Taming The Villainesses

Episode 358.1

(EP-358.1) #3

358 – Protagonist #3

At the commentator’s loud cry, my number and name echoed high above everyone’s heads. Participant number 1432—Angmar. That was my name now.

━His name’s Angmar?

━Is that an alias? Some patriotic nut naming himself after a country?

━No way, only the old royal family can use the name Angmar. Who in their right mind would dare use it in this age of Tarantera? And in a festival this big?

━Maybe…

I could clearly hear the murmuring ripple through the crowd. They were confused about the meaning behind my name.

It was a name I had chosen after much deliberation.

A lie, and yet the truth.

Was there any word that could represent me more perfectly than this? As I reached that thought, I felt a surge of what could only be called an incredibly full emotion welling up within me.

“Fall!”

I used that rising emotion as fuel and commanded the thunderclouds that filled the arena. Once again, a merciless thunderbolt from the heavens struck down with an intense roar.

KRRAAA-KRAAAANG! FLASH!

━Shít, what the hell is this?!

━Is this even possible!

━Attack the caster! If we take him down, maybe the lightning will stop!

The impact of my magic must have been intense. Even though I didn’t have a flag, people started charging at me. They were trying to take me down and stop this calamity caused by great magic.

A sound strategy. If they actually took me down, the thunderclouds would lose their mana and dissipate, returning the clear sunlight to the people.

But.

Sorry, participants—but now that I’d revealed my hand, I couldn’t just stand around. I couldn’t let myself be dragged down by anyone. After all, I was not aiming for just a flag or a spot in the final 16.

I was aiming for the top.

Today, I would stand at the summit.

Above all these people who’d lived their lives as protagonists of this world.

I’d stand at the very peak—and take everything I’d ever desired.

Suk-.

I lifted my head and looked toward Aira, seated in the best throne among the spectator seats.

She was so far away that her face looked no bigger than a dot, yet I was certain—those dark eyes were watching me.

Even if I wore a mask or changed my appearance, you would still recognize me. And I too, no matter what form you took in this world, would know you in an instant.

Trk.

Right then, something intense brushed past the back of my neck. When I turned my head, I saw something like a rock flying straight at my mask.

━Kreung…!

Before I could react, Bael was faster—casting defensive magic instantly. A mana shield formed in front of me in the blink of an eye.

Flying towards it was someone’s fist. A relatively small but heavy and solid-looking fist flew towards my face and shattered the mana shield.

Crackle—! Clang—!

“What!?”

It was hastily casted, but ten layers should’ve been enough to block cannon fire.

To shatter all of that with a single small fist, I couldn’t help but be surprised. Not only that, but the shockwave from the punch even blew my body away.

“… Ugh!”

Whoosh. Thudududud.

My body, flung into the air, tumbled across the ground. Was this what it felt like to be a rock rolling down a slope?

Amidst the pain of the hard ground hitting my body from all sides, the rolling technique Elga had taught me flashed through my mind.

Tuck your chin and protect your head, right? Who would've thought that rolling on the floor with Elga would end up helping me. Thanks to that, I somehow managed to avoid getting seriously injured.

“Huuu…”

So who the hell just punched me?

As I got back on my feet, I scanned the surroundings and spotted someone standing motionless like a stake amid the chaos and lightning.

“Nymph…?”

With red hair fluttering behind her, the one standing there was a nymph, just about chest-high to me. But the spirit, the aura, that she possessed was different from the nymphs I knew.

“I punched you with the intent to kill… but you held up well!”

Tattered black clothes, bare feet, and a relaxed expression.

She looked less like a nymph and more like that ancient dragon I’d seen earlier from the Draco family. Like a seasoned beast of war, forged through countless battles.

“So you’re Yujinoi.”

“You know of me?”

“I’ve heard that somewhere in Angmar, there’s the strongest nymph.”

* * *

Yujinoi, the strongest nymph.

I’d heard of the rumors about her, but this was my first time facing her in person. And now that I stood before her, I could tell. All those rumors about her were true, without a single lie.

“I am Yujinoi. I seek only pure combat…! Mage, I very much look forward to seeing if you can give me that gift…!”

“You’re choosing to fight me instead of competing?”

“To a nymph like me, the world is as sweet as honey…! And among them, the most delicious one is you, Mage…!”

I didn’t know what she meant, but it seemed she had chosen to fight me instead of going for a flag or the main tournament. She was completely crazy. Was she a battle maniac? What’s her main weapon? What’s her fighting style?

As I was measuring her mettle.

“Here I come, Mage!”

Pop-. Yujinoi kicked off the ground and shot straight towards me like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. Or rather, she didn’t just fly—she tore through the air.

“Fist!”

Clang—!

Without Bael, I wouldn’t have been able to cast my shield in time, and my face would have been smashed.

“To think you’ve blocked not one, but two of my attacks. For a mage, that’s quite impressive…!”

Swish, swish swish swish.

Her fists kept coming at me. It was a barrage of attacks at an incredibly fast speed, but its destructive power was as heavy as the finishing blow of many. Thanks to that, my mana shield got shattered to bits.

Crackle—!

When the last petal of the shield broke apart, I caught a glimpse of a sharp-toothed grin gleaming through the flying fragments.

“Now, your little shield has been torn to shreds…!”

“Damn it.”

To be honest, I had underestimated her, thinking she was just a nymph, but she was stronger than I had expected. She felt stronger than any formidable opponent I had ever met. And for her to show up out of nowhere like this…

First, let’s blast her away and find an opening.

I spread my hand and unleashed magic at her.

“Heaven-Splitting Palm!”

A wind strong enough to blow away a whole brick house appeared.

WHOOOOOSH—!

It surged from my fingertips. Of course, I didn’t actually expect it to take Yujinoi down.

Still, by the laws of physics, her body should be light. If I could just catch her in the wind and send her flying, that’d be enough. I was about to amp up the output when—

“Tricks like that are for the weak…!”

Edit by: faker