Taming The Villainesses novel Chapter 358

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.