The Selfish Choice
The moment the hooded woman called herself a Witch, the pitch-black bead in her hand flashed, and dozens of beasts materialized in midair—just as the Sloth Witch, Beatrice, had once summoned beasts using a pitch-black bead in the gymnasium.
Some looked like bats, others like birds. Beasts of ominous sizes, each bearing wings, filled the sky. The shadows cast by the creatures that blanketed the sky in an instant made it look as though darkness had fallen over the earth.
The massive roar unleashed by those giant beasts simultaneously shook the very atmosphere. Several students stumbled, clutching their ears. All of this unfolded in what could only be described as a split second.
Yet, sensing the crisis, the Heroes had already begun running even before that. Toward where the students were gathered. To protect those weaker than themselves.
Martina, who was the fastest to reach the students, shouted at them at the top of her lungs. "Everyone! Get behind me—!"
Though it was an unexpected ambush, as long as they could fight while protecting the students, they would surely be able to repel them. That was likely the quickest and most accurate judgment the Heroes could make.
If only the Witch hadn't been closer to the students than they were.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."
Along with the woman's voice, a black barrier appeared, separating the students from the Heroes.
As Martina, who had been rushing to protect them, was blocked by the barrier, one of the students screamed, "It's a barrier! We have to enter from our side!"
A barrier. The ability of the beast of Greed they had learned about at the Academy. It created a space that could be entered from the outside, but once inside, one could never leave until the beast that activated the ability was defeated.
Realizing they wouldn't be able to join up with the Heroes at this rate, the students threw themselves toward the black barrier, only to collide with the pitch-black wall and bounce back with a heavy *thud*.
The eyes of the rebounded students shot toward the sky. Several beasts looked down at them, flapping their wings as if mocking them. All of them were Medium-rank beasts or higher. It meant they couldn't leave unless they wiped every single one of them out.
Despite the despair of the situation, the students did not give up. They desperately poured attacks toward the sky to somehow shoot down the beasts.
However, those attacks were swallowed by strange holes that materialized in midair, vanishing into nothingness.
After staring blankly at the sky for a moment, the students slowly turned their heads. There was only one being among them capable of such an incredible feat.
Where the children turned their gazes, the Witch stood, looking at them with a sly, smirking grin.
"Ah..." someone gasped in utter despair. They had realized that a presence far more threatening than any beast was right beside them. And without her permission, no one would ever escape this place.
"Ahaha, don't be so scared. As long as you don't attack first, I don't really plan on laying a finger on you. I didn't come here to fight today, you see."
The woman who introduced herself as a Witch—no, the entity who was undoubtedly a Witch—said so. But there was no way we could let our guard down.
How could we believe someone who claimed she didn't come to fight, yet unleashed that many beasts and isolated us? No, in the first place, how could anyone easily trust the kind of beings known as Witches?
As the children and I quickly backed away to put some distance between us and her, casting wary glares, the Witch grinned and spoke.
"I'm serious. Is it because of the beasts? I only let them loose to keep those pests over there away. Humans of that caliber out there are a threat even to me. I'm actually pretty weak at fighting for a Witch, you know. I don't really like fighting."
As if she truly had no intention of harming us, the Witch showed her palms and took a few steps back, distancing herself from us.
Watching her, I swallowed hard. A faint sensation, similar to what I felt when searching for the hidden Sloth Witch, yet slightly different.
That indescribable, bizarre sensation was telling me: this creature was definitely a Witch, and she was a different Witch from Beatrice, the Sloth Witch I had faced before.
To think there were actually two more Witches who never appeared in the original novel... While despairing over this unimaginable reality, I knew I had to somehow get through this situation safely.
I had to avoid combat at all costs. No matter how weak she claimed to be, a Witch was still a Witch. She said people of the caliber outside were a threat to her. In other words, we inside were no threat to her at all.
Even if we all attacked together, our chances of winning were slim. Fortunately, I couldn't feel any hostility from the Witch before us right now. However, seeing how she had just neutralized the attacks meant to take down the beasts, it was clear she had no intention of letting us out of the barrier easily.
Buying time for the Heroes outside to defeat all the beasts and come rescue us was the best we could do right now. Some of the other kids seemed to share my thoughts, as I could see their eyes darting around.
Signaling that I would handle this, I took a step forward. Swallowing hard with the sole thought of buying time, I spoke to the Witch, who for some reason was staring intently at me with a smile.
"...If you didn't come to fight, what is your purpose here?"
"Hmm, purpose... If I had to say, sightseeing? I'm the type who can't stand it when I'm curious about something. I wanted to see it for myself."
"...I guess even a Witch is curious about how humans live?"
"Ahaha, how humans live? Hehehe, sure. Let's go with that. Ah, I'm really glad I came to see for myself. To think there would be something this interesting here. It's truly fun."
The Witch burst into laughter at my words. I didn't know the exact reason, but it seemed I had succeeded in catching her interest. If I kept talking to her like this to drag things out... Just as I was about to speak again with that thought, the Witch smiled meaningfully and spoke.
"Hmm, looking at you, it seems you're trying to buy time by chatting like this until the humans outside arrive..."
She had read my intentions. I felt the children standing behind me flinch and grip their weapons. My hands trembled. Did we stand a chance in a fight? While I was wrestling with that worry, the Witch smiled and continued.
"Well, fine. I'll let it slide. I'll leave once the kids outside are all defeated, so shall we chat until then?"
Whether it was a whim or because she truly disliked fighting as she claimed, the Witch smiled faintly and said she'd let it slide. Thank goodness. Cold sweat rolled down my neck. I had thought we would have to fight in the worst-case scenario... Just as I let out a sigh of relief, the Witch smiled and spoke.
"By the way, I wonder if you received the present I sent."
"...Present?"
The corners of the Witch's mouth curled upward as she continued.
"The beasts I sent into the city. It was a bit of a shame that things didn't go as planned back then, but it was still fun, wasn't it? Seeing the people you trusted suddenly turn on you."
The Witch murmured provocatively. Her words made me realize: this Witch was the one behind the incident that had caused massive damage to the city.
Someone nearby let out a sharp, ragged gasp. Instantly, a bad feeling washed over me, and I whipped my head around.
Jesse was trembling violently, her eyes bloodshot as she glared daggers at the Witch.
No, Jesse. If you attack now, you'll die. So please, hold back, I desperately pleaded with my eyes. But in Jesse's bloodshot, crimson-rimmed eyes, only one thing was reflected.
"Ah... Ahhh... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
With a scream that sounded as if it were ripped directly from her lungs, Jesse lunged forward. As Jesse swung her staff, a shockwave of telekinetic force tore through the air, blasting forward.
But with a casual wave of the Witch's hand, the attack was sucked into a hole that materialized in the air, vanishing into nothingness.
The Witch's gaze slowly drifted toward Jesse.
"I was hoping we could just have a peaceful chat today, but it seems someone doesn't want to." The Witch smiled brightly.
The moment I saw that smile, I threw myself toward Jesse with all my might. As I tackled her and rolled across the ground, I felt something narrowly brush past the spot where Jesse had just been standing. If I had left her alone, she would have definitely died...
"Hmm, to think you'd jump in there..." I heard the Witch murmur. Glancing up, I saw her cross her arms and shake her head, as if she had no intention of attacking a second time.
As I let out a sigh of relief, Jesse, pinned beneath me, began to thrash wildly, crying tears of sheer anguish.
"Miss Scarlet, get off me...! Let me go...! Move...! I... I have to...! I have to get my revenge...!"
"Jesse... please, hold back... You'll really die... You won't even get your revenge, you'll just die in vain like this!"
"How... how can I hold back...?! The enemy who killed my brother is right there...! Every single day, my brother... he begs me to avenge him on the Witch...! I don't care if I die... I have to get revenge on the Witch, no matter what... So get off me... Please!!!"
Since it was obvious she would charge at the Witch the moment I let go, I desperately pinned her down to stop her. While struggling to resist her attempts to lift herself up—even using her telekinesis—I heard the Witch's voice.
"Sigh, we can't have a conversation like this. I guess I have no choice."
The Witch walked slowly toward Jesse and me, her footsteps echoing. As she drew closer, Jesse thrashed even harder, screaming for me to let go.
Keeping Jesse down with all my strength, I watched the approaching Witch's movements. If she tried to lay a hand on Jesse, I would fight her, win or lose, live or die.
Perhaps sharing the same thought, I could see the other kids over there gripping their weapons and creeping closer. Standing right beside me, the Witch looked down at Jesse and murmured.
"You don't care if you die as long as you get your revenge? You'd do anything for revenge?"
"AAAAAAAHHH!!!! YOU!!!! I'll kill you!!! I'll kill youuuuuu!!!!!"
The Witch uncrossed her arms and slowly raised her hand. I tensed my body. If she tried to harm Jesse, I was ready to attack her instantly...
And then, the Witch's finger pointed at me.
"Then, if you attack me, I'll kill this girl instead of you."
"Ahhhhhhh... huh?"
Jesse's thrashing body suddenly froze at those words.
"Huh...? Die? Miss Scarlet...?"
"Yeah. I mean, if you want revenge so badly that you don't care if you die, then someone else's life shouldn't matter to you, right? Go ahead, attack all you want. I won't attack you. But this girl will absolutely die. And if she dies, the next will be another kid, and then another. I'll kill everyone else and leave you alive until the very end. How about it? Sounds like a fair deal, doesn't it?"
Jesse's pupils shook violently. She looked back and forth between me and the Witch, then squeezed her eyes shut. I felt all the tension drain from her rigid body. Tears streaming down her face, Jesse murmured in a trembling voice.
"No... I'm sorry... I was wrong... Please don't kill my friends... Please spare them..."
"Then get up and stand there quietly."
"I... I understand..."
I scrutinized the Witch's demeanor, but she didn't seem to be lying. She didn't seem particularly intent on harming us either. For now, it was best to do as she wanted. I quietly pushed myself up and stood.
I reached out a hand to help Jesse up. She stared blankly at me and the Witch for a moment before trudging back to her spot.
Watching Jesse, the Witch tilted her head and spoke.
"Seeing things like this is truly fascinating. If there's something you want, you should just use others regardless of what happens to them. I simply can't understand it. Is it because I'm a Witch that I can't comprehend human emotions?"
After tilting her head in thought for a moment, the Witch's gaze landed on me. Staring at me intently, she suddenly flashed a bright, innocent smile.
"Ah, I suddenly got curious about something."
In that instant, goosebumps erupted all over my body. A pressure so intense it made me nauseous. A crushing aura that felt like it was grinding my entire body into the dirt erupted from the Witch before me.
A sensation similar to what I had felt from Leon Lionil—the feeling of becoming mere prey before an absolute predator. This was likely the true strength the Witch had been hiding. It was a terrifying aura, so overwhelming that the thought *I'm going to die, I'm absolutely going to die* kept echoing in my mind.
I could see the other kids, their faces pale as death, completely frozen in place. Biting my lip, I demanded of the suddenly transformed Witch.
"What... what are you doing all of a sudden...?"
"Heh? You're perfectly fine? No, I just suddenly got curious. I wanted to see if I really can't understand human emotions. So, I'm going to play a little game. I'll give you a choice."
With a sweep of the Witch's hand, a massive hole tore open in the air.
"It's a passage connected to the outside world, which is overflowing with Magi. If a human enters, well, they'll usually die."
The Witch pointed at the children. "If you go in there, those children all live."
She pointed at me. "If you don't go in, those children all die."
The Witch smiled.
"Now, which one will you choose?"
Up above, I could see the beasts eyeing the children. Suppressed by the Witch's aura, the children, who could barely even breathe, stood no chance of resisting. No, even if they could move, there was no way they could stand against a Witch who displayed such terrifying majesty through her aura alone.
Besides, the Witch was likely dead serious. The only reason she exuded such an aura was because she was fully prepared to slaughter every single one of them.
My bitten lip split, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I asked the Witch.
"...Even if I go in, how can I trust that you won't touch the kids?"
"Hmm? If you don't believe me, shall we make a contract? If you go in, I'll let everyone go safely."
"...I'm asking how I'm supposed to trust that."
"Ahaha, you really don't know anything, do you? To a Witch, a contract is sacred. It can never be broken. If we break it, we lose all our power and abilities. You'll understand once you try it yourself."
As the Witch smiled and said those words, I felt a strange connection form between her and me. Instantly, I could vaguely sense that this was something that absolutely had to be kept.
• Subject: Scarlet Evande enters the passage to the outside world.
• Condition: The Witch guarantees the safe release of all other students.
• Penalty for Breach: Absolute loss of all power and abilities.
In that case, I had no choice. Steeling my resolve, I looked over at where the children were.
May, Jesse, Sylvia. Unable to move or speak, they were screaming at me with their eyes alone.
Blood trickled from Sylvia's split lip as her squeezed-out, faint voice barely reached me.
"...No... Miss Scarlet..."
At those words, I smiled bitterly and made up my mind.
Once, in an ethics class, I had heard of a thought experiment.
A train is heading down a track where five people are tied up, and there is a side track with only one person tied up. If you must divert the train to one of the tracks, which track would you choose?
I had chosen the track with the single person to save the five.
Then, the teacher asked: Now, imagine that the single person on that track is the one most precious to you.
Because I was a selfish person, I chose the track with the five people to save that one precious person.
Then, the teacher asked once more: This time, imagine that five people precious to you are tied to the track with five people. And on the other track, you yourself are tied up. Which track would you want the train to go down?
Because I was a terribly selfish person, even though I knew exactly how those left behind would feel, I chose the same answer as I did back then.
"...I'm sorry, Sylvia."
Tears spilled from Sylvia's eyes.