Taming The Villainesses

Episode 362.1

(EP-362.1) #7

362 – Protagonist #7

Screams began to be heard everywhere.

“What the—what’s going on?”

Elga Von Lioness, who had been waiting for the next match in the VIP seats, couldn’t hide her confusion.

Crowds that had packed the massive arena were now fleeing and screaming like war refugees.

Kwaaaang—!

Just then, a powerful explosion and tremor erupted from beneath the arena. Elga couldn’t be sure what was going on, but she had a sharp intuition.

“So something did end up going wrong, huh.”

To be honest, she was nervous as everything had been going a little too smoothly. Now that chaos had finally broken out, she felt a strange sense of relief.

This was more like it.

“Elga, I think we should get out of here.”

Professor Stella, seated beside her, lightly grabbed Elga’s arm. As she said, it would be best to leave this place. She didn’t want to get caught up in trouble and put herself at risk.

With that in mind, she was just about to rise from her seat when—

Kwaaaang—!

Another powerful blast ripped a hole in the arena floor, as if a volcano had just erupted.

From within it emerged a man in a black robe—holding a woman with blue eyes tightly in his grasp.

‘That’s Aslan.’

A distant relative. One from a branch family with hostile feelings toward the main Lioness family over inheritance and assets. Elga knew her well. She was always raising a fuss at family gatherings.

To think such a person was being held hostage.

Annoying as her righteous attitude was, Aslan was skilled and had made her mark on the western front.

For someone to hold her hostage…

Elga focused in, and was met with shock.

She knew the man that was holding her all too well.

His face might’ve been hidden beneath a robe and mask, but Elga wasn’t so naive that she couldn’t recognize her life partner.

‘… That bastard, what is he doing there!?’

As she was feeling some doubts, the man said.

“I am Mage King Angmar. I have planted mana-activated bombs throughout this stadium. With a flick of my hand, I can set them off.”

Swish.

Kwaaaang—!

As the man extended his hand, a large explosion erupted in the empty part of the stadium. The fleeing crowd screamed even louder, clutching their ears in terror.

It took less than three minutes for a tournament nearly three months in the making to descend into absolute chaos.

And to think he was the one throwing dirt into his own stew. Elga couldn’t begin to understand what that half-fairy was thinking.

‘Why is he deliberately tarnishing the name of Angmar? This way, even if he wins and reclaims the throne, he won’t have the support of the people.’

She didn’t understand it, but there had to be a reason behind it.

‘… There’s no way he actually planted any bombs.’

Then why said something like that? Elga could at least tell he was acting. The real question was, why?

Then, watching the people evacuating, it suddenly dawned on her. Was this to stop the tournament and evacuate the people?

‘I’m not sure, but…’

Click.

Elga clicked her tongue and got up from her seat.

“Professor Stella, let’s focus on getting people to safety. We don’t have time to idle around. We need to maintain order, no matter what.”

“Oh, ri—right.”

Suk-.

As she rose and began helping with the evacuation, Elga looked down over the arena.

Just what was that man thinking? Maybe it was the distance, or maybe it was the mask, but he felt especially distant.

* * *

Amid the chaos, people were evacuating.

With such a large crowd rushing toward the exits all at once, things had gotten messy, but the soldiers, who had belatedly grasped the situation, were somehow maintaining order and guiding them outside.

Looked like the evacuation was more or less taken care of now.

The real problem was that side.

Suk-.

I lifted my head and looked up at the Queen’s throne set high above.

Aira proudly sat with legs crossed in her usual poised elegance. Her expression was unbearably arrogant, as if she wasn’t the least bit shaken by all of this, as if she knew this would happen.

I’d come a long way too.

This was a one-time chance. Having done so many irreversible things, all that was left for me was to press down on the accelerator.

“Aira Von Tarantera.”

I called out to her.

“I defeated all the finalists. I also easily defeated Aslan of Orleans, who was the last remaining. That makes me the winner of this tournament. And so, I invoke my rightful claim to challenge you.”

Half a lie, half a truth.

The only finalists left were me and this knight named Aslan. And since I’d already taken her down, it wasn’t wrong to say I’d won.

Someone might point out what importance such a thing could possibly have now, but surprisingly, Aira considered such things important.

Perhaps because of that.

Aira slowly parted her lips—

━━━──.

She burst into laughter.

Her voice rang over the heads of the confused crowd, everyone who had just been in a state of panic stopped in their tracks and looked up at their Queen.

Unbothered by any of it, Aira kept laughing as if she’d just heard the funniest thing. A tear even rolled down her eye.

It was the first time I had seen Aira laugh like this, so I was a little surprised. So she had this side of her too.

And to think I only learned it now, in a moment like this.

Eventually, Aira wiped her eyes and spoke.

“Did you say you were Mage King Angmar? If you're as clever as you look, then you should know exactly what it means to speak that name in front of me.”

“Yes. There’s no turning back now.”

At my answer, I saw a complex and subtle emotion flash across Aira’s face in the distance for a moment before disappearing. Soon, she gently closed her eyes.

“Even if the challenger is a heinous criminal, it is a queen’s duty to accept their duel. Very well, Mage King Angmar. I accept your challenge. Defeat me, and take what you seek.”

Suk-.

Aira rose from the throne. At the same time, she began walking down through the air with graceful, deliberate steps.

With every step she took, the shattered remnants of the arena floated up and aligned beneath her feet, forming a sort of royal path.

At the sight of such elegance and mystery, the fleeing crowd came to a halt. Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed solely on the tips of the queen’s feet.

It was something that instantly captivated people, almost like a type of magic.

Seeing Aira’s growth as a queen filled me with pride, but the fact that the people had given up fleeing made me a little anxious.

Yet Aira stood firm.

“My people, there is nothing to fear. That impurity has seeped into this sacred queen’s festival—this, I already knew, even before the games began.”

Snap.

With a snap of her fingers, several people suddenly floated up into the air.

“The secret society Yggdrasil.”

Snap.

She snapped her fingers again, and several more people floated up.

“The Black Robe Revolutionaries. The Moonlight Cult. The Anarchists.”

The list went on and on. All of them were factions likely plotting conspiracies under the guise of this festival. And it seemed Aira had known all along.

Aira’s eyes could see through lies and truth.

There was no escaping them.

“And lastly—”

Her finger finally pointed at me.

“A ghost of the past.”

Fsssh.

The finger aimed at me swept through the air.

Then, the broken fragments of the arena strewn across the ground shot toward me. Their size and speed were no different from incoming artillery shells.

Edit by: faker