Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 358: Main Character (3)

The announcer’s loud voice echoed over the arena, and my participant number and name lit up above the crowd.

Contestant Number 1432 — Angmar. That’s my name now.

“His name is Angmar?”

“Is it an alias? A patriot naming himself after the country?”

“No one but the old royal family is allowed to use that name. Who would dare claim it so openly in a major tournament like this?”

“Could it be...?”

I could clearly hear the murmurs and confusion from the crowd.

They probably couldn’t figure out the meaning behind the name I chose.

I’d given it a lot of thought.

It was a false name—

And at the same time, the name that should have originally belonged to this body.

A lie and a truth.

Was there any name that better defined me?

That thought stirred up an overwhelming feeling inside me, something close to exaltation.

I used that rising emotion as fuel for my magic.

“Fall—!”

With a booming command, lightning surged once more across the arena from the storm clouds I had summoned.

A tremendous thunderclap—

A white-hot bolt splitting the sky.

“What the fuck is this?!”

“This is insane!”

“Take out the caster! If we beat him, the lightning will stop!”

Apparently, my display had been so impactful that even though I didn’t hold a flag, challengers were now coming at me.

They figured that if they took me out, they could stop the storm cloud that had plunged the arena into chaos.

It was a smart move.

In truth, defeating me would disperse the cloud and bring back the sun.

But I’d already shown my hand—

There was no turning back now.

I couldn’t afford to let anyone slow me down.

I wasn’t here just for a flag or the top sixteen.

I was here to reach the pinnacle.

Today, I would stand at the summit—

Above all the other so-called protagonists in this story.

At the very top—

Where everything I’d ever longed for awaited me.

Swoosh.

I lifted my gaze to the special royal viewing seat high above the stands.

There, seated like a white lily blooming on a cliff, was Aira.

Even from here, with her tiny like a distant dot, I could feel her black eyes watching me.

No matter what form I took, no matter how I disguised myself—

You’d recognize me, wouldn’t you, Aira?

Just like I would know you anywhere, in any guise.

Shiver.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp jolt at the back of my neck.

I turned my head—

A chunk of rock was flying straight at my face.

Krrrng...!

Before I could react, Bael had already deployed a mana shield.

The rock struck with a sharp shatter—

My shield cracked, and I saw the source of the attack: a fist.

A small, compact, powerful fist—

It shattered the entire barrier that could normally block even a cannon shot.

I was thrown back by the shockwave.

“Guh—!”

Boom.

I tumbled across the ground.

The hard stone floor slammed into me repeatedly, and pain shot through my body.

But then I remembered Elga’s training—

Tuck your chin. Protect your head.

Thanks to that, I managed to roll and avoid serious injury.

“Huff... Huff...”

What the hell just punched me?

I looked up to see the figure standing amid the chaos and lightning.

A red-haired nymph, barely tall enough to reach my chest.

But she didn’t have the frailty I’d associated with her kind.

She stood tall and proud, like a battle-hardened predator.

“I threw that punch intending to kill, and you blocked it? Impressive...”

Torn black clothes, bare feet, a casual, confident grin—

She looked more like the ancient dragon I’d seen earlier than a nymph.

“You’re... Yujinoy.”

“You know of me?”

“I’ve heard tales of the strongest nymph somewhere in Angmar.”

***

The strongest nymph, Yujinoi.

I’d heard plenty of rumors about the guy, but this was the first time I was facing him in person. And now that I was, I could tell. Every single one of those rumors was true—without exception.

“I am Yujinoi. I seek only pure combat...! Sorcerer. I am very much looking forward to seeing whether you can offer that to me...!”

“Instead of going for the match, you’re choosing to fight me directly?”

“To a nymph of my caliber, the whole world looks as sweet as honey...! And out of all of them, you seem like the tastiest treat, sorcerer...!”

I didn’t really get what he was saying, but from the looks of it, the guy had no interest in flags or preliminaries—he wanted a direct fight with me. A total lunatic. A warrior with a battle-freak personality, maybe? What’s his main weapon? What’s his attack style?

Just as I was starting to assess his combat patterns—

“Here I come, sorcerer!”

Pop. Kicking off the ground, Yujinoi flew straight at me like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. Or maybe it’s wrong to say he flew—his speed was just...

“Fist!”

Clang—!

If it weren’t for Bael, I might not have had time to throw up a defense spell, and my face would’ve been shattered on the spot. That much was clear.

“To block not once, but twice—impressive for a sorcerer...!”

Swish swish swish swish.

His fists kept flying. A rapid series of strikes at blistering speed—but each blow was heavy, each one packed the kind of weight most fighters reserve for their finishing moves. Thanks to that, my mana shield cracked and broke apart completely.

Crackle—!

As the final petal of my shield shattered, I could see a smile glittering with sharp fangs between the falling shards.

“Behold—your shield has been torn to pieces...!”

“Damn it.”

Honestly, I had underestimated him because he was a nymph. But he was far stronger than I’d expected. Stronger than any opponent I’d ever faced. And to think someone like this would just crash the scene out of nowhere...

First, I needed to blow him away and find an opening.

I spread my hand and released my mana toward him.

“Rending Heaven!”

A blast strong enough to knock down a well-built brick house without much effort.

Whooooosh—!

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

But judging by his body size, he should be light by the laws of physics. I figured if I could send him flying on the wind, that would be enough, and I increased the output.

“Tricks like that are for the weak...!”

Yujinoi stood his ground inside the gale—one powerful enough to blow away an elephant—without the slightest issue.

Baffled by how he could do that, I looked down and noticed the anomaly at his feet.

The arena floor was flat and smooth.

And Yujinoi was gripping it with his toes, holding himself down against the wind. The strength of that grip was incredible. Though I’m not even sure you can call that “grip strength” at this point.

“Technique, sorcery—just more parlor tricks for the weak...!”

Swish.

Inside the swirling wind, he reached out his hand toward me. I thought for sure he’d grab my wrist—

“Tiger Fang King!”

Something slammed hard into Yujinoi’s head.

THWACK—!

He went flying and crashed into the ground. The stone floor cracked where he hit, but he quickly scrambled back to his feet.

“You are....”

“I’m Punchnoi, the honeyfist...! The one who seeks vengeance for my master! We meet again...! The final battle we never finished last time...! I’ll end it now!”

This one was also a nymph, with hair like golden honey whipping around. He was wearing a gi, but compared to Yujinoi, his features were a bit more youthful, more boyish.

Swish.

Yujinoi wiped the blood dripping from his nose with his thumb.

“Right, your master was an amusing fellow...! But in the end, he was just another parlor trickster dabbling in so-called ‘sennin arts’...! Of course he had to kneel before true brute force...!”

“You thief, give back my master’s name...! Fist of Sorrow—Tiger Wail!”

Punchnoi’s fist flew toward Yujinoi. But Yujinoi simply raised a hand to block it—just that simple motion caused a violent shockwave to ripple across the arena.

WHOOOSH—!

“Punchnoi, you’ve grown stronger since last time...! Good, show me more of your little tricks, give them all to me—Yujinoi...!”

“You don’t get to use that name so lightly...! Downcurrent King!”

Punchnoi’s uppercut spun like a vortex as it soared into the air. The battle between the two was fierce and dazzling—enough to draw all the spectators’ attention.

━Look at those two!

━I’ve never seen nymphs that strong before!

━Aaaah! Contestant No. 22, the obvious finalist, Punchnoi...! And an unregistered red-haired nymph intruder...! This battle feels like one of those legendary duels from ancient Angmar murals!

It was an incredible fight.

But hearing names like Tiger Wail and Downcurrent King, I couldn’t help but feel a little ridiculous for being here. What was I even doing?

“Well, I guess it worked out.”

At least I hadn’t wasted any strength fighting Yujinoi. Once these preliminaries were over, I’d need my full power for the finals—and to face Ayra afterward.

If I had fought Yujinoi, I would’ve burned through a ton of energy.

Swish.

I looked at the hourglass set into the crystal. Judging by how little sand remained in the upper chamber, this chaotic, brutal preliminary round would be over in about five minutes.

From the mayhem that had broken out from the start, plus the lightning strikes I’d thrown down, most of the other contestants were lying collapsed on the ground, groaning.

━Ugh... can’t move a finger.

━I forfeit...

Only about fifty people were still standing. But every single one of them radiated such overwhelming pressure that none looked close to collapsing.

That just meant they were strong enough to survive until now. I needed to grab a flag from among them. Who should I target?

—Fairy Eye!

I quickly scanned the surroundings to see who nearby still had a flag in their hands.

The one who caught my eye was a man breathing heavily. Looked to be about thirty. Long hair, short beard, a longsword at his waist—he looked like a ronin swordsman.

He saw me approaching and spat blood onto the floor with a ptooey.

“That thundercloud... was that really your doing?”

I had pegged him as the lone wolf type, but his speech was more refined than I expected. And the fact that he was asking a question in this situation...

I gave a nod.

“Yeah, it was me.”

“To change the weather with barely any incantation... I bet you’ve got even crazier magic in your arsenal. Honestly, I can’t imagine any scenario where I could beat you.”

He was clearly exhausted.

Wounds covered his body, and blood from a cut across his eyebrow dripped into his right eye. If I fought him now, I’d win ninety-nine times out of a hundred.

The fact that he could recognize that said a lot about his skill at gauging others. That’s probably how he’d survived this long into the match. It was my job now to end this hard-fought battle. I reached out my hand.

“Then hand it over.”

“But you’ve been holding back your power, haven’t you? I can tell. I’m a merchant, after all—mind-reading is one of my talents.”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t want to waste your strength here. Because you’re aiming to win. To go all the way—fight the Queen and take it all. Contestant number 1432, Angmar.”

“......”

This guy’s no amateur.

“So, what’s your point?”

“I joined the tournament to build my reputation. I’ve done enough for that, so I’ve got no desire to keep the flag. The Belhawk family is bound to notice ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) me after this.”

“Got it. So you want to make a deal.”

At my words, the man smirked.

“Sharp one. I’ll hand it over—peacefully, without a fight. But like I said, it’s a deal. I want one thing: your real name. You seem destined for greatness, and I want to invest early.”

Makes sense.

That was a perfectly reasonable trade. Classic merchant instincts—knowing where the profit was, and seizing it quickly.

Still, there was a point deduction.

“So you don’t think my current name is real?”

“As if it could be. Only the royal family of old could legally use the name of the kingdom.”

“True. But I am Angmar. Not a single lie in my words. You’ll find out soon enough, Alonso.”

At that, the man jumped in surprise.

“I—I told you my name? But I came in under false identity, kept my name hidden...”

“Whatever your reasons, the eyes of a king see through everything.”

“No way... is it true? If it is, then the world’s about to change. And I’m standing right here in the middle of it. How can this be...?”

I reached into the stunned man’s arms and took the flag. When I raised it high, the last grain of sand dropped and the bell rang.

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.

Only sixteen remained.

Four rounds.

Just five wins left.

━Aaaah! The final sixteen contestants have been decided! But first, a word from our top tournament sponsor, the Belhawk Merchant Guild—let’s check out their latest ad!