The Witch (9)

Mysterious beings born with the powers of the twelve moons, seasons, and elements—The Twelve New Moons.

Each of them was born with different powers, and their personalities, appearances, and even individualities were so diverse that no two were alike.

Some lived hidden in the gaps between dimensions, mingling with spirits. Some created their own kingdoms in hidden depths, ruling over their subjects. Some slumbered for long years, some inflicted pain upon themselves to suppress their powers, and others lived among humans, pretending to be one of them.

Among them, New Moon Space was the most unique one.

He merely wandered leisurely, observing the world without interfering in anything.

However, recently, cracks had begun to appear in New Moon Space's 'indifferent personality.'

He, who had never interfered with the way of the world, began to involve himself a little.

'It can't be helped.'

New Moon Space thought as he moved, but he knew better than anyone that there was no such thing as an unavoidable situation in this world, and so he was confused by his own contradiction.

'Why is this happening?'

The world ran according to destiny.

If the local bakery owner was destined to eat bread for breakfast today, it would inevitably happen.

Having observed destiny countless times, he firmly believed that destiny was unchangeable.

However, recently, things were strange.

Others might not notice, but New Moon Space could tell. The world was not running according to destiny.

He realized this decisively when he arrived at the Levian Coast in the Adolveit Kingdom.

'This is...!'

The sea, which had been frozen for hundreds of years, had completely thawed, and the Levian Coast had regained its seasons. It no longer suffered from the harsh cold.

People were enjoying the warm summer, swimming and surfing on the beach. While the pirate ship Black Cross, which had been frozen in the heart of the sea, had become a tourist attraction.

Something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

Having observed destiny hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of times, he knew well.

The Levian Coast should have been a cold disaster, a hell where no living creature could survive.

Yet, it was now a vacation tourist spot.

'What happened while I wasn't watching?'

He gazed at the sky with his gray eyes. No one could see stars through the sunny sky, but the constellations were vividly reflected in New Moon Space's eyes.

'... So this time, you're not just observing fate, huh.'

He turned away from the constellations and began to walk.

"Hey, that's a cliff! It's dangerous to go near the edge...!"

Someone shouted at New Moon Space from behind, but he quickly disappeared into a gray rift in space.

"What the...?"

The man who tried to warn him tilted his head, wondering if he had seen a ghost.

Strange things appeared to happen often these days.

———

Drip! Drip!!

The sound of water droplets echoed through the narrow space.

Splash!!

"Ugh..."

The witch, Mellie Sher, clutched her abdomen as she slowly walked through the underground sewers of Arcanium. The wound from her encounter with the witch hunter had not yet healed, making it impossible for her to use her full magic power.

The very fact that she had to roam the stinking sewers was disgusting and filled her with self-loathing, but she had no choice.

Surviving an encounter with a witch hunter was something she had to be grateful for, at least for now.

"Heh... It's okay..."

She just needed a little more time.

With a bit more recovery, she could run her witch's restaurant again as before.

She couldn't afford to remain idle for too long.

Students who were only mildly addicted would soon break free of her magic's influence. Especially the students from prestigious schools, who were innately attuned to magic—their resistance would return quickly.

"Hey, you look pretty hurt. Why don't you come over here and rest a bit?"

Startled by the voice from behind, Mellie Sher quickly aimed her staff. There stood a woman smiling brightly at her.

"Why so jumpy? It's not strange for people to live in the underground sewers of Arcanium, is it?"

"... Are you from the Dark Mage Alliance?"

"Yep. You know us well. We're not particularly hostile towards you. We might even help a little."

"Get lost. Do you think I don't know you're here for my crystal orb?"

"Well, that's part of it. But wouldn't it be nice for us to get along and hide from the world together? Oh, but I guess you're a bit different, aren't you? You've been causing quite a stir above ground."

"I'm better than you lot who hide in these disgusting sewers like cockroaches."

"I suppose so~ But..."

The woman scanned Mellie Sher up and down, a sly smile spreading across her face.

"Seeing you in such a beaten state makes me think hiding might be better after all."

"You bastard..."

"Think it over. Living in hiding isn't all bad, you know?"

"No matter how degraded I become, I'll never live a vulgar life like you."

"Sure, sure! Take care then~"

As the dark mage woman vanished into the shadows, Mellie Sher slumped against the wall.

"Disgusting bastards..."

Whether mages or dark mages, they were all the same. She fought back the urge to tear them apart, dissect each piece, and shove it in their faces.

'If I expand my territory in Arcanium, the first thing I'll do is clean out these sewers...'

She had heard that the ruler of Arcanium, the 'Archmage,' had let some bugs loose in the underground. But she hadn't expected dark mages from the Dark Mage Alliance to openly appear.

'The Dark Mage Alliance...'

Thinking about it, it was amusing. Whether mages or dark mages, they all formed groups. Yet, witches never had such organizations. By nature, they had to live alone. Forming groups was fundamentally impossible for them.

'This city is disgusting...'

She was sick of Arcanium, but it was too late to leave now.

She had poured everything she had into this place, so she had no choice but to keep running the witch's restaurant until she died.

Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!

"Let's check over there!"

"Yes, sir!"

"... Ugh!"

Hearing the shouts of some men in the distance, Mellie Sher quickly scattered an illusion around herself to hide.

She could kill them if she wanted to, but in her current exhausted state, she wasn't confident she could handle the endless wave of Stella Knights.

'Of all things, why did Stella have to get involved…?'

Could her luck get any worse? But even so, she wasn't too worried.

No mages could see through her illusions and find her location.

'It's just that my range of movement is a bit smaller. I just need to move carefully and reopen the restaurant.'

The witch's restaurant was already an existence created from illusions. No matter how hard the Stella Knights struggled, they couldn't catch her.

As long as an irregular witch hunter didn't interfere... She could keep luring students.

Besides, having already taken down one witch hunter, there shouldn't be any more problems.

Thinking this, she stood up. Now... It was time to take a small step toward a brilliant future.

———

Five days had passed since the terrorist incident at the Witch's Restaurant.

During this time, the Stella Magic Investigation Unit had used all sorts of advanced magical equipment to try and find some clue at the scene, but unfortunately, they discovered nothing.

Considering that the witch was an unknown entity, this was perhaps to be expected.

What have Baek Yu-Seol been doing all this time?

"Hey Baek Yu-Seol, how long are you going to keep doing nothing? Shouldn't you at least try to do something?"

Nothing.

He had just been waiting at the scene. It was only natural that the Stella Knights were getting irritated with his inactivity.

"After this case is over, I'll report your behavior exactly as it is to Commander Arien. Do you think you've become something just because you got a temporary knight title?"

"No."

How nice it would be if he actually were something.

In fact, he had more to say to Arien. He saddled Baek Yu-Seol with a bunch of useless idiots.

Yawn!

As he yawned widely, the knight clicked his tongue and walked away.

Five hours later.

Even as the sun was setting and the knights had found nothing, they finally withdrew.

While everyone else left, leaving only a minimal force behind, he steadfastly remained at the site.

"Exactly five days."

The time it took for a witch hunter to resurrect after death.

Sssss...

A black mist began to rise from the scene of the incident, slowly forming a human-like shape in the air. He checked to make sure no one was watching and approached it.

And then, he knew he was right.

"... I had my suspicions, but as expected."

"You... are…"

"Long time no see, rookie witch hunter."

"Ha…"

Baek Yu-Seol had previously encountered this witch hunter on the train. Likely, this witch hunter was relatively inexperienced.

"Did you fall victim to the witch?"

"Yes... It's pathetic…"

It was like a tiger hunting a rabbit and getting eaten instead. He lost a fight he should never have lost.

The witch hunter's form drooped. He appeared dejected in his black, misty shape.

In the meantime, Baek Yu-Seol thought.

'This witch hunter isn't the character from the original episode.'

The witch hunter who appeared in the episode had a trait called [Breath of the Dead Witch].

Because of that trait, Eisel was pushed to the brink of death. However, she was ultimately saved by Haewonryang and Mayuseong.

However, the witch hunter before Baek Yu-Seol didn't have that trait. Instead, he possessed the trait [Revive Once, Five Days After Death], which meant...

'There's another witch hunter.'

The witch hunter who attacked Eisel in the original game was a different person. This was not a good sign for him.

Baek Yu-Seol thought the witch hunter was killed, but that wasn't the case.

"What are you doing here?"

"… I came because I heard you were hunting a witch here."

"So, you tried to get ahead and got humiliated? That's pathetic."

The witch hunter's eyes dimmed. He was speechless.

"I told you, didn't I? This witch isn't easy to hunt. Do you think I took on this human form and abandoned my honor for no reason?"

Baek Yu-Seol pulled out the lie he had told earlier and fit it into the situation. It sounded plausible enough that the witch hunter was left speechless.

"I apologize…"

"Well, it doesn't matter. You didn't die completely, did you?"

That he survived was purely the witch's mistake. That witch must have strong powers but didn't know that witch hunters can even defy death.

"I will leave this matter to you."

"You're leaving?"

"Yes... I'm ashamed to have caused you trouble."

"You're well aware. But are you just going to leave?"

...?

Did he think Baek Yu-Seol waited here just to confirm he would come back to life? Of course, it was to use a real witch hunter's skills for an easy witch hunt.

The guy in front of Baek Yu-Seol didn't have enough power to defeat the witch, but all his abilities would give him a significant advantage in hunting the witch.

"I plan to take that witch's head. Isn't it bothersome for you to leave after being defeated by her?"

"That's true, but…"

"Besides, you violated the strict taboo among witch hunters against betraying your kind."

"Wait, it's absurd to say I broke a rule just because I targeted your prey!"

"What? How old are you? I know a guy who got executed for stealing prey. Ever seen it?"

"… No."

"Then don't talk. I've seen it."

In fact, Baek Yu-Seol hadn't.

"Anyway, if you don't want to die, help me out for a bit. You have a base, right? Open it up for a bit. I need to get some tools."

"What about your subspace...?"

"Ugh. I told you last time, I lost it fighting the witch. Do I have to tell you twice?"

"Alright. I'll open it for you."

Having been extorted by Baek Yu-Seol once before, he hesitated for a moment but ultimately couldn't resist. The threat worked, and now he had no choice but to comply.

Riiip! Whooom!

The space tore open, revealing a dark subspace.

Baek Yu-Seol stepped in ahead of him, a sly grin creeping across his face.

It appeared like it was going to be a lucky day.