Those were her last words.

And when she opened her eyes again.

“……”

Neither the afterlife nor the hospital welcomed her, but a ceiling adorned with luminous stained glass did.

“W-what is this place? Ugh, my head!”

Confused, she flinched and grabbed her head, grimacing at the throbbing pain.

When she turned her head, she noticed a man holding a sword staring her way as well as a group of people clothed in white outside the door.

“Who?”

The moment their eyes met, she tried to smile and greet him to break the suffocating awkwardness.

“O-Oh my god! The dead saintess came back to life! Everyone, run away!”

“Ahhh! Heavens, how could this happen!”

“How the hell did that crazy bitch come back to life! Run!”

“Why are those guys looking at me like that?”

She murmured in bewilderment as she watched the scene before her unfold.

Some fainted with foam in their mouth while the rest cursed and ran away.

In the midst of this, only one stayed and didn’t faint. The man who held a sword, facing her with trembling eyes.

So-won spoke to him.

“Ah, hello?”

“……”

The man facing her left his mouth agape, staring at her without answering.

When she tried speaking again, wondering if he hadn’t heard, her head suddenly felt like it was going to explode.

‘Ugh.’

Countless memories swirled in her head abruptly – Kim So-won’s memories and the memories engraved on this body.

She stood up from her seat and staggered, and as the memories jumbled in her, she opened her mouth without thinking.

“Who are you? No, wait. Are you that pink guy?”

Suddenly, it dawned on her.

“Saintess, I’m glad you came back alive.”

When she saw the pink-haired man lowered his head with a relieved expression on his face, everything became clear.

“This is crazy…..”

It seems that she has become Sierra Elgraten, the main protagonist in the novel <Mad Saint>.

To be exact….

“Was I reborn into a book I read in my previous life? Or did I transmigrated?”

Should I call this reincarnation, transmigration, or both?

​​My mind wandered and my eyes gradually rolled back.

“….C-cough cough.”

“S-Saintess!”

“Huek.”

“You mustn’t leave! Priests, what are you guys doing? Hurry up and save her!”

“Cough……!”

As her back became stiff, blood pressure was soaring and she was losing her mind, So-won – no, Sierra thought.

‘I, I am the villainess who will take over the imperial family, reign the empire and get beheaded in the future.’

Was there a better perfect ending, or rather, death penalty ending than this?

‘It’s already unfair to die from a car accident, but after being reborn, I became the villainous protagonist who was destined to die again. Not to mention, I have already lived for 21 years……Cough.’

There was not much time left until her bloody future unfolds.

In the dark reality, Sierra left her sanity.