I Only Summon Villainesses

A world of pain hit me. I was pretty numb to it the first time, but the second time, with the brutal force that hit me in the chest, it felt like I had been rammed into by something with the might of a swinging tree trunk.

And the next moment, the world was spinning around me. My body was slamming down against several fronts, and I kept rolling.

For a couple of moments, I didn’t know what was going on. I couldn’t tell. I couldn’t stand, as I felt like an intense pain was ripping apart the tendons in my chest region. To add to that, I could hear the rhythm of my heart slowing down.

Breathing was difficult. Talking was an even more daunting task. But the most tormenting, most painful thing was the fact that I felt like some air had been trapped inside my lungs, and that hit had complicated things around that region. Not only could I not breathe, there was also a ball of air trapped in my lungs, begging to be let out.

I stayed on the ground there, curled up and struggling to breathe with several failed attempts, coughing each time with barely any breakthrough.

At the same time, the face I saw tormented me, making everything even harder for me to fight.

I remembered the numerous times I had seen Emma and her sister, Victoria. The poor girl was working diligently in order to afford her sister the opportunity to go to a proper school and study mechanical engineering because she said Emma used to love collecting scraps and building things.

And then Victoria was killed. Emma survived, though... and it was up to me to protect her and give her the kind of life that her sister wished for her. It was the least I could have done.

Yet... I failed.

I failed to protect her.

This was a truth. I could have blamed it on anyone. I could have blamed it on Nisha hurrying me, or that bastard Derek. It could have been anyone, but the truth was... it was up to me at that moment.

And even with how powerfully Kassie’s strength could have been utilized in such a situation, I chose to run.

Nisha and the rest could have been trying to save me. But I had been running before I came to Ealdrim.

I had been running since the day I lost my mother.

I... had been running...

And so when the time came to make a decision that needed me not to run, but instead to, at all costs, fight for one thing, running became such an easy option for me.

So, the truth, of course, was that I had been living with that guilt silently. I didn’t even like to think about Lira’s death and everyone at the Mercenary Guild because the moment I did, I would have to confront the fact that I let Emma go.

And that guilt was too heavy for a coward like me to bear, so I just easily avoided it in general.

But fuck it... Karma didn’t come to play.

A kick connected with my back and sent me skidding through the snow.

The good news was that the moment the kick hit, a sharp gasp tore out of my throat, and that caused the ball of air that was trapped to suddenly explode out with that gasp. Of course, the bad news was that now I was in pain again. All over my back.

My body crashed into the foot of a tree and stopped there.

”Oh? Look at this, still as miserable as ever.”

As I heard the voice, something snapped in me. And even though I was in a world of pain, I went numb to it.

Slowly, I raised myself, my gaze straight and grim.

”Kai.”

The bastard was standing before me, looking as annoyingly kind and handsome as ever. His brown hair had even taken a stylish turn; the sides were shaved into a clean fade, and honestly, I found myself almost being envious of how clean this bastard was.

Me, on the other hand, had had to go through a lot these past few weeks. It didn’t go easy on my face.

He studied me from up and down, and his smile almost dimmed.

”I see you have gone and hit the gym, almost looking like a proper warrior now. But it’s all for what? Just to lose at my hand all over again.”

I glanced down at myself and studied my raggedy self for a moment.

’Seriously, what’s wrong with everyone and finding me awesome? I have to start questioning their standards now.’

Well, I’ve sort of always known Kai’s standard was shit.

I eventually raised my head to meet his gaze, then I said to his face... with a smile.

”And you look like shit. God! Have you been eating nun shit and drinking priest pee? Goodness gracious, you reek!”

A dark frown slowly twisted away the smile on his face.

I jabbed my finger at the look on his face.

”There! That fits you better!”

He snarled.

”I’m finally going to get my debt after so many months. How long has it been, six? Seven months?”

”You mean since I beat the shit out of you and, instead of finishing you, left you to do the job of dying yourself? My fault, really. I expected that you would be able to do that one job well and die. But look at you, what a failure you are. You just had one freaking job.”

I glanced around, calculating quickly with my eyes.

”By the way, not like I miss him or anything, but by chance... is Derek here?”

Kai inhaled deeply and outstretched his hand.

”Do you have the time to worry about another person right now?”

Beneath him, a vast runic circle of golden light was shimmering to life.

I stared down at it with a small frown.

”Good old Sun King.”

I met Kai’s gaze again for the last time.

”For the last time, I think I ought to warn you. You will regret this.”

Kai grinned evilly.

”Damn you. Sun King, rip that bastard to shreds.”

His Summon, in all its glory, manifested and, without delay, descended on me like a hurricane of golden light.