### Chapter 359
In the Jet Black Space
Kraush dashed through the chaotic realm of the jet black space.
This was a pocket dimension created by the Black Witch, a mix of various aspects of her world. That’s probably why a world he’d never seen before stretched endlessly before him.
Chasing after Kraush were the tentacle-like limbs of the Black Witch’s dark octopodes.
And they weren’t just chasing; they were on a mission.
Boom!
Kraush dodged the slithering octopus legs that erupted from the space above him.
But just as he thought he was clear, another black space opened right where he had avoided the attack, and the limbs came lunging at him again.
Kraush had had enough. Drawing on the power of Rain Thunder Prime infused with White Flame, he unleashed a surge of white fire.
Whoosh!
The black space shrank as it got engulfed in flames, forcing it shut.
For the Black Witch, the power from another world was toxic. That’s why she wouldn’t dare pull in the White Flame so carelessly.
However, that didn’t mean Kraush had the upper hand.
The jet black space was entirely manipulative by the Black Witch. Before Kraush stood an unending barrage of attacks.
From the Black Witch emerged five creatures—her familiars from her world.
The first was the Kraken.
Its legs? Unlimited.
It could whip its limbs from anywhere in the Black Witch’s space, creating quite a blockade for Kraush.
“Guh-huh!”
Then came the second creature, Barg.
With the new black space that appeared, its sharp teeth lunged at Kraush.
Kraush displayed incredible reflexes, jamming his sword right into all of their heads.
But for these creatures bestowed with immortality through the Black Witch, piercing their heads meant nothing—they just vanished and would reappear in no time at all.
“♬♪♬~.”
At that moment, he heard a hauntingly sorrowful song that was impossible for any human to ignore.
But with all that was going on, Kraush’s mind was too tough to be entranced by such a song.
‘The third creature—Siren.’
Only because it was Kraush that he could withstand that eerie allure. Others would’ve been caught off guard and torn apart by the other monsters right then.
Then, black lightning rained down right in front of him.
Kraush twisted his body and conjured the White Flame to evade the dark lightning that was targeted at him.
The black lightning spiraled away into the Black Witch’s space.
The fourth creature—Taranis, the embodiment of lightning—was fast enough to trouble even Kraush.
Even though he could manipulate lightning with his skill, he couldn’t keep up with this speed and would easily be outpaced by its strikes.
That meant Kraush had to stay on his toes throughout the battle.
And then finally—
Boom!
‘Here it comes.’
Kraush felt it right away and tore through the Kraken’s limbs aiming to block him. Just as he managed to slip away from where he had been standing—
BAM!
A colossal white serpent reared up behind him, seemingly trying to devour the world itself.
This gigantic snake filled the Black Witch’s dark space to the brim before vanishing into it.
Had he been just a moment slower, he would have been swallowed whole by that serpentine maw.
‘The final creature—Yormungand.’
This snake, massive enough to overshadow the Black Witch’s dimension, seemed unstoppable. But the world of the Black Witch had already crumbled despite such monsters existing within it.
‘No, let me rephrase that.’
Kraush locked eyes with the Black Witch, who was staring him down beyond the multitude of monsters.
Her pitch-black eyes were hollow, utterly void of emotion.
‘The one who destroyed the Black Witch’s world… was her.’
She was the very cause of the world’s end.
Why was she now trying to resurrect that very world by creating a god of world erosion?
Kraush would learn the answer only after the Black Witch’s demise.
He would discover her diary beside her deceased daughter, confounding him with the tragic story of the Black Witch.
‘The Black Witch’s daughter, Isabelia.’
The Black Witch’s realm thrived in the age of witch hunts.
Witches had indeed risen as a threatening force to the world multiple times.
In her world, witches were considered an entirely separate race.
They lived much longer than other races and accumulated diverse knowledge.
So perhaps due to a certain incident, a lunatic witch who lost her sanity was driven to wreak irrevocable chaos upon the world.
The entire world ignited with the intent to hunt witches.
Every single witch, despite the wrongdoings of just one, became a target.
Initially, the witches tried to negotiate with the other races.
However, nations had already lost their loved ones to witchcraft, and they had no intention of compromising.
Moreover, from the perspective of each state, demonizing witches wasn’t all bad either.
Armies and equipment were continuously produced to hunt them, so the economy surged as a result.
Safer, less-costly wars against witches became a convenient solution to age-old problems between nations.
And thus, the framework of conflict between witches and the world was established.
The witches had to stand against the world to survive.
Meanwhile, the world created a common enemy in the witches to counter their problems.
The witches were gradually pushed toward devastation.
Despite accumulating vast lifetimes of wisdom over the ages, they were outnumbered and lacked the endurance for a prolonged war against the various states.
Every now and then, witches emerged that mirrored the crazed witch of earlier times.
And every instance provoked greater cries for witch hunts.
Within such a world lived the Black Witch herself.
At times, she would conceal her identity, becoming ensnared in witch hunt cults, suffering dire consequences.
She led a life peppered with fleeting moments of careful concealment, only to face confrontations with zealous witch hunters whenever she was revealed.
Yet amid such upheaval, she persisted.
No matter how much witches were oppressed, as a witch, the Black Witch lived as one.
Then one day, her hidden identity was unmasked, sparking an arduous battle against the relentless witch hunt cult.
Exhausted, she took a day’s rest in the home where she had sought refuge.
Normally, she would’ve left the town right away, but that day, fatigue weighed on her so heavily that she chose to linger a bit longer.
Just days prior, the townsfolk who would greet her with cheerful smiles now trembled by her door, their former comfort replaced with sheer terror.
It always turned out this way once they realized the truth.
Although it stung at first, it became a familiar discomfort for the Black Witch.
In that moment, she spotted the village chief approaching her house.
What a surprise for him to approach knowing her true nature!
As she gazed at him with curiosity, the fear in his eyes quickly revealed itself to her.
Plus, she noticed a squirming basket in his arms.
“I am bringing a newborn baby to offer, so, please, spare our village!”
The chief bowed before her, presenting the basket.
The sight of it left the Black Witch feeling utterly incredulous.
Spreading rumors throughout the world that witches feast on human infants—those were ludicrous tales spun by governments.
Why would a vegetarian witch ever want to hunt down a human child for a meal?
‘Come to think of it, some of those berserk witches did exist.’
But they were simply out of their minds, consuming everything in sight—not something someone like her could connect with.
Gazing at the trembling village chief, the Black Witch felt an unexpected wave of helplessness wash over her.
How foolish of her to think there was even a glimmer of hope.
She took the basket from the chief’s outstretched hands.
What would become of that child’s mother?
She would never know.
But by offering the child, both came to terms with the fact that this child was ultimately abandoned.
Picking the baby up had been simply a whim; who wouldn’t get whimsically attached on the road?
As an immortal witch, acting on whimsy wasn’t exactly rare for her.
With that, she summoned her magic and took to the skies, realizing she had no reason left to linger in that village.
Thus she accidentally had a child—one of an entirely different species.
“Ah, ah.”
The moment the Black Witch saw the baby reaching out to her, she decided that this time, she would change her identity again.
“Just for a moment; I’ll drop you at an orphanage.”
Ironically enough, this marked the busiest time in her life.
Unlike witch children, human children grew rapidly.
Moreover, it pains her to admit, but this one was a bit of an airhead.
Learning took its sweet time, and it wailed endlessly.
“Mama! Mama!”
Yet free from their grim fate, this baby always smiled brightly at the Black Witch.
For the first time in her life, someone was showering her with endless love!
“Mama!”
And whenever she was absent, the wailing was as if her life depended on it.
Those cries tugged at her heartstrings, and, surprisingly, she didn’t despise them at all.
“Mama.”
And at night, the baby would crawl into her embrace to sleep.
Again, human children grow quickly.
Before she knew it, the little one had transformed into a renowned beauty from their hidden village.
“Mama, this is him.”
Her daughter soon introduced a young nobleman from a tiny fief.
The fief was so small it barely had opportunities for her to marry another noble.
Yet life there seemed bearable enough.
After all, people thrive better together.
Though the Black Witch felt a pang of emptiness, she permitted their relationship.
Time sped onward, and before she realized it, her daughter received a proposal.
“Mama, I’ve been dating him for five years now.”
Five years.
For a witch, that was merely a flash.
But for a human, it was a significant span.
“…It was only supposed to be for a moment.”
Her fully-grown daughter stood before her—elegant in a bridal gown at a small church, kissing the man who was now her husband.
And she approached her next.
“Mama, thank you for raising me.”
In hearing that, the Black Witch realized the truth—this child she had intended to keep for a moment was now leaving.
She shed her first tears.
As the Black Witch sobbed, her daughter joined in, embracing her tightly.
The Black Witch then knew.
The child she thought she could harbor temporarily had truly become her daughter.
“Isabelia, my blessing, live well.”
Isabelia.
A name that held the essence of blessing.
One day, she remembered it and chose it—perfect for her daughter.
Isabelia would go on to live a happy life.
The Black Witch wished for Isabelia’s days to be filled with joy.
And only a few months later, Isabelia’s head was severed.
The reason—a wicked individual tied to witches.
The accuser? None other than the lord of the paltry fief where Isabelia had married.
Upon witnessing this, the Black Witch realized one critical truth.
She could never find happiness in this world.
And so, she erased the world.
The Black Witch.
True to her name, she plunged the world into ruin.
As a witch who had raised a human child, she understood humans better than anyone.
That knowledge allowed her to exploit their weaknesses, toppling the world itself.
All the while, she still cradled Isabelia in her heart.
“…Let’s start from scratch.”
Not this world—not this outcome.
Let’s create a world where she can live alongside Isabelia.
That became her remaining life’s purpose.
And right now, she was willing to sacrifice other worlds to achieve this dream.
To create a world where she could live with her daughter, she would do anything—even kill a child right in front of her.
As Kraush appeared in front of her, the Black Witch felt an uncomfortable urge.
The white flame emanating from him dazzled her eyes painfully.
Since he was the one who had caused the destruction of another world, it’s no wonder this world rejected him so vigorously.
That was why his white flame flared against her with even greater intensity.
“I understand your plight.”
At that moment, Kraush’s voice resonated in the Black Witch’s ear.
“But I absolutely won’t tolerate you trying to destroy my world in place of yours.”
What did he know? How far did his knowledge extend?
The Black Witch couldn’t decipher it, but she readied her black staff.
“Once I’ve destroyed a world, I can certainly do it again.”
It was a clash—between the witch who destroyed her own world and the man who fought to protect his.
The moment their confrontation erupted once more, the night echoed through the jet black space!
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