There was a certain disposition Lancel had noticed. Sothing about the situation refused to sit right with him.
"Soone’s been here..."
The Mother Silkbane had already been weakened to a noticeable extent, evident in its sluggish movents and lack of mobility.
Even its durability had dropped. Lancel noticed how easily his blade carved through its body as if it were softened flesh.
At the sa ti, its limbs were fresh, as though they had only just been regrown. That alone spoke a lot.
Silkbanes were known for their regenerative capabilities, but such signs usually ca after sustaining considerable damage.
And one certain fact about Silkbanes.
No matter how large a Silkbane grew, its movents never lost the nature of an arachnid.
After taking a mont to rest, Lancel slowly pushed himself back onto his feet.
The recent rise in his level and stats should have made a difference, and yet, even with that advantage, he knew it was not enough to bring down a Mother Silkbane on his own.
That thought alone made him pause.
The more he pieced everything together, the clearer the answer beca.
The creature’s weakened state and the signs of recent regeneration all pointed toward a single conclusion.
This was not a battle he had won by strength alone.
Soone had already been here.
They had fought the Mother Silkbane, crippled it to this extent, and for reasons unknown, left it alive before walking away.
Lancel approached the Silkbane, examining its body in detail. What he had initially overlooked soon beca impossible to ignore.
All across its surface were uneven protrusions. Strange bumps that distorted the creature’s form.
"Magic?"
However, he quickly dismissed the idea that it could have been his own doing. None of his magic should have left this kind of pattern.
It looked as if sothing had been forcefully driven into its body again and again, like blows from a hamr. But the jagged edges of the damage suggested sothing else.
"Earth magic?"
That would explain the rough, uneven formations that seed less like clean impact and more like sothing had been forced through it.
Still, there was another possibility that felt out of place yet oddly fitting.
A disease.
Now that he truly looked at it, the bumps resembled sothing like the bubonic plague, only without the presence of bacteria to justify it.
As Lancel continued his examination, every limb in his body stopped responding, as if sothing had seized control and cut him off from it entirely.
"Huh—"
Bang——!
The next instant, his body was slamd into the wall a distance away. The impact was imdiate and absolute. Dust and debris burst outward on contact, the force creating cracks along the surface as his back hit first.
"Cough! Cough...!"
Lancel coughed, blood spilling from his mouth. It did not take long for him to understand that his bones had been shattered. He knew what this was.
Telekinesis.
A basic technique every witch had in their arsenal.
"...You killed it."
The voice ca from ahead.
Lancel forced his head up, his vision still hazy as he tried to focus on the figure in the distance. It was nothing more than a silhouette.
But there was one thing he could make out.
A wide-brimd hat atop their head.
It was undoubtedly a witch.
"Ah... how could you do this? Do you have no remorse for such a cute little thing?"
Lancel’s mind stalled for a brief mont at those words.
Cute little thing? That behemoth? The sa creature that had slaughtered an entire party of twenty-four adventurers without leaving a single survivor?
The absurdity of it almost made him laugh, but the pain in his body kept him grounded.
"No. How could you even survive? I made sure the request was only for A-rank adventurers..."
"...."
The pieces fell into place without needing further thought.
This witch was the client.
The one who had sent them here in the first place.
"Oh, well. Guess I’ll just have to kill you myself."
"...!"
Lancel moved imdiately.
Ignoring the pain in his body, he forced his arm upward and shaped his fingers into a diamond.
"Frostnova!"
Crackle——!
Ice burst outward in a quick expansion, frost spreading across the ground as a dense mist swallowed the space between them. The sudden drop in temperature distorted the air, obscuring sight.
Using the cover, Lancel pushed forward and sprinted toward the opening he had co from.
"Oh?"
Before he could react, she was there.
The witch appeared inches from his face, hanging upside down in the air as if gravity held no aning to her at all. Her gaze was fixed on him with clear curiosity.
"That was magic, wasn’t it? Wait... you’re a man..."
"You crazy bitch!"
Lancel lashed out.
His dagger cut forward in a sharp arc, and at the sa ti, his free hand shot out toward her, mana igniting once more.
"Starstream!"
Beams of light erupted from his hand, firing continuously in a relentless barrage aid straight at her. The space between them was filled with blinding streaks.
But she was already gone.
———!
The attacks struck the surroundings instead, detonating against the cavern walls as small explosions echoed throughout the space.
Rock shattered under the force, and debris scattered in every direction, fragnts clattering across the ground as dust filled the air.
Lancel did not have the luxury to process any of it.
He wanted to see her face, to at least understand who or what he was dealing with, but that thought alone was already a mistake.
This witch had made her intent clear from the very beginning. She was not here to talk. She was here to kill him.
And in his current state, he had no way to fight back.
His body was already at its limit, barely holding itself together after that single telekinetic blow.
Even worse, his mana reserves had been drained far too quickly. Frostnova alone had consud nearly twenty percent, while Starstream had taken almost forty.
Whatever cost filled in the rest to complete each cast, he did not need to dwell on it now.
The result was the sa.
At this mont, there was nothing left in him to materialize another spell.
So Lancel jumped, dropping down through the opening.
"...!"
And yet, she was already there.
Mid-descent, the witch appeared right in front of him again. Lancel’s eyes widened, caught off guard by the sudden reappearance, but his body could not react.
"I knew you looked familiar. Assistant Professor Lancel."
"Huh?"
The words did not register at first.
But as his vision stabilized, he finally saw her properly. The details ca together one by one. Blue eyes, pink hair, and that sa indifferent look in the lecture room.
"i?"
It was i. Faust’s apprentice witch.
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