I Reincarnated as a Noble Bastard, So I'm Seducing All the Villainess

Ever since I died, I've wondered if I could see the face of the Supreme Being who controls everything in this world, but I've only ended up getting screwed over in this reincarnation where things continue to stink for me. Right now, I'm literally seeing the face of the devil, wanting to put me on his lap while we watch hell burn.

Ah, pardon the word, it's not the devil, but Ragna, the Orc who can't decide whether to fling me across the room right now or strangle my neck right here. I know, it's a very difficult decision considering my perfect disguise, but what can I do besides swallow my tears? Should I push it? No, apparently, I'll die if this continues.

"Now, there is exactly what you wanted, Ragna!" Ysabelle intervenes, raising her voice. "By ancient Orcish customs, you are obliged to accept the challenge! The challenger cannot be harmed or suffer any disadvantage! I think you can imagine the consequences of being a coward under those terms, correct?"

Ragna clenches her teeth. The Orcs around, guards who were ready to draw their weapons, seem hesitant to take a step forward because of one woman's mere face filled with fury. Moreover, this is another side I've discovered about things: women can show much more powerful emotions than men, their murderous gaze is capable of turning you into stone, as I am right now.

Finally, my arm is released, with a shove leading me to Ysabelle's side, who holds my shoulders to keep me from falling.

"Fine, human! If you want to play dirty, so be it!"

Her foot slams into the ground, cracking the wooden plank underneath. I can only pray it's not my head beneath that foot, otherwise, pieces of brain will cover this room.

"By Orc terms, I have the right to choose the place and the time, and I say: here and this very instant! Consider yourself a new trophy for my collection, you are completely dead... Ah, and I'll add this! I want to change the terms of this duel, but my changes will be to favor this girl and also not to ruin my prize. How about it, Ysabelle?"

"State the terms first."

"Our combat will be limited to five punches. If either of us is knocked unconscious, the other wins."

"But that is absurd! It is more than obvious that Miss Daria couldn't withstand one of your punches!"

"That's why I'll add one more point: if she resists all my blows, she still wins."

I bite my tongue not to let out a dreadful curse word, because I'm also trying to contain a huge smile on my face. That's it! She firmly believes I'm not a man and that she will defeat me with sheer violence!

I nudge Ysabelle in the side, just to indicate that I accept. The stylist lets out a long sigh, her face does not fail to show excessive worry, but both of us know better than anyone that this is our chance to get out of here.

I may not have the slightest idea how Orc culture works or what that damn phrase means exactly, but for me, enduring five blows is a bargain. I'll never win in a frontal combat, so I prefer Ragna to keep deluding herself that she'll knock me out with the first punch and assault me afterward than simply having the disguise fall apart and dying by being split in half.

"That's enough, Ysabelle" I comment, putting my arm forward and somehow maintaining the feminine tone of voice. "I made my choice, and I refuse to accept anyone hitting my sister in such a manner."

"Hahahahah!" Ragna shows her tusks once more. "Well, well, your courage will run out shortly, princess..."

Ragna's first step makes the ground tremble, and I already feel my legs complaining.

Five punches, just five punches, I can take it! Duke Moonlight has given me worse beatings, this is going to be easy!

She lunges without hesitation, and the first one hits me right in the stomach.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Holy shit! How can this hurt more than when the Duke beat me to take home? My breath vanished instantly, and I had to double over, about to spit up my soul because of how hard the blow landed on me.

My vision blurs, I feel saliva instantly spill from my mouth, with my stomach churning to get all my organs back in place. It's okay, you haven't fallen yet. Your legs may be shaking, you may be about to collapse, but you're still here, Darius!

"Alright... alright... you took yours, now take mine..."

I raise my fist even without much strength and deliver my first punch to her jaw.

It's like punching a tree trunk blessed by some muscular spirit. I barely feel the impact bounce back, that's how hard she is. She doesn't react, doesn't even blink.

I'm fucked.

Ragna snarls a smile and rotates her shoulder.

The second punch hits my arm, and the impact travels all the way to my spine. I'm thrown a step to the side, spinning awkwardly, trying not to fall flat on my face. My shoulder is throbbing, my hand is tingling, and I'm seriously considering running away and living as a hermit.

Not yet... you have to hit back, or you're going to die, you damn retard!

I rush forward and hit her ribs. As a testament to my heroic perseverance, I get the feeling of nothing to disappoint me and make me want to close my eyes.

Maybe an ant bite would have made more of an impression. My fist is complaining more than her stomach is.

"Son of a..."

And Ragna delivers a brutal third punch, straight to the chest.

I feel everything inside me shift half a centimeter. Yes, that hurt like hell, but it's been hurting for a while now, so my emotional capacity to describe the feeling in a more direct way has been exhausted. You could say I've entered auto-pilot now.

The world around me darkens for half a second. I slump to my knees, panting like an asthmatic dog.

My chest is burning, my vision is doubled, with four hands spinning in my sight as I try to recover. Ysabelle screams something behind me, but I hear nothing but my own miserable groan.

"I... still... am not finished..."

I use the momentum of my own despair to thrust another punch into her abdomen. Ah, as expected, the Orc doesn't even twitch a muscle.

This wall of muscle must already be getting irritated by how persistent I am.

I look up, like a cockroach refusing to die after so many swats.

She watches me with a slight irritation, the kind that indicates she's going to paint the wall using my bones as paint and use my skull for decoration. So lovely...

That was three punches, and I'm already in a state that normally appears at the end of a fight, not the beginning.

Just two more, Darius, just two more. Just hold on for two more!

The fourth punch arrives without announcement. It could have come with a bouquet and a kiss, but no, I'm the one who gets screwed in these things, always.

She hits my stomach, and I feel my skin fold, my muscles scream, and something internal crack in a very unpleasant way. My entire body convulses, the impact throws me half a meter up, and sends me slamming my back against a wooden beam.

I try to raise my guard, breathe, or remember my own name, but even that is useless. Who am I and what was I even doing?

Don't pass out. Just one more.

"You're going to fall, princess" Ragna mocks, rotating her neck until it cracks.

I launch my fourth punch, a meager push of indignation against her chest. I don't even know if I hit her properly, my eyes are watering, my arm is already weak, and my fist must be crying from the pain.

The testament to my own resistance causes such strong irritation in Ragna that she sees no other choice but to raise her hand once more.

"Last one."

And then the fifth punch lands directly on my face.

The sensation is that my entire head was ripped off, sent for a quick ride on the astral plane, and forcibly returned. My consciousness fades, with me falling onto my back and keeping my mouth open in search of air, while my mind skates between life and death.

"And there it is! Hahaha! I didn't even need to force it! The human has fallen, just as bet!"

I don't really know what's going on, there's a lot of screaming around me, but I have no idea what they're saying. It's as if my eardrums have burst, and now I'm nothing more than a fish floating in the ocean.

But I come back. I come back because, if I don't come back, I die, simple as that.

I push off the ground, trembling, while my vision sways as if I were underwater.

I stand up, hunched over, with my vision red with blood and something dripping from my nose, mouth, maybe even my eyes. I don't even know what's happening anymore.

The only certainty I have is that I am still standing.

I have no idea what's going on, all I can see is Ragna, who half a second ago was celebrating victory with her arms raised. She turns to me with a look full of fear. I resisted your five punches, you son of a bitch...

Suddenly, the fear turns into rage. She takes a step forward. Wait, I won, why are you continuing? My legs barely obey any mental command. To think I fell for this trap with a cheating Orc, who is now going to finish destroying my pretty Daria face and scatter my skull across the room...

What a shitty life.

"Why won't you just die?!?"

I wish I knew. To console you, I'm about to go from bad to worse right now.

The air is cut by a dagger that crosses the space between us, coming from somewhere in the hall.

Ragna raises her hand in a superhuman reflex, and the blade stops exactly at the center of her forehead, caught between her fingers, so close to the skin that a thread of blood trickles down. She widens her eyes, while I only have the courage to turn my head slightly toward where the dagger came from.

Ah, damn it, my body is at its limit. Both legs melt under their own weight, with my red vision faltering even more, and I only see the ceiling light mixing with the environment, creating a kind of mirage.

There's a blurred shape amidst the shadows, sporting straight blonde hair and a crooked smile. Elizia...?