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Chapter 161: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 161



The possibility that the witch might target the magic circle at the center of the city through the sewers.


Honestly, it was nothing more than my own wild guess.


The only basis I had was the drawing Rion had made and my gut feeling.


I hesitated, wondering if it was right to leave my post in this dire situation, where every single person protecting the citizens from the monsters was desperately needed, all for such a slim possibility.


But still, if my hunch was correct and the witch was indeed targeting the barrier...


Allowing that without any countermeasures could lead to the worst imaginable outcome.


I rushed to a nearby shelter and left a message through the emergency contact system, telling Ms. Eve that I was going to check the sewers in case something like this happened.


Hoping my suspicion was merely a baseless guess, I hurled myself into the long sewer stretching beneath the city.


---


Naturally, the sewer sprawled like the roots of a plant beneath the entire city, winding in every direction.


However, deciding where to guard didn’t require much thought.


If the witch had infiltrated the city and aimed for the center through the sewers, the possible routes she could take were limited.


That’s why I positioned myself here.


I was certain that if there was anywhere to guard, it would be here, so I stood my ground and watched the other end of the long sewer.


The reason I was confident in this spot was clear.


There were other side paths that branched off, but most of them were so low and narrow that one would have to stoop to pass through.


In contrast, the passage I was standing in was wide enough for a person to walk upright without any trouble.


Of course, someone else might think that a determined enemy could deliberately choose a less obvious, more difficult path, but I knew better than anyone.


At least when it came to witches, that wouldn’t be the case.


Witches are strong.


And being strong means they have no reason to lower themselves.


For a being as proud as a witch, why would she choose a narrow, inconvenient path when there was a wide, easy one right here?


And then, footsteps echoed from the other end of the long sewer.


For a moment, I thought it might be a citizen fleeing from the monsters, but as the sound drew nearer at an unnaturally fast pace, I quickly dismissed that possibility.


Soon, in the dark sewer lit only by sparse, faint magical lights, a cold glimmer flashed.


Eyes gleaming like those of a predator in the shadows.


That light made me realize.


Unfortunately, my guess had turned out to be correct.


“...So, this was the right place after all.”


Murmuring to herself, the figure with flowing hair like a lion’s mane came charging forward with a grin.


A chill ran down my neck.


An attack was coming.


Sensing it, I raised my arm to counter, but in my mind, I saw a flash of Marin’s father being carried away with his neck half-split open.


In that instant, I restrained my raised arm and leaned back with all my might.


At the same time, a frighteningly sharp blow slashed through the spot where my neck had just been.


Cold sweat dripped down my forehead.


I somehow knew.


Had I tried to counter that blow, my arm would have been sliced off.


The fleeting thought of Marin’s father—once known as humanity’s strongest shield—being taken down by this witch made me instinctively choose evasion over defense, and that choice had just saved my life.


As my body trembled slightly, a faint pain on my forehead made my expression harden.


I thought I had dodged perfectly, but the shockwave alone had split my forehead open, a stark reminder of the enemy’s overwhelming strength.


At least a tier above me.


Could I actually hold her back?


As I rose, tense, I saw the witch turn her back on me, disregarding me entirely as she moved past the spot I was guarding.


At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.


Not whether I could hold her back, but that I had to hold her back somehow.


With that decision made, I opened my mouth.


“...Something’s strange. I heard a witch invaded, but...”


“...What’s strange?”


I racked my brain, thinking.


How could I prevent the witch from ignoring me and moving on?


How could I anchor her attention to me?


“I’ve seen other witches a few times before. I know just how terrifying they can be.”


After a moment of thought, the answer I came up with wasn’t anything special.


“You... seem far too weak to be a witch.”


It was a simple conclusion: a being whose Freede matched her power wouldn’t ignore a provocation.


To provoke the witch as much as possible, I spoke, mocking her.


“...Weak? Me?”


I knew the taunt had worked the moment I felt a surge of killing intent explode from her.


The only issue was...


“A worthless insect like you... dares to look down on me!!!”


“Ugh...!”


The provocation had incited the witch’s anger far more than I had anticipated.


I barely managed to evade her furious attack, throwing my body aside at the last second.


The difference was razor-thin.


Blood sprayed from the torn skin, ripped open by the shockwave of her attack.


However, the bleeding stopped almost immediately.


If there was one thing I appreciated about this body, it was this.


Minor wounds that didn’t hinder combat didn’t need my attention.


Yet the witch, consumed by rage, didn’t stop at just one attack.


“I am Freede, the Witch of Arrogance! I am not someone to be judged by the likes of you!!!”


Freede, looking like a creature straight out of a storybook, drew her claws longer and charged at me once again.


The menacing aura surrounding those claws left no room for the option of blocking her attacks.


So the only choice left was evasion.


Even if she was a witch, her claws alone wouldn’t have been this threatening.


But this was the power of someone who called herself the Witch of Arrogance.


If Wrath’s power was flames and Gluttony’s power was regeneration, then Arrogance’s power was cutting.


No matter how strong a shield—whether created by magic or supernatural abilities—against that power, it was like paper.


Simple, but strong because of its simplicity.


I had to focus entirely on dodging her attacks, twisting my body to avoid each strike, each blow wreathed in that terrifying ability that could easily be called a divine power.


Despite feeling the staggering difference in strength that made counterattacking nearly impossible, I was certain.


The moment the red light signaling a charge flashed on the artificial left arm I had prepared in advance, I raised my left arm.


And bang.


“Hah! Did you really think I’d get hit by such a slow flame?!”


As Freede naturally increased the distance to avoid the explosion of flames, I caught my breath and reaffirmed the certainty that had crossed my mind.


This woman in front of me—Freede—was not a witch.


There was no way she could be a witch.


So, like a mantra, I kept repeating to myself that I could stop her somehow.


Though in truth, I was narrowly dodging her attacks with everything I had, I had several reasons to believe she wasn’t a witch.


One of those reasons was that I knew well just how strong witches truly were.


“...What’s with that body of yours? You’re not a normal human, are you?”


“...Who knows?”


Freede muttered, seemingly having noticed how the cuts on my body were healing rapidly during my evasions. I shrugged, pretending to be calm, as I continued the thoughts I had earlier.


Yeah, I’m not just an ordinary human.


The reason I know so well the power of witches.


It wasn’t just because I had seen it with my own eyes, as I had taunted Freede earlier.


It was because I had experienced it firsthand.


The reason I now possess a body that heals itself was because I had been kidnapped by a witch and turned into something close to one.


But recently, I’ve begun to faintly realize something.


Even though I’ve become much stronger now, closer to a witch, my current state is far weaker than my original potential.


The barrier that envelops the city weakens any being that possesses magical energy the moment they pass through it.


So it was only natural that I, too, was weakened when I entered the city through the barrier.


I realized this when hazy memories of the day Yoon Si-woo rescued me after I was kidnapped by a witch started to resurface.


Though I hadn’t fully become a witch, the power I felt coursing through my body back then was incomparable to what I have now.


I must have been weakened unknowingly as I passed through the barrier while unconscious.


Looking back, I now suspect that’s also why my body felt particularly bad the day after I returned to the city after being rescued from Sator, Sylvia’s uncle.


Anyway, I’ve experienced the power of a witch firsthand.


If Freede were as strong as I was before I was weakened, there’s no way I could be standing in front of her like this.


But even though she had cut through the barrier and entered the city without being weakened, she still couldn’t match the strength of my half-witch body, which is why I was convinced she wasn’t a true witch.


There were other reasons for my certainty, but...


“...Doesn’t matter. Whatever you are, you’ve pissed me off, so I’m just going to kill you!”


As I caught my breath and gathered my thoughts, Freede shouted and charged at me again.


The composed expression I had been wearing cracked under the pressure of the incoming attack.


Even though I realized she wasn’t a witch, the gap in strength between us wasn’t going to shrink anytime soon.


The truth remained that in my current state, I couldn’t match her power.


I was outmatched in strength, stamina, and speed.


A simple disparity in physical capabilities.


All I could do against her relentless assault was dodge with everything I had, buying time.


“You weakling!”


With each successive attack, more cuts and scratches appeared on my body.


Occasionally, a more threatening attack would leave wounds that went beyond mere scratches.


The rate at which new injuries were appearing was outpacing my body’s ability to heal.


As my breathing grew ragged and blood flowed from my wounds, my mind began to fog.


I could sense it.


If this continued, I would only be buying a little more time before I inevitably fell to her hands.


The moment I thought that—


“Gah...!”


Distracted by dodging her claws, I was caught off guard by a kick, knocking the wind out of me and sending me rolling across the ground.


As I trembled, struggling to control my body, I looked ahead and saw Freede approaching with cold eyes, looking down at me.


“Tch, how annoying for a worthless pest like you.”


With those words, she unleashed another downward strike.


It was a situation where despair and surrender wouldn’t be surprising, yet my body was already rolling along the ground to avoid the attack.


Freede watched me roll, muttering with disdain in her eyes.


“Disgusting. Stop this pointless struggle and die quietly.”


“...Who said this struggle was pointless?”


I retorted with all the strength I had, forcing myself to stand up.


Wiping the blood from my lips, which had trickled down from my damaged insides due to her last attack, I stared her down.


Sure, what I was doing might be nothing more than a futile struggle.


Even if I kept buying time, there was no guarantee that anyone would come to help, nor did I have any real hope of defeating her.


But that didn’t mean I had a reason to give up here.


Do the best you can with the role you have.


I muttered to myself, raising my fists and forcing my will to fight back into my body.


“Hah, if you still don’t get it, I’ll personally show you that your struggle is meaningless!”


Feeling her attack coming, I quietly took a step forward.


Think.


I recalled the memories of all the training I had gone through.


“It’s important to always keep your senses open.”


“Stop dodging like a rat!”


I barely dodged one strike only for another to come at me from her opposite hand.


“It’s best to think about the next move while you’re already moving. Reducing the gap between thought and action will help a lot.”


Predicting her next move before it came, I maneuvered my body.


Passing narrowly by her incoming attack, I focused solely on reading her next action.


Fortunately, Freede was letting her emotions run wild.


Perhaps due to her lack of experience in fighting against other people, her emotional and impulsive behavior made her movements predictable even for someone like me.


“A pathetic human dares...!”


“...If you take a bit of risk and dodge narrowly, you’ll buy yourself more time.”


Calculating the limits of the wounds my body could withstand, I narrowly dodged, gaining a bit more breathing room.


Her movements were faster than mine.


But with quicker predictions and tight evasions, I was gradually catching up.


Though she physically outmatched me, the insights I gained from my training were making up the difference.


I was once a normal person who feared fighting and hated pain.


But I had endured that fear and pain to train.


I had worked hard.


And then I asked myself.


Why did you work so hard?


The answer was simple.


So I’d be able to act when the time came.


And that time was now.


“You... damn bitch...!”


The more time passed, the deeper my focus became.


Meanwhile, Freede’s attacks grew increasingly simple as she grew anxious from having her movements read.


I sensed my stamina was nearing its limit from this relentless fight, but...


I kept calm, enduring and enduring.


Only,


“Don’t you dare underestimate me!!!”


With desperation and excitement, her movements grew larger.


This was the single moment I had been waiting for.


As her claws swung at me, crossing in a wide arc—


“Ugh...?!”


‘Your gaze is too obvious. Your attacks are too straightforward.’


As Freede’s bloodshot eyes bore into me with each swing, I flung the blood from my wounds to obscure her vision.


Then, I directed my flames toward the water flowing along the side of the sewer, creating a cloud of steam that blocked her sight.


“You think a cheap trick like this will—!”


Panic struck her as her vision was obscured, and she wildly slashed her claws in all directions.


The steam dissipated almost instantly from the force of her attacks, but—


I was already gone from right in front of her eyes.


To avoid the indiscriminate barrage of attacks flying my way, my choice was simple:


“Hup, from above!!”


I leaped upwards.


The enemy swung at me a beat too late, craning her head upwards to track my movement.


Under normal circumstances, once I had jumped, there’d be no way to avoid her next strike.


But this was the sewer.


Naturally, the passage had a ceiling, and I pushed off from it mid-air.


My new position brought me right behind her, where she was vulnerable.


The movements of the enemy I had been struggling to keep up with for so long—


For this brief moment, I had surpassed her.


And as I landed, my fist, already engulfed in the flames I had gathered all my strength to prepare for this one strike, hurtled towards her exposed back.


BOOM—


With a deafening sound, my flame-wreathed punch exploded against Freede’s back.


It should have.


If it weren’t for the winged monster that suddenly appeared from behind her.


“...Ah.”


In Freede’s hand was a black orb I had seen before, one that summoned monsters at her will.


I let out a reflexive sigh.


So it failed, I thought, just as a slash from beyond the burning monster severed my right arm.


Thud. The sound of my arm hitting the ground echoed like thunder.


The pain of losing my arm was overshadowed by the crushing disappointment of failing at the perfect opportunity. I couldn’t even scream.


Though I wanted to brace for her next attack, my body, having spent every ounce of energy on that last strike, could only quiver weakly in shock.


“I left a few of those wretched things alive, but... to think I’d be forced to rely on that damned woman’s power in this pitiful battle against a maggot like you... To make me feel such humiliation...”


Freede, trembling with humiliation, swung her arm toward me as I lay immobilized.


Thud. My vision sank.


Raising my head, I saw my severed legs strewn across the floor, my body now reduced to a pathetic state. All I could do was let out a hollow laugh.


“...Just as you made me feel humiliated, you’ll die a degrading death. I’ll sever your limbs, drag you around by your hair until you die. Crawl in the dirt and meet your miserable end.”


With those words, Freede approached slowly, intent on severing my last remaining arm.


Using the last of my strength, I desperately squirmed, trying to move away from her.


At the very least, I wanted to protect my left arm, the precious prosthetic my friend had made for me.


But no matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t escape the strides of Freede, who still had all her limbs intact.


I saw her ruthless claws ready to sever my left arm and the thread of hope along with it, and I shut my eyes.


And then—


“What the...?!”


A deafening crash, as if something had shattered.


“Scarleetttttt!!!”


Following the familiar shout, a bright light flooded the dark sewer.


Recognizing the voice, I let out a relieved smile, knowing that the one I had been waiting for had finally arrived.


Damn guy, showing up at the last possible second like the main character he is.


I felt someone scoop my body up from the ground.


Opening my eyes, I saw Yoon Si-woo standing against the sunlight pouring through the shattered ceiling, his expression twisted in a mix of anguish and rage like I’d never seen before.


His voice was thick with emotion, almost to the point of tears, as he looked down at me.


“Why... Why did you push yourself this far... If I had been any later, you’d be dead...”


Struggling to respond, I answered him.


“...You said you’d come if things got dangerous.”


“...What?”


“...I believed in you. I knew that even if I was in danger, you’d come for me. You’re the kind of guy who keeps his promises... Anyway, you made it here in time.”


“Ugh, because of some dumb promise... You idiot...”


Yoon Si-woo scolded me with a pained expression, but I couldn’t help but smile in response.


I knew that if I was facing an enemy, Yoon Si-woo would find his way to me, no matter the obstacle.


That faith was why I’d risked everything to buy time.


I hadn’t expected things to get this bad, but I was truly relieved he hadn’t been too late.


After all, taking this beating was far better than letting the barrier be destroyed, leading to an irreversible disaster.


As I smiled, Yoon Si-woo set me gently against the side of the passage, his expression strained.


“...Just hang on a bit longer. I’ll end this quickly.”


With those words, he turned to face Freede, who was glaring at us.


Freede asked Yoon Si-woo, “...Who are you? Bursting through the ceiling like that.”


“You don’t need to know. You’re going to die by my hand anyway.”


Yoon Si-woo’s voice was so sharp it could send chills down anyone’s spine.


But Freede just laughed mockingly at his words.


“Ha, kill me? You think a mere human can kill me, Freede, the Witch of Arrogance? I may have been caught off guard earlier, but if I get serious—”


“...The Witch of Arrogance?”


Yoon Si-woo smirked at her claim.


“Pathetic.”


The disdain in his eyes as he said that sent shivers down my spine.


Yoon Si-woo slowly pulled a sword glowing with a pure white light from the air.


It was the Holy Sword of Humility, a sword that gleamed white as he grasped it with both hands and pointed it at Freede.


“Lucy, lend me your power.”


[As you wish, my master.]


With an unfamiliar woman’s voice resonating in the air, Yoon Si-woo murmured the command to awaken the sword’s true form.


“Holy Sword—”


And as his lips moved again,


The white blade, and the boy who had been bathed in pure white light, began to—


“Reversal.”


Like ink spreading across a white canvas,


It turned black, dark as night.


The transformation was instantaneous.


In an instant, the boy bathed in black, holding a pitch-black sword, gazed arrogantly at the world below him.


His appearance was so natural that anyone could see this was not a transformation but a return to its original state.


The ominous black aura surrounding the boy was a mighty power not meant for humans.


This was another reason why I didn’t consider Freede a true witch.


Because I knew who this was—a figure not originally a foe of humanity but another witch from the original story.


Not Lucy, the Holy Sword of Humility.


But Lucifer, the cursed sword that sealed the Witch of Arrogance.


[It’s been a while. How refreshing the air outside feels.]


This was the moment she awakened from her long seal and revealed herself to the world.


---------------------


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Comments

  1. How busted are the original witches then.
    A fake witch dispatched a top hero. And Scarlet was able to to keep up with said fake witch in a nerfed state and even then, that's the nerfed state of an incomplete witch.
    And that doesn't even take into account that not all witches are built equal.
    And now Lucy/Lucifer, has been revealed to be strong enough to actually seal one.
    I'm expecting an ass whooping, Freede is finished lol.

    ReplyDelete

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