Chapter 32 – 32. Combat

Evangeline hadn’t worn a combat uniform in a very long time. I took a robe and hat made of rare monster skin, and a staff made of thunderstruck millennial tree, and went out into the living room.

“John, you and Margaret are going to some city.”
“Master, but…….”
“But, besides, I can’t fight properly without you. Margaret, are you there? Take John to another city. Sooner or later, the decision will be made by tomorrow, so come back tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Margaret immediately took John and disappeared from the cabin. After confirming that her beloved pupil had disappeared, Evangeline left the cabin.

Fenrir, who had been waiting for her outside the cabin, leaned straight towards her.

Evangeline, riding on top of Fenrir, pointed in the direction where she could feel the magic far away.

“Let’s go, Fenrir.”
[… ] … It’s been a while.]
“Yeah, it’s been decades.”

Fighting the same witch.
However, even for the first time, not decades, I couldn’t back down. Because this forest is the place where I first met my precious disciple.

“We have to tell them clearly what will happen if they invade another witch’s realm.”

As soon as the words were finished, Fenrir ran in the direction Evangeline had pointed.

* * *

“Master—!”

Just as I was about to shout, I realized that I had already moved to the city. He looked back at Margaret and shouted at her.

“Mrs. Margaret, I must go and help Master…… !”
“What are you going to do to help?”
“What are you helping, rather than doing nothing in a place like this—”
“I will tell you for sure. You can’t do anything Just hiding here helps. Okay?”

He didn’t respond and kept his mouth shut. Yes. Although he said that he would help with the blood rushing to his head, there was no way he could help Master.

Master also said that my magic nullification wasn’t very helpful. He also said that the Paladins, who had powers that surpassed those of humans through long training, died without doing anything in front of the witch.

I can’t do anything. That fact made me helpless.

“…… Master.”
“Don’t worry, Evangeline? As far as I know, she’s the strongest witch. Your master will never lose.”
“What if— what if Master loses?”
“Then… It’s nothing to worry about right now.”

Remembering Master’s defeat, Margaret opened her mouth with a wry smile.

“All mankind will die.”

* * *

Roaring!
The forest burns. The dense and green forest was nothing more than a material to be consumed by the fire demon.

Looking at the burning forest, the fire witch smiled. Fire is good. It’s best when something burns. The warmth brought by the dancing flames is unparalleled.

The witch, who had been watching the flames devour the forest in a daze, suddenly saw the fire running away from the forest.

‘What…….’

It was as if the flames were repelling the trees. Seeing the flames completely out of control as if they were reluctant to even touch them, the witch frowned.

“If you come to someone else’s house, you should start by saying hello.”

Jeobeok – Someone came from afar and said that. The fire witch turned her head and saw the other person’s face and realized that the other person was also a witch.

An extremely lovely face, something that nevertheless made goosebumps rise from the whole body when looking at it.

Suddenly, even that cute face starts to feel repulsive enough to be compared to something among the insects crawling on the floor.

“…… Witch.”
“Hi? She is said to be the owner of this forest, Evangeline. You?”
“In a place like this, there was a witch.”
“Hey, if someone asks you something, you have to answer it. How old are you? How old are you so you can’t be cheap?”
“In a place like this—”

Conversation doesn’t work Realizing this fact, Evangeline sighed lightly and touched Fenrir’s leg. Hearing the signal, Fenrir obeyed his master’s command.

Fenrir, who ran at the same speed as an arrow, not befitting the size of a house, arrived in front of the fire witch in an instant and swung her front paws.

The fire witch, who reacted belatedly, shot out sparks, but the flames did not reach Fenrir’s body and scattered in all directions.

“Uh?”

When he felt strange and tried to use magic again, it was after Fenrir’s paws had already hit the witch.

The witch, hit by the forelimbs of a monster weighing more than several tons, floated up and flew into the sky. Evangeline, who saw the fire witch flying far away while smashing the wooden signpost, hoped that it would end like this.

‘I wish I could die like this…’….’

Too bad it didn’t. The witch, who had been hit by her forepaws and flew far away, poured out flames from her whole body, and immediately glared at Evangeline and Fenrir with a normal appearance.

Ji is not some kind of phoenix——does it make sense to recover just because it caught fire? Evangeline thought so and glared at the fire witch.

“Why… Why didn’t you come to rescue me?”
“Yes? What?”
“Why……Being so close…….”

Watching the witch murmur so much, Evangeline realized only belatedly what the hell she was talking about.

It is said that this witch set the whole city on fire. It’s not easy for a normal witch to act like that. Because witches are also people, they don’t suddenly want to massacre a lot of people.

A good reason was needed. And of course, being caught and tortured by the Paladins was enough to be the reason.

“Aha, you- were you captured by the Paladins?”
“Yes, even knowing that—you didn’t come to rescue me.”
“Okay, that must have been hard. Being captured by the Paladins…….”

Evangeline, who had confronted the church several times in the past, was well aware of what the witches who were captured by the paladins were subjected to, so she could easily infer what the witch in front of her was doing.

Fear and fear that we can sympathize with because we are the same witch. Evangeline felt that emotion and opened her mouth.

“—But why am I going to save you?”
“…… What?”
“Isn’t it because you’re stupid that the paladin caught you? Why did another witch have to clean up what happened because you were stupid?”

After hearing Evangeline’s words, the fire witch opened her eyes in disbelief even in her half-mad state. Is that- is that a word that could come out of the mouth of the same witch?

But no matter what expression she made, Evangeline went on with her words.

“Witches are like that. A creature that suffers for the rest of its life.”
“…… You.”
“Were you captured and tortured by a paladin? Must have been painful But what? The fact that I was born as a witch itself is painful. Every day is hell. But did you come to save me like this?”

The fire witch kept her mouth shut and glared at the witch in front of her. It was possible to infer the curse that this witch must have in that it causes disgust just by looking at it.

How they were treated with that curse.

However, as Evangeline said——that was also a pain that she did not know about.

“—You are a creature that shouldn’t exist.”

Seeing Evangeline not sympathizing with her, the fire witch spewed out flames from her body. Seeing that, Fenrir rushed as before, but this time he couldn’t approach it easily.

A flame-shaped wolf, identical to Fenrir, appeared and dealt with Fenrir. The fire still couldn’t reach Fenrir directly, but it didn’t matter.

The flame moves away from Fenrir and condenses into a single point. The condensed heat is fatal even without direct contact, so the tips of Fenrir’s hair began to burn little by little.

[Kwaaaaang-!]

Seeing Fenrir barking loudly and fighting the flame wolf, Evangeline realized that she had to face it herself.

‘It’s a big deal…….’

Although she caught all forms, Evangeline was not a very strong witch. To be precise, there was no plausible means of attack.

The witch of love, magic that manipulates the preferences of all things in the world. This did not work that fatally for the same witch. It was impossible to use magic directly against a witch who knew how to protect herself with magic.

Of course, the defense was the strongest level that could block any witch’s attack, and in the end she could win…… In the long run, the entire forest is eventually burned down.

‘If it’s going to burn anyway…….’

Evangeline recalled the beaker in her arms. The use of magic taught by John, his disciple. I still haven’t figured out what the principle is…… Even so, that which allows her to exert the strongest power.

“Burning to death!”

She deflected all the sparks flying at her and walked slowly forward. The flame that escaped her hits the surrounding trees directly and burns them up.

The fire did not immediately spread to other trees, but even that was only a matter of time. She had to make a decision. I had to defeat that witch in a very short time.

“Die-! Die!”

Evangeline, who was walking towards the fire witch who was constantly shooting sparks as if she was not tired, immediately after arriving in front of her, took out a beaker from her bosom and held it.

The fire witch, who thought Evangeline was up to something, took out a beaker the size of her palm at most, and burst into arsenic.

“What are you going to do with it?”
“I know. I thought so too.”

The beaker contained seawater. The disciple, John, explained that this sea water contained potential that was largely ignored. Indeed it was.

She used her powers against the sea water. The principle was unknown, but the components of the seawater made them hate each other.

Thus, seawater instantly splits into oxygen and hydrogen. The water disappears, and only each element fills the beaker.

Here again——using her ability. Scattered hydrogen H atoms stick to each other.

When heavy deuterium becomes light helium, energy equal to the lighter mass is released. Energy equal to E=MC^².

“Muh-.”

In an instant, the sun rises on the ground.
All the oxygen that existed in this place is burned, and a huge mushroom cloud takes its place.
The god of death, the destroyer of the world has arrived.

* * *

The paladin and his army his, who followed the trail of the witch with his army his, were shocked to see a huge mushroom cloud rising in the distance.

What that was, the mind of an uncivilized medieval fantasy villager could not understand at all. But this one thing was certain.

“Poem, God is angry!”
“He was furious!”

The paladins, as well as the soldiers, immediately fell on the floor and bowed in the direction of the mushroom cloud.

The next moment, as if in response to their actions, a great storm came and swept the army away.

“Aaaaagh—!”
“Bur, hold on! Grab something and hold on!”

When the soldiers who couldn’t stand it were flying in all directions, and the soldiers who were able to hold out all winter were not so fine.

The aftermath ended only the day before yesterday, and the soldiers looked at the mushroom cloud that was still majestically rising.

“…… Oh God.”

On this day, the army chasing the witch immediately returned.
Only a few of the new paladins who were not worth their lives, to be exact, were pushed to the spot.