Memoirs of Your Local Small-time Villainess-Chapter 299 - Vail

Scarlett’s eyes locked on Vail, her mind racing with questions. This woman wasn’t supposed to be part of this Memory. So how did she appear here? And what was the deal with those rifts that seemed to follow behind her?

Arlene stood motionless across from Vail, tension thick in the air. Vail tilted her head, studying Arlene like a predator sizing up prey. “You’re still injured,” she remarked, tone flat. “Disappointing.” She stepped forward, and with that single movement, the entire glade seemed to tremble beneath her as though the earth itself recoiled. “But it doesn’t matter. Face me.”

In a blink, Vail vanished and reappeared a short distance from Arlene. Scarlett’s eyes struggled to track the movement, and, frankly, she wasn’t sure it was possible. Despite that, Arlene wasn’t caught off guard, as she immediately unleashed a series of precise, fiery explosions that erupted around Vail — controlled, deadly, far beyond the rage-fueled attacks she’d used only moments earlier. Flames twisted into searing arcs, converging on Vail and igniting the ground in their wake. Scarlett doubted even her strongest defences and resistances could block those flames.

Yet Vail walked through the inferno entirely unscathed. Her hand shot towards Arlene’s throat, but a flaming serpent-like barrier twisted between them, pulling at Vail’s arm. The delay was fleeting, mere fractions of a second, but Arlene was already in motion, her hands tracing intricate patterns. A blazing sphere of molten energy formed, expanding rapidly, its glow illuminating the shadowed glade.

The fiery orb consumed both Vail and Arlene, its brilliance momentarily freezing the scene in stark relief. For a heartbeat, the world seemed still. Then the sphere exploded outward, a wave of heat and flame tearing through the glade and leaving a scorched path in its wake. When the smoke cleared, Arlene stood where she had been, while the sphere’s fire continued dozens of meters in front of her. There, it began to morph, twisting and stretching as it grew into the form of a towering elemental made entirely of roaring flames.

Underneath it was Vail’s half-obscured figure. The elemental raised its colossal arms and brought them down like a hammer. Vail lifted one arm to block, and the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the area. In a sharp, fluid motion, she raised her other arm and punched through the elemental’s midsection, scattering its flames with a thunderous crack. The elemental’s form quickly began to reconstitute, but before it could do so entirely, Vail was behind it. Her hand sliced through the air like a claw, her movements rending space itself, and the elemental’s fire fragmented into disarray.

Arlene launched a barrage of attacks — fiery spears that charred the earth, explosive blasts that cratered the ground, and whirling vortexes of molten flame. The relentless onslaught of spells shrouded Vail in a blazing purgatory, the sheer power of Arlene’s magic causing the air to sizzle with heat.

Scarlett could only watch in careful silence, witnessing the clash between these two. Unlike when she’d first arrived in this world and couldn’t tell one spell from another, she could actually grasp the magnitude of what Arlene was doing here. Vail was effectively immune to any evanescent-type magic, and Arlene had to be aware of this, which is why she was forced to rely entirely on manifest magic and pyrokinesis — both notoriously difficult and draining to wield for normal mages. Yet Arlene was pushing herself, casting in rapid succession, even after having expended herself in her previous fight.

But against Vail, that might not be enough.

As the flames died down, Vail emerged unscathed from the center of a blackened pit, regarding Arlene. Behind her, the remnants of the fire elemental struggled to reform again, but a casual swipe of the woman’s hand split it in two. The elemental dissipated entirely this time, and the distant treeline broke and shattered as if struck by an invisible force.

For a single heartbeat, the entire Memory flickered. Scarlett squinted as she spotted more tiny white rifts spreading across the ground and nearby buildings, some opening into ominous black nothingness rather than the white void she’d seen before. Was Vail’s power tearing the Memory itself apart? How was that even possible?

The ground quaked, and cries rang out as Scarlett realised Vail’s attack had ripped through parts of Freymeadow’s stone wall and the outskirts of its houses. The villagers who hadn’t already done so scrambled to distance themselves from the battle, and many gave up on their desperate attempts to extinguish the flames devouring their homes.

“You put up more of a fight before,” Vail’s voice carried, tinged with irritation. Scarlett refocused on her just in time to see Vail reappear before Arlene, met by another barrage of fire spells.

The battle continued, with Arlene summoning another fire elemental, its large form acting as a bulwark between her and Vail. This time, Vail showed no patience. She swung her arm in a wide arc that sliced through the elemental and unleashed a shockwave that sent Arlene back. The earth shuddered violently, and the rifts trailing Vail’s steps—white and black alike—spread like cracks in shattered glass.

Scarlett clenched her fists. What was her role even supposed to be in this?

Arlene, though visibly hurt, thankfully managed to stand, her hands already weaving new spells. Vail, seemingly prepared to push her advantage, suddenly paused. A frown creased the woman’s face as she glanced down at her left arm. There, a faint white slit snaked along her limb like a jagged scar.

Was that...a rift? On her?

Vail’s eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, she grabbed her left arm with her right hand and tore it clean off. Scarlett’s breath almost hitched. There was no cry, no reaction, as if the severed limb was wholly insignificant. Even Arlene hesitated at the sight, visibly stunned.

Vail discarded her arm like refuse, and to Scarlett’s surprise, the wound barely bled, as though sheer force of will kept it contained. Vail slammed her foot into the ground, and the Memory trembled once more. The white rifts around her halted their advance, overtaken by the black ones.

“They dare…” Vail’s voice was low, dangerous, laden with a weight that made Scarlett acutely aware of the threat this woman truly posed. She couldn’t look away, struggling to figure out the situation. How was the woman doing all of this? Was this really the kind of power Vail had? Or was something else at work?

“What are you?” Arlene demanded, echoing Scarlett’s thoughts. “...How are you doing this?”

Vail’s gaze shifted back to Arlene, and the question seemed to irritate her. “I introduced myself the last time,” she said, her tone clipped. Then, after a pause, “...But forget that. This place—” she gestured vaguely around, “—thought it could reduce me to an inferior copy. Unacceptable.” She took a deliberate step forward, her voice hardening. “I wanted to finish our fight, but I won’t let this stand.”

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Scarlett’s eyebrows shot up. Vail wasn’t just aware she was a reconstruction within a Memory; she was rebelling against it.

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It was insane to think the Memory had created something that could do this to it.

Suddenly, Vail’s head snapped towards Scarlett, her eyes locking onto her with a piercing intensity. A cold chill crawled down Scarlett’s spine, though outwardly, she kept still.

“You...” Vail said. Then her figure blurred, and she stood within a meter of Scarlett. Instinctively, Scarlett activated her [Garment of Form], vanishing and reappearing deeper into the village, her gear materialising at her command. Yet she knew, even armed and prepared, that it was pointless against Vail. Vail, when she was serious, was an endgame opponent, and the power gap between them was almost insurmountable. Scarlett could practically feel in her bones that victory was out of reach.

For the briefest of moments, Vail seemed amused by Scarlett’s quick escape, but her severe expression returned as she began moving again, slower this time. With every step she took, the space around her warped and fragmented more and more, and soon, shards of reality were shattering and reassembling behind her. The rifts twisted and pulsed, distorting the world as terrified villagers stared on, some appearing trapped within fractured slices of existence.

“You look like that girl,” Vail said, her voice cold. “Are you the one responsible? Do you think you have the strength to take my name? I’ll see that for myself.”

Vail disappeared again, and then she was directly in front of Scarlett. Before she could strike, however, the air between them split apart, revealing a realm of endless flames and ash-choked skies. From the tear, Arlene emerged, wielding a dagger forged from molten lava, frozen in time, its hilt encrusted with dragon-like scales. Veins of glowing red pulsed through the blade, alive with the heat of a thousand fires.

The [Eternal Flameweaver’s Athame].

Scarlett barely had time to be surprised by Arlene’s arrival before the two women were swallowed by the smoldering tear, which sealed shut behind them. For a few seconds, the chaos seemed to quiet, though the village still burned, and the villagers fled deeper into its remains. Then, with a violent eruption of red-white light and fire, another tear opened near the village’s entrance. Arlene was thrown out, visibly bleeding, and Vail emerged moments later.

Vail’s once-violet hair had turned a dull silver, the same shade as the strange scales that now covered much of her lower face, and there was a more pronounced presence to her.

Arlene struggled to her feet, one hand pressed to her side, the other gripping the [Eternal Flameweaver’s Athame]. Vail raised her remaining arm and swiped towards Arlene. The motion itself looked relaxed, but the world succumbed and bent under its force. Arlene surrounded herself in a barrier of blazing flames, but it barely held, and she was hurled back.

Scarlett winced as something cracked near her, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t Arlene. The Memory was splintering further and further.

Despite taking a blow, Arlene retaliated, with numerous white-hot flames surrounding Vail and burning with an intensity that instantly ignited everything nearby. For the first time, Vail seemed forced to acknowledge the attack, taking a step back as the searing heat pressed against her from all sides.

A scowl marred her face. She lashed out again, sending another imperceptible wave of force towards Arlene. In response, Arlene raised her dagger, summoning a brilliant shield of pure, fiery energy to block the attack. The shield collapsed under the pressure, shattering with a deafening sound as though it had physical form. Arlene stumbled but stood firm, conjuring another wave of fire in response. The battle raged on, each blow more powerful than most things Scarlett had ever seen, destabilising the memory further.

Scarlett’s gaze flicked to the rifts around her, where the black ones were spreading relentlessly. Unlike the white rifts, which felt like the work of the Anomalous One, these black ones felt cold, indifferent — like the emptiness between realms.

If they overtook the Memory, what would happen to her? Was there anything she could do to stop it? Her eyes scanned the burning village. Crumbling buildings, panicked villagers, and rifts overtaking everything — there were almost no safe places left. The Memory was unraveling.

Her attention snapped back to the battle. Arlene was still trying to stand her ground against Vail, who seemed almost invincible. Then Vail’s gaze shifted back to Scarlett, a destructive gleam in her eyes. She turned towards her and took one deliberate step, but before the distance between them could fully disappear, Arlene intervened once more. A flaming portal tore through the air as the woman appeared in front of Scarlett, blood seeping from her side and her body trembling, yet she didn’t back down.

Scarlett stared at her back. Why was this Arlene fighting so hard to protect her? She felt she hadn’t done anything to deserve it, or even to help.

Vail paused in front of Arlene, regarding the woman. Even with one arm missing and countless attacks endured, she showed no signs of slowing down. “Give up,” she said, speaking the words like a command to Arlene. “Nothing you do matters.”

Arlene stayed silent. She turned slightly, her gaze meeting Scarlett’s. There was no trace of the anger, hesitation, turmoil, or even resignation that the woman had shown before, nor of the ghosts that haunted her in the future. Her voice, soft but firm, broke the brief silence. “Amy… Thank you. I hope I can leave things to you, for now.”

Then, without giving Scarlett a chance to respond, Arlene faced Vail once more. She raised the [Eternal Flameweaver’s Athame], and flames roared to life around her, spiraling into the air. The flames coalesced into the shape of a dragon, its molten scales glowing with an intensity that distorted the nearby space yet didn’t reach Scarlett. The creature let out a deep, rumbling growl as it coiled protectively around Arlene, its smoldering eyes fixed on Vail.

The dragon released a fiery breath, and Vail met the attack head-on. The forces collided with devastating impact, and the Memory groaned as if on its deathbed, its edges fraying like an old tapestry. Entire sections of what had been Freymeadow vanished into the spreading rifts, and Scarlett felt the ground beneath her tremble violently as the battle reached a fever pitch.

The two combatants were locked in their clash, and soon, the only space remaining was the battlefield itself, surrounded by a chaotic void of rifts fighting for dominance. The black rifts in particular widened with every blow Vail threw, and were beginning to win.

Eventually, Arlene faltered. With a final, desperate push, her dragon unleashed a torrent of flame that engulfed everything but Scarlett. The firestorm even seemed to burn the very oxygen around them. Yet somehow, Vail emerged from it unbroken, though parts of her skin did darken and crack under the strain. Arlene collapsed to her knees, her dragon fading into embers, her magic utterly spent.

Vail strode through the dissipating flames, her silver hair and scaled face glinting in the eerie light. Her cold, merciless eyes focused on Arlene.

Every instinct screamed at Scarlett to run, but she didn’t listen to those. She took a tentative step forward, raising her hand. She had to act. Even without a clear plan, she had to do something.

Casting caution aside, drawing on every ounce of her mana, she conjured a raging bombardment of elemental fury. Fire and water collided in a chaotic whirl, surrounding Vail in an onslaught meant only to destroy. The attacks tore through the air, but Vail didn’t flinch. She merely looked at Scarlett.

“This ends now,” the woman declared.

Scarlett met her gaze, mustering a determined frown despite it all. Her eyes darted to the endless black rifts spreading out from Vail. Desperation sharpened into focus.

“...I concur,” she replied slowly. “But it should not be you who ends it. That is my right alone.”

She could only hope this would work as she suspected, since failure would leave her with very few options. The [Crown of Flame’s Benediction] atop her head flared to life, wreathed in flames, as she channeled all her mana to perform a single feat on the same level as those she’d witnessed Arlene perform. Vail began to move, but as if anticipating Scarlett’s plan, Arlene stabbed the [Eternal Flameweaver’s Athame] into the earth, summoning one final wall of searing fire that halted Vail just long enough for Scarlett to finish her magic.

Countless Aqua Mines materialised, far more than Scarlett had ever conjured before. They formed a shimmering, intricate web, locking onto the black rifts as if guided by instinct. The mines hovered for barely a split second, glowing with fiery-red light reflected in the dark cracks.

Then, all at once, they detonated. Waves of water and flame rippled outward in a storm of destruction, tearing through the black rifts. Just like the white rift Scarlett had destroyed before, the cascading energy forced the black rifts to collapse inward, retreating into themselves, and with them, what little remained of the Memory around them cracked.

And silence followed.