Taming The Villainesses

(EP-355.2) #3

355 – D #3

“I've already made up my mind. This is my choice, so there's no need to apologize. More importantly, let’s get moving again!”

Swish!

Mirna darted out from behind the corner. I also activated ‘Fairy Steps’ and swiftly dashed toward the teleportation gate.

As expected, there were a lot of people gathered there. Blocking the entrance to catch a thief was the obvious move—there was nothing surprising about it.

Shing.

Old monk Aliesel was holding a long crescent blade, slowly shaking his head.

“Lady Mirna, regardless of your status, you must be held accountable for breaking the rules. Join Lady Narmi in the sacred spring of Mount Spirit and purify your sins.”

“Unnie! Theo! I got caught!”

With a hostage involved, this situation was far from favorable. The old me might have struggled with this predicament. But the current me had the power of magic at my disposal.

Rank 7 Little Demon King.

Perhaps it was time to show some of that power.

As the people slowly tightened their encirclement, I began drawing up my magic. That was when I felt a strange sensation inside me—the paper spider rustled.

━Hioooong…

‘Something’s off?’

My mana wasn’t gathering?

━Hioooong…

Bael’s condition seemed unusual. Instead of aiding my chant, it was limp like a soaked paper crane. That meant I had to calculate the complex spell formulas on my own.

—Open Chant.

Crackle.

But just as I activated it, I realized something was wrong with the flow of mana in my body. As I stared at the sparks dancing between my fingers, the old monk said.

“Demon Monk, Theo Gospel. We just looked into you. I heard you're a remarkable mage. But now that you’re inside our anti-magic formation, it will be difficult for you to use magic.”

‘Anti-magic formation?’

Only then did I notice the strange magic circle drawn on the ground.

Not only that, but the positioning of the monks closing in on us, as well as the figures beyond them chanting incantations, all seemed highly suspicious.

Ssssuuuuaaaa.

As the wind blew, the cloth covering their faces fluttered for a moment, revealing their true nature. They weren’t living people but something akin to mummies.

“You’ve noticed, haven’t you? These are all monks who reached nirvana at the end of their path of asceticism. Living Buddha statues. You could call them liches.”

‘Liches.’

I was already well aware of powerful undead thanks to the harsh beating I had with the Draco sisters’ father, Aleister.

There were ten—no, twelve—of these undead. Each one seemed weaker than Aleister, but their combined synergy appeared to be more than twice as powerful.

“… So this is possible.”

To be honest, I had underestimated the Draco family. I never imagined they had secretly amassed such a formidable force here in the mountain temple.

Should I report this situation to Queen Aira or the kingdom’s chancellor, Reinhardt?

As I tensed up, the old monk kindly explained.

“The war against the fallen ascetic Solomon taught us many lessons. We’ve spent a great deal of time researching anti-magic. Within our formation, even that Solomon is nothing more than a commoner.”

An anti-magic formation capable of reducing Demon King Solomon to an ordinary man?

Was that even possible?

There wasn’t enough time to judge whether it was a bluff or not. But it was true that I was having difficulty using magic.

It was like trying to build a sandcastle while waves kept washing it away.

Gathering mana now was like pouring water into a bottomless pot.

「You have calmly judged the situation!

You have gained experience points through the talent 《Calm Thinking》.

All job experience +5」

‘I see.’

Once you understood the mechanism, breaking through it was simple.

“Did you really think you could stop me with something like this? You’ve underestimated me. Magic isn’t a rule. It’s an impossible miracle.”

Clap.

I clapped my hands and pushed my mana output to the limit. My heart, like an engine kicking into overdrive, pumped life force throughout my body.

Filling a bottomless jar was easy.

Just pour in more water than it can drain. If you pour in an overwhelming amount like a river, a dam, or the sea, that’d be all there was to it.

Crackle. Sizzle.

A vivid sensation of lightning surged through my body. It felt as if I had become a living furnace or power pole. My cells screamed under the strain.

And yet, my condition had never been better.

At last, I reached my hand toward the sky.

“Come, Meteor—”

Suk.

Just then, someone grasped my raised arm.

“Sir Theo, you can’t.”

It was Mirna.

“That magic… you can’t use it.”

Her expression was solemn, even somewhat sad. Why was she stopping me? Perhaps she had read my thoughts.

“Sir Theo, powerful magic will drain your lifespan.”

“……”

I knew that.

But given the current situation, there was no other choice. Mirna shook her head and smiled.

“Let’s rely on each other a little more. We’re family. That being said… Narmi, how long do you plan on just sitting there? It’s time for final plan D.”

At Mirna’s words, the bound Narmi curled her lips into a smirk.

“D. Nice. Unnie, you’ve finally decided to show the world our true power.”

Narmi sprang to her feet.

“━━─.”

She began chanting something, and suddenly—Kuuuuung!—a massive tremor shook the temple buildings perched high on this mountain.

━What, wh, what’s going on?

━I don’t know, th, this creepy feeling—.

The ones who had been closing in on me stopped and looked around with bewildered expressions. Only the old monk Aliesel shouted in distress.

“No, no way, could D be…!?”

Narme grinned and bellowed triumphantly.

“D is strong! Invincible! The strongest! Our pride, our loyal confidant who has inherited our soul! Come forth, blue eyes…!”

━━━──!!!

Edit by: faker