The pathway created by the witch.
It felt like I was crossing a river that divided the living from the dead as I stepped beyond it.
And the mont I passed through the path, a landscape resembling the underworld unfolded before .
If death had a color, it would surely be black.
Then what should I call this place, where even the sky, the ground, and everything standing around were all completely black, if not the underworld?
The sky was so hazy with fog-like magic that even the sun floating above was barely visible, while the ground was completely imbued with magic, giving it a lifeless appearance.
And there were trees towering high, densely packed all around.
No, those blackened and charred remnants that were once trees ominously hung their leafless branches over , as if to declare that there was only death here.
It was a place where, for an ordinary person, stepping in would surely an succumbing to magic poisoning and starting to fall apart, so I braced myself for the painful end that would soon co.
However, ti passed, and the expected pain did not co.
Rather, what I felt was not pain, but…
“How’s your body feeling right now?”
As I wore a peculiar expression, I heard the voice of the witch behind .
Through the shadows cast by her hood, she asked, her eyes glimring.
“It doesn’t seem bad? Isn’t it refreshing? Doesn’t it feel like sothing stuffy has disappeared?”
“……”
I did not bother to answer her question.
To be honest, I was more inclined towards not being able to respond.
Because she was right.
Right now, I was puzzled by this inexplicable refreshing feeling.
I felt much more energetic than usual.
There was a buoyant sensation all over , as if I could do sothing.
Of course, even so, I wasn’t in the mood to respond, so I shot her a glare in silence. The witch chuckled and murmured.
“Hehe, your expression shows that I hit the nail on the head. It is indeed refreshing, isn’t it? I just knew it. Being locked in a place like that would be stifling. I really don’t know how you endured that for so long. I suppose you were in a state where it wouldn’t be strange to collapse at any mont.”
The witch calmly said that and sat down in front of , observing with a smiling face.
She spoke as if she knew sothing about .
…I thought she had just kidnapped on a whim, but it seed that was not the case.
“What exactly was your purpose in bringing here? Were you not planning to kill ?”
When I asked that, the witch burst into laughter as though she had heard sothing amusing.
“What? Ha ha, kill you? ? I found sothing so interesting after a long ti, there’s no way I’m going to waste it on sothing like that. Since you’re asking about my purpose, you seem to think I brought you here without any thought, but you’re mistaken.”
The witch stretched out her finger and pointed at .
“My purpose was, from the very beginning, just you.”
…She had been targeting from the start?
But it was hard to understand her previous actions if I were truly her objective.
Earlier, she had ntioned to Jessie that she would kill .
Besides, if she was trying to kidnap just , wouldn’t it have been simpler to just take without all this commotion?
At that mont, the witch opened her mouth.
“Oh, so that’s what you were worried about? Everything I did earlier was all an act. Well, since it seems you have so questions, I’ll answer them.”
And with an air of course, she replied.
“What I said about killing you was a lie. That human seed like they’d stop if I said that, and it would keep him from interfering with our conversation. As I ntioned earlier, I had no intention of killing anyone myself. My preference is watching shows unfold on the scripts I write, and then I enjoy it when they die.”
As for the doubts I had?
“The reason for causing such a commotion was that I needed you to join voluntarily for so reason. So, I planned a crisis situation and prepared demonic beasts. Ha ha, I never expected it would resolve so quickly. Truthfully, I was hoping to enjoy watching the fearful expressions of those humans before taking you away, but there were far more stronger humans than I anticipated, which made rush things.”
It was as if she could read my thoughts.
“So, have your questions been sowhat clarified?”
The witch said with a broad smile.
I felt a chill.
Did this witch possess a power to read thoughts?
At that mont, the witch burst into laughter again.
“Ha ha, look at your expression. Don’t be scared. I don’t actually have a power to read thoughts. I just once worked in a theater, and I picked up so skills from observing humans then. Just by looking at their faces, I can roughly tell what kind of tendencies and thoughts they have. Even if I don’t understand why they think that way, it’s pretty obvious they’re simple beings.”
The witch replied in that manner, grinning at .
…Honestly, I might rather prefer if she had superpowers.
I was trying to maintain my expression, but facing soone who could read my expressions and see right through my mind was quite stressful.
No matter how tightly I kept my mouth shut, it seed she would read my thoughts freely and continue the conversation.
So, I gave up on remaining silent and asked her about the thing that had been bothering since earlier.
“…The reason you targeted is that I have a connection to witches, right?”
With so many people around, the only reason I could think of for her picking out was that.
She seed to know about , perhaps she heard about from the lazy witch I had seen before.
In response, the witch nodded, as if affirming my deduction.
“Correct. I heard about you from Sloth. There’s an intriguing fellow among your kind. Ah, but seeing you in person has far exceeded my expectations! Ah, I never thought sothing like this could happen. No matter how often even witches have tis before they realized their own nature, you seem much more human than a witch from what I observed and spoke to.”
“…I’m not a witch, I’m a human. But what on earth are you trying to do, bringing to this place? You said you didn’t intend to kill .”
I questioned the loquacious witch, who even answered questions I hadn’t asked, with irritation.
At that, the witch let out laughter as if she had heard sothing funny.
“Ha ha, a human! Yes, that could still be the case. But don’t worry; I have no plans for you in particular. My goal is rely to observe. I’ve already arranged the inciting event, so from now on, I’ll just watch. It seems the ti is almost right anyway.”
“The ti? What do you an by that…”
Just as I was about to vent my annoyance at her incomprehensible response, my eyes t those of the witch, who was still wearing her hood.
Her eyes were filled with an inexplicable sense of anticipation.
With a curious gaze like that of a child, she asked .
“How’s your body feeling right now?”
At that mont,
Thump, a sensation of my heart beating loudly carried through , and a strange heat flowed through my entire body.
[Burn.]
The refreshing and euphoric feeling I had sensed earlier suddenly morphed into excruciating pain.
The flas that started from within felt like they were burning my entire body.
I couldn’t scream, rolling on the ground.
I could sense the witch watching from above as I writhed on the ground.
“Oh, ha ha, it’s finally begun. Ah, I wanted to see this. I’m so lucky to witness such a scene. You know? Even if you’re still closer to being human than a witch, you’re incomplete. Though incomplete, you’re still waiting for your body to beco sothing more.”
It was scorching, so hot, unbearable.
Pain, pain, pain,
And a fulfillnt beyond that.
It made my head feel light.
“But the incomplete always desires to beco complete. Even if you don’t wish for it, your unfinished body has always been waiting for this. Do you know how much energy it takes for a cocoon to transform into a butterfly? Your body is the sa. It has been waiting for the power to complete itself, drawing together sufficient magic.”
[I’m going to burn it.]
I felt sothing within lting away.
What had been lodged in my head, chest, abdon, legs, and arms lted away looking to converge again into sothing that would replace the source of life.
Reconstruction rather than the decay of the body from magic poisoning.
To beco sothing other than human.
I instinctively grasped that if this finished, there would be no turning back.
“If your body becos a witch, will your mind remain human? Ah, sothing like that is naturally bound to pique your curiosity.”
The voice I had desperately suppressed flowed over in my mind.
[Once more, I will burn everything away.]
At that mont, the surrounding landscape felt all too familiar.
[It was the forest I had previously burned to the ground.]
No, I never did that,
[It was the forest I had burned to the ground.]
I sensed the witch’s aura before .
[Ah, witch. Yes, I have yet to complete my revenge.]
[Revenge, I will burn it all away.]
[The remnants made of black steel caught my eye.]
Jessie’s creation.
[The last remaining piece was there.]
Stop…
[Taking that and resurrecting.]
[This ti for revenge.]
[To return the pain I have endured.]
[The witch, this world.]
[Everything, without exception, everything.]
[I will burn it all away.]
“Scarlet!!!!”
…I heard soone’s voice.
I felt like I had heard a voice desperately calling the na Scarlet sowhere.
…Ah, that was Yoon Si-woo’s voice.
…Who was Yoon Si-woo again?
Yoon Si-woo was a friend of Scarlet Evande.
My, precious friend.
…Ah, I see.
What a relief.
I was still Scarlet Evande.
“Eh, I didn’t expect an intruder to co this far… Huh, it looks like you’ve just barely stopped at the edge of danger. How unfortunate, if only you had had a little more ti, you could have completely changed.”
[■■■■■■■■■■!!!!]
“…Oh no, I’ve dragged those nuisances along with too. It can’t be helped. Stopping here may even give so hopes for the future. Perhaps I’ll be going now.”
…The mont the witch’s presence vanished, I felt soone scoop up.
“Scarlet! Are you okay? Are you hurt!?”
“Yoon Si-woo! If you’ve rescued , run quickly! There’s no more ti to delay!”
“What about Captain Martina?!”
“Cough, is that important right now? I’m fine, so just hurry and escape to where the city is!”
…My head was spinning.
As I slowly opened my eyes to the shouting voices around , I saw a gigantic firebird unleashing a stream of blinding flas from its mouth.
In a scene so terrifying, Martina was sohow holding off the rampaging flas behind a barrier of magic.
Her mouth appeared to be full of traces of blood.
It was clear to anyone that she was about to die.
Could it be that she had co to save ?
Even knowing that she would be in danger.
Yoon Si-woo and Martina were truly good people.
They were people who should not die because of .
“Quickly!!!!!”
“…Urgh, I’m sorry!”
As Yoon Si-woo turned his back and ran with a expression that looked like he was about to cry, a loud scream reverberated from behind us.
“Ugh, this guy is just ignoring …! Yoon Si-woo, that way! Be careful!”
[■■■■■■■■■■!!!!]
With a loud scream, I felt the heat of the flas coming from behind .
…It’s noisy, the one that needs to stop is you.
Pushing against Yoon Si-woo’s back, I braced myself against the incoming flas.
“?! Scarlet!!”
With Yoon Si-woo’s shout of astonishnt, flas hit my body directly.
It was a little hot but bearable.
Among the flas, I glared at the firebird entwined within the flas.
“…Go away.”
The firebird stared at for a mont before slowly soaring into the sky with a low shriek.
…With that mory, everything before turned pitch black.
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