Chapter 3: Crazy Mother

Inside a collapsed temple deep within the ruins, Tunzuo was floating in the air in an incredibly lazy posture.

Although this tall witch’s body was still unfamiliar to her, as she had only recently acquired a physical form, the comfort radiating from deep within her soul made her let out a satisfied moan.

“Ah~ Now this is what I call living.”

Tunzuo closed her eyes and muttered to herself, her long, pitch-black hair dancing in the breeze like willow catkins.

After exploring for a few days, she discovered she had a natural affinity for shadows.

Following her thoughts, her body melted like ink, dripping onto the ground and blending into the shadow cast by the broken walls, only for her form to re-manifest a few meters away in the shade of a stone pillar.

“As long as there is a shadow nearby, I don’t need to waste energy thinking about how to move… perfect.”

After reforming, Tunzuo stretched, a satisfied smile curling her lips.

This was her ideal life—no rushing about, no socializing, just sleeping in the cool shade.

She carefully selected the back of a relatively flat boulder that was perpetually shielded from sunlight.

Tunzuo stepped into the shadow, her body melting into it like a puddle of sludge, and closed her eyes, preparing to enjoy her first “hibernation” in this world.

However, Tunzuo’s grand plan to be a lazy couch potato was interrupted by an unexpected “surprise.”

Just a second before Tunzuo was about to sink into a sweet dream, the dim sky above the ruins was suddenly illuminated by an eerie crimson light.

This blinding glare did not come from the sun, but rather from the gaze of some higher-dimensional entity, bringing with it a suffocating pressure that swept across the area.

The intense light forced Tunzuo to open her eyes, and she frowned in annoyance, having been so close to falling asleep.

“Who is it… disturbing someone’s dreams is one thing, but what’s with the flashbang…?”

In mid-air, the blood-red brilliance gradually coalesced into the form of a slender, alluring woman wearing a complex gothic dress.

Her silver-white hair shimmered under the light, and half of her face was covered by a translucent crystal mask, her bright red lips curled into a smirk.

The visitor was none other than Antuoxi Otilis, the source of the blood bead Tunzuo had consumed, the current Chief of the Witch Council, a Legendary-rank Elemental Witch, and the being closest to omniscient and omnipotent in the universe.

“Let me see, where is my dear creation~?”

Antuoxi’s voice was crisp and melodious but carried a sense of playfulness that made all living things shudder.

She bowed her head, sweeping her gaze around until it finally locked onto Tunzuo, who was cowering in the shadows.

“So lazy? As the creator, I am not satisfied with such a work~”

Antuoxi stared at Tunzuo, a spark of mischievous intent igniting in her mind.

Tunzuo watched the woman hovering in the air with vigilance.

Her trembling body subconsciously shrank deeper into the shadows.

Tunzuo did not know who this woman was, but the aura emanating from her made her tremble instinctively—it was the fear of facing an apex predator.

“May I ask what you want, your ladyship?”

Tunzuo stammered, trying to quickly brush off this troublesome being so she could go back to sleep.

“What do I want?”

Antuoxi covered her mouth and giggled, waving her gemstone-encrusted wand.

A crimson thread instantly coiled around Tunzuo’s wrist, binding the two of them tightly together.

“My name is Antuoxi, or you can call me—Mother. After all, your current form is all thanks to me. If it weren’t for that blood I intentionally left behind, a tiny fragment of a soul like you could never have withstood the cost and pain of transforming into a witch.”

Antuoxi held the other end of the thread, her eyes filled with amusement.

Tunzuo tried to break free from the red thread bound to her wrist, but the difference in power between her and Antuoxi was like that of a firefly to the moon, making it impossible for her to resist.

However, Tunzuo’s survival instincts were screaming, warning her that if she fell into this woman’s hands, she would never have a peaceful day again.

Tunzuo gritted her teeth and dove into the shadows, intending to slip away.

But her struggle was merely a clumsy joke in Antuoxi’s eyes.

Antuoxi merely flicked her finger, and the red thread pulled Tunzuo out of the shadows like a hooked fish.

With a wave of her wand, a magical hand made of mana grabbed Tunzuo by the back of her collar and lifted her up to face Antuoxi.

“Disobedient children must be punished.”

Antuoxi conjured a Crystal Throne and sat down.

The magical hand pinned Tunzuo over her lap.

Antuoxi lifted Tunzuo’s skirt to reveal her round buttocks, elegantly removed her lace gloves, and brushed her delicate fingers against Tunzuo’s skin.

“No… don’t.”

Realizing what Antuoxi intended to do, Tunzuo panicked and tried to escape, but the red thread and the magical hand held her fast.

Finally, Antuoxi’s hand rose high and fell heavily.

SPANK! A crisp slapping sound echoed through the entire ruin.

“Ah—!”

Tunzuo cried out heart-wrenchingly as she was spanked, but this did not evoke any pity from Antuoxi, who continued to raise her hand and strike Tunzuo’s buttocks again and again.

Spank! Spank!! Spank!!!

Antuoxi had imbued her hand with a type of magic specifically effective against spirits, so Tunzuo felt unbearable pain with every strike.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Antuoxi finally stopped and massaged Tunzuo’s swollen buttocks.

“Don’t… don’t hit me anymore…”

Tunzuo wept, tears streaming down her face as she lay across Antuoxi’s lap, sobbing softly and begging for mercy.

“What do you call me now?”

Antuoxi picked Tunzuo up and sat her on her lap, then asked with a smile.

“…Mo, Mother.”

Tear-streaked, Tunzuo squeezed the words out through her teeth.

Despite being utterly unwilling, the overwhelming pressure forced Tunzuo to submit; besides, she never really had much of a fighting spirit to begin with.

“Such a good girl. Why are you crying like this? A pretty face like yours looks terrible when it’s stained with tears~”

Antuoxi pinched Tunzuo’s small nose and nodded with satisfaction, entirely lacking the self-awareness that she was the one who had bullied Tunzuo into this state.

She waved her hand and set Tunzuo down.

“Bad mother.”

Tunzuo stood steady on the ground, covering her buttocks—which felt like they were about to be split into eight pieces—with her hand, silently cursing Antuoxi’s ruthlessness in her heart.

“I can hear you, you know~”

Antuoxi turned her head and flashed a bright, sunny smile at Tunzuo, which scared her into standing to the side, not daring to complain anymore and putting on the face of a flattering, filial daughter.

“May I ask what brings Mother to these abandoned ruins?”

“Naturally, to see what my work looks like after absorbing my blood. But it is a pity; it seems this work is nothing more than a lazy piece of trash. Tell me, should I destroy it and wait for the next project to take the bait?”

Antuoxi hooked her finger under Tunzuo’s chin, her eyes full of playfulness and cruelty.

Upon hearing Antuoxi’s words, Tunzuo’s body stiffened, and her eyes filled with panic.

Just as Antuoxi waited to see how Tunzuo would beg or prove her worth, Tunzuo’s expression changed.

In just a few seconds, her gaze shifted from panic to the profound depth of someone contemplating the meaning of life, and finally to a state of total resignation where nothing mattered anymore.

Then, in front of Antuoxi, Tunzuo lay down and sprawled her limbs out in an “X” shape.

“What are you doing?”

Tunzuo’s bizarre behavior left even the nearly omniscient Antuoxi momentarily bewildered.

“…Go ahead. Since Mother wants to do it, I will not resist. Of course, it would be better if Mother were a bit gentle, preferably in a way that lets me go very peacefully…”

Tunzuo lay on the ground, eyes closed, completely transformed into a “salty fish” waiting to die.

“Are you really not afraid of death? My methods for those who defy me are quite cruel.”

Antuoxi’s face turned cold, and terrifying mana gathered in her palm—a strike capable of obliterating an entire continent.

“Go… go ahead. It’s just death, right? It’s not like I haven’t died before… anyway, once I’m dead, I can finally sleep forever.”

Although she was terrified inside, Tunzuo knew she couldn’t resist Antuoxi’s power, so she simply resigned herself to awaiting the execution in the hopes of finding eternal slumber.

However, Antuoxi’s terrifying mana never descended.

Instead, a magical hand lifted Tunzuo from the ground and brought her face to face with the woman.

“Hahahaha! Interesting little cub! I’ve decided, I, the Supreme Witch, accept you as my lazy daughter!”

Tunzuo opened her eyes to find Antuoxi grinning manically.

Acknowledging this crazy woman as a mother felt even less comfortable than dying, Tunzuo pouted, feeling as though she had stepped onto a road of no return.

“Since we are family, there must be a welcome gift. Although you’ve gained some strength from consuming my blood, your combat experience is still zero. Let’s test it out; see if you can pass this little ‘prank’ as a test of your potential as my creation.”

Antuoxi changed the subject, a malicious smile spreading across her face.

“If you fail, the punishment will be much worse than a spanking~”

Before the words had faded, Antuoxi’s figure began to turn transparent, though her playful voice echoed throughout the ruins.

Before Tunzuo could even react, a tear appeared in the void, and a creature emitting a foul stench and the smell of acid was casually tossed out.

With a thud, the creature slammed into the open space in front of Tunzuo.

It was a slime, but certainly not the soft, cute jelly creature Tunzuo had seen in animations.

This slime was the size of a millstone, dark purple in color, with its surface covered in swollen nodules oozing disgusting pus.

Inside, boiling acid churned, and on the front of the slime’s body, there was a bloody maw that didn’t belong on such a creature.

“This is a ‘snack’ Mother specifically prepared for you.”

Antuoxi’s figure vanished completely, as if she had never been there at all.

Tunzuo stared at the mutating slime that was baring its fangs and hissing; there was no excitement in her eyes, only profound despair.

“Is this the love of a malicious mommy?”

Tunzuo let out a long sigh, her body melting into the shadows, unwilling to come out.

But the mutated slime clearly did not have the patience to wait.

Sensing the mana fluctuation in Tunzuo’s body that made its mouth water, the slime suddenly launched itself, rushing toward Tunzuo with a foul, acidic wind.

Tunzuo’s first reaction was naturally not to fight, but to run.

She instantly teleported to a distant shadow, trying to avoid the slime’s attack through spatial displacement.

However, the moment Tunzuo reformed, the slime dived into the shadows as well, and its speed was shocking.

“Are you kidding? You can even chase through shadows? Mommy, you’re trying to kill me!”

Tunzuo was startled and hurriedly changed positions again.

Tunzuo shifted through several shadow corners in succession, but the mutated slime stuck to her like a piece of chewing gum.

This exhausted Tunzuo, leaving her panting, her spectral witch body becoming somewhat thin and intangible.

“Don’t run, my dear daughter~”

Antuoxi’s playful voice rang out once more.

“You are my daughter, how can you be so cowardly? If you run away again, I will turn you into a hamster and put you on an endless wheel, never allowing you to rest!”

Antuoxi’s malicious threat forced Tunzuo to stop running, her expression stiff and ugly.

With a vicious slime in front and an evil mother behind, Tunzuo was instantly trapped in a lose-lose situation.

Finally, after weighing her options, Tunzuo gritted her teeth.

Looking at the mutated slime lunging at her once more, a flash of helplessness and determination crossed her eyes.

“…Fine, if we’re going to fight, then let’s fight.”

Tunzuo took a deep breath, her original lazy demeanor turning dark and gloomy.

“Since you won’t let me sleep properly, don’t blame me for being rude!”