The dark land covered in miasma.
In that gloomy and desolate landscape, a woman was making her way.
From a distance, she didn’t seem particularly notable.
She was wearing a black hood that blended into the dark world, as if it were a protective color.
However, even with that hood pulled over her head, her presence was anything but faint.
No matter how much she tried to hide, her golden eyes sparkled like they were painted with the color of greed that blinds the eyes of others.
Anyone who encountered her would find it hard to look away from her existence.
Was it because she was beautiful?
That was partially true, but there was another reason.
Anyone who looked into those eyes would surely feel that she was a twisted being in some way.
Strange things are always noticeable.
Thus, the woman stood out naturally, like a stork among a flock of chickens, like a nail that had popped out of a pocket.
It wasn’t just because she was one of the few witches in this world.
She simply couldn’t blend into the world from the start.
However, the woman didn’t seem to care much about that.
What mattered to her was getting what she wanted, nothing more.
“Hmph, hee hee hee~”
Suddenly, as she strolled through the barren ground, the woman started humming a tune.
Even though she could teleport through space in an instant, she was walking with her two legs simply because she felt really good at the moment.
To enjoy that pleasant feeling, she took a walk, reminiscing about the fireworks that adorned the night sky last night.
“Ah, what a wonderful sight it was.”
It had been a while since she had seen fireworks, but that wasn’t the only reason she thought they were beautiful.
In the past, she lived in a city that held splendid festivals every night.
Still, the reason she felt the scenery was magnificent was that she had a fair understanding of the circumstances within the city.
Every stage shines brighter as it reaches its climax.
“Do they know? That the end is approaching~”
Despite the unexpected events that occurred, yesterday’s play was all the more intriguing, satisfying her twisted sensibility to the fullest.
In that overflowing emotion, she solo danced and continued her song.
“I wonder how ecstatic I will feel then. Ah, I want to taste it as soon as possible, but I’m going mad thinking about it ending.”
The woman, who was once known as a songstress, hummed a tune that would enchant anyone who heard it, her face filled with a smile behind the hood.
A smile mixed with satisfaction and regret.
“But now, there’s no turning back. Just a little more. So, let’s watch. The moment this stage ends.”
Along with that murmur, the area around the woman was soon filled with the demonic beasts born from the overflowing miasma.
It was a commonplace occurrence.
Whenever emotions ran high, new audiences like this would often appear.
With a slight smile, she exaggeratedly bowed to them like an actor greeting the audience.
However, today was strangely quiet, unlike usual.
It was suspiciously silent.
Normally, the sounds of the beasts crying out like the audience giving a standing ovation should have been the norm.
Feeling perplexed, the woman lifted her head.
What caught her eye were the demonic beasts, frozen in place, unable to move a finger.
As if they were terrified of something.
Who else in the world could frighten demonic beasts with such nasty personalities, just like her?
The woman chuckled and murmured.
“I was so intoxicated with emotion that I didn’t notice. Who arrived here again?”
As soon as she said that, something rushed in where she had been standing.
“……That’s quite an enthusiastic greeting. Sloth.”
In an instant, the woman had moved to the back and muttered while looking at the spot where she had just stood.
It was erased.
It was a sight that could only be explained that way.
There was no trace left that anything had existed in the space once filled with beasts.
The woman swallowed hard and tilted her head back toward the sky, where she felt the presence of the one responsible for it.
“Thanks to you, all the newborns just now disappeared.”
“Ah, so you were there. I couldn’t see you because you were small.”
And in response, a voice came from the sky, and a girl with violet hair appeared in mid-air.
The girl, lying on her stomach in the air, looked down at the woman below, rolled to the side in that position, and dropped down with astounding speed.
However, the landing was incredibly calm.
No sound, not even a speck of dust.
The girl, who fell from a height where it wouldn’t be strange to be turned into a bloody pulp, got up clumsily, seeming annoyed, and muttered while patting the air behind her.
“Bay, now that you’ve brought me here, you can go back.”
In response to her words, the empty air shimmered for a moment.
Seeing the briefly revealed shape like a mirage, the woman chuckled.
The massive four-legged beast looming above, which she had already sensed, emanated a presence that was slightly startling even to her.
No wonder it had been so quiet during her walk; with something like that roaming around, the demonic beasts could do nothing but hide in fear.
Even if it’s not visible, or if it doesn’t make a sound when it moves, those with miasma can instinctively know.
The behemoth, that colossal creature was moving.
The woman confirmed with her eyes that the behemoth bowed slightly to its master before vanishing far away and then asked the girl in front of her.
“So, what brings you here? I doubt you came just to see me.”
“Really? I thought you’d know.”
The girl’s head tilted as if she genuinely didn’t know why she had come, prompting the woman to snicker as she murmured.
“Well, I can guess. It’s about that half-witch, right? Ah, I can’t call her half anymore. She seems to have completely joined our side. Although I never thought she would leave the city so quietly, especially given the name ‘Witch of Wrath.'”
“It seems so… I did come because Eva’s state seems to have changed dramatically.”
The girl, as if she had no idea such a thing happened, stared intently at the woman and spoke.
“You didn’t forget, did you? I definitely told you not to touch Eva before me, right?”
With a hint of a threat, the girl questioned, and the woman exaggeratedly waved her hands in denial.
“Of course not! I definitely remember. I recalled what you warned me last time. I was actually moving for a completely different purpose this time; she wasn’t the target of my actions. Her situation was an unexpected outcome for me as well.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course!”
“……Really?”
Seeing the woman giving casual responses, the girl nodded as if she accepted it.
Then, her reaction sparked something in the woman.
Even though she was internally thinking, ‘Oh no, this isn’t good…’, her fundamental nature of following amusement took over.
“More than that, you rushed over here every time something happens, which makes me think you’re thinking a lot more about her than I imagined. I’m becoming more and more curious about your relationship with her. Honestly, after seeing her unexpected side, I got interested too, but now that you’re acting like this, it makes me curious that I just can’t help myself.”
The woman spoke with a teasing smile, as if she couldn’t contain her amusement.
“So, what was your relationship with her? Hmm? Beatrice─”
But the moment she said that, the girl’s face froze rigidly, causing the woman to instinctively move away.
She glanced down at her quivering hands.
Instinctively, she knew.
Even though she felt nothing.
Just moments ago, if she had stayed put, she would have been dead.
The girl finally spoke from a distance.
Rarely, her expression carried a noticeable emotional fluctuation.
“I don’t recall giving you permission to call my name freely.”
Was it that sensitive to speak her name like that?
Honestly, she wanted to call out again just to see the girl’s reaction, but the woman realized that doing so might get her killed this time for real and calmed her teasing tone.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! It was just a joke! I apologize! I won’t do it again!”
“Consider this a pass, but remember.”
From afar, the girl waved a hand dismissively, muttering softly.
“There won’t be a next time.”
With those words, the girl vanished as if she had never been there.
For a moment, the woman was frozen as she swallowed hard and glanced at the ground.
Right beneath her feet, a line was drawn, as if something had reached that spot.
A warning.
What would have happened if that line had stretched even a little further?
The woman briefly pinched her lips, then burst into laughter as if she couldn’t hold it in.
“Haha, ah, this is just the best! You’re so strong, it’s ridiculous! I don’t see any possibility of winning against you, even though you’re also a witch!”
Truly the peak of absurdity, an unreasonably strong presence.
Even if this world were to suddenly perish, she would likely survive within it.
In this world, she was surely the only one capable of that.
Yes.
Until yesterday.
With her hand tucked into the hood, the woman pulled out an orb radiating a black light.
She gazed at it and burst into laughter for a long while.
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