Fated to Be Loved by Yandere Witches – Chapter 41

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Ludwig sang with rage.

Johan had never seen him so angry.

Even considering their brief acquaintance, he couldn’t have imagined Ludwig as someone capable of such emotional outbursts.

Using that movement that went from stopped to full speed in an instant, Ludwig reached Hecaterina and immediately swung his weapon.

Indeed, his speed seemed to surprise even a witch, as Hecaterina’s eyes went wide with shock.

However, surprise alone couldn’t stop Ludwig’s movement. His weapon struck her head, and even after her skull was crushed, he continued striking until it was completely pulverized.

It was excessive even for confirming a kill, but Johan couldn’t even think of trying to stop him.

“Hah, hah…”

After swinging his weapon to his satisfaction, Ludwig exhaled heavily as if tired, then tossed his weapon carelessly on the ground and checked Kalos’s condition with the hole in his chest.

The blood was warm. That meant he was still alive. Ludwig tore his clothes and began wrapping them around Kalos’s chest to stop the bleeding.

“…M-master?”

“Yes, it’s me. Kalos. It’s me.”

“Ha, haha─ impossible… you didn’t show your face even once in decades…”

“I’m sorry. But please, don’t die like this.”

While Ludwig held Kalos with an anguished expression, Johan felt an inexplicable anxiety and fear.

By the time he realized the source of that anxiety, it was already too late. Hecaterina, who had gotten up perfectly fine despite her entire body being smashed, transformed her hand into something like a giant monster’s and grabbed Ludwig.

“Ugh─!?”

“Kihihi, it hurts. It hurts. Yes. It’s been a while since something hurt this much. This technique… you’re a holy knight? But how can you attack a fellow holy knight?”

Ludwig couldn’t move at all in the grip of the giant monstrous hand. Only then did Johan realize that the magic on Ludwig wasn’t truly invincible.

Whether intentional or by chance, Hecaterina had merely restrained Ludwig. And naturally, any magic that couldn’t kill him would work on him, just as Marguerite’s spatial movement had affected him.

When Ludwig writhed trying to move his body, Hecaterina clenched her fist as if annoyed by his useless resistance.

Then, seeing her grip couldn’t tighten past a certain point, she tilted her head curiously.

“─Oh? What’s this?”

“Let… go!”

“Magic? Is it magic? Is it trendy for witches to keep men these days? Both that one and you, what’s with these guys…”

Hecaterina looked toward where Johan was while tilting her head. Johan had vanished. Realizing this, she immediately jumped backward.

Just as she leaped back, Johan’s blade struck where she had been standing. Realizing his sword strike had missed, Johan clicked his tongue once then charged after the retreating Hecaterina.

“Aha, ahaha-! You’re a holy knight too!?”

Seeing movement that far surpassed human limits, Hecaterina guessed Johan’s identity. She immediately transformed her empty left arm into a monster-like appendage and reached for Johan.

She knew holy knights’ weaknesses very well. Their power only shone at the edge of their blades.

Only their consecrated weapon blades could cut through magic, and while they could cut magic, they couldn’t stop phenomena caused by magic.

That’s why she was the natural enemy of holy knights. Holy knights who saw her monstrous hand would charge in thinking they could cut through it as mere physical transformation magic, but…

‘Actually, it’s not-!’

Slash-!

“Huh?”

Just as she had grabbed Ludwig, Hecaterina reached out with her enlarged hand to grab Johan, then froze for a moment seeing her fingers being helplessly cut off.

Then the pain of her severed fingers hit. Her hand transformed into a monster was her real hand. She had merely changed its appearance with magic.

Perhaps because the large fingers had many nerves─ the pain was intense enough to burst blood vessels in her eyes. If she hadn’t experienced such pain often before, she might have screamed like a girl and rolled around.

In that brief moment while she endured by gritting her teeth, Johan began completely butchering her left arm.

Her fingers were all cut off, her carotid artery was severed, her forearm was in tatters.

Taking advantage of her left arm being completely disabled, Johan immediately targeted her right hand. Just as certain that Ludwig wouldn’t be hurt, it was a strike without any hesitation.

‘Is this bastard crazy!? His own comrade is here!’

Seeing Johan completely disregard Ludwig being held hostage, Hecaterina was reminded once again that holy knights were all lunatics not worth dealing with.

However, even if he couldn’t be used as a hostage, there were plenty of other ways to use him. Hecaterina cast magic on Ludwig in her grip.

Soon after, Ludwig’s body began swelling greatly. His skin completely melted and started secreting slime, finally transforming into something no different from a monster.

Hecaterina threw the balloon-like monstrous Ludwig toward Johan.

“Ugh-!”

Catching the Ludwig thrown at him, Johan sensed his own death seeing Hecaterina’s attack flying in right after.

There was no way to dodge that attack while holding this enormous body. Whether he threw Ludwig away belatedly or used him as a shield, it would be the same.

Perhaps thanks to his month of training showing results, Johan didn’t close his eyes until the end and stared directly at the incoming attack.

As if determined to see clearly what attack killed him─

At that moment of resolve, the incoming tentacles completely vanished. Along with Hecaterina in the distance launching the attack.

While tilting his head in confusion, a familiar voice echoed through the guild.

“Hah, haah-! N-not too late…”

Marguerite appeared, panting heavily after urgently casting magic.

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Realizing Hecaterina had been sent flying far away by Marguerite, I immediately ran to her and shouted:

“Miss Marguerite! Hospital, to the hospital!”

“…It’s already too late.”

“What do you mean too late, we need to save the instructor at least…!”

I tried to take Ludwig held in my arms to the hospital, then belatedly remembered he was an immortal cursed with undeath.

He couldn’t die. If the magic was real, he was someone who could walk out perfectly fine even from ground zero of a nuclear blast.

So even though he looked rotten and decayed on the outside, it meant there was no actual problem with his health.

“…I’m fine.”

Indeed, Ludwig was perfectly normal. I let out a hollow laugh looking at him. The slime dripping from his entire body as if burned, the stench emanating from it, his body so swollen he couldn’t even stand up himself made it impossible to believe he was normal.

However, Ludwig answered in the most peaceful voice I’d ever heard from him:

“Rather than me… take that child.”

“What child…”

“Kalos… my disciple…”

At those words, I looked at Kalos collapsed in the middle of the guild. Though he had been breathing when we first entered the guild, perhaps because too much time had passed with a hole in his chest, his heart had grown cold.

I lifted his stiff, limp corpse and approached Ludwig lying on the floor unable to even roll over.

Seeing the dead Kalos, Ludwig’s lips trembled with a bitter expression.

“…Kalos. He shouldn’t have died like this.”

“…He must have been a precious disciple.”

“Disciple? More than that. He was my descendant. The only trace left by me and her…”

“…Descendant? You had a child?”

“Did I not mention it?”

“No. I’ve never seen you talk about yourself.”

“Is that so…”

He fell into thought at those words. Then gathering himself, he spoke:

“It’s too long a story to bring up now, so I won’t.”

“No, I was curious…”

“Enough. I don’t want to talk about it. More importantly Johan, this works out. Now, kill me.”

“Suddenly that talk again…”

“This time you must kill me.”

Ludwig began explaining his current physical state.

“Though I look like this on the outside, my life is completely unaffected.”

“Then isn’t that fine…?”

“No, this form is needlessly tough and needlessly healthy. If you don’t kill me, I’ll have to live thousands of years in this form.”

“What do you mean…”

“And naturally, I don’t want to live like this. Even when I was human I felt this way, but I’d rather die than live in such a horrific form. You understand, right?”

“Th-that’s right! If I use my magic to nullify the magic on you…”

“It won’t work. If that were possible, the witch’s arm should have returned to normal when you cut it earlier. But what actually happened? You may have cut off the witch’s arm but couldn’t return it to normal. It will probably be the same for me.”

Thinking about it, that was true. Whether it was the arm reaching for me or the arm holding Ludwig, both remained mangled even after I thoroughly cut them up.

Indeed, though I had been continuously using magic on him, there was no sign of his body returning to normal.

“Kill me, Johan. Please… let me rest. And though I’m sorry to ask while begging for death, could you avenge me?”

“…I won’t do it. If you have complaints, get up and do it yourself.”

“Hahaha, then I’ll have to die with just regrets.”

Ludwig provoked my conscience without backing down until the end. I bit my lip hard and drew my sword.

Then I imbued the sword with magic. Magic nullification. That magic I had thought was the natural enemy of all witches, and thus had never considered using on humans.

“I absolutely won’t take revenge.”

“That’s not bad either. Even God said to turn the other cheek when struck.”

“I really won’t do it, okay? Aren’t you resentful? Don’t you want to live?”

“Johan.”

He called out to me with an anguished voice.

“For such feelings to arise… I’ve lived too long now. I’m tired. Embers might remain in ashes, but they cannot blaze again. Let the ashes… drift away in the wind like ashes should.”

The sword tip aimed at the ashes.

The ashes smiled faintly and offered their body.

Stirring the ashes. The ashes clung stickily to the sword, coating it as if refusing to fall off.

“Fuck.”

I killed someone.

Someone I knew.

We weren’t close. We knew nothing but each other’s names.

“…Fuck.”

Thus to say not to grieve was too cruel a thing.

Thus to say not to seek revenge, my heart burned too hot.

“Johan, someone’s coming. Let’s go back.”

“…Yes.”

I returned to the cabin.

Burying only regrets, unable to even bury the corpse.

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