l’s eyes locked with the skeletal fires within the skull head, frowning slightly.
As expected, the lich kept its head bowed in respect to Nyrel. The cackling echoes of flas drumd in l’s ears like a warning.
After considering a mont, a flicker of ’confusion’ crossed l’s eyes, as she asked with a relaxed tone. "Witches? Wasn’t the Witch of Pride just defeated?"
The flas wavered within the skull and flared briefly, as if trying to sense if l’s words were a lie.
As ’it’ observed l’s faint, unreadable smile, it continued. "It must have served quite a surprise to you, Miss Sakura."
"Hehe. It is quite a lot, actually."
l reevaluated the information in her head.
Nyrel, the Witch’s Cult Leader and Pride’s familiar, was deeply distrustful but obsessed with manipulating human powers to free her mistress - and to either kill or control the Witches.
Soone as cautious and distant as her wouldn’t reveal the cult’s purpose so quickly, even to a stranger who might be a ’valued asset.
In other words...
l’s lips curled as she taunted openly. "Can we drop the theatrics for now? I hate being tested."
The Skull’s fire dimd a little, as if in contemplation.
l relaxed her shoulders, briefly glancing at the Lich before approaching the counter.
She pulled the stool from underneath, the wooden legs scraping against the soft ground, before casually plopping down on the seat.
A gleam crossed her expression as she hugged her staff, staring casually at the Skull.
"So, Miss Cult Leader. Why did you trap here? And what do you an by Witches? I thought there was only a Witch of Pride."
l steeled her mind for the coming information war.
She needed to test how much Nyrel knew, and she presud it was the sa for Nyrel as well, based on her mysterious attitude just now.
Within the starlight, the skull’s gaze remained on the lounge, unbothered by l’s casualness.
Amusent flickered across l’s gaze, but a cold chill ran down her spine as the purple flas flickered sideways, snapping to et her eyes.
The skull whispered again, in a husky and graceful tone. "What a surprise. I do believe you’re either a lucky blessed or a dangerous enigma."
The flas shrank slightly, as if the skull was squinting its eyes. "Do you believe yourself invisible, l Sakura?"
"Frankly, no." l shook her head, though her smile didn’t falter. "But since I couldn’t figure out how to leave this place, I might as well keep my attitude until my last mont."
As l lied as natural as she breathed, the flas arced through the air, flickering with an almost pleased rhythm.
Nyrel’s voice cut in, laced with mocking amusent. "Even clowns wouldn’t stop their show until it reaches its end. You deserve my sincere respect, l Sakura."
The skull’s hollow eyes seed to darken as it monologued, as if convinced l was painfully aware of her captivity.
"Let’s see... About ten years ago, I embarked on a journey to gather humanities, driven by a , one that spoke of other Witches beyond this realm."
l noticed the flas flicker slightly, as if offended by an unseen insult, before it muttered:
"Other Witches do exist... unfortunately. The may be full of holes, but accurate considering who spoke of it."
Tilting her head, l brushed away a lock of hair before she asked, like a friend in a bar listening to a friend’s complaint. "So what did you do afterwards?"
"Simple."
The flas twirled, mimicking the motion of rolling its eyes. "I poisoned one of them. Or who I believe was one of them myself, as the indicated."
Leia. Lila’s sister...
l’s breath shuddered, her jaw clenching to prevent the Skull from seeing through her act.
Yet the Skull chuckled, unbothered. "You must have figured it out. Yes. In your Heima Village, I was the one who poisoned your companion’s sister, disguised as a wild rabbit."
Its tone dropped slightly. "It was a sha. I was aiming for her right eye at the ti, yet she was lucky to have dodged my poison-coated paw."
A flash of anger, masked by surprise, passed briefly over l’s face before she quickly masked it with a casual, unreadable smile.
The Skull’s fla danced in delight. "You were crueler than I imagined. Is it because your friend’s sister might be the Witch of Envy? Or perhaps desperation to hide your anger?"
A test, again. l reminded herself as she mumbled. "How should I answer? That you were wrong about both? Or that I’m so shocked I don’t know what to feel now?"
"Oh? Ho ho... I appreciate your honesty...."
The flas swirled like a playful temptation, casting blinking shadows across her face as if to tease. "As expected, the Second Holder of magic is no fool. I’m quite pleased to find you so formidable."
"Well, my honesty is all a performance to you, right? Like a clown?"
l retorted with a wide grin, her elbow propped on the counter as her cheek rested against her hand. "So is there no way out? Unless I follow you out wherever you want to be?"
Her golden eyes glanced over to her System Panel before returning to the swirling Skull Flas.
A low thrum echoed in the silence, before it muttered again. "I must confess. I only plan ever to have this conversation with you, because I have already seen you as the most valuable asset this Cult will ever welco."
The flas flickered again, before stating. "I dislike the inability to manipulate humans absolutely. I have my doubts when I first received reports from my subordinates, but with your appearance, things can finally change for ."
... not the cult, huh?
With a clatter, l turned as the Lich straightened up and offered her a hand.
"Join , l Sakura." The Skull continued. "The Witches must be controlled. I’ll help you grow your Mind-bending Magic... so you can beco the first Archon-ranked Mind-bender to control all the Witches of Calamity."
l’s golden eyes glimred as she pieced the threads of information back together.
It was clear now: the earlier trial had tested her ability, this conversation, her competence, and how much she already knew.
Nyrel wouldn’t trust her fully, not yet. But l could tell one thing with certainty: the believed she herself held the upper hand.
As expected of an arrogance, stemming from Pride, one of the four familiars.
Still, a few questions remained.
"But how do you plan on getting out?" l asked, her tone level.
Even if l couldn’t quite understand, let’s presu, for now, that a Mind-bender is rare and valuable enough for Nyrel to reveal herself.
The ultimate questioned lied not here, but in her Partner.
What was her partner’s goal in setting the bait? Was it really for Nyrel herself?
"Oh, don’t worry." The skull cackled again. "Conversing with you is my primary goal. And while I cannot pull you out of this realm directly, I have a chance to invite you to us while humiliating that damn Devil."
Referring to Saintess as the Devil as a ...ah, the irony.
l mocked inside as she stood from the stool, fingers clenching around her staff as her eyes flickered towards the Lich’s outstretched hand.
"Humiliating?" l echoed, tilting her head slightly. "You must an the Saintess... right?"
Further probing, subtle, deliberate. But then, the skull, perhaps blurred by arrogance or emotion, slipped.
"Exactly," it blurted out. "Imagine her own soldiers slaughtering each other in her own summons. How pitiful would that be?"
The words hung in the air like poison, too eager, too revealing.
’Ah...’
l almost humd as her eyes flickered towards the System panel. ’So there are so spies onboard, huh? So that’s what you’re planning.’
l recalled distinctly how the Saintess ntioned the Royal Armies were outside her influence, which then gave way to the Cult’s possible intrusion.
Though, would it really slip the Emperor’s attention if that were to occur? How curious.
Before she could figure it out more, her Partner praised her.
[ Good on you to figure it out on your own, l! ]
’But why let the final boss do all the talking? You could’ve told yourself!’
l fiddled with her staff strapped to her back, freezing as she stared at the Lich’s outstretched hand hanging awkwardly in the air.
[ Well, I need Nyrel to be fully convinced she was the one in control. ]
[ I know you’re good at acting, but it’s crucial to keep you in the dark. Nyrel must get so full of Pride that she won’t see how everything’s unraveling. ]
’How ominous.’
l sighed as she glanced behind the Lich, a crack in the air appearing, thin and cracked, as though reality itself was being slashed through.
"Well."
She put on a solemn voice, as the Lich’s eyes shivered slightly.
"Not today, Miss Nyrel."
.
In a charged silence, she summoned her flying broom and grasped its wood, soaring toward the wall.
Crack!
Reality split.
From the fracture in the , a figure leapt, graceful and blazing with authority. Her rainbow-colored eyes locked onto the Lich with unwavering intent.
Without a word, she clenched her fist - and drove it forward.
The blow struck the Lich’s skull dead-on. Bone cracked with a snap as the skeleton’s jaw unclenched, the skull whipping backward before slamming against the counter’s edge.
It spun once, almost comically, before rolling off the other side, a rattling thud echoing in its wake.
The figure landed gracefully, gazing at the grinning l who sat casually on her broom.
With a relieved sigh, Samantha exhaled. "Glad you’re safe, l."
l gave a thumbs-up to the adult. Her promise to protect her student remained intact.
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