Taming The Villainesses novel Chapter 438

In the Saint’s eyes, a demon king was sealed.

Its name was Agares.

One of the four Great Incantations—Ars Nova—created by the Demon King Solomon, though its exact abilities and dangers remained unknown.

━O-Originally, Ars Nova entities like myself gain even greater strength depending on the vessel’s resilience and... mental fortitude...

According to Professor Balan, a Great Incantation manifested greater power the stronger its host’s body or mind was.

Just think of Bael, who once lurked within Ayra’s heart. There was hardly any need to explain how powerful Ayra became once she fused with Bael.

In that sense, whatever powers the Saint Priga wielded, with the demon Agares sealed inside her Nightfall, there was no doubt it would be dangerously potent.

Originally, Priga was the figure who, at the major turning point between the middle and final parts of the story, had presented the protagonist’s party with a crisis. Her threat was no less—and certainly no smaller—than that of the Witch Queen Ayra.

Crackle, crackle.

Ayra and Priga stood so close that their chests almost touched.

"......."

"......."

Though neither spoke, the force radiating between them distorted even the scenery of the surrounding flower fields, creating an explosive tension that could detonate at any moment.

In the midst of this powder keg, I turned again to the mother and child, trying to make the best choice possible.

"Hurry, Beatrice! Take the child and retreat!"

However.

The nymph Trish—or rather, Beatrice—did not listen to me. Instead, she growled lowly, as if raising her guard even more against me.

"I never told you that name. Who the hell are you?"

"That’s..."

Trish.

Even from that slight name, I could quickly deduce that Beatrice was a nickname for her. After all, she looked exactly like the woman in the two framed pictures I possessed.

That’s right.

She was the nymph whom the Demon King Solomon had dearly cherished—and at the same time, she was Isaiah’s wife, Beatrice. I desperately wanted to know how the Demon King’s treasured nymph, once thought dead, had become Isaiah’s wife, and what kind of farewell she would have with the half-fairy child.

But there was no time now to explain all of that.

"I’ll explain later. For now—run!"

"......."

Trish looked at me with a face full of suspicion.

However, the small half-fairy, having woken up at some point, trembled in fear and tugged at her clothes. Perhaps moved by that, Beatrice, as a mother, decided to escape first.

"I knew it. We should never have come to a place like this."

Saying that, she turned her head sharply and stepped forward as if to leave immediately.

"Uh...?"

But soon, she let out a strange noise and froze in place as if nailed to the ground, unable to move a muscle. It was almost like she was miming being frozen in place, and I couldn’t help but blurt out,

"What are you doing!? Hurry up and run!"

"I know! But my legs won't move! What the hell is this!?"

Your legs won't move? Startled by the unexpected situation, I hurriedly turned my head—and saw Saint Priga standing with her hand extended toward Trish.

"No one can escape from me. The power dwelling in me is of that sort. No one can flee from Saint Priga’s gaze."

At that moment—

"Ah...!"

Someone let out a startled voice.

"My legs... my legs won't move...!"

Elga, as if her soles had been glued to the ground, struggled to move but couldn’t. She even tried grabbing {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} her own thigh to pull herself free.

"What the hell is this!"

But she remained stuck fast.

Apparently, Mirna, Narmee, and Stella were experiencing the same thing. All of them frowned and struggled in bewilderment at the sudden sensation of being frozen in place.

The only one who remained composed was Saint Priga.

"I didn’t want to impose force. After all, human beings are supposed to have free will. But if a child tries to touch burning fire—sometimes you have to raise the rod."

It was clear now that Saint Priga had used "some ability" to bind us.

Still, there was one small mercy...

━Hi-oong.

Yes—my body could move.

Whether her strange ability simply didn’t work on me, or whether she had intentionally excluded me, I didn’t know. But my legs still moved freely.

━Fairy’s Step!

Fwoosh.

I quickly dashed between the noble ladies.

Then, spreading out a wide mana shield, I prepared to defend against any unforeseen impact.

━Aegis!

Sensing this, Saint Priga began to mutter, "As expected, against Solomon’s child, it won’t work—" but before she could finish—

BOOM—!

A fierce shockwave swept through the flower field.

***

A tremendous impact shook the world.

Had I not deployed a Seventh-Rank defensive magic, both myself, the young ladies, and the nymph Trish with the child might have been swept away by that shockwave.