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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The monster’s arm reached for Johan with surprising speed, given its size. All Johan could do was protect his vital points.
He shielded his face with his arms and his abdomen with his legs, bracing for the inevitable impact. He knew protecting his vital points would prevent instant death, but wouldn’t negate the damage entirely.
But the impact never came. Johan opened his eyes. A battered knight stood before him, shielding him from the attack.
“Johan! Are you alright!?”
Beatrice, who had sent her doll-knight, shouted. Johan, realizing Beatrice had saved his life, nodded and scrambled away.
The instant he moved, the enraged monster’s arm slammed into the ground where he had been.
─ Dieeeeeeee!!
The roar was devoid of reason, but Johan was startled that the monster could speak. He hadn’t encountered a talking monster since Fenrir…
The realization that this monster was on par with Fenrir, that it had defeated Beatrice and injured Evangeline, filled him with fear.
‘No, this won’t do. I can’t be afraid…’
Remembering Hecaterina, Johan shook his head, pushing aside the fear. This monster, like the Witch of Terror, might feed on fear.
Though he still couldn’t understand how it had managed to injure Evangeline—Johan retreated, watching the battle unfold.
“Light!”
Evangeline, having healed her injury, gathered sunlight and slammed it down on the monster’s head.
But the attack, the moment it reached the monster, flowed harmlessly around its body like water around a stone.
Marguerite, seeing this, launched a spatial severing attack, attempting to bisect the monster.
─ Stooop!!
“It deflected that too?”
None of the witches’ attacks, attacks Johan had considered incredibly powerful, were working. He watched them continue their relentless assault, and an idea sparked.
‘…Is this… my chance to shine?’
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“Light, sound, air, mana, and time!”
Evangeline channeled her magic, making the world itself repel the monster. She stole its sight, its hearing, its ability to breathe, the ambient mana, and even the flow of time around it.
Frozen and isolated, the monster was vulnerable. Marguerite, seeing the opening, unleashed her most powerful magic.
“Take this—and die!!”
A miniature black hole, created by compressing space to a single point, flew towards the monster. Stripped of time, it couldn’t dodge.
The witches, certain this time they had finally destroyed the monster, watched in disbelief as the attack was deflected.
“What is this thing?”
“Who knows? Is it some legendary dragon… looking like that?”
They continued searching for a weakness, marveling at the monster’s power.
Since its attacks could pierce through even their magical barriers, approaching it wasn’t a good option.
Unlike the witches, who were essentially human without their magic, this monster’s sheer size and physical strength were a threat even without magical enhancements.
‘What can we do…’
While Evangeline racked her brain, the magic binding the monster dissipated. Freed, it stared at the two witches.
Dark, emotionless eyes oozed a black liquid. Neither witch realized it was weeping, having perceived its creators as having betrayed it.
They simply shielded their mouths, wary of another attack.
─ Uooooooooh!!
The monster roared, enraged. The dissonance that had surrounded its body now spread outward, distorting space, air, earth, mana, and nature itself.
Distorted spaces merged, creating impossible landscapes. The monster charged through the twisted reality.
“Not so fast.”
A large hole appeared before the rapidly approaching monster. Marguerite, realizing that while the monster could deflect direct attacks, it couldn’t avoid falling into a magically created space, had torn open a rift.
Marguerite watched the monster fall into the rift, then closed it. She didn’t know where it led.
“Did we get it?”
“Where did you send it?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere.”
Having found a weakness, Marguerite decided she could send it to the bottom of the ocean or even into space next time. She smiled confidently and approached Johan.
“Disciple! Your awesome big sister took care of everything, so let’s go ho—”
“Behind you!”
Johan shouted. Marguerite turned. The monster, having distorted space to return, stood before them.
─ķ̸̨͉̩̞̺͚̭̠̿̎̓͑̚͝k̶̛̺̣̲͓̜̹̬͍̮̓̿̓̏̎̓̋̎͑̕û̸̲̼̈̍̄ş̵̧̗̙̻̙͠ṱ̶̢̖͋̽͊̃̽̈́̚i̴̙̣͚̙̱̹̦͑͆̊̇̊̌͆̔͠͝ņ̸̡̛̪̻̦̳̈́͆̂̅̐̑́̑̕k̸̢̘͓̦͔͓͓̈́̓̈́̂͠
Marguerite, a chill running down her spine, reacted too late. The monster lunged, its hand piercing through her abdomen.
Marguerite tore open a spatial rift behind her and escaped.
She reappeared several meters away, bleeding profusely from her torn abdomen, and collapsed unconscious.
“Marguerite!”
Thud—! The monster blocked Johan’s path.
Johan stared at the monster.
One by one, they were falling.
Seriously injured.
They would die without immediate treatment.
Marguerite would die.
‘I… have to do this.’
This wasn’t the time to hesitate. Johan patted Evangeline’s shoulder and stepped forward.
“Master.”
“Johan? Why are you… stay behind me! I’ll handle this…”
“It’ll be too late.”
This battle was his fault.
It started because of him.
And now someone might die because of it.
Johan couldn’t bear that thought. If someone had to die, he would risk his own life.
“I’m going, Master.”
With those words, Johan charged. The monster, seeing the insignificant human rushing towards it, swung its arm. A deceptively fast attack, given its size.
The blow ripped through the air, creating a sonic boom, and struck Johan’s body.
And at the same instant, the monster’s hand was deflected. Just 0.01 seconds before impact, Evangeline’s magic had manifested.
If it had appeared even a fraction of a second earlier, the monster’s dissonance would have pierced through it. But Evangeline’s desperate desire to protect Johan, her sheer willpower, had created a miracle.
“I knew I could count on you.”
Johan grinned and dove into the monster’s embrace. Or rather, he grabbed its leg.
The moment he made contact, Johan’s magic activated. The monster’s dissonance vanished.
─d̴͚̊̎̇͆̋̎́͗̿́̚Ő̶̧̢̨̻̩͔͍̰̪̺̐̎̌̈́̋̔̀̾͒̄̀̚̕͠Ȩ̵̢͓̱̟̩̰̩̟͖̭̞̱̈́̐͊̑̾͑͝ͅͅD̵̢̘̳̥̻͇̥̮̗̗͇͇̽̀̿͊̌̈͜͝͝Ḿ̸̭̻̫̠̜̪̱̑̓̓̑͒͒̏ẅ̸͖́́̿̀̊̿̉́̕͝͝！！
Of course, even without its magic, the monster was still a monster. Crushing Johan, a human with a bit of mana, would be child’s play.
If Evangeline hadn’t been there, that’s exactly what would have happened.
“─Shut up.”
Evangeline, enraged that her disciple had been put in danger, twisted her mana into a spiral. A drill-like mana bolt shot forward, crushing the monster’s upper body.
Despite its superhuman strength and size, the monster couldn’t withstand a witch’s magic.
The monster, its upper body obliterated, collapsed, and Evangeline, not letting her guard down, completely disintegrated the remaining half.
Johan, not pausing to marvel at the massive monster’s disappearance, rushed to Marguerite’s side.
“Master!”
“I know.”
Evangeline, stopping Johan from picking up Marguerite’s spilled intestines, gestured to Beatrice, who stood frozen in shock.
Evangeline conjured pure water and cleaned the intestines, then looked at Beatrice.
“Stitch her up. You know how to do surgery, right?”
“Beatrice, she needs stitches!”
“I-I don’t know how…”
“It’s the same as sewing a doll! Just do it!”
This was Beatrice’s first time performing surgery on a human, and she trembled with fear—but Johan’s hand, gently covering hers, reassured her.
“Beatrice, you can do this.”
“…But.”
“It’s okay. Trust me. Your dolls were indistinguishable from real people.”
Beatrice, hearing Johan’s words, nodded and conjured magical thread. Her hands, which had been trembling, were now steady.
Evangeline, seeing Beatrice was ready, placed the intestines back inside Marguerite and used her magic.
The organs returned to their proper places, the flesh knitting itself together—and Beatrice carefully stitched up the wound.
The surgery was a success.
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Wait, they actually killed that monster?