Shadow Keeper's Fall and the Witch's Head
A dazzling halo of intertwined qi and mana painted the air, drawing a beautiful full moon. The Shadow Keeper raised its soul-harvesting scythe to counter my attack.
Clang!
A sharp jolt shot through my fingertips. The Shadow Keeper seemed to know it would die if it couldn't block this strike. Two crimson eyes gleamed from beneath its hooded robe, glaring at me.
I'd aimed to send it flying with one blow, but it fell short. Probably due to the Shadow Keeper's traits. It had strong resistance to physical attacks.
Still, the attack wasn't completely ineffective. The hem of its robe fluttered, and its body grew slightly transparent. Proof that damage was accumulating. If I pressed steadily like this, I could kill it.
Whoosh!
But it had no intention of dying quietly. Its body melted back into the air, reappearing above me. This time, though, it wasn't just one Shadow Keeper.
"Clones, huh."
This was one of the Shadow Keeper's abilities too. It had a time limit, but it created a clone that shared 100% of the original's stats. Annoying as hell.
-Shaaaah…!
The Shadow Keeper gripped its soul-harvesting scythe, uttering eerie ghost speech. Macao, the androgynous witch standing behind it, bit her nails with an anxious look, clearly frustrated that the fight wasn't going her way.
"Kill that orc right now! Why the hell is he still alive?"
Getting roasted for my looks by an ugly bitch like her. Yeah, I definitely needed that Golden Apple.
"Tch! Damn it, I didn't want to use this... Big expense."
Macao grumbled as she pulled a small pouch from her robe. Some magic item to turn the tide? That'd be a problem.
"Holy Missile."
I fired a barrage of Holy Missiles at Macao. But an invisible translucent barrier blocked them again, rendering my attack useless.
"Tch! Durability's getting thin..."
Her shield was finally reaching its limit. Macao untied the pouch's mouth, and green powder spilled out.
"Shadow Keeper! I'll give you new power! Get that orc out of my sight right now!"
The green powder flew toward the Shadow Keeper. It didn't dodge. As a monster summoned by Macao, it couldn't defy her orders.
-Shaaaaah!
It let out a noise like a marine chugging SX pack. The item Macao used seemed like some kind of awakening agent.
-Shaaaaaaaht!
The Shadow Keeper's robe tore open. Beneath it emerged a massively muscular body riddled with bulging veins.
Its hood fell off, revealing a middle-aged man's face with only a few strands of hair left. It looked a lot like Macao.
-Shaaaaaaaht!
"Fucking loud. Retard can't say anything else?"
The rampaging pair of Shadow Keepers vanished from sight. Blink again.
"Such a pain in the ass."
I moved quickly. One appeared in front of me, the other behind. Their blink speed was way faster now. And that wasn't the only change.
Vmmm!
One Shadow Keeper reached out toward me. My body suddenly floated up.
"Telekinesis!?"
Like a poltergeist, my airborne body was hurled mercilessly toward the workshop wall. The telekinetic force was fiercer than expected. The original Shadow Keeper didn't have this ability.
'Effect of Macao's awakening agent? Damn, fitting for an alchemist—making annoying shit.'
Would be perfect if Luna were here right now, but oh well. No matter how berserk the Shadow Keeper got, it wasn't beyond me solo.
"True Position Change!"
I left an afterimage and dodged the scythe in front. The mana infused in that blade could probably take my life in one hit.
The original Shadow Keeper had an instant-death special skill on normal attacks—a low chance of instant death if hit. About 5% odds.
But Macao's awakening agent seemed to make it always active. Total bullshit combo. Luckily, its normal attacks were slower than expected, so with focus, I wouldn't get sliced.
Vmmm!
One Shadow Keeper crushed me with telekinesis. The other moved to slash. Pretty smart teamwork.
The Light Saber in my hand morphed into a halo of light, enveloping my fist. Light Saber to Holy Gauntlet. Weapon swap as natural as breathing now.
Clang!
I blocked the Shadow Keeper's scythe with my gauntlet-clad fist.
"Didn't know I was damn good at close quarters."
True Straight Fist
I punched straight at the Shadow Keeper. The air tore as qi and mana swirled fiercely around my fist.
Shoooosh!
Suddenly, the Shadow Keeper's body turned transparent. Not blink—its defensive skill, Phantasm. Instant 100% physical immunity.
Thud!
But even through Phantasm, my punch sent it flying back. The Holy Gauntlet's power struck the phased Shadow Keeper. Plus, it was light-attribute. Ghosts hate light.
"Eeek…! Shadow Keeper! What the hell are you doing!?"
Macao paled and yelled as she realized the Shadow Keeper was on the ropes. But it was over. The clone's duration ended. It shared 100% stats, but lasted mere moments.
Shhhk!
-Shaat!?
I stomped toward the panicking Shadow Keeper. The glowing Holy Gauntlet exorcised it like a holy fist.
"Even death won't stop me! Begone!"
BOOM!
My straight fist slammed into the Shadow Keeper's gut. It dropped its scythe and flew back, crashing into the wall. Its body faded to transparency—flesh dissolving.
"Shadow Keeper!"
Macao screamed in horror.
"Oops. Your joker card's done. What now?"
Pale-faced Macao gawked at me and backed away slowly, arm outstretched.
"W-Wait! Let's talk it out! We can end this without fighting."
"Fight's already over. My win."
"Money! I'll give you money! Or magic items…! I'm the best alchemist! You'll find me useful!"
Macao desperately pleaded her case.
Touching effort, but too bad—she was disgustingly ugly. If her face were decent, maybe harem material, but no way in hell.
"Learned my lesson this time. Never trust a witch."
"Hiiik…!"
As I approached Macao slowly, a sudden blockage hit my throat. An alien sensation halted my steps.
What the hell?
"Hahaha! Thought you won!? No way! Glad I had that final insurance."
"Kuh! What bullshit trick is this!? You fucking bitch! Cut the desperate thrashing!"
"You're the one who doesn't know 'cut it out,' so neither can I. Give up. While you fought the Shadow Keeper, I already dusted this workshop with extreme poison powder."
"Extreme poison powder…?"
"Impossible to survive without the antidote beforehand. You've inhaled a lethal dose already. You shouldn't even be standing now."
I used Light Cure. But the throat discomfort lingered. Probably because the whole room was laced—recovery wouldn't stick.
"I took the antidote already. And these two cuties too… They'll testify you killed Roston Marquis."
Macao pointed at the two Benellia siblings.
"Die well. The losses you caused aren't small—I gotta get back to work. Heh. Watch from hell as I eat the Golden Apple."
Heat rose from my throat to my head. Brain-splitting pain blurred my vision.
[You have died.]
Life Vessel effect triggered.
Life Vessel Lv.1 (SSS-grade)
↳ Create one Life Vessel for a single entity. When the owner dies, the Life Vessel shatters instead. Cannot create another for the same entity for 24 hours after destruction.
"This fucking bitch pulls every damn trick."
The moment I woke, I blasted the workshop door with Wind Cannon and used Wind Control to blow out the poisoned air.
"Eh!?"
Macao's shocked gasp echoed. It was her last words.
"Wind Cutter."
Splurt!
Macao's head flew clean off. Her protective barrier was done—no more function after my Holy Missile barrage pushed it over the edge.
"The Golden Apple is mine, you bitch."
In the end, like the chilling fairy tale from Mailock Kingdom, it was a human who slew the witch and claimed the apple. Long and tedious process, but good results make it all good.
Got what I wanted, time to head back to the territory. I'll take the Benellia kids too—noble blood will come in handy later.
"With the Golden Apple secured, that's it for this arc."