Taming The Villainesses

Episode 361.1

(EP-361.1) #6

361 – Protagonist #6

I believed there were two types of people.

First, the type who carefully planned everything before taking action.

Second, the type who adapted to the situation as it came.

I considered myself closer to the former.

No matter what I did, I would always plan, conceive, and thoroughly review it before taking each step carefully, like crossing a stone bridge.

Maybe it was because I often found myself in situations where failure wasn't an option, which fostered an obsession with always making the best possible choice.

Of course, there were plenty of times when I had to scrap all my plans on the spot or drastically revise them to fit the situation.

“You've never heard of the sword demon Andromalie? I'm pretty famous. Believe it or not, I'm a well-known mercenary.”

When it came to anything involving people, especially where countless individuals got tangled up, there were always unexpected variables and errors that popped up.

In the first place, the martial festival was a variable itself born from Aira's whim. It wouldn’t be strange if things happened or who caused what to happen.

“…….”

Even so, the situation right now was a bit too serious.

Was it because this tournament recruited participants based on meritocracy, regardless of status or background? But for someone this uncontrollable to have made it to the finals….

“So, my target’s supposed to be participating in this tournament. They said they're pretty good and would definitely make it to the finals. Oh, and apparently they got a burn on their ankle that looks like a handprint.”

The man kept rambling about things I hadn’t even asked.

“Demon Sword Andromalie.”

“Yeah, that’s my name. Have you heard of it somewhere? By the way, do you happen to have a handprint mark on your ankle? Show me.”

He asked with a confident attitude, but I hadn't heard his name until today. That bizarre feeling of needing validation, an attitude of flaunting his fame. Was he a narcissist?

Regardless, the one thing I could be sure of in this moment was that this guy was a psychopath—someone who had no qualms about killing people or ruining the festival for his own interest or purpose.

Damn it.

Five finalists had been murdered?

What kind of situation was this?

This martial festival was already irrevocably ruined.

How many people had worked so hard up until just yesterday to make this ridiculous, fairy-tale festival happen?

The countless laborers who built the arena for the event. The imp friends who lost sleep painstakingly screening paperwork. The days spent wracking my brain trying to come up with entertaining content.

All of it—turning to dust.

And it wasn’t just that. If news spread that the festival everyone had been eagerly awaiting and heavily promoting had turned into a mess, the hundred thousand spectators could easily turn into a hooligan mob.

Moreover, it wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen if Aira, who had pinned strangely high expectations on this festival, found out.

The officials who failed to prevent this from happening might be purged. And in response, a chain reaction of backlash could occur, setting off the revolution everyone feared. The entire country would be thrown into chaos!

If it came to that, the help I’d received from Elga, Mirna and Narmi, as well as Stella, who had supported me up until now would become meaningless.

Thinking about all that, I simply could not forgive this guy who was trampling on my daily life and peace with his dirty feet. This guy had to be taken down here!

“You don’t want to show me your ankle? Fine then. I’ll just kill you and check for myself.”

Slick.

I reached out toward the blabbering bastard and quickly unleashed the magic I had been carefully holding back until now.

Rank 7.

─Abyssal Depths.

Kuuuuung—

“Ughgh…!?”

Thick veins popped out on the cocky face of the sword demon. It was clear at a glance how much force was crushing down on his body.

Kuuuung-.

Still seated on the bench, Andromalie was slammed flat onto the floor. Twin streams of blood gushed from his nose.

“Ghhghh, I can’t even lift a finger… What the hell…”

He seemed to not have fully grasped the situation yet. Right now, he was feeling the brutal pressure of the Rank 7 magic—Abyssal Depths.

“Guaaaaargh…!”

Crack, snap, crunch.

The sounds of the bench, the floor, and human bones and joints being mercilessly crushed filled the air. It must’ve felt like being squeezed under a giant’s fingers.

This wasn’t the capture magic I normally used—it was a brutal killing spell. However, I had no choice but to be aggressive, not knowing what would happen if such a criminal escaped.

“Go to hell.”

I added even more weight to the force crushing down on him, along with a light curse—.

“… Hell. We already come from there. Do you know the depth of that name?”

Chrrrk.

The chain coiled around his hand began to unravel. Then, something sharp shot toward my neck.

Shwiiiiiing—!

━Kreung…!

Just then, something wrapped around me with a loud cry.

Turning my head, I saw a blade shaped like a hook or a question mark embedded in the thick mana shield.

A surprise attack?

I could see how the winners of the other groups had been defeated by him. It certainly wouldn’t have been easy to avoid an attack coming from a blind spot.

Swish, swish.

The paper spider Bael emerged from somewhere and climbed onto my shoulder.

Without her, I might’ve been injured.

━Kreung…!

As Bael grumbled and burrowed into my chest, I nodded honestly in agreement.

“I know. I let my guard down.”

I never expected he’d still be able to counterattack while being crushed under a Rank 7 spell.

* * *

Perhaps the last attack was like a bee sting, the sword demon was now a corpse, unable to speak or move. His consciousness must've snapped along with his broken neck.

Complete cardiac arrest.

The shock of having killed someone spread like fire in my chest, and a psychological defense mechanism, telling me he deserved to die, sprayed water like a sprinkler.

If it weren't for Bael, who devoured my intense emotions and《Calm Thinking》,

I probably would've been pretty shaken.

“More importantly, didn’t he say ‘we’?”

Shff, shff.

At that moment, I felt a chill prickle the sensitive back of my neck. When I turned my head, I was met with a pair of wide, terrified blue eyes.

“Ah, what is this?!!!”

Edit by: faker