Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 356: Main Character (1)

──!!!

With a thunderous roar, a massive foreleg burst through the earth. The sheer size of the limb alone was enough to crush an entire building—it was overwhelming.

KUUUUUNG—!

The ground shook violently. Eliesel opened his eyes wider than ever before and cried out:

"What in the—!? The ancient dragon corpse sealed beneath the temple!? The very dragon that not even Hero Yudas could subdue!? Impossible!!!"

KRKKKKK.

A long tail erupted from the ground, collapsing buildings in its wake.

And at last, the full figure of the monstrous beast revealed itself.

When I beheld it—

I could do nothing but be overwhelmed by the same despair and terror that humanity must have felt in the ancient age, back when this world still belonged to beasts and fairies.

So this is the creature said to have once soared through the skies of old.

Not a wyvern, not a pseudo-Draco—this was a being on an entirely different scale. The strongest of all living things.

It opened its enormous jaws and let out a mighty roar.

━━━─━!!!

It sounded like thunder crashing down from the heavens.

Its eyes, glowing red, were like burning suns.

━R-Red eyes. It’s not under control. That proves it’s out of control! We can’t stop it!

The problem was, as they said, the thing that had returned from death—the dragon—was not under any control whatsoever.

As with most things brought back from death, it seemed filled only with hatred, lashing out with forelegs and tail to destroy everything in sight.

Narmee trembled and shouted,

"Sis, it’s your turn now!"

Mirna responded by forming hand seals with her fingers.

At the same time, she turned to me and said,

"Sir Teo, now’s your chance. Use the dimensional gate."

"But, Lady Mirna. That thing is—no matter how you look at it—a monster. Is it really okay to leave you two alone here...!?"

That colossal beast looked like destruction and dread made manifest, sculpted in scale and bone.

To defeat something like that, even I would have to unleash maximum output at the cost of my own lifespan.

As if to confirm it, I could feel Bael—the spider lurking within me—bristling with tension.

━GRRRRR...!!!

If Bael was baring her fangs like this, then the thing was certainly no pushover. Yet Mirna stopped her chant and simply looked at me.

In the midst of all this chaos, her ruby-red eyes sparkled so brilliantly that the entire scene felt unreal.

"Sir Teo. From this point on, it’s our battle—Narmee’s and mine. This is the Draco family’s battlefield. You go fight your fight."

"But..."

"...Idiot, go already...!"

Mirna’s sharp cry snapped me back to my senses. She was right. This was their battlefield. The place I needed to fight was somewhere else—farther away.

━The annex is on fire!

━Put it out! Send more troops to guard the Hall of All Gods!

While everyone panicked at the appearance of the monster, I sprinted toward the dimensional gate.

There were some who tried to stop me, but the anti-magic formation had already been destroyed, so I used the attack spell Paimon to blast them all away.

"Activate."

I chanted the trigger phrase to start up the dimensional gate.

VOOOOOOM.

Mana surged from my body.

At the same time, the giant dragon’s hollow red gaze fixed on me. I didn’t know why—but it looked like it had chosen me and the gate as its target.

CRAAAACK.

It opened its cave-like maw wide.

I saw a red glow flickering in its mouth. I couldn’t be sure what would happen next, but I couldn’t afford to just stand there.

Should I use a mana shield?

No—if I lost focus, even for a moment, on the dimensional gate spell that was already activating, the coordinate values might corrupt, causing a massive disaster.

Bael—do something.

━GRRRR...!!!

Bael couldn’t calm down in the presence of the dragon. Were spiders and dragons natural enemies? Whatever—it didn’t matter. Just help me! If I die, you die!

━Hiiioooong...

VMMM—

There.

With Bael’s help, the dimensional gate finally stabilized. At the same time, I cast a mana shield to brace for any incoming attack. And right then—

"─O ancient ruler of bygone days. Cast aside thy wrath. We offer dance and song in thy name."

Through the chaos, I heard Mirna’s voice clearly. It sounded like a poem—or a song. A mysterious chant. Her voice gently rippled through the crowd.

"Thou who fell from grace. Serpent of old. Swallow thy fury. Withdraw thy claws and hide thy fangs."

At that strange invocation, the dragon’s hollow red eyes flickered uneasily.

Shhhhhhh—

The glow that had built inside its maw faded a little. Its movements slowed, and people stopped what they were doing to look up at the sky.

━It stopped.

━Look—its eyes are turning blue.

━It’s just like the old legends. So there really was a dragon corpse beneath the sanctuary...

━The two ladies are controlling the dragon!

As people murmured, it seemed that Mirna had successfully gained control of the great dragon’s corpse.

When our eyes met, her lips moved.

"Hurry. This won’t last long."

I couldn’t hear her voice, but—

I was certain that’s what she said.

***

Tick, tick.

Elga grew increasingly anxious watching the time tick by.

As she sat at the same table, Stella finally commented,

"Elga dear, why so restless? Did you bet money on this year’s tournament or something?"

"......"

Stella still didn’t understand what was going on. Probably because they hadn’t fully brought her in on everything yet. Elga found her kind of annoying—but also envied her.

If she too knew nothing, maybe she’d be able to sit here peacefully.

Now, with noon—the time of the opening ceremony—fast approaching, and no sign of the half-fairy or the Draco sisters, Elga was under immense stress.

If Leonoi weren’t with her, she might have exploded already.

In that sense, Elga suddenly realized—wow, I’ve really grown up, learned to restrain myself. When did that happen? She didn’t know. She’d just come to her senses one day and found herself like this.

"You’re getting a wrinkle between your eyebrows. Just like your father, Reinhardt. What are you so deep in thought about? Tell me."

Stella spoke again.

Maybe it was just the typical nosiness of older people, but it got under Elga’s skin enough that she answered.

"My father?"

"Yeah. You really do resemble him. So—will your father be attending the tournament? Or is he skipping it to stay in the capital?"

"I don’t know."

It wouldn’t be strange if he came, or if he didn’t.

But the man Elga was concerned about wasn’t her father.

That guy should’ve been here by now—but he wasn’t.

BOOM!

Just then, fireworks exploded noisily above the colosseum roof. That could mean only one thing: the opening ceremony had begun.

It was noon.

"......"

Elga’s anxiety reached its limit. What had gone wrong? It was supposed to be a simple mission—retrieve the treasure and return. Why was it taking so long?

WAAAH—!

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The crowd suddenly erupted in cheers. A woman’s thin voice echoed and rumbled through the loudspeakers—probably Ayra giving a speech with a crystal microphone.

Imagining that pale face basking in everyone’s attention made Elga furious.

'Stupid bitch. Would it kill you to just let yourself get seduced a little? Why do you have to act like you’re so high and mighty? What, you think I don’t know how to play hard to get?'

To Elga, Ayra was now nothing more than an irritating cousin. First she stole the half-fairy from her, and now she was acting like she didn’t care.

Elga wanted to see her dumped cold, sobbing and regretting it.

'More importantly, where the hell is he?'

Her legs trembled harder from the tension.

'Maybe I should’ve gone with him.'

She squeezed the fake ID in her hand tight with frustration.

'If you don’t show up—I swear to God, I’ll beat the crap out of you.'

But those threats gradually shifted into desperate bargaining.

'Please. Just show up. I’ll do anything—anything you want. Just... hurry. There’s no time.'

Now there were only a few minutes left until the first match.

The first match was a survival round, where all participants had to be present to compete for the few available flags.

There were about 5 minutes left.

If the half-fairy didn’t appear within five minutes, he’d automatically lose by default.

'Hurry up!'

Elga wasn’t a particularly religious person. She’d doze off at services, couldn’t recite even a single prayer verse.

But today, for the first time in her life, she prayed—truly, from the heart. If the half-fairy arrived within five minutes, she’d donate a huge sum in gratitude.

As she stared at the ticking clock—

She sensed someone approaching from afar.

Was it a late-arriving spectator? A contestant back from a break? Or maybe...

She looked up in hope—and saw a man walking down the corridor in the distance.

He wore a black robe, his face hidden behind a simple wooden mask, but she could tell he was a man from his broad shoulders and tall frame.

"ID."

The man approached Elga and held out his hand. His palm was so large it could cover hers entirely—Elga froze for a moment. ID?

Stella, sipping her tea beside her, narrowed her eyes.

"...Who are you?"

Elga couldn’t process what was going on. But then she remembered what she had to do. She handed over the fake ID she’d been holding.

"If you lose, I’ll never forgive you. I’ve bet everything on you—my fortune, my life, everything."

The man replied,

"I know."

"You know? Know?! Then how could you show up this late?!"

Elga snapped.

But the masked man answered coolly.

"Elga—real protagonists always show up late."

Protagonist?

Give me a break.

Elga didn’t reply. She just smacked his back—hard.

SLAP!

In the past, he would’ve yelped like a wimp—but maybe because he’d gotten taller, maybe because he was now a man—he stood firm like a tree with deep roots.

Then, the man stepped into the stadium, crossing that long corridor as the crowd erupted in cheers.

Elga also stood and headed toward the VIP section.

Stella nudged her side.

"What’s going on? That guy... how do I put this? He looked familiar, but at the same time, like someone I’ve never met. I don’t know..."

"I don’t know either. But we’ll find out soon."

***

Huff... Huff...

Breathing didn’t come easy with the mask on, and my breaths sounded even louder in my ears. My heart thumped like a raging engine.

━Donatello, you can do it!

━Ah, and as commentators, we should definitely keep an eye on contestant number 12, Punchnoi, and...

The arena was full of cheers and chatter from the spectators and commentators. How many were there? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? I couldn’t tell.

The colosseum had been expanded to hold up to 100,000 people, but more had come. There were crowds packed even outside the stadium.

━Hiiioooong...!

I know.

The number of spectators doesn’t matter.

They’re just onlookers.

Extras.

Once, I had been one of them too.

Once, I was only a bystander in this story—but no longer.

Shff.

"You there."

Someone finally addressed me as I entered the arena. A man wearing glasses—probably an employee from Sandora City Hall managing the event.

"Who are you? If you’re a contestant, show me your ID."

My ID.

I handed him the piece of paper I was holding. He read it for a while, then asked,

"Contestant number 1432—..."

Maybe he thought the name was strange. Maybe he didn’t like my outfit. He looked me up and down before finally opening the gate.

"The first match is about to start. Get up to the stage, quickly."

Shff.

He slapped a numbered sticker on my back.

With that, I stepped onto the stage—before all the contestants, and before the roaring crowd.

The cheers shook the ground.

Flashing lights installed around the stadium. The blazing sunlight above.

Everything blurred into a ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ dazzling storm of light.