Sandcastle Part 2

As though to answer the gesture, a powerful blow crashed down.

The hit was so violent that an ordinary person would have felt it

vibrating through their bones. But Unai bore it and forced his opponent's

sword back. Said opponent jumped off the dragon and used that momentum

to leap back.

The master of the royal sword straightened up, his feet crunching on the

sand. He stared back at Unai, a brash smile curling his lips. His dragon

swooped in circles above them in the sky.

"Your sword is an eyesore. I'll bury it along with its user," proclaimed

Unai.

"I can't have that. She'd be pissed," Oscar replied playfully, making sure

of his footing.

It was easy to slip on such loose ground. So long as the king was careful,

however, he didn't foresee an issue. He readied Akashia, breathed out hard,

and rushed at Unai.

"Has your firepower lost some of its spark? What a fool you were," taunted

Leonora.

Tinasha smiled. "I'm free to live my life the way I please."

As she spoke, she cast a spell with no incantation, using her sword as an

intermediary. At the same time, she intoned a different bit of magic that

formed in her left hand. She brandished the sparking sword at Leonora.

Lightning lanced forward from Tinasha's weapon, shedding white flame

as it traveled. Following its track, Tinasha teleported in front of Leonora.

Without wasting a second, she hurled the other spell she'd readied.

Not to be outdone, the Witch Who Cannot Be Summoned raised her left

hand and absorbed the bolt of electricity with it. Then she infused her right

hand with magic and caught Tinasha's second attack there.

There was a moment of stillness, and then a huge explosion bloomed as

their peerless powers collided.

The two witches rode the backlash and distanced themselves from each

other, both still hovering.

Tinasha dismissed her sword and began to weave a spell in both hands.

"I define the state of things. Nonexistence shall be zero. Existence shall

be one. Words in the form of code command a transformation."

Intricately intertwining silver sigils appeared before her. They absorbed

magic from her and glimmered brightly.

The symbols formed a sphere that slowly expanded in size before

assuming the form of giant fanged jaws.

"…Go," Tinasha ordered, and the maw glided through the air toward

Leonora, who leaped to the right.

As she kept her distance from the jaws advancing on her, she threw a

succession of spheres of light at them. But the jaws absorbed all of them as

they pursued and closed in on her. When she saw them open wide, panic

flashed across her face.

"Why, you…!"

Its sharp fangs almost snatched hold of her, but before they could,

Leonora tapped herself. Her fingertips were infused with magic. When the

spell's power poured into the giant set of jaws, they imploded and fell apart.

Leonora had no time to feel relieved, though, as a sharp, keen pain

seared into her.

"…Ngh!"

Looking down, she saw a dagger stabbing into the white flesh of her

calf. Cursing, she pulled it out. The wound closed up instantly.

As Tinasha watched her opponent heal, she frowned slightly. "While I

knew she could do that, it is quite troublesome…"

As a witch, no one was superior to Leonora in the restorative arts. Even

if Tinasha landed an attack to keep her in check, the injury would mend

immediately. This was partly why no one had managed to kill Leonora.

"Do I need to land a more lethal blow…?"

As Tinasha pondered how to strike next, she prepared a new spell and

raced through the air.

From the ramparts, Meredina watched the eastern sky.

For a while now, she'd heard the sounds of tremendous blasts,

accompanied by bursts of red and white light far in the distance. As

enormous spells collided, all mages in view of the spectacle gazed with

bated breath.

Als clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "They're here."

Meredina spied a pack of demons winging over from the south. They

must have slipped through a gap in the spirits' defenses. Tension thrummed

through the people on the ramparts at the enemy's arrival.

Als unsheathed his sword. The sizable double-edged weapon was tinged

with an almost wet sort of shine. He swung it about, gauging its weight,

then made toward the southeast.

He arrived just in time to see the first demon set upon a guardsman.

Als ran in front of the soldier and slashed diagonally. The instant the

sharp point found flesh, a deep laceration gouged its way into the creature,

as if the blade were wider than it was. The sword's full arc left the demon's

body lopped in two pieces that toppled lifelessly to the ground.

"Good cutting ability. I should've known," Als remarked to himself.

Meredina hurried to his side. He checked her over, then readied his

weapon for the next enemy to come swooping down.

Doan glanced over worriedly as he caught sight of Als and Meredina

battling monsters out of the corner of his eye.

Almost all the mages were busy maintaining Tinasha's spell. The

enchantment that prevented the summoning of more demons in the desert

was their greatest strength and vulnerability. The fortress would fall if

enemies broke past Tinasha's spirits and summoned fresh troops nearby. For

this reason, Doan and the others were pouring magic into the spell,

carefully and intently.

Fortunately, Als and his fellow soldiers kept the demons from reaching

the mages. Just as Doan dared to believe that things would be okay so long

as there were no surprises, an unfamiliar man teleported right in front of

him.

The man's long hair was a faint violet color, and so were his eyes. Such

inhuman coloring and gorgeous looks were traits often seen in high-ranking

demons. Doan realized what was happening and shuddered.

This wasn't one of Tinasha's spirits, which meant he was a demon who

served Leonora.

An enemy had appeared unexpectedly, and Doan started to construct a

different spell while still maintaining the major one.

Unfortunately, the demon's eyes fixed right on him. He didn't have any

time to attack or defend himself. He prepared for death, but Neona

unsheathed her sword and struck.

"Take that!"

The intruder took one look at her and repelled her sword with his bare

hand. Pushed backward, Neona fell to the ground.

"Princess Nephelli!" shouted Gait. Doan was shocked at that revelation,

but grateful for the time she'd bought him. He and several other mages

hurled magic at the demon.

It was a high-voltage attack by a team of court mages. Such a level of

power would have erased a human without leaving so much as a speck

behind, but the demon withstood it without lifting a finger.

Doan stood dumbfounded as he watched his ineffectual attack vanish.

The demon looked around with a cruel smirk. "I was ordered to take one

of you back alive. It doesn't matter who."

Everyone gasped. They understood the enemy's goal immediately—a

hostage in exchange for Oscar or Tinasha.

The demon reached out for Pamyra, who was close to him. Her

expression contorted to show a mix of nervousness and obstinance.

When he saw that, Doan exclaimed, "Don't do it!"

Pamyra jumped slightly and looked at him.

She'd been prepared to end her life in service of her lady. Doan stopped

her with one harsh glare.

His king had told them not to perish needlessly. They couldn't disobey

that order.

But at the same time, they didn't have a reliable way of breaking out of

this situation.

"What, is it already over?" the demon teased, watching them with

amusement as he reached for Pamyra again.

Just as he was about to touch her, the high-pitched voice of a young girl

called, "What stupid thing are you doing? Are you an idiot?"

A hand appeared out of thin air behind the demon. It was pale and

elegant, but each of the nails was as long as a hook, curved and glittering.

The talons bore down toward the demon's neck, and he narrowly

avoided the swipe.

He whirled around, and the rest of Pamyra's savior appeared. It was a

red-haired girl wearing a dauntless grin.

The violet-haired demon's eyes widened in shock. "Mila Fierua. How

many thousands of years has it been?"

"I don't know who you are, nobody," the witch's spirit declared

arrogantly in a lilting tone. Then she clacked her claws, ready to rake

through her prey.

Oscar met the sword thrust at him, his boots scraping for purchase in the

white sand, and leaped backward as he forced it back.

He kept finding openings and striking at Unai, but the other man's

inhuman reflexes allowed him to fall back before suffering anything

critical. Any blows Oscar did manage to land healed up instantly. It was

plain enough that Oscar was the more skilled fighter, but the battle

threatened to last forever. As time went on, fatigue would set in, and he

would be at a disadvantage.

He couldn't spare a glance up at the sky, but he'd heard explosions and

seen flashes of light reflected on the ground. The witches must still be

battling.

"I wanted to take care of my part first… I wonder what to do," muttered

Oscar, leveling the point of Akashia at Unai.

Leonora's red-haired right-hand man struck at Oscar with his sword,

kicking up a small cloud of sand. As Oscar parried one thrust, then another

from his opponent's curved blade, he watched for an opening.

After he parried the fifth attack, Oscar swiftly sent Akashia chasing after

Unai's sword arm while it was still drawn back. He sliced through the

middle of the limb, cleaving through before Unai could jump out of the

way.

Fresh blood spilled onto the ground.

Unai's right arm dropped to the sand.

Oscar's strikes kept coming as he tried to lop off Unai's head next. The

one-armed man caught the blade with his left hand.

As he did, his right arm was growing back. Oscar stared in shock at the

hand growing out of the bloody stump.

"I suppose inhuman really is the appropriate word for you," he quipped.

"Weaklings can joke now?" spat Unai dryly.

Oscar struck at his enemy's left arm, then immediately pulled Akashia

back. He took a step back before kicking Unai's severed limb and sword far

away.

Unai stared at his weapon as it moved to an inaccessible location. His

gaze dropped to his empty right hand. The man's eyes narrowed, and his regrown hand transformed into a large sickle. Unai brandished his

weaponized right hand above him.

"All your struggling is fruitless. You're just a human in the end," the

man declared.

"We'll see if it was fruitless when it's all over," Oscar shot back,

grinning as he readjusted his grip on Akashia.

Spell after spell sped from Tinasha's hands, and the woman barely kept

from sighing.

Two female demons—twins—had been assisting Leonora for a while

now. Their long, soft white hair fluttered in the air as they pursued Tinasha.

"This is extremely irritating…," she muttered, blocking an incessant rain

of attacks as she watched for an opportunity to counter. Her spirits were all

keeping the other demons in check and defending the fortress, so she

couldn't ask them to be her backup. One or two of her servants might find

themselves free after a time, but the witch couldn't wait that long.

Tinasha darted to one side to avoid a volley of light arrows that poured

down at her. Through the luminous downpour, she could see Leonora

working on a massive spell.

Her vibrant green eyes landed on Tinasha, and she sneered. "You're just

going to run around? I see that four centuries have done little to improve

your tactics."

As she spoke, her spell—a magic attack infused with a tremendous

amount of power—erupted forth.

A gigantic scarlet vortex closed in on Tinasha. Arching an eyebrow, she

jumped back. As if to draw the string of an imperceptible bow, she pulled

her right arm back.

Then she let an invisible arrow fly.

"Pierce through."

The projectile was honed as sharp as any could be. It lanced into the

center of the vortex—and shot through it.

The arrow ran straight into Leonora's belly, splitting it open.

Bits of flesh and blood flew through the air, and her face contorted into a

mask of pain and rage. As for the conjured tornado, it rose up high into the

sky thanks to Tinasha warping its trajectory.

"I'll admit you've got a trick or two up your sleeve, brat…," Leonora

seethed. The wound in her belly closed instantaneously.

"Of course I do. We're witches," Tinasha replied.

"I know that. Better than you do, I'd say," snapped the Witch Who

Cannot Be Summoned, spitting out bloody saliva. Then she aimed a palm

toward the desert below. "So I'm going to show you what a real witch is,

since your life of complacency seems to have robbed you of that

knowledge."

Leonora's green eyes darkened a shade. The scorn disappeared from her

beautiful features. In a blank voice, she intoned:

"That which is changing, that which has no form, end your state of flux.

Destroy your form. That will be the end of the finite."

Then she murmured lovingly:

"Appear, my everlasting stones."

Minute tremors sounded from the earth in reply to Leonora's words. The

vibrations were coming from the desert down below. More precisely, they

were coming from the wasteland underneath.

Leonora's eyes were fixed on one section of the desert that began to

tremble, gripped by some force. A whirlpool kicked up, pulling in

everything nearby, including Oscar. Unai stood right where he was.

Tinasha went pale and cried out, "Oscar! I'm going to teleport you!"

She cast a transportation array to pull Oscar out of there. But Leonora

hurled her own power at it, smashing it apart.

"Ugh…! You're maddening!"

Tinasha threw up a barrier against the magic Leonora kept hurling at her.

She searched for Oscar down in all the swirling sand—

Suddenly, thousands of insects with crimson wings came fluttering out

of nowhere, so thick she couldn't see a thing.

"Bloodred butterflies?!"

The creatures that formed from chaos between the realms—born from

the casting of large-scale forbidden curses.

Tinasha had no idea what was happening, but down below her feet,

something long buried was emerging.

The object's eruption through the white sand was heralded by terrible

quaking.

A titanic block of amber caught the sun's rays, glittering gold.

And locked away inside it was a castle, of all things.

Dumbfounded, Tinasha identified the structure that had slept below the

wasteland. It was something from one of the myths surrounding Leonora.

"…The Amber Castle."

"Isn't it gorgeous? I made it a long time ago," Leonora said proudly.

The Amber Castle of legends was a real castle that had existed in the

Dark Age. It was a secluded place inhabited by nobles and intellectuals who

had escaped the horrors of war. But one day, Leonora visited and sealed the

building, and everyone within, inside a giant block of amber.

Then she buried it under the wasteland.

As the Amber Castle touched open air for the first time in hundreds of

years, it created hordes of bloodred butterflies. Tinasha clapped a hand to

her mouth at the sheer scale of how many people had died while shut up in

the castle.

But then she realized the situation and gasped. "Oscar…"

She couldn't find him at first, but spied a small crack on one side of the

Amber Castle when she looked closer. He had probably used Akashia to cut

open a hole and gone inside to keep from being flattened between the sands

and the castle. Such a maneuver wouldn't have been possible under normal

circumstances, but Leonora had made the Amber Castle out of magic,

which enabled his desperate move.

Tinasha was partially relieved but looked up when she felt a colossal

wave of magic. She looked at Leonora and saw a mass of magic in her

hands—one far surpassing that of the attack she'd just fired. Tinasha

realized that at some point, all the bloodred butterflies had disappeared.

With a strained smile, she asked, "Is this your trump card?"

"What a tacky way of putting it. This is all my territory," Leonora

retorted. The woman launched a blinding surge of white light, imbued with

strength exacerbated by innumerable butterfly bloodstones.

Such immense magic could destroy anything in its path. Leonora had

poured all of her might into this blow, and it burned the air as it grew larger

and larger.

I can't take this hit, Tinasha thought, and she moved to evade it. But she

realized what was behind her and stopped. The fortress was at her back. If

she escaped, the garrison and everyone in it would perish.

"Vanish this meaning! My thoughts shall transform the world! Vanish it!

…Vanish it!"

Tinasha manifested a defensive barrier in front of her. She poured as

much magic as she could into it. Pale brilliance blocked out the sky, so

bright it dazzled the eyes.

The next thing Tinasha knew, Leonora's attack overtook her.

The massive magic attack rocked the sky.

Even the encased castle trembled. As Oscar walked down a hallway

glittering with gold, he frowned and looked around him.

"Did she do something…?" he muttered, but there was no reply. He also

saw no sign of the grotesquely shaped opponent he needed to defeat.

When the castle appeared from underground, Unai had gotten sucked

into the amber forming the outer shell. Oscar was nearly engulfed when he

slipped after his enemy into the resin.

The structure's interior was as still as death. Akashia in hand, Oscar

made his way down a deserted corridor.

"The Amber Castle, huh…? Now that I see it up close, it's just a regular

palace," he commented. He'd been shocked to see the huge mass of amber

rising from below the earth, but the interior was a more familiar scene.

Half-decomposed human skeletons were strewn here and there, and red

butterflies fluttered about, but aside from that, Oscar spotted nothing

extraordinary. Amber had seeped in around the windows, but not so much

as to make the halls impassable.

Oscar reached the end of the long passage and entered the great hall at

the castle's center. As in the ballroom in Gandona's castle, the ceiling

formed a tall, vaulted atrium.

Golden light filtered into the hall; it was like a magic palace out of a

storybook. Light was refracted and glittered along the walls and ceiling,

lending the space a splendor worthy of adoring sighs.

However, this was a place forgotten by time.

As he looked around the empty hall, Oscar readied his weapon. He saw

Unai standing in the middle of the room and frowned in confusion. "I know

you can contort your body however you want, but can you really pass

through the amber, too?"

"Lady Leonora created me and this castle," Unai answered.

"And what a loyal follower you are. You still obey that woman even

though you're not human anymore?" Oscar inquired.

"She saved me when I was on the verge of death. That was when she

gave me this body," Unai replied, gazing down at his sickle hand. In his

eyes was all the nostalgia of someone who had lived a very long time. It

didn't matter whether Oscar understood or not.

A frown crossed Oscar's handsome face, but he quickly assumed a

combative stance. "Sorry, but if I don't get out fast, my cat's going to lose

her temper."

"There's no need to rush. You have all the time in the world. Just live

inside this castle and never change," said Unai.

"As one of her collectibles? No thanks, I'll pass," Oscar shot back.

A foreboding of death filled the glimmering hall, so reminiscent of a

child's jewelry box.

It was utterly silent on the top floor of the petrified castle.

This was where the people who had fled the wartime destruction of the

Dark Age had gathered. Yet true peace descended upon the place only when

Leonora sealed the palace in amber. Free from the fear of death, the

structure could go on forever, unchanging. By the witch's hands, it had been

preserved in all its beauty.

Leonora walked through the glittering throne room, accompanied by two

of her demon followers.

Thrilled over her victory against Tinasha, she felt a brief rush of

exhilaration.

Once it had faded, there was only apathy. Somewhere along the way,

that had become her constant. Leonora was bored to tears. She'd lost

interest in the world, and everything had gotten so annoying.

The witch reached the stone throne and flopped onto it languidly.

"Poor, pitiful girl," she muttered triumphantly, though the words felt

hollow. A smile twisted her red lips.

No one could take a hit like that dead-on. Such was the fate she deserved

for growing fond of a mortal.

It had been a fun game.

Leonora had inserted herself into the downfalls of many a country and

many a mortal, but of all her distractions, this had been her favorite.

Tinasha was strong, beautiful, foolish, and young—the ultimate opponent.

And, of course, it was fun because she'd won the game.

But…the more fun a game was, the more despondency she was left with

afterward.

Once all her passion and enthusiasm evaporated, a sense of

meaninglessness—like sinking into a bottomless ocean—gripped the

woman.

It was no different from the day her home and childhood went up in

flames.

"…Elou, my sister."

She closed her eyes and recalled memories of a day in the past, long,

long ago.

After she'd lost her parents in the attack on that snowy day, an older male

cousin took guardianship of Elou.

Her older twin had disappeared, and when Elou learned that her sibling

had been killed like their parents, she was overcome with loneliness.

Still, she tried to live optimistically. She did as her cousin recommended

and agreed to marry him when she was of age and inherited her father's

lands. A peaceful life should have awaited her.

When had she learned that her existence was all a lie?

Was it upon learning that her cousin had secretly sent soldiers out to the

old woman's cottage? Or maybe when her older twin, Leonora, who had

been living there, burst into the castle, drenched in blood? It could also have

been after Elou discovered that it was none other than her cousin who had

orchestrated the death of her parents and sister so that he could wed her.

Elou's wedding dress was stained crimson. Her other half lay flat on the

ground before her.

"Leonora! Leonora, my sister, stay with me! Don't leave me!" Elou

cried.

After ten years, the twins had at last reunited, only for one to be left

behind again.

That was why, desperately, she reached out to take her dying sister's

magic, her soul, her memories—so they could become one again, just as

they once were in the womb.

And so Elou became Leonora.

Or did Leonora become Elou?

Leonora pressed her ivory-white fingers against her face.

She'd quit asking the meaningless question of which girl she was a long

time ago.

When she combined two people into one and summoned the highestranking demon to remake her body for revenge…her mind had been in such

a haze of pain and bitterness that it felt nearly shattered.

That was how she'd become a witch.

She was free now, and there was no need to be fettered with hatred. All

that mattered was to pursue her own fancy.

With blank eyes, she gazed at the hall. Unconsciously, she whispered,

"…I might as well have been the one to die."

Fatigue weighed heavy on Leonora. Suddenly, a powerful wave of sleep

gripped her.

Leonora covered her heavy eyelids—but just then, she felt a vibration

from downstairs.

Unai must still be fighting. With a scowl, she got to her feet. "That little

gnat who doesn't know his place… I'll tear him to pieces."

The demons flanking the witch bowed.

While he might be the swordsman of Akashia, in this castle, Leonora

was the absolute ruler. She concentrated, reaching out with her mind to

locate him.

No sooner had she done so than her two attending demons were abruptly

blown to smithereens.

Not a drop of blood was left—just black specks floating in the air.

The witch looked up in astonishment. There was a hole in the ceiling,

and an ebon-haired witch was dropping in through it. The right side of

Tinasha's body was burned hideously red, but when she spoke, it was in a

clear voice that did not indicate any pain. "Who did you say you killed?"

Tinasha gave a small grin so laden with anger it seemed to burn.

"…Damn you…"

Leonora had seen such fury before, though Tinasha's bloodlust was far,

far keener and sharper. Leonora felt outmatched.

Tinasha extended an inviting hand.

"I'll make you regret that you ever became a witch," she growled in a

voice as sweet as lethal poison.

Tinasha let her eyes flutter nearly closed. She was in a trance as the

emotions governing her whole body took over.

Her enemy stood before her—only a trifling thing.

She wanted to kill her.

She could kill her.

She had the power to do so.

Power gathered in her body. The whole world aligned with her drive to

destroy. The hall inside the castle locked in amber creaked and groaned.

The power to wipe away the desert and all that sat upon it was coalescing in

Tinasha's palms.

Tinasha was about to cast a simple spell to pour that magic into when

she realized the ribbon tied to her left arm had come undone. She noticed it

lying on the floor and paused.

"…Oscar."

A small drop of water became a wave. Her composure came back to her

like the tide coming in. Tinasha abandoned her spell and let the power fade

back.

I can't do that. Everyone would die.

She had explicitly avoided getting overly involved with people so that

she wouldn't destroy them in her anger.

Wielding that power now would be like rendering her decision to choose

Oscar a mistake. And it would make him into an idiot king for selecting her,

something Tinasha refused to do.

Leonora was staring at her suspiciously. "What's wrong?"

Tinasha answered bluntly. "I decided to stop hating you."

"…Why? You have all that power. You're so…"

Beautiful, Leonora almost admitted, but she held her tongue. Her pride

wouldn't allow her to say such a thing. This black-haired woman was her

enemy.

Tinasha didn't answer Leonora's question.

In the dark abyss of her eyes, there was no longer resentment nor glee.

Instead, there resided a silent glow like a lake in the night—the light of the

soul. Tinasha's eyes closed as she took a deep breath in.

Then, slowly, she opened them and smiled. "I'm going to beat you. No

more close calls. Come with me, and I'll play with you."

Leonora's eyes bulged. Hatred surged in those green orbs.

Tinasha met those flames of emotion with a bemused, helpless smile.

Shortly after entering the Amber Castle, Oscar could sense that some

sort of violent collision had happened somewhere above. His protective

barrier had wavered along with it.

Unai picked up on the same thing and gave Oscar a half smile. "Looks

like the Witch of the Azure Moon has no way out, either. It's just you left."

"Oh yeah?" Oscar retorted, advancing on his opponent. Unai's sickle

met Akashia.

No matter what Unai said, Oscar was growing less worried by the

second. He knew Tinasha wasn't dead. He could feel the familiar sensation

of her protection on him, the same as it always was.

Still, she certainly could be careless when it came to herself. It was

possible she was injured, and the last thing anyone needed was her falling

into blind fury. Oscar wanted to check on how she was doing before things

reached a deadlock.

"Now, what to do about it…," he murmured as he swung his sword.

Akashia's sharp, glittering blade cut off Unai's sickle. However, the thing

regrew immediately, just as it had before. "I feel like I'm fighting an

octopus or a squid."

I suppose it's a good thing that he can't use magic himself, but I'd

honestly prefer to go up against a powerful mage, thought Oscar. His

musing came to an abrupt end when something above caught his attention.

He sensed magic gathering somewhere near the top of the castle, beyond

the high atrium.

It easily dwarfed the considerable blast from earlier. This was so

massive that it could wipe out everything if unleashed.

"Tinasha…"

He didn't need to think about who was responsible. It was his witch.

She was calling up more than enough magic to eradicate the castle. But

after it was all over, she and Oscar would be the only ones remaining.

Unai came slashing at him, and he dodged and leaped back. As he did,

he untied the ribbon fastened around his left arm. As he struck back at Unai,

he repelled that monstrous sickle.

I know that got through to her just now.

That would be enough. The two had fought enough battles together for

Oscar to be confident of that.

He suddenly became aware that he was smiling, and Unai frowned at

him. "Gone mad, have you?"

"No, I just know something you don't," Oscar answered.

"Oh?"

The roof of the atrium was blasted open. Amid a rain of rubble and

amber, a shadow descended.

Light as a feather, she set herself down next to Oscar.

The witch in ebon, beautiful no matter how many injuries she sustained.

Oscar patted the head of his beloved and grinned. "She doesn't lose to

anyone."

The Witch of the Azure Moon landed from the top floor of the castle,

flipping her long hair back lightly over one shoulder.

Before her touched down the Witch Who Cannot Be Summoned.

Leonora glared at the two of them hatefully. "How dare you two…?"

"She looks pretty mad, Tinasha. And how did you get those burns?"

Oscar inquired.

"I'll heal them later, sorry," Tinasha replied, her reaction unfazed—

perhaps she was anesthetizing the pain of the terrible scorches that dotted

the right half of her body.

It was actually the unscathed Leonora who appeared more dangerous at

the moment.

Oscar sized up the two witches and said to Tinasha, "So you're going to

start all over? She doesn't have any injuries, so I'm guessing you weren't

able to overcome her healing abilities."

"Yes, sorry, it's exactly as you've guessed. This castle was also

completely beyond what I anticipated," she answered tartly.

"No, no, I'm in the same boat as you. I don't mind," Oscar admitted

reasonably, flashing her a soft smile.

Leonora beheld the pair with open scorn. "You're supposed to be a

witch, and you're acting like a child. Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

"That's your opinion. It's because I have him that I can be a good,

honest person," Tinasha replied.

"Good? Honest? What are you even saying? You're a witch. That's

ridiculous." Leonora sniffed.

"You know, for all that, you're the one throwing a fit like an infant,"

Oscar pointed out, poking holes in Leonora's haughty attitude.

For a moment, her face screwed up in a scowl. Coldly, she whispered,

"Silence. I hate men like you the most."

"I never intended on negotiating with you, either," Oscar quipped back,

stepping forward with Akashia in hand. When Unai saw that, he moved to

guard his lady.

Tinasha whispered in a voice only Oscar could hear. "Leonora will heal

almost any attack as soon as it lands. The castle also amplifies her magic, so

a drawn-out battle puts us at a disadvantage."

He'd already known about the first part. The king's witch sighed and

went on. "What I need is to land one fatal blow. Which is why…"

Oscar listened to the rest, his face giving nothing away.

Unai took a step forward, clearly opening hostilities.

Charm infused Leonora's voice as she drawled, "I'm going to put an end

to this very soon. All of it. By my hand."

With that, the final conflict began.

Leonora wove a spell.

This castle was functionally a magical reserve Leonora had created for

herself. It was like a gem that lay dormant, cut off from the flow of time,

containing the souls of all the people who rotted away in obscurity here.

The structure's reemergence had released butterfly bloodstones all over

the place.

No matter what kind of spell she wove, she wouldn't want for magic at

all.

Tinasha was called the strongest because she had immense magical

reserves to draw on, but she couldn't claim that advantage in the Amber

Castle.

Which was why Leonora called up a powerful attack spell—but then she

paused in surprise. She had thought Tinasha would be doing the same thing,

yet she was attacking Leonora with her sword.

Before the attack could connect, Unai was in front of his master.

Tinasha's slender blade met the man's sickle, and he knocked her off her

feet easily. She went flying, but without a moment's delay, Oscar struck

with Akashia.

Fury flaring up in Leonora, she yelled, "Where do you think you're

looking, brat?!"

"Yeah, I see it," said Tinasha.

Leonora's finished spell burst apart. Tinasha used short-range

teleportation to appear next to her, thin sword raised and ready.

"You should die already."

Leonora thought of her as a poor, pitiful girl.

She was the sole survivor of the Magic Empire, destroyed in one night.

When Leonora heard about this former potential queen who had come into

a vast amount of magical power and survived, she could guess what had

happened.

This child was just like her. Betrayal had made her into a witch. That

was why she was a slave to revenge. It was incredibly tragic.

She should set herself free, live the way she pleased. Surely both women

had enough power to exist free as birds.

However, Tinasha didn't do that. Very stubbornly, she lived like a

captive. And as she did, she was beautiful.

That was why Leonora hated her. She was a complete eyesore.

"…Ngh! Little brat!"

The blade nicked Leonora's right ear.

The pain was excruciating, but she was used to it. She didn't even need

to concentrate, and the wound would heal.

Leonora teleported backward, dodging the attack. At the same time,

Unai was battling the wielder of the royal sword.

She had lived for so very long.

By the time she'd encountered Unai, she'd existed for close to four

centuries. When she thought back to that meeting and wondered why she'd

saved an imprisoned man on the verge of death, she always concluded that

it had been because he was similar to her.

The flames of revenge burned in his heart. That was the emotion left to

him in the end by those who'd crushed him underfoot. Leonora gave him

power and granted him his revenge.

Once he was free, he followed Leonora silently.

How many years had passed since then? Surely it was nearing double

the time she'd lived before meeting him.

Tinasha's attacks were relentless.

None of them inflicted severe wounds on Leonora, but they did drive her

little by little over to the edge of the great hall. Irritated with how she

couldn't seize the initiative, Leonora saw red. "You're so foolish…

Everything you do is futile," the woman spat.

"No, it isn't," replied Tinasha, the point of her sword heading right for

the other witch. But just before it reached Leonora, she smashed the blade

apart.

Metal fragments glittered, refracting golden light. Another weapon, this

one a dagger, lanced forward from some unseen place, striking at Leonora's

throat like a serpent. The fast-approaching tip of the blade glowed with a

spell.

This was a fierce penetrative attack. Leonora leaped away as soon as she

realized as much, but her back hit the wall.

In the next moment, Tinasha's spell let loose, crushing Leonora and the

wall behind her.

Never had she thought she'd like to die. There were times when she'd

thought idly, I'd be okay if I died right now, however. She'd grown so

dreadfully tired and sick of how the world never changed.

Yet, even so, she didn't wish to perish. It would make everything she'd

done to arrive here for naught.

The fear she'd felt that night in the snow, the shock of losing her older

sister, the despair of getting overrun by inhuman beings—she didn't want to

cast any of it away. She had the sense that if she gave in and ended her life,

it would render worthless both the Leonora who hated everything and the

Leonora who'd tossed aside that anger.

Thus death was not an option.

She would win and carry on with her slow, lazy life. Things could

continue, and she would freely enjoy herself in this nauseating world.

The witch held no regrets about her ways, never once having believed

them wrong.

Therefore—

Leonora was thrust through the wall, shattering it, and collapsed in the

rubble on the other side.

As soon as she was aware of the pain, her broken limbs and shredded

internal organs started to knit back together.

But her thoughts were heated. The pain was reviving a fury she should

have half forgotten.

Amid the dancing shards of amber, she could see that Tinasha had

retreated far back. Leonora flew forward in pursuit of her. "Did you chicken

out, brat?!"

"Of course not," answered Tinasha, and she pointed up at the ceiling.

What remained of the upper portion of the castle was smashed apart.

Overhead was a clear blue sky. The sun's rays shone in.

Clear tinkling sounds poured down from above along with a rain of

countless tiny, glittering pieces of amber.

The light and shower of resin made it difficult to see.

Tinasha slid behind the curtain of blinding amber, wanting to draw up a

spell while she had the chance.

Unfortunately, it was meaningless for anyone but Leonora to cast

anything in this castle. The Witch Who Cannot Be Summoned called up an

attack spell in her right hand and thrust her palm out toward what lay past

the curtain of shimmering gold. "Die!" she shouted, her voice that of an

eager hunter.

Yet her magic didn't go off. Leonora felt an odd impact and looked

down at her chest.

There was Akashia, stuck deep in her breast.

"How?" she whispered, falling to the floor. Her eyes darted all over as

she collapsed, wondering what had happened.

She was unable to use her power, so her wounds couldn't heal. Akashia

impaled her, and it was going to end everything.

Leonora located the man lying facedown before Tinasha in the center of

the room and called to him. "U…nai…"

She was so cold. It was like she was back in that snow on that night

again. All alone, freezing, on the verge of death.

No, she refused to go backward. She'd made so much progress since

that day. She'd moved ahead, lived…and now she was growing weary.

The passage of time had done little to make the world a kinder place.

"Unai…I'm going to sleep, just for a bit…"

Leonora closed her eyes.

She reached out a questing hand for someone amid a pool of spreading

blood.

"Stay with me…until I…"

The witch hoped that her slumber would bring no dreams.

"…Elou."

With the name of someone she'd lost long ago on her lips and in her

mind, Leonora took her final breath.

"Did everything go okay?" asked Oscar, pulling Akashia out of the witch's

body now that she'd breathed her last.

Tinasha was inspecting Unai's corpse, but she looked up at Oscar's

inquiry. "Yes, fighting in this hall was perfect for us. So long as we kept the

battle here, our victory was assured."

Tinasha had destroyed the castle's roof and upper floors and used the

falling amber pieces as a smokescreen for her and Oscar to change places.

That was why she had deliberately pushed Leonora to one side of the room.

Leonora had lost her cool, irritated over the pain of her injuries and

being shoved around. Luring her into retaliating had been a trifle, and that

was when she'd suffered a fatal blow from the Mage Killer.

Neither Leonora nor Unai had noticed that their opponents had switched

places, and they wound up defeated.

Oscar frowned all over again at Tinasha's burns. "Hurry up and heal

those. It's painful just to look at them."

"Urgh, wait a minute," she responded. Reciting a quiet incantation, she

lifted both hands. The remaining parts of the castle began to crumble.

The patch of sky overhead widened. The castle turned to sand and

disappeared, just like a child's game coming to a close. Tinasha took charge

of the giant spell banning all summoning and rewrote it slightly.

"Return."

The camouflaged configuration floated up over the desert. It started to

give off a white light until it all focused together skyward, virtually getting

sucked up.

At the same time, all the demons Leonora had conjured vanished

without a trace.

Als was startled when the demon he was fighting in the corridor abruptly

disappeared. He looked all around him, but the enemies were gone. Behind,

the mages were equally speechless as the spell they were maintaining was

taken from them.

Nearby, Mila had been right about to cut down a high-ranking demon.

She giggled.

Near her, Senn sighed. "Well, that took long enough."

Als looked down at his sword. "Did we…win?"

Next to him, Meredina cocked her head. "…It would appear so."

Kumu snapped back to himself the fastest and directed the mages to heal

the wounded. All at once, there was a new flurry of activity, but Nephelli

just gazed out the window at the eastern sky.

So is it all over now?

None of it felt real. She hadn't done anything.

A dragon's shadow raced across the ground in the distance. While she

was relieved to see it, a sense of loneliness also welled up inside her.

It wasn't over. Things were only beginning.

Once she returned to the chaotic royal court, she would be the only one

who could support her father and brother.

Oscar and Tinasha were greeted by a round of cheers when they arrived

back at the fortress.

Tinasha was comforted to hear that there had been no deaths, and Mila

latched right on to her. "Lady Tinasha, praise me."

"Thank you, Mila, you're very strong," Tinasha said, patting Mila's

head. The demonic spirit's eyes closed happily. Senn grabbed her by the

collar and dragged her away, and she curtsied before vanishing along with

him.

From behind, Oscar dropped a hand onto Tinasha's head. "I'll handle the

cleanup here. You should change and get some sleep if you want."

"Okay," Tinasha replied. While her wounds had been closed, the same

could not be said of her clothes. Oscar had given her his jacket to wear.

Tinasha thanked a teary-eyed Pamyra for her service before disappearing

with her into the fortress.

Oscar watched them go, then turned to Nephelli. She hadn't taken her

eyes off him. "Well, Princess Nephelli, shall we establish an agreed-upon

series of events?"

The king spoke quite naturally. Naturally, he'd seen right through her

facade. She grimaced, bowed her head, and apologized for her rudeness in

lying about her identity. Then she set off alongside Oscar.

Without the sandstorm, the sky looked so peaceful that it almost seemed

nostalgic. Nephelli felt so relaxed that she suddenly blurted out something

that had been needling at her mind for a while. "Eleven years ago…why did

Farsas reject the marriage talks?"

Oscar looked surprised for a moment before he gave an awkward smile.

"Apparently, I have strong magical power. No normal woman can bear my

child. And I couldn't bear to kill someone who had wed me to ensure peace

simply because I got her pregnant."

Nephelli's eyes widened a little when she heard that, but she quickly

smiled. It didn't matter if that was true or not. Any answer at all seemed a

weight off her shoulders.

Her life wasn't meant to be intertwined with his. Their paths had

converged a little here, but now they would go their separate ways again.

The countenance of a princess restored, Nephelli thought about what

was to come and pulled herself together.

After a light bath to rinse off the blood and sweat, Tinasha changed into

ordinary mage's robes. She felt a familiar presence and smiled. Soon

enough, she heard a man say, "Sounds like that was a pretty close fight

there. Not as good as you used to be?"

"I couldn't help it. I was trying out a lot of spells for the first time.

Besides, my duel with you was much harder," she answered.

"You better believe it was," quipped the silver-haired man, popping into

her room with a sneer curling his lips.

Tinasha felt Pamyra tense up and put out a hand to stop her. Travis, the

king of the demons, folded his arms and smirked at her. She eyed him as

she dried her hair. "Anyway, you're going to keep your promise, aren't

you?"

"Yeah, I will. I won't lay a finger on Farsas so long as your blood runs

in the veins of the royal family," Travis drawled.

"I actually wish you'd just leave the country alone regardless of my

involvement, but…"

"I'd never agree to that. Brazen of you to even ask," Travis finished.

"Well, I suppose this much is good enough," Tinasha decided with a

smile, adjusting her now-dry hair.

Killing Leonora had been a personal bit of revenge, of course, but

Tinasha had also gone through with it because Travis had made her an offer

she couldn't refuse. It wasn't an easy proposition at all to get him to swear

that a living calamity such as he wouldn't interfere in things—especially if

the agreement remained after Tinasha's death.

No one but Tinasha and Travis knew about their deal, but no one else

needed to.

As Tinasha gathered up her hair, Travis asked her, "What are you going

to do now?"

"I'm going to live and die with him. I'll have to restore my body to the

natural flow of time to have children, after all," she answered.

"I see," he hummed, sounding uninterested even though he was the one

who'd asked. He waved, looking like he was about to go.

Tinasha said, "Give my regards to Aurelia. Tell her thank you."

"I will," Travis responded before vanishing without a trace of magic.

Turning around to face Pamyra, Tinasha smiled at her. "That's one thing

settled."

Pamyra was still astonished at the discussion she'd just witnessed, and

she could only sigh in response to her lady's mischievous grin. Tinasha

knew she'd exasperated her attendant, and she cast her gaze out the

window.

There was now one fewer witch in the world.

She had no particularly strong feelings about that fact. The word witch

was only a term by which women with too much power were exalted over

ordinary humans. The title was pointless and conferred no authority or

meaning.

Tinasha had no desire to investigate Leonora's reason for living as a

witch or discover what she had sacrificed along the way.

Instead, she was content to merely hold on to the memory of the woman

she had known, a trivial fragment of the whole.

Some might call that sentimental, but Tinasha was okay with it