NOVEL WEB Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Witch!
The pull of gravity in the area suddenly increased and multiplied as Nera closed several meters with a single step.
Slashing at the leader of the monkeys, her stick was stopped by a loud clap that echoed throughout the trees, the neck of the monkey lightly bleeding.
"That's more than enough, Nera. The one thing I told you to do was not kill them."
"B-but Mother Goddess! He called you a Witch!"
"That and this are different. Turn around." Alchemy sighed.
Glancing at the leaders of the two groups as she closed in on Nera, Alchemy looked at their information.
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'Ahaha… A+ and S, yet I'm not scared of them at all. Is it because they're still weaker than the bird? Or perhaps it's because Nera played with them in her degraded form.'
Reaching Nera, Alchemy's arm was instantly engulfed in a bright glow as she healed her Hero's wings.
|<430 Divine Power has been consumed!>|
"E-eh?! You're wasting your Divine Power on this insignificant bug. Such a precious resource…" Nera blushed profusely.
"I am. Now keep your eye on the lot of them, and don't get hit again."
After using it twice, Alchemy gained a decent understanding of how to utilize her divine power to heal. The feeling was still painful, but her power didn't go berserk anymore.
'I need to use it to level it up anyway, but really. This girl. Getting hit by a 3x effective spell just to see what it'd do to her. Still, though, her combat prowess didn't disappoint. This is what a true [Heroic Seed] is like.'
Alchemy didn't put too much thought into it until now, but her Hero's [Personality Token] was troubling.
"That aside, I have so many questions for you lot. First, however, I suppose I'll start with the simple ones. What is a [Witch], and why were you guys fighting in the land I call mine."
The Monkey, Ali, wiped themselves off before standing and was about to talk, but Xenea howled and kicked up a fuss.
"This is your land, Human [Witch]? What did you do to our young?" They howled, bearing her claws at Alchemy.
'A Human Witch? So they're not referring to the playable species of [Witches] from A.O.A?' Alchemy hummed inwardly, only for her Nera to step in and disturb her thoughts.
"The Mother Goddess isn't talking to you. I know nothing of your young, but perhaps I could make another show of your friends."
"G-grrr," Xenea growled.
Ali, shaking lightly, spoke up.
"W-we didn't know this was your land, only that a human who commanded giant insects managed to defeat one of the [100 Deaths] of the Outer Layer."
'What a fitting name for that thing. I guess it was one of the strongest things around here.'
"The bird, yes?"
"Y-yes… That Assassin Eagle was from a clan of the Inner forest. It was exiled years ago and has been terrorizing the outer layer since. M-my liege tasked us with finding the person who did this. Then the wolves attacked us, claiming we killed their young members."
'Ah… Took a few days, but this seems to be my karma for killing those young wolves.' Alchemy mused, understanding what this was about.
It's not like she wanted to kill them, but that milk was already spilled.
"And what's a Witch?"
"A powerful creature who can control [animal] or [monster] species."
"See, Nera. It wasn't anything too bad." She chuckled.
"B-but! How dare they call your radiant self a witch! This is clearly slander!"
"Yeah, I mean. It's about as slanderous as saying I'm the mother of nearly 100 insects when I look like… This. We can talk about this later." She paused, turning her attention to the wolves.
"And as for your younglings. Has it not crossed your mind that the stupid bird I killed did that?"
Suddenly, Alchemy was quite thankful for [Communication.] None of the critical information she's gotten so far would have been too hard to figure out on her own, but this saved her a lot of time.
"Grrr. HOW DO WE KNOW YOU KILLED THE BIRD?! AREN'T YOU JUST USING IT AS A COVER FOR YOUR CRIMES!?"
"If you keep slandering the Mother Goddess, it won't just end with a few children that have gone missing, but your entire pack, MUTT!" Nera scoffed, her bloodlust flaring up once again.
"Inventory," Alchemy said, grabbing one of the [Assassin Bird Talons] toward the wolf to see if they'd recognize it.
"T-this is!?" Xenea was shocked.
"The genuine article." Alchemy shrugged.
"That aside. As crude as Nera is, she has a point. You really aren't in a position to be making a fuss. She dealt with all 8 of you single-handedly… Do you really think you can beat her, me, and my other aide? Because that is the only way I'll let you live if you start acting up." She continued, putting her foot down for the wolves.
During this time, Sapphire walked up to Alchemy and curled around her. The young deer tried her best to be brave, but her legs still shivered when she remembered the wolves chasing her just the other day.
Petting Sapphire, Alchemy smiled at the young deer.
'You're not alone, Sapphire. You're not alone…'
Although her actions didn't seem like it, she was horrified. The fact that the monkeys wore clothing meant they had some sort of civilization.
Judging by how simple said clothing was, it was probably not much more advanced than hers. That being said, starting a war with such a group days after she arrived was asking for dozens of casualties, even if she won.
"S-spatial magic?! You can use Spatial Magic?!" Ali suddenly perked up.
"I can't use magic at all." To which Alchemy immediately shut down.
"Not like I was trying to hide it… Not that I could with Nera screaming and calling me Mother Goddess 24/7, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Alchemy Ennis, Goddess of the Verminae.