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Chapter 166: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 166



[The Witch of Arrogance, huh...]


A low, female voice echoed through the underground passage, tinged with a hint of nostalgia.


It was merely a simple murmur, yet the moment the voice was heard, an overwhelming pressure made one instinctively lower their gaze.


Perhaps it was because it was the voice of the woman who had once scorned everything in this world.


Lucifer’s voice, flowing from the pitch-black sword in Yoon Si-woo’s hand, had a presence that even Freede could not ignore.


[It’s not exactly a title I hold in such high regard... but to think there’s someone impersonating that name is quite displeasing.]


However, the moment Lucifer mentioned the word “impersonation,” Freede flinched and then shouted in fury.


“Impersonation?! Are you saying that I’m impersonating the Witch of Arrogance?! The Witch of Arrogance is a title given to the strongest! I, Freede, am the strongest! So I am the true Witch of Arrogance! Who are you to call me an impostor?!”


[Freede, is it? With those beast ears, I thought you were just a beast with a bit less brains, but now I see you’re a girl with equally poor judgment. Think for a moment. Who else would have the right to be annoyed by an impostor?]


Lucifer responded to Freede’s outburst with a voice full of scornful laughter.


[An ignorant fool who doesn’t even recognize the true owner of the name standing right in front of them.]


“Don’t call me that!!!”


Enraged by the condescending words, Freede lunged at Yoon Si-woo, her claws aimed directly at him.


As Si-woo raised his sword, seemingly to block the attack, Freede’s eyes gleamed with bloodlust, and she sneered.


She possessed the ability to cut through anything.


No matter how hard or normally unbreakable something was, if her claws touched it, it would be mercilessly torn apart.


Defense was, of course, useless.


“Die!!!”


Intent on splitting both the annoying talking sword and the boy in half, Freede swung her claws.


However—


*Kagak-*


“Ugh?!”


With a grinding noise, Freede’s claws were deflected off Si-woo’s sword.


Freede looked at her claws in shock.


Her claws, which should have been able to cut through anything, were instead slightly damaged after clashing with the sword.


In a bewildering situation she was experiencing for the first time in her life, Freede hurriedly pulled back, her expression one of utter disbelief.


“No way! How could you block my attack?!”


Yoon Si-woo, who had just clashed with Freede, also hardened his expression and muttered toward his sword.


“...Lucy, that girl’s ability...”


[...Yes, you’re right. Honestly, it’s quite a surprising situation even for me, but... I have an idea of what’s going on.]


Both the attacker and the defender were equally astonished.


However, since Freede was the more shocked of the two, she muttered to herself in a trembling voice.


“My attack was blocked... It’s impossible! It’s impossible!!!”


[Oh dear, you really are loud, like the beast you are.]


Muttering in irritation, Lucifer directed a question at the furious Freede.


[Hey, do you really find it so strange that your attack was blocked?]


“...It’s impossible! My attack being blocked...”


[Of course, since you have the power to cut through anything.]


“Yes! But why...?!”


As she shouted, Freede suddenly sensed something odd and stopped talking.


How did that sword know she had such an ability when she never mentioned it?


Noticing Freede’s wary look, Lucy spoke in an amused tone.


[Oh? Are you curious about how I know your ability?]


“You damn...”


[That’s obvious. You can’t help but recognize it when you clash.]


With those words—


[I have the same ability as you, after all.]


This time, Lucifer, in Yoon Si-woo’s hand, swung toward Freede.


“Guh...!”


Freede let out a groan full of bewilderment as she blocked the swinging sword with her claws.


It was clear to anyone that she was being pushed back, as the sword slowly chipped away at her defending claws.


But disregarding Freede’s dire situation, Lucifer began reminiscing, speaking as if to herself.


[They call them beasts, creatures born from the witch’s spilled energy.]


How long ago was it?


[I had an instinctive knowledge that I could create such beings. But I had no particular interest. Spilling energy around carelessly wasn’t my style.]


It was during the time when she was called the strongest.


[However, it was a lonelier position than I expected—being the strongest.]


She had achieved her own goals, as well as those of some nameless swordsman.


She was content with that and had no regrets.


But sharing that success with no one by her side was, in a way, a lonely affair.


[So just once, I deliberately let my energy spill and created one of those beasts.]


She did something she normally wouldn’t do.


It was a completely uncharacteristic act for her.


[But it wasn’t much help. I was never the kind to find comfort in such things.]


And it was a foolish act.


Something to fill the loneliness—she wondered if having anything by her side would make it disappear, even just a little. But it was obvious that the emptiness in her heart could only be filled by that one man.


[So I just ignored it and left it be, and one day it vanished. I figured it would live well on its own.]


Lucifer said this while gazing at Freede.


[I never thought I’d see it again like this, in this form.]


Freede, confused by these cryptic words, shouted at Lucifer.


“What nonsense are you spouting?! I don’t know you! Someone like you!!!”


[Did you come up with the name Freede yourself?]


“Yes! It’s a name I chose for myself! I named myself Freede to become the one with the most Arrogance (Arrogance)!”


Lucifer murmured as she looked at the shouting Freede.


[At first, you were in the form of a lion, weren’t you?]


At those words, Freede involuntarily held her breath.


It was an appearance from her past that no one should have known about.


There was a time when Freede was not yet Freede.


She had been a lion, the king of beasts.


Every animal in the forest was under her paw.


One day, she encountered animals that walked on two legs.


They dared to roam her forest without her permission, and she did not forgive them.


However, those two-legged animals were stronger than any other creature she had ever faced, and she struggled against them.


She became fascinated by these beings, and before she knew it, she had taken on a form similar to theirs.


That’s how she came to have the appearance she held now.


[I don’t know how you ended up in that form, but in a way, it suits the title of the Witch’s beast. After all, humans are the most arrogant creatures in the world. But judging by your ears, it seems traces of your past still linger.]


“Don’t spout nonsense about things you know nothing about!!”


Freede shouted as she swung her sword and put some distance between them.


Even as she moved, memories of her past replayed endlessly in her mind.


Attacking human villages and dominating all the humans within.


Hearing that the strongest being in the world was called the Witch of Arrogance.


Naming herself Freede and vowing to become the strongest being in the world—the Witch of Arrogance.


But all of it, she knew, were acts driven by her own will.


She was not some mere beast, a byproduct of a witch, but a complete, singular existence.


Thus, Freede was a witch.


She had to be a witch.


“I’m not a mere beast! I am a witch!!!”


Freede shouted as she charged at the boy with all her might once more.


[It seems you still haven’t realized.]


But her attack failed to leave a scratch on the sword that blocked it.


[The abilities of beasts all originate from the witch.]


The only thing being chipped away was her claws, as if to highlight the gap between their abilities.


[It’s only natural that you can never surpass her.]


“Damn it—!!!!”


Freede howled as she realized this truth.


To admit she was just a beast would be to deny her entire existence.


That was something she could never accept.


So Freede refused to yield and continued to fight.


“Don’t mock me!! Don’t mock me!!!”


[...It’s a pity.]


Lucifer muttered with a hint of sorrow as she watched Freede’s desperate struggle.


[After all, you were something I created. Had we met under different circumstances, you might have had a chance.]


In the distance, a girl with severed limbs stared at them, and her master, more furious than ever, glared at Freede.


Lucifer understood that her master would never let this go.


[But after what you’ve done to that girl, you have to die.]


Lucifer pitied Freede, as one might pity a moth drawn to a flame.


“Aaaaaaaaah!!!!!!”


Freede charged forward with a scream.


It was a battle with no chance of victory, but she fought just to protect her Arrogance.


At that moment, the black energy that had been wrapped around the boy’s sword suddenly vanished.


Freede noticed it instantly.


She didn’t know why, but the sword no longer possessed the power to cut through everything.


A small flame of hope ignited in Freede’s eyes.


As long as that ability was gone, her claws could slice through the sword the moment they made contact.


“If I just get rid of that sword!!! I am, I am the Witch of Arrogance!!!!!!!”


Overwhelmed with joy, she shouted and swung her claws.


And at that moment—


[Do you think I was called the strongest just because of that ability?]


Freede saw it clearly.


[In my youth, I could take on armies with just a single sword.]


She saw the unwavering gaze of the boy who looked straight at her, unshaken by her attack.


[Si-woo is my prized student, the genius I acknowledged. Do you think someone with the mere ability to cut anything they touch could stand against him?]


And beyond that, she saw her own arms severed, flying through the air.


“...Huh?”


Her vision dropped sharply.


Freede finally realized that the boy had severed her limbs in the blink of an eye at the very moment she had launched her attack.


He could have easily ended her life, so why didn’t he?


As she pondered the question, she noticed a girl at the same eye level, with severed limbs staring back at her from behind. Freede’s expression twisted as she realized the reason.


Was it because she had turned that wretched girl into this state?


She wasn’t even worth the effort for them to put her down seriously.


Filled with resentment, Freede glared at the boy while writhing on the ground.


And in the cold, indifferent gaze of the boy who looked down at her arrogantly, she saw the same eyes that had once stared at her in the distant past.


It was a long-forgotten memory, even to her.


Maybe becoming what she was now, and her desperate craving to be the strongest, had simply been her desire to become like that being—stronger and more Arroganceful than anyone.


[You who called yourself the Witch of Arrogance.]


But that existence—


[You, who got drunk on a paltry ability without honing your skills, have no right to be proud.]


It was merciless, ruthless.


It simply denied her.


---


With a thud, Freede’s body, severed of limbs, crashed to the ground.


Though it was clear Yoon Si-woo had cut her down, I, who couldn’t even properly see what had just happened, could only look at the scene and laugh helplessly.


He’s strong, truly.


As expected of the protagonist.


To defeat an opponent I had struggled with so easily.


But it made sense.


The power Yoon Si-woo had unleashed was his final secret technique, something he hadn’t used until the very last moment—the ultimate power of Lucifer, the Witch of Arrogance.


In that sense, Freede, lying on the ground, simply had bad luck.


From what I’d heard, Freede was probably a beast created by Lucifer.


A beast challenging the witch who was like a parent to her—it was only natural for things to end like this.


But I felt no sympathy for her.


She was the one responsible for what happened to my friend’s family, this city, and even for putting me in this state.


Instead, seeing her like this gave me a sense of satisfaction.


Yoon Si-woo pointed his sword at Freede’s heart, preparing to finish her off.


Freede mumbled in frustration as she stared at Si-woo.


“...Why, why did this happen... I was supposed to be the Witch of Arrogance... What the hell is that sword...”


But Yoon Si-woo had no intention of answering, keeping his mouth firmly shut.


Freede’s gaze shifted towards me, pleading for someone to answer.


She looked so pitiful that I decided to give her the answer she so desperately sought.


Struggling, I raised my prosthetic arm, stuck out my middle finger, and muttered inwardly.


What sword?


It’s your worst fucking nightmare, bitch.


At that moment, Si-woo’s sword pierced Freede’s heart.


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


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Comments

  1. I feel sorry for this fake witch oh well already too late she probably dead now because if she real witch even sword pierce through her heart she probably can still survive

    ReplyDelete
  2. This chapter and last chapter showed that not all witches are born to kill wth, but it does create an inconsistency

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    Replies
    1. It's already show that not all witch is bad, witch of wrath didn't want to kill people because she want to kill but because of angers that she have been betrayed. If she didn't get betray she probably still on the human side.

      Witch so far seem to be a being who's trap in a emotion of they name.

      Wrath is anger
      Arrogance is.. well arrogance.

      We still didn't know why sloth want to destroy human but 2 of 3 we meet so far is on the human side in the beginning.

      Delete
    2. I think it's about how you rise the witch and the event that changed them

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    3. We don't really know why Sloth even decided to attack the dwarves, it feels like she was just told to attack them because of a promise, otherwise she would be sleeping.

      Greed is interesting, her motivation is, unsurprisingly, quite selfish, she wants to see humans suffer, just for entertainment. Lust, wants to attack humans because she wants more toys, not to destroy them.

      Arrogance(or maybe pride) attacked humans to become the "strongest" in order to fulfill her dream and promise.

      Gluttony and Envy I'm unsure though.

      In the end, all the witches have their own motivations.

      Although the reason for why sloth wanted to mess with Wrath is odd.

      Delete

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