Ch. 68 The Two Witches (48)
by Afuhfuihgs
Witch – Chapter 68 – The Two Witches (48)
Just as Leo’s sword was about to slash through Lucia’s hand, Lucia released Josie’s neck and stepped back, creating distance.
The sword, glowing with a golden aura.
While Leo hadn’t reached the level of a Sword Master to manifest an aura, the golden sword shaped by the power of the Holy Eye couldn’t be ignored.
‘I definitely split his head in two.’
Lucia adjusted her grip on her sword and assessed the situation.
The divine energy surrounding Leo’s body pulsed from the Holy Eye.
Thin strands of divine energy extended like threads, wrapping around Leo’s head and healing his wounds.
“What a monstrous power.”
Unless one was a witch cursed with immortality, no one could survive having their brain split. Come to think of it, the wounds she had inflicted earlier had already disappeared… Even if she stabbed him through the heart, he’d probably get back up.
Lucia felt irritation rise as she anticipated a prolonged fight with Leo.
“Josie, are you okay!?”
Leo caught Josie’s collapsing body and gently laid her on the ground. The trembling divine energy at his fingertips enveloped Josie’s body.
Her pulse, which had stopped, began to beat normally again, and her breath could be felt in the night air.
‘Thank goodness. If I had been any later…’ The thought that Josie could have died made Leo clench his trembling hands until they bled.
“Apostate, is that heretic so precious to you?”
“More precious than my life.”
Without Josie, Leo had no hope of living. She had promised to be his final refuge, and he wished only happiness for her, free from misfortune. She had reached out to him, the man who was no different from the murderer of her parents, and told him to live.
If protecting Josie made him an apostate… he was willing to become one a thousand times over.
Leo Patrick Florence had died once for Josie, and now only Leo remained.
“Did she seduce you in bed? Or did she bewitch you with sweet words? Even after receiving the angel’s revelation… you’re still a fool.”
Leo didn’t care if she called him a fool. It was true. But… he couldn’t stand her insulting Josie.
Without hesitation, Leo raised his sword and pointed it at Lucia.
If it came down to whether he could win or not, he would undoubtedly lose. Leo, who had admired the Heresy Inquisitor since childhood, knew Lucia’s prowess all too well.
But as a man, as a knight, there were places he couldn’t retreat from.
And this was one of them.
“I promised to protect Josie’s happiness until the end. And Lucia, you are the first obstacle to that happiness.”
“Does an apostate like you have the strength for that?”
Surviving near-death must be the Holy Eye’s power.
Even if he couldn’t be killed, Lucia wasn’t an opponent he could defeat. She had hunted witches for so long that she had memorized how to deal with immortals.
If she cut faster than he could regenerate, he’d die.
If she destroyed the Holy Eye first, he wouldn’t be able to regenerate. Though she wasn’t sure if she could destroy it.
Moreover, the Holy Eye’s power wasn’t infinite. Eventually, he’d collapse, unable to heal.
In terms of skill, Leo was no match for Lucia.
Silver and golden lights clashed, each trying to overpower the other. The afterimages intertwined, and the sound of their swords clashing was more like a scream than a metallic ring, radiating intense heat.
Their swords emitted fierce light as they aimed to strike each other. Leo faltered for a moment, but he didn’t retreat.
Instead, he roared and pushed forward with all his strength.
“Uraaaah…!!”
The more Leo exerted himself, the more tendons in his arms snapped. But the divine energy from the Holy Eye quickly healed his wounds, refusing to let them linger.
They exchanged blows, blocking and striking.
Leo’s crude, unrefined sword clashed with Lucia’s, scattering fragments of steel.
Against an aura-infused sword, an ordinary blade would have been cut in two in a single strike, but the sword Leo had received from Estelle, though its edge was damaged, refused to break.
Lucia’s sword, wrapped in a silver aura, moved first, but Leo’s sword, though slower, blocked it steadily.
The countless beatings from Estelle had given Leo the instinct to dodge Lucia’s unexpected moves, and the swordsmanship he had learned from Nicks allowed him to intuitively deflect her attacks.
Even when Lucia tried to feint and deceive, Leo somehow saw through it and countered, making it difficult for her to find an opening.
Clearly, Lucia was the one on the offensive. Yet, for some reason, Leo’s momentum didn’t wane; instead, it burned even hotter.
There was no way she was losing in strength.
Lucia noticed her heels being pushed back and glared at Leo.
She tilted her blade to deflect Leo’s attack.
Leo’s sword, missing its target, slammed into the ground with a deafening crash, sending dirt and debris into the air, obscuring their vision.
In the brief moment they couldn’t see each other, Lucia swung her sword toward Leo, who was now exposed.
The sword strike rushed toward him. Leo felt like he could slowly read Lucia’s attacks, which had been too fast to react to before. The strikes seemed slower, and he could almost predict where her blade would land.
Her target was Leo’s Holy Eye.
Leo leaned back, dodging Lucia’s strike.
Lucia’s attacks were a series of rapid strikes, with the second one being the most dangerous.
The longer the enemy tried to exploit the opening after her first strike, the more likely they’d fall to her second.
Leo used the momentum from leaning back to spring forward, bending his body and focusing his strength on his head.
There was no time to swing his sword.
Before Lucia’s second strike could land, Leo’s forehead slammed into hers.
“Guh…!”
Lucia staggered from the impact, unable to recover her sword in time.
Her brain felt like it was rattling from the shock.
She tried to steady herself and prepare for Leo’s next attack, but…
“Uraaaah!!!”
With Leo’s roar, his golden sword surged toward Lucia.
‘I’m going to die.’
Lucia saw her future—cut in half by Leo’s strike.
She sensed death approaching.
But in the face of death, Lucia smiled faintly.
She hadn’t wanted to use this, but…
She had thought she’d only use the Holy Eye given by the Pope in the most desperate situations.
And now was that time. Even if it was a fake, it would help her hunt witches, so she had accepted it.
“Apostate, you’re not the only one with a Holy Eye.”
“…!?”
Lucia’s Holy Eye erupted with a blinding silver light.
It’s not too late.
If I can cut her down before her Holy Eye activates…!
“No, it’s too late.”
“What…?”
As if reading Leo’s thoughts,
Lucia appeared beside him and whispered.
The Lucia who had been off-balance and on the brink of defeat moments ago now smirked as she drove her sword into Leo’s side.
“Ughhh?!?!”
The aura surrounding Lucia’s sword exploded inside Leo’s body, tearing through his organs, spine, muscles, and ribs.
The impact sent Leo flying, tumbling against the wall five times before he finally stopped.
He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn’t obey.
The aftermath of the shock caused something to fall heavily in front of Leo.
It was his lower body, which had supported him just moments ago.
“M-my body….”
“It’s not a pleasant feeling to perceive time faster than others. How annoying.”
Lucia’s Holy Eye, which traded lifespan for the power to stretch moments, made her frown at the sensation of time flowing faster for her than for others.
Using the Holy Eye against an apostate like Leo was infuriating.
She stomped on the golden threads trying to reconnect Leo’s upper and lower body, then brushed her hair back and steadied her breathing.
The thick aura of a witch emanating from Venetia and the mountain of tasks still ahead… She wondered if she should have brought Vice Captain Carté along.
She didn’t like Carté, but his skills were reliable.
“Jo… Josie….”
Lucia grabbed Leo’s head and lifted it.
Leo, barely alive thanks to the Holy Eye, tried to break free from Lucia’s grip, but he was too weak.
“Like Saintess Maria, and that heretic lying over there… everyone around you ends up miserable. You can’t save anyone. Instead, they die because of you.”
“Don’t… speak Maria’s name…!”
Saintess Maria.
That was Leo’s sore spot, and Lucia knew it well.
The incident that had made Leo the fool of the Holy Kingdom.
A pitiful woman who burned her own life to save others.
‘Leo, I’m fine. So don’t cry.’
A woman who, until the very end, thought of others before herself.
“I’ll send you to Maria. Oh, but as an apostate, you won’t meet her even in death. Go to hell instead.”
Lucia’s sword gleamed with a silver light.
Her target was Leo’s Holy Eye.
There was no point in dragging this out; Leo would only recover.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lucia thrust her sword toward Leo’s Holy Eye, but a single butterfly flew between them.
Lucent
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