Ch.193The Witch Who Will Destroy the World. (3)

The sky was still dark.

Aria, who had been slammed into the ground, lifted her eyelids while coughing up blood. The knights around her made all sorts of fuss, but she dismissed them with a wave of her hand.

“……It hurts like hell.”

Aria struggled to raise her body, which had been reduced to rags. Her entire body felt stiff and ached at the same time.

The fact that she ended up like this meant that Olivia had defeated the Imperial Princess.

And then, she must have gone to destroy the Demon Lord who appeared through the torn dimension.

“I suppose things are wrapping up now…?”

Tap.

Just then, light footsteps sounded from behind her.

Aria knew better than anyone the identity of this eerily fluctuating power.

Without turning around, Aria spoke.

“It’s alright. The one residing in this body now is not the Imperial Princess, but me.”

“……Tsk.”

Such an irreverent attitude, daring to click her tongue in front of a member of the imperial family.

The knights surrounding them widened their eyes, but Aria herself reacted as if it didn’t bother her at all.

“It’s been a while.”

She turned around with a tone as if greeting an old friend.

A woman stood there.

A woman exuding decadent beauty.

Aria spoke her name.

“The Great Witch Aurelia.”

“I’m a Spellcaster now, so call me Spellcaster.”

“Very well, Great Spellcaster. What brings you here?”

Aurelia frowned as she faced Aria’s characteristically fresh smile.

“Why ask when you already know?”

“Knowing roughly is not enough, hence my question. My, how is it that you haven’t changed one bit despite living for thousands of years? That one thing, if nothing else, is quite remarkable.”

Aurelia smirked at the high-level verbal jab.

The Imperial Princess certainly couldn’t have mimicked such a statement.

“Have you confirmed it?”

“More or less.”

Great Spellcaster Aurelia.

As she spread both hands, the two Dragon Lords bound by her spells appeared.

Crack…!

When Aurelia clenched her fists again, thick chains pressed down on their bodies. The pressure must have been considerable, as they couldn’t even twist their bodies, let alone make a sound.

Eryas, who painfully lifted his eyelids, froze when he saw Aria.

[Impe…rial…Princess…!]

“Yes. I am listening.”

[Do you think you’ll be safe after breaking your oath?]

Aria smiled quietly.

“Of course not.”

Snap…!

The sound of fingers snapping against each other.

In an instant, the spell binding Eryas disappeared.

Eryas, who fell to the floor, looked at Aria with bewildered eyes.

“I never break my oaths.”

[Then why! Why did you join hands with that damned spellcaster woman! You clearly promised to kill Olivia…!]

“…No need to rush.”

Aria closed her mouth for a moment. Her face was suppressing all kinds of emotions.

The atmosphere was so chilling that Eryas involuntarily flinched.

“Soon, it will happen as you wish.”

Aria said this as she placed her hand on Eryas’s forehead.

“Until then, just sleep. I have no intention of allowing you to hear the conversation that follows.”

With those words, a piercing shock struck Eryas’s mind. A massive dizziness swept over him.

[What…are you…doing…!]

“Don’t worry. I’ll wake you when the time comes.”

Eryas’s eyes gradually became hazy before closing completely. Watching this from the side, Aurelia made a snide remark.

“That bastard is truly despicable, isn’t he?”

“……”

“If I were Olivia, I would have killed him regardless of past connections. Why bother keeping alive those who are worse than beasts that don’t even know gratitude?”

Aria didn’t answer. She just quietly turned to the side.

[Why?]

Carthian blurted out without realizing it.

He couldn’t understand what they were talking about. They had forcibly detained him from the imperial army barracks and were now talking among themselves as if they had no interest in him.

[Why?]

As if they wanted him to hear.

He simply couldn’t understand the reason.

“It’s so you’ll remember later,” Aria said in a subdued voice.

“At the very least, you should know what wrongdoing you’ve committed, so you can constantly recall today and regret it.”

Regret? What on earth was there to regret? And what wrongdoing?

Carthian’s head tilted to the side, not understanding the meaning.

“……”

Aria’s gaze turned vicious.

She had expected him not to understand. If Carthian had possessed that level of understanding, he wouldn’t have ended up in this situation in the first place.

“Of course, Olivia wouldn’t even want this much… but I’m not as generous as she is, so I can’t bring myself to allow even that.”

At Aria’s words, Aurelia briefly met her gaze and slowly nodded.

Eventually, Aurelia took a talisman from her bosom and placed it on Carthian’s forehead.

[……!!]

Carthian’s eyes widened on the spot.

‘My memories…!’

A miracle implemented not through magic but through spellcraft. Like a flashback, the content of the conversation they just had flashed by and simultaneously disappeared from his memory.

The conversation they just had would probably resurface when he realized the ‘truth.’

Would he still be as proud then? Would he still be able to walk with his head held high?

‘Absolutely not.’

Aurelia removed the talisman. Carthian slowly closed his eyes and fell into sleep.

“…Let’s start preparing.”

Aria spoke in a sad voice. In the distance, the barrier created by Olivia was fading. At the same time, a distant memory from the past flashed by.

[Ask me for help.]

The first promise made with Olivia.

[I’ll help you reach the perfect ending you seek.]

A terrible taste filled her mouth.

*****

Tss tss tss tss…

The barrier created by Olivia was gradually fading.

Saintess Livga. She had faced the great demon Belphegor but ultimately achieved victory. During the five years when Olivia had disappeared, she had never skipped training in handling holy power, disciplined her mind every moment, and pushed herself relentlessly.

Her mind was hazy. Belphegor had struggled until the very end, toying with the bodies of the holy knights who had fought alongside her and corrupting their souls.

But in the end, she had won.

Using her holy spear as a staff, Livga slowly moved toward where Olivia had been.

Finally, she could meet her. She could meet Olivia, whom she had thought was dead. A dreamlike feeling welled up from deep within Livga’s chest.

“…Where is… sister?”

Her voice trembled. Her body felt heavy, as if she might collapse at any moment.

She couldn’t meet her sister in this state. She must be in poor condition too, and Livga couldn’t worry her.

‘Everything is fine.’

Olivia would be fine. The unusually dark color of her wings was only because the sunlight was obscured by dark clouds. Of course, that had to be the case.

‘She’ll be fine.’

The moment the barrier lifted, she would jump into Olivia’s arms. Sister! She would embrace her with a bright smile.

Livga composed herself and asked again.

“Lord Kiel?”

There was no answer. Only then did Livga notice Kiel’s condition, and her face hardened. Shattered fingernails. A vacant expression.

Livga’s heart sank at the shocking scene, so unimaginable for the usual Kiel.

Kiel Rothschild. He still hadn’t composed his emotions.

‘I should have protected her.’

But he hadn’t.

An immense self-reproach overwhelmed Kiel.

The moment he saw the crimson-black wings, he unconsciously thought she was a demon. Not just anyone, but Olivia. Although it was only for a moment, he couldn’t bear his self-loathing.

That was why he had been pushed away by Olivia’s light gesture.

“…Lord Kiel?”

“……”

Still no answer. Livga couldn’t just stand by and watch anymore.

She widened her eyes, waiting for Olivia to appear from beyond the barrier. She was ready to run to her at any moment.

She could see Olivia’s back standing in the center. Her clothes were half in tatters, and her hair, which had always maintained its luster, was covered in blood. But there were no black wings.

“…Sister.”

Thank goodness. Thank goodness indeed. Livga squeezed out a trembling voice.

She straightened her steps, hiding her staggering body. She adjusted her clothes. Her worried sister would scold her for such things first.

“Sister!”

Livga embraced Olivia’s back.

…It was warm. She was alive.

Livga’s eyes trembled. Somehow suppressing her tear ducts that felt ready to burst, she continued.

“Sister, I… I’m here. I’ve come…”

Her eyes met Olivia’s.

“…Si…ster…”

Black.

Livga collapsed on the spot, covering her mouth with both hands.

As a Saintess, she could tell immediately. The energy constituting Olivia’s body was not normal.

‘Demonic energy.’

This wasn’t simply a case of demonic energy residing in her body. It was darker and more intense than even the great demon Belphegor she had just destroyed.

“No, no… nooooo…”

Her head hurt. Livga tried to move her trembling hands to cover her ears. She closed her eyes.

‘This is a dream.’

It had to be a dream.

This wasn’t the reunion she wanted.

Livga bit her teeth as she wept bitterly.

At that moment, a familiar sensation on the crown of her head.

Tap.

At the warm touch, Livga’s tear-filled eyes became blank.

“…Ah.”

A warmth she had longed for endlessly.

The trembling of the hand stroking her head was transmitted directly to Livga.

“I’m sorry, sister.”

Livga’s vision blurred.