Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 431: The One Who Halts (6)

The roar of a wyvern rang out thunderously through the crumbling city.

━━─────!!!

A sound so thunderous it sent shivers down one's spine. At that booming, resounding cry, the once-silent city seemed to transform into a different place altogether.

Kuaaa━━─!!!

“There’s a wyvern...!”

At the renewed cry, Elga spoke—quietly but with certainty.

“Let’s fall back for now!”

It was a reasonable and accurate judgment. Not knowing where it might swoop from, we quickly fled to a place with roofs and walls to shield us from the wyvern.

If anyone had seen us in that moment, they’d probably have thought we looked like squirrels scampering away from an eagle—flustered and pitiful. That’s exactly how it felt.

We ducked into a nearby building.

Once we were safely surrounded by walls and neighboring houses, Mirna—catching her breath—spoke up.

“A wyvern... If it’s a wyvern, you mean that thing from back then, right? The one that made Sir Teo fall from the Sandora city wall...!”

At her words, I quickly recalled the memory. This wasn’t the first time I’d heard that shrieking cry and those wings.

Back when I first went to the northern city of Sandora to help Ayra prepare for the tournament, I’d been attacked by a wyvern and fell from the city wall.

Because of that, I ended up spending a great deal of time beyond the barrier with Stella. And afterward, the wyvern, as if venting its frustration at having lost its prey, ravaged the city of Sandora for several days.

Elga asked,

“If it’s a wyvern, isn’t that on par with the Black Lion of the West? I think we could take it down if we really tried.”

—Shake shake.

Mirna shook her head.

“If it’s the same one I saw back then, it won’t be that easy. The Nightmare of Sandora. That creature was Solomon’s beloved wyvern, and it was heavily enhanced with spells and rituals.”

The sky-dragon wyvern was said to be a subspecies of the ancient dragons, though far inferior compared to the ancient rulers of old.

Unlike dragons, who had separate wings on their backs along with forelegs and hindlegs, wyverns had their wings and forelegs fused, like bats—a structurally inferior design.

Size-wise, too—if some ancient dragons were as massive as a stadium, a wyvern was, at best, as big as two elephants combined.

But after Solomon’s demonic modifications, the wyvern became something incomparable to its wild cousins from the East.

And I had experienced that strength firsthand.

Even after taking a direct hit from my Grand Spell, Star Killer, the wyvern didn’t fall or even suffer major injury—it simply went berserk over the skies of Sandora.

It couldn’t be killed through ordinary means.

Just then, Narmee whispered,

“Shh, look over there.”

She pointed, and a dark shadow fell across the area. It was the spot where we had just been—washing ourselves, drinking water.

Ripples appeared on the surface of the once-still water. And then, with a heavy thud, something massive emerged.

━Grrrrr...

A long-necked reptile covered in black scales—a wyvern. As I said before, its size rivaled two elephants stacked together.

The strange thing was the enormous red scar on its chest, as if it had been hit by a cannon. Most likely, a wound from my Grand Spell.

That one spot lacked scales, exposing raw red muscle, grotesque to look at.

It’s that creature.

The same one we saw back at Sandora City Hall.

Solomon’s personal mount—Nightmare’s Sys. Yes, I distinctly remember hearing that name. Sys of Nightmares.

So it disappeared from Sandora, only to have been resting here in this ruined city all along.

The final, broken city.

The Demon King’s last wyvern.

Fitting words, if anything.

━Grrrrr...

Even from a distance, the sheer presence was overwhelming. None of us spoke. We simply stared silently through the window at the creature’s movements.

Sniff, sniff—

With the nose at the end of its terrifyingly large head, it sniffed the air near the water. None of us were dumb enough to wonder what it was trying to find.

“Unnie, that thing is looking for—”

“Shhh....”

Narmee tried to say something, but Mirna quickly covered her mouth.

But maybe it was already too late. The wyvern, still sniffing at the water’s edge, suddenly jerked its head in our direction.

━Grrr...!

Its massive head and eyes turned toward the building where we were hiding. Had it heard Narmee? Despite its size, its hearing and sensitivity were clearly razor-sharp.

We all ducked away from the window.

Thud. Kuuuuung—

The earth began to tremble with its approaching footsteps. I gestured silently to the others.

“If we stay here, it’ll find us. We need to move.”

Did they understand? Thankfully, the noble ladies were sharp. Crouching low, we slipped out of the building and relocated to another one nearby.

━Grrrrr...!

As I glanced back through the window, I saw the wyvern clinging to the building we had just left. It was so close that its pressure felt overwhelming.

Thick scales. Rock-like muscles beneath. Razor fangs jutting out between its jaws. Wings like massive curtains. A mace-like tail and taloned feet.

To fight something like that... we’d have to be ready to bleed.

Just then, the temperature around us suddenly spiked—

Kwoooaaaaaah—!

The wyvern opened its mouth and spewed flames. That’s right. It was aiming directly for the windows of the building we’d just vacated.

Kwoooaaaaaah—!!!

But it wasn’t satisfied. It began breathing fire at every visible structure around.

The intense heat, the choking stench of burning plaster—it made me feel faint.

The only saving grace was that the wyvern, after unleashing its flames, took to the sky again. The sound of its wings gradually faded into the distance.

Mirna spoke up first.

“Wyvern breath doesn’t go out easily! If we breathe in too much of this gas, it could be dangerous. We need to get farther away—fast!”

She was right.

When I returned to Sandora after crossing the barrier, I heard about the destruction Sys had left in its wake.

They say Solomon’s wyvern breath is like a nightmare—once it catches, it won’t stop burning until it consumes all flesh.

If it touches us, we’d suffer a horrific death.

So we abandoned all thought of observing and fled again—more urgently than before.

“Everyone saw that, right!? The wyvern breathed fire and the buildings just went up in flames!”

Having reached a safe zone, Narmee frantically recalled the scene. It was worth making a fuss over.

It would be stranger to remain calm after seeing a sky-dragon at such close range. Everyone looked completely tense.

Their shoulders and necks stiff with strain.

Leaning against a wall, Elga muttered,

“What now? We were supposed to follow the arrows on the wall, but at this rate, even moving around is going to be impossible with that monster flying overhead.”

She was right.

A totally unforeseen obstacle. I hadn’t expected to run into that wyvern here.

Elga asked,

“Ayra, what do you think? If you and Teo team up, couldn’t you bring it down? You’ve got that crazy magic, right? The one with all the arms?”

“Hmm...”

Ayra let out a soft hum. Given the spells she showed during the tournament, defeating the wyvern wasn’t out of the question.

But her reaction was lukewarm.

“If we were outside the city, I’d say yes. But... there are too many unknowns in this city. I’d rather avoid fighting if we can.”

Ayra wasn’t a pacifist, but neither was she averse to combat. For her to recommend avoiding a fight meant the situation was truly unstable.

I did say things had been going too smoothly.

Still, life has its tides. If it goes down, it’ll come back up again.

There’s always a way.

“It’s not perfect... but there is a method to avoid the wyvern’s gaze.”

Slick.

Stella raised one finger.

“Camouflage. It’s a technique used by wyvern hunters in the East. Even with Solomon’s modifications, if its base instincts are still that of a wyvern—it should work.”

***

We dyed the blankets and robes we had with us in a dull ash color, matching the buildings. Thanks to the dye Stella had brought along, it wasn’t a complicated process.

“As expected, it’s always smart to carry all sorts of things with you.”

And just like that, we finished making a few makeshift camouflage cloaks.

Up close, you could clearly tell they were just dyed blankets or cloaks. But from a wyvern soaring in the sky, they’d blend right in with the roads and walls.

Of course—

Stella’s theory was just that—a theory. At least one test was needed to confirm it. I volunteered to be the guinea pig.

“I’ll do it.”

The method was simple.

I’d drape the dyed cloak over myself and climb up to the roof.

If the wyvern—Sys of Nightmares—noticed me, then the plan was a failure.

If it didn’t, then it was a success.

Straightforward.

I first put some distance between myself and the noble ladies, just in case I was spotted. Then I climbed onto the rooftop of a nearby building. By now, the young ladies were probably watching me from far away.

Hopefully I wouldn’t get eaten in front of them.

Rustle, rustle. Tap.

I finally reached the top and got a wide view of the city below. Dreary alleyways. Thick trees. A few partially flooded zones.

This place really was strange.

As that thought passed, my eyes lifted to the sky.

━━─────!!!

The wyvern soared overhead, letting out another frenzied cry as it circled above me. Did it notice me?

Now was the moment to see whether Stella’s camouflage theory held up.

“......”

Flap.

━Grrrrr...!!!

Suddenly, the wyvern flapped its wings harder and veered off—flying off to the opposite district. It didn’t notice me...!

It worked!

Stella was right!

I quickly slid down from the roof and reunited with the noble ladies. Their faces, which had been filled with tension just moments ago, now visibly relaxed.

“Looks like it’s working.”

Thanks to that, we were able to resume our search for the wall-carved arrow symbols. After following them for some time, we reached what looked like a wide plaza and came to a stop.

Stella spoke.

“The trail seems to end here? Did we take a wrong turn? Or maybe... we were supposed to come here all along?”

But something about that didn’t sit right with me.

“The markings ended? Look there—on the plaza floor. There’s a large black arrow drawn clearly.”

To my eyes, the markings were clearly visible, painted boldly on the ground in black. But when Elga and Mirna followed my finger, they both shook their heads.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Neither do I.”

So it was something only I could see?

How strange.

Still, with no better options, I continued walking, following the arrows that only I could see. As the sun began to set, I stumbled across something unusual.

The broken rubble of buildings had formed a strange structure—like a bowl.

What was stranger was that there were several orb-like objects sitting inside it, about the size of a nymph. Dark, glossy, and ominous-looking.

“Is that...”

I trailed off, and Mirna answered for me.

“A wyvern nest. I saw a bunch of similar structures when I visited the main cathedral in the Eastern Mountains a while back. Those round things are probably eggs.”

Wyvern eggs?

Stella licked her lips, looking intrigued.

“I’d love to take one and raise it. Not that we can in this situation. Still, what now? If we’re going where Teo says, we’ll have to pass by that nest, right?”

I nodded.

“I’ll go.”

I stepped forward first and approached the nest. Up close, I saw that some of the round eggs had already hatched—cracked shells split wide open.

Who knew where those hatchlings had gone?

I wasn’t curious.

As long as they didn’t show themselves.

With that mindset, I carefully walked between the smooth eggs.

Crack, crack.

Suddenly, a crack appeared in the shell of an egg right in front of me. I could clearly hear the thumping heartbeat of something large inside.

And then, breaking through the shell, it emerged—wings, tail, snout—and let out a screech.

Hwoeeeeek━━─!!!

The scream made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

A cry that echoed through the entire city. Like all living things newly born into the world, it was unmistakably calling for its mother.

And such a cry strikes straight into a mother’s heart.

Overhead, circling in the sky once again, was the wyvern we thought we had lost through camouflage.

━Grrrrrrrrrrr-!!!!

At this point, there was no avoiding it.

We had to fight.

To be honest, somewhere in my heart, I’d been expecting this all along.

Ever since I was sent plummeting past the barrier by that wyvern.

Somehow, I always knew I’d have to face that flying monster again.

And if you expect something, you should prepare for it.

Bael.

Let’s go with that.

Its body is covered in thick scales and dense muscle. Most spells won’t even scratch it. There’s only one option—pierce a single point.

━Hioooong...!

From within me, I felt the spider Bael, nesting inside my soul, twitch and squirm her eight legs.

Those eight limbs wove a mystical mudra and shape that ordinary mages couldn’t even imitate. I drew forth that vast magical power into my body and finally unleashed it from my mouth.

—Fairy Secret Art.

“Nymph Disintegration Beam...!”

Kwoooooooom!

A stream of brilliant light shot from my mouth and collided with the wyvern’s wing. Like a plastic bag shot through with a bullet, its wing was pierced clean through. With a shriek, it crash-landed into a nearby building.

━Hioooong...!

Yeah. That was a critical hit!

Dragon-types are weak against Fairy-types. ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) A wyvern is a dragon. And nymphs are Fairies.

Kuuuuung—

The earth trembled from the impact.

Elga, watching from behind, furrowed her brow.

“What the hell...? Did that just come out of your mouth? Are nymphs supposed to do that...?”