Chapter 585: Jealousy is My Power (85)
Chapter 585: Jealousy is My Power (85)
Cr-crack—
It was a sight that made the very space look as if it were made of glass or crystal. However, no one present was the type to be easily rattled by such a phenomenon.
A banquet of fire and lightning erupted from the rift, spreading across the area like the reaching branches of a tree.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Unable to withstand the explosive force, the blood spikes began to burst one by one. The sight of the fragments scattering all at once looked almost like fireworks set off in celebration.
But the vampire was no easy opponent either.
The woman’s supple arm reached out directly toward the Great Witch.
Woooooooooo—!
In the distance, a tidal wave rose.
A horde of blood-colored evil spirits blanketed the horizon, charging across the land. Or perhaps 'charging' wasn't the right word for it.
The spirits, scrambling and merging into one another, could not resist the massive current they themselves had created. These amorphous, squelching entities were closer to a liquid state.
Only their screaming mouths and wide, hollow eyes remained as hideous markers of their existence.
The crimson wave swept over the area in an instant, its scale overwhelming. The festival of fire and lightning that had only just begun seemed utterly powerless before such terrifying mass and volume.
Woooooooooo—!
Crash!
That was the sound of the Great Witch being struck by the horde of spirits.
It would be more accurate to say she was trampled by a stampede of cattle rather than hit by a wave. From amidst the blood-colored spirits, which possessed such immense momentum, arms reached out alongside the shrieking.
The small-statured Great Witch had no room to resist.
The spirits bit and pulled, struggling to bury her within their mass. It would take only a heartbeat for her to be completely assimilated.
Yet, one thing remained: the Great Witch’s pale left arm was thrust defiantly toward the sky.
Her fist was clenched with enough strength to seize the sun itself.
Then, the heavens began to split open.
Woooooooooo—?
A diagonal line slashed across the sky, and from that boundary, a deluge poured forth.
The volume was a literal 'tsunami.' Compared to the illusion created by the blood spirits, this was a true catastrophe.
Rumble!
As the downpour struck the earth all at once, the horde of blood spirits was torn apart along with the very ground beneath them. Even so, the crimson wave, though drenched by the tsunami, fought back until the very end in a desperate struggle of power.
That is, until the Great Witch’s free hand traced another hand sign.
Countless bolts of lightning fell from the torn sky.
Flash! Boom! Boom!
The lightning, falling like a rainstorm, traveled through the water to discharge its stored energy without restraint. No matter how many spirits the vampire summoned, facing two natural disasters at once was impossible.
The sound of screams, the smell of burning, and the damp air filled the space.
The Great Witch’s feet landed back on the ground, splashing into the muddy remains of the blood-colored corpses.
Still, the battle was not over.
“Not yet... not yet!”
Every time the vampire shrieked, the blood moved with razor-sharp precision.
Sometimes it exploded like a bomb; sometimes it became tens of thousands of arrows pouring down like a storm; and at other times, it became dancing blades that lashed out like whips.
Wounds began to accumulate on the Great Witch’s body.
With every step she took, her complexion grew more fatigued. Dark circles appeared under her eyes, but after summoning disasters akin to cataclysms several times over...
The Great Witch finally stood before the vampire.
Before the woman whose eyes were filled with hatred and a deep-seated grudge.
“How!”
“Is this all you can do when you’re not the main body?”
Facing the vampire who shrieked in disbelief, the Great Witch offered her brief assessment.
At those words, the vampire’s eyes burned even redder. The bursting capillaries in her eyes spoke of her mounting rage.
The Great Witch let out a long sigh and looked up at the sky.
“I suppose there are limits when the skill isn't something you built yourself... It seems you only know how to 'see' the Boundary.”
“...What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying the power you gained through a contract is incomplete. You can see the Boundary and use the power that comes from within it... but that’s it. Compared to a true Master, this is nothing more than child’s play.”
The vampire trembled and took a step back.
Every time her fingers twitched, the blood moved restlessly, searching for an opening in the Great Witch’s defense. But this was the Great Witch, who had dismantled every attack thrown at her so far.
Naturally, she wouldn't leave an opening so easily.
Instead, she slowly concentrated her mana into her hand.
The tide of battle had already turned.
“In other words, it was your mistake to make the Boundary your battlefield. Only a Master can truly understand and manipulate the Boundary.”
“If only I had the power of the main body...!”
“But you don't.”
With that, the Great Witch slowly raised her hand.
To the vampire’s eyes, it must have looked like the blade of a guillotine. Once that hand swung down, the vampire’s life would be forfeit.
The Great Witch squeezed her eyes shut, standing at the end of a long-standing fate.
“So, in the end, it comes to this...!”
Right then.
“Kya, kyaaaaaaaaak!”
Suddenly, an arm made of blood lunged out and momentarily grabbed the Great Witch’s wrist. Taking that chance, the vampire scrambled to her feet and began to flee in a frantic dash.
The Great Witch clicked her tongue at the sight.
“Pathetic until the very end...!”
But that wasn't the only anomaly.
Thump—!
The interior of the barrier shook violently. Then, the sky and the earth began to cave in, revealing pitch-black voids.
It was a sign that the barrier was collapsing.
It meant the core of the barrier was being struck from the outside. Usually, this would be bad news for the vampire, but not this time.
As a massive hole opened in the ground, the vampire leaped into it without hesitation. The Great Witch’s magic inevitably lost its target and dissipated.
So, what else could she do?
The Great Witch had no other choice. She kicked off the ground and sprinted after the vampire, diving into the hole.
But the Great Witch did not know.
What sight she would behold at the bottom of that bottomless void.
“Ke-gh... ugh...”
Crack.
The vampire’s neck snapped. It happened so simply that the Great Witch stood dazed for a moment, unable to process the situation.
What is this?
The dark surroundings exuded a sinister atmosphere. In the empty void, not even light could shine. Yet, the figures of the people and objects within it were strangely clear.
It was contradictory, but perhaps this was one of the bizarre characteristics of the Boundary.
But that wasn't the only problem.
“...!”
Corpses, corpses, and more corpses.
Countless corpses with hollow eyes were strewn across the floor of the barrier. Of course, that alone wasn't enough to shock the Great Witch.
This was the vampire’s stronghold.
It wouldn't have been strange even if it were a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. However, there was a specific reason the Great Witch was horrified.
Every single corpse looked exactly the same.
They all bore the face of the 'vampire.'
As she stood frozen, a languid voice drifted into her ear.
“...My lovely little sister.”
Rustle.
Even the sound of her clothes brushing together was elegant. The figure walking down from a throne made of hundreds, thousands of corpses through the gaps in the darkness was overwhelming.
It was enough to make even the Great Witch hold her breath for a moment.
Crack, crunch.
The sound of the corpses' bones breaking under the woman’s weight created a repulsive melody.
“You’ve finally come to visit. I was getting a bit bored; I didn't quite like my new toy...”
“...What have you done?”
Swallowing hard, the Great Witch managed to part her lips.
The woman’s presence was extraordinary. Her mana was on a completely different level than the 'vampire' she had just fought.
It was as if... yes.
As if she were looking at the 'vampire's' main body.
“What... what did you do...?”
The woman gave a soft smile.
“What did I do? I was conducting research, as always. You know very well what difficult problem your big sister wanted to solve, don't you?”
“I already solved that...”
“No.”
With a faint arc of a smile, the woman cut the Great Witch off.
“That was incomplete. But I am different. After hundreds of years of research, I have finally completed it.”
The air began to tremble.
The Great Witch’s instincts were screaming a powerful warning. Her hair stood on end, and the mana became so dense it felt suffocating. Amidst it all, only one being remained unchanged.
The true 'vampire' whispered in a gentle tone.
In the exact voice that remained in the Great Witch’s memories.
“...Shall I show you?”
This was the conversation between the two sisters, just seconds before an earthquake-like explosion erupted.
*
I was running with all my might. I didn't need to worry about the direction.
Because the tremors were becoming more frequent.
Explosions were constantly erupting from deep within the Southern Forest. I didn't even want to imagine what the center of those earth-shaking blasts looked like.
The fortunate thing was that Senior Elsie had gone ahead.
I don't know much about barriers. But Senior Elsie is different from me, and there was a high possibility she had made arrangements so that even someone ignorant of magic like me could enter the barrier.
My hope was proven right before long.
Distorted and shattered space.
A massive distortion that could only be described that way had occurred in the middle of the forest. Along with a hole leading inside.
It was in such a perfect location that one might believe it had been a path from the very beginning.
Grateful for the luck, I stepped inside the barrier.
“Ke-heck, ack...!”
Before my eyes, I saw the Great Witch dangling in the air, gripped by the vampire’s hand.
“R-run... h-hngh?!”
And I saw Senior Elsie, who had been trying to crawl toward me with crushed limbs, only to have her ankle pinned down by a blood-red stake.
“...Oh my.”
Along with a woman of devastating beauty.
It was the 'vampire.' However, she looked far more mature and composed than when I had seen her last.
“Another guest has arrived. I suppose you’re the last one?”
She wore a smile so charming it made one's heart race.
I felt cold sweat bead on my forehead as I thought.
Something had gone wrong.
Terribly wrong.
The monster that had plunged the entire continent into terror hundreds of years ago was standing right in front of me.