Chapter 53: Witch (1)

“No.”

The shrine maiden’s face turned deathly pale.

Excluding only me and playing? 

I’m so hurt. 

Were we that kind of relationship?

A voice whispering in her ear.

Too familiar.

It was a voice she had heard constantly since birth, and it was also the shrine maiden’s own voice.

“Witch……!”

Dark clouds rolled in heavily, obscuring all constellations.

When those who should depart to the underworld remain in the world with malice and rage, staining it with evil.

The shrine maiden’s other personality awakens.

Witch Elora.

The same person as Shrine Maiden Elora, but inheriting a different fate.

The coexistence of shrine maiden and witch was an accidental incident.

Elora! Dodge!

Huh? Ah…… Aaaaah!

The tower master who denied the future of impending disaster and sought a better one.

He offered the observation tower and lifelong artifact as price to see more futures, but incurred the constellations’ wrath.

Runaway of the observation tower and artifact.

Simultaneous collapse of space-time.

Elora, unable to escape and swept away, fell into countless fragmented dimensions and times, summoning ‘Elora’ from another dimension.

They were clearly the same person, yet granted entirely different fates.

Shrine Maiden Elora, from now on guide humanity toward a better path.

Witch Elora, destroy and ruin everything. That is your destiny.

Completely different fates.

Not just the usual readable constellations, but other constellations and fates began to appear.

How the opponent’s fate would meet its ‘end,’ how miserable it would be.

Impulses arose too.

Since such a fate was ordained, it must be fulfilled.

Free will didn’t matter; fate must absolutely be realized.

No way to separate them.

The best was to forcibly suppress consciousness through a contract.

Thanks to that, she usually acted as the shrine maiden.

But on days like today, when exposed to constellations overflowing with malice and the original power-granting constellations weakened, the witch awakens.

Even the star clusters meant to prevent this were useless.

The witch had already regained consciousness.

Hehe, how cute.

The witch laughed.

The term distinguishing them is dual personality.

Two personalities exist in one person, sharing memories and information.

The witch lightly read the floating information and memories in her head and continued laughing.

You broke the promise?

“Wai……!”

Good kids keep promises. That was the condition for the restriction, right? Or…….

The witch whispered lowly.

Do you want to break the contract?

The shrine maiden clamped her mouth shut.

Breaking the contract wouldn’t mean immediate body seizure.

But a continuous struggle for dominance would follow.

Naturally, the witch had the advantage.

The shrine maiden ends with one loss, but the witch the opposite.

A fate that reads humanity’s malicious destinies and forces them toward ruin.

The moment the suppressing contract breaks, this continent would be dyed in blood.

Like the ‘Sin of Wrath.’

The memory of that day, hands still stained with blood, vividly resurfaced.

That man’s son was right before her…….

“No.”

Now, if consciousness fades…… no…….

About 10 minutes until the dungeon collapses and expels them.

She must endure until then.

But consciousness kept sinking…….

“Evan.”

The shrine maiden forced her unmoving mouth to twitch.

“Sorry, yo.”

“Yes?”

“Quickly, run…….

Snap.

Voice cut off.

She couldn’t finish speaking, but control fully shifted to the witch.

Consciousness gradually sank.

Ah…….

Sinking…….

Into a very deep, dark abyss…….

“I’m sorry”

The shrine maiden closed her eyes tightly.

At the same moment.

The witch opened her eyes.

***

“Quickly, run……

The shrine maiden suddenly creaked like a broken doll, then began oozing bloody tears from both eyes.

Even telling them to run.

“No, what now?”

Did staying in the dungeon too long cause issues?

Evan shasha shak retreated.

Felix, in relatively good condition, drew his sword to protect Evan.

No. 5 wrapped thick arms around Evan’s body.

“……I’m at my limit.”

Aegis, exhausted, gathered remaining mana to cloak Evan in snowflake armor.

The living armor whined softly. 

As if vowing never to be pierced.

“Something feels off.”

Felix said without taking eyes off the shrine maiden.

“It’s not just a problem. Something…… changed. Is it really the same person?”

“……Evan”

A tug on his clothes; he looked down.

Lapis.

Clear tension in her eyes.

“Dangerous.”

Uh, are we truly fucked?

Sense of crisis skyrocketed.

“10 minutes to exit the dungeon.”

Must endure until then…….

Once out, something might work?

Move Innocence too. 

It’ll take at least a day to wake. 

Endure until then, Lapis.

“Ya…….”

“……Ah.”

The shrine maiden opened her mouth again.

No…… is it the shrine maiden?

The voice was eerie.

Clearly the same person, yet felt different.

“Now I can live.”

Tone and pronunciation shifted, a slightly stickier voice.

“Why does our Elora wear such stifling things?”

The shrine maiden flipped! 

back her hood.

The always pressed-down hood flipped, revealing her full face.

Long black hair, faintly glowing pure white skin.

Below…… purple eyes that seemed to contain constellations.

That’s how he remembered them.

Like paint running out and dyeing, the purple eyes gradually turned red, constellations gathering in the center to form a new shape.

A vivid black star shining over ominous red.

Inverted star shape.

Pentagram.

“With such a pretty face.”

“You are not the shrine maiden.”

“Hello?”

The shrine maiden—no, something inhabiting her—smiled.

“First time meeting?”

“Who are you?”

Evan asked politely first.

No idea how it took the shrine maiden’s body.

Eyes changed like that, seems demonic.

Speaks, so at least high-rank.

Intelligent being.

Politeness buys 1 second to 10.

Absolutely not because scared.

“If not rude, may I ask your name.”

“……Huh. Polite to me?”

The being in the shrine maiden burst into laughter.

“Ahahaha! You…… are really interesting. Fine, good kids get answers. I am…… hm, Placed index finger on lips, pondering.”

No,

“Call me Witch Elora?”

The witch smiled.

***

Elora.

The shrine maiden’s real name.

Never revealed.

Even with built rapport, she didn’t easily disclose.

Name and nickname bestowed by stars at birth.

Name is minimal means to blend into society and groups; identity fixed as shrine maiden.

Guide reading constellations and fate to lead humanity better.

But…….

“Seems you got a bit close with our Elora? Even liberating a soul! Didn’t expect you could free one so weakened, almost a lingering thought.”

“Ah, is witch too formal? I’m Elora too, just call me Elora?”

Different.

Not just the usual, even the original character personality he knew as a favorite vanished completely.

Sudden surging memory.

“……Witch Elora?”

“Yes yes! That’s it. Uhuhuhu. Yes, how nice to be called by name? Everyone leaves the name and just calls shrine maiden, so barren?”

Heard of it.

Precisely, encountered in a special event.

April 1st April Fool’s ‘Reversal Event.’

All owned characters’ personalities completely reversed.

The reversed shrine maiden guided not to better but ruinous paths, granted new nickname witch.

Could it…… not be event-only, but a hidden trait?

“No, this is wrong!!”

Suddenly appearing here of all places!

Likely dual personality rather than another soul in one body.

“Uuuuum, just a name isn’t enough gift……”

Elora stroked chin, pondering, then Ah! expression.

“Ah! Then, shall I tell you who I am?”

Reveals about herself.

Bad memory surfaced.

In game, villains introducing themselves exert stronger power in exchange for explanation.

A kind of equivalent exchange, even non-alchemists.

Evan’s face hardened.

“..! Wai.”

“I am another fate of Shrine Maiden Elora.”

The inverted pentagram in Elora’s eyes began slowly flashing.

“The witch destined to lead humanity not to a better path but the ‘path of ruin.’”

Thus, raising hand.

Dark red energy, similar yet alien to the shrine maiden’s, swirled.

“……!”

“Young knight there.”

Elora turned to Felix.

“Want to hear something fun?”

The inverted pentagram in her eyes began spinning.

“Your father, I killed?”

That moment, light burst from her eyes.

Vision visible even to Evan.

A mountain covered in blood and corpses.

A knight who howled at comrades’ deaths, trembled upon meeting the witch’s eyes, and died.

“Ah, father……..”

Felix visibly shaken greatly.

Slapped own cheek to check if dream.

Realizing reality, Felix’s eyes mixed rage and despair.

“You, youuu……!!!”

“Didn’t know and followed around, how pitiful?”

Kwaaaaaang!

Aura exploded from Felix.

Red swirling radiance.

Bloodshot eyes, Felix charged.

“No……!”

“Ahahaha! Yes, you got stronger?”

Elora cackled, waving hand.

Dark red mana swirling on palm.

Without shooting sign, space folded and mana struck Felix.

[Spatial Magic Unique Technique]

[5th Tier]

[Spatial Fold]

Bang! Rumble rumble!

Felix flew, smashing gravestones.

Seen crashing into distant castle gate.

Just…… one hit?

“So, what can you do?”

“……Fuck.”

Evan swore.

Whatever else, one thing certain.

Properly fucked.

“Eheung heung, yes, this is the taste…… Our Elora doesn’t use this power, so barren? You think so too?”

“Will you kill me too?”

“Me? You?”

Elora’s eyes widened.

“Why? Hard to find someone as fun as you!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, instead, they must die. Escaped princess, fate of ruin that will grind the kingdom in future…… Yep! You don’t have to die!”

“Ha.”

Aegis, legs trembling as if hard to stand.

But glared at Elora without giving up.

“Stay still. Just kill this one. Break just one, okay?”

Humming, approaching Elora.

Evan clenched fists.

Aegis must not die here.

Neutral character.

Building rapport, gradually shifting to ‘ally’ position.

Dies here?

Future problems unpredictable.

Relations with Lotus Tower worsen.

Above all…… didn’t want to see someone he bonded with die.

“Hoo……!”

Evan raised hand.

Not no way.

Characters with completely ‘reversed’ traits and personalities in event.

Though one day, strategies developed, some veterans succeeded.

Evan, a veteran who successfully completed the conquest!

Witch Elora reads opponent’s fate and drives to worst.

Unless 9th tier absolute difference, unbeatable.

But—

“Target is only life born with fate.”

Impossible to win, but enough to endure remaining ‘8 minutes’ until escape.

“……No. 5.”

Swoosh.

No. 5 moved.

Approaching No. 5.

Elora, gesturing to No. 5, blinked, tilted head.

“What? Fate not rea—”

Thwack-boom!

No. 5’s punch slammed Elora’s body into the ground.