How are you feeling right now, Seina?
"Scared!"
Huh?
"That's the only feeling I have right now. It's like fear is still consuming me. Just thinking about those eyes makes my soul tremble uncontrollably."
That terrifying, huh…
At that moment, Suzu walked over, took Seina's hand, and began using <
Hmm...
Can we use this to fight against the Dark Witch?
"With this magic, it's technically possible, but the level is still too low, so I wouldn't recommend doing that." Suzu warned.
So it's still because I'm too weak...
"Oh, are you all done yet?"
Right then, Meradis returned. The moment she entered the Virtual World, she immediately sensed Seina's unstable condition.
"There's a scent of Darkness!" Meradis said sternly.
This was actually the first time I'd seen her so serious.
"What's wrong?" I asked cautiously.
"There's no mistake. This evil presence—only the Dark Witch could produce it."
Oh, I'm honestly surprised!
"You can tell?" I asked.
"Of course. As a non-physical race like Spirits, the force we're most vulnerable to is Darkness. And the kind of evil Dark Power emanating here—there's no one else it could be but the Dark Witch."
Wow… That person is really that terrifying, huh... Looks like I'll need to think carefully if I truly want to compete for that eye.
"Even if it's your natural-born enemy, you can tell instantly without a doubt?" Seina continued to ask.
Meradis didn't answer but simply let out a sigh, her face showing a hint of sorrow.
"In the past, our Spirit tribe had a direct conflict with the Dark Witch, so I can easily distinguish him from others."
Nani?
Just a casual question ended up uncovering some hidden backstory??
"What were you all doing? Why did you get involved with that walking disaster?"
This was the first time I'd heard Meradis use such rough language. Seems like there really is deep enmity between them.
I recounted everything that had happened, and Meradis could only sigh repeatedly as she listened.
"I advise Shiraori to retreat quickly. Right now, you're no match for him."
Is it really that hopeless?
"Surely… we're not at the point of retreating before even trying, right?" Seina didn't want to back down so easily.
"The Dark Witch... If I said he's on the same level as Queen Marakia, would any of you still want to continue?"
Nai wa!!
"He's that powerful?" I asked.
"I only heard this from the Queen during a leisurely moment. The Dark Witch is not a human or an ordinary creature—he came from the Dark Continent. The earliest recorded sighting of him was 1,320 years ago. Back then, he was considered one of the strongest beings on the Dark Continent."
"Later, he emerged into the outside world. With his Dark Power, he contaminated the entire Holy Land of Alabat. The Holy Nation Aeons had to issue a highest-level extermination order, but even then, they lost more than half their forces just to kill him."
"Everyone thought that was the end, but a hundred years later, he resurrected again and continued spreading corruption. At that time, even the Holy Nation Aeons could only go on the defensive. Not long after, they invited our Queen to deal with the matter, since Spirit power is quite special. Even so, it took the Queen over a year to suppress him."
"Afterward, he seemed to develop independent thought and fled back to the Dark Continent. Another 500 years passed, and the Witch Guild was founded by the Knowledge Witch. Shockingly, he appeared once more under the name 'Dark Witch'."
"However, he then learned to control his power and stopped attacking everything indiscriminately. Even so, having been previously beaten down by the Queen, he seemed to hold a grudge and made several attempts to cause trouble in the Primordial Forest—but was still suppressed by the Queen each time."
I never imagined there was such a long history behind all this.
"These are things I heard directly from the Queen. Additionally, some places have records about him. Some say he reached a secret agreement with the Knowledge Witch and that the Witch Guild is plotting something. Others even claim that the Dark Witch was created by the Knowledge Witch. After all, that woman has a notorious reputation. But in short, when it comes to the Dark Witch, everyone avoids him and wants nothing to do with it."
So that's how it is…
Maybe I really should retreat this time…?
"Wait. If the Dark Witch is that strong, how come that dragon has been able to fight him all this time? Based on the last time we encountered it, it shouldn't have become strong enough in such a short time to fight evenly with the Dark Witch." Seina raised a valid question.
Ah, I almost forgot about that.
That dragon friend of mine really isn't so simple either.
"The Dark Witch has the ability to split himself into multiple parts, and his power gets divided accordingly. So I'd guess what's here is just one of his clones."
Just a clone… and it's still that terrifying…?
"Oh, and also—the Dark Witch has a name. His name is Careck Madie."
Huh??
Why does someone so scary have such a human-like name?
"That name was probably given by the Knowledge Witch. She was the one who founded the Witch Guild and invited the other witches. Compared to her title of 'Knowledge', she's not a good person at all."
"Oh, is there some kind of hidden backstory...?"
The more I listen, the more interesting things get. I'm getting really curious.
"Nothing too big, really. Just know that if Shiraori ever meets her, it's best to stay away. Traveling with her means you never know when you'll get stabbed in the back."
"The Queen once had a conversation with her, but the details of that meeting have remained classified to this day, so I don't know much more either."
Hmm…
The Spirit Queen... The Dark Witch... The Knowledge Witch... Why do I feel like there's some hidden connection between them?
"You're not the only one." Seina whispered to me telepathically.
"Don't talk about this in front of Meradis."
I nodded.
"Hey, do you know when the Queen spoke with the Knowledge Witch?" I asked.
"Huh? I don't remember exactly, but I think it was not long after she founded the Witch Guild. At that time, the guild's very name caused a huge reaction from the Murent Association, and conflict broke out between the two groups. Especially after the Dark Witch personally went to the Murent Association headquarters to stir trouble—it only made things worse."
"In the middle of all that tension, the Knowledge Witch suddenly visited the Primordial Forest to meet with the Queen. That visit was incredibly discreet. If I hadn't accidentally bumped into her, no one would've known it happened."
"And then what happened?!"
I felt like I was about to uncover some big secret.
"After that... I wanted to ask, but the Queen never brought it up, so I didn't dare ask either. I'm always by the Queen's side, so she sometimes tells me stories, but if she doesn't bring something up herself, I know to stay silent."
Oh...
At this point, I can definitely sense there's something suspicious between them—and it might even involve me. But I'll keep all of that to myself for now, because I'm still not strong enough to investigate it.
Putting all that aside, now it's time for me to decide what to do next—
And this decision could very well affect all of our lives.