Chapter 181: The Witch Behind the Mask 8

Holy knights were the bane of mages.

Queen was well aware of this fact, often hearing from her father that she should avoid fighting holy knights whenever possible.

Of course, the power of holy knights had significantly waned in recent times with their dwindling numbers. Nevertheless, their forces could not be considered small by any means, so engaging their natural adversaries in needless combat would be foolish.

However…

This taken-for-granted reality changed after she became a witch.

And it began through a conversation with her mentor, Soul.

“What? Is such a thing even possible?”

“Of course. Not just me now, but even you could do it with some training. To be precise, as long as we operate within the Dragonian Empire, we must learn this.”

Soul spoke in a casual tone, but Queen looked at her incredulously.

“But magic effective against holy knights…I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Well, maybe not within your Holy Imperium. But this has been an established fact in the Dragonian Empire since its founding. You have a rough understanding of our empire’s history, right?”

“Yes…While I don’t know the details, I know it was founded by witches, warlocks, and mystical races who banded together after being persecuted and driven out by holy knights with the Turkic Empire’s support…”

“Right, and the part about being persecuted by holy knights. Do you know a bit more about the so-called witch hunts?”

“No, not really.”

While Queen had a general understanding of the Dragonian Empire’s founding, she didn’t know the specifics since it was a foreign nation’s history and she wasn’t particularly interested in such matters.

Sensing this, Soul explained in a solemn tone, unlike her casual demeanor earlier.

“These days, witches and warlocks have become powerful enough that no one dares provoke them. But back then, witches referred to mages who had seceded from the mainstream and quietly conducted research while living in seclusion in the mountains. Although they had some interaction, they essentially didn’t form factions or prepare for war. After all, individual witches were so powerful that ordinary people couldn’t even confront them.”

“True, any mage or witch above the intermediate level becomes a force beyond normal people’s capabilities. Just the Three Great Magics alone could obliterate an army.”

“Exactly. And because of that, witches and warlocks lacked the power to confront massive national forces. And…”

Soul’s expression soured slightly after saying that. Although this happened long before her birth, just recounting those events left a bitter taste.

“This ultimately…triggered the bloody catastrophe known as the witch hunts. Fearing their potential threat, the holy knights wiped out countless witches and warlocks overnight. Over 99% of the existing witches and warlocks at that time, nearly a thousand souls, were massacred. The elderly, even children – none were spared in that total extermination.”

“Um…”

Even though it didn’t directly involve her, Queen found the story quite cruel. Moreover, being a witch herself now, she couldn’t entirely distance herself from it.

‘So that’s why the Dragonian Empire historically never associated with the Church, despite being a major continental power…’

While the empire maintained diplomacy between nations, it had never forged any pacts with the Church – a predominant continental force. Underlying this was a deep resentment rooted in the near-extermination of their progenitors, the witches and warlocks.

“And that’s why witches in our Dragonian Empire learn magic to counter holy knights – or rather, their auras – once they reach a certain level. You’ll be no exception.”

“Ah…I see what you mean.”

Now a vast nation rather than just a faction, the Dragonian Empire nonetheless harbored an enduring resentment toward the Church’s forces.

An unwavering resolve to vanquish them given the opportunity, expressed through the tangible form of magic.

“There are two related spells. Both are highly effective, but for soul manipulators like me, this one is more useful, so you should learn it too.”

With those words, Soul cast a spell on the summoned ghost soldiers before her.

Watching her mentor, an expression of wonder and keen curiosity emerged on Queen’s face.

Regarding her disciple with a solemn smile, Soul spoke:

“A legacy of the 1st generation witch, Lady Eila Sloss. Watch and learn it well – to crush those vile holy knights’ skulls whenever, wherever.”

The masked mage approached Queen, raising her arm forward. In that instant, translucent forms began emerging from the ground, as if sprouting forth.

Unlike auras, these numbered around thirty entities exuding a murky, ominous presence.

Like ghostly apparitions, their considerable numbers caused Santana’s sister and the Bohemian soldiers behind to flinch slightly.

However, Nune and Tine, who would have to face these beings, regarded them with nonchalant disdain.

They didn’t understand what made this mage so confident in the current situation.

Yet Nune and Tine felt not the slightest concern.

‘Hmph, I don’t know what kind of magic that is, but any paltry spell is useless before our might.’

‘We even blocked that tremendous explosion earlier. No matter what tricks you employ, they’re futile before the divine aura’s power…’

With such casual arrogance, seeing the approaching ghosts, Nune and Tine immediately commanded their materialized aura-beasts.

“Go! Finish them off!”

“Tear those Bohemian bastards to shreds!”

“Kyaaaah!!”

“Khuoooh!!”

Following Nune and Tine’s orders, the aura constructs shaped like a dog and bear charged forward.

Although lacking the sheer physical force of mages’ attacks, their strength still exceeded that of actual beasts to some degree.

In other words, they could effortlessly maul and decapitate ordinary humans.

Moreover, their innate ability to nullify all magic made them the worst adversaries for mages.

And the same would apply to these ghostly soldiers formed of magical energy.

As the aura-beasts bared their fangs and claws toward what seemed like mere dummies, the masked figure uttered a single word:

“Ignite…”

In that instant, a bright yet dark radiance began swirling within the translucent ghosts’ bodies.

“!?”

“What…what is this?”

Nune and Tine felt a twinge of bewilderment at this sudden development.

Despite their bravado that no magic could threaten them, they couldn’t help but be taken aback by the enemies’ change.

‘But…it’ll be fine. Even if it’s magic, it’s useless before the aura…’

‘Utterly useless, right…?’

Reassuring themselves that the ghosts and mage would soon fall helplessly before their strikes, Nune and Tine then witnessed an unexpected sight:

“Huh?”

“What…what is this?”

Profound horror gripped their faces as realization dawned.

At the same time, a deep smile emerged beneath Queen’s mask.