Chapter 181: Prophecy(4)
Lina had a dream.
They were on the eve of their final battle with those bastards. Because of that, she hadn't been able to get him out of her head for even a moment.
Was that why? Lina was plagued by the trauma of her past.
In her dream, Lina fought alone.
An endless horde of enemies.
The army of the undying stood with the Black Witch.
No matter how many foes she cut down with the hero's power, there was no end in sight.
That army, which knew not even the fear of death, was trauma itself to Lina.
I have to stop them. No matter what...
She couldn't let the same thing happen in this life.
And next to the Black Witch was that man.
The man whose face she couldn't see.
The Ruler of Mana wasn't actively participating, but he remained by the Black Witch's side.
And with his mana, he crushed the approaching enemies.
Before that man's power, the heroes looked as insignificant as moths drawn to a flame.
It wasn't some complex power.
He simply crushed his enemies with an immense force of mana, like a hydraulic press.
It was simple, yet it was hard to find anyone with the skill to resist such overwhelming power.
The Ruler of Mana looked down on Lina from the sky, his lover, the Black Witch, beside him.
For some reason, the Ruler of Mana didn't attack Lina, his lover's most formidable rival.
Even when the Black Witch asked him to get rid of the hero, he just shook his head.
Despite his ambiguous attitude, the Black Witch didn't dare say a single word of complaint to her lover.
In the moment she glanced away, her vision filled with a countless army of skeletons.
A wave of the dead surged toward Lina.
In the instant the wave crashed over her and her vision went dark...
Lina shot up in her seat. It had all been a dream. She touched her forehead and found it drenched in a cold sweat.
If there was any silver lining, it was that she hadn't screamed today.
"Hah... heu... heuuu..."
She turned her head and saw her companions sleeping.
...In just a few days, I'll see... the Black Witch again.
Perhaps she would even see the Black Witch's lover, the Ruler of Mana.
She hadn't met him once since she'd regressed, but he was the Black Witch's lover, after all.
Will I finally be able to see his face?
The Ruler of Mana was sure to be an impossibly strong opponent, yet she found herself looking forward to seeing him.
She felt that if she saw his face, she might understand the reason for this constant ache in her heart.
What is that man doing right now?
With that final flicker of curiosity, Lina lay back down, but sleep wouldn't come.
The carriage traveled down the road from early in the morning.
Inside, the party seemed a little tense; everyone was wide awake.
Though, of course, the women were still clinging tightly to Kerry's side as usual.
Just then, Victoria stretched.
Her ample chest pushed forward, capturing the gazes of even the other women.
"Lina. If you can't kill the Black Witch... what's the plan? I think it's about time you told us."
Lina nodded. It was good timing, as everyone was awake.
It was the perfect moment to bring it up.
"If we can't kill the Black Witch... we must at least take her body. Then we must seal that body somewhere no one will ever find it, so that no one can ever think of attempting the same thing again."
Natasha spoke up.
"The Black Witch... you said she was the woman who destroyed an ancient civilization, right? Then her body must be a mummy... Do we have to move a mummy? That sounds terrifying."
"No. The Black Witch's body will be perfectly preserved. She is a being of complete eternal youth and life. What The Organization is trying to do now is less a resurrection and more like simply waking her up."
Natasha looked at Kerry with an ominous glint in her eyes.
"This Black Witch or whatever... she's not another pretty woman, is she..."
For some reason, every woman they met on their journey ended up falling for Kerry. Natasha was starting to notice the pattern.
Kerry stroked Natasha's hair.
I know you're anxious, Natasha, but there's nothing I can do. The Black Witch is practically my ex-girlfriend...
Calling her an ex-girlfriend... it made him feel a little restless.
He had no memory of the Black Witch, but it still felt like he was on his way to kill his ex.
What can I do? They say it'll be a disaster if we leave the Black Witch alone.
Because of the prophecy, he couldn't kill her.
He supposed he had to take comfort in that. As Kerry was trying to sort through his complicated feelings, Victoria cleared her throat and spoke.
"Ahem. Anyway, the mood in here is unusually stiff. Is everyone nervous?"
"..."
It would be stranger if they weren't.
"A healthy amount of tension is good, but we still have a long way to go. There's no need to exhaust ourselves ahead of time, is there?"
He thought a bit of tension might actually be a good thing, but since it seemed like Victoria was about to make a good point for once, he kept quiet.
"In that spirit, I hope we can maintain our usual cheerful atmosphere."
Arwen spoke up as if in agreement.
"That's right. There's nothing we can do right now anyway, right? I don't think it's good to waste our energy... U-um... I'm sorry if I overstepped..."
"Not at all, Princess Arwen. You are a hundred times correct."
Victoria nodded her head emphatically.
Arwen, looking proud for having confidently stated her opinion in front of the group, smiled brightly.
It was then that Victoria's demonic hand reached for Arwen.
"L-Lady Victoria?"
In an instant, Victoria's hand slipped under Arwen's armpit, aiming for her luscious breasts.
"Eek! L-Lord Kerry is here, you can't touch me there... you can't!"
"Heehee. You let your guard down, Princess. But it can't be helped. This is to liven up the mood, after all. Hehehe."
Normally, touching someone else's chest without permission was wrong.
But now, just as Victoria said, it almost felt like it was Arwen's fault for letting her guard down.
The rest of the party looked at Arwen with pity, but no one reprimanded Victoria.
It felt like everyone was slowly being tamed by her.
Victoria kneaded Arwen's chest.
The silhouette of Arwen's large breasts, hidden beneath her clothes, was clearly visible.
They were a size one could never imagine from her innocent face.
"Lady V-Victoria! Hiiik!"
"Oh my. Even the princess... makes such sounds..."
Arwen, her face beet red, could only fidget helplessly. She couldn't bring herself to push Victoria away forcefully.
Just then, Lina stepped in.
As expected, Lina was the only one who could stop Victoria.
"Lady Victoria. Please take your hand off Princess Arwen's chest. Can't you see the princess is flustered?"
Arwen was frozen, her face bright red.
She looked exactly like a naive elf princess out in society for the first time.
"Heehee. It's reactions like this that make it so hard to resist. I really must teach you about men someday, just as I said I would..."
"I... I don't know anything about that!"
Lina and Victoria were completely captivated by Arwen's innocent face.
Kerry recalled stroking Arwen's ears just yesterday.
He couldn't forget her flushed face and lustful eyes. Just from having her ears touched yesterday, Arwen had climaxed three times.
No one but Kerry knew that.
In any case, it was a very heartwarming sight.
But even in this pleasant situation Victoria had created, Kerry couldn't help but remain tense.
This prophecy is driving me crazy.
He didn't know the details, but Lina's words—that she wouldn't let him die—kept replaying in his mind.
A prophecy that you were going to die was a truly shitty thing.
Amidst the noisy atmosphere in the carriage, Kerry quietly organized his thoughts.
As always, when he was in trouble, the only one he could rely on was his Lady Witch.
That night, Kerry snuck away from the group to visit the Witch.
He searched for her in the pure white bedroom.
A white lace canopy was drawn around the bed. It was the middle of the night, so it was only natural that she'd be sleeping.
Kerry familiarly pulled back the lace.
He saw the Witch sleeping under the covers on the white bed.
The Lady Witch is as beautiful as a doll, even when she sleeps.
Lewd thoughts began to stir, but he suppressed them for now. He had something important to discuss.
If he pounced on her now, he knew he wouldn't get to talk and would just end up fucking until dawn.
Kerry whispered into the White Witch's ear.
"My Lady Witch."
"..."
"Wake up, My Lady."
He called her a few more times, but she didn't wake up. What was this? How could she not wake up after being called like that? Let's see if this doesn't wake her.
Just as Kerry's hand was about to reach for her chest, the Witch, who had been as still as a corpse, suddenly turned over, as if to prevent him from touching her. She had been awake.
"My Lady Witch. Why are you pretending to be asleep when you're awake?"
"..."
No answer. Kerry then remembered. The last time they parted, the Witch had been thoroughly sulking.
It was because he had forced her to say lewd things.
To be precise, Kerry had only wanted to hear her say she liked it, but the Witch had gone overboard and poured out her lewd, true feelings.
Was she still pouting over that?
"...My Lady. Don't tell me you've been sulking ever since then?"
The moment Kerry finished speaking, the White Witch whipped her head around and glared at him.
Her red eyes were staring daggers, but it was more cute than scary.
"Hmph!"
After glaring at him, the White Witch turned away again. How was he supposed to soothe her?
"You should at least tell me why you're pouting... no, what's bothering you."
"Kerry... do you truly not know why I am angry?"
He never thought he'd hear a girlfriend's signature line—"You don't know why I'm mad?"—from the Lady Witch.
But I won't be swayed by something like this.
"If I knew, why would I be asking?"
"...You are truly shameless."
"Is it because I made you say those lewd things? That was you getting carried away on your own..."
"Th-that's not it!"
"Then what is it?"
"...If you do not know, then so be it. I shall continue sleeping, so you may do as you please. Hmph!"
She was really sulking. The Witch pulled the blanket completely over her head.
It would be so much easier if she just told him why she was upset.
But as he'd heard in his beloved homeland, the weaker one in a relationship is always the one who likes the other more.
"Is that so? I had something to ask you, but you seem very tired today."
"..."
"Can't be helped. I suppose I'll just go back and get some sleep myself."
"!"
The blanket covering the Witch twitched slightly. He thought she'd throw it off immediately, but surprisingly, she kept it on.
Was it because she hadn't gotten up yet?
"Well then, My Lady. I'll be going. It was an 'important matter' regarding the final battle, but..."
"..."
"I'll be on my way."
The moment Kerry got up from the bed, the Witch finally spoke in an urgent voice.
"If... if you have something to ask me... you may ask."
Knew it.
But for some reason, the blanket was still pulled up over her head.
"My Lady? Are you going to keep the blanket over you?"
"We can converse like this, can we not? I shall do it this way."
It was her way of saying she still hadn't forgiven him. The Lady Witch was something else.
A chuckle escaped him at the sight of the Witch speaking in a pouting voice from under the covers.
"Wh-why are you laughing!"
"Just felt like it."
"...How frivolous. Just ask what you want to ask."
Kerry told her everything he had heard about the prophecy.
Of course, he left out the part about how he might die.
The Witch was trapped here anyway; he didn't want to worry her for no reason.
The Witch, still under the blanket, spoke.
Her voice was meant to be serious, but it was hard to hold back a laugh as it came out muffled by the blanket.
"If it is a goddess's prophecy... then it must be true. You must not kill the Black Witch, Kerry."
"Absolutely not?"
"Absolutely not."
"...Why? Can't prophecies be wrong?"
Please, let it be wrong.
"Well. As far as I know, I have never seen a case where a goddess's prophecy was wrong. That is the nature of prophecy."
I'm fucked.
Am I really going to die? Kerry was so distraught he couldn't speak.
As Kerry's silence stretched on, the Witch asked in a worried voice.
"...Kerry? Are you there?"
"If you're curious, you could just pull back the blanket and see."
"I do not wish to."
He really didn't want to die. If he died, the Lady Witch might be trapped here forever.
More importantly, if he died, he wouldn't be able to talk with her like this. As they say, it's better to be alive and rolling in shit than dead.
He needed a plan.
"My Lady Witch. I need a way to break the prophecy. Do you happen to know how?"