NOVEL WEB Chapter 90
Chapter 90
At the same time, within the Witch’s Faction.
“We have to retreat! The curse isn’t working!”
“The hunters are closing in! The front line… the front line has been breached!”
“Grandmother!”
“Make a decision! Grandmother!”
“Aquila!”
Aquila, the Grandmother of the White Witches, clutched her throbbing head.
‘There truly are no options left now!’
How did things end up like this?
The Frozen Land had maintained its balance for a long time. While witches and witch hunters could scratch each other, they could never plunge a dagger into each other’s hearts.
Yet now, a dagger was slowly approaching to pierce the heart of the witches.
All of this…
‘It’s all because of the Blue Witches!’
The Blue Witches hadn’t followed the cause, so they had to be expelled. But those wicked ones even stole the last key…
‘Everything went wrong! It’s not my fault, it’s all the Blue Witches’…’
…Wait.
Since when did I start…
‘Are the Blue Witches… really to blame?’
A thick fog continued to cloud Aquila’s thoughts.
Seeing the disastrous result now, the mere thought of retracing how things had come to this… was terrifying.
‘R-right… the Blue Witches…’
– Aquila. It’s not too late. Let’s find another way together…
It felt as though Yusopha, the Grandmother of the Blue Witches, had become a specter to torment Aquila.
“Stop, stooop!”
“A-Aquila?”
“Shut up, shut up… I said shut up!”
“……”
Yusopha.
Had she truly become a specter?
She descended gently before Aquila’s eyes, whispering.
– Aquila, stay strong. There is still a way.
‘Yusopha! It’s all because of you!’
– Calm yourself…
‘What… what should I do?’
– Let’s go to the Seal. There must be a way there.
‘In the end, you’re telling me to break Eckelart’s seal! If that’s the only way…’
– Let’s go to the Seal. Everything will be resolved there…
Yusopha’s ghost left behind only cryptic words before falling silent.
‘Am I losing my mind?’
Talking to a specter, of all things.
“Heh heh… well, it doesn’t matter. It’s the end anyway.”
Aquila, the Grandmother of the White Witches, gave an order.
“We’re heading to the Seal!”
“Aquila?”
Maitine, the Grandmother of the Purple Witches, responded to Aquila.
“Do as Aquila says! Retreat to the Seal!”
“But… if we can’t hold them off at the Seal…”
“I know! That’s why we must defend it with all we’ve got.”
“…Understood!”
The witches attempted a retreat to the Seal, pulling back the front line considerably.
Unlike before, the witches’ significant withdrawal made the witch hunters hesitate to advance too far. Unsure of what traps or curses might lie in wait, it seemed possible to retreat to the Seal with fewer losses than expected.
Aquila sensed the end approaching as she watched the wave of witch hunters slowly advancing from afar.
The enemy she had fought for so long.
One of them had always expected that the end of this dreadful fight would come on the day one of them disappeared from the world… and that day had finally arrived.
‘Now… Yusopha, speak. I’ve come to the Seal, just as you said.’
Srrrrk…
Yusopha’s specter pointed at Eckelart, who was trapped inside a large block of ice, and whispered.
– The Seal…
‘You’re telling me to break Eckelart’s seal… Without the final key, I can break the seal, but I wouldn’t be able to wield even half of his power! In the end… it means we won’t be able to drive out the witch hunters…’
– That’s not it… You must connect your thoughts to the Seal.
‘What… Are you telling me to take my own life…?’
At that moment, Aquila realized what Yusopha’s specter was truly suggesting.
‘Could it be… you’re telling me to forcibly draw out Eckelart’s magical power?’
– …Aquila, I believed you would understand.
“Yusopha! You are indeed clever!”
“Aquila? What… Yusopha is dead!”
“Maitine, join me. We’re going to connect our thoughts to the Seal.”
“What? This is madness!”
“This is the only way! We must forcibly extract Eckelart’s power and unleash a catastrophe!”
“Huh… Hahaha…”
Maitine, too, realized that while it was a horrifying idea, it was the only plan that could turn the current situation around.
“Is this… truly the only way…?”
“This is our chance to right the wrongs! Quickly!”
Before connecting her thoughts to the Seal, Maitine gave her final order.
“Defend the Seal! If this works, our path to survival will open!”
“We’ll follow the Grandmother’s orders!”
Rumble-!
The White Witches sealed the entrance to the Seal with an ice wall, firing off lightning bolts, while the Purple Witches cast curses and built a wall of corpses using puppetry.
“Break through! The witches are trying something vile!”
“Kill them! We must kill them all here!”
Whoooosh…
Maitine and Aquila placed their hands on the ice prison.
Their eyes soon turned a bright blue.
‘Even if we break the Seal, it won’t be enough to drive out the witch hunters… This is our only option…’
‘I trust you, Aquila.’
Sssss…
Yusopha’s specter hovered near them once more.
– Aquila….
‘Yusopha… when this is over, I will offer you a proper ritual. Surely, we…’
– Stop… You mustn’t…
‘What do you mean…?’
Sssssssss…
Beside Yusopha’s specter, another specter that looked exactly like her appeared, grinning wickedly.
– It’s already too late.
Crack-!
Yusopha’s specter, who had warned Aquila, began to dissipate and vanish. Aquila, unable to comprehend what was happening, was left in shock.
– Foolish witch…
That voice.
‘Could it be…?’
The connection to the Seal was already underway.
There was no turning back now.
Whoooosh…
Aquila and Maitine’s thoughts pierced into the Seal.
There, within the ice, was a man trapped.
– I have endured countless ages… long enough to freeze even time itself…
As their thoughts fully connected, an overwhelming surge of magical power flooded from Eckelart. At the same time, Eckelart’s memories began to invade their minds.
– Kill them. They must be killed.
– The Blue Witches… must be killed.
‘Ah… Ahhh….’
The two Grandmothers realized what they had done.
It was all Eckelart’s doing.
The betrayal of the Blue Witches wasn’t their own will.
It was Eckelart’s will.
‘You bastard! How dare you…!’
‘How dare you bring division to the Witch Faction!’
The one who most desperately wished for Eckelart’s revival wasn’t the Witch Faction or Butner.
It was Eckelart himself.
Clang…
The magical power that had been flowing from Eckelart had now fully filled the bodies of the two Grandmothers.
Boom-!
The two Grandmothers had now become conduits through which Eckelart’s power could spread.
Crack-!
Slaaash-!
Eckelart’s power pierced through the minds of the witches gathered around the Seal. In an instant, they became subservient to Eckelart, awaiting their inevitable deaths.
“Urgh… Ughhh….”
“This… This is….”
Now, it was time for collection.
Whoooosh…
Magical power began to surge toward Eckelart in the opposite direction.
It all belonged to the living.
The witches’ magical power was being sucked into the Seal all at once.
Sluuurp…
Their bodies shriveled up, like mummies that had been unearthed after thousands of years, drained of every drop of moisture.
– Finally, the long-awaited revenge is complete.
The remnants of thoughts that had crossed over from the witches’ minds. Within them was a deep-seated hatred for the witch hunters.
– Your final wish, stained with hatred… I shall grant it.
Craack…
Craaaack…
The ice prison that had sealed Eckelart was breaking apart. The legendary shaman, who had been asleep for ages, was awakening.
Boooooom-!
The Seal shot light into the sky, and from it, Eckelart emerged.
“The Seal has been broken.”
“Eckelart has awakened!”
“Hurry and inform Lord Behman!”
Eckelart exhaled the breath he had been holding.
“So noisy… these insects.”
Whoooosh…
Eckelart raised his hand, ready to incinerate the witches’ impure magical power that remained.
“Freeze.”
[Eckelart uses Forbidden Magic: Extreme Cold.]
[An enormous amount of magical power is consumed to create a wave of intense cold that sweeps forward. The wave spreads until the magical power is exhausted and significantly reduces the target’s resistance to cold with each successive hit.]
Whoooosh…
Booooom-!
Craaaack…
Booooom-!
Like squeezing out pus, Eckelart expelled all the witches’ impure magical power, converting it into the power of his forbidden magic.
“Hoo….”
Before his eyes lay a frozen wasteland, littered with corpses. No one moved; not a single breath could be heard.
“Haa… Haa….”
The silence was broken by someone’s desperate gasping.
“Damn monster…”
“Who are you?”
“I am the one who will be your master.”
Butner, panting heavily, released a shattered relic from his grasp.
Fsssss…
Just by blocking the recent forbidden magic, the relic had clearly served its purpose.
“This relic wasn’t meant to be used in a place like this… I’ll have to claim its value.”
“So, you’re the one who conspired to help me.”
“…Help?”
“I’m grateful. Do you wish for a peaceful death?”
“Wouldn’t it be better if you just surrendered quietly?”
Butner pulled out a Soul Stone.
Sssssss…
His pupils and hair turned black.
A symbol of the demons.
“So, you’re a demon. Your vile deeds remain unchanged, even after all these years.”
“You know, a lot has happened while you were asleep….”
“Your kind deserves to be erased from this world.”
“…You’re arrogant.”
Butner grimaced as he drew his sword.
“Do you even realize that today is the moment I’ve been waiting for over the past eight years?”
Eckelart whispered.
“You’re the one who doesn’t understand.”
“…What?”
“Today is the day that no one else, but I, Eckelart, have longed for.”
* * *
“Ah~ it’s started! It’s on.”
“Yeah, I see it.”
“Akad! Can’t we just take them both out now and take it? Or, maybe we can’t?”
Akad, the Avatar of Greed, watched the battle unfold with his hands clasped behind his neck and his body leaning back, while his subordinate, Aita, stood beside him.
“If we give Fascination an excuse, it’ll be the end. That venomous one must be waiting for an opportunity. We have to stick to the original plan.”
“Eckelart is truly transcendent, isn’t he? Wasn’t it too much to leave that brat Faust to handle? If he fails, everything falls apart.”
Flash!
Akad raised his index finger.
“What did I say about who can be trusted?”
“…I don’t remember.”
“It must be someone who does the job well, is quick-witted, and doesn’t hesitate when an opportunity arises.”
Grin…
“When someone like that follows you sincerely, only then do you have someone truly trustworthy.”
“You have a very different view of talent compared to that witch.”
“Fascination and I are opposites. My aesthetic sense is refined; I want someone truly useful, while that one wants an endless army of ants to work for her queen.”
Aita let out a big sigh.
“No matter what, how could that brat beat that monster? Even that Fascination’s underling, Butner or whatever, looks like he’s about to die. Ah… I feel like I should step in….”
“Didn’t you listen to what I said earlier? The kids’ fight must stay a kids’ fight. That’s how you get a satisfying ending.”
Aita puffed up her cheeks and replied in a deflated voice.
“But that guy looks like an adult, no matter how you see it….”
“My kid is just a healthy one.”
“……”
Giving up on arguing, she changed the topic.
“Faust… He’s using demons, isn’t he?”
“Of course. You saw it too, didn’t you?”
“There’s going to be turmoil in Malasis. The 72 Demons are only supposed to be summoned by the royal bloodline.”
“Well… It’s not unprecedented in history, and as long as his origins aren’t revealed, we can manage any unwanted attention.”
“You mean Akad’s experiment?”
“Yeah. As long as his origins aren’t exposed, any minor interest can be dealt with.”
“I don’t know… Do you really think they’ll just leave him alone with just a bit of attention? Shouldn’t he be hidden and raised in secret?”
Akad smiled mischievously.
An innocent yet arrogant smile.
“I’m not hoping for him to grow as a weapon. I want him to grow as a king.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Neither do I.”
Aita looked down and pointed at the scene below.
“Ah, he lost.”
The outcome was inevitable.
“Fascination will get the news soon. They’ll probably send someone much stronger than that guy to retrieve Eckelart….”
Akad and Aita smirked mischievously.
“But will it go as planned?”
* * *
“Ugh…”
“Not a bad effort.”
“How… could someone… be this powerful… a transcendent…”
“…You’re nothing but a fool.”
Thud…
Butner collapsed, a hole gaping in his abdomen.
Whooosh…
Eckelart reached out and took the Soul Stone that had slipped from Butner’s grasp.
Whiiish…
A spear of ice formed in his hand.
“How dare you spy on me… Who are you?”
Swooosh-!
Twisting his waist, Eckelart hurled the ice spear.
Whoosh-!
A giant owl beast narrowly avoided the spear and, after one last glance at him, vanished into the distance.
It was Corning, Faust’s familiar.
She would soon fly back to Faust and report everything she had seen.
“The place where the key is…”
A deep rumbling…
“It’s in the direction I’m headed anyway.”
Eckelart, determined to unleash the full extent of his power, began moving southward. His destination was the place where the Blue Witches’ key was hidden.
…Frost Nest.