Witch – Chapter 64 – The Two Witches (44)

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“I… I’m scared of Beryl. I tried to resist until you arrived, Lady Estelle, but I was no match for her. I was terrified… terrified that I’d be devoured, that I’d die without being able to save anyone.”

Nicks’ fear trembled through his voice, transmitted through his grip on my shoulder.

Of course, he’s scared. Anyone would be.

Even though Nicks is a Stella-ranked adventurer, a position of great prestige, he’s still only 15 years old.

It’s no wonder he’s terrified of Beryl.

It’s astonishing that he’s managed to keep his sanity even though his body has been crumpled to a size small enough to be swallowed whole.

“But… I’m the one who made Beryl like this. I’m the one who turned her into a monster. If there’s anything I can do, I want to do it. I want to bring back the Beryl I knew…!”

“Like I said before, killing Beryl would be quicker and easier. If you try to save her, Venetia, all its people, you, and even Beryl herself might die. Even so, do you still want to save her?”

If I can incapacitate Beryl before the dream world disappears, everything that happened here will fade away like a handful of dreams.

I used the harsh word “kill”, but it’s not enough.

I need to see more sincerity from him.

If he’s only trying to save Beryl out of guilt… it’ll only leave scars for both of them.

“I… I haven’t given her an answer about the dance yet….”

Nicks mustered the courage to say it, even though it embarrassed him.

But it’s still not enough.

“Is that all?”

“I’ve… never liked someone like this before. I want to believe in this feeling… Even if Beryl is a witch… I would’ve died when I was seven if it weren’t for her. So… this time, it’s my turn to save her. Even if you’re planning to kill her…!”

Nicks’ face turned bright red.

After prodding him a few times to be honest, his true feelings burst out like a flood, and even I felt my face heating up.

Even if she’s a witch, huh…?

So this is pure love.

I thought I’d only see something like this 200 years from now.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Nicks’ courage.

I’m not one to judge someone’s love… but this should be enough. I can trust him with Beryl.

“Alright, I see. Then I’ll believe you.”

I nodded, satisfied with Nicks’ honest answer.

Now, I’ll be honest too.

“Actually, the part about killing Beryl was a lie. I just wanted to hear your resolve, Nicks. Thanks for being honest.”

“Whaaaat…!?”

Did he really need to be that surprised…?

A witch can tell a little white lie, can’t she?

I wanted to talk more, but Beryl had appeared around the corner, making further conversation difficult.

“Estelle, you only bring me pain, don’t you?”

Beryl whined as she appeared.

Her skin was flawless, not a scar in sight, yet she was complaining.

“Love and friendship are supposed to hurt. It’s not just all sunshine and rainbows, you know.”

“Lies. If I devour Nicks, I can have a love without pain, filled only with happiness. Estelle, everything you say is a lie.”

“A lie? Beryl, you’ve only just taken the first step in love.”

A lie?

You’ve only just begun.

The beautiful love I spoke of is still far away, but it seems Beryl has interpreted love differently.

I wanted to say something like, “Poor Beryl, who doesn’t know the beauty of love!” but the irony is that I don’t know much about love either, so I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh, by the way. Did you know? Nicks said he doesn’t like you. You got rejected.”

“Lady Estelle, when did I ever say that…!”

This clueless guy.

Guess he hasn’t fully experienced the power of the Demon Eye yet.

The fact that we’re even having a conversation in the dream world is only because Beryl is showing mercy.

The other Beryl would’ve killed us on the spot without a second thought. This Beryl… well, she’s awake, but not much different from when her eyes were closed.

In other words, she’s not using the Demon Eye to its full potential.

Crumpling things like paper isn’t very practical.

If she wanted to, she could erase our existence entirely.

Just look at how she’s reaching out.

For someone with god-like powers, incantations and gestures are meaningless.

It’s probably because the cursed gem has made her more instinctual and driven by desire.

If she regains her rationality, who knows how she might use the Demon Eye? That’s why now is the perfect time.

Right now, I might be able to touch her…

“Ugh…! Estelle, what do you know!!!!”

She’s pissed, she’s really pissed.

This is perfect.

“You can’t even charm a man. You don’t listen to your friends. Beryl, why don’t you just watch Nicks live happily with another woman and wallow in your defeat? With your hood pulled over your head.”

Now, if I can just provoke her enough to create an opening…

“Estelle, I won’t let you die easily.”

“Oh no, this is bad.”

“Whaaaat!?”

Did I go too far…?

They say that when someone gets too angry, they become more rational. That seems to be the case with Beryl now.

Talking about wallowing in defeat…

There are things you can say to a friend and things you can’t.

Beryl’s eyes began to glow. This time, there was no preparatory gesture, no reaching out.

Whatever attack she’s about to unleash… even if I can’t escape, I have to try.

“Hold on tight!”

I gathered mana in my legs again and ran, trying to stay out of Beryl’s line of sight.

The ground split open, lightning struck, and compressed mana lasers shot out.

I barely dodged a laser coming from the side, used a magic circle as a lightning rod to block the bolts, and teleported away from the fissures opening beneath me.

My mana is limited, but Beryl’s attacks are endless.

What a nasty temper.

She’s toying with me like I’m a prey before killing me, huh?

“Lady Estelle, what are you planning to do!?”

Nicks, hiding behind my neck, was chattering noisily, adding to the chaos.

“I need to catch Beryl!”

“But you’re just running away…!!!”

“Shut up!!!”

I just need to lure her into letting her guard down.

If I can create just one opening, I can end this.

And whose fault is it that I’m suffering like this?

Half of it is Nicks’, for giving Beryl the cursed gem and rejecting her confession.

The other half is mine, for digging into Beryl’s hidden feelings.

“Flirting with Nicks, are you? Estelle, you won’t get a break.”

“Thanks for the tip!”

Beryl appeared in front of me, and as I swung Triceratops to fend her off, it began to crumple.

“Estelle, without your broom, how do you plan to escape? You can’t even run away now, can you?”

Beryl sneered as she erased Triceratops from existence. I could feel the last of my mana being drained away.

My head spun from mana exhaustion, and I fell to my knees.

Go ahead, laugh all you want.

I’ll make you pay with interest once this is over.

“I never planned to run away.”

“What…?”

I smirked back at her, just as mocking.

The reason I knelt was to gather momentum.

I channeled all my remaining mana into my legs and charged at Beryl.

My ultimate ability becomes more powerful the closer I get to my target.

It reaches maximum efficiency upon direct contact.

That’s how I managed a draw against Beryl’s Dream Demon Eye the first time we fought.

You can rewrite the laws of the world and gain god-like powers, you say?

A witch’s ultimate ability inherently defies the laws of the world.

For a brief moment, it interferes with the divine realm, overturning the natural order.

“Reach her…!”

Even Beryl, who has gained god-like power through the Dream Demon Eye, is no exception.

Just one finger’s breadth away.

I prepared to unleash my ultimate.

“Estelle, I told you. It won’t work twice.”

What?

“Ugh…!!!”

I was so close to catching Beryl… but for some reason, the distance wouldn’t close.

I looked down at the pain in my abdomen and saw Triceratops, glowing green, piercing through my stomach.

“Did you really think I’d fall for your tricks again after last time?”

Blood gushed from my mouth.

I didn’t know it would hurt this much to actually get stabbed. Guess she wasn’t exaggerating earlier.

If I’d known, I would’ve stabbed her more gently.

I grimaced at the pain, something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

“So, is this the end? I thought the second time would be more fun. What a disappointment.”

Beryl looked genuinely disappointed, her expression bored. I grinned back at her.

“Nicks, now’s the time. Go save Beryl.”

“Nicks…?”

All my efforts to make Beryl forget about Nicks paid off.

Nicks, hiding behind my neck, grabbed my fingertip and closed the remaining distance.

“It won’t work twice. I know that.”

The conditions are perfect.

The ultimate isn’t something only I can use alone, Beryl.

As Nicks’ hand touched Beryl’s forehead, a flood of light engulfed the world.