“Are you listening?”
While Adriana was preparing to warp, I cautiously opened my mouth towards the air while sitting cross-legged.
“Huh? Did you call?”
Hayun, who was resting nearby, turned her head just slightly to answer, but I waved my hand dismissively and spoke again.
“I know you’re all listening.”
Hayun looked at me with curiosity, and Adriana glanced my way as well.
Instead of talking, they should focus on the warp.
With a slightly piercing gaze on me, I continued to provoke them.
“Answer me. You are listening, right?”
“Are you really going to do this?”
“Let’s just talk a bit, shall we?”
After I had been chatting to the air for a while and was embarrassed enough to notice Hayun’s and Adriana’s stares…
– Sigh! Stop talking already!
Finally, an answer came from the Goddess of Time.
Her voice echoed quite hysterically, making me wonder if the other two heard it, but they seemed too absorbed in their own tasks.
“Finally answering, I see.”
– I’m busy too, you know? I’m scratching my ears from your incessant mumbling.
Gods have ears too, huh?
Well, they probably look somewhat like us.
“The situation isn’t looking good. You need to help me.”
– Huh? Do you think I’m your friend? Do I just come running to help when you call?
“If it was just the Priestess of Time, I could manage on my own. If you can’t use your powers, it would be even easier.”
– And?
That innocent question made me a bit irritated. Does this goddess only know how to communicate in this obnoxious way, or is she doing it on purpose to provoke me?
“Isn’t Kurika stuck over there? I can’t take him on alone, be it by choice or not.”
– But you have the Witch and the Holy Swordswoman. I saw you two working well together.
“You were watching, huh?”
– ……
So, she had been watching all along and didn’t respond when I called her?
The more I learned about her, the more I wanted to confront this goddess. I couldn’t punch her, but I’d at least like to give her a light smack on the head.
“You know how strong Kurika is.”
– Of course. No one on the continent can win against that guy alone. Well, it depends on the situation, but still.
Since she knows that well, it actually made things easier for me.
“So please help me. Just lend me a little of your power.”
– You weren’t the type to rely on this sort of thing, were you?
“……”
This time, my mouth was firmly shut.
She hit the nail on the head, so even though I had things to say, I couldn’t just spout them off.
– Are you still angry about what happened with Sharcarl? Without Kurika’s help, you wouldn’t have defeated him, and even if you did, you wouldn’t have escaped death on your own.
“Wow, you really hit me hard there.”
That was true.
As the Goddess of Time, she probably witnessed my emotions closer than anyone else.
I felt limited; I needed to grow.
Even if it was embarrassing to rely on a god’s power, I needed it.
– Hmm…
The goddess dragged out her words, making it feel like she was testing the waters. Frustration and impatience tightened around my chest like a lock, yet…
– Well, okay. I’ve retrieved the power I gave to the Priestess, so I can spare you some.
“Really?!”
– Why are you so happy? Now I don’t want to give it to you.
I was about to jump up and ask for it, but Adriana’s voice rang out from behind.
“Daniel! I’m ready!”
At those words, Hayun also stood up, dusting herself off and gathering herself before heading toward Adriana.
– Just go for now.
The Goddess of Time urged with a smile.
I felt a bit reluctant but stepped into the magic circle drawn by Adriana.
“Honestly, this is my first time, so the magic circle is a bit complicated and massive. But don’t worry, the Grand Witch helped!”
Leaning against the half-collapsed corner of the house, the Grand Witch was fast asleep. I thought she’d be dead soon, but surprisingly, she seemed to have stabilized.
Well, I suppose she survived for so long because she was so tough.
“I can’t go with you. I can’t leave the Grand Witch alone.”
“It’s okay, that’s more than enough.”
“Thanks, Adriana.”
As Hayun and I expressed our gratitude at the same time, Adriana slowly handed me a wooden ring she had made from roots, her eyes looking oddly moist.
“What is this…”
“It’s the Grand Witch’s ring. I used my own to come from the Beastman’s land, so you know how it works, right?”
“……Yeah.”
A precious ring that allowed access to the village of witches.
“Just in case, hold onto it. If things get dangerous, you need to escape immediately.”
Adriana’s eyes held deep concern and worry. She had experienced firsthand the terror of facing the Priestess of Time and Kurika.
“You might not really want to, but please avenge our village.”
“I don’t really want to, though.”
Honestly, the witches were none of my business. Compared to the Priestess of Time, they weren’t exactly clean either.
“But I’ll try just a little bit for you.”
However, knowing that someone like Adriana was still young and had come to the Academy early due to her ability to see the future, for her sake, I’d at least do something about the witches.
“Hey, what about me? Don’t I get one?”
Hayun shouted with a look of annoyance as she watched us. I wondered if Adriana would give HER a ring instead of me, and when I looked at Adriana, she was avoiding eye contact with Hayun.
“Ahem, once the Grand Witch recovers, I’ll come to your village too. So just wait.”
She naturally dodged the issue.
“……Fine.”
“Hey, are you really not giving me one?”
This time, Adriana completely ignored Hayun. Mana began gathering around the staff the Grand Witch held.
“Then, good luck.”
*
It felt truly mysterious to move alone while the world was still.
But that couldn’t last long. I stepped forward, guarding Rin as time resumed.
For now, protecting Rin was my top priority.
“Daniel!”
Rin called out to me, ready to jump and hug me from behind, but she didn’t actually do it. In this situation, there was no time to celebrate our reunion.
“Why are you—?!”
As time began to flow again, the Priestess rushed at me as if waiting for it. Her eyes were bloodshot with rage, and her expression was one that was hard to associate with a servant of the gods.
Bam!
Her bone sword clashed against my sword. Though the Priestess was skilled in offense, she couldn’t stop time and, with one hand missing, couldn’t fight me effectively.
Naturally, I adjusted my sword’s angle downwards. The one-armed Priestess trembled but was forced to move her sword.
“GRRAAAAH!”
Kurika, now fully under the control of the Goddess of Death, stalked me with vicious fangs and claws.
He truly looked like a predator, ready to tear me apart at any moment.
But Kurika’s time froze in mid-air.
“WHYYYY!? Why do you have that power?! Why YOU!”
Seeing this, the Priestess went wild and dropped her sword, but I turned and delivered a precise kick to her abdomen.
“Gah!”
The Priestess rolled back, spitting out rotten blood. Leaving her behind, I charged at the now-frozen Kurika and slammed the tip of my sword into his head.
Thud!
At that moment, time resumed. Kurika, who had charged ahead with the momentum of a wave, crashed to the ground from the unexpected impact to his head.
“Doesn’t seem like he can do much since he’s being controlled, huh?”
No, this wasn’t a joke—Kurika could barely show even half of his strength. Moving like a puppet with strings, he couldn’t emulate the fluidity of a real person.
Even the Goddess of Death controlling Kurika was unable to exert any strength with that strong puppet.
“WHAAT! WHYYY! WHYYYY!? Why do you have the Goddess’s power?!”
The Priestess repeatedly shouted the same words, rushing at me.
Looking at how unfazed she was from the last hit, it made me think.
‘So it was true that they come back to life.’
As Hayun had told me, the Priestess really did come back to life after dying.
After stomping harshly on the fallen Kurika’s head, I reached my hand out toward the Priestess.
As I did, the Priestess, still in her attacking stance, froze.
Whether it was from using a new ability too frequently or something else, a headache surged from my head, and my body wavered, but I didn’t stop moving.
With that momentum, I lunged forward, swinging my sword to behead the motionless Priestess and simultaneously released my powers.
Thud!
The Priestess’s head and body rolled without making a sound on the ground. But just as I expected, the imprint on her forehead emerged anew, naturally reattaching her head to her body.
“Crazy.”
“GAAAAAH! DANIEL MACKLAY! HERETIC! BLASPHEMER! I will kill you and offer you to the Gooooooddeesss…”
“……”
“I will kill you! I will kill you! That power is MINE!”
At this point, I couldn’t help but feel skeptical. A moment ago, I felt intense anger.
While I thought she wanted to protect her fellow witches, I now only wanted to destroy this woman who had trampled on Rin’s and Hayun’s trauma, committing misdeeds while hiding behind the will of the gods.
“How pitiful.”
Abandoned by the Goddess of Time she once believed in, now a puppet of the Goddess of Death, I could only feel sorry for her.
Even if I wanted to vent my anger, it didn’t seem worth it.
Thus, I sliced her again.
“I can kill you as many times as you want.”
And after that, it was nothing but continual death.
I never let her get close again, bestowing countless deaths upon her.
“I… don’t… want to…”
The Priestess, now speaking with a cracked voice, said she didn’t want to live anymore. Yet, the imprint on her forehead had turned from a blessing into a curse, keeping her alive.
‘This is problematic.’
No matter how many times I killed her, she just kept coming back.
Thinking I could never kill the Priestess here…
“Daniel, I’ll do it.”
Rin, who had been watching all this unfold, pushed past me, heading towards the fallen remnants of the Priestess.
Rin carefully reached out her hand.
Her darkness began to devour the Priestess.
“Now, please close your eyes.”
“Ugh, uh…”
With a sound close to a groan, the Priestess’s last farewell ended, as she was completely consumed by darkness, entering eternal rest.
