Chapter 187: Meeting(2)
It was just as the Black Witch was regaining consciousness.
The masked man had fled with her to a forest in the middle of nowhere.
During that time, her faint consciousness gradually sharpened.
Her revival had been incomplete, delaying her return to her senses, but that was now a thing of the past.
She could now speak naturally.
"...Are you the one who saved me?"
"...."
The masked man stood stiffly, a heavy atmosphere enveloping him.
He said nothing.
But the moment she saw his mask, the Black Witch remembered. Memories of the past.
No. She was confused whether it was the past or not, whether they were even truly her own memories.
Memories surfaced of sharing sweet meals, going on dates, whispering words of love.
[I wish you'd tone down your personality a bit. Why are you trying to destroy a perfectly fine world?]
[Humans piss you off? Me too. But if you kill them all, it'll get boring.]
[A mission from your god? Tell that god to go fuck himself. The goddess I know can't do a thing even when people call her a motherless bitch.]
A voice echoed from within the hazy memories.
The man she had loved so much she was willing to cast aside even her sacred mission.
These were things she was certain she had never experienced, so why were the memories surfacing?
And why was the name Kerry, and only that name, so vivid?
The Black Witch asked the man who had saved her.
"...Who... Who in the world are you? Are you... Kerry?"
The masked man remained silent. As if his job was done, he simply soared into the sky.
“Hey! Wait. Just wait a moment!”
The Black Witch shouted after him, but it was no use.
She stared blankly at the sky where the man had vanished.
Something was strange.
The Black Witch's memories were shattered like a puzzle.
All she had was the name Kerry and fragmented memories from before the regression.
She couldn't even recall Kerry's face.
But whenever she thought of Kerry within those fragmented memories, her heart ached terribly.
As if remembering a lost other half.
When she had opened her eyes and seen Kerry for the first time, her heart had throbbed with that same pain from her memories.
"Ke...rry..."
As she spoke the name, a single tear streamed from her eye.
She herself couldn't understand why.
One thing was certain: the fragmented memories in her head were telling her to find Kerry.
"I have to meet him...."
The Black Witch released her crows to find Kerry.
*
The crow spoke with a clear woman's voice.
"I've been looking for you."
I'd seen it happen in Lina's mind, but a talking crow was still a little creepy. Grotesque, maybe? Anyway.
Kerry had a slight inkling as to why the Black Witch was looking for him.
I don't know why... but it seems the Black Witch remembers me.
Whether her memory was complete or incomplete, I couldn't tell.
But to retain memories despite the cheat-like ability of regression was truly incredible.
At the very least, it meant the Black Witch was an extraordinary being.
For now, Kerry spoke as if he knew nothing.
"Are you... the Black Witch? Why were you looking for me?"
As soon as Kerry finished speaking, the crow began to cry out in a sorrowful voice.
To be precise, it didn't shed tears, but it wept with a woman's voice.
"...."
"Who in the world are you? Why... why does my heart ache so much for you, a man I've never seen before?"
How the hell should I know?
"I'm so confused. I thought all my questions would be answered if I met you... but my mind is only growing more complicated. Please. Tell me. Who... who are you?"
So she has memories from before the regression, but they're incomplete?
The Black Witch seemed genuinely confused.
Should I be relieved since she's Lina's enemy? No. I felt too sorry for her to think that way.
Just then, the rest of the party, sensing the situation, came running.
"Kerry!"
Lina rushed forward to stand in front of Kerry. The others followed close behind.
The moment the crow saw Lina, it began to flap its wings violently, growing agitated.
As if expressing the rage of the Black Witch controlling it.
Cawww—Caw—
The crow's eerie cries echoed.
"Black Witch! So you have regained consciousness."
"...Do not speak my name with that filthy mouth."
"...."
The hostility was immense.
Of course, Lina's animosity was just as fierce as the Black Witch's.
When I saw them in Lina's mind, I don't think their relationship was this bad.
Did something else happen afterward that I don't know about?
Lina's party faced off against the Black Witch.
A tense atmosphere descended. The party surrounded Kerry, as if to protect him from the crow.
The silence broke as the Black Witch spoke.
"....I have no desire to speak at length with anyone else. My demand is simple. If you obediently hand over that man... the one named Kerry... I will spare your lives."
Shit. Me again? Why is this happening to me?
Kerry wasn't worried. He knew there was no way his companions would accept that offer.
The party glared at the Black Witch, dumbfounded.
Not forgetting to throw out a few words of their own, as if determined not to lose the war of nerves.
"Get lost! My husband isn't some object! He's with us because he wants to be!"
"Even for the Black Witch, you seem to be underestimating us quite a bit."
"We'll never give Kerry up, no matter what!"
That's my party.
Only the Saintess muttered under her breath. 'If we just sacrificed Kerry, this would all be over.' I'll deal with you later.
Lina stepped forward as their representative and made their refusal clear.
"We refuse. Kerry is our comrade. We would never abandon him."
"Even if that petty camaraderie... leads to the destruction of the world?"
What a terrifying thing to say.
When the Black Witch spoke the word 'destruction,' it didn't sound like an empty threat at all.
"That's why I'm here—to stop that from happening."
"So you think you can stop me? How arrogant... If I were at my full strength... you lot would be..."
The Black Witch's voice trembled with rage.
That crow is unnecessarily good at conveying emotion.
The Black Witch looked at Kerry and spoke.
"Hmph. It can't be helped. Just wait a little longer. Once I recover my strength, women like them will be nothing. I will save you from them."
Who asked you to save me? Did her memories getting jumbled mess with her head?
"It would be better if humans didn't exist in this world... But... but I made a promise."
A promise? With whom?
"I can tell. That you are the man who truly loves only me. I can feel it... So. I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine."
"...."
I could feel a chilling obsession in those seemingly simple words.
If I rolled up my sleeve right now, I'm sure it'd be covered in goosebumps.
"Until then, please take good care of yourself..."
Just as the crow finished its farewell and was about to take flight, Lina shouted.
"Wait! Was it you who ordered the masked man to sacrifice this village?"
"...."
The crow ignored Lina's words and prepared to fly away.
Then Kerry spoke. "I'd appreciate it if you answered that question."
Only then did the crow pause. So she listens to me.
"...That was something he did on his own."
“Really?”
"I decided not to create any innocent sacrifices. My memories are still unclear because of my incomplete revival, but I'm certain I made a promise. To a man who gave me the same flutter in my heart as you do."
The Black Witch's voice was desperate as she denied even Kerry's small doubt.
I didn't know the details, but it seemed she'd promised to live a good life, more or less.
She promised to live a good life? Then why did she start a Holy War before the regression? Ugh. Not knowing about the past life is just making my head spin.
I felt like I wished someone would just give me a special trial version of the world before the regression.
“I can say this with certainty. Sacrificing this village was the masked man's doing alone. I'm really not lying!”
Lina clenched her fists. She wanted to believe in the masked man's innocence.
“....And you expect us to believe that? Black Witch.”
“I wasn't talking to you, bitch. Believe it or not, I don't care.”
Her voice was murderous.
The Black Witch immediately changed her tone when she spoke to Kerry, her voice now sweet as honey.
“Kerry-nim. Until the day we meet again, please stay well.”
It's like she's Jekyll and Hyde.
With that farewell, the crow flew away and disappeared.
Only then did the tense atmosphere finally dissipate.
Natasha hugged me and said.
“Don't worry, Husband! There's no way we would ever abandon you.”
Of course, I know that.
Victoria spoke, her voice filled with suspicion.
“Kerry. I was well aware that you were popular with women... but were you acquainted with the Black Witch as well?”
“Of course not.”
I couldn't exactly say, 'She's my ex-girlfriend, and she's a little obsessive.'
Arwen also glared at the departing crow, looking angry.
The problem was that she didn't look the least bit threatening.
If I were the Black Witch, I might have pinched her cheek and called her cute.
Lina asked in a questioning tone.
“If you don't know each other, then why is the Black Witch so obsessed with Kerry?”
Her voice held pure curiosity rather than suspicion.
“I don't know either. The moment she saw me, she started crying and calling my name. And now she's trying to make a deal to get her hands on me...”
I'm already on edge because of the prophecy.
Though it didn't seem like the Black Witch was going to kill Kerry or anything.
“For now, let's finish searching for the man's tracks in this village. There's no point in chasing that crow.”
The party nodded and resumed their investigation.
Arwen said, her voice full of motivation.
“I'll search for clues with all my might! Harder than anyone!”
You don't have to try that hard...
Besides, saying it like that just creates a weirdly competitive atmosphere.
*
That day, Lina's party took the little boy to a nearby village.
They explained the boy's situation to the village chief and left him in his care.
Not stopping there, Lina used her authority as the hero to order that the boy be taken to an orphanage in the capital of Astria.
You might wonder what kind of orphanage would exist in a medieval otherworld, but apparently, it was one Lina had founded herself.
How could the people not love her?
Unlike in the Empire, she could comfortably reveal her identity as the hero here. And on top of that, she received a fervent welcome.
It was a very heartwarming situation.
We decided to stay the night in this village.
As I closed the door to my room to rest, Victoria and Natasha gave me looks of disappointment.
It was because I had firmly told them not to visit me tonight.
It can't be helped. Tonight is the White Witch's turn.
I had something very important to tell her.
Late that night, Kerry went to see the White Witch. The white bedroom unfolded before him.
Kerry's steps were light.
He couldn't wait to deliver the good news to her.
He could see a lace canopy over the bed. Looks like she's asleep.
Looking at the bed, he saw that the White Witch was indeed sleeping. Even in her sleep, she looked graceful, not a single hair out of place.
It seemed to be a good reflection of her perfectionist personality.
Kerry gently shook the White Witch's shoulder.
“My lady Witch. Wake up. I've brought good news. Hurry.”
“Haaah... Kerry. You've come. Stop shaking me. This one is awake.”
The White Witch sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
He couldn't help but think how pretty she looked in that moment.
But that wasn't what was important right now.
Kerry spoke in an excited voice.
“My lady Witch. I think I might be able to get you out of here sooner than you think.”
In that instant, the White Witch's drowsy eyes flew wide open.