Taming The Villainesses

(EP-318.2) Destined Rivals #4

318 – The Twins Are Destined Rivals #4

“Where’s the statue?”

Just as Narmi said.

The statue that had been right before us moments ago was nowhere to be seen. That massive figure had disappeared. A chill crept down my spine at the ominous development.

Instinctively, I tilted my head upward.

And there I met its glowing gaze—clinging to the ceiling with its multiple arms like a spider.

━━━─!!!

The statue opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar that threatened to tear my eardrums apart. Mirna covered her ears and crouched down at the intense sound.

“Ugh—!”

Whoosh.

Sreung-.

The statue suddenly launched itself from the ceiling, swinging its enormous axe at Mirna. The blade, larger than a human body, would have easily cleaved her in two if it landed.

“Shadow Bind!”

Just as the axe was about to hit, Narmi drove her sword forcefully into the ground.

The well-honed blade pierced the floor, and in that moment, the statue’s movements froze mid-swing. Its massive arm was suspended in the air.

“Unnie, I can’t hold it for long! Get out of there now!”

“Ah!”

Snapping back to her senses, Mirna rolled to the side, narrowly escaping the axe’s deadly reach.

Immediately after, the axe smashed into the ground where Mirna had just been. The impact shook the room, sending dust cascading from the ceiling.

━……

What was strange, though, was that the statue stopped moving after that. As I opened my eyes to grasp the situation.

Paseuk-.

Dust or something similar got into my eyes. Reflexively, I blinked and raised a hand to rub my face.

“Sir Theo, be careful!”

At Mirna’s loud shout, I took a step back.

Swish— Clang!

A massive axe blade came hurtling toward me. Though made of stone, if that attack had landed, my body would split in two from top to bottom.

What’s the fastest chant?

Should I dodge?

Or counterattack?

In that split second, countless thoughts flashed through my mind with Calm Thinking.

“Theo!!!”

It was Narmi’s scream that broke through my racing thoughts. Just as I was preparing to cast a spell, the statue stopped moving again.

What was going on?

While I was pondering, Mirna asked.

“Narmi, what was the inscription on the ground earlier? If you remember, quickly recite it again.”

“Inscription. Inscription? Uh… Oh! ‘We have sealed the evil desires in the darkness of this deep mountain. O ye who read this writing, do not approach your desires lightly. When the two lights fade, a merciless blade shall cleave you in two.’”

Why was she asking about this all of a sudden? Just as I was trying to piece it together, Marmar’s voice echoed in my mind.

「Comrade! Don’t close your eyes! If you close your eyes, the statue targets you!」

Ah, I see now.

When the two lights fade, a merciless blade shall cleave you—it was a metaphor. It referred to closing both eyes. The statue would attack anyone who dared shut their eyes!

「As long as everyone keeps looking… it stops moving… if even one person closes their eyes… to destroy it, the orb button…」

Ttuk-.

And then, Marmar’s message abruptly cut off.

However, with Calm Thinking activated, I quickly grasped what Marmar was trying to convey. Without hesitation, I shouted at the tense Narmi and Mirna.

“Don’t close your eyes! It seems like we all need to keep looking at this thing for it to stop! And striking the orb we pressed to activate it will destroy it!”

Narmi was startled by my cry.

“Don’t close our eyes? Uh, now that you said that, I feel like I really want to close them!”

I understood the feeling. I felt the same. It was then—

Swish—!

The statue holding the axe moved, aiming straight for Mirna’s neck.

“Unnie! Did you seriously rub your eyes? Didn’t you hear what Theo just said!?”

“But there’s dust in them! What else was I supposed to do!?”

This was a mess.

While we were in this situation, I wondered how Marmar and the others were doing on the other side. Hopefully, Professor Stella was keeping things under control over there.

No, now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

“Unnie, duck!”

Mirna ducked at Narmi’s shout.

The massive axe swung overhead, slicing through the air just above her hair. At the same time, Mirna unfolded her fan and struck the statue’s leg.

Clang!

There was a sound like metal hitting rock, while Mirna exclaimed, “It’s tough!”

“Unnie, we need to find its weak spot first!”

The twin sisters soon began fighting the statue together.

Their nimble movements, dodging the axe by mere inches while counterattacking, looked almost like a circus performance.

The option of not blinking even once was already out the window.

“Summon, Black Coffin!“

“Narmi, give me your sword!”

Had the two of them ever trained together before?

No, that couldn’t be the case. Watching them work together so seamlessly, I found myself momentarily lost in thought.

Then thinking I couldn’t just stand still, I began chanting a spell—

“It’s done!”

Crunch!

Mirna drove the sword into the orb near the statue’s navel. With that, the statue came to a complete stop before breaking apart into fragments of stone and crumbling to the ground.

Crash!

“Wow, Unnie, we did it!”

“Yeah, we did!”

Narmi raised her hands high in the air in celebration. Mirna followed suit, and the two of them clapped their hands together. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of emotion at the sight.

Sisters were sisters.

They may fight each other, but they join forces against external enemies.

━Yingyingyaing.

Just then—

Yingying, who was sitting on my head, flew to the remains of the shattered statue, picked something up. It then flew back to me, extending its find.

“A key?”

What it brought back was a key made of stone.

At first glance, it looked no different than a mere debris. But the distinct, strange pattern suggests it was a key. While I was studying it for a while, Mirna discovered something.

“There’s a hole in the pedestal where the statue was sitting. If we insert the key Sir Theo has, it might open up a path.”

“That’s probably it.”

I inserted the key into the hole. With a clunk and a loud creak, I could feel a heavy mechanism turn. Then, the pedestal suddenly broke.

Crash!

“Why did it break?”

I was briefly taken aback…

“Theo, look! There’s a hole under the pedestal!”

We found a staircase leading underground.

A dark and damp path.