Chapter 121: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 121
The passage created by the witch.
With the feeling of crossing a river that separates life from death, I stepped into the passage beyond.
And the moment I passed through the passage, a truly hellish landscape unfolded before me.
If death had a color, it would probably be black.
If so, then if the sky, the earth, and even the things standing around me were all deprived of color and turned entirely black, what else could I call this place but the afterlife?
The sky was so dim, shrouded in a mist-like miasma, that even the sun was barely visible. The ground was completely tainted by miasma, making it impossible for life to survive here.
And the trees, densely packed and towering high into the sky.
No, the grove of blackened, charred remains that were once trees ominously spread their leafless branches above me, as if to declare that nothing but death existed here.
For an ordinary person, the moment they set foot here, they would be poisoned by the miasma, and their body would begin to disintegrate, inevitably leading to a painful demise.
However, despite the passage of time, the anticipated agony did not come.
Instead, what I felt was not pain but...
"How do you feel right now?"
As I stood there, my expression hardened by the peculiar sensation, the witch's voice came from behind me.
Even beneath the shadow cast by the hood she wore, her eyes sparkled as she asked.
"It doesn't feel bad, does it? Don’t you feel refreshed? Like something oppressive has been lifted?"
"..."
I didn't bother to answer her question.
...To be honest, it was more accurate to say that I couldn’t answer.
Because the witch was right.
Right now, I was bewildered by an inexplicable sense of refreshment.
I felt much more vigorous than usual.
A sense of elation coursed through me, as if I could do anything.
Of course, even if that were true, I wasn’t in the mood to answer her, so I glared at her silently. The witch just chuckled and muttered.
"Heh, the look on your face says I hit the nail on the head. You do feel refreshed, right? I knew it. If you were trapped in a place like that, it’s only natural you’d feel stifled. I don’t know how you managed to endure that oppressive feeling all this time. You were probably in a state where it wouldn’t have been surprising if you had collapsed at any moment."
With a nonchalant demeanor, the witch said that and then sat down in front of me, observing me with a smiling face.
It was as if she knew something about me.
...I had thought she abducted me on a whim, but maybe that wasn’t the case.
"…What is your purpose in bringing me here? Wasn’t it to kill me?"
When I asked that, the witch burst into laughter as if she had heard something amusing and replied.
"What? Ahaha, kill you? Me? I wouldn’t do something so wasteful after finding something this interesting. Since you’re asking about my purpose, it seems you thought I brought you here without much thought, but you’re mistaken."
The witch extended a finger and pointed directly at me.
"My purpose, from the beginning, was you."
...She had targeted me from the start?
But it was hard to understand her earlier actions if I was her goal.
Earlier, she even told Jessie that she was going to kill me.
Moreover, if her goal was to kidnap me, she could have simply taken me by force without causing such a commotion.
Just as I was thinking that, the witch spoke up.
"Aha, so that’s what bothered you? Everything I did earlier was just an act. Well, since you seem curious, I’ll answer."
Then, as if it were obvious, she continued.
"It was a lie when I said I’d kill you. I said that because I thought that humans would only stop if I said so, and so I wouldn’t be interrupted while talking to you. Like I said earlier, I never intended to kill anyone myself. My preference is to watch others play out my script until they meet their end."
Regarding the questions I had.
"The reason I caused such a commotion was that I needed you to come with me voluntarily. That’s why I set the stage for a crisis by preparing those beasts. Haha, I didn’t expect them to be dealt with so quickly. I planned to enjoy watching the terrified faces of humans a little longer before bringing you here, but there were more strong humans than I anticipated, so I had to hurry."
As if she were reading my thoughts.
"So, has your curiosity been satisfied?"
The witch asked with a mischievous smile.
It sent chills down my spine.
Did she have some sort of mind-reading ability?
As soon as I started wondering about that, the witch burst into laughter and spoke.
"Haha, look at your face. Don’t be scared. I don’t have any ability to read minds or anything. It’s just a little trick I picked up from observing humans while working in a theater troupe. I can roughly tell what humans are like and what they’re thinking just by looking at their faces. Even if I don’t understand why they think that way, they’re predictable creatures."
The witch answered that way, smiling at me.
...It might actually be less unsettling if she did have some sort of power.
I tried to maintain a neutral expression, but facing someone who could seemingly read my face and thoughts was incredibly stressful.
No matter how tightly I kept my mouth shut, she would probably keep reading my thoughts and talking anyway.
So, I gave up on keeping quiet and asked her the question that had been bothering me since earlier.
"...Is the reason you targeted me because I have a connection to witches?"
Among all those people, the reason she specifically targeted me had to be because of that.
The fact that she seemed to know about me was probably because she had heard about me from the Witch of Sloth.
As if confirming my suspicion, the witch nodded and said.
"That's right. I heard about you from Sloth. She said there was an interesting kin. Ah, but seeing you in person exceeded my expectations. I never imagined such a situation could exist. Even though witches have a time before they become aware of their nature, the you that I’ve seen and heard about seems more human than witch."
"...I’m not a witch or anything like that. I’m human. And more importantly, why did you bring me here if not to kill me?"
To the annoyingly talkative witch who answered even the unasked questions, I asked in frustration.
The witch then laughed as if she had heard something ridiculous.
"Haha, human, huh? Well, maybe for now. Don’t worry. I don’t intend to do anything to you. My purpose is merely to observe. I’ve already set the stage, so now all I have to do is watch. After all, it seems the time has come."
"What do you mean, the time has come...?"
Just as I was about to get irritated by her cryptic answer, I locked eyes with the witch, who was wearing a hood.
Her eyes were filled with an inexplicable anticipation.
With the curious gaze of a child, she asked me.
"How do you feel right now?"
At that moment,
Thump, my heart pounded loudly, and an unusual heat flowed through my entire body.
**[Burn.]**
The refreshing sensation and elation I had been feeling suddenly transformed into excruciating pain.
The flames that started from within felt as if they were burning my entire body.
Unable to even scream, I rolled on the ground.
I could feel the witch’s gaze watching me as I writhed on the ground.
“Ahahaha, it’s finally starting. Ah, this is what I wanted to see. To be able to witness such a sight, I’m really lucky. You know? You might have been closer to a human than a witch until now. Incomplete, yes, but closer to a human body and mind than that of a witch.”
Hot, hot, hot, it was so hot.
Pain, pain, pain.
And a sense of fulfillment beyond that.
My head felt like it was floating.
“But something incomplete always desires to become complete. Even if you didn’t wish for it, your incomplete body must have always longed for it. Do you know that a cocoon requires a lot of strength to transform into a butterfly? Your body is the same. It’s been waiting until now for enough power, for enough miasma, to become complete.”
**[Burn it all.]**
I felt something inside me melting.
Things embedded in my head, chest, stomach, legs, and arms melted,
And then gathered back in the center of my chest, trying to replace the very source of life.
Not a bodily collapse due to miasma poisoning but a reconstruction.
To become something other than human.
I instinctively realized that once this was over, there would be no turning back.
“If your body becomes that of a witch, can your mind remain human? Ah, it’s only natural to be curious about that.”
The voice that I had always desperately suppressed overflowed in my mind.
**[Once again, I will burn it all.]**
Suddenly, the scenery around me looked familiar.
**[This is the forest I once burned completely.]**
No, there was no such time,
**[It was the forest I burned down entirely.]**
In front of me, I sensed the presence of a witch.
**[Ah, witch. Yes, I haven’t finished my revenge yet.]**
**[Revenge, by burning everything down, revenge.]**
**[I saw an arm made of black iron.]**
Jessie made it for me.
**[The last remaining piece was over there.]**
Stop...
**[Take that, revive, and this time,]**
Stop...
**[To return the pain I received.]**
**[The witch, this world,]**
**[Leaving nothing behind, everything,]**
**[Everything will burn.]**
“Scarlet!!!!”
......I heard someone’s voice.
The voice, desperately calling the name Scarlet, felt familiar, as if I had heard it somewhere before.
......Ah, that’s Yoon Si-woo’s voice.
......Who is Yoon Si-woo?
Yoon Si-woo is a friend of Scarlet Evande.
My precious friend.
......Ah, I see.
Thank goodness.
I am still Scarlet Evande.
“What? I didn’t expect an intruder to come here... Hm, it seems like you stopped at the last moment. That’s disappointing. If we had just a little more time, you might have completely transformed.”
**[■■■■■■■■■■!!!!]**
“......Damn, you brought along those troublesome things. It can’t be helped. It might be more promising to stop there for now. I guess I’ll be leaving for today.”
......As the presence vanished, I felt someone lift me up.
“Scarlet! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?!”
“Yoon Si-woo! If you’ve rescued her, run quickly! We’re reaching our limit here!”
“What about Captain Martina?!”
“Kuh, does that matter right now? I’m fine, so just get to the city as fast as you can!”
......My head hurt.
As I slowly opened my eyes to the shouting voices around me, I saw a massive firebird spewing a dazzling torrent of flames from its mouth.
Martina was barely holding back the flames with a magical barrier she had conjured.
Her lips were stained with blood, evidence of her effort.
Anyone could see that she would die if she continued like that, as her body was trembling violently.
Perhaps, she came to rescue me.
Even knowing she was in danger.
Yoon Si-woo and Martina were genuinely good people.
They were people who shouldn’t die because of me.
“Hurry!!!!!”
“...Ugh, I’m sorry!”
With a face that seemed ready to cry, Yoon Si-woo, who was carrying me on his back, turned around and fled. Behind us, a loud cry echoed.
“Ugh, that thing is ignoring me suddenly...! Yoon Si-woo, it’s coming your way! Be careful!”
**[■■■■■■■■■■!!!!]**
With a loud cry, I felt the heat of flames behind me.
......Annoying, the thing that needs to stop is you.
Pushing Yoon Si-woo away, I freed myself from his arms and faced the incoming flames.
“?! Scarlet!!”
Simultaneously with Yoon Si-woo’s shocked cry, the flames struck my body directly.
It was a little hot, but I could endure it.
In the midst of the flames, I glared at the firebird enveloped in fire and muttered.
“...Disappear.”
The firebird looked down at me for a moment, then flew into the sky with a low cry.
......With that memory, everything before me went black.
mama mia
ReplyDeleteWitch form scarlet power up when!
ReplyDeleteDon't be angry at the burd. It's just happy to see it's owner back
ReplyDeleteSo we haven't had the full transformation yet but we're getting there.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing she's now more witch than human and probably much stronger as well.
She became the witch, to an extent
ReplyDeleteSo cool
ReplyDelete