Ending Maker Chapter 32
Ending Maker Chapter 32
Chapter 6 - Witch's Forest #5
Cordelia, who had been wandering through the Witch's Forest, heard the witch's voice and, following her guidance, reached the seal.
In other words, hearing the witch's voice was no different from gaining a navigator to their destination.
'But still.'
Yuder furrowed his brow without realizing it.
It wasn't because Cordelia had taken a wrong turn or because the witch's directions were unclear.
After all, even though Cordelia occasionally paused, she steadily pressed forward.
[Come toward the large tree with exposed roots.]
A clear, pure voice that echoed in his head, yet somehow dreamlike.
'The witch's voice...... right?'
When Yuder glanced back at Cordelia, he saw her looking around and brightening at the sight of the large tree with exposed roots.
'It is.'
But why could Yuder hear it too, not just Cordelia?
'Can it be heard even if you're not Cordelia?'
In the original work, Cordelia had been alone, so she was the only one who heard the voice.
But that didn't seem to be the case here.
After all, the entire time Cordelia was finding the way, Lucas had simply stood there with a blank expression.
'Hmm, I'd better keep quiet about it for now.'
He could see exactly what would happen if he mentioned that he could hear the witch's voice too.
Cordelia would pout, and Lucas would grow gloomy over being the only one who couldn't hear it.
"It's this way."
"Oh, okay."
A faint smile tugged at Cordelia's lips as she spoke softly and pointed the way.
Given how much she liked being the center of attention, she seemed pleased to be the star of this episode.
'Yeah, I'd better keep it hidden.'
There was no need to reveal the truth and break that smile.
'But why can I really hear it?'
Was there a separate condition for hearing the witch's voice?
Something Yuder and Cordelia had in common.
Some trait they didn't share with Lucas.
'Pretty...... and handsome?'
Lucas was a good-looking man, but he couldn't compare to Yuder or Cordelia, who had the word "peerless" attached to them.
'Nah, no way.'
The witch wasn't a Fairy Queen.
There had to be something else.
'Age? Past-life memories...... but that wouldn't explain Cordelia hearing it in the original.'
As he walked, turning one hypothesis after another over in his mind, the fog gradually began to thin.
"The seal is inside that cave."
While Cordelia pointed at what was less a proper entrance and more a crack formed by the passage of time, explaining to Lucas, Yuder surveyed the surroundings.
Dense trees that had grown over ten meters tall, and a sky completely hidden by them.
Beyond the small rocky hill containing the cave, the magic beast guarding the seal should have been waiting.
'Still, we're almost there.'
Once they went inside and released the seal, the mission would effectively be complete.
Once freed from the seal, the witch's soul would take care of the magic beast.
'Cordelia gets the witch's power, and I collect the extras.'
Just like the Bicorn, the magic beast would leave a corpse behind.
As Yuder smiled to himself, Cordelia came over and frowned at him.
"Your expression looks perverted."
"......In what way?"
"Just in a lot of ways."
As always, after spouting nonsense, Cordelia took the lead and entered the cave.
It was a small, cramped crack, but it posed no problem for Cordelia, who was small and slender, or for Yuder, who was still on the lean side.
Lucas also grunted and groaned, but managed to squeeze through.
[You're almost there. Come this way.]
Once they entered the pitch-dark cave, a cluster of green light resembling a swarm of fireflies appeared before them along with the witch's voice.
[This way.]
The cave itself was small. After barely a minute of walking, they entered a fairly large chamber with a massive steel door on one side and found the witch's seal.
A large stone pillar stood in the center of the cavity, and embedded in it was a block of ice nearly the size of a person. Inside, the naked form of a beautiful black-haired woman was faintly visible.
[Children, release my seal. To release the seal.......]
"You're saying we need to weaken the seal stones at the corners with holy water and draw a seal-release magic circle in the center? Understood, Lady Witch."
[Huh? Oh, uh...... that's...... right. How did you know?]
Cordelia answered so quickly that the witch sounded slightly dumbfounded. Lucas, unable to hear their conversation, could only murmur in awe.
Cordelia smiled brightly, then approached Yuder and spoke.
"I'll go sprinkle holy water on the seal stones, so you handle the magic circle."
"Understood, my lady."
Yuder and Cordelia had already obtained holy water in Langesthei.
There was no need to wander the forest collecting things the witch asked for like in the original.
[The shape of the magic circle...... are you a mage who specializes in seals?]
After all, Yuder was drawing it skillfully without even being told what kind of magic circle it was.
Once again, instead of answering, Yuder quickly completed the magic circle.
[Uh...... next is...... you already know, don't you?]
Yuder and Cordelia answered the witch's slightly disgruntled voice with action. Yuder took Lucas to the edge of the chamber, while Cordelia drew a knife and cut her palm.
"Ouch."
Wincing, she clenched her fist and let blood drip onto the magic circle.
For blood is the currency of the soul.
Cordelia's mana flowed through the drops of blood into the magic circle, and soon a bright blue light filled the chamber.
And that was the very moment.
"GRAAAAH!"
A terrifying roar came from outside the cave.
It was unmistakably the roar of the magic beast guarding the seal.
Lucas, tensed up, reflexively drew his sword, but Yuder and Cordelia focused only on the witch's seal.
The witch would deal with the magic beast once the seal was released anyway.
[Ahh, aaaah!]
As though answering the magic beast's roar, the witch screamed. Cracks split through the ice sealing her, and the entire cave shook.
"GRAAAH!"
The magic beast's roar grew louder and closer.
Cordelia's mouth went dry. She pressed her palm directly against the magic circle and poured in even more mana. At last, the ice sealing the witch shattered into hundreds of pieces.
Boom!
A thunderous crash erupted.
The steel door that served as the seal site's main entrance buckled inward. It had never been meant to open, but the magic beast was trying to smash through it.
Yuder flinched at the unimaginable noise, but soon steadied himself.
The original had followed a similar flow, after all.
[It has been far too long. Thank you for releasing my seal, children.]
Amid the booming crashes, the witch's voice came through clearly.
The center of the seal site.
A beautiful woman floated in midair, her long black hair covering her pale naked body. As a spirit, she was half-transparent, and she gazed down at Cordelia as though the girl were utterly adorable.
Bam!
Another thunderous crash erupted.
Through the buckled steel door, the magic beast's red eyes glowed.
Yuder swallowed dryly and recalled the original.
Right after releasing the witch's seal.
The witch had no physical body, so she would temporarily descend into Cordelia, defeat the magic beast, and then dispel the barrier.
Freed by this, the witch's soul would break its centuries-long bondage and finally ascend. Cordelia, who had briefly housed the witch's soul, would in turn acquire "Witchification," a portion of the witch's power.
The developers had clearly put a great deal of effort into this sequence. It played out like a cinematic cutscene, making it a famous scene remembered by most players who had used Cordelia.
And now.
[Danger has come. Lovely child, I shall lend you my power, so overcome this crisis.]
The scene was unfolding just as it had in the original.
When Cordelia nodded in understanding, the witch closed her eyes and chanted a spell. As though provoked by it, the magic beast began hammering on the steel door even more violently.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Just before the steel door was torn off.
The witch's soul scattered into green light. At the same time, green light swirled around Cordelia's entire body, and her bright red hair turned black.
Her sky-blue eyes became a mysterious green like Yuder's.
The witch's descent.
Now all they had to do was defeat the magic beast with the witch's power.
But.
"Huh? Huhhh?"
Cordelia looked herself over and blinked blankly. At that moment, Yuder realized what had happened.
'The event's reproduction!'
Broadly speaking, it was the same as the bathing event at the valley.
In the original, the battle in which the witch's power defeated the magic beast had been shown as an event cutscene.
And that was precisely why both Cordelia and Yuder had overlooked something.
It wasn't the witch.
It had been Cordelia, empowered by the witch, who defeated the magic beast.
"F-f**k?!"
Cordelia understood too.
That was why she panicked.
Because she didn't know how to fight. More precisely, she didn't know how to use the witch's power!
Bam!
At last, the steel door shattered.
The two badly crumpled door panels lay sprawled on the floor, and Asmodeus's magic beast emerged—a huge red gorilla-like creature with horns on its head.
Even while crouched, it stood a good four meters tall, with two brutish fists.
Cordelia looked at Yuder, and Yuder looked at Cordelia.
Lucas looked at the two of them forlornly, then gripped his sword.
The situation was ready to explode at any moment.
This time, there was no Bellastin's Magic Circle.
Nor was it a battlefield they had prepared in advance.
But they still had to fight.
"I believe in you!"
Yuder raised pure-white holy fighting spirit and charged the magic beast, using the Thirty-Six World Steps. Lucas likewise imbued his sword with light through the Holy King Cross Sword.
He believed.
That Cordelia could handle the witch's power.
That she would find the answer before the magic beast smashed him to pieces.
"GRAAAH!"
The magic beast roared as though Yuder's charge were laughable. It kicked off the ground, appeared in front of him almost as if teleporting, and swung a fist.
Crash!
The ground shattered under a single blow. Yuder barely evaded the attack by practically rolling across the floor, then added Solari's power to his knuckles. He threw himself toward the broken steel door, luring the magic beast after him.
Lucas also let out a loud roar to draw its attention and ran in the opposite direction from Yuder.
The magic beast kicked off the ground again.
This time too, it went for Yuder.
"Cordelia!"
Yuder used the Thirty-Six World Steps again. After narrowly evading the magic beast's fist, he slammed Holy Cross Thrust into its arm.
"GRAH!"
The magic beast let out a pained roar, but its steel-hard forearm didn't budge. Instead of attacking again, Yuder kicked off the ground and retreated.
And at that moment, Cordelia closed her eyes and concentrated.
She tried to handle the witch's power, drawing on instinct or whatever she could.
But it wasn't easy. Even with her eyes shut to block out the sight, the repeated crashes and the knowledge that Yuder was in danger made it hard to stay calm.
'Please, please!'
She drew on her mana.
She used it naturally.
That was the very moment.
[Oh? You don't know how to do this?]
A somewhat carefree witch's voice came through, and Cordelia's eyes flew open. She shouted without realizing it.
"Tell me!"
What she needed to do.
How to use the witch's power.
Before Yuder died.
No, before Yuder got hurt!
[This is how you do it.]
The moment the witch spoke, her power moved through Cordelia's body and soul.
That was enough for Cordelia to understand. She grasped it instinctively.
How to handle the witch's power.
A green light flashed in Cordelia's eyes.