Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Chapter 38- Catastrophe(2)
The plot has shifted somehow. The beast that was supposed to attack the students today was supposed to be an A-rank silver-horned rhino. Rhea would have to fight the beast being the third strongest of the class and someone who feels responsible for the safety of her classmate. And after a lot of struggle and a few flashbacks, she would have defeated the rhino.

Then what happened so suddenly for this Illusion Monkey, which was an S-rank to appear all of a sudden?

‘Did Valerie’s presence change something?’ There is always the concept of the butterfly effect, and there is a saying that the world always tries to balance out forces to keep things in check.

In this world as well, the stronger a warrior becomes, the better the beasts would adapt and evolve.

As such, it would not be a far-fetched theory to say that the presence of an S-rank entity, Valerie, invited this disaster since an A-rank would have been a few swings of Valerie’s spears, away from its demise.

“It’s breaking…” Austin muttered, and in the next instance he found himself getting embraced

Valerie didn’t waste time before carrying her Lord and leaping through the forest to reach a safe distance.

Her priority lies in keeping Austin safe, then only she could focus on defeating the monster.

However, as she anticipated, how far she went she couldn’t find herself reaching anywhere.

Heaving a sigh, she paused, “It has already expanded its illusion.” Austin stated as he realized that although she jumped quite away, they still were a few meters away from the Monkey who was still inside the ice cage.

Valerie asked, “Can you do me a favor and remain behind me? Please?” The pleading in her gaze explained how much she was worried for him.

However, “Don’t treat me like your weakness, Val. I won’t slow you down so just fight to your heart’s content.”

Valerie was rendered momentarily speechless….was she being a bit too protective? Did it hurt his feelings? Agh, she is an idiot.

Turning her attention back to the Monkey, Violette said, “Back me up, my Lord; I might need your assistance soon.”

Austin smiled, “Don’t worry, I got your back.”

The ice cracked and instantly, the Monkey jumped out of the prison, its hulking from heaving with rage to be contained within the prison.

The Illusion Monkey stood tall, its twisted body rippling with unnatural strength. Its dark, matted fur shimmered faintly, as though it were not fully real, blending into the air around it like a heatwave.

Its glowing red eyes burned with malice, locking onto its prey with unsettling intelligence. A long, sinuous tail coiled and uncoiled, each movement brimming with tension, like a predator waiting to strike.

But the most horrifying part was its face—a grotesque mockery of human features, stretched into an eerie, distorted grin that radiated malice. As it moved, its form seemed to blur and shift, creating fleeting, ghostly replicas that vanished as quickly as they appeared, making it impossible to track.

Valerie’s eyes glowed. She knew the weakness of this thing and that is its tail. Once you sever it, the Monkey would lose its vector and would be easy to hunt.

Her spear glimmered with a deathly illumination as she held it behind her back, and with her left hand raised, she gestured for him to come.

The Monkey growled before it slammed its balled fist on the ground, making a dent in the surface before it lunged into action.

Just as it launched forward, figure of the monkey blurred, and in the next instance, there were three replicas of the beast.

Austin’s eyes widened as he couldn’t discern which was the real one. The movie’s logic of tracing the shadow also didn’t work since all three of them had the same dark shadow.

Valerie’s legs tensed as she kept her eyes fixed on her target. She didn’t budge from her place until the beast was a spear length away from her before she planted the butt of her Shard on the ground and sent a small shockwave toward the incoming monkeys, making all three of them flicker.

Valerie smirked before she simply stabbed her spear above her head—erasing all the illusions as the beast was caught amidst his attempt to hurt the prey.

However, Valerie failed to stab it; rather, the monkey grabbed her spear and leaped back, trying to snatch the Shard from her.

Valerie narrowed her eyes and summoned the Shiverfall in her other hand; twirling on her feet, she swung the spear with death precision, trying to beside the monkey’s neck.

The Illusion Monkey growled, its crimson eyes blazing under the harsh sunlight as it lunged at Valerie. She braced herself, her Shiverfall gleaming like ice in the noonday sun, and met its charge with a vicious upward slash. The spear’s edge bit into the Monkey’s shoulder, tearing through fur and muscle, but the beast roared and struck back.

Its clawed hand raked across her ribs, ripping through her leather armor and drawing blood.

Austin gritted his teeth but he couldn’t find any opening to support his beloved.

Valerie clenched her fist and leaped back, hurling her spear with deadly precision.

The Illusion Monkey snarled and reached out to catch it, but the moment Shiverfall touched its hand, it dissolved into mist. Frost exploded over the beast’s arm, encasing it in thick ice.

“Gruooogh!” The Monkey roared, thrashing against the numbing cold, but it didn’t notice Valerie above.

Using a sturdy branch as her springboard, she launched herself toward her prey with terrifying speed. The branch snapped under the force of her leap, shards of wood scattering as she descended like a thunderbolt, her eyes locked on the beast’s exposed flank.

Cocking her fist, Valerie’s muscles tensed like coiled steel before she drove her punch into the Monkey’s forehead with devastating force.

CRACK!

The sound of bone fracturing echoed like thunder as the colossal beast—ten feet tall—was lifted off its feet and hurled through the air.

BOOOOOOOM!

It slammed into the ground with earth-shattering force, creating a crater as the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the forest. Dust and debris exploded outward, silencing everything in its wake.

Austin watched, breathless, as his fiancée stood above the destruction, her fist still clenched, her expression cold and unyielding.

‘Man…she is so cool.’

———-**——–

A/N:- If you are wondering if Austin is always going to remain on the sidelines, then no, Austin is the main character, so surely he will grow. Just give him some time. Drop a comment.