The Witch (12)

Crack!

A shard of glass grazed his cheek. Even though it was just a slight cut, the stinging sensation was vivid, and Baek Yu-Seol belatedly sensed the pain and frowned.

'Damn! It's tough to tell what's real and what's not.'

Even with his heightened senses, it wasn't easy to accurately detect attacks from an opponent who was several levels above him.

Her abilities were so strong that they nullified his overwhelming advantage which bestowed him immunity to illusion magic.

Rumble!!

Soap bubbles rained down from the ceiling. Despite their pretty appearance, they had the brute force to explode anything they touched. This time, he didn't dodge.

This attack didn't need to be avoided.

'Five steps.'

Ignoring the soap bubbles, he sprinted precisely and teleported.

After moving 10 meters, he swung his sword, but his opponent summoned an ancient stone tablet inscribed with arcane runes to block it.

'Two steps back.'

He swiftly retreated as a giant paw emerged from the ground, swiping at the spot where he had just been standing.

That attack... could have been dangerous if it had hit.

"But, now I understand."

Baek Yu-Seol narrowed his eyes and focused on the illusion that dominated the entire space.

Illusion magic scattered the opponent's mana to make them see things that weren't there. Therefore, it shouldn't work on him at all...

"Some spells have a real form."

An illusion with a real presence.

It sounded paradoxical, but it was true.

Mellie Sher had inherited the legendary ability of the Last Witch, a witch who could make illusions real.

This formidable magic, which cast illusions on the world itself rather than on the mind of the opponent, appeared only three times in the original game. Each time, it showcased terrifying abilities that astonished players.

And the first appearance was now.

Depending on the choices in the [Episode], if a wrong choice was made, players would face Mellie Sher directly in a boss battle.

The first guide text at that time was this.

[Guide. First step.]

[If possible, revert your save file to avoid fighting Witch Mellie Sher.]

[If you've saved more than twice and can't revert...]

[We apologize.]

The fact that the guide first suggested using a bug to revert the save file proved how daunting Mellie Sher's boss battle was.

The strategy was to suppress the barrage of illusion magic with help from Kaen and Grace, who should be hiding somewhere in Arcanium, or to receive support from the Stella Knights.

If one were to fight alone...

The chance of victory was zero.

'But the character Baek Yu-Seol was different.'

At that time, only Baek Yu-Seol had raised his character beyond the summer vacation to the academy term.

During his battle with Mellie Sher, he observed a unique phenomenon: the ability to distinguish between 'attacks with a real presence' among the witch's spells.

In other words, the character Baek Yu-Seol was completely immune to incomplete illusion magic that had no real presence.

Of course, real and unreal attacks were marked by color, but distinguishing them in the heat of battle wasn't easy, and he remembered pouring dozens of hours into Mellie Sher's strategy.

'Never thought I'd be fighting her again in real life...'

That memory proved invaluable.

"The bubbles are fake, but most attacks that take the shape of animals are real."

He dodged some attacks with all his might, while merely pretending to evade others, lulling Mellie Sher into a false sense of security.

She still didn't realize there were gaps in her magic.

It was no surprise really.

Unless someone had resistance to mana leakage, they'd fall for every illusion completely without needing to distinguish between 'illusions with substance' and 'illusions without substance' to take damage.

'According to the lore... Mellie Sher's abilities are still developing.'

Since her abilities were still growing, only some illusions had the touch of reality, which became a focal point for Baek Yu-Seol's strategy, but he couldn't let his guard down.

'This is reality.'

In Aether World Online, exploiting weaknesses was enough to succeed, but as always, reality differed from the game.

Baek Yu-Seol had one main concern.

'Mellie Sher realizing the true nature of her own magic.'

In the original plan, for her to advance to the next level, she needed the power of a special witch hunter.

However, in reality, anything else could act as a catalyst, causing her abilities to explode unpredictably. Knowing her weaknesses and having a type advantage didn't guarantee success in battle.

'There's no chance to attack...'

He intentionally hid the maximum range of his flash by about 2 meters, keeping a final move in reserve, but there hadn't been a suitable opportunity to use it.

From the beginning, Mellie Sher had tried to maintain as much distance as possible to handle the unconventional magic of Flash.

'Still, I can force an opening!'

[Flash]

He deftly dodged the rocks rising from the ground and teleported, then swung his sword.

Mellie Sher hastily created a snail shell-shaped shield in midair.

But that was what he aimed for.

Baek Yu-Seol pressed the button on the small light in his left hand, and as it swept over the snail shell, the illusion magic instantly vanished.

"Ah...!"

That was unmistakably a witch hunter's magic item.

"But...!"

Gritting her teeth, Mellie Sher clapped her hands together and brought them to her chest. Branches sprouted from her back, covering her entire body, causing Baek Yu-Seol's sword to bounce off.

Stumble.

"Ugh...?!"

Caught off guard by the unexpected recoil, Baek Yu-Seol lost his balance and staggered badly.

'Damn...!'

In that split second, Baek Yu-Seol sensed danger. He had shown a massive gap against a veteran mage and there was still a slight delay before his next flash.

He braced himself, expecting a critical hit, but...

Thud!

'... Huh?'

Instead of attacking, Mellie Sher stepped back, trembling, and raised her broom.

'What? Why isn't she attacking?'

Though it saved his life, Baek Yu-Seol couldn't understand her behavior.

But from her perspective, it was a rational decision.

A forced opening. Mellie Sher had faced countless enemies over decades. She had already sensed that her current opponent was highly skilled.

How could a veteran magic warrior expose such a huge gap? Impossible.

'Ridiculous.'

Such a clumsy tactic wouldn't work.

"... Hmm."

Then, as Baek Yu-Seol slowly began to readjust his precarious stance, Mellie Sher's mind went blank.

'What is this behavior?'

She realized he was deliberately exposing a gap to lure her into attacking.

Yet, he continued to stagger as if unable to regain his balance, despite it being an obvious ruse.

This was no longer a magical duel or a psychological battle.

It was more like mocking the opponent.

As these thoughts flashed through her mind.

"Don't be ridiculous!!"

Mellie Sher gritted her teeth and shouted in fury.

"... What?"

Already struggling, Baek Yu-Seol was taken aback when she suddenly yelled. But Mellie Sher was disgusted by his reaction and bellowed.

"Do you know what I've been through to get here? Do you think I came here to be mocked by a lowly human like you? What do you think you're doing?!"

Blood oozed from her tightly clenched lips. It wasn't from a wound inflicted by Baek Yu-Seok, but it was because she was biting her own lips so hard that they bled.

"How dare you... You have no idea the resolve I have... And you mock me..."

After fighting for so long, she had to realize it.

Her attacks weren't working on him at all.

She accepted this harsh reality, feeling utterly defeated.

Yet, her opponent did not kill her.

Why? No matter how much she thought about it, there was only one reason.

"I will... rebuild the world of witches. A village of witches, a city of witches, a country of witches... You think it's laughable because I'm just running a restaurant?"

From the moment they opened their eyes, witches were alone. It was their destiny, a natural order, an unchangeable truth.

Witches lacked social skills and emotions. They were like starving beasts. They might snatch each other's territory but would never yield it.

In the end, witches couldn't unite and were hunted one by one by witch hunters, eventually hiding miserably in the shadows.

Once believed to be able to conquer the world with ease if they wished, the witches, the most superior and elite race on earth.

Mellie Sher hated that.

Society? Country? Loneliness?

Her reasons for wanting to build those were different.

'I'm sick of living a life where we're looked down on by inferior races. And now, you're telling men I have to be mocked by a lowly human who can't use...?'

Baek Yu-Seol's expression hardened, and he pointed his sword again. His opponent had misunderstood something, but he didn't see the need to correct her.

It was better this way.

Thinking so, he tried to prepare himself for battle again, but suddenly...

Stop.

"No."

Mellie Sher dropped her arms.

"No, no. Ah! I get it."

She tilted her head to the side and stared at Baek Yu-Seol with empty, hollow eyes. As if by staring like that, she could see right through him.

"Why didn't you kill me and keep stalling for time?"

"To mock me? No, I thought so at first... But thinking about it again, that's not it. Right?"

Baek Yu-Seol did not respond.

But Mellie Sher seemed to have gained certainty, as she twisted her lips into a grotesque grin that reached her ears.

"Aha? I see. You're scared of this space, aren't you? Illusions may not work on you, but... if you kill me, you won't be able to escape from this space that's completely isolated from reality!"

"... Wait, what did you say?"

What was she saying now?

He didn't want to understand, but the automatic interpretation function of his Sentient Spec deciphered the magic and injected the knowledge directly into his mind.

[The analysis of the special witch magic 'Illusion Shield' is complete.]

"!"

After a brief headache that felt like a lightning bolt passing through his head, Baek Yu-Seol raised his head with a dazed expression.

[Illusion Space]

[Type: Reality-based Illusion (Witch)]

[Interpretation: A witch who has reached the pinnacle of illusion magic can create new spaces through imagination.]

[Analysis: This space is a new dimension isolated from reality…]

[Reverse Calculation Formula]

[Void type, spatial type, reality-based illusion, enchantment type…]

Amid the flood of countless bits of information, Baek Yu-Seok focused on the most important sentence.

'Is it really... an isolated space?'

He had never heard of such a thing before.

No, an isolated space? In Aether World Online, Mellie Sher never used magic of this level.

Even with illusions, to distort space itself, at least five Class 7 spatial mages would be required.

'Reverse calculation...'

Impossible.

The required types to reverse calculate illusion space magic were all rare, so even if Baek Yu-Seol had Mana Accumulation Retardation, escaping from here would have been practically impossible.

Suddenly, cold sweat began to pour down his face. Winning the battle was no longer the main concern.

"Hahaha... Now I get it. Knowing what you're afraid of, there's no need to stall for time anymore, is there?"

She laughed hollowly and lowered her broom. Then, she pointed her index finger towards the air.

A small ripple spread out as if a glass bell had been lightly tapped. However, it had the power to affect the entire space.

"Close the space."

"You might have been thinking of ways to escape until now... But you didn't know this, did you?"

Baek Yu-Seol hastily ran towards the wall of the illusion shield and swung his sword, but all he got was a dull thud. It was as if he hit a steel wall with a wooden stick. It was futile.

"Damn it! If you do this, you won't be able to escape either!"

"Ha. So what?"

She was going to die anyway, so what did it matter now?

Besides, if she managed to kill and devour Baek Yu-Seol, she would gain the essence of the witch hunter, making opening the closed illusion shield not an issue.

"Ah, your expression... It's become grim... Have you finally run out of options? Are you ready to take me seriously now?"

She elegantly covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed like a graceful lady.

"But what will you do now? Even if you kill me, you'll be trapped in this illusion forever."

When Baek Yu-Seol wordlessly pointed his sword at her, Mellie Sher's smile deepened with satisfaction.

"This is the price for trampling on my pride and mocking me. Accept it graciously."

She vertically positioned her broom and elegantly stepped onto it, her crimson lips curling into a grin.