Chapter 584: Jealousy is My Power (84)
Chapter 584: Jealousy is My Power (84)
The Great Witch was chasing a shadow.
The figure, appearing and disappearing through the thick brush, possessed a familiar silhouette—the shape of a tenacious bond she had known for at least several centuries.
How could she ever forget?
Once, they were family, sharing the same blood. It had taken only a few years for the bloodline that held the family’s respect and expectations to fall into ruin.
It lasted only until the world realized the Great Witch’s talent.
The barrier distorted time and space. As the Great Witch passed through the warped dimensions, the diffusely reflecting light played back a nostalgic voice.
It was a scene the Great Witch remembered well.
In her childhood, someone had been there to embrace her immature, blunt self. The silver-haired woman silently stroked the Great Witch’s hair.
Even then, the Great Witch had shown little reaction, simply sucking on the lollipop in her mouth.
Gentle advice shook the peaceful scenery.
“You skipped your studies again today. Do you dislike your magic tutor that much?”
The girl did not answer. As if finding even that indifferent attitude adorable, the woman lightly pinched the girl’s cheek.
“Is it too easy for you?”
“……A little.”
“Even so, you must do it.”
In a serene tone, the woman admonished the girl once more.
“That is what it means to be a noble. Sometimes, even if it seems useless, there are things that must be done.”
A warm hand landed on the girl’s shoulder like a bird. The girl, however, continued to avoid her gaze.
Still, she likely hadn't felt particularly bad.
“You will become the pillar of our family. Since you are a genius… you’ll have to protect this older sister later, won’t you?”
Yes, that was how it should have been.
The Great Witch’s hands began to form complex hand signs. Centered around her hands, which drew several symbols in rapid succession, a pure white magic circle unfurled.
‘I’m sick and tired of these dreams.’
A short, sharp explosion echoed from afar, like a fading dream. Emerging through a rift in space that shattered like glass, another memory awaited the Great Witch.
A girl standing on a podium was receiving cheers from everyone. It was a sight that had become all too familiar.
That is what it means to be a genius.
They receive all the admiration and attention. Simply because they were born that way, they stand at the pinnacle, trampling over the efforts of ordinary people as if they were nothing.
And yet, for some reason.
The girl was not particularly happy. Perhaps it was because her mind was on her older sister, who had retreated into a corner where the lights did not reach.
Until not long ago, all this praise had belonged to her sister.
Now, the woman stood in the audience rather than on the stage, receiving hollow congratulations. At the news that a pillar of the family had been born, the woman wore her usual gentle smile.
“She has been overflowing with talent since she was a child. The mage we invited to teach her struggled so much… Hehe, but I’m glad. A pillar has emerged to protect the family while I focus on my research.”
Even then, there was still warmth in the woman’s voice.
The warmth that the girl had truly loved.
But the girl was young, and having lived through her innate talent, she was ignorant of human nature. There were plenty of reasons for the girl to make a wrong judgment.
Eavesdropping on her sister’s conversation, the girl made a vow.
That she would fulfill her sister’s wish in her stead.
If she did, perhaps her sister would stroke her hair again like before.
The Great Witch’s hands formed hand signs once more.
A voice filled with mockery echoed from somewhere.
“We really got along well, didn’t we, little sister? We were sisters that everyone envied……”
“Shut up.”
A cynical, short retort was followed by another explosion.
The Great Witch’s body now plummeted toward the ground. Her clothes, fluttering in the wind, created a sharp noise.
Pressing down on her hat, she made a silent landing.
Before she knew it, an empty wilderness appeared. Dozens of mirrors standing there emitted multi-colored lights, staining her retinas with a dizzying array of hues.
Memory pierced her mind once again.
“She hasn’t even reached twenty, yet she has already solved two major problems.”
“The ‘Vessel of the Soul’ and the ‘Multi-Element Concurrent Spell’… The day our long-held ambition is realized is not far off.”
The whispering voices were no longer unfamiliar. However, what left the girl bewildered was the woman’s precarious smile.
It was not the gentle smile she always wore.
Her complexion, resembling thin ice that seemed ready to collapse at any moment, allowed a glimpse of murky emotions through the cracks.
The whispering grew harsher, sweeping away the scenery of the memory like a torrent.
“But weren't those two problems the research topics of the next head of the family? Problems she spent her whole life agonizing over were solved in just a few years……”
“Perhaps the younger sister is aiming for the position of the next head. Well, isn't it a blessing for the family? The capable one takes everything… that is the Law of the South.”
“Then that girl will have everything taken from her.”
It was like a child throwing stones at a frog.
Among those gossiping, none harbored true malice. It was simply because they didn't care enough about the person to harbor such feelings.
Yes, this attention, too, had once belonged to her sister.
From that day on, everything began to change.
The Great Witch gnashed her teeth and gathered mana in her hands once more. Flames flickered alongside crackling electrical charges.
The ‘Multi-Element Concurrent Spell’.
It was a secret art that allowed a single human to handle two or more elements. Centuries ago, the world of magic theory considered it an absolutely unsolvable mystery, yet it was a problem solved by the hands of a single genius girl.
The Great Witch couldn't help but wear a bitter smile at the passing scenery of the past.
“Have you been ruminating on these memories over and over? Fearing your desire for revenge might dull otherwise?”
“Don't misunderstand.”
The sound of light footsteps treading on the soil.
A silver-haired woman of enchanting beauty walked out from behind one of the dozens of mirrors. It was the object that had been projecting images of the past before the Great Witch just moments ago.
The ‘Vampire’, a fiend who had once dominated an era, wore an expressionless face.
“This space is no different from the inside of the ‘Boundary.’ Common sense and the laws of physics do not apply here… even the laws I can control are extremely limited.”
“Then what are these memories?”
“Well, shall we call them the ‘intersection’ between you and me?”
The voice of the woman, rolling her tongue as she slowly stepped forward, resembled the chirping of a bird.
The sister the Great Witch had seen in her childhood was just like this.
A dignified and merciful noble.
She was a woman who possessed both a cold, analytical brain and a warm heart. Why on earth had such a sister fallen so low?
In truth, the Great Witch knew.
She knew that she herself was not free from that responsibility.
Talent is a curse.
It had taken too long to realize this, and because of it, she had to lose too much.
Of course, it was a past that could not be undone now.
“Just as the Five Elements circulate, people also create their lives by touching one another. I am showing you the intersection of those ‘connections.’”
“I believe there were good memories between us as well.”
“But it wasn't those memories that made me who I am today. You know that well, don't you?”
As the Vampire put her hands behind her back, will-o'-the-wisps flared up in the air.
The fireballs burning blood-red looked ominous even at a glance. Furthermore, a pool of blood was gradually expanding its area around the Vampire.
Before long, cracks appeared in dozens of the mirrors.
The blood overflowing through them soaked the ground. All this blood would become the Vampire’s faithful limbs.
To any observer, the conditions were unfavorable for the Great Witch.
This was inside the Vampire’s barrier, and the Great Witch could not even bring out her main body. If the Great Witch were to summon her main body, the Vampire would also send her own main body outside the barrier of the Great Forest.
That would be the end.
The Southern Kingdoms, completely unprepared, would once again become a sea of fire, and once an unleashed monster decided to hide itself, pursuit would become extremely difficult.
The Great Witch’s defeat was practically predetermined.
Nevertheless, the Great Witch took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, and pulled out her smoking pipe with her remaining hand. As the pure white smoke scattered in billowing clouds, the woman asked her persistent nemesis.
“……Did you know I would come?”
“Of course, since all of this was nothing more than the groundwork to lure you in.”
The Great Witch chose silence instead of an answer. She only exhaled the tobacco smoke she had inhaled deeply.
The Vampire’s gaze was becoming increasingly fierce.
“You are the only one who would chase me blindly, and the only one who can theoretically defeat me. I told you, this is a barrier made of the Five Elements. If you want to kill me, you must be able to handle all five elements.”
“And I am the only person who can do that?”
“Unless a dragon from legend were to return to life.”
The Great Witch let out a faint chuckle and then put away her pipe.
A ‘dragon.’
It was truly an absurd notion. Conversely, it meant that the Great Witch’s performance was that much more necessary.
The Great Witch was the only one in the entire continent who could handle all five elements.
Of course, the Vampire was not unaware of this.
“In other words, if I just kill you, there will be no one left who can harm me. I will finally kill you and prove my existence.”
“An existence that can only be proven by others… how pathetic.”
“Then, how else could I prove it?”
Finally unable to hide her rising irritation, the Vampire grit her teeth.
The colors of emotion flickering in her eyes were deep. A hue of hatred so intense it felt almost provocative burned like blue embers.
It was a grudge held for hundreds of years.
It could hardly be light.
The Great Witch let out a deep sigh and began to shroud her entire body in mana.
“You, you… you took everything from me! Only you can prove me. Only after I defeat you, trample you, and kill you! Only then can I reclaim ‘myself’!”
“I say again, what will change if you kill me?”
As she spoke, the Great Witch pointed somewhere with her index finger.
It was a mirror that had not yet fully cracked. Among its fragmented pieces, there was still a part reflecting a memory of the past.
A strong and gentle woman.
Hundreds of years ago, there was a human whom the Great Witch had followed, calling her ‘Sister.’
“That radiant version of you is nowhere to be found! Look closely once more, at how far you have fallen! All that remains is a child whining, driven mad by jealousy!”
“……Shut up.”
“My dignified and generous sister is already dead!”
It was a rare moment where she could not hide her agitation.
After raising her voice like that, the Great Witch placed her hand on her forehead as if dizzy. Huu, huu. Only after catching her breath several times could the Great Witch’s eyelids open again.
With a gaze that felt heavy with fatigue and sorrow.
Meeting that gaze, the silver-haired woman gnashed her teeth. Overt hostility was aimed at the Great Witch like a blade.
Conversation?
It was no longer necessary. If it were a problem that could be solved with words, it would have been resolved hundreds of years ago.
The Great Witch silently looked up at the sky.
The world, where everything except the wilderness had been erased, was eerily quiet. A complete clearing where there was no sound of birds, no sound of beasts treading carefully, and no sound of wind.
Was it not a truly appropriate place for two beings who had lived for centuries to use as their grave?
Wearing a smile that was either a sneer or a bitter laugh, the woman murmured.
“You were waiting for me? Just as I hoped… now, let’s end this.”
That was the end of the brief peace.
The beginning was the Vampire’s first strike.
Kwak! Hundreds of spikes shot up from the pool of blood. Each one possessed extraordinary sharpness and hardness.
Even if a force of thousands were here, they would not have dared to oppose it.
But the Vampire’s opponent was not some thousands of weak humans.
One of only three Masters on the continent.
One who had seen the end of magic theory, and the Matriarch of the Southern Kingdoms.
The great Great Witch quietly gripped the spheres of fire and lightning that were swirling within her fist.
Then, an explosion erupted, shaking the earth and sky as one.
This was merely the beginning of the miracle that was about to unfold. For centered around that epicenter, cracks began to appear in the very air.