Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 448: Full Stop

With the sound of layered glass shattering, the sky broke apart.

Claaash—!!!

It shattered—literally—into shards, cracking and breaking. Could the sky even be broken like that, physically?

Or was it because this place existed within Solomon’s mental world?

I had no way of knowing.

Tenth-Rank magic, Sky Breaker. What sort of ability it contained, what kind of outcome it would bring—I couldn’t even begin to guess.

But I had no time for contemplation. The Demon King, wielding that massive sword, had closed the distance in an instant and was charging at me.

His heavy sword arced high into the air.

Crackle-crackle—

Wreathed in black lightning, the blade came down. I hadn’t anticipated that a Tenth-Rank Demon King would actually engage in close combat—my footing faltered.

If I stayed still like this, I wouldn’t even be able to raise a mana shield!

Ka-ga-gak—!

At that moment, Solomon’s sword struck an invisible wall just in front of my head, unleashing a horrific crashing noise. As I came to my senses, I heard the paper spider Bael’s voice wailing from within me.

━Hyoooong...!

Bael! You saved me!

Before I could even react, Bael must have chanted the mana shield spell in my stead. If not for her, my life would’ve already been shredded to rags by that lightning blade.

━Krrrrng...!

I know! There’s no time for gratitude! Let’s counterattack!

“The wish becomes a bullet. A destruction without mercy or emotion.”

I stretched out my hand and pointed my index finger at the Demon King’s helmet, invoking the chant. Immediately, I felt huge quantities of mana gathering from within me, funneling to my fingertip.

━Hyoooong...!

Definitely more output than usual. Was it because we were inside the domain of the god of magic? Or because acquiring Agares had strengthened my chanting?

Either way, confidence surged through me. Maybe now—I might stand a chance even against a man called equal to a god.

“Black Bullet, Paimon!”

Fwsh—!

“Paimon. A physical-attack sorcery? Do you think a magic I designed would actually work on me?”

The Demon King’s demeanor was calm. Paimon had been his own invention—Solomon’s. He would know its weaknesses and limits intimately.

Swish.

He raised his hand and muttered, “Dispel—.”

But the black bullet slammed straight into Solomon’s helmet.

CLANG—!

With a sharp metallic impact, Solomon staggered violently.

“What...?”

Even under the helmet, I could feel his surprise. I only needed to shout confidently in response.

“I’m not like you. I’m better than you!”

According to Professor Balan, my potential exceeded even that of Demon King Solomon. Though I lacked experience and my Rank was slightly lower, I could still take him on at a comparable level.

But if I dragged this out, I’d lose the upper hand.

A drawn-out battle would favor him. A veteran like Solomon would exploit every opening, stretch the fight, and tear into my weaknesses.

If possible—make this short and sharp.

I needed to finish this in a flash.

I recalled my match against Ayra during the tournament. Back then, too, I’d devised a short-term blitz strategy to fight someone of a higher rank.

Tap into that sensation.

Goooooo—

My heart pounded as my blood surged. My body was igniting like an engine stuffed full of coal, quickly becoming a furnace of intense heat.

“You burn your life force. That only shortens your tomorrow.”

“If I die here, none of it matters anyway.”

Clang! Ka-ga-gak!

Solomon, now composed, struck my mana shield again. Even though Bael had helped reinforce it, the shock rattled the earth and sent stinging jolts through my skin.

This wasn’t an ordinary sword.

The mana wrapped around it—it wasn’t just energy. It was a spell of some kind. If this kept up, my shield would shatter.

As I prepared to retaliate—

CLANG—!

His sword smashed into my shield again. A surge of deadly intent roared into my mind like a tempest.

━Let’s call this new species... Imps.

A vision flashed before my eyes. A place I’d never seen. A moment unfamiliar—flickering, then vanishing.

“Can’t even spare energy to counterattack?”

The Demon King sneered, lifting his blade to strike again.

CLAAAANG—!!!

━The goal of the Imps is eternal life. Their tails are the essence. Everything else—garbage. Dispose of it.

“Urgh...!”

Foreign thoughts were seeping into me. I realized with each of Solomon’s attacks, shards of his memories were embedding themselves into me.

I stepped back a few paces and asked,

“...Did you say, Imps—are garbage without their tails?”

“You’ve read my memory? Yes. Imps... are failures. All of them. Eternal life is a lie.”

He drove his blade into the ground.

“But—I’ll admit this much. Your defensive magic is excellent. Tougher than anyone I’ve ever seen. But... glass can’t hold back the tide.”

—Tenth-Rank: Demonic Emanation.

A strange storm erupted from him, instantly sweeping away the flowers around us. The spell was called Demonic Emanation, and while the name was grim—

The principle was just mana discharge. Even novice mages could do it.

But when the caster was someone like Solomon, even a basic trick became a city-leveling weapon.

Clang! Clatter!

Bael’s layered shields shattered under the onslaught. Ten, nine, eight—no, too many to count, obliterated with ease.

“Ghkk...!”

I braced my legs against the ground so I wouldn’t be flung away. But even then, Solomon’s memories poured into my ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) head.

━Bring out the jar.

━HIEEEEEK...! Mercy, please...! Lord Demon King, have mercy...! I’ll scrub the floors, wash the windows—! I’ll eat less, sleep less—!

━Stuff the useless Imps into the jar.

━I won’t ask for honey candy anymore...! You can give me only leftovers—just let me live, please...!

━Nameless Imps. Be grateful you’ll be of some use to the Demon King.

Even though it hadn’t happened to me, rage rose in my chest. I felt like crying.

Just like the villainesses each had their own circumstances, their own sorrows—perhaps if I truly understood Solomon, I could sympathize with him too—

Once, I might’ve thought that way. But the more I saw, the more I realized—he was evil, beyond redemption.

I had never met something this utterly black. His memories contaminated me. With each new memory, my sense of self diminished.

No—this wasn’t just a feeling.

If I kept getting swallowed by Solomon’s mindscape, my existence would vanish into this flower field.

I couldn’t let that happen.

“Nghhh—!”

I clenched my teeth so hard I thought they’d crack. Then, I thrust forward Marmar’s heart-shaped tail, still wrapped around my wrist.

“Haaaah—!”

I squeezed out every emotion in my body and unleashed it.

KRAAAAK—!

A red burst erupted from the tip of my wand, colliding with the Demon King’s dark energy. It carved out a gap between us—and the warring forces canceled each other out.

BOOOM—!

I barely caught my breath.

Compared to me gasping for air, the Demon King looked relaxed. His deep, gloomy laughter echoed.

“How many years of your life did that cost? Five? Ten? Your remaining life span—like an autumn leaf. I won’t have to strike you down. You’ll wither all on your own.”

“Huff... huff...”

“Seems you’re brewing some odd spell. But it’s too late. The shattered sky—will rain down stars.”

I looked up and saw countless meteors swirling beyond the broken sky. They descended with fiery tails, setting the flower field ablaze.

Fwhiiish, boom—! KA-KRAK! KAAANG—!

It was like the end of the world. I finally understood why Solomon broke the sky at the start—it was a long-preparation spell with delayed activation.

“Fairy Eyes!”

Using Basago’s future-reading charm, my half-fairy sensitivity, and my skill 《Clairvoyance》, I barely managed to dodge. But the danger was real.

Still—

I was unusually calm. The panic, the sorrow for the Imps, the rage—all of it was being sucked into a black hole in my chest, leaving peace behind.

━Krrrng...!

Bael was devouring all my negative emotions from within. That fact made me uneasy.

Bael, you don’t have to do that. I promised—I’d only feed you good things. You don’t need to eat this filth.

━Hyoong...

But Bael didn’t listen.

As Solomon’s cursed memories and my own dark thoughts surged, Bael’s presence began to fade.

Still—she didn’t stop.

And then, finally, the strange cry of that little spider disappeared forever from within me.

That small weight I’d always felt in my heart... was gone.

“......”

“The chant has stopped. Young mage—are you giving up?”

Shiiing.

His sharp blade pointed at me.

But I hadn’t given up. I hadn’t lost my will.

“...My chant never stopped.”

“The Eye of Kings sees through lies. You haven’t used a single chant. Not a single spell circle.”

“Magic isn’t created by chants or circles.”

“You dare lecture me—Solomon, Master of Magic—on magic theory?”

“Hah.”

His question made me laugh. The difference between us was obvious.

He might be a Tenth-Rank sorcerer—but he didn’t understand the essence of magic.

And without that understanding, Rank 1 or 10, it was all just numbers.

Maybe that’s why people in this world couldn’t see it.

“When I first saw magic... I was awestruck. It felt like a real miracle.”

“What nonsense are you spewing now?”

If he couldn’t grasp that—then yes, we were different.

I...

Opened my heavy mouth,

And said it plainly.

“You’re a fraud.”

“...You call me a fraud?”

A red gleam flashed beneath his helmet.

“Trying to buy time, are you? Fine. Say your piece. But this is the end. Farewell, Teo Gospel.”

At last, the sword aimed at my neck swept down from clavicle to side. I felt something sharp slash through me.

Slaaash—!

Anyone watching would’ve thought:

That was it. He’s been cut in two.

“...What... What?!”

Solomon’s rare, flustered voice rang out.

Because what had split in half—wasn’t me.

It was his grotesque sword.

Clang.

He stared at the broken weapon like it was impossible.

“A sword forged from the heart of a star—what the hell did you do?!”

His furious bellow shook the flower field. But I only answered plainly.

“Magic.”

“What... Don’t be ridiculous—”

“Magic is ridiculous. A miracle by nature. To dream the impossible—and to live for that dream—that’s what turns life into one long incantation.”

“You really expect me to believe that nonsense?!”

“Miracles... are nonsense.”

I stepped forward and embraced the Demon King’s waist.

“Everyone wants something impossible. That’s why we dream of miracles.”

Clench—!

I pulled him in so tightly it was as if the line between us would vanish. His fear, born of confusion and ignorance, poured into me—but so did my emotions, into him.

“Let me go! I’m the Demon King! The end of an era!”

“......”

Even as he thrashed, my chant did not stop.

As long as I lived. Even if my mouth were sealed, or my hands bound—it wouldn’t stop.

“My life was the miracle. A spell that spanned twenty-five years. Forged in two worlds—I’ll embed it all into you. The name of this spell is—”

The name of that spell.

It was enough.

The name I’d given myself.

The name of a man who had lived a life as strange and magical as any spell.

The name that my beloved wives, my cheerful Imp friends, and the many family members still to come would call me.

There was no other name I could even imagine now.

I.

“The life of Teo Gospel—”

A life that had been strange, like magic.

“Finally”

Came to a close.

“With a single full stop.”

It was done.