Chapter 3: Thus Spoke Verona Heratis

The woman leveled her greatsword, then brought it down abruptly!

“Ahhhh!!!”
A scream mingled with the sound of cracking bone.
The greatsword crushed my knee joints, and in an instant, my two pale, delicate legs became a mess of mangled flesh and blood.

I glared fiercely at the white-robed woman and swung my arm to punch her, only to be met with another whip kick.

“Witches like you… no matter how many are killed, it’s never enough,” the woman’s voice trembled slightly, as if she were suppressing a state of euphoria.
“A pity I have other matters to attend to. I can only play with you for a little while.”

With a clang, steel scraped and screeched.
Then, a sharp blade pierced my shoulder blade.
The cold edge passed through my body, pinning me to the ground, unable to move.
Blood flowed down the blade, dripping onto the ground and forming a pool, from which a few vibrant red flowers quietly bloomed.

“Why… I… clearly, I haven’t done anything,” my voice was hoarse.
Resentment, anger, grievance—these emotions swirled chaotically in my heart.
At the same time, I found my own predicament laughable.

The woman also found it amusing.
She let out two contemptuous, cold snorts, her voice rising at the end.
She lifted her foot, aimed her heel at me, paused for a moment, and then brought it straight down.

“You’ve done nothing? Look at this city. It’s all your handiwork.”
She twisted her heel relentlessly, and a heart-piercing pain tormented my body.

“I… did not… do… anything!”
I squeezed a protest full of anger through my gritted teeth, my voice trembling from the excruciating pain.

“That’s not important. If I say it was you, then it was you, understand?”

A scapegoat?
For me, that was a fitting identity indeed.
Two lives, two failures… hehe…

“Haha~ You seem to have given up? How boring. Why have you stopped struggling?” the woman’s excited tone was laced with heavy breaths.

Thud—!

I was kicked in the waist.
A cry of pain tried to escape my lips, but my throat was hoarse and dry.
Only my body’s instinctive convulsions remained.

“Why don’t you scream and beg for mercy?”

Thud—!

“Just like the rest of your kind!!”

Thud—!

I don’t know how much time had passed.
The merciless kicking finally stopped.
I lay on the ground, battered and broken, my eyes vacant, my mind hazy.

“Alright, that’s enough playing,” the woman’s voice was cheerful, her breathing heavy.
“So that I don’t get lectured by that person, I’ll send you on your way.”

“I, Grand Inquisitor Marolin Leni, by the grace of our Lord God, hereby sentence the witch to death.”

In a daze, the cold muzzle of a gun pressed against my forehead.
The white-robed woman muttered something, as if praying.
I figured she would pull the trigger once she finished her recitation.

Then, I would sleep peacefully once more…
This thing called life… it’s cheap, fragile, and meaningless.
No matter how one struggles, its smallness is pale and powerless before the universe.

So why did I have to come to this world?

“Our blades will plunge deep into the blasphemous flesh, the holy fire will burn the sullied soul, until your sins are paid in full… Lastly, our Lord grants you the right to be forgotten. Rest in peace… what should I call you?…”

Her words came to an abrupt halt at the end.
The woman pondered for a moment, then said:
“Seeing these ugly thorns all over the city, I’ll name you after them.”

“Rest in peace, Thorn Witch.”

BANG!!!—

The bullet flew, shattering my skull.

Miraculously, I felt no pain.
Even the pain from all the previous wounds, big and small, was gone.
It was like a fleeting dream.
The taste of death was on my tongue, bitter and coppery.

Now, all I have to do is wait for slumber…

But why should I die in this world?

My life may not have been brilliant, but how it ends…

Is not for others to decide.

The scarlet full moon in the sky grew more menacing.
The city, shrouded in a light, crimson veil, began to stir.
The sound of branches scraping against the ground rose and fell.
From within the rubble, several black and red thorns burst forth from the earth, instantly piercing a few of the inquisitors who had not yet gone far.
In a moment, their bodies became as withered as dead wood.

The thorns glowed a deep red, like blood vessels, rapidly spreading and growing.
Like slithering snakes, they wrapped around my body.
The thorns pierced my flesh, and streams of warmth flowed into me.

More and more crimson thorns enveloped and entwined me.
My limbs groaned, and an unbearable itch spread throughout my body.
But soon, I could move my calves.
The previously shattered joints were restored in what could only be called a medical miracle.
My skin became fair as jade once more, and my clothes were as good as new.

The group of inquisitors grew panicked.
Their increasingly anxious shouts and roars showed they were in disarray.
Good, I’m very happy…

An enchanting, vibrant red flower bud instantly formed beneath me.
I returned to its embrace.
A familiar space, a familiar fragrance.
But my heart was a world away from what it was before.

‘Kill them… that is my only thought.’

After a moment of silence, the flower of slaughter quietly bloomed.
I stood upon the stamen, looking down with indifference at the comical, laughable crowd below.
They raised their firelocks and aimed at me, shouting incessantly.

“The w-witch, she’s revived!”

“Open fire! Open fire!”

“Don’t panic! Get out the powder flasks first, and blow up those broken wooden things—ahhh!”

I lightly tapped my fingertip towards the one who was shouting the loudest, as light and elegant as a pianist’s touch on the keys.
The scream that followed was as melodious and pleasing as the sound of a piano.

“No need to rush,” I said faintly. “The final chapter of your lives is coming soon.”

As my words fell, I raised my arm, moving it like a fluttering butterfly, plucking the final chord for each and every one of them.
This symphony of death was clean and harmonious.

There were no dissonant notes from ignited gunpowder.
In just a few breaths, those black-coated inquisitors had returned to their maker.
Bloody thorns slit their throats, tore their flesh.
Mangled meat and organs spilled onto the ground, while the blood… was all taken by me.

Excellent.

But there are always mistakes in a performance.

“Hahahaha!”
The next moment, a discordant peal of maniacal laughter broke through.
A greatsword tore through the black and red thicket of thorns.
The white-robed woman leaped up, swinging her greatsword down at me.

“You witch, you truly delight me!” the woman’s voice was crazed, an ugly smile on her lips.
She opened her eyes wide, the bloodshot eyeballs looking as if they were about to pop out.

“You’re disgusting,” I commented, neither happy nor sad.
I extended my index finger and waved it casually at the woman.
Thorns shot up from the ground, binding the greatsword and slamming her heavily to the ground with it.

Boom—

Earth and stone flew.
The woman crashed into a collapsed house and was buried under rubble and mangled flesh.
Not long after, she stood up, sword in hand.
Large parts of her robe were torn, and the skin beneath was covered in blood.

Oh? Her right arm is broken?
The angle at which it’s bent is quite comical.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, so fragile.

Looking at the disheveled madwoman glaring daggers at me amidst the wreckage, I instantly lost interest.
I controlled the thorns to bind her up and bring her before me, ready to end this drama.

And that Grand Inquisitor, at this moment, was like a snarling old dog.

“Let me go!! I’m going to tear you to pieces and devour you! You, you b—”

“Shut up.”

I manipulated the thorns to stuff her throat, and the useless curses came to an abrupt halt.
After looking her up and down, I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine.

“I can see you enjoy torturing people, but I’m different. I only kill,” my voice was sweet and pleasant, but the content was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
I deliberately spoke slowly, then observed her reaction with great interest.

But she still disappointed me.
All she did was glare at me.
Boring.

I unfastened the firelock from her waist and toyed with it in my hand.
Then, I raised my other hand, fingers together, and plunged it into the woman’s chest, right where her heart was!

“Mmph, mmph! Ahhh, ahhhh!”

“Annoying.”

I completely gagged the woman’s mouth.
My slender, jade-like hand rummaged inside her body.
After a while, my eyebrows raised.

“Found it~”

My hand formed a claw, grasping the still-beating fruit.
I violently plucked it out, then swung my arm around and shoved it into the woman’s mouth.

“Your blood is dirty. I’m afraid drinking it would lower my IQ.”

Holding the gun in my left hand, I pressed it against her chin.
I tilted my head and thought for a moment, then twirled a strand of my hair and said:
“Do I need to recite a eulogy for you?”

“Mmph, mmph, mmph, ahhhh!!!”
Her body, shaking like a leaf, couldn’t form any coherent sounds.
I knew she was afraid.

“Well then, I wish you a very careful future~”

The next moment, I pulled the trigger.
A tongue of fire erupted.
Red and white matter splattered.
The woman’s body stopped trembling.
Her limbs went limp, like a piece of old cloth.

I withdrew my blood-stained right hand and wiped it on my clothes.
After looking around and seeing no one else alive, with a thought, the flower beneath my feet landed gently on the ground.
I looked at the hellscape I had created and nodded in satisfaction, then turned and leisurely walked out of the city gate.

With the trouble resolved, my mood lightened considerably.
I hummed a song as I fiddled with the firelock, walking along the dirt road outside the city.

But I feel like I’ve forgotten something.

What is it…

My head feels drowsy now, just like when I first woke up.
This makes it difficult for me to sort through what just happened.

What’s wrong with me…
Forget it, I’ll leave first. I can think about it later.

Suddenly, from the direction of the city gate a hundred meters behind me, a piercing whistle sounded.
I turned my head abruptly.
A golden spear that cut through the air was rapidly growing larger in my vision.

I twisted my body and dove.
The golden spear flew past my scalp and plunged into the ground not far away.
But it wasn’t over.
In the corner of my eye, the golden spear was rapidly heating up, turning red like a branding iron, just like the arrows before.
Finally, it exploded with a boom.

The immense impact sent me flying, rolling into the meadow by the side of the road.
Before I could get up, several more piercing whistles cut through the air from behind.

There are too many, I have to block them with thorns! Huh?

I kept waving my hand behind me, but the black and red thorns showed no sign of appearing.
Besides panicking, all I could do was quickly get up and run into the distance.
But those golden spears pursued me relentlessly.

I was some distance away from where the golden spears were being thrown.
Although the attacks were fast, they weren’t too difficult to dodge.
If my head weren’t so dizzy, that would be true.

Why, why is this happening?
I just left that broken place…

If I pass out now… death is the only path.
Move!

My two long, beautiful legs stumbled as if they had lost their soul.
Every step took all my strength.
Soon, I felt even my eyelids growing heavy…

No… I can’t sleep… I… can’t…

My pupils gradually lost focus.
I knew I had reached my limit.
My consciousness finally sank into slumber…

Huh? My feet are leaving the ground… getting farther… and farther… away?

Outside the city gate, a girl with short, golden hair frowned, her eyes fixed on the giant shadow that was gradually melting into the night sky.

“A dragon? Why would one appear on the continent of Yesdun?”

The golden glow in her hand dimmed.
Then, an inquisitor came to her side and said respectfully:
“Lady Olivia, we have found Lady Marolin’s body. It’s just… her death was extremely tragic. That witch, she must have used an extremely cruel method to kill Lady Marolin. We—”

“Stop,” Olivia raised a hand, cutting off her subordinate.
“That witch won’t get away. But first, we need to solve the trouble in the city. Has ‘The Ancient Gaze’ been found?”

“My lady, not yet. But we speculate that it is somewhere in the church within the city.”

“Intensify the search. Also, send someone back to the Holy Tribunal to report—a witch and a black dragon have entered the territory of the Holy Nation.”

“Yes.”
The inquisitor bowed his head.
Just as he was about to turn back to the city, he saw a huge figure emerge from the city gate.

“Lord Galdos!” the man bowed again.

The giant called Galdos, at this moment, was covered in claw marks and scorch marks on his silver armor.
Some pieces of armor had fallen off, and the string of the large bow on his back was broken.

“Uncle Galdos, are you alright?” Olivia asked faintly.

The giant nodded, and a muffled, unpleasant voice came from within his helmet.

“I’m, fine. Dragon, injured, can’t escape.”

“Mm, thank you for your hard work.”