Ch.150The Great Witch, Aurelia. (2)

# Level 100.

A realm permitted only to those who have reached the ‘pinnacle’ of a certain field.

When it comes to handling cold and lightning, no one on the continent surpasses Olivia. That’s why she stands at the pinnacle.

If the White Dragon Lord were more skilled than Olivia at handling cold, Olivia would have remained at level 99.

A position allowed to only one person.

That’s why level 100 is special.

It’s the same reason Asmodeus remains at level 99. Because the Demon Lord is more skilled at handling demonic energy than her.

‘…This energy.’

That’s why she could recognize it immediately.

The pinnacle of sorcery.

Thump… thump. The seemingly endless swamp trembled. Olivia quickly spread her magical power around to resist the sorcerous energy converging from all directions.

The Serial Murderer, uncharacteristically serious, wiped his smile away and drew out his scythe.

“…How did your seniors block this?”

“With death, they blocked it.”

“This isn’t something that can be blocked by simply risking death.”

Olivia created a barrier. Whenever the ominous purple sorcerous energy tried to seep through the barrier, Olivia had to pour in more magical power to drive it away.

This is why she hates sorcerers.

It would have been better to fight ‘The Great Witch’ Aurelia instead. She had faced witches hundreds of times before.

But now, Olivia wasn’t facing ‘The Great Witch’ Aurelia, but ‘The Great Sorcerer’ Aurelia.

And she had significantly less experience dealing with sorcerers.

Kuuuung…!

A heavy vibration resonated from the ceiling of the barrier. As she slowly raised her head.

Gooooo…!

A massive foot, whose end couldn’t be seen, was stomping on the barrier.

An illusion? She wanted to believe it was an illusion. But the heavy weight pressing on the barrier told her that this ‘foot’ was no illusion.

“G-Grandmaster.”

Rockpa, perched on the Serial Murderer’s shoulder, spoke with a trembling voice. Still, it was better than before. Perhaps being a sorcerer, he seemed affected by the full moon.

“Call me Grandmaster.”

“Yes, Grandmaster. I have something to tell you.”

“Don’t ask, just speak. I’m busy.”

Olivia gritted her teeth and raised her palm toward the sky. It’s not giving way. Is this not enough? As cold energy overlaid the edge of the barrier, thick ice spikes sprouted like a hedgehog, covering the barrier.

Graaaah…!

The giant let out a scream.

“I’ve been your master’s disciple for over 30 years, but even 30 years ago, master wasn’t normal. Occasionally, she would have mental breakdowns and go berserk.”

Olivia wasn’t looking at Rockpa. The enraged giant was delivering a fierce kick.

Kuuuung…!

Rockpa decided to continue speaking.

“Master always said that only the Great Witch of the North could cure this curse.”

“…Keuup, what curse is that?!”

“The curse of remembering past iterations.”

Pause.

Olivia’s head slowly turned toward Rockpa.

“Master didn’t use the term ‘past life.’ She called them iterations. She said that inheriting memories from a previous life once makes it a past life, but inheriting them two, three, or dozens of times blurs the boundary between past and present lives to an imperceptible degree.”

Kwajijijik!

Intense lightning struck the giant’s leg. An ear-splitting howl resonated.

Olivia used thunderclouds to push away the fog that had accumulated everywhere. As the sky cleared, the giant’s full form was finally revealed.

“Uh, uhh…”

The Serial Murderer tilted his head back as far as possible. But even then, he couldn’t see the upper body.

“Olivia, that thing doesn’t have anything above the pelvis?”

“Because it’s a giant… keuup, with only the lower body!”

Fortunately, it was a sorcery she knew about. The Deficient Giant, Zodiac.

An ancient giant that can be summoned at the extreme of sorcery.

This confirmed it. The Great Witch Aurelia’s level was the same as hers.

Crack, she bit down on her teeth as if they might break.

“So what’s this method you’re talking about?”

Rockpa nodded and continued.

“She said only the Grandmaster would know the method.”

“Damn it!”

Olivia glared at Rockpa with resentful eyes. All this time she had been holding out to hear the solution, only to find out he didn’t know.

Or more precisely.

‘How am I supposed to know that?’

Olivia bit down on her teeth again.

“So, the curse you told me about five, no, six years ago wasn’t mine, but Aurelia’s?”

“That’s unlikely. Just as a mage loses their magical power if they break a mana oath, a sorcerer loses all sorcerous energy if they make a false prophecy.”

That’s why sorcerers have a habit of speaking as vaguely as possible.

For fear of being judged as false.

Instead of speaking further, Olivia gave a bitter smile.

‘So I have a curse too, after all.’

And Aurelia as well.

I need to meet her first.

“Hey.”

The Serial Murderer turned his head at Olivia’s call. He knew he was the only one Olivia addressed as “hey.”

The Serial Murderer nodded with a bright smile.

Before Olivia could say anything, he darted outside the barrier on his own.

He gripped his scythe, imbued with a dark red aura. Olivia’s lightning guided where it should go.

Gooooo!

One of Zodiac’s legs moved toward the Serial Murderer.

The Serial Murderer ran toward the foot that was rushing to crush him, with a cheerful smile.

“Ahah! This is much faster!”

Bzzzzt! Olivia’s lightning provided tremendous acceleration. The scythe, having absorbed the demonic energy of two archdemons, swelled enormously. With a slashing strike, Zodiac’s toes were severed.

Graaaah…!

Olivia felt the crushing pressure ease. It was thanks to Zodiac’s attention being diverted to the Serial Murderer.

This bought her time to deploy a grand spell.

[Using transcendent magic, ‘Staff of Antiquity’.]

A distant winter enveloped the swamp.

Olivia’s form disappeared. Zodiac immediately detected Olivia. Though it had neither eyes nor ears, the ancient power of sorcery made it possible.

Souls poured down from the sky.

They became Zodiac’s eyes, assisting it.

Tukwaaang!

Zodiac leaped upward. Because Olivia was in the sky.

Zodiac instantly reached Olivia’s height. No, it was now even higher in the sky. A massive shadow blocked out the world.

‘…Ha.’

Olivia twisted her lips into a smile.

She could dodge if she wanted to, but if she did, the Serial Murderer below would die.

A giant with that much mass falling from this height would be nothing short of a catastrophe.

‘So that’s why it only summoned the lower body.’

This was the plan from the beginning.

The falling Zodiac began to burn around its edges. The sight resembled a meteor.

Olivia thought of the Great Witch who must be somewhere nearby.

A grand sorcery of this scale wouldn’t leave even its caster unharmed. Of course, if she escaped before it fell, that would be a different story, but that wouldn’t be possible in the isolated dimension of the Moon’s Magical Realm.

Olivia descended to the ground and gripped the Staff of Antiquity tightly.

‘…Can I block that?’

Olivia’s strength was in attack. Her defense wasn’t bad, but it was significantly inferior compared to her offensive magic.

Then there was no choice. As always, she had to fight fire with fire.

[Using ancient magic, ‘Reverse Lightning’.]

With a crackling sound, thunderclouds sank to the ground.

It wasn’t about defying natural law. It was simply about inverting common sense.

Changing the direction in which lightning falls.

From the ground, to the sky.

The thunderclouds spread around quickly grew in size. Is there enough time? It’s close. At most, 5 seconds until Zodiac falls.

Olivia pushed more magical power into the Staff of Antiquity. Only after pushing it to the point where it slightly strained her heart could she complete the preparations.

Kuwaaaaa!

“O-Olivia…? Do you really need to block that?”

Olivia didn’t respond to the Serial Murderer’s question. Logically, it would be right not to block it. Avoiding it wouldn’t be difficult either. She could simply escape to the sky beyond the explosion’s reach.

But.

‘If Aurelia has no intention of avoiding it.’

Aurelia is currently out of her mind. The very fact that she summoned such a giant to use as a meteor was evidence that she wasn’t in her right mind.

‘If Aurelia dies, I die too.’

Until the Demon Lord appears, she can’t allow even one of the fifteen to die.

Zodiac fell to right in front of her. The closer the overwhelming giant body came, the more violent the air vibrations became.

“Trust me.”

Fwaaak!

The world was engulfed in light.