A Sack of Straw Left Lying Around (6)
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Matron Garuana still had her left hand free.
She immediately pointed her palm at the witch.
To unleash a spell that fired a violet beam of destruction from her hand.
"Kalania!"
Garuana tried to instantly blast the witch's head with the destruction beam.
But it was no use.
The witch had swung her staff to the right, snatching Garuana's hand like a sickle, then slammed it downward.
Flash! Boom!
The destruction beam fired, but with her hand pressed down, it struck only the innocent ground.
In that gap, the witch headbutted her.
Thud!
Garuana, who took the hit from the witch's skull ornament, saw white flash before her eyes and staggered.
The witch pinned her down and shouted,
"Everyone back off! Or this bitch dies!"
The dark elves rushing the dais froze.
An unexpected hostage situation had unfolded.
The only one on the dais nearby was Owen.
The rest clutched their weapons, at a loss.
And no wonder—the dark elves here all belonged to the Shadow Bat Family.
With their matron captured, it was the worst possible bind.
As they hesitated, Garuana recovered and screamed,
"You idiots! Protect Her Majesty first!"
The witch wouldn't stand for that.
Thwack!
With a dull thud, the matron went limp.
"Kuhahaha! Pathetic!"
Witch Kalania cackled like a madwoman, then pointed her staff forward and bellowed,
"Listen up! I, Kalania, step forward in place of you blind fools!"
The witch had words to say.
For Owen, it was a stroke of luck.
He had leaped onto the dais, blocking the queen.
But he knew all too well he couldn't match Kalania.
He'd beaten her a few times in his past life, but she was never an easy foe.
No way could he stand against her now.
And the queen behind him? No better off.
She was barely holding on with her cursed body.
"Foolish subjects! Will you truly serve such a queen?!"
While the witch launched into her speech, Owen urgently whispered to the queen,
"Signet. There's a way out of this."
"...Lifting the curse."
"Right. We'll make the magical pact. Accept the terms."
"The three wishes? Got it. No time to weigh pros and cons."
If the queen broke the curse, they could turn the tables in one stroke.
A dark elf queen was a monster among mortals, mighty beyond measure.
Even Kalania's legendary fame wouldn't save her.
Fortunately, Kalania didn't know that.
The problem was time.
"Signet, how long to lift the curse?"
"Not long. But if Kalania tries to kill us, it'll be enough."
"Understood. I'll buy us time somehow."
Owen dove straight into the magical pact.
A simple declaration sufficed—no difficulty there.
"I, Owen, having reached an amicable agreement with my foe on past matters, no longer desire the curse's continuance."
The queen swiftly followed,
"I, Signet, having promised fitting recompense for breaching our contract's obligations, hope for a renewed pact of mutual non-aggression."
And with that, the vicious curse of twenty years ended.
Absurdly simple.
"Ahh...."
The queen let out a soft breath.
It felt like the tight ropes binding her body for ages were slowly unraveling.
Her breath came easier on its own.
She instantly knew how long full release would take.
"Five minutes. I need five minutes, Owen."
"Damn it. Too long at a time like this."
He grumbled, but they had no choice.
The queen couldn't move a muscle for five minutes to break the curse.
They had to hold out no matter what in the meantime.
As Owen gritted his teeth in tension, Kalania pointed at him and the queen, shouting,
"Behold, you blind fools! That pathetic queen and the filthy human clinging to her! Is that the queen you want?!"
The dark elves murmured uneasily.
Kalania inwardly savored it.
Today, she wouldn't just kill the queen—she'd shake the Shadow Bat Family to its core.
'Make them blame the matron for leading the family astray.'
The queen and Owen were on the dais, but Kalania paid them no mind.
She could crush them with one hand.
Confident all would bend to her will, she ranted on.
"A queen must act like one! Think—when did the dark elf queen start fleeing and relying on human arms? Even now, do you blame the rebelling matrons for this disgrace?!"
Kalania hammered the sorest points.
"The queen is cursed! Even with your utmost loyalty, she's a house without pillars—destined to collapse no matter how you prop her up! And what do you think of the matrons forcing this fate on you?!"
Kalania didn't think she'd sway them so easily.
That's why she'd planted agitators throughout the family.
She tapped her staff as a signal, and hidden turncoats stepped out, cheering her on.
"Right! We want a proper queen!"
"Why must we grovel to humans here, when we belong in the Frozen Land?!"
"A true queen would've held the capital to the end!"
The traitors revealed themselves en masse.
Many held high rank, shaking the dark elves badly.
Not everyone approved of the queen relying on a human—that radical move.
The stubborn, the disloyal, those currying favor with new power had fallen to Kalania's temptations.
They'd negotiated in secret beforehand, expecting pardon from the new queen for their role here.
Officers and scribes of influence among them.
Unlike lowly members who prized loyalty above all, those with status to protect had joined the betrayal.
"Drag down the queen! Back to our homeland!"
"No more suffering in foreign lands."
"Honestly, the tide's already turned."
The traitors rapidly destabilized the camp.
Kalania gently coaxed the dark elves.
"I'm not out to kill your matron. But if she follows the wrong path, it's a subordinate's duty to steer her right!"
Owen sensed disaster.
Even if the queen regained her power, she'd have no followers left.
He had to stop this.
Owen stepped forward without hesitation.
"Knights!!"
Kalania halted mid-rant at the thunderous cry.
The dark elves turned to Owen.
"Once a knight swears to a lord, he never changes! That's why your hesitation looks so strange!"
Of course, it was a lie.
Knightly tales belonged in bards' songs.
But against dark elves? Perfect.
"How can you waver on loyalty?!"
Owen's question rippled through the shaken dark elves.
"Hear me! The road here was grueling—nights sleeping with spears in hand, fueled by resolve. Was that loyalty of yours so flimsy, swayed by this vile witch's tongue?!"
Many dark elves shook their heads in shock at his cry.
Memories of their devotion to the queen surged.
Kalania, riding high moments ago, bristled.
"You overstep, worm! How dare you!"
Kalania raised her staff to blast Owen dead.
But he didn't flinch, shouting,
"See! This witch's cowardice!"
"W-what?!"
"She tries to kill any who oppose her! Will you heed such a one's words?!"
Those wanting to halt the chaos jumped in.
"Stop!"
"Let him speak!"
Among them, a heavyweight: Orkeus, the Shadow Bat Family's steward, whom Owen had met before.
"Kalania! Harm him not! He's the matron's guest! Kill him, and our family hears you no more!"
The steward's intervention hit hard.
He was a man many followed.
Kalania inwardly clicked her tongue.
'Damn! Should've dealt with that Orkeus first!'
The wavering Shadow Bat Family rallied around Orkeus.
Not just Kalania—even the other traitors panicked.
Owen seized the moment.
"You must know this clearly: Your lord matron of the Shadow Bat Family still supports Her Majesty! Listening to this witch is wrong!"
"Right!"
"I've heard dark elves are all true warriors! If so, the sword at your hip is your honor. Let me say one thing."
Here, Owen pointed at Witch Kalania.
"A blade of honor is never drawn for such base scum!"
Finally, Kalania exploded.
For her arrogant, short-tempered self, she'd endured long enough.
"I won't hear more!"
Kalania poured mana into her staff.
Owen focused utterly.
He'd anticipated she'd snap and cast.
His fate hinged on what spell.
Experience let him dodge some.
Whoosh!
The air heated as black flames like pitch blazed from her staff tip.
Owen inwardly cheered at the sight.
'Got her!'
Kalania was casting Darkness Six Stars.
A spell dropping six pointed black orbs like stars.
No explosion, but each head-sized black star pierced anything.
Devastating against dragons—he'd seen it plenty in his past life.
'As expected! She knows I'm a dragon knight, so Darkness Six Stars!'
Practically a habit.
Her go-to against dragons, triggered instinctively against him.
Scree!
As the first star fell, Owen dodged like he'd waited for it.
Not stopping, he evaded the second, third—Kalania's eyes bulged.
"What in the?!"
Impossible to dodge normally, but Owen could.
The stars fell in fixed patterns and intervals.
Kalania couldn't imagine it, but he'd analyzed them over countless past encounters.
Enabling this feat.
Scree!
Dodging the fourth left her dumbfounded.
First time ever.
And he wasn't even looking up.
Like precognition, he anticipated and sidestepped each drop.
His movements so sly, even arrow-fast dark stars couldn't tag him.
"You bastard!"
Desperate, Kalania warped the last star.
'Different speed and spacing! Dodge this!'
Dire for Owen.
But chance saved him.
Crack! Boom!
Suddenly, one side of the dais tilted and collapsed.
Two stars had hit pillars; the weight proved too much.
"Agh!"
Owen tumbled backward; Kalania, mid-cast, toppled sideways.
The fatal sixth star? Canceled.
"Urgh...."
Owen groaned, rolling as the wooden floor gave way.
He'd landed tailbone-first; the shock spun his head, vision swirling.
"Kuh...."
Staggering up, he saw fights breaking out among the dark elves.
Loyalists clashed viciously with traitors; others watched warily.
"Don't waver! All at once!"
"Take out Orkeus first!"
The traitors were fewer but fierce.
With Kalania, they figured they could win.
No one here could beat the legendary witch, after all.
Heads of loyalist leaders like Orkeus would flip the mood—they were sure.
But reality crushed their hopes.
A voice like north wind—cold, majestic—pierced every ear.
"Cease. My subjects."
It was speech like magic.
All locked in lethal stares froze as if iced.
Even Kalania, aiming new magic at Owen, whipped her head around in terror.
"Th-this...? Impossible...?"
Step, step.
She strode across the intact dais section, then leaped down.
And hurled off the helm she'd worn constantly for twenty cursed years.
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