Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: The Witch's Garden (4)
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“……Was your friend always built like that?”
Regin shook his head.
Manannan might have been short, but he wasn’t that feminine-looking.
“It’s the ancient witch. To be precise, it’s her clone.”
“……But that witch is mimicking your friend’s voice.”
Even to Regin, it was a chilling sight.
The voice coming from the mouth of the witch with her long white hair draped down was Manannan’s.
‘……So they managed to push her all the way to phase three.’
Of course, he wasn’t surprised that she was imitating the voice.
He had frequented this place a few times back when he was farming ore.
He already knew her patterns.
He just hadn’t expected phase three—where she used magic to mimic others and sow confusion—to arrive so soon.
“As you can see, the witch can mimic other people. She might even be able to mimic appearances, not just voices.”
Regin pulled out a scroll and continued calmly.
“From now on, doubt everything you see. Don’t let your guard down even if it looks like an ally.”
There was only one thing to keep in mind during the fight with the witch clone.
“Trust only yourself.”
Ancient Witch Pertullua.
Regin fired a spell at her clone as he spoke.
“You have to throw everything you’ve got at that witch to get out of here.”
* * *
“I’ve planted the Skeleton Knight’s banner. Hit her with everything you’ve got!”
Elsilva slammed the banner she’d brought into the ground and shouted.
It was an item dropped by the Skeleton Knight.
It had the effect of buffing the party within a certain range.
“Attack!”
Elsilva gripped her sword tightly and charged forward.
No matter how horrific the monster that mimicked others’ voices, she couldn’t back down.
Slash!!
Crunch!!
Just like they’d done up until now.
Elsilva took the front line alongside Greg, starting to restrict the enemy’s movements.
Thanks to the teamwork they’d honed while taking down the skeletons, their coordinated assault proceeded smoothly.
Whoosh!
Pew!
The three gladiators and Greg on the front line encircled the witch to prevent her escape while blocking attacks. That was when Regin and the archer’s support fire kicked in.
“Break the shield first, then go straight for her neck!”
The witch clone was at least mid-phase-three level and a mage-type monster to boot.
She deployed a mana shield to defend against the onslaught from all seven.
Boom!!
But mana shields had their limits. If it were the witch herself, maybe, but the shield made from the clone’s mana quickly began to crack.
“If we just shatter the mana shield like this…….”
Elsilva and the others’ eyes sparkled with hope.
Unlike the initial unease she’d felt, this thing seemed manageable after all.
Only Regin stood there with his lips pressed tight, glaring at the clone.
Whoooosh—!
“All the fog in this place is under her control……!”
At the clone’s gesture, the surrounding fog began to converge.
Unlike the other mage-type monster, Skelji, the difference was that she fought more cunningly.
As the fog suddenly thickened, the party’s vision started to blur.
It was only after Regin’s urgent shout that the others grasped the situation.
They were on the verge of only being able to see right in front of them.
Whoosh!!
Elsilva immediately lunged toward the clone.
If they stayed in the fog, they might lose her.
In situations like this, it was better to stick close and maintain line of sight on the enemy.
Swoosh—
But Elsilva’s sword sliced through empty air.
“……!!”
Elsilva scanned her surroundings in alarm.
“She slipped away! Whoever spots her, report it immediately!”
She shouted for anyone to speak up if they found the clone.
With their vision obscured by fog, they had no choice but to rely on sound.
“Over here! I found her!”
“……That way?!”
Greg’s voice rang in Elsilva’s ears.
He wasn’t as knowledgeable as Regin, but she still considered the explorer trustworthy, so she charged toward the sound without a second thought.
But the moment she arrived where the voice came from—
—Over here!
It wasn’t Greg. The clone was there, smirking at Elsilva.
“……Damn.”
Boom!!
Powerful mana shot out from the clone’s hand as she prepared her spell.
“……Urk!!”
Even blocking it quickly with her sword, the impact was tremendous.
‘Phase-three-level magic……!’
Elsilva groaned through the pain.
Among gladiators, he was a Road Warrior with exceptional magic resistance and defense.
‘If I’d been a Slayer more focused on offense…… it could’ve taken me out in one hit.’
This was on a whole different level from the spells she’d been slinging while the group pressed her.
High-powered spells like that normally took time to cast, so they weren’t used lightly.
‘That’s why she blinded us with fog. She bought casting time while hidden in it.’
Once the cast was done, she mimicked voices to lure people in.
— The witch can mimic other people.
Regin’s earlier words flashed through her mind.
Who knew the thing would use it like this.
If this kept happening, it was dangerous. The others might die in one hit.
‘I need to keep chasing her somehow and buy time.’
That resolve had just formed when she looked ahead.
Elsilva’s pupils trembled.
The clone that had been there moments ago was gone.
As she whipped her head around to track it, another voice came from nearby.
“……Gah!!”
“Leader! S-save me!!”
Her reflexive step halted.
……That could be the clone mimicking too.
In that brief instant, countless thoughts raced through Elsilva’s mind.
‘But if that voice was real…….’
It was definitely one of her party members.
If he was truly screaming for help, hesitating could cost a life.
“……Damn it!!”
She had hunted countless monsters.
Survived countless battles.
Even when she’d nearly died to the Skeleton Knight, it hadn’t been this disorienting.
‘……What do I do?’
For the first time, Elsilva lost her bearings.
Her mind grew chaotic, anxiety spreading through her body.
The Road Warrior who always stood firm for her party was slowly crumbling from within.
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted.
The blast wave alone made her stagger.
‘Did it go off in the air?’
Elsilva’s gaze shot skyward.
She first thought it was the clone’s attack, but that wouldn’t have detonated mid-air.
In any case, the huge explosion and wind dispersed the thick smoke.
For the first time since entering this place, clear light filled her vision.
“The fog will come back. Everyone, gather in one spot!”
Regin’s voice came from not far away. She turned to see him shouting at the party with a resolute expression.
Elsilva ran toward him without hesitation.
‘No need to doubt him now.’
Only Regin could produce an explosion like that.
The only one who could dispel the fog even briefly and bring light here.
Everyone started running toward him.
* * *
‘Fortunately, no one’s dead.’
Regin sighed in relief as the party rushed toward him, checking them over.
Right after the clone used the fog to blind them, he’d feared at least one might have died.
‘A lot of people have actually wiped here.’
It was one of the trickiest patterns.
No matter how large the party, it created a situation where they couldn’t trust each other.
Rush in trusting a voice, and the clone blasts you with magic. Hesitate, and someone has to fight alone.
You couldn’t fully trust or fully ignore the voices—it was structured that way.
‘This is my mistake.’
Hearing Manannan’s voice had made him rush.
If he’d had time, he would’ve explained the pattern beforehand, and they could’ve handled it fine.
The problem was he’d only managed to brief them up to phase two on the way here.
“Good thing everyone’s okay.”
“……If not for this armor, I’d have melted on the spot.”
Greg arrived first, reeking of something burnt—he’d clearly taken a hit from the clone.
Thanks to the reinforcement with the black mana stone, the armor’s magic resistance had held up well.
“Was that explosion your doing, Regin?”
Elsilva, arriving next, looked at him and asked.
“Yes.”
“Then couldn’t we just keep using it to clear the smoke and fight?”
“……That won’t work.”
Regin shook his head.
Fighting scattered like that was disadvantageous for his group. That’s why he’d immediately detonated a bomb scroll in the air to clear the fog.
But he couldn’t keep repeating it.
“As long as she controls the fog, my scrolls will run out first.”
“…….”
“Plus, I can’t control the explosion’s power…… The wind and smoke from it would hinder us instead. It could backfire.”
“So what do we do?”
The fog was starting to obscure vision again.
They had to find a solution before it fully closed in.
‘Honestly, my head’s spinning too…….’
How had Bern’s group pushed through to phase three?
Where were they now, and why did this thing have Fleaxis’s pendant?
Plenty of complicating thoughts.
But Regin focused on what needed doing right now.
Rustle—
He pulled a book from his bag and continued.
“I’ll tear the holy book.”
The holy book secured from the previous fight. Tearing a page created a holy shield around them.
Rip!
As the holy book tore, golden light swirled around.
It formed a large circle of holy shield.
“Even if the fog rises, the golden mana of the holy shield will be visible. Don’t go outside it.”
Regin confirmed it activated properly and went on.
“The holy shield lasts 10 minutes per page. Five pages total—50 minutes. We fight here.”
Truth be told, if she came inside and spammed skills, they couldn’t block it.
The holy shield wasn’t a barrier to begin with.
It was great as a shield against external attacks but didn’t prevent entry.
“At least inside here, we won’t suspect each other as much.”
But tricks like blinding from outside and swapping in wouldn’t work anymore. Vision was clear inside, and attacks were blocked.
‘In other words, this holy shield…….’
It set up a fair fighting ground against her.
* * *
Crunch!!
“She’s fleeing left of the banner!”
“Left of the banner!!”
The clone inside the holy shield. She still tried to confuse them with voices, but it didn’t work.
The person facing the clone called out her position the moment she vanished.
And everyone repeated it in unison.
With all voices sharing info, there were no communication errors.
‘My turn this time.’
As they pressed the attack, the clone appeared before Regin.
“Spotted left of the banner.”
Regin called out calmly and tore a scroll.
The clone seemed ready to counter with a quick cast.
Boom!!!
‘Casting speed can’t match a scroll’s, I told you.’
Regin struck first. The fireball shattered the clone’s shield.
Flash!
But in that instant, lightning from above enveloped Regin.
She’d sacrificed her own mana shield to hit him.
‘Not a bad call.’
Regin’s lips curved up.
Her attack didn’t hit Regin—it fizzled around him.
‘Fleaxis’s cloak.’
A cloak that generated a mana shield. It now enveloped him.
Long cooldown, but it blocked one ambush.
Crunch!!
As he withstood the attack, Greg charged in and swung his axe at the clone.
The axe headed precisely for her neck.
“……Got her?!”
Greg shouted naively. Rightly so—the axe was embedded in her neck.
“Not quite yet.”
Rip—
Regin tore another page from the holy book. If it’d ended there, he wouldn’t have bothered.
“The orcs are coming.”
She’d taken a critical hit.
That meant phase four was starting.
The white fog filling the area began shifting to green.
‘You could call it the boss’s unique add-summon phase.’
The problem was the adds were orcs, and there were a lot.
Thud thud!!
The sound of orcs charging madly through the green smoke began to echo from all sides.