I, The Villainess, Will Seduce All The Heroines Instead-Chapter 178: The Trial (35)

The distortion settled, and the floor beneath Verena’s boots shifted with a faint grind of stone over stone. The doorway dissolved behind them, leaving her, Beatrice, and Saphira in what could only be described as an astral amphitheater. The circular space stretched wide, tiered rows of jagged crystalline seats spiraling upward into darkness, as though they stood inside the hollowed ribcage of some ancient, long-dead star beast.

Above them, constellations twisted unnaturally—familiar patterns rearranged into unfamiliar, fragmented sigils. It set Verena’s teeth on edge. Nothing about this space felt steady. Even the air buzzed with a low frequency, a hum of celestial magic so dense it practically pressed against her skin.

Beatrice whistled, low and impressed. "Trial Two’s really going for the dramatics, huh?"

Verena didn’t answer. Her eyes had already found the centerpiece of the arena—the colossal stone dial embedded into the floor, etched with all twelve Zodiac sigils. And standing squarely in the center, waiting, was their next trial.

It wasn’t a beast this time. It was a person.

A tall, imposing figure clad in segmented armor that gleamed with silver light, their face obscured behind an intricate helm carved to resemble a lion’s snarling maw. The Zodiac of Leo—the trial’s projection of it, at least—radiated authority and raw, oppressive presence. Their arms were folded across their chest, and golden threads of magic snaked along their form like molten veins.

Saphira hissed quietly. That’s not a standard projection. That’s a combat-focused manifestation. This won’t be an illusion puzzle or endurance challenge. It’s a direct confrontation.

"Great," Verena muttered, already reaching for the weave lines of her mimicry construct. The faint shimmer of borrowed constellations coalesced at her fingertips. She wasn’t fully recovered from the last fusion, but there was no backing down now.

Beatrice, to her credit, cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders with the air of someone getting ready for a bar brawl rather than a divine trial. "You want me to soften them up first, or...?"

"I’ll draw their attention," Verena decided, already moving into position. "See if you can disrupt the arena glyphs. We’ve seen this before—the floor feeds them power."

Beatrice’s grin widened. "On it."

The armored figure didn’t wait. As soon as Verena crossed the midpoint of the amphitheater, the Leo construct lifted a hand—and with a guttural hum, a wave of golden flame exploded outward, rushing toward them like a solar flare given sentience.

Verena dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the burning shockwave. Heat licked at her cloak, and behind her, Beatrice’s barrier of condensed light snapped into place just in time to shield herself.

"Definitely not pulling punches," Beatrice called out.

Focus, Saphira urged. The mimicry threads—stabilize them through my channeling pattern, or you’ll fizzle out mid-cast.

Verena clenched her teeth, adjusting the resonance of her weave. The borrowed constellation of Aries flickered into alignment—a dangerous choice given Leo’s fire affinity, but aggression met aggression. Her own spell flared to life, threads coiling into the shape of spectral horns as she charged forward.

The Leo construct met her in kind, crossing the distance with terrifying speed. Their gauntleted fist swung in a brutal arc, but Verena ducked low, retaliating with her mimicry-enhanced strike aimed for the knee joint.

The impact reverberated up her arm. It wasn’t enough to stagger them, but it opened a window—just long enough for Beatrice to hurl a sphere of blinding light directly into the construct’s helm.

The golden flames around the Leo projection flared wildly in irritation, and the figure’s head snapped toward Beatrice. Verena didn’t waste the opportunity. She wove another burst of mimicry, this time laced with Saphira’s astrological patterns—threads shifting into the sinuous form of a serpent, striking with pinpoint precision at the glyphs beneath the construct’s feet.

The etched symbols cracked, briefly disrupting the steady glow beneath the arena.

The Leo construct stumbled.

"Nice!" Beatrice whooped, already preparing another barrage of light projectiles.

But the trial wasn’t about to let them off easy. With a roar that echoed like molten metal grinding, the construct planted both fists into the floor. The entire arena shuddered—and from the cracked glyphs, lines of molten gold erupted, snaking outward in jagged paths like a starburst.

Verena’s eyes widened. "Move!"

The floor fractured. Jagged platforms began to rise and tilt, the amphitheater shifting into an unstable, uneven battlefield.

"Cheating bastard," Verena hissed, narrowly jumping onto a rising ledge.

Saphira’s voice hummed in her head again. Keep applying pressure. You break their footing, you win this. You hesitate, we’re cosmic toast.

The reminder fueled her resolve. Even as the arena buckled and burned beneath them, Verena’s eyes remained locked on their opponent. Her pulse thundered in her ears—but beneath it, steadier now, was the rhythm of her own growing power.

No more holding back.

Not when everyone else was finally catching up.

Not when the Trials demanded everything.

With a determined grin, Verena launched herself back into the fight.

Verena’s boots skidded across the unstable stone as the arena convulsed beneath her. The once-perfect amphitheater now resembled a fractured celestial puzzle, with jagged platforms suspended at crooked angles, thin threads of molten gold arcing between them like veins of liquid fire. Somewhere behind her, Beatrice whooped as she leapt across the gaps, light magic bursting from her palms like fireworks.

"Honestly, this is kind of fun!" Beatrice shouted, dodging another eruption of golden flame.

"Define fun!" Verena barked back, narrowly avoiding a collapsing ledge. Her mimicry threads pulsed faintly around her arms, weaving together like ethereal silk. The borrowed constellation of Aries still burned along her weave, enhancing her speed and aggression—but the strain was building fast. She wasn’t sure how long she could sustain it without burning herself out.

Saphira, coiled like a spectral band along her wrist, hissed in warning. The construct’s stabilizing. You’ve only got seconds before they launch another offensive.

"I’m aware," Verena muttered, eyes darting across the battlefield.

The Leo construct loomed at the center of the chaos, unshaken by the crumbling platforms beneath its feet. Golden energy rippled along its armored form, the snarl of the lion-shaped helm catching the firelight with an eerie gleam. Every movement of the construct sent ripples of authority through the space—as if the arena itself bowed to its presence.

But Verena had seen the cracks.

They’d weakened the glyphs beneath the construct. Its footing wasn’t as stable as it pretended.

"Beatrice!" she called, weaving another burst of mimicry threads into her palm. "Distraction, now!"

Beatrice didn’t need to be told twice. With a gleeful cackle, she launched herself off a tilted platform, conjuring a cascade of dazzling light projectiles that exploded in brilliant bursts around the Leo construct. The armored figure flinched, lifting an arm to shield itself as the blasts peppered its stance.

Verena seized the opportunity.

Channeling every ounce of precision, she poured her mimicry threads into the fractured glyphs beneath the construct. The glowing lines of magic trembled, warped—and then cracked entirely as her serpentine mimicry pattern unraveled them like unwinding stitches.

The construct faltered.

The ground beneath it collapsed.

With a roar of frustration that echoed like grinding metal, the Leo projection plummeted into the molten chasm now gaping at the arena’s center.

Verena barely had time to brace before the entire amphitheater trembled violently. A shockwave of astral energy burst from the center, sending debris flying and platforms tilting even further.

The trial wasn’t over—but the advantage was theirs now.

Finish it, Saphira urged, her voice low and steady.

Verena’s eyes narrowed. With practiced efficiency, she restructured her mimicry threads, weaving them into a focused burst of force. The spectral pattern of Aries blazed to life, coiling around her like a crimson halo.

She leapt, launching herself across the fractured platforms toward the collapsing center.

The Leo construct, half-buried in the molten pit, struggled to rise. Its golden flames sputtered, its helm cracked along the jawline—but its presence still radiated challenge. Even wounded, it refused to yield.

But Verena wasn’t planning to give it a choice.

She landed hard on the platform’s edge, driving her mimicry-enhanced strike straight into the construct’s exposed helm. The spectral force burst outward, shattering the lion’s snarl into fragments of golden light.

For a moment, everything went still.

Then the entire arena dissolved into a cascade of shimmering constellations, the fractured platforms evaporating like stardust on the wind. The oppressive heat faded, replaced by the cool, humming presence of astral magic.

Trial Two was over.

Beatrice landed beside her, wiping sweat from her brow. "Not bad, m’lady," she teased, nudging Verena with her elbow. "Didn’t even break a limb this time."

Verena snorted, the tension finally bleeding from her shoulders. "Don’t jinx it."

As the last fragments of the arena faded, a new doorway appeared ahead—carved from radiant stone, marked with the next trial’s symbol.

Saphira coiled tighter along Verena’s wrist, her voice quieter now. We’re getting closer. But so is everyone else. You can feel it, can’t you? The threads are tightening.

Verena’s smirk was faint but determined. "Good. Let them tighten."

Because this time, she wasn’t falling behind.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com