Chapter 123: The Witch and The Land of The Centaurs (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 123: The Witch and The Land of The Centaurs (3)
For the girl, life was a continuous torment.
Hunger and cold were a part of daily life, and whenever she tried to build some semblance of a home, powerful invaders would turn it all to ash.
Her father, the chieftain, had died fighting the ‘many-legged servants’ who had raided their village.
Her mother had been trampled to death by the fiends while trying to help the girl and her other siblings escape.
If there was any hope left for the despairing girl, it was the existence of her younger brother.
Her brother had a strong body like their father, and he was brave.
Most importantly, her brother possessed a strange ability.
When the yellow aura of light emanating from his body enveloped it, even a small stone axe could fell a living tree with ease.
The tribespeople rejoiced.
They cheered that if her brother continued to grow like this, he would become a warrior even stronger than their father and be able to fight back against the many-legged servants.
The girl, too, dreamed of that day and endured the difficult times.
But fate remained cruel to the girl.
One day, the girl saw a golden light in the sky.
Only after seeing the fur that glinted, reflecting the sunlight, and the wings on their backs did the girl recall the legend her mother had told her.
They were the ‘winged servants.’
Looking as free as birds, they chattered amongst themselves before seizing her younger brother.
Her brother struggled, swinging his stone axe, but the attack that seemed capable of splitting anything only managed to sever a few strands of the winged servant’s fur.
The other tribespeople tried to help her brother, but before they could even put up a proper fight, the winged servants soared high into the sky.
With her brother clutched in their hands.
And so, the girl could only stare blankly as her last hope was abducted.
The days that followed were exceedingly dry and cold.
She lived as life flowed, and rolled as the wind blew.
The girl felt like a grain of sand scattering on the ground.
Perhaps that was why.
Even when she was on the verge of death during an attack by the many-legged servants, the girl did not feel much fear.
It didn’t seem like anything would get better even if she survived any longer.
If the girl had one wish left, it was to fall asleep without much pain.
Though, seeing how their opponents deliberately dragged things out when they could have killed them easily, even that seemed like a luxury.
It was then that salvation arrived, so audaciously and without any warning.
She was draped in something black.
It was something completely different from the hides they wore.
She had flawless white skin, and her eyes were more brilliant than a shimmering lake.
She commanded servants with powerful teeth, easily defeating the many-legged servants.
She had an appearance similar to the girl and the other ‘descendants of the mighty servants,’ but the details were entirely different.
A goddess, someone murmured.
The girl found herself nodding in agreement. There seemed no word more fitting than ‘goddess’ to describe the woman before her.
But there was no one like this woman in the legends they knew.
The Golden Goddess Elphaba was the master who had abandoned them.
A different title was needed to refer to the goddess who had saved them.
The girl suddenly saw a crow flying in the sky.
It was nothing special. It was a bird she had always seen around.
But in this moment, it felt as if it held some special meaning.
They began to call the goddess the ‘Crow Goddess.’
The goddess’s power was magnificent.
When they applied the herbs the goddess gave them, all sorts of wounds healed quickly, and the servants she commanded felled giant trees as if they were nothing.
Light returned to the girl’s dull eyes.
This time, maybe this time, something might really change, the girl thought, embracing hope.
And then, as it always had, disaster struck as if to trample her hope.
The many-legged servants had come to attack them as a group.
Everyone was terrified.
Fighting back was meaningless. The many-legged servants possessed sturdy armor and weapons they had stolen from them.
Their choice was to flee.
Many would die, but some would survive. No, perhaps they might survive.
But the Crow Goddess was different.
The goddess did not run or hide, but strode confidently toward them.
As many lost faith in the goddess and left, only a few, including the girl, remained by her side.
The girl could not possibly describe in words the events that followed, or the wonder she felt.
The goddess and the leader of the many-legged servants argued about something, and the leader lunged at the goddess.
But the servant’s sword never reached the goddess. Black smoke seeped out from around her and enveloped them.
They writhed in agony, but in the end, not a single one escaped, and all met a gruesome death.
That was not the only astonishing event.
When the Crow Goddess struck the ground with the staff in her hand, the host of many-legged servants who had met their end all rose to their feet.
The girl and the others were frightened, but the many-legged servants politely bowed to the goddess.
Amidst everyone’s confusion, the girl understood.
The great Crow Goddess had stolen those servants from the Golden Goddess.
Something swelled up from deep within the girl’s chest. The girl shared this feeling with her kin.
Her kin, too, shared the emotion she felt and praised the Crow Goddess.
The goddess’s advance did not stop.
Another group, different from the first many-legged servants they had encountered, tried to block their path, but the goddess’s servants swung their swords as if nothing had happened, even when their long necks were severed or their chests were pierced, and cut down their former kin.
And that was not all.
When the Crow Goddess burned some dried purple grass, purple rain clouds formed high in the sky, and raindrops poured down upon the enemies’ heads.
The servants hit by the rain foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the ground.
The goddess’s servants were hit by the same rain, but far from weakening, they seemed to gain more strength and pushed back the enemy.
Once all the enemies fell silent, the goddess once again struck the ground with her staff.
Then, the hostile servants rose to their feet and bowed their heads to the goddess.
It was truly a surprising and wondrous sight.
The girl’s kin revered the Crow Goddess.
Among them, some tried to drink the purple rainwater, saying they wanted to become ‘the goddess’s warriors,’ but for some reason, the goddess was horrified and chased them away.
When the warriors were disheartened, the goddess scratched her head for some reason, then handed them the weapons and armor of the many-legged servants.
The warriors shed tears of joy.
The swords and armor of the many-legged servants were treasures that their ancestors had lost.
Because the physical structures of the many-legged servants and the warriors were different, it was difficult to wear the armor as it was, but when the goddess’s servants with powerful teeth cut off the unnecessary parts, it became reasonably usable.
As time passed, the goddess’s army grew, and the ‘mighty servants’ became strong, befitting their name.
If the many-legged servants faced them head-on, they were crushed by numbers. If they tried to use the terrain, black smoke and rain clouds engulfed them.
When they tried to block even the smoke and rain with sturdy buildings, the goddess summoned strange, translucent beings and had them infiltrate.
The many-legged servants fled from within the buildings, terrified.
One by one, the strongholds of the many-legged servants fell.
No one who opposed the goddess survived; only those who swore allegiance of their own accord earned the right to live.
Of course, the mighty servants did not look upon them kindly.
Voices grew louder, insisting that they should pay them back for everything they had suffered.
But the goddess did not permit it.
The girl was in awe.
The goddess was truly merciful and kind.
However, there were some who failed to realize that mercy and voiced their complaints.
They dared to assert their ‘rightful revenge and rights’ before the goddess.
The girl was enraged.
She, too, held a great grudge against the many-legged servants, but the goddess’s grace was far more important.
The girl grabbed one of the many swords the goddess had provided and split open the heads of those spouting nonsense.
Everyone was horrified. Even the girl who had committed the act was surprised.
It was then that the girl realized a black aura of light was shimmering around her body.
It was something remarkably similar to the strange power her younger brother had wielded.
If the girl of the past had been given such power, she might have been terrified.
She might have cried every night, fearing she would be captured like her brother.
But now, that was irrelevant to the girl.
What other reason could there be for being granted a black light, so similar to the goddess’s, at the very moment she was about to punish those who defied the goddess’s will?
This was the goddess’s grace, the girl was certain.
Covered in blood and brains, the girl beamed a bright smile and bowed to the goddess.
The goddess flinched for some reason and took half a step back, but the girl, who was looking at the ground, did not notice.
Just before the high sun hid its face behind the mountains, the many-legged servants had all submitted to the Crow Goddess without exception.
The girl and her kin thought the Crow Goddess would now become their ruler and govern them, but that expectation was wrong.
The goddess had the many-legged servants build a ship, then prepared to leave the island on it.
Many knelt before the goddess and begged her not to leave, but the goddess shook her head firmly.
However, as if it were a final gift, she gathered the death warriors she had been commanding and the translucent beings she had summoned from all over the island, and left behind a single, giant tower.
The tower, decorated with a skull identical to the one the goddess carried, was incredibly wise and answered any question.
After the goddess left, the girl cried and cried for a long time.
But when she rose after crying her fill, there was no longer despair or frustration on her face.
The girl was no longer a grain of sand in a field, possessing nothing.
The girl had the black light bestowed by the goddess, and her kin were left with the wise skull.
Most importantly, the girl, who had merely been living without any meaning, now had a ‘goal.’
That’s right.
The girl had a debt of gratitude to repay.
And to repay that grace, the girl and her kin had to become stronger.
No, there was more to gain than just strength. She had seen the many-legged servants conversing with the Crow Goddess in the same language.
Just as the goddess had returned their swords and armor, they had to reclaim that language and wisdom to communicate with the goddess.
There was no need to ponder how to reclaim it.
The girl and her kin had plenty of many-legged servants—no, captured ‘prisoners.’
In accordance with the merciful goddess’s will, they would not be killed, but there were many ways to utilize them without killing them.
The girl spoke to the wise skull endlessly.
Crow, civilization, technology, history, myth, clothing, society, art, poison, curse, battle, glory, grace, revenge, livestock, beast, horse, human, ship, sailing, other islands, conquest, world.
The great Crow Goddess, Dorothea.
Looking forward to a future reunion, the girl smiled.
*
The blue sea. Aboard a moderately sized boat, Dorothea let out a sigh.
“Did I overdo it?”
Even if it was a rare chance in her life to use necromancy without caring about prying eyes, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had gone a bit too far.
She even felt as if her master, who wasn’t even here, was mocking her, saying, ‘You always said you wouldn’t end up like me, but of course you did.’
She had been dumbfounded when one of the native girls she hadn’t paid much mind to suddenly awakened to mana and started slaughtering her own kin, but thankfully, it was like having cold water dumped on her head, bringing her back to her senses.
The girl had babbled on about the goddess bestowing power upon her, but to Dorothea, it was all nonsense.
From what she could see, it was just that their mana colors were a bit similar.
She had given them a little gift at the end to shake them off since they were clinging to her so much, but in truth, it wasn’t like Dorothea had lost anything.
She couldn’t take an army of centaurs across the sea anyway, and once she left, there would just be a pile of corpses left behind, so it was nothing more than clumping together surplus resources in one place.
“…Well, whatever.”
Dorothea, who had been pondering what would become of them in the future, soon realized it was pointless and stopped thinking about it.
After all, once she defeated the Witch of the West, they were people she would never see again.