“…I’m not sure, but as long as I’m here, things won’t go your way.”
Yoon Si-woo said as he drew his sword.
“Ha, you really think that’s possible? You must be joking.”
Auria laughed at his words.
“They say ignorance is bliss, right? It’s amusing how you don’t even realize you’ve been dancing in the palm of my hand this whole time. Your confidence is quite the sight.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Literally what I said. Most of the events you’ve been through recently were all part of my plan.”
Auria explained with a smile, recounting everything she had orchestrated to the clueless individuals before her.
“Releasing a few demonic beasts into the city coinciding with a large-scale invasion, using Lust Demons to throw the city into chaos, sending that halfwit who thinks he’s the Witch of Arrogance into the city, planting a traitor in the city through the Lust Witch, rescuing the Gluttony Witch during a brief moment of distraction, resurrecting her, and reawakening the Gluttony Witch you sealed—everything, all of it.”
The heroes stared blankly at her words.
The sheer number of incidents they had endured being the result of a witch’s plot was hard to believe.
So people thought Auria was just bragging.
“…You mean to say, all of that was your doing!!”
Except for one person—Yoon Si-woo, who held the Holy Sword of Truth.
Yoon Si-woo realized that everything Auria said was true, and that the culprit behind those tragedies stood before him, filling him with rage.
“…You crazy—”
“Is it real…?”
Auria’s words rang true to the heroes who knew Yoon Si-woo’s abilities.
A commotion broke out, and everyone wore expressions of anger directed at Auria.
Seeing their shocked reactions, Auria erupted in laughter.
“Aha! Now you get it? Everything has gone according to my plan so far. You’ve only been desperately trying to clean up after my mess. You cannot stop my plans. It will be the same this time.”
As she laughed, Auria pointed at the massive mass of Miasma floating in the sky, the Black Sun, declaring,
“Do you see it? It’s getting bigger, isn’t it? The Sacred Remnants are amplifying the Miasma to its limit. In just 30 minutes, this city will be completely obliterated. I will drop that thing right onto this city. This city, this world will end; this time, you won’t even be able to clean up your mess.”
“…Shut up. I won’t let that happen. I won’t allow it.”
Yoon Si-woo fiercely retorted at Auria’s claim that this world was ending.
However, Auria just mocked him.
“Ha! By what means? Do you really think you can solve that Miasma with your current abilities? You’ve already used up your Sacred Remnants fighting the Gluttony Witch. The witch who has the peculiar ability to burn Miasma has been rendered almost useless after that last battle, right?”
It was as if she knew everything, peering into their very souls.
Since learning that the orb floating in the sky contained Miasma, the heroes had been desperately searching for a way to deal with it.
“After the last battle, the World Tree has almost depleted its powers. Even if we exhausted the remaining power, that…”
“…Even with purification magic and spirits attempting to suppress the spread, it’s calculated that at least 90% of the city will be engulfed in Miasma. Even if we evacuate everyone, losing that much territory and infrastructure essentially means the end for humanity.”
“…Considering the Miasma visible now, right? And it’s going to grow even more? This is insane.”
But after much deliberation, even Martina, Dwight, and Sylvia, who possessed the power of the spirits, came to one conclusion.
It was that responding to that Miasma in the current situation was impossible.
The moment the Black Sun fell, the city would be finished.
It meant that there was literally no way out.
Auria, who had pushed the heroes into such a situation, beamed at them mockingly.
“How do you feel? Desperate? Do you want to give up? I’m asking you, huh?”
Anticipating the despair they would display, she waited.
However, in response to Auria,
“Who’s giving up?”
Yoon Si-woo answered calmly.
Not a hint of despair or resignation could be seen in him.
Auria couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback by his composed demeanor.
Could it be that Yoon Si-woo had a way to overcome this situation?
“…Hmm? Do you have some clever plan?”
So Auria asked, and Yoon Si-woo replied.
“If we can’t stop it, I’ll make you stop it yourself.”
“You think I’ll just stop? How?”
“I’ll kill you right here if that orb doesn’t stop.”
“…Puff, ha ha ha!!!”
Auria couldn’t help but burst into laughter at his unexpected answer.
Could it be that the method she trusted so much was just such a simple threat?
With a smirk at his sheer foolishness, Auria looked upon Yoon Si-woo and the heroes, seeing their eyes shining like jewels, not showing any sign of despair.
At that moment, Auria realized.
They were not just foolish beings.
It wasn’t that they were undeterred because they were foolish.
Things easily obtained hold no value.
What has worth is born out of hardship.
Auria recalled the humans she had seen until now.
The ordinary humans who easily despaired and collapsed.
But what about them?
Though she jeered about their cleanup efforts, they had been humans who time and again overcame seemingly impossible odds.
Just like how jewels are formed under heat and pressure.
Having overcome countless despairs, they had been forged into something remarkable.
Humans who would not easily despair, persistent even with the slightest glimmer of hope.
Truly, truly not ordinary humans.
That’s why they were special and valuable.
Auria thought.
They were indeed special actors fit for the extraordinary stage that was the last of this world.
What luck was there like this?
Auria laughed joyfully and shouted.
“Aha! Good! Good! You and all of you! I absolutely love you guys! So, I’ll give you a special reward!”
There was no need for it.
It was a whim not originally in her plans.
But now, Auria wanted to witness it with her own eyes.
She wanted to see the moment they didn’t easily despair.
To achieve that, she needed to give them hope first.
“Let’s place a bet! For 30 minutes, we’ll play tag—I’ll be the one who runs, and you’ll be the ones who catch me. However I can’t escape before you catch me, that means you win. If I can evade you for 30 minutes, then I win. The loser grants a wish to the winner. If you win against me—”
To that end, Auria proposed with a broad smile.
“I might grant you whatever you wish for?”
“…What are you thinking? How can we trust the words of a witch?”
Yoon Si-woo asked, glaring at Auria after hearing her proposal.
The Holy Sword of Truth told him that what Auria had just said was true, but her offer was too favorable for them.
Thus Yoon Si-woo had his doubts about her intentions, but Auria smiled as if she had predicted his reaction.
“If you absolutely don’t trust me, how about a contract? A contract stating that if you win against me, I’ll grant your wish. That should make you trust me, right?”
“…What?”
Yoon Si-woo couldn’t help but be taken aback at the word ‘contract’ that came from her.
He understood better than anyone how important a contract is to a witch.
If a witch breaks a contract, she loses all her powers.
Similarly, any other being who enters into a contract will have to pay an equal price for breaking it.
Thus, contracts are something one must never enter into lightly, and yet, what was this witch thinking?
No matter her intent, it was a proposal that Yoon Si-woo could not refuse.
Because if he could win the bet, he could stop Auria’s plan.
“…Fine. I don’t know what you want, but I accept your contract.”
And so, Yoon Si-woo made a contract with Auria.
A contract in which the loser grants a wish to the winner in their game of tag.
The moment the contract was inscribed into their souls, Auria smiled as she asked Yoon Si-woo.
“By the way, did you agree knowing what my abilities are? I’m pretty much the strongest when it comes to tag, you know?”
It wasn’t arrogance.
Her ability allowed her to move anywhere she wanted, making her the strongest in terms of escape.
That’s why Auria asked Yoon Si-woo.
“…I know.”
But the response did not come from Yoon Si-woo.
“…I know well. Your ability is the type that seals things inside, a barrier, and you also have space-warping ability, right?”
The answer came from Dwight Neinhart.
“…You must have used that power to kill my father, my precious family.”
The last surviving member of the Neinhart family, who was wiped out by Auria when she whisked the Gluttony Witch away in the past.
“The Witch of Greed, Auria.”
Yet despite facing the enemy who had slain his family, Dwight did not lose his composure to vengeance.
“Now, you’ve become the enemy of the Mage, the one who prepares.”
Just like a true mage, as one who is prepared.
“I’ll show you just how terrifying that is, right now.”
Since the moment he witnessed his family’s murder, he had been preparing this spell.
Boom, Dwight stomped his foot.
At the same time, light burst from the magic circle wrapping around the city, instantly forming a translucent hemisphere around the city.
“…This is a barrier?”
It wasn’t strange for Auria to think so.
The magic now existed to protect the city, but Dwight had altered it to create a new form of magic.
“Now it’s a ‘cage.’ A magic developed specifically for you.”
Feeling the unease, Auria quickly tried to escape beyond the magic enveloping the city.
Space twisted, and her sight changed.
However, even after moving through the spatial distortion, she found herself still inside the cage.
Auria couldn’t help but laugh jokingly.
A magic that prevents those inside from escaping.
Reminiscent of the powers of someone else.
“I wanted to make you feel the same feelings those you harmed experienced.”
Just like the family that had been trapped and unable to escape, who died.
With a cold gaze, Dwight mumbled as he glared at Auria.
“You said it was a game of tag.”
Then directed at the witch trapped within the cage, he said,
“Now let’s see if you can run away.”
Yoon Si-woo’s sword flew like rays of light.
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