Witch – Chapter 70 – The Two Witches (50)

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Lucia immediately grew wary of the figure that had suddenly blocked her path to the heretic.

Not only had this person willingly acted as a meat shield, taking Lucia’s sword strike meant for the heretic… but she also ignored Lucia entirely, comforting the heretic as if she were nothing. The aura of a witch radiated from her, and the stench was so foul that Lucia couldn’t help but frown.

A witch.

No one would recklessly step in like this unless they were a witch. Well, this worked out perfectly.

Not only had she saved herself the trouble of searching for the witch in Venetia, but if she could just detonate the aura embedded in the sword that had pierced the witch’s heart, even a witch wouldn’t escape serious injury.

Lucia, confident of her victory, focused on the aura within her sword.

But contrary to Lucia’s expectations, the aura didn’t explode. Instead, the silver aura that had coated her sword began to erode, turning a deep, bloody red.

“What? Something not going your way?”

Even if the witch were immortal, being stabbed through the heart should have caused some damage… Yet the witch only smirked at Lucia, as if mocking her.

For divine energy to be overwhelmed by dark magic…!

If the aura wouldn’t work, she’d just have to rely on brute force to cleave the witch in two. But the sword, now corrupted by the witch’s power, no longer obeyed Lucia and had completely turned a bloody red, exuding a vile curse.

If she held onto the sword any longer, Lucia herself might become tainted by the witch’s power.

Without hesitation, she discarded the sword and drew a spare one, aiming to strike the witch down. However, the bloody mana surged and exploded, forcing Lucia to create distance.

The witch’s pink hair shimmered under the moonlight, adding a mystical hue to her appearance.

The pink-haired witch.

This matched the information Lucia had obtained during a witch trial in a small village long ago.

She had scoured the forests but never found her. To think she’d reveal herself in Venetia…

The massive magical disturbance recently must have been this witch’s doing.

Lucia had been growing increasingly frustrated, dealing only with rampaging monsters instead of witches or heretics.

A thrill ran through her as she smiled with delight. The meaning of her life had appeared before her eyes.

“Witch, I’ve finally found you.”

She had never encountered a witch like this before.

Every witch Lucia had struck with her sword had begged for their lives.

But the witch before her, even with her heart pierced, only provoked Lucia’s competitive spirit, as if mocking her.

Even that single remark…

It felt like the witch was taunting her, laughing at her.

“She looks just like an angel when she sleeps. Who does she take after to be so beautiful?”

Estelle gently laid Josie, who had fallen into a deep sleep due to the spell, down and stroked her head.

Tear stains covered Josie’s face, and Estelle carefully wiped them away.

The sword embedded in her chest and the overexcited Heresy Inquisitor behind her were of no concern to Estelle.

She had almost lost Josie.

After emerging from Beryl’s mental landscape, a single butterfly had fluttered around Estelle.

It was a kind of distress signal she had created when she gifted Josie a hairpin.

Realizing Josie was in danger, Estelle had immediately used teleportation. She calmed her racing heart, thinking it had been the right decision.

Estelle couldn’t understand why the Heresy Inquisitor was here or why Josie had been in danger… but she knew exactly what she needed to do.

“Leo?”

“Y-yes…!”

Leo, who had been frozen stiff nearby, snapped out of his daze and responded.

Leo felt more tension from Estelle’s unusually gentle voice calling his name than he had when facing Lucia.

If she had scolded him for failing to protect Josie properly, he wouldn’t have been this nervous…

The hidden killing intent beneath her kindness, the predatory glint in her eyes, made Leo’s blood run cold.

“Can you carry Josie to her room? Stay by her side and watch over her, just in case.”

“Y-yes…! But, are you… okay?”

Leo glanced at the sword embedded in Estelle’s chest as he picked Josie up.

He didn’t think Estelle would lose to Lucia, but having experienced Lucia’s strike firsthand, he couldn’t help but worry about how much pain Estelle must be in.

“Can you hurry?”

“Y-yes…!”

At Estelle’s smile, Leo ran toward Venetia without looking back.

Hurry up.

Estelle sighed softly as she watched Leo’s retreating figure, feeling that even tearing him apart wouldn’t be enough.

She was certain that Josie’s involvement with the Heresy Inquisitor was entirely Leo’s fault.

As Estelle pulled the sword from her chest, blood gushed from the wound.

Just as the pain from being stabbed by the Triceratops had subsided, now her heart had been pierced.

Witches, being immortal by nature, could naturally heal their bodies, but divine energy slowed the process, so Estelle pulled a potion from her inventory.

“What do you think you’re doing…!”

As if refusing to let her heal in peace, the Heresy Inquisitor charged at her, radiating divine energy.

The figure she had seen in Leo’s mental landscape.

Wasn’t she the head of the Heresy Inquisitor? Her name was… Lucia, right?

As expected of the head of the Heresy Inquisitor, she seemed well-versed in how to deal with witches.

Witches were generally weak in close combat and vulnerable to divine energy. Even now, the hole in Estelle’s chest wasn’t healing and continued to bleed.

But that only applied to ordinary witches.

Estelle met Lucia’s gaze with a look of disdain.

As Lucia’s strike came straight at her, Estelle extended her hand and deployed five layers of magic circles.

Screeeeech…!

When Lucia’s sword clashed with Estelle’s magic circles, a scream-like sound echoed.

Three of the five layers were pierced, but the remaining two refused to break, instead surrounding Lucia with a cursed aura.

While witches were weak to divine energy,

divine energy was equally vulnerable to dark magic.

As Lucia struggled to break through the magic circles, Estelle leisurely drank her potion.

The wound healed visibly quickly, leaving no scar, and Lucia clicked her tongue in frustration.

“Tch…!”

Realizing that further exposure to dark magic would be dangerous, Lucia created distance and retreated.

“What a shame. A little more, and you might have broken through.”

“I’m not falling for your trickery…”

Lucia immediately knew Estelle’s words were a lie.

“My daughter owes you a debt. I’d like to repay it. Will you accept?”

“A witch has family? I’ll judge you and send the heretic back to your embrace.”

The sword in Estelle’s hand was now imbued with bloody mana.

The sword, which had once been adorned with a beautiful silver aura capable of cutting through all evil, now emitted a sinister energy, as if denying everything and cursing the world.

With clumsy movements, as if she had never held a sword before, the bloody mana shot straight toward Lucia.

Lucia instinctively knew that if she tried to block it, her body wouldn’t survive.

“I am the guardian of divine providence.”

Lucia drew a holy symbol and recited a prayer, akin to the laws of the Heresy Inquisitor.

Dodging to the left, Lucia charged at Estelle. Her Holy Eye glowed, and she increased her speed once more.

If Estelle was distracted by the attack, she wouldn’t be able to defend like before.

Every witch Lucia had faced had underestimated her, and that had been their downfall.

The pink-haired witch was no different.

‘Yes, laugh all you want. Be careless, over and over. In the end, you’ll beg for death.’

What Lucia had overlooked was that Estelle was filled with the deepest rage she had felt in over a century of life.

Just a few years ago, Josie had been playing pranks like poisoning tea, stubbornly refusing to let Leo live, and even rejecting her first request with a sassy attitude…

But…

‘Mom… can I call you that?’

The first time she heard the word “mom”, Estelle had been overwhelmed with emotion. It was sweeter and more enchanting than any love she had ever known.

Though Josie wasn’t her biological child, the feeling of being a mother was real.

Something thicker than blood connected Estelle and Josie’s hearts.

She would never let Josie be hurt again.

Overwhelmingly. Brutally.

Killing wouldn’t be enough.

Tearing her limbs apart, then feeding her curses and sending her as a gift to the Holy Kingdom would be fitting.

It was good that she had sent Leo to take Josie away.

She couldn’t show her child her cruel side.

“I promised Josie that nothing would worry her… but you ruined it all.”

Estelle discarded the sword, which was beginning to break under the strain, and summoned her Triceratops.

The broom’s tip glowed with bloody mana, and three horns extended.

Estelle didn’t wait for Lucia.

She charged at Lucia’s heart with the Triceratops, moving even faster.

Close combat was a fighting style Estelle also favored.

Silver and bloody lights clashed.

Estelle exchanged a few light blows, testing the waters.

Though she was mentally exhausted from dealing with Beryl’s situation, she wasn’t struggling against a single Heresy Inquisitor.

With the dream world dissolved, the wound in her abdomen and her depleted mana had fully recovered.

‘Arm? Leg? Which should I cut off first? How should I educate Leo? I’ll hear the situation first and decide later.’

As she casually deflected Lucia’s consecutive strikes, Estelle organized her thoughts.

“Do you have time to think about other things?”

“Pretty much so. You’re weak.”

By Estelle’s standards, dealing with one Heresy Inquisitor wasn’t difficult.

In Aria Chronicle, there were many beings stronger than Estelle, and she didn’t consider herself particularly strong, but the Heresy Inquisitor was far below her level.

After facing Beryl, who wielded overwhelming power, the Heresy Inquisitor’s sword felt like a joke.

As time passed, it was Lucia who grew anxious.

Despite continuously using the power of her Holy Eye, she hadn’t landed a single effective hit since the initial strike.

Dragging this out while her lifespan was being drained wasn’t ideal.

Lucia created distance and focused all her energy on her sword.

She would unleash a full-powered aura strike.

“You think you’re good at power struggles? That’s my specialty too.”

Seeing Lucia’s aura grow larger and more powerful, Estelle calmly extended her Triceratops.

“If you are truly without sin, you shall return to God’s embrace. Those who sin shall depart from them.”

Lucia recited the law, praying to her god for the power to defeat the witch.

As if her prayer had reached the heavens, her aura grew even larger.

“The witch trial begins!”

With Lucia’s shout, divine energy and dark magic collided.

A clash of power.

In the collision that distorted space and silenced all sound, it was Lucia who began to lose balance.

Crack…

“Ugh…!”

Her sword began to crack. Unlike before, there was no corruption—she was simply being overpowered.

If the difference with the apostate had been physical strength, this time it was purely a difference in the output of divine energy and dark magic.

“You know what? If you lose in a power struggle, there’s no way out.”

“I’ll return those words to you!”

Lucia’s Holy Eye flashed as she gathered divine energy to its limit. If it meant killing the witch, she was willing to sacrifice as much lifespan as necessary.

The silver aura grew stronger, pushing back Estelle’s attack.

I’m winning.

Lucia was certain of her victory and raised the corner of her mouth.

“I told you. If you lose in a power struggle, there’s no way out.”

“What…?”

“First, your arm.”

This isn’t the end?

Before Lucia could finish her thought, the Triceratops, now even larger, swallowed her aura.

The bloody mana roared as if devouring the world, surging forward.

I need to dodge.

Though her heart wasn’t pierced,

her left arm was swallowed by the bloody mana, disappearing without a trace.

The remnants of the curse began to eat away at Lucia’s body from the severed arm.

If she didn’t purify it with divine energy immediately, her body would be consumed by the curse, but she had no strength left.

“Where do you think you’re standing? How arrogant.”

“Guh…!”

Estelle kicked Lucia, who was still standing despite the blow.

Lucia, struck by the mana-infused attack, tumbled across the ground and landed in a distant rice paddy, struggling to get up.

She couldn’t breathe properly.

Her armor was crushed, her ribs broken and piercing her organs, causing her to vomit blood.

She had no more divine energy or weapons to fight with.

Lucia’s legs began to tremble, and the shaking spread throughout her body.

She took a step back as the witch slowly approached. Desperately, she tried to breathe, squeezing her lungs for air.

“Is this it? I’m a bit disappointed.”

“Ugh…! Kill me.”

‘You dare touch Josie with just this much power…?’

In Estelle’s eyes, Lucia was nothing more than a trembling mouse, crushed by overwhelming power.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Lucia’s refusal to beg for her life felt like her last shred of pride.

“Witches don’t like granting requests. You asked to be killed, so I’ll let you live.”

“What…?”

“I still haven’t repaid the debt my daughter owes you.”

‘Yes. If you dare touch Josie, you won’t die easily.’

Even if it’s a god. Estelle was a witch who would gladly raise her sword against a deity.

A sinister smile, unlike anything seen before, spread across Estelle’s lips.

“I’ll give you a choice. Return to your country with the curse and spread it like a plague. Or live the rest of your life as Josie’s footrest.”

“You call that a choice….”

“Don’t like either? Then how about becoming a breeding tool for the orcs without arms or legs? Sounds fun, right?”

Lucia spat at Estelle, who was now right in front of her.

The spit, mixed with blood, stained Estelle’s cheek as it dripped down. It was Lucia’s last act of defiance.

“Aren’t you afraid of divine judgment…? No matter who you are, if you defy the divine providence, you can’t escape God’s judgment.”

“You’re the head of the Heresy Inquisitor, yet… you really know nothing, do you?”

Estelle struggled to hold back her laughter at Lucia’s amusing joke.

Of course, the secrets of the world wouldn’t be revealed to the likes of the Heresy Inquisitor. They were nothing more than convenient tools.

“What’s so funny?”

“Have you heard of The Embryo?”

“The Embryo…?”

Lucia’s expression made it clear she had never heard of it.

See? You know nothing.

“Beneath the Holy Capital lies The Embryo. Go ask your superiors about it. The secret of divine energy. Even if you learn it, can you continue as the Heresy Inquisitor? You don’t even know who the real heretics are. Not that you’ll live to continue as the Heresy Inquisitor anyway.”

‘Hehehe.’ Estelle laughed as she swung her Triceratops.

She intended to cut off both legs and the remaining arm.

But Lucia’s body wasn’t severed.

Before the Triceratops could strike, a shower of divine energy stars rained down on Estelle.

“I told you. Let’s return to the Holy Capital, you damn woman.”

“Carté?”

Lucia felt a glimmer of hope at the voice of Vice Captain Carté, which shouldn’t have been audible here.

Praying it wasn’t a hallucination before death, she looked around and saw Carté, dressed in white robes, appearing with an irritated expression.

“A one-plus-one sale?”

“I don’t know what that means, but it’s a pleasure. I’m Carté. This damn woman here owes you a debt. May I take her with me?”

Estelle, unharmed, frowned at the sudden appearance of the man.

Carté… where had she heard that name before?

Estelle racked her brain, trying to recall.

In her past life, she had definitely seen it while playing Aria Chronicle…

“Carté…?”

“Tsk. This is why being a popular guy is so troublesome. Let’s meet again sometime.”

Carté used divine energy to obscure Estelle’s vision, preventing her from interfering,

and then tore a scroll that would allow them to return to the Holy Capital.