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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The Priestess of Time was alive.
I couldn’t believe it.
I had clearly cut her down, and made sure she was dead.
Moreover, I had heard that the royal family was going to burn her body completely.
‘Did she turn back time and revive herself?’
It was a natural thought, considering her ability to stop time, but I shook my head.
Even though I didn’t have all of her memories, I knew she couldn’t perform such an impossible miracle.
“I’ll have to see for myself.”
There was no point in dwelling on it.
I had to confront the situation head-on and confirm the truth.
The Grand Witch, who had been observing me lost in thought, cautiously asked,
“Where is the Earliest Apocalypse now?”
“Rin. Her name is Rin, not that ominous title.”
She knew her words bothered me, yet she kept using them.
The Grand Witch apologized and corrected herself.
“Right, where is Rin now?”
“Why do you need to know?”
My blunt reply made her frown in frustration.
“Don’t you realize what you’re doing is putting the entire continent at risk? You clearly don’t understand the true threat she poses, just because it’s some legend from a book.”
“Ha.”
I couldn’t help but scoff.
Me, not understand the dangers of the apocalypse?
“No one knows the dangers of the apocalypse better than me.”
I turned away, ending the conversation.
I didn’t want to waste any more time.
I was ready to go find Sharcal, but…
“I…”
Hayun’s voice, weak and trembling, stopped me in my tracks.
Had she woken up already?
I rushed to her bedside.
She slowly reached out and grabbed my wrist, her hand overlapping with the love bracelet she had given me.
“I’m going too.”
“It’s dangerous. You can barely move in your current state.”
“No, I’m fine now. I’m going with you.”
“……I can’t protect you if we fight Sharcal. And if Kurika joins the fight, it’ll be even more dangerous.”
“Even so, I can’t back down, Daniel.”
Hayun slowly pushed aside the blanket and got out of bed.
She swayed for a moment, her body still weak, but her eyes were filled with a steely determination.
“I abandoned the Len family name, and I despise my uncle. But I never wanted the entire family to be wiped out. My parents’ memories are still there.”
“……”
“I’ll probably end up inheriting the Len family name. I’m the last of the bloodline. That’s why I need to know the truth.”
I knew she wouldn’t back down.
Even if I left her here, she would find a way to follow me.
“Sigh, fine.”
I couldn’t win this argument.
Hayun’s face lit up with relief, and just then, a witch entered the infirmary.
She carried a round wooden tray with a tea set and cups.
The tea was already brewed, its aroma filling the room.
The Grand Witch took the tray and poured a cup of tea for Hayun.
“Drink this. It’ll help you adjust to the air in the forest.”
“Thank you.”
There was such a thing?
The tea looked hot, but Hayun sipped it expertly, finishing the entire cup.
Her face brightened noticeably, and she looked around in surprise.
“My body feels so much lighter. That’s amazing.”
“That’s incredible.”
Even I didn’t know about this tea.
It seemed the witches had brewed it themselves.
I wished I had known about it when I was a Sherpa, it would have made my job a lot easier.
“Now that you’ve had your tea, it’s time to pay up.”
“What?”
This cunning old hag!
Offering us tea like it was a kindness, and now she wanted payment?
Hayun’s face hardened, and I glared at the Grand Witch, but she remained unfazed.
“I’m going with you.”
“You’re coming with us?”
“Yes. From Kurika and Sharcal’s fight to the current state of the Demon Realm Forest, I need to see what’s going on.”
“Hmm.”
Her methods were shady, but her request wasn’t unreasonable.
In fact, it would be beneficial to have her with us.
Hayun and I were weak in terms of magical power, and the Grand Witch could fill that gap.
“Alright, not a bad proposition. But stay by Hayun’s side and protect her. I don’t expect you to kill monsters, but you can at least do that much, right?”
“Of course. It’s not too much to ask.”
This was good.
We now had a final line of defense if Hayun was in danger.
This would allow me to fight without holding back.
“I’m going too!”
“Stay here.”
Adriana tried to get out of bed, but the Grand Witch’s hand gesture summoned an invisible force that pushed her back down.
“Don’t move until you’re fully healed.”
The Grand Witch’s genuine concern for Adriana was both surprising and refreshing.
“You care about Adriana quite a bit, don’t you?”
I had assumed she was indifferent towards the other witches, only caring about herself.
The Grand Witch narrowed her eyes at me, then turned and left the infirmary.
“She’s my successor, so of course I need to raise her properly.”
Adriana, the next Grand Witch?
I was initially surprised, but after a moment, it made sense.
She had the talent to become the next leader, even if it took time.
Adriana seemed a bit flustered by the mention of becoming the Grand Witch.
After bidding her farewell, Hayun and I left the infirmary.
The Grand Witch was already waiting for us, a staff in hand, ready to depart.
We had no luggage to pack, so we left the village immediately.
With me, the former Sherpa, and the Grand Witch, navigating the Demon Realm Forest was like taking a leisurely stroll.
Of course, Hayun still flinched at the sight of the bizarre plants and monsters, but that was unavoidable.
This was the nature of this place.
“Hmm, we’ve come quite far, but we’re still a long way from Sharcal’s territory.”
“Huff… huff… I see.”
Hayun wiped the sweat from her brow.
It was understandable, this place could be exhausting even for the fittest person.
‘She’s the Grand Witch for a reason.’
The Grand Witch, who was using her mana to enhance her physical strength, wasn’t even breaking a sweat.
Her breathing remained steady and even.
Sometimes, I felt it was unfair how mages could use their mana to gain physical strength on top of their magical abilities.
While I had to train my body diligently, they could achieve the same results with a flick of their wrists.
But as I was grumbling to myself, the surrounding mana began to fluctuate.
Although they were hidden from sight, the ancient magical beasts who had been observing us cautiously began to retreat.
The Grand Witch frowned, leaning heavily on her staff.
“What is this…?”
“The mana is distorting.”
The mana that permeated the Demon Realm Forest was twisting, shaking, and transforming.
It spread like a disease, following the footsteps of its master.
“Sharcal came all the way here?”
We were still quite a distance from Sharcal’s territory.
Why had he come so far?
The answer came from the opposite direction, echoing through the forest.
Aauuuuuu!
It was Kurika’s howl, signaling a challenge.
His cave was also quite far from here, but the two monsters had somehow met in this location.
“Looks like Sharcal and Kurika are about to have a real fight.”
“Hmm, this is dangerous.”
The Grand Witch agreed, taking a step back.
She had accompanied us because she had the authority to speak with Sharcal, even if it meant losing access to her mana.
But if he was entering a battle, she wanted no part of it.
“Stay here with the Grand Witch. I’m going to assess the situation.”
“……Alright, be careful.”
Hayun, who understood the danger of intervening, gripped her sword tightly and scanned the surroundings, ready to defend herself.
Leaving them behind, I headed towards the source of Sharcal and Kurika’s energy.
It was a treacherous, rocky terrain, where boulders piled high like mountains.
Giant centipedes usually inhabited this area, but they must have fled in terror, sensing the presence of the two kings, because they were nowhere to be seen.
“Sharcal! Why do you turn your back on the world! The calamity sent by the gods is upon us! You would abandon us to the woman who embodies death?”
“Such things are of no consequence to me.”
Sharcal dismissed Kurika’s pleas, waving his hand dismissively.
“That you, who protect the divine artifacts, would side with a priestess who serves the gods… That you would intrude upon my domain and leave without a fight… None of it matters.”
Boom!
Sharcal slammed his staff on the ground.
The silver glow within his skull mask glared menacingly at Kurika.
“But that you are swayed by the ‘weak’… That is unacceptable. Your noble cause means nothing to me.”
Sharcal’s reason for seeking out Kurika was simple.
He was angry that Kurika, a being of immense power, was acting like a weakling.
Through Heaven Len’s memories, Sharcal had learned about the Priestess of Time.
His magic wasn’t particularly subtle, which was why he had resorted to recreating all of Nirva as part of his investigation.
That was why Sharcal had come to kill Kurika.
He couldn’t accept that the King, the one who sat upon the highest throne in the Demon Realm Forest, would be manipulated by someone as weak as the Priestess of Time.
“Step down from your throne, Kurika.”
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