Monarch of Death

“Didn’t they leave yesterday afternoon, Baros?”

“They did.”

“So how do they know the Evil Slaying Brigade is missing when it’s only been one night?”

While the Witch’s Forest was only a half-day’s journey from Swindler Fortress, there was no telling how long it would take to track down the witch.

It was natural to go a couple of days without any contact.

“What makes them so sure they went missing after only one day?”

It turned out there was a reason.

“They say two survivors barely managed to escape.”

However, the survivors seemed half-mad, making it difficult to get any clear information.

No matter what they asked, the responses were always the same:

-It’s… it’s the witch! Aaahhh!

-They’re all dead! They all fell!

-The witch dragged them all away!

From the context, it was clear the witch had been involved, but no further details could be gathered.

There were no corpses left behind, and since the survivors kept repeating that people were “dragged away,” they could only guess the others were missing, not dead.

“Hmmm…”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Karnak asked again.

“It means Alius is not one of the survivors, right?”

“Yes.”

While he didn’t care what happened to anyone else, Alius was different.

“I guess I’ll have to meet the commander.”

***

It isn’t easy for a wanderer, especially one who isn’t even from the Empire but from the Kingdom of Yustil, to meet the commander of a fortress. Especially in chaotic times like these.

However, Baron Demetas was more than willing to meet with Karnak and his group.

“You’re companions of Priest Alius?”

Their credentials were undeniable.

The radiant red auras gleaming from Baros’ and Serati’s swords were more effective than any formal identification.

“You’re here to find Priest Alius, I take it? We’ll help in any way we can!”

Not only were they aura users, but they were also experienced Darkness Hunters. With the loss of the Evil Slaying Brigade, the border patrol saw these people as their last hope.

If they found their comrades, the chances of finding the missing border patrol would increase as well.

Of course, this all assumed they were still alive.

Thanks to this, the conversation went smoothly.

“Could we meet the survivors?”

“Of course. I’ll arrange it right away.”

Baron Demetas was in no position to display the typical arrogance of an Imperial noble. He immediately called for a servant to carry out his orders.

“Show these people to the survivors!”

The survivors had been quarantined in a small tower on the outskirts of the fortress.

Two heavily injured men lay on shabby beds with blank expressions, while a medic attended to them.

“These are the survivors. Both of them are out of their minds, so I doubt you’ll get much from them…”

“Well, it’s worth a try.”

Karnak cautiously spoke to them.

“Can you hear me?”

He tried speaking to them several times, but the survivors showed no reaction. No matter what he said, they only spouted nonsense.

“Monsters! They’re monsters!”

“Ahh, Goddess, protect me…”

Serati clicked her tongue.

“There’s no getting through to them. What kind of wicked magic is this…”

Suddenly, the survivors reacted to her words.

“Magic?”

“It wasn’t some cheap curse!”

“The witch tears people apart!”

“Iron arms, iron legs, iron pot lids…”

Baros blinked.

Even with all his experience dealing with madmen, he couldn’t make any sense of what they were saying.

“What in the world are they talking about?”

Karnak, after a moment of thought, casually lifted his index finger.

“Well, let’s make this simple.”

He gestured towards the medic.

“Grrrr!”

The medic’s legs gave out as he collapsed to the floor, immediately snoring. Karnak had put him to sleep with a sleep spell.

Karnak then pointed his finger towards the survivors.

The eyes of the two men rolled back, showing only the whites.

“Grrrk!”

“Guhhh…”

They started foaming at the mouth before collapsing onto their beds.

Karnak smirked.

“It’s just easier to look directly into their memories.”

Serati frowned as she glanced between the collapsed medic and the survivors.

“Is this really okay?”

“Well, nothing major will happen.”

“You’re saying something minor could happen though, right…”

***

A dense fog covered the depths of the forest.

Swindler Border Guard Chandler stared at the old woman in front of him with a tense expression.

“She’s a real hag…”

She looked like a witch straight out of a fairy tale. Just looking at her gave him chills.

Leocolt made a hand gesture.

“Form a perimeter.”

The soldiers spread out in a circle, surrounding their target and taking up combat positions.

Meanwhile, the old woman still hadn’t moved. She just stood there like a scarecrow, arms hanging limply at her sides.

‘Why isn’t she reacting?’

Despite the oddity, Leocolt and his group followed the plan.

As soon as the perimeter was formed, the mage Stronoff and the priest Alius positioned themselves to block the witch’s escape from both the front and rear. Then, the two aura users moved to the front.

Drawing his sword, Leocolt muttered,

“Be cautious. We don’t know what kind of wicked magic she might use.”

If she truly was a witch, there was a high chance she would cast some kind of invisible curse. Far more terrifying than any flying sword.

“I’m aware.”

They were already focused on their aura shields. Nodding, Lestain also summoned his aura.

Wooom!

The air vibrated as two beams of red light illuminated the darkness of the night.

That’s when it happened.

“Kehehehe…”

The witch raises her head with a faint laugh.

Between her blood-clotted gray hair, a pair of glowing red eyes gleamed.

“What pretty little children you are!”

At the same moment, she sprang into the air like a grasshopper.

The two men’s eyes widened in shock.

‘What?!’

‘She’s fast!’

In an instant, the witch lunged toward them, launching her attack.

Her hunched back straightened, and she delivered a barrage of punches with both arms. Her bony forearms extended in rapid succession, raining blows down like meteors.

The other soldiers, watching in confusion, had bewildered expressions on their faces.

This was… quite different from what they had imagined.

“Huh?”

“The witch… is punching?”

Leocolt frantically swung his aura blade to defend himself.

“Damn! This crazy witch!”

Her bony fists repeatedly struck his aura-coated sword. Leocolt’s face grew pale.

She was fighting bare-handed, while his sword—capable of cutting through stone—was trembling and starting to crack!

Boom! Bang! Boom boom boom!

Loud explosions echoed through the forest.

Lestain hurried to provide backup.

“Sir Leocolt!”

The two aura users and the old witch tangled together in a chaotic exchange of blows.

Shockwaves continuously erupted in all directions, shaking the earth beneath them.

“Ugh!”

“Gah, damn it!”

Despite being two against one, the aura users were the ones being pushed back.

The border guards, waiting for an opportunity to intervene, muttered in disbelief.

“…She’s too strong.”

Not only was she strong, but her strength was far beyond what they had expected.

“Why is the witch engaging in hand-to-hand combat?”

“And doing it so… brutally?”

The witches they knew poisoned people in secret or threw bones to cast curses.

This one was flipping through the air and delivering 360-degree spinning kicks like a monster!

Well, she did throw bones, at least.

“I do love to eat plump, juicy children!”

With a creepy voice, the old woman pulled a few bones from her robe. Then, she slid them between her fingers and flicked them into the air.

Astonishingly, as she flicked the bones with her fingers, an explosion rang out.

Boom!

At the same time, the bones flew toward Leocolt, faster than an arrow!

“Ugh!”

Leocolt barely managed to turn his head to dodge.

The bone missed him and struck the forest beyond.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

The bone fragments pierced through large trees, shattered rocks, and tore up the earth, sending clouds of dust into the air.

Alius muttered in a dazed voice.

“…Do we count that as a curse too?”

Whether it was a curse or something else, one thing was certain: getting hit by it would mean instant death.

“I’ll create an opening!”

The mage Stronoff raised his wand.

A vast net of electricity spread through his entire body.

Rumble!

Thunder roared as lightning slithered across the ground like a snake, surrounding the witch on all sides.

For a moment, the old woman’s movements stopped.

It only lasted for an instant before she freed herself from the electricity, but that brief moment was enough.

Alius seized the opportunity and raised his voice.

“Light of Hatoba! Dwell within my wand!”

A divine radiance descended above the witch’s head.

The divine power pressed down on her, and her movements slowed even more.

Taking advantage of this, Leocolt pressed his aura-coated sword down on the witch. The witch raised both arms to block the aura sword.

They were locked in a brief stalemate.

“Go for her neck now!”

Lestain moved in.

With precise movements, he closed in on the witch and delivered a sharp slash!

Clang!

A metallic sound echoed. At the same moment, Lestain’s expression hardened.

He had just struck the witch’s neck. He had felt the sensation of slicing through flesh.

‘But what is this feeling?’

His aura sword hadn’t cut through her neck. It merely touched the surface of her skin.

“Kehehehehe!”

With a hideous laugh, the witch’s eyes widened. Her blood-red gaze flared up like an explosion.

“Let me see your hand! I want to check how much flesh you have!”

In an instant, she lunged at Lestain, grabbing his right arm. Then she swung him violently, slamming him down!

“Guhhh!”

With a single blow, Lestain lost consciousness.

The border guards surrounding them gasped in shock.

“Sir Lestain!”

It wasn’t over.

The witch then turned toward Leocolt and launched a blatant middle kick.

“Ohohohoho!”

Leocolt hurriedly raised his aura sword to block, but it was no use.

Her thin, bony leg shattered the finely sharpened aura blade and struck deep into his side.

Bam!

Was an unseen curse scarier than a direct attack?

That was only because the direct attacks hadn’t been powerful enough.

Leocolt, too, passed out with a single hit.

“Grrr…”

Everyone else stood there, unable to close their gaping mouths in disbelief.

To take down two aura users, both at the peak of their abilities, so easily?

“My, my, they’re both so scrawny!”

The witch’s gaze turned toward Alius and Stronoff.

Her frail, aged body charged at the two of them at a speed of lightning bolt.

“Kehehehehe!”

They tried to counterattack, but it was futile.

Before they could do anything, their magic shattered, and the holy spells were destroyed.

Then, a swift strike to the neck from her bare hands knocked them both out.

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

As his consciousness faded, Alius ground his teeth in frustration.

‘What kind of monster is this…?’

He had to at least prevent total annihilation.

Summoning the last of his strength, he let out a desperate shout.

“E-Everyone, retreat!”

It was useless.

Before the guards could even think of fleeing, the witch leaped toward them.

A barrage of merciless punches and kicks rained down on the soldiers.

“Gah!”

“Arghhh!”

“Aaah!”

It took less than a few minutes for all of his comrades to collapse.

The witch pulled a black rope from her robe.

She unraveled it thread by thread and began tying up the fallen soldiers, one by one.

She tied up the aura users, the mage, the priest, and over ten soldiers, all bound up meticulously.

“They’re all so scrawny, aren’t they?”

And now the witch approached Chandler.

It was in that moment of despair that Chandler began to pray.

‘Oh, Goddess…’

The witch looked at him and tilted her head in confusion.

“Ugh, this one’s liver is rotten. How much alcohol did you drink?”

Well, it was true that Chandler drank quite a lot.

“This one’s the same.”

Millard. Chandler’s closest drinking buddy and rival when it came to alcohol consumption.

“Ugh, these two are too spoiled to eat.”

Even in his terror, Chandler was struck by another fear altogether. Just how badly had their livers been damaged for even a witch to dismiss them as useless?

After tying up the others like winter herring, the old woman began dragging the human bundle into the forest.

The unconscious men, bound and tied, were dragged across the ground.

Her eerie cackle echoed through the branches.

“Kehehehehe! I’ll take these and make myself a nice, hearty meal!”

***

The memory projection ended. Karnak blinked with a blank expression.

“…What in the world did I just see?”