In the deep, dark void, the girl, Liru, held her breath and hid, ready to flee at any moment.
Once feared as the Witch of Lust, her cowardly behavior was unbecoming of her infamous reputation, but there was no help for it.
No matter how much she was called a witch, there existed beings in the world that she could not contend with.
Just like that gluttonous witch, whose overwhelming presence could be felt from anywhere in the world, radiating an incomprehensible aura.
“Damn it… Damn it…”
Liru, who couldn’t stand the thought that she was inferior due to her colossal pride, had no choice but to acknowledge that the glutton was a monster in itself.
Long ago, when the gluttonous witch merely passed nearby, she lost more than half of the dolls she had gathered over the years, and from then on, the gluttonous witch became an insurmountable target for her.
Though she possessed a fearsome ability to manipulate living beings and was formidable in dealing with the masses, her powers were utterly useless against the gluttonous witch, leaving Liru with no options.
This is why she was so frightened, attentively checking the distant aura of gluttony.
“That insane woman… What was she thinking to unleash that again…”
Yet the fact that she was trembling in fear was a huge blow to her pride, so Liru cursed while recalling her resentment.
Not towards the gluttonous witch, but towards her long-time collaborator, who had now become a traitor for releasing that darkness back into the world.
“The next time I see her, I’ll manipulate her and make her kneel naked to apologize twenty thousand times…”
Liru mumbled, planning her version of revenge, but she also knew.
That such a thing would never happen.
Once the gluttonous witch devoured everything in the city, her next target would be herself, and no matter how much she tried to flee, she could not run away for life.
With the gluttonous witch released, it was the end for her and for this world.
So, Liru murmured.
How annoying, how annoying, how annoying!!
It frustrated her that there were those greater and stronger than her!
Even as she realized a tragic end was approaching with no way to resist, Liru continued to vent her frustration.
“…….Huh?”
Suddenly, she realized something and muttered absently.
“What is this, why is the gluttonous aura…”
The gluttonous witch’s energy, which had been ever-present, suddenly vanished.
Liru was bewildered for a moment by the unforeseen event, but soon grasped what had happened.
“Could it be that the glutton was defeated by the humans…?”
The humans had managed to conquer the gluttonous witch.
Realizing this, Liru couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Ah-ha, ahahaha…!”
Relief at escaping death.
In her ecstasy that it was not over yet, Liru laughed heartily.
“What?! To be defeated by mere humans? The glutton wasn’t as formidable as I thought! Well, she has just been released from her seal, after all!”
Laughing at the defeated gluttonous witch, Liru muttered.
“By the way, if they defeated the glutton, how should I express my gratitude to those humans? I’m not sure how to show my appreciation. What do you think, guys?”
In response to Liru’s question about how to express her gratitude towards humans, the pieces of meat beneath her stirred.
Writhing in rapture and joy, as if this was their answer.
Seeing the dolls looking so happy, Liru grinned broadly and murmured.
“Okay, I get it. That must be the best way, right?”
After centuries of waiting, it was finally time for this moment to shine.
Rising from her place, Liru announced.
“Everyone, rise.”
At her words, the countless insects that had settled around her like shadows began to squirm and flew upward.
Originally, there had been a limit to how many she could control at once, but the black gem hanging around her neck made such feats possible.
That gem was a sacred relic of mermaids known as the “Tears of the Ocean.”
Once purifying the ocean from pollution, the relic had, after much research, become tainted with magic and now served to amplify her powers.
Although it felt odd to have a gift from a traitor, she knew better than anyone how useful this gem was.
Thus, with the gem in her hand and her empowered abilities, she commanded.
“Then let’s go. Time to make others happy just like you.”
With that order, darkness scattered in all directions, seeping into the surroundings.
All the beings infused with darkness became her soldiers, and their numbers were uncountable.
Leading her troops, the Legion of Lust began their movement.
Nothing stood in their way.
Those that blocked their path would merely become part of the legion.
And at the end of their advancing steps, drawn forth by the footsteps growing louder and louder,
Was the city of humans.
Meanwhile, as the lesser demonic beasts were being dispatched around the city, I felt a bit tired, perhaps due to a lack of rest, when suddenly a fireball flew from behind, incinerating the approaching horde of demonic beasts.
“Hey, Miss Witch. Time to switch. I’ll handle it here, so go take a break.”
“Oh… Martina.”
Turning around, I saw it was Martina.
However, I shook my head at her insistence on switching.
I knew that Martina was the one who needed rest more than I did.
“Switching is fine, but you’re the one who has been working harder than me, Martina. You’ve got enough headaches with the unit reorganization already.”
Having lost nearly all the previous leaders in battle or to death, Martina was left as the sole remaining commander, so she had a lot on her plate.
Just recently, she had exhausted her magic during the fight with the gluttonous witch and was almost at the point of magical exhaustion.
Normally, she would need days of rest to recover, so I was determined to decline her proposition.
But in a refusal to accept my reluctance, Martina stepped in front forcefully and spoke.
“I just came out to take a breather because I’m also fed up with the headaches from the unit reorganization. For me, taking down these demonic beasts is almost the same as resting, so you ought to go get some proper rest.”
“Um… but didn’t you get close to magical exhaustion last time? Shouldn’t you refrain from fighting?”
“Come on, it was just close to exhaustion. I’m not lying on the ground, bleeding like Astra would be, and if I let some excessive magic usage put me down, how could I ever be proud and call myself a captain? And who’s worrying about whom right now?”
Seemingly incredulous at my concern, Martina sighed.
“Ha, I’ve heard other folks saying you haven’t switched out much trying to let others take their breaks. You’ve been standing here at the roughest place, haven’t you? How long have you been at it? Tell me.”
“Uh, well…”
How many hours has it been?
It felt like at least over 12 hours, but saying that seemed like it might earn me a scolding, so I remained silent as Martina looked at me with exasperation and then suddenly bopped my head.
“You idiot, I asked you to make sure Astra and her lot don’t overdo it, but that doesn’t mean you should overdo it yourself! I’ve been hearing murmurs about how you need to take a breather. I’ve been a bit disturbed by that, which has kept me from working properly. Now hurry up and rest. Don’t make me worry about you.”
Even though she spoke angrily, it was clear from her words that she had actually come to check on me out of concern.
Even with those dark circles under her eyes from fatigue.
Feeling both grateful and guilty, I couldn’t refuse Martina’s kind offer, especially as she glared at me like she wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t take a break.
“…Understood. Then I’ll take my leave to rest. Thank you, Martina.”
“Sure.”
Parting ways with Martina, I returned to Astra’s Mansion to rest.
Having come to get some downtime, I had aimed to relax, but lying on the bed, I felt oddly uncomfortable.
To be honest, I thought it should have been the other way around; that I should let others rest during my time off.
Even hearing that I should sleep, wasn’t a witch supposed to need not really sleep?
So, simply lying on the bed trying to take a nap—
“…Ah.”
The notion of lacking a need for sleep was nonsense.
I opened my eyes to find the sun already setting beyond the window.
…Well, since I had only recently become a witch, it would seem perfectly natural to need to rest when tired.
After all, when I woke from a nap, my body felt considerably lighter, hinting that I had been stacking up fatigue.
With my tiredness lifted, I contemplated returning to work just as I was munching on the Astra military rations I had started bringing as meal replacements when suddenly.
Bee beep, bee beep— a call sounded from the communication magical tool.
A call directed towards someone who was not currently on duty.
It seemed like there might have been an urgent requirement for someone, I thought, swallowing the mouthful as I took the call.
“Swallow. Yes, this is Scarlet.”
[Ah, Scarlet? This is the Observation Team.]
While I was distracted, it turned out the call was from the observation team.
They monitored where and how many demonic beasts appeared to assist with hero placements on the front line, but what could be so urgent?
“What seems to be the issue?”
[Well, if it’s alright with you, could you take a quick trip to the western front and check something for us? We’ve caught a strange signal in our measuring equipment, but those stationed nearby aren’t seeing anything unusual. I’ll send the location right now.]
“Oh, all right. Understood.”
Having slept and eaten, I readied to travel to the location they had sent through the teleportation gate, glancing over at the barrier.
However, what I saw was the usual scene of heroes fighting a few demonic beasts amidst the hazy magical atmosphere as the sun set and night began to fall.
There didn’t seem to be anything odd, so I told the observation team member.
“I don’t see anything unusual here, honestly.”
[Oh, really? Then it must be a glitch in the measuring equipment. I apologize for sending you on a wild goose chase.]
“It’s fine. No worries.”
The observation team member apologized for the equipment malfunction.
Not caring too much, I reassured them it was fine, but just before the call was about to end, curiosity struck me, and I asked.
“What exactly did you pick up that prompted this?”
[Oh, well… It’s probably quicker to show you. Do you see the screen?]
“Oh, yes. One side is completely red.”
[You see, according to our measuring equipment, demonic beasts usually show up as red dots on that right side. But this area is glowing bright red for the first time, so I was a bit skeptical. Surely it can’t all be demonic beasts, so it has to be a malfunction, but this is a curious occurrence.]
The observation team member laughed, as if this had never happened before.
But while I listened to his laughter, I peered over the barrier once more.
What I found was a normal scene as the sun began to set and shadows stretched across the horizon.
It was undoubtedly a typical landscape.
“…”
But why, why does my heart race ominously?
An inexplicable premonition urged me to stare intently at that landscape.
And so I gazed.
Gazed.
Until, at one moment,
“…Huh?”
I witnessed it.
The darkness cast upon the horizon was subtly writhing.
Thinking it was just my imagination, I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but it wasn’t simply a trick of the light.
Look— it really is squirming, isn’t it?
That darkness covering the horizon, resembling a single swarm.
The red light I had seen on the communication device startled my senses.
If that’s true, then that means all of it is…
“…It’s not an error…”
[…What?]
“It’s not an error…!!”
The red-tinged display I had seen on the communication device wasn’t a glitch.
It was merely a multitude of points appearing staged as one surface.
Like the darkness casting shade over the horizon.
And like a definitive punctuation in that conviction, I felt the unmistakable presence of witch energy from within that darkness.
And so I shouted as if screaming.
“It’s a witch! A witch is coming!”
The writhing shadow.
The countless demonic beasts counting in numbers that the witch led.
They were advancing faster than the coming night, engulfing the twilight.
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