Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 342.1

(EP-342.1) Of Hearts #11

342 – Queen of Hearts #11

‘Evenly matched.’

A term used to describe a state where both sides had equal or nearly equal strength.

No phrase could be more fitting to depict the fierce battle unfolding between these two women, neither yielding an inch.

Elga, fully committed to fighting at full power, was incredibly strong.

The way she pressured Aira, leaving no time to cast mana shields or chant spells, reminded me of how Reinhardt had fought against me.

A relentless assault.

It was the most basic and effective way to deal with a mage who needed time to cast spells. However, even two years ago, Aira was no pushover.

“How long will you keep dodging? Fight back!”

“…….”

Maybe it was just my nerves, but watching Aira evade Elga’s strikes by a hair’s breadth sent chills down my spine.

Mirna soon shattered that tension, however.

“I’m done preparing—I’ll be joining in. Sir Theo, please assist with ranged attacks.”

Mirna had scribbled black ink-like characters onto a sword she picked from the floor. Then, she joined the fight between Elga and Aira.

“Lady Lioness, isn’t that a lot of wounds after boasting?”

“What? No, I’m getting hit on purpose. Don’t you know my weapon’s ability? The more blood it absorbs, the heavier and more destructive it becomes.”

“For all that, you seem to be breathing rather heavily. I’ll help you, so let’s proceed with Plan B.”

“Plan B? Since when did we—”

Elga raised her axe high.

“—have one?!”

Kwaaaaang!

She then slammed her massive axe into the floor at full force. With that, the ground beneath Aira collapsed instantly, dragging her down into a dark and bottomless abyss.

Kwarururururu!

“Ugh!”

Aira exhaled sharply, stretching her hand into the air. Behind her falling body, fragments of the shattered floor floated like stepping stones.

But Mirna wasn’t about to let that slide.

“I knew you’d create footholds.”

New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on ƒгeewebnovёl.com.

Swish.

Mirna swung her arm, and a flurry of papers spilled out from her wide sleeves. They were talismans, each imbued with a unique effect.

Shwaaak.

However, Aira just extended her hand and tore them apart with telekinesis. No matter how intricate their magic, they were still just paper, after all.

That was when Mirna snapped open a fan, covering half of her face.

“I knew you’d tear them. But these talismans activate when they’re torn.”

Snap, snap-snap.

The shredded talismans clung to Aira’s body, sticking to her like damp tissue on a wall.

“……!”

Aira tried to rip them away, but her face twisted in pain as she gritted her teeth.

“Ugh…!”

“These are magic-draining talismans—they’re drawn to those with strong mana. Trying to force them off will only cause you pain. This will slightly lower your mana and rank.”

Mirna chuckled behind her fan, then sent an additional barrage of talismans to completely envelop Aira.

—Paper Purgatory.

Shwarurururu-.

Aira, sealed by the colorful papers, looked like a piece of art.

Finally, the last talisman clung to her face—completely covering her eyes.

Elga, peering into the pit, furrowed her brow.

“Hey, if you had something this convenient, you should’ve used it earlier.”

“I needed the right opening. In that sense, Plan B worked perfectly.”

I didn’t know what Plan B was, but Mirna and Elga’s coordination was surprisingly good.

Maybe it was because they’d faced life and death situations together, like when they fought against the berserk Professor Balan. Or perhaps their rivalry made them oddly compatible.

Either way, their synergy surpassed my expectations. Although this was a weaker Aira from two years ago, subduing her was still impressive.

Then Elga spoke up.

“Hey, Theo. We did all the work while you just stood around!”

Mirna clicked her tongue.

“Lady Lioness, it seems you truly know nothing. Had Sir Theo not disrupted Queen Tarantera’s magic, we might be the ones lying on the ground right now.”

“… What? Really?”

I hadn’t shown it, but Mirna was right.

Every time Aira chanted a spell, I chanted it backwards at the same speed, disrupting the flow of her magic.

After all, no matter how fast and relentless Elga’s attacks were, Aira still tried to cast spells in the small gaps that appeared.

And if I’d cast offensive magic at Aira, Elga and Mirna could’ve been caught in the crossfire. So supporting them was my best move.

Elga scratched the back of her head.

“Is that so? I didn’t notice… Anyway, we won! It was three against one—but you won’t call it cowardly, right, Aira? We did it for you, after all.”

* * *

“Seeing it like this… it really does look like an egg. Don’t you think so, Sir Theo?”

We pulled Aira up, still buried under layers of talismans. As Mirna had said, the round and colorful appearance resembled a beautifully decorated Easter egg.

An egg from which Aira would be reborn. But for some reason, the thought left me with a strangely unsettling feeling. As I examined the egg, Elga asked as she stroked her chin.

“So what do we do with this now?”

I wondered too.

What exactly were we supposed to do with this egg?

Mirna answered.

“Now we must persuade the Queen inside. We need her cooperation if we want to find the Ars Nova corrupting her.”

“Wait, I thought we just had to beat her. You’re telling me the real enemy is something else?”

Elga scowled, baffled. Mirna glared at her in exasperation like she was looking at some revolting bug.

“Did you forget everything I explained? We came here to defeat Ars Nova, not Queen Tarantera! You even said it yourself earlier.”

Ah, right.

To be honest, I had kind of forgotten too…

The reason we came here wasn’t to defeat Aira—it was to suppress the great magic festering within her.

Aira was looming over us like a final boss, so our priority had been warped. However, defeating her wasn’t the end!

“Then let’s continue.”

Clearing her throat lightly, Mirna spoke to the egg made of paper.

“Queen Tarantera. For many reasons, we’re here to help you. Somewhere in this palace, there’s something you wanted or needed to hide. Where is it?”

The deep subconscious.

That was where Ars Nova lurked.

Unless that thing came to us first, finding it would be nearly impossible. The only one who knew its location was Aira herself, the owner of this realm.

But Aira didn’t answer.

The egg sat as silent as an unfertilized shell.

Elga, who was not familiar with this type of magic, asked me.

“Is it supposed to be like this?”

Mirna tapped the egg, then shook her head.

Edit by: faker