All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 289

145. Side Story – The Great Witch – 1

Webletong, a priest of the Seraphias Order, trembled.

He couldn’t believe what was happening.

“H-Hieeek… Hick….”

A girl with a large staff, uttering what could only be described as blasphemy, was walking forward.

With each step she took, the Order’s witch hunters fell dead.

-Thud!!

“W-Witch!! Witch!!”

-Thud!! Crack!!

A massive dog emerged from the girl’s shadow and bit through a knight clad in thick armor.

Even that sturdy armor was like paper to the dog’s teeth.

Flesh and bone were sliced as if they were cheese, and entrails spilled out.

Webletong felt an overwhelming nausea at the sight.

“Uwaaaaghh!!”

How did this happen?

It should have been a routine witch hunt, like any other.

No matter how much of a witch she was, she shouldn’t have been able to stand against those clad in armor blessed by Seraphias.

Why didn’t the power of light work on that young witch?

“S-Seraphias-nim….”

Webletong, trembling, turned his head sharply.

His gaze fixed on the bloodied witch held captive by the villagers.

Could it be that she had come to rescue that witch?

He hurriedly grabbed a spear from the ground.

“S-Stop!! Stop!!”

The girl, who had been waving her staff and controlling the dog, paused at his shout.

Then, she frowned.

“What are you doing?”

“Didn’t you come to save this wench?! Aren’t you the spawn of that witch who escaped a few days ago!!”

“Put that spear down.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! All of this is under the grace of Seraphias….”

-Snap!

His head spun.

-Snap!

One rotation.

-Snap!

Two rotations.

-Snap!

Three rotations.

Four rotations.

Five rotations.

His head spun endlessly before finally tearing off and rolling onto the ground.

The survivors trembled at the sight.

“A-Ah… F-Father….”

They were the villagers.

Those who had been suffering from illness.

It was her mother who had healed them.

The woman tied up and covered in blood over there.

“Our mom saved you all.”

“Y-You… Witch!! Witch!!”

“Then why did you betray us?”

“Seraphias-nim….”

“Why did you abandon us?”

“The Light will bless us….”

Kirke coldly glared at those who trembled, cried, and continued to pray.

Then, she lightly moved her staff.

By her telekinetic power, they collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.

Everyone died.

All those who had betrayed her and her mother.

All those who had rejoiced in the success of the witch hunt died.

Having massacred not only the village but also the priest, knights, and soldiers in a single night, she approached the bound woman.

“Ah… Ugh… Ah….”

“Mom…?”

“Augh… Aughhhh….”

She couldn’t speak.

Kirke stared blankly at her before hurriedly untying her.

Seeing her unable to come to her senses and unable to even open her eyes, Kirke felt her heart sink.

“No way… No way….”

Trembling, Kirke checked her and finally burst into tears.

There were only holes where her eyes should have been.

Her tongue was cut off, and the tendons in her arms and legs were severed.

She was in a state where it wouldn’t be strange for her to die at any moment, but she was alive probably because that priest had healed her to prolong her suffering.

Seeing her mother’s irreversible state, Kirke wept.

“Hic… Sob… Hic… Mom….”

“I heard they torture like this during witch hunts.”

A detached voice spoke from behind.

Kirke slowly turned her head to look at him.

Keltud spoke calmly to her, who was a mess with tears and snot.

“Well, at least she’s not dead.”

“But….”

She would die soon at this rate.

As Kirke spoke weakly, Keltud shrugged.

“Then that’s good enough.”

“It’s not good enough. The ones who did this to my mom… I’ll never forgive them.”

“They’re all dead already. The ones here.”

“Ah….”

“Now, let’s go back for now.”

“I can’t go back.”

Kirke gripped her staff tightly.

“The Seraphias Order… I’ll never forgive them. Never. Never!”

“Oh ho.”

“I’m going to fight. All the witches in this world are suffering like this right now. I’ll never forgive it. Never!!”

Kirke cried out, bursting into tears.

Keltud nodded as he watched her.

“Very admirable, and I’d like to praise you, but are you going to let your mother die?”

“B-But Mom….”

She would die soon.

The only reason she was alive with her current injuries was because of the Seraphias Order’s power.

And that was only to keep her alive for the burning at the stake.

There was no way to save her without calling another priest from the Seraphias Order to heal her.

Kirke wiped away her tears.

“I don’t know how to make medicine yet, so I can’t heal her, and I can’t cure diseases….”

“Healing is easy.”

Keltud stepped forward casually.

As his hand moved, the severed tendons began to regenerate.

“Eh…?”

The injuries disappeared as if by magic.

Kirke was bewildered by the fact that the tattered wounds on her wrist had vanished.

Even a witch’s potion couldn’t do this much.

No, even the priests of the Seraphias Order, who supposedly borrowed the power of God, couldn’t perform such a miracle.

“Keltud… W-What are you? A g-god?”

“A god? I told you, I’m a world collector.”

He replied nonchalantly and moved his hand again.

He raised his hand to the place where her eyeballs had been removed.

At the same time, a faint and warm light emanated.

“Using the power of the sun to heal the wounds, and the power of the moon to heal the mental anguish caused by the injuries.”

“Amazing….”

She had never heard of such power.

Just what was this person?

If he wasn’t a god, was he really a demon protecting witches?

As she wondered, the hand covering her eyes was removed.

“……Good heavens.”

Her eyes were back.

Her mother’s eyes, which had been empty just a moment ago, were back.

“And… the tongue.”

A large hand covered her mouth and emitted a faint light as before.

When the hand was removed.

Kirke trembled.

“Kirke…? You’re alive….”

It was her mother’s voice.

Hearing her mother’s voice, which she thought she would never hear again, Kirke burst into tears.

“Mom… Mom…!”

Kirke tried to hug her.

But Keltud stopped her.

“Why, why?”

“Ah. The treatment isn’t over yet. And.”

-Clang. Clang.

The sound of chains and iron moving could be heard.

The witch hunters who had gone outside were returning.

Keltud smiled at Kirke.

“Now. You’ve decided to fight. What are you going to do? You’ve gotten everything you wanted now.”

You’ve taken revenge.

And you’ve saved your mother.

You don’t have to fight anymore.

But Kirke gripped her staff tightly.

“I’m going to fight.”

Keltud grinned at her.

“Maybe the reason I came here was to meet you.”

It didn’t take long for all the witch hunters to die.

After Kirke eliminated them, her mother, Remilia, hugged her tightly.

“Ah… Ah… Why did you do it. Why… why did you do it….”

“Because I had to fight.”

She had massacred over hundreds of people in a single night.

She was no longer a child who vaguely thought that the world was beautiful, even if it was difficult.

Remilia couldn’t help but cry as she noticed that Kirke had changed so much.

“Now… Now the world will try to kill you….”

This world was already one that persecuted witches.

That’s why they had to hide and live.

Even if they could fight, they shouldn’t fight, and they had to hide themselves as much as possible.

But she had brought about this result.

As Remilia sobbed, Kirke stroked her.

“This is the path I’ve chosen. Mom.”

Wiping away her tears, she stood up.

She had captured the witch hunters and defeated the priests of the Seraphias Order.

It was a great achievement for a young age.

But this was just the beginning.

If the Seraphias Order knew that Webletong and the witch-hunting squad had been defeated like this, they would mobilize their army in earnest.

No matter how strong Kirke was, could she fight them all?

As Remilia worried, Kirke shook her head.

“I’ve decided to fight.”

“Ah….”

Remilia hugged Kirke tightly.

She didn’t want her to fight.

She wanted only Kirke to live safely.

She stared weakly at Keltud.

“Why.”

“……I don’t resent you. But there’s something I’m curious about.”

“You’re wondering who I am. I’m not a god or a demon. I’m just someone who collects worlds.”

“What does that….”

He just smiled.

Remilia stared blankly at him and took Kirke’s hand.

“If you’ve really decided to fight… let’s go to the Witch’s Forest.”

There are witches there who are trying to fight the world.

You can’t fight alone.

You have to learn the techniques of witches by being with them.

“I don’t know what kind of power you have. But… you can’t just rely on that.”

“I agree with that. There are many kinds of power, and if you keep using the same power, the enemies will prepare countermeasures.”

“That’s right. But the Witch’s Forest is quite far from here….”

“The distance is about 27,612 heaves.”

He glanced northwest and strode forward.

Then, he lightly picked up Kirke and Remilia.

“What are you trying to do?”

“It’ll be slow if you walk.”

The moment he finished speaking, the surroundings began to distort.

No.

It was distorting because it was too fast.

Yet, they didn’t feel a single breeze.

Remilia and Kirke, surprised, looked at him, but Keltud didn’t care.

He just ran silently, and when he stopped.

They realized that they were in a dark forest.

“Where is this….”

“Who are you!!”

A shout came from the forest.

Hearing that, Remilia hurriedly replied.

“I am the witch Remilia. And this is my daughter, Kirke. And….”

What should she say about Keltud?

As she hesitated.

A fearful voice came from the forest.

“……That white robe… and the staff that child is holding……. Could it be you.”

The voice, full of tension, faded.

And a white-haired witch walked out of the dark forest with a terrified expression.

“Are you… Keltud-nim…?”

Keltud grinned at her question.

“Ah, do you know him?”

Remilia asked politely, and the white-haired witch nodded with difficulty.

“W-Well, I have no choice but to know.”

She swallowed hard.

“You know the Holy Nation of Heins, which follows Seraphias, right?”

“Yes. It’s the country that was destroyed a year ago. It eventually collapsed due to an excessive war that even the king had to participate in.”

The white-haired witch pointed to Keltud.

“The place they invaded was the Great Forest in the north. The 30,000 troops that entered the Great Forest were annihilated in an instant. By a single person.”

With the death of the king and the annihilation of the great army, Heins lost its national power and collapsed.

And that was done by one person.

Kirke and Remilia looked at Keltud in surprise.

He didn’t show the slightest change in expression at those words.

“The owner of that Great Forest and the sage who knows everything in the world is that person.”