Chapter 23: Aomis, the Girl in the Cage

The exit behind her grew smaller and smaller. Hilxi dispelled her Transformation Magic and returned to her human form.

A chill crept over her entire body.

Before her eyes was complete darkness, the air thick with the stench of rot, and beneath her feet, uneven ground scattered with many rocks.

“A cave?”

Hilxi wrapped her pink dress’s jacket tighter around herself, suppressing the foul smell in the air as she summoned her Magic Wand and created a Light Orb.

The golden-white light immediately dispelled the surrounding darkness, greatly expanding her field of vision.

Hilxi slowly maneuvered the Light Orb sideways, while her own body gradually sank back into the darkness.

Suddenly.

A twisted face appeared before the Light Orb, its mouth wide open as it swallowed the orb whole!

Darkness surged like a tide, startling Hilxi into a shiver. Instinctively, she took a few steps back and summoned another Light Orb.

The light flared again, revealing the cave-like scene.

What was that thing just now? She only caught a glimpse of a disgusting face, and it looked like some kind of Beast… Hilxi frowned deeply, her heart growing heavy.

She had originally thought avoiding the Witch directly would be easier, but it seemed the things lurking below were no easier to deal with.

Taking slow, measured steps, she moved forward, the Light Orb always floating at the tip of her Magic Wand, never leaving her side.

Hilxi walked for several minutes like this without encountering that Unknown Monster again. It was as if what she had seen before was just an illusion.

“This huge cave, how did that Witch even make it?”

A sudden image popped into Hilxi’s mind— the Witch of Difference digging earth with an Iron Shovel. Her mouth twitched as she dismissed the absurd fantasy.

How could she possibly dig with bare hands? It had to be magic.

She glanced back at the darkness about ten meters behind her. For some reason, Hilxi had a persistent feeling that something was following her.

The chill around her seemed to deepen; the temperature here was inexplicably much colder than outside.

Where exactly was the Victim? Judging from Domoer carrying out a bowl earlier, the Victim should be locked underground. No, there were still Unknown Monsters down here; maybe the contents in that bowl were food for them… Hilxi pondered as she walked.

She suddenly looked back again. Her strange sixth sense seemed to be triggered.

The thick darkness was ominous, as if hiding some looming danger.

This terrifying environment was really hard to get used to… And besides, she kept feeling that the Monster hadn’t left— it was still following her.

A trace of disdain appeared on Hilxi’s face.

But that Monster seemed to be biding its time, waiting for an opportunity— quite smart, actually.

Suddenly, a strange thought popped into her mind.

Could that Monster actually be the Victim she came to save? No way, no way. Although she had only caught a brief glimpse, it was definitely not human. It was a different species altogether. How could it be the person she needed to rescue?

She pushed aside that unrealistic thought and kept walking. Then, Hilxi suddenly discovered something.

“Huh? An Emerald?” Hilxi couldn’t help but exclaim.

Embedded in the nearby Wall was a sharply faceted Emerald. Under the Light Orb’s illumination, it shone so dazzlingly! So brilliantly! So enchantingly!

At that moment, her cold body seemed to warm.

Hilxi reached out and touched the fist-sized Emerald, trying to see if she could pry it loose.

A greedy smile curled at her lips as she thought, If I sell this gem, I’d definitely get a big pile of Gold Coins.

But the next moment, her fantasy was shattered.

The Emerald suddenly snapped open an eye, its golden vertical pupil fixed on her.

“…”

Chills crawled up Hilxi’s spine again. She froze for a moment, then before she could scream, she immediately cast a spell on herself.

Expel Emotion: Fear.

She instantly calmed, withdrawing her hand from the eye of the Unknown Monster with a slightly apologetic smile.

“Sorry, Mister Monster, I mistook your eye for an Emerald.”

The creature, seemingly part of the Wall itself, just stared wide-eyed with a huge look of confusion.

It looked like it wouldn’t attack me… Hilxi stepped back a few paces to put some distance between them and lowered the hand that had raised the Magic Wand.

Though she was curious about the owner of the eye, now wasn’t the time to tempt fate… No, she was still very curious. Maybe she should just tap it lightly and see if it reacts?

Two voices suddenly appeared in Hilxi’s head.

One was the voice of reason, an angel of logic. The other was the reckless demon urging her to court danger.

Wait, why do I have thoughts like this? Shouldn’t I just ignore it in this situation?

Thinking that, and confirming the green-eyed Monster wouldn’t attack her, Hilxi turned and ran forward.

Her footsteps echoed loudly in the cave. Her thoughts were now completely dominated by the reckless demon.

To hell with slow exploration! To hell with Monsters! I am an invincible magical genius! What is there to be afraid of!

As Hilxi ran, the hidden Monster behind her seemed impatient and began moving faster as well.

“Where is the Victim?! Say something!”

Hilxi shouted as she ran, seemingly unafraid.

A bestial roar answered from behind.

Hilxi’s expression darkened sharply. She twisted around.

“Did I tell you to speak?”

A Monster clearly not human appeared nearby on the ground.

Its twisted face, deformed body, and sickly green skin made it terrifying beyond measure.

Its long tongue dripped viscous saliva as an invisible stench radiated from it, invading Hilxi’s nostrils.

“Disgusting. Time to turn you to ashes— Flame Magic!”

The Light Orb atop her Magic Wand instantly ignited into a blazing fireball, which Hilxi flung fiercely!

The darkness along its path was driven away. The Monster suddenly collapsed in a strange posture, like a shrimp with no legs. The fireball roared past its head and slammed into the earthen wall, scattering dirt and flames.

Crackling sounds followed as the Monster rose from the ground again, then charged at Hilxi with a bizarre gait, emitting foul odors and horrible roars.

Sizzle!

The Monster halted, smoke and pus rising from its belly. The intense heat line pierced through its abdomen and came out the other side.

The heat line connected to Hilxi’s Magic Wand, releasing a scent like roasting meat.

Hilxi frowned prettily and pinched her nose with her other hand. “What is that smell? Roasting only makes it worse.”

“Roar! Roar!”

Despite its pierced belly, the Monster kept slowly advancing toward Hilxi.

Clang clang clang.

From deep within the cave came the sound of metal striking something.

“People? Or Monsters? Well, we’ll know soon enough.”

Hilxi lifted her Magic Wand, the heat line rising along with it.

Pffft.

The Monster collapsed.

A swirl of purple-black Magic power drifted from its body.

“That’s Domoer’s magic. So this Monster was created by that Witch… Hmph, such strange taste,” Hilxi muttered as she turned to run toward the source of the sound.

She wondered how many Monsters created by the Witch of Difference were down here. If there were too many, then she could only… only…

Hilxi suddenly looked troubled, as if resisting some thought.

Only escape… or go all out and slaughter them!

Then a confident smile spread across her face.

There’s nothing in this world that I, Hilxi, should fear! All fear is nothing but emptiness to me!

Maybe I shouldn’t have given myself a buff.

Hilxi realized her mistake, but unfortunately, she could only Expel Emotion: Fear; she couldn’t grant herself courage.

But emotions regenerate over time, so after a while, she would return to normal.

Yeah, it’s only been a little while. I guess I just got a little stubborn— no problem, no problem.

Hilxi soon reached the source of the previous noise without any more attacks.

Exhausted, her cold body warmed up from the running, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

At that moment, Hilxi’s eyes suddenly widened. She seemed to realize something and slapped her forehead hard, shouting in frustration:

“Ah, I’m such an idiot! Why didn’t I just ride a broom? Why did I run?? I’m a mage, not a jogging enthusiast!”

Being stubborn seems worse than I thought… Hilxi gasped and braced herself on her knees.

“Um… who are you?”

A weak but fearful female voice came from behind.

Hilxi turned around and raised her Magic Wand.

The girl who spoke was clearly startled and fell down.

But Hilxi had only cast a Light Orb spell.

As the light brightened, Hilxi finally saw clearly what was before her.

Behind a cold iron door was a cramped room. The damp, bluish walls gave off an indescribable smell, and inside the room… no, inside the cage, was a girl.

She was curled up on the dirty floor. Her once-beautiful blonde hair was dull and lifeless. Her blue Magic Robe was crumpled and torn, marked with scars.

She looked at Hilxi with eyes full of fear.

“…”

Seeing the girl reduced from a mage to this prisoner, Hilxi sucked in a sharp breath and clenched her Magic Wand.

“How could this be…”

She couldn’t imagine what the girl must have endured to end up like this.

Seeing the girl made Hilxi realize something…

The impression the Witch of Night Blossom, Flame Witch Aiyan, and Ireina-san had left on her was only positive. She had naively believed that most witches were kind.

But she was clearly wrong.

Witches could be villains too. Witches were human.

And the Witch of Difference, Domoer, clearly belonged to the villainous kind— she could mercilessly harm others to achieve her goals, showing no pity while hiding behind a facade of normalcy. Her personality was twisted.

Hilxi tried to calm herself with deep breaths, but only the stench assaulted her lungs.

She coughed twice, then approached the iron door, looking at the girl inside.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll get you out of here.”

After saying this, she took a few steps back without waiting for the girl’s response.

Her Magic Wand glowed as she deliberately controlled the power of her Wind Blade, which shot out and sliced the lock on the iron door in two.

Hilxi yanked the door open, and the Light Orb floated inside.

“You came… to save me?”

The girl looked up at her, her pale blue eyes shadowed by darkness.

“Yes.” Hilxi nodded, then moved forward to help her leave.

But the girl suddenly recoiled like a frightened fawn, her head banging against the wall behind her, causing her to grimace in pain.

“Ow… that hurts. Sorry, I’m just a little scared.”

Hilxi sighed, then crouched down so her face was lit by the Light Orb as it floated between them.

She comforted (somewhat narcissistically):

“Don’t be afraid. I’m this cute, so I definitely can’t be a bad person. Let me introduce myself— I’m Hilxi.”

Seeing her features, the girl’s guard lowered considerably; Hilxi was indeed cute.

But the girl still trembled with fear.

“My name is Aiomis…”

“Really? You’re cute too.”

“Mm-hmm…”

Aiomis lowered her head awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.

“Those injuries… did that Witch do them?”

Mentioning Witch Domoer, Aiomis’s body shuddered, her lips pressed tightly together.

“She’s… a demon. She tortures me every day… every day she absorbs my Magic power…”

“…”

Hilxi remained silent.

Domoer…

She wanted to listen to the girl’s suffering, but Hilxi knew now was not the time.

“Aiomis, we have to escape from here.” Hilxi stated simply.

“Mm-hmm…”

“This may be sudden since we just met, but I need you to trust me.”

“Mm… can we… escape?”

“Of course. That Witch of Difference is nothing but a Cat of Flowers in my eyes. She’s no threat. Dealing with her will be easy!”

Hilxi gave a confident smile, her reckless spirit shining through.

Then her face immediately fell.

What did I just say? Why hasn’t this magic’s effect worn off? Oh no, being stubborn is going to get me into trouble.

“What I just said—”

Suddenly, Aiomis froze. Overwhelming fear enveloped her.

A light laugh sounded from behind Hilxi:

“You said… who is a Cat of Flowers?”