Chapter 118: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
The moment the woman in the hood declared herself to be a witch, it was as if I was back at the gymnasium where the Witch of Sloth had summoned monsters using a black orb. The black orb in her hand glowed, and dozens of monsters appeared from thin air.
There were creatures resembling bats and others resembling birds. Monsters with an ominous size, each bearing wings, filled the sky.
In an instant, the sky was covered, casting a shadow over the land, making it seem as if darkness had descended upon us.
\[ \[ \[ \[ \[ ■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!!! \] \] \] \] \]
The enormous monsters let out a simultaneous roar that shook the atmosphere.
Some students clutched their ears and staggered.
All of this happened in a moment that could barely be called an instant.
But the heroes, sensing the danger, had already started moving just before that moment.
They rushed towards where the students were gathered.
To protect the students who were weaker than themselves.
Martina, who reached the students the fastest, shouted at them,
“Everyone! Get behind me—!”
Although it was an unexpected attack, they believed they could fend it off as long as they could protect the students.
That was the quickest and most accurate judgment the heroes could make.
If only the witch hadn't been closer to the students than they were.
“Sorry, but I can’t let that happen.”
With the woman’s voice, a black barrier appeared, separating the students and the heroes.
Martina, who had been rushing to protect us, was blocked by the barrier, and someone among the students shouted,
“It’s a barrier! We need to get inside!”
A barrier.
It was the ability of the Greed Monsters that we learned about at the academy.
A space that one can enter from outside but can never leave from within until the monster that cast it is defeated.
Realizing they couldn't join the heroes like this, the students launched themselves toward the black barrier,
But they hit the dark barrier with a dull thud and were bounced back.
The students, who were knocked back, turned their gaze to the sky.
Some of the monsters, flapping their wings, looked down at us mockingly.
All were at least mid-level monsters.
It meant we couldn't leave unless we defeated them all.
Despite the desperate situation, the students did not give up.
They desperately launched attacks at the sky, trying to shoot down the monsters.
However, the attacks were swallowed up by strange holes that appeared in mid-air and vanished into nothing.
The students, momentarily dumbfounded, slowly turned their heads.
There was only one being among us capable of such a feat.
The students turned their heads to where the witch was, smiling slyly as she watched us.
“Ah...”
Someone gasped in despair.
They realized that a far more dangerous entity than any monster was right beside them.
They understood that no one could escape from here without her permission.
\* \* \*
“Aha, don’t be so scared. I won’t harm you as long as you don’t attack first. I didn’t come here to fight today.”
The woman, who introduced herself as a witch, said with certainty.
But we couldn't let our guard down.
How could we believe her when she released so many monsters and separated us like this?
Besides, there was no way we could trust a witch so easily.
As I quickly distanced myself from her along with the other children, keeping a wary eye, the witch smiled broadly and spoke,
“I’m serious. Is it because of the monsters? I released them to keep the nuisances over there away. They’re a threat to me, considering the level of those humans outside. I’m not much of a fighter for a witch. I don’t really enjoy fighting.”
The witch backed away, showing her palms, as if she truly had no intention of harming us.
I swallowed nervously as I watched her.
The faint, yet unmistakable feeling was similar to the sensation I had when searching for the hidden Witch of Sloth, but slightly different.
The indescribable sensation told me that she was indeed a witch and a different witch from Beatrice, the Witch of Sloth, whom I had encountered before.
I couldn’t believe there were two more witches that hadn’t appeared in the original work...
Despairing at the unexpected reality, I resolved to safely navigate through this situation.
I had to avoid a fight at all costs.
No matter how weak she claimed to be, a witch was a witch.
The witch said the humans outside were threatening to her.
Which meant that those of us inside were not a threat to her.
Even if we all attacked together, the chances of winning were slim.
Fortunately, there was no sense of hostility from the witch in front of us.
However, given that she nullified our attack against the monsters, it was clear she had no intention of letting us out of the barrier easily.
The best course of action now was to buy time until the heroes outside defeated all the monsters and came to rescue us.
Some of the others seemed to share my thoughts, glancing around cautiously.
I stepped forward, indicating I would handle this.
Thinking I needed to buy time, I swallowed and spoke to the witch, who was smiling at me for some reason.
“...If you didn’t come here to fight, then what’s your purpose?”
“Well, my purpose... If I had to say, it would be sightseeing, I suppose? I’m the type who can’t hold back when I’m curious. I wanted to see it for myself.”
“...Witches are curious about how people live?”
“Aha, people living? Hmm, sure, let’s go with that. Ah, I’m really glad I came to see it in person. Who would have thought I’d find something so interesting? It’s truly fascinating.”
The witch burst into laughter and answered my question.
I didn’t know why, but it seemed I had piqued her interest.
If I could keep talking and stalling for time...
Just as I was about to speak again, the witch gave a meaningful smile and said,
“Hmm, it looks like you’re trying to stall until the humans outside arrive...”
She had seen through my intentions.
I sensed the kids behind me flinch and grip their weapons tightly.
My hands trembled.
Could we win in a fight?
While I was pondering that, the witch laughed and continued,
“Well, alright. I’ll let it slide. I’ll leave once the kids outside are all defeated, so why don’t we chat until then?”
Whether it was due to her caprice or a genuine dislike of fighting, the witch smiled slightly and said she would let it go.
I broke into a cold sweat.
I had prepared for the worst-case scenario, thinking we would have to fight...
As I exhaled a sigh of relief, the witch smiled and spoke again,
“By the way, I wonder if you received the gift I sent.”
“...Gift?”
The witch raised the corner of her mouth and spoke.
“The monsters I sent into the city. It was a bit disappointing that it didn’t go as planned, but it was fun, wasn’t it? Having people you trusted turn against you.”
The witch murmured provocatively.
At her words, I realized.
This witch was connected to the incident that had caused so much harm to the city.
Somewhere, I heard someone take a sharp breath.
Feeling a sense of unease, I turned my head.
Jessie was trembling, her eyes filled with rage as she glared at the witch.
No, Jessie.
If you attack now, you’ll die.
Please, just hold on, I pleaded with my eyes.
But the only thing reflected in Jessie’s bloodshot eyes was one thing.
“Ah... Ah... Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!”
With a scream that seemed to come from the depths of her being, Jessie charged forward.
As Jessie swung her staff, the shockwave generated by her telekinesis tore through the air toward the witch.
But the witch waved her hand, and the attack was sucked into a hole that appeared in mid-air, vanishing into nothing.
The witch’s gaze slowly turned to Jessie.
“I planned to just have a peaceful chat today, but it seems someone isn’t interested?”
The witch grinned.
Right after seeing that grin, I threw myself with all my might toward where Jessie was.
As I tackled Jessie and rolled on the ground, I felt the sensation of something narrowly missing where she had been standing.
If I had left her alone, she would have been killed...
“Hmph, I didn’t expect anyone to intervene there...”
I heard the witch muttering to herself.
When I glanced over at her, I saw the witch shaking her head as if she didn’t intend to attack again, folding her arms across her chest.
As I let out a sigh of relief, Jessie, pinned beneath me, struggled and cried out, tears streaming down her face.
“Scarlet, please move...! Move...! Move...! I have to... I need to...! I need to get revenge...!”
“Jessie... please, calm down... You’ll really die... You won’t even get revenge; you’ll just die a meaningless death.”
“How... how can you tell me to calm down?! The person who killed my brother is right there...! Every day... my brother begs me to avenge him...! I don’t care if I die... I’ll do anything to get revenge on that witch... so get out of my way... Please!!!”
It was clear that if I let her go, she would immediately rush at the witch, so I desperately pinned Jessie down to stop her.
As I struggled against her attempts to use telekinesis to lift herself, I heard the witch’s voice.
“Haa, we can’t have a conversation like this. I suppose I have no choice.”
The witch began walking towards us, where Jessie and I were.
As the witch drew closer, Jessie struggled more violently, yelling at me to let her go.
I kept all my strength on Jessie, while watching the witch’s movements carefully as she approached.
If she tried to harm Jessie, I would fight back, no matter what the outcome would be.
I saw the kids behind me gripping their weapons tightly and cautiously approaching, as if they had the same thought.
The witch, now standing next to me, looked down at Jessie and murmured,
“You say you’d do anything to get revenge, even if it means dying? Would you do anything for revenge?”
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! You!!! I’ll kill you!!! I’ll kill you!!!!!”
The witch unfolded her arms and gently raised her hand.
I tensed up.
If she tried to harm Jessie, I was prepared to attack the witch immediately...
And then the witch pointed her finger,
At me.
“Then if you attack me, I’ll kill her instead.”
“Ah...ah...?”
At those words, Jessie’s struggles came to an abrupt halt.
“Huh...? Kill? Scarlet...?”
“Yes, if you want revenge so badly that you don’t care if you die, then someone else’s life doesn’t matter, does it? Go ahead and attack me. You won’t, of course. But she will die. And if she dies, then another, and then another. I’ll kill all of them, and you’ll be the last one left alive. How does that sound?”
Jessie’s eyes wavered.
She looked back and forth between me and the witch before tightly closing her eyes.
I felt the tension leave Jessie’s body as her strength gave out.
Jessie mumbled in a trembling voice, tears streaming down her face.
“No... Please, I’m sorry... I was wrong... Please don’t kill my friends... Spare them...”
“Then stand up and stand quietly.”
“Yes... I understand...”
I watched the witch’s expression, but she didn’t seem to be lying.
She didn’t appear to have any intention of harming us.
For now, it was best to do as she said.
I quietly stood up.
I reached out my hand to help Jessie up. She stared blankly at me and the witch for a moment before trudging back to her spot.
As she watched Jessie, the witch tilted her head and spoke.
“It’s fascinating, isn’t it? If you want something, shouldn’t you use others to get it? I can’t understand it at all. Maybe I can’t understand human emotions because I’m a witch?”
The witch tilted her head in contemplation before turning her gaze to me.
The witch, who had been looking at me blankly, suddenly smiled brightly.
“Ah, I’m suddenly curious about something.”
In that moment, I felt a chill run through my entire body.
An overwhelming pressure so intense it made me nauseous.
An oppressive force seemed to radiate from the witch in front of me.
It was a sensation similar to what I had felt from Leon Lionelle, a feeling of being prey in front of a predator.
This was probably the true strength the witch had been hiding.
The kids, their faces pale, were frozen in place, unable to move.
Biting my lip, I asked the witch, who had suddenly changed,
“You... what are you doing?”
“Huh? You’re fine? No, I was just curious. I wanted to see if I truly can’t understand human emotions. So I thought I’d play a little game. I’ll give you a choice.”
With a flick of the witch’s hand, a large hole opened in midair.
“It’s a passageway connected to the outside, filled with demonic energy. Any human who goes in would probably die.”
The witch pointed at the children.
“If you go in, they’ll all live.”
The witch pointed at me.
“If you don’t go in, they’ll all die.”
The witch smiled.
“So, which will you choose?”
Up above, the monsters were watching the children.
The kids were crushed under the witch’s aura, unable to even breathe, let alone resist.
No, even if they could move, there was no way they could stand against a witch who could exert such a presence.
And it seemed the witch was serious.
She truly intended to kill all the children, hence the terrifying aura she exuded.
My lips, bitten so hard they bled, tasted of iron in my mouth.
I asked the witch,
“...How can I trust that you won’t harm the kids if I go in?”
“Hm? If you don’t trust me, I can make a contract. I’ll promise to let them go safely if you go in.”
“...How can I trust that?”
“Ahaha, you really don’t know anything. Contracts with witches are sacred. We can’t break them. If we do, we lose all our power and abilities. You’ll understand once we make one.”
As the witch smiled and spoke, I felt something connecting between her and me.
I could sense that it was something that had to be honored.
In that case, I had no choice.
I steeled myself and looked at the children.
Mei, Jessie, and Sylvia.
They couldn’t move or speak, but their eyes were pleading with me.
Sylvia’s lips were bleeding, and I could faintly hear her strained voice.
“...No, Scarlet...”
Hearing her words, I smiled bitterly and made up my mind.
Once, during an ethics class, we were taught about a thought experiment like this.
On two different tracks, one has five people tied to it, and the other has one person tied to it.
When you have to let a train run over one of the tracks, which track would you choose?
I chose the track with one person, saving the five.
Then the teacher asked,
“Now imagine that the one person on the track is the person most precious to you.”
I was selfish, and I chose the track with five people, to save that one person.
Then the teacher asked again,
“Now imagine that on the track with five people, there are five people precious to you. And on the remaining track, you yourself are tied.”
Which track would you let the train run over?
I was incredibly selfish,
Even knowing how those left behind would feel,
I chose the same answer as before.
“...I’m sorry. Sylvia.”
Tears flowed from Sylvia’s eyes.
Scarlet isn’t human, so she will be fine?
ReplyDeleteWhat a prank, heh.
ReplyDeleteThat witch is incredibly good at crisis management for someone so chaotic
ReplyDeletedespite the situation I'm happy that we can get a big development out of this
ReplyDelete