Chapter 72: The Rescue
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 72: The Rescue
Tap. Regina closed the book she was reading and carefully rose to her feet, approaching Yohan. The glasses she wore glinted, reflecting his image.
“Did you say you would do… anything?”
“Yes, anything.”
“You do understand what that means, don’t you?”
The word ‘anything’ meant just that—his life and even his soul could be held forfeit. The moment he uttered those words before a witch, it could never be passed off as a mere joke.
But Yohan simply nodded, showing his resolve. Seeing this, Regina seemed to understand and pulled a piece of paper from her robes.
“Then we have a contract. A verbal agreement would suffice with another witch… but you are human.”
“Do whatever you need to.”
“Very well.”
『Contract』
Party A, Regina Star, shall provide one piece of information to Yohan.
Party B, Yohan, in exchange, shall grant one request of any kind from Party A.
After writing her own name, Regina handed the paper and pen to Yohan, urging him to sign. Yohan carefully reviewed the contract, then wrote his name.
The instant both their names were on it, the contract burst into flames. Yohan flinched in surprise and looked at her, but Regina just muttered as if it were nothing.
“It’s proof that the contract has been sealed. Nothing to worry about. —So? What is this information you desire so much that you’d wager your life for it?”
“...Can you find the owner of this?”
Yohan held out a strand of the monster’s fur and a lock of Beatrice’s hair. Realizing the two samples came from different individuals, Regina stared at him silently before asking.
“This is for two individuals. Then the favor in the contract should also be two…”
“You only need to find the location of one of them. They’ll be together anyway.”
“Aha, I see…”
Regina first clenched her fist around the black fur and used her magic. There was some kind of interference, making it impossible to pinpoint the exact location.
Only then did she understand why Yohan had given her two different samples. She took the red lock of hair and used her magic again.
Fortunately, she was able to find its precise location this time. Although she felt a slight distortion here as well, she could make an educated guess based on the location of the black fur she had just seen.
“Found it. The coordinates are…”
“Give the coordinates to me.”
Margaret, who had entered the library with Yohan, stepped forward as if she had been waiting. Regina, aware of her magic, nodded and passed the coordinates she had found to her.
After receiving them, Margaret nodded and looked at Yohan.
“...I’ll go see for myself to confirm if the information is accurate.”
“Fine. However, do not think of running away. Your soul is already forfeit. If you flee, things will not end well for you…”
“Don’t worry. I keep my promises.”
Leaving Regina behind, Yohan and Margaret left the library. Back at the cabin, Yohan, along with Evangeline, teleported to Beatrice’s location.
The monster gazed down at Beatrice, who stood before it with her lips sealed shut. The monster felt a familiar magic from her. The unique magic of a witch.
The distinct aura exuded by its creators. The monster, which had been sealed for over a hundred years, couldn’t distinguish between the witch who made it and Beatrice, and so it perceived Beatrice as its creator.
Just as all creatures do with their mothers, the monster showed affection toward Beatrice, trying to act cute or offering her things it had found to eat in the nearby forest.
But Beatrice refused everything the monster offered.
─Eat. Grumble—.
“...I’m not eating it. Get it away from me.”
─Why not eat? Is tasty.
A monster and a witch. There was no communication between them, but just because they couldn’t speak the same language didn’t mean they couldn’t understand each other. The simple act of offering food was enough for Beatrice to understand what the monster was trying to say.
However, she had no desire to touch uncooked forest berries, offered by a monster whose hands may or may not have been washed.
Faced with constant rejection, the monster didn’t give up and left the cave to find food that Beatrice might like. It didn’t forget to cast a spell on the cave entrance to prevent her from escaping.
As the monster exited the cave, it came face to face with two witches staring at it.
─Mama. Mama?
“Who are you calling mama?”
Evangeline scowled at the monster with a look of disgust. Just as the traces she’d seen had suggested, the monster’s form was indistinct.
Just how long can it hide? Evangeline spread her hands and unleashed her magic. The ultimate defense of the Witch of Love, a power that caused atomic disintegration in all it touched, shot forward.
Kiiiiing—!
─Mama! I missed you!
But the monster swatted Evangeline’s attack away and charged right at her.
Her attack had never been blocked, not once since Yohan had taught her about the fundamental structure of the world. When it was, Evangeline smiled as if amused and closed in on the monster.
─Good to see you!
The monster swung both its arms at Evangeline. She lightly caught them and immediately shot into the sky.
As if the monster’s weight of dozens of tons was nothing, Evangeline flew several kilometers into the air and then stripped the gravity from it.
─Hurts! What is this!
“I made gravity hate you. Shall we have a little dance here?”
Then, dozens, hundreds of concentrations of magic power formed behind Evangeline’s back. It was the most basic magic that all witches could use.
Mana cannons fired directly at the monster. A pure mass of energy, nearly weightless, grazed the monster’s body.
Each time it was grazed, the monster realized its body was spinning. If it spun, it could move forward.
─Stooooop!
The monster spun its body round and round, flying toward Evangeline like a fish swimming against the current.
Evangeline had never imagined it would twist its body in mid-air and fly at her. In the moment she let her guard down, the monster’s kick slammed down on her.
“Kyaaaaaak—!?”
The power of distortion emanating from the monster’s body passed through the barrier around Evangeline and struck her directly.
Kicked, Evangeline plummeted to the ground. The impact caused the magic of love that had enveloped the monster’s body to dissipate.
Whoooooosh—
The monster, having fallen from several kilometers up, landed on the ground without a scratch and looked at Evangeline, who had already landed before it.
─Enemy, monster, kill.
“Nngh… Who are you calling a monster…?”
─Be judged, under the blade of God.
“Haha, for a monster, you dare invoke the name of God…”
Clutching her ruined abdomen, Evangeline blocked out all pain and glared at the monster before her. The distortion surrounding that thing was a bad matchup for the magic of most witches.
It wasn’t nullification, but in that it could weave through, pierce, and attack past a witch’s magic, it was similar in some ways.
This is bad…
She had sworn she would never lose to anyone, but honestly, she was in real danger now. Evangeline glanced at the cave Yohan must have entered, hoping he would finish his task quickly and return.
─Die.
But before that could happen, the monster rushed at her.
While his teacher was occupied with the monster, Yohan quickly headed inside the cave to find Beatrice.
There was some kind of unknown magic cast on the entrance, but it was meaningless before his magic nullification.
After dispelling the magic and entering, he saw Beatrice huddled in a corner.
“Beatrice!”
“...Yohan?”
Belatedly realizing the footsteps belonged to Yohan, Beatrice lifted her head. Seeing his face, she broke into a wide smile and ran to him.
Yohan embraced her, his hands patting her down to check if she was hurt anywhere.
“Are you okay!? Are you hurt!?”
“I’m fine… What about you, Yohan? What happened to that monster…”
“My teacher is fighting it now. Don’t worry. She’s the strongest, so there’s no way she’d lose to a monster like that, right?”
Yohan said, reassuring Beatrice. In truth, it wasn’t just to calm her down; he genuinely believed it.
My teacher is the strongest. So there’s no way she’d lose to some monster. It was an unshakeable faith.
Now that Beatrice was rescued and he’d confirmed she was unharmed, Yohan immediately exited the cave.
“Teacher, I’ve got her, now let’s run—!”
“Kugh—!”
The moment he stepped out of the cave, he found Evangeline struggling, bleeding profusely. Seeing the trail of blood running down her forehead, Yohan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Evangeline saw him too and shouted to Margaret, who was beside him.
“Yohan! Run, now!”
─MAMAAAAAAAA!!!
And—Evangeline wasn’t the only one who had noticed Yohan. The monster fighting her had also spotted Yohan and Beatrice, whom he was leading out.
Seeing Yohan trying to take away the witch it had brought, the monster stopped fighting Evangeline and flew straight toward him.
“Disciple! Kyaak!?”
Even the Witch of Space, who blocked its path, was flung aside by the power of distortion as the monster reached its hand out for Yohan.