Ch.92Chapter 92

As Wendigo swung the ice sword, he noticed that the power of the blade was stronger than he had intended.

He felt the mystical energy he had imbued to check for the opponent’s hidden claws resonating with the ice sword, drawing in the mystical energy floating in the air.

‘This isn’t just checking for claws—it’s about to uproot them completely.’

Though it wasn’t the strike he had planned, Wendigo had no intention of stopping his attack.

If they couldn’t withstand even a single blow, then that was the limit of Isabel and her followers’ abilities.

When he struck the ground with his ice sword filled with mystical energy, it released power like a collapsed dam.

No special incantation or power was needed.

The pure wave of cold and the shockwave contained in the sword strike were more than enough to bring disaster to this land.

The enemies were swept away by the hard wave—whether ice or earth was unclear—their limbs torn and crushed as they screamed.

A reddish ice mist rose to cover the carnage, and Wendigo glared at Isabel through the fog.

“I suppose she’s not one to die from just this much.”

“Wendigo, ordinary humans would leave no corpse to find after something like that.”

“A witch is no ordinary human.”

Wendigo’s judgment was correct.

In a situation where an ordinary person would have chosen to flee, Isabel burned with murderous intent.

A fanatical belief that all the trials(?) she had experienced so far had always made her reborn as a more noble being.

With such belief, Isabel had never doubted her thoughts and choices…

WHOOSH!!!

“AAAAGH!!! Put out the fire, put it out!!!”

“S-save me! I’ll get up and fight again, so please… AAAAGH!!!”

That’s why Isabel didn’t hesitate to sacrifice her followers. Weren’t they just beasts anyway?

If so, sacrificing their lives for her and becoming the cornerstone of a new kingdom would be a more valuable death!

Having offered her followers as sacrifices to the gods, Isabel restored the Djin’s body once more and went a step further, forcibly twisting the Djin’s body.

“■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!!”

The Djin’s source burned in cursed flames, losing its original form.

Naturally, a Djin that has lost its source should return to nature and circulate through the world…

“Useless Djin. Consider it an honor to be reborn through my flames!”

Isabel stole the final mercy granted to the Djin and placed a collar of powerful mystical energy in its place.

The Djin’s charcoal body collapsed, and the Djin was reborn as pure flame.

If it had been an ordinary Djin, it would have screamed at such a horrific and atrocious act, but…

‘Whether it’s flame or a lump of charcoal, a Djin can be killed all the same.’

Wendigo wasn’t fazed by the opponent’s transformation.

After all, he had already torn out and even devoured another Djin’s source—would he be surprised by something like this?

Wendigo turned his eyes away from the flamboyant flame Djin and decided to take down the most important target first.

“Wh-what?! Shit, he’s charging at us!!!”

“…We’re all dead.”

Wendigo charged toward the followers, and Gulmarg, realizing his intention, rushed out with him.

When Isabel saw Wendigo rushing toward her followers rather than herself, she was startled and reached out her hand. She had realized what Wendigo was aiming for.

“Those are my sacrifices!”

It was quite a sight to see her proudly calling her subordinates sacrifices.

Wendigo mocked Isabel as he cut down her followers, freezing them to death with cold energy, while Gulmarg swung his stone club whenever flames came into view.

The battlefield quickly became chaotic, and Isabel spat out curses with bloodshot eyes.

“I will burn both of you to death!”

“■■■■■!!!”

The newly born flame Djin approached Isabel with a strange cry, and she infused it with power while shouting at the witches.

“Stop trembling like idiots and push your power into the Djin!”

“B-but our power might have adverse effects on that Djin… KYAAAH?!”

Isabel grabbed the throat of the witch who talked back and burned her alive.

The witch’s argument was quite plausible, but to Isabel, whose anger had reached its peak, it sounded like a foolish response.

When they would die if they couldn’t kill the two monsters right in front of them, who had time to worry about such things?

“…Then cast spells on those knights. Physical spells should work well on them!”

After burning the witch, Isabel shamelessly reversed her order, accepting the point the dead witch had made.

The witches, afraid they might be burned to death too, hurriedly began pushing their power into the twin knights.

The twin knights, Dylan and Cole, were startled by the alien energy penetrating their bodies and turned to look at Isabel.

“Lady Isabel! What are you doing?!”

“We never permitted this!”

In response to the two knights’ resistance, Isabel snorted and nodded to Ellen.

Ellen, realizing that Isabel had completely lost it, sighed and withdrew her power from the puppets.

She needed to concentrate all her power to enchant the two knights.

“What a shame. You were both so good in bed.”

“Ellen!!!”

The twin knights looked at Ellen with expressions of betrayal until the very end.

They had believed that the emotions they felt were truly pure love.

However…

“Why am I…?”

“Damn it.”

In their final moment, the twin knights realized that all the emotions they had felt were nothing more than Ellen’s manipulation.

Ellen completely suppressed the twin knights’ minds and cast a terrible spell on them.

“My beloved knights. Die for me.”

“GRAAAAAAAH!!!”

The twin knights were under a spell that drew out power beyond their capabilities at the cost of their lives.

With the witches’ support added, the twin knights’ bodies grew much larger than before, and their muscles swelled as if about to burst.

Isabel burned all her followers, including the puppet followers, and glared at Wendigo.

‘I’ve burned everything that would have been my foundation.’

Her followers, who were no different from her military force, had all been reduced to ashes.

The knights who were supposed to be her military power in the future had all died or were destined to die.

So she had to win this fight…

Flinch.

The moment she met Wendigo’s eyes, Isabel felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding.

* * *

Wendigo was amazed that the number of followers Isabel had burned herself exceeded the number he had cut down.

It was the first time since Oneton that he had seen someone treat their allies’ lives like insects.

‘She truly deserves the title of witch.’

“Wendigo, are all witches like that?”

“…That’s an incorrect generalization. Skadi is a witch too, but she’s kind, isn’t she?”

“Sorry. Skadi, I didn’t know you were a witch.”

“If you’re sorry, then deal with those knights for me.”

Wendigo pointed to the twin knights charging toward him.

Gulmarg nodded and raised his club. Honestly, he preferred facing the twin knights over the flame Djin.

At least humans die when you hit them, unlike fire.

Having entrusted the twin knights to Gulmarg, Wendigo raised his ice sword and charged toward the flame Djin.

The flame Djin was emitting considerable mystical energy thanks to consuming human lives.

If Wendigo hadn’t killed the followers, it would have become quite a troublesome entity.

“Burn that bastard to ashes right now!”

“■■■!”

The flame Djin flew toward Wendigo and exhaled its breath. The force was so intense that it seemed it would reduce Wendigo to ashes immediately…

“Shut up.”

Wendigo swung his ice sword toward the breath, emitting cold energy from his entire body.

The ice sword cut through the flame breath as if it were nothing and aimed for the Djin’s head.

The Djin was startled by the ice sword that came right up to its face and moved its hand to grab the sword.

Indeed, consuming human lives had helped, as the flame Djin resisted the cold energy emitted by the ice sword and was about to roar at Wendigo…

BOOM!!!

“■■■■■■?!”

“Did you think I only swing my sword?”

An ice pillar that erupted from the ground struck the flame Djin’s stomach, and the Djin staggered, spewing flames.

Wendigo didn’t miss the opportunity and twisted the ice sword, cutting off one of its arms. This caused a chunk of the mystical energy forming the Djin to fall off.

The flame Djin screamed and swung its arm at Wendigo.

Just as he was about to swing his sword to cut off that arm too.

“Die!”

“!”

Wendigo was shocked to discover a spear of black flame flying from behind the flame Djin.

Who would have expected her to sacrifice even the flame Djin to attack him?

Wendigo kicked the flame Djin away and retreated, and the spear Isabel had thrown pierced right through the flame Djin.

“■■■■■■■■■!!!”

“…Come to think of it, black flame is still flame.”

Wendigo stood with his ice sword and looked at the flame Djin in disbelief.

The flame Djin absorbed the black flame spear, integrated with it, and began to grow in size, burning black.

It was now two heads taller than Wendigo, and the flame Djin looked down at Wendigo, about to mock him…

“Do you think this is a situation to be mocking?”

“?!”

CRACK!!!

While the flame Djin was growing in size, Wendigo detonated the mystical energy he had pushed into the ground, causing a massive ice spike perfectly sized for the flame Djin to erupt from the earth.

The flame Djin panicked and exploded black flame, but the ice spike absorbed Wendigo’s mystical energy and became even harder.

“■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!”

The ice spike vertically impaled the flame Djin.

The flame Djin writhed in pain, but the ice spike remained immovable.

Isabel created a massive fireball and threw it toward the Djin to save it.

She intended to shatter the ice spike and heal the flame Djin at the same time.

Of course, Wendigo had no intention of giving her a second chance. Creating an ice spear compressed with extreme cold, Wendigo threw it at the fireball.

The cold energy concentrated into a single point easily penetrated Isabel’s unnecessarily large fireball, and continued on toward Isabel.

Isabel pointed at the ice spear targeting her and screamed.

“Stop it!!!”

The witches reflexively drew out their power at Isabel’s scream.

Rocks flew, lightning struck, and winds howled, hammering at the ice spear.

The witches’ desperate efforts couldn’t stop the ice spear but succeeded in altering its trajectory.

With an explosion like lightning striking, the ice spear plunged into the ground, and the cold energy in the spear instantly stole the warmth from the surroundings.

The witches were terrified of the cold energy following their footsteps and ran to Isabel.

They thought Isabel’s flames could block the cold.

“Lady Isabel! Help us!!!”

“F-fire, give us fire!”

Isabel bit her lip and raised flames behind the witches.

It was clear that losing the witches now would make it even harder to face Wendigo.

However, blocking cold energy that was difficult to stop even with full power using ordinary fire rather than black flame was impossible.

The flames turned to smoke as soon as they collided with the cold energy, and the witches were engulfed by the cold, becoming ice statues.

The witches near Isabel could avoid the cold, but they trembled after watching their comrades freeze to death just a few steps away.

They silently screamed as they watched Wendigo slowly approach.

“We’re… we’re all going to die.”

“We shouldn’t have followed her. We shouldn’t have followed her!!!”

Some of the witches shed tears of resentment.

They hadn’t followed the Red Rose Dawn Society from the beginning because of delusions about attacking the forest or seizing power.

They had only fled to avoid persecution from people!

“Shut up! If you have the energy to spout such nonsense, then immediately use that Djin to…”

“Get lost! I have no intention of dying for your delusions!”

Isabel tried to bully the witches as usual, but the situation was completely different.

A cornered rat will attack even a cat.

The witches pushed Isabel away and began to flee without looking back.

Isabel was greatly angered by this foolish behavior and raised flames. She intended to burn the traitors alive.

However, Isabel staggered as she felt pain rising from below.

“Cough?!”

Isabel checked the blood that came out with her cough and looked at her stomach.

An old dagger was stuck in her belly, though she couldn’t tell who had stabbed her.

Isabel couldn’t even guess who the culprit was. There were too many witches rushing past her.

“How dare… how dare you stab me, born of noble blood!!!”

“It seems you didn’t know that even beasts respond to violence with violence? You should have treated your subordinates better.”

“!”

Isabel hurriedly raised flames and turned around at the chilling voice.

But how fast could the attack of Isabel, who had lived her entire life demanding pain and sacrifice from others, possibly be?

Wendigo lightly swung his ice sword and cut off Isabel’s arm.

“AAAAGH!!! My arm, how dare you take my arm!!!!!!”

“……”

As Isabel clutched her arm and wailed, Wendigo looked down at her with contempt.

After living her entire life parasitizing others and controlling them through pain, she was this sensitive to her own pain…

Wendigo swung his ice sword in contempt, and Isabel’s head rolled on the ground.

After confirming her hideously distorted face, Wendigo looked around.

Gulmarg had already torn one of the knights to death and was cornering the remaining one, while Ellen, who had been at the core of the Red Rose Dawn Society, had disappeared…

‘The vassals will catch the witches.’

The vassals who had already been contacted would have formed a tight encirclement, so it wouldn’t take long for the witches to be captured.

WHOOSH!

“?”

When Isabel’s body began to burn black, Wendigo swung his ice sword down at it.

However, Isabel’s body moved as if it had a will of its own and grabbed Wendigo’s sword.

Isabel’s severed head opened its mouth, burning black.

“It’s… unfair.”

“What’s unfair is the followers who died because of your greed.”

Isabel’s body showed strength impossible for such a thin frame and pushed away the ice sword.

Her body moved grotesquely toward her head and placed it on top of her severed neck.

Then black flame blazed up and completely burned her body, leaving only a skeleton. The skeletal Isabel jerked her head violently and let out a monstrous cry.

“I… I will become queen. I will become queen!”

“I don’t think anyone would like a skeleton queen.”

Wendigo grumbled as he looked at Isabel, who had become a burning skeleton.

Unlucky bastards always had lives that were far too long.