Taming The Villainesses

Episode 362.2

(EP-362.2) #7

362 – Protagonist #7

—Mana Shield.

But as long as I knew an attack was coming, blocking it wasn’t all that difficult for me now.

After blocking the telekinetic projectiles with a mana shield, I raised my head through the haze of dust.

Aira, now standing proudly in the arena, had her hair lifted into the air like the legs of a spider. That signified that she, too, would be facing me with her full power.

“Descendant of David, bear witness and worship. Your queen, Aira Von Tarantera! For you shall be given the opportunity to behold your ruler.”

I released Aslan from my arms.

“Run. As far from this arena as you can. Protect the people.”

Still dazed from what had just happened, the knight bolted the moment I let go of her, as if she'd been waiting for it. Did she instinctively sense that she shouldn’t interfere in this fight?

Smart move.

━Hiiiooong…!

‘I know—I’ll need to go all out too.’

No matter how we got here.

In the end, Aira and I were about to face off on the grand stage of this arena.

I’d expected something more romantic and fair. I never imagined it would turn out like this.

Had Aira known?

A hopeful train of thought… Was that why she tried to stop my participation? Maybe, maybe not.

But what mattered now wasn’t any of that. What mattered was defeating Aira that was in front of me. I was the challenger. There would be no room for carelessness, nor should I be saving energy.

—Open Chant.

I fully unleashed all the mana and circuits within me.

Bzzzt—!

The intense magic crackling through me from head to fingertips was enough to make my mind reel, but I held on.

I didn’t stop there. I pushed the output even higher.

The simulated battles I had replayed countless times in my mind came to the forefront.

This had to be a short battle, my odds were better that way. Better yet, ending it with the first attack.

I would pour everything into a single blow.

Pajik, Pajijik!

“… Ugh…”

But before that, my body couldn't withstand the mana I had pushed past Rank 8. It was probably because my physique was far too low compared to the purity and density of high-rank mana.

Watching me like that, Aira opened her slender eyes.

“So you burn yourself to shine… Beautiful. Like a star, glowing by setting itself aflame…”

Even in a situation like this, she didn’t look tense at all. Her eyes sparkled at the radiant light I was emitting. Such arrogance—it was so very Aira, just as I’d always imagined her.

That arrogance would leave an opening.

“Aira. Then you’ll find this even more beautiful.”

Bael.

You gave me greater power in exchange for a price.

“Then fine, eat.”

I offered you my lifespan.

So give me power.

Give me everything!!!

“Ultimate Magic!”

Theo-Nova!!!

* * *

…….

━So you’re Beatrice. I’m counting on you. Just help sweep the floor or keep me company. I don’t have many friends.

…….

━Betty, even after I become an adult, you’ll always be an eternal girl. But I heard nymphs can become adults too. If you go to the forest up North, there’s a mysterious centipede….

When I came to.

……..

I was drifting among countless stars without anything that could be called a physical body. I didn’t know what happened. What about Aira? What happened to the duel? Where was this?

Just then—despite having no ears, a voice seeped directly into my soul.

━Why did you leave me…? There is nothing more I desire. No matter what form you take, it’s enough for me that you’re by my side. That’s all I ever wanted…

No, it wasn’t a voice. It was an emotion.

Sadness.

━━If the world takes you from me, then I too shall take everything from the world and get you back.

And rage.

━I offer my lifespan. My future. The lives of all those on this star and all fates yet to be born. I offer everything for all eternity.

━So grant me power!

━Grant me everything!!!

That emotion—so utterly pure—I felt as if I would lose myself, like a drop of paint dissolving into it. If I stayed here, I’d be swept away completely. Thus, I flailed my limbs desperately to escape.

━I am the apex of magic. The end of all eras. The terminator of the world. Let everything break and crumble.

I had to get out of here!

Fshhhh—

Whether it was thanks to my strong will, I could finally feel my body again.

And at my waist, something whined softly.

It was the magic scroll with the《Squirrel Cache》magic circle that Aira had given me. Drawn by some instinct, I reached into it.

Click.

My hand grasped something solid. A rectangular, rigid object. When I took it out, my eyes met a pair of blue eyes.

━My moon. My star. My old flame. Beatrice.

Letters began to emerge, along with someone's lingering thoughts.

「Eternal Girl: The magnum opus of a man who longed to hold on to the passing time. Sometimes smiles or weeps when you look at her. Ability Unknown.」

Eternal Girl?

Ability unknown?

I didn’t understand it yet, but beyond those glowing azure eyes, I saw a dazzling light.

As if in a trance, I unsheathed the dagger at my waist and slashed the painting from top to bottom.

Shhhhhk!

And with that, a strange space behind the painting was revealed.

A passageway.

There was no mistaking, it was a passage.

━You are the last future. The final piece. You’ve long hidden from me, but my eyes pierce all creation, even glimpsing the future. Now come. Embrace your destiny.

Kkwaak!

“Guh!”

Just then, something reached out toward me and grabbed my ankle. With the sensation of my ankle being crushed, I had no choice but to throw myself into the passage.

That was when I heard it.

“Beatrice… So she’s Solomon’s nymph. This is the first time I’ve known her name too. To think a painting like this was being kept in the Pantheon.”

“……!”

Startled, I snapped back to my senses.

When I looked around, I found myself standing blankly in front of a frame inside a dimly lit cave.

“This woman, she looks a lot like Sir Theo.”

And beside me, chatting away, was Mirna Von Draco. I couldn’t understand what was happening.

“Lady Mirna! How are you here… what is going on? This looks like the Pantheon, am I right?”

At my flurry of questions, Mirna Draco furrowed her brow.

“Sir Theo… you’re drenched in sweat… I should be the one asking. What happened?”

“What…”

My mind spun with confusion in a situation I couldn’t begin to explain. Calm Thinking was activated, but my emotions were a mess.

The only thing I could reasonably conclude from seeing Mirna and the Draco family’s Pantheon was that I’d returned to the time before the festival. Or at least, it seemed that way.

Was everything that just happened a dream?

“Sir Theo, what happened to your ankle?”

Suk-. At that moment, Mirna pointed at my ankle.

When I looked down, my ankles were dripping with blood as though I’d stepped into a bear trap. I rolled up my pants to reveal a dark, scorched mark.

Strangely, it looked exactly like someone’s handprint.

“A brand…?”

Mirna’s eyes trembled faintly.

Edit by: faker