All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 287

◈ Chapter 287

144. Side Story – First Encounter – 1

It was a dark night.

A night so dark that even the moon couldn’t rise; it was then that it began.

“Ugh!”

A long arrow pierced the abdomen of the woman guarding the village.

It was an incomprehensible situation.

But that was just the beginning.

“In the name of God.”

Knights in silver armor surrounded the village.

The heavily armored man, invoking the name of God, raised a large hammer.

“In the name of God.”

The knights moved.

The soldiers moved.

The disaster that struck the small forest village, with fewer than fifty people, was overwhelming.

They numbered over five hundred.

The strength of the heavily armed knights and soldiers was more than enough to destroy the small village.

“Kyaaaaak!!”

The palisade was set on fire.

The holly trees, believed to ward off evil and bring good luck, were set ablaze.

The flames, fueled by the name of God, quickly collapsed the palisade, and those who stormed in proclaimed the same.

“For the light!”

“For God!”

A ruthless assault and slaughter began.

But those who committed the violence showed no hesitation.

Because this is what God has ordained.

Because this is what God wants.

It is the hunting of witches who cloud people’s eyes with wicked skills and magic, and who violate the teachings of God.

“We have found evidence here!”

A knight who entered a hut shouted.

In his hand, he dragged a middle-aged woman by her hair.

“A witch!!”

“Aaaagh… Ack!! Let, let go!!”

“What are those medicines and parchments inside! Are they not for cursing people! Are they not for blaspheming God?!”

“Let go!! Those are just materials for studying medicine…”

“Isn’t it you who spread the epidemic using those!”

“Aaaagh! Th, that can’t be!!”

“There is evidence here too!”

“There are items here that deny God!”

The village burned, and screams erupted.

The night of the witch hunt.

A sacred ritual to strike down the witches who make people deny the teachings of God.

The knight performing the ritual raised a large mace.

“You impious ones!! You disloyal ones!! Hang them all!! In the name of our great God, Serapias!! I will purify you with fire!!”

“Yes!!”

Thus.

The night of the witch hunt began on the continent of Cowadin.

Witch hunts began in various parts of the Cowadin continent.

Those suspected of being witches are burned at the stake.

Those who possess witch’s items are burned at the stake.

All those related to witches are burned at the stake.

No one could stand against that terrible decree.

The nobles tried to eliminate their political enemies by using this situation, and the kings of each country used it to increase their power.

In the name of God, the persecution of witches began.

And.

People had no choice but to follow it.

Because if they resisted, they would be branded as witches themselves.

Because if they resisted, they would be thoroughly destroyed by the agents of God.

Therefore, they turned a blind eye to the persecuted witches.

As a result, countless witches on the Cowadin continent were caught and burned at the stake following religious trials.

* * *

“Haa… Haa…”

Hair roughly cut, as if gnawed by rats.

A body emaciated from not eating properly for days.

The girl, wearing clothes that were no better than rags, ran towards the dark forest, oblivious to the blood trickling from her bare feet.

The reason was simple.

Because if she didn’t run, she would die.

“Aaa… Mom… Haa… Haa…”

“There she is!! There!!”

-Woof! Woof!

The flickering of torches could be seen in the darkness behind.

And the terrifying baying of dogs grew closer.

She has to escape.

But she had no strength.

This forest was too harsh for a young girl to run barefoot.

“Ouch!”

A thorn bush scraped her arm.

Blood flowed down, and she wanted to cry, but she couldn’t.

Because the pursuers were bigger and scarier adults than her.

“There she is!”

“We caught that bitch’s mother! If we catch only that bitch, our village won’t have to pay taxes this year!!”

A village that catches one witch has half of its taxes reduced for one year.

A village that catches two witches has its taxes completely reduced for one year.

That’s why people chased the girl even more urgently.

“Aaa… Mom… I shouldn’t have saved them…”

Since the witch hunt began, witches have hidden their identities.

Witches had secretly infiltrated the world like that.

But.

There were times like this when they got caught.

It was because of the nature of witches.

The nature of trying to save people using medicine, spells, and magic.

The spirit of resistance to save humans with human technology.

The pioneering spirit that humans should walk on their own, not just look to God.

The witches who possessed this spirit hoped to help those who had given up resisting and only looked to God.

And the result was this.

People in the village were suffering from a fever of unknown cause.

It was a disease that even the priests could not solve, so they were left to die.

The girl’s mother, who was wandering around, saved them.

She saved them by using witch’s medicine.

This was the reward.

“Mom was wrong… Aaa. Mom was wrong…”

Wrong.

They were not worth saving.

They were people who didn’t need help.

They were people who deserved to die, unable to even struggle and just accepting their fate.

The girl continued to run, filled with hatred for those who betrayed her.

-Clank!!

“Aaaagh!!”

Suddenly, she felt a burning pain in her leg.

It’s a trap.

A trap for catching wolves tore apart the girl’s thin skin and ensnared her leg.

“There she is!!”

“Catch her!!”

Now she can’t escape.

What should she do?

Should she fight?

The girl looked at her hand.

She saw an old dagger she had stolen while running away.

But can she fight them with just this one?

“Aaa…”

The torchlight grew brighter and brighter.

Armed with scythes and pitchforks.

Ungrateful people, blinded by tax cuts, were approaching.

“Haa. Haa… That damn witch bitch!!”

“She’s so damn fast for a kid!”

Those with clubs and pitchforks were flashing their eyes.

Towards them, the girl gritted her teeth.

“You don’t even know gratitude…!!”

“What are you saying?”

“We didn’t need help from a witch!”

“You guys said!! You begged my mom to save you! Please help me!!”

“Did we know she was a witch?”

“Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, we can catch a witch and get a tax cut.”

“I will curse you!”

“We are blessed by the God of Light, Serapias. It is God’s will to trample and punish witches!”

“Where does a dirty witch like you…”

Tears welled in her eyes.

Nowhere to escape.

So, will she give up?

The girl gripped the dagger tightly.

“Even if I die…”

I’ll take at least one of them with me.

Those who had their lives saved but were trying to repay it with a knife.

I will resist them.

As the girl thought so, those with pitchforks rushed at her.

“Die…”

-Crack!!

The neck of one of the men who rushed in twisted.

As he fell to the ground with his head turned 360 degrees, those with weapons were stunned.

“Wi, witch…”

“The witch used magic!”

“This terrifying bitch!!”

“Call everyone!!”

The frightened people hesitated, aiming their weapons.

The girl tilted her head as she watched.

It wasn’t her.

What the hell happened?

Then she heard footsteps.

-Rustle. Rustle.

The sound of someone stepping on dry trees and fallen leaves.

The girl and the people turned their eyes towards it.

-Squeak… Squeak…

-Woof… Woof woof…

The hunting dogs that came with them were completely terrified.

The tails of the trained hunting dogs, which showed their teeth even to large bears or wild boars, were completely curled up.

Their legs were trembling, and some of them were even peeing.

“Wh, who is it?”

A man walked out of the forest.

He was wearing a clean white robe and holding a fancy staff.

The people, surprised by the clothes that nobles in the capital would wear, asked in a subdued manner.

“Wh, who are you…”

But he didn’t answer.

He just looked down at the girl with indifferent eyes.

“Are you trying to fight without giving up even in this situation?”

The girl nodded.

Towards her, the man who had been expressionless smiled.

“I like it.”

And.

He lightly raised his staff.

At that moment, the heads of all those who had been chasing the girl turned.

Just like the man from before, they died instantly, and the girl opened her mouth wide.

“Wh, who… Who are you…?”

“Who am I? That’s a complicated question.”

He smiled and moved his staff.

When the end of the staff touched the trap, the trap, which had been biting the girl’s leg so hard that it seemed like it would cut it off, was released powerlessly.

It’s amazing.

Even the strong witches who were close to her mother and fought against the inquisitors of the Serapias Order [a religious order dedicated to hunting witches] would not be able to do this much.

That’s why the girl was afraid.

Although he saved her, the overwhelming sense of unease was enough to frighten her.

“D, don’t come any closer.”

The man who neutralized the trap smiled.

And he lightly raised his hand.

With just that, the girl’s body floated into the sky.

“Kya, Kyaak?!”

Just as the girl, staring blankly at him in the air, was about to say something.

He lightly shook his staff.

“Uh…?”

The wound heals.

Not only the wound from the trap from before.

Even the wounds caused by being betrayed and beaten by the villagers were being healed.

“M, my god…”

Even with witch’s medicine or magic, such rapid recovery is impossible.

Is this the power of God that they talk about so much?

The girl, who had a sense of awe along with fear, quickly knelt down when he let her down.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“It’s nothing.”

“Th, that…”

The girl crawled towards him, who exuded a strong sense of unease.

And she knelt down in front of him, bowed her head, and desperately wished.

“Please… Please save my mom… Please…”

“Are you begging? That’s not the look I like.”

The girl shut her mouth tightly.

Certainly, she was trying to fight without giving up even in the desperate situation earlier.

That’s when he said it.

He liked it.

That’s why he helped her.

The girl bit her lip tightly.

Then she straightened her kneeling knees and looked up at him proudly.

Towards the wizard in a white robe with a staff, who seemed to have come out of a story, the girl said with all her might, even though she was afraid.

“How about making a deal with me?”

“A deal.”

“Save my mom. Then I will give you everything.”

“Even if I tell you to give up your future? Even if I tell you to give up your life?”

“Yes.”

The girl nodded seriously, and he was satisfied.

“Good. Your life is now mine. Before that, let me introduce myself. I am a world collector. My name here is… If I had to decide, I would say Keltud.”

As the man who identified himself as Keltud reached out his hand, the girl grabbed his hand.

“My name is Circe.”