Chapter 524: Jealousy is My Power (24)
Chapter 524: Jealousy is My Power (24)
I woke up in a remote corner of the Academy.
To be honest, I couldn't pinpoint the exact location. The Great Witch had collapsed before I could even ask.
Of course, plenty of other questions remained.
I had no idea how I’d been rescued after Ria knocked me unconscious, nor did I know what had happened to Ria afterward. There was no way for me to know where the Great Witch had dragged me.
Nevertheless, I decided to suppress the rising questions for now.
Improving the Great Witch’s condition was the priority. Only after that could I ask whatever I wanted to know.
Fortunately, I was an upperclassman at the Academy.
I had spent years within these walls. No matter how vast the Academy was, an upperclassman couldn't help but become familiar with its geography.
Thanks to that, my wandering ended relatively quickly. No longer hesitating, my body shot forward, cutting through the wind.
At the end of that path, I arrived at the research building of the Alchemy Department.
It was an infiltration reminiscent of a special covert operation.
Keeping my posture low and stifling my breath, I had to walk as silently as possible. I even went as far as using spatial distortion—usually reserved for evasion—to avoid the eyes of others.
I had a reason for being so cautious.
The Great Witch was practically the symbol of the Southern Kingdoms.
In the distant past, the South was a land of strife, crowded with small tribes and nameless kingdoms. The natural fortress known as the "Great Forest" allowed no outsiders to enter, but it also permitted no peace or prosperity.
It was a hellish land where war continued day after day.
Then, a disaster struck them.
A Fiend known as a "Vampire" suddenly emerged as the terror of the Great Forest. Even an allied force numbering in the thousands was no match for the monster.
Everyone prepared for death.
Centuries of war had torn the South to shreds. No single group possessed the power to oppose the Vampire, and it was a time when there wasn't even a central focus to unite the South as one.
It was then that a great mage appeared.
A woman from a fallen noble family sacrificed herself to seal the "Vampire" deep within the Great Forest. Those who witnessed her unprecedented spell—which manipulated all five elements—and the bloody battle that lasted until half of the vast Great Forest was obliterated, could only shout one thing in unison:
"A new Master has been born!"
From then on, the woman discarded her name.
She was reborn as the "Great Witch," the root and State Preceptor of the Southern Kingdoms.
She was such a symbolic figure.
I couldn't let anyone see her in this state—flushed, gasping, and groaning in pain. It could escalate into news that would shake the very foundations of the Southern Kingdoms.
To put it in perspective, it would be comparable to rumors that the Emperor of the Empire was suffering from a terminal illness.
The "Great Witch" must always be strong.
She could not be weak or waver. Therefore, she could not show a face like a sickly young girl.
That was the destiny of a Master.
Fortunately, no mishap occurred to render my efforts meaningless. I managed to sneak into Emma's workshop without being spotted by anyone.
In truth, the real challenge began now.
"What do I do about this..."
I couldn't help but sigh in frustration.
Before my eyes lay the note I had organized a while ago.
---
<Unknown Drug Formula>
...(omitted)...
---
It was the formula from the back of the letter, organized in order. Even though I had summarized it as much as possible, the number of steps exceeded twenty-four.
Could I really pull this off?
As I hesitated, a faint groan reached my ears.
"Ugh... ah, nnggh...!"
Even though she was on the verge of losing consciousness, the Great Witch’s body was twitching as she cried out in pain.
Just how much did it hurt?
In the end, I let out a heavy sigh.
I didn't have a choice anyway.
Could I do it?
No, I had to do it.
The Great Witch dreamed for the first time in a very long while.
It was a memory from long ago. A story from hundreds of years past, when the girl still had a name.
One day, the girl realized something.
"You... you're a genius."
It was her master, whose face she could no longer clearly remember.
The mage who first took the girl in during her childhood had exclaimed in admiration. It was what he said after she mastered an entire curriculum he hadn't even taught her yet, all in a single night.
A "genius."
The girl particularly disliked that praise.
It was an evaluation that was neither objective nor quantitative. What exactly was the standard for a "genius"?
However, the girl was forced to realize it again and again.
"You're a genius."
"The future of the family rests on your shoulders."
She couldn't know the criteria for being a "genius."
But the fact that everyone around her called her one was clear. Though she didn't know the details, she became a "genius" just like that.
Afterward, everyone who caught a glimpse of the girl's talent could not contain their awe and praise.
Before long, the girl's fame spread across the entire continent. She didn't even have time to feel the weight of the expectations and admiration of countless people. Wasn't it a burden she had carried since before she was even ten years old?
Because she had never not been expected to excel, the girl didn't even know how heavy those expectations were.
She simply thought it was natural.
Except, well.
Occasionally, she felt a sense of longing.
The girl had an older sister seven years her senior. Her sister, who especially cherished and adored her, would often vent about the difficulties of being the eldest daughter.
"Everyone in the family thinks of me as the next head."
It was a difficult statement for the young girl to understand.
Why did she find it so hard to handle the expectations of others? And if it was such a great pain, why couldn't she just shake it off and leave?
It was around the time she began to vaguely understand the answer.
"The next head of the family is you."
At the current head's declaration, the vassals applauded as if it were the obvious decision.
And the girl saw it.
The drops of blood falling from her sister's eyes, which were stained with emotions both cold and burning.
Eventually, time passed, and the tears of blood she saw then became a fire that burned everything to the ground.
Amidst the ruins.
The girl became quite lonely.
Just as it had always been.
It was a nightmare she had seen countless times before. The Great Witch's worn-out heart didn't even rattle anymore.
Just as the girl was about to whisper a self-mocking sigh, wondering if this was the end—
"......Master?"
Suddenly, the shadowed world was washed in a clear light.
The Great Witch was startled and couldn't help but look around. Such a memory shouldn't exist.
The girl's world was always dark and dreary. Had her monochromatic world ever shone so brilliantly?
Like a tidal wave, pure white clouds swept across her retinas, which were open like clear lakes.
It was an unfamiliar sight.
In the distance, two shadows were visible. A man with a worried expression, and a girl turning her head away with a huffy look.
"Master, what on earth... did you perhaps have a nightmare?"
It was bizarre.
At that strange question, the girl unconsciously wore a faint smile.
"Hmph, a nightmare? At most, it's just time for my medicine. Honestly, this is why getting old is scary—eek?!"
With a snap of her fingers, a bolt of lightning struck from the air.
It was a punishment to discipline an impudent disciple. Even so, it would cause nothing more than a stinging pain.
Watching the trembling girl, the Great Witch suppressed a laugh. Then, letting out a dignified voice along with a dry cough—
"......I've been awake for a while, Second Disciple."
It was likely a daily life the girl had desperately wished for.
And then, the world crumbled.
Whiter and whiter.
Erasing all memories as it went.
*
The Great Witch opened her eyes, gasping for breath.
Drenched in cold sweat and with eyes wide open, her shock was evident.
What on earth was that?
The nightmare wasn't strange. It was a memory she had seen many times before she mastered the ultimate secrets of magic.
But the dream that followed was clearly abnormal.
It was a scene the Great Witch had never experienced. Although she had taken in a few disciples over the hundreds of years she had lived, she had never harbored such fond and nostalgic feelings.
And yet, why?
Why was her heart pounding like this?
For the first time in a long while, the Great Witch carefully placed her hand over her throbbing heart.
"Happiness"?
Such an emotion shouldn't have been permitted for someone like her.
It was then that a sudden realization flashed through her mind.
Her entire body felt refreshed.
Her physical condition was completely different from before, when she had been moaning in extreme pain. Startled, the Great Witch's eyes scanned every inch of her body.
Eventually, the woman's gaze landed on the incense burner placed by her bedside.
A faint smell of medicine was wafting from it.
A scent that was all too familiar.
"......How?"
With a dazed question, the Great Witch slowly pushed herself up.
It was the medicine she always carried in her pipe. To seal the monster known as the Vampire deep within the Great Forest, the Great Witch had to make her own body the core of the barrier.
This state was the price.
A pitiful life where she couldn't even maintain a normal daily existence without analgesic narcotics due to unimaginable pain. It was inevitable that the Great Witch, faced with such a fate, would develop a drug that had no side effects and was perfectly suited to her body.
Yes, it was a formula that no one should know.
In a corner of the workshop, a man was slumped over. He seemed to have tried to overcome his fatigue, but after lighting the incense in the burner, it would have been difficult to resist his body becoming lethargic.
A small note lay in front of him.
<Unknown Drug Formula>
It was a complex process that even experts would hesitate to attempt.
Because it incorporated such a unique refinement method, it was a formula that was difficult to replicate without long years of practice.
Yet this man had succeeded.
The Great Witch's eyes silently turned toward the face of the man slumped on the table. It should have been their first meeting, yet his face felt strangely familiar.
Her lips parted, hesitating for a long moment.
The first words the Great Witch managed to squeeze out were accompanied by a trembling gaze.
"......Ian Percus."
Just what are you?