All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 293

293. Side Story – I Refuse – 1

“How insolent!”

The power of a god dominated the sky.

Complete light filled the sky.

A massive darkness pierced the heavens.

“Huh…?”

Circe turned her head.

Witches were coming from the other side.

Those who had given up fighting.

Those who had avoided resistance.

All of them chose to fight.

“You insignificant specks!”

Serapias was furious at the witches’ resistance.

How dare mere witches resist a god.

“My children!”

Serapias’ light enveloped the army, and those who had been defeated by Circe rose again.

“For our god!”

“The light will burn you!”

The battle between light and darkness began.

The elements of the world were pointing weapons at each other.

In the midst of it, Circe clutched her head.

“Ah… Aaaagh…”

Hallucinations echoed.

Illusions appeared.

The elements of the world, following the god, were cursing her.

Even in that pain, Circe did not drop her sword.

“Die! Witch!”

The army, empowered by the god, attacks.

Immense power, seemingly capable of shattering Circe’s body in an instant, poured down on her.

Numerous magic circles appeared around her.

*Clang!*

“Circe! We’ll make a path for you!”

Soltrimm, leading the witches, shouted.

She had persuaded the witches who weren’t fighting, one by one, and brought them to the battlefield, desperately using magic.

The other witches also helped her, blocking the god’s power.

“Circeee!”

Her mother, Remilia, also participated.

Though she lacked the ability to fight, she was there to protect.

To heal.

She stepped onto the battlefield with witch’s medicine [potions and herbal remedies traditionally used by witches].

“Mom…”

Circe looked at her.

Remilia, desperately throwing potion bottles to help the witches, smiled brightly.

The one who had stopped her from fighting was now cheering her on.

Then, she couldn’t back down now.

Circe gripped her sword tightly.

“Insignificant things!”

The witches’ resistance ignited even stronger rage in Serapias.

Serapias’ hand rises.

Light began to gather on the spear in his hand.

“Ah.”

She had to stop it.

But could she?

She raised her sword, and at that moment, black energy gathered on the sword.

“Vanish!”

“Haaaap!”

Light and darkness collided.

Seeing this, the knights moved to strike Circe, but the witches didn’t stand still either.

“Get lost! Witches!”

“Do you want to be burned at the stake!”

“We’ll be burned at the stake even if we stand still anyway!”

“We won’t leave everything to Circe!”

While the battle between the witches and the army began, light and darkness continued their struggle.

“How pathetic. How pathetic. Even if you have the God-Slaying Sword, did you really think you could face a god with such paltry power?”

“Kuk… Euh-geuk… Euk…”

She was giving it her all, but the god was too strong.

Circe felt the strength draining from her body.

This wouldn’t do.

That’s why she delved deeper into the Truth [a concept or source of ultimate knowledge and power].

And quickly searched for a way to use power.

“Why don’t you stop?”

“You think someone like you can defeat a god?”

“Give up.”

“No one can defeat a god.”

Hallucinations echoed.

No, the side effects of accessing the Truth were getting stronger.

Voices that shouldn’t be heard continued to echo, and red blood flowed from Circe’s ears.

But she didn’t give up.

‘Just a little more. Just a little more…!’

If she went just a little further, she could see the end of the Truth.

Then she could find the power to defeat that god.

-Drip, drip.

The side effects of excessive access were taking their toll.

Blood burst from her eyes, nose, and mouth.

Her head throbbed, and her vision turned red.

One knee buckled, but Circe didn’t stop.

Was this the end?

Was the resistance ending with just this?

Just as her heart was about to break under the immense power of the god.

She saw a hallucination of Keltud, bleeding and in pain.

That couldn’t be.

That’s why Circe slowly turned her head.

Keltud, who had been silent until now.

Her master was smiling wickedly from his original spot.

“Ah… Master.”

Only she could save herself.

Only those who prepare and fight can seize the opportunity.

Keltud had always said that during their travels.

And.

He gave her a chance this time too.

A chance to fight.

The power to resist.

Then what was there to fear?

“Haaaap!”

For him, who had expectations of her now, she just needed to use the power he lent her to save herself.

“Th-This… This can’t be?!”

She was being pushed back.

The god’s power was being pushed back.

Even if that was the God-Slaying Sword, how could he be pushed back by such a witch.

It was a mistake.

He shouldn’t have shared his divine power with those humans.

If he had, he could have crushed her in one go.

It was a mistake to be wary of that God-Slaying Sword and share his power, letting humans fight the witches.

“What are you doing!”

How could they not even capture such witches.

Serapias shouted in anger, and the army’s power grew even stronger.

But the witches weren’t standing still either.

They also pushed their magic power to the limit, blocking the army.

They couldn’t let that army attack Circe.

As the struggle continued, surprisingly, the light began to recede.

“Ah… No!”

In the end, the darkness shot from the God-Slaying Sword split the light.

And it pierced the heart of the giant of light.

The light slowly began to scatter.

“No!”

“My god! Our god!”

The god was disappearing.

The god who would eliminate darkness from this world was defeated and scattering.

“Th-These, these impious wenches!”

“We’ll burn you all to death!”

The enraged army moves.

The fanatics, not caring about defense or anything else, rushed in with weapons, and Circe collapsed to her knees.

She had used all her strength.

She had poured everything she had to bring down the god.

“Augh… Euk…”

Her head felt like it was about to explode.

Her body, with its magic power completely depleted, felt like it would break at any moment.

“Augh… Euk…”

But she had won.

She had overcome the giant oppressor called god.

Circe smiled faintly, watching the fighting witches.

This was enough, wasn’t it.

Just as she was satisfied.

“Ugh…”

“Cough!”

“Ugh… N-No… Power…”

The army’s condition became strange.

Their divine power was disappearing.

“…Could it be…?”

The divine power that the god had shared was returning.

And then light appeared on the ground.

Of course, it wasn’t the same giant as before.

A small lump of light, like a human, appeared on the ground.

Nevertheless, the light, possessing terrifying power, simply spoke calmly while holding a spear.

“This is not even laughable. To think that a mere witch could do this much.”

“Kuek…”

“I’ll praise you. You were called the Great Witch Circe? Yes. You will leave your name in history as the one who brought the god down to earth.”

“Circeee!”

Soltrimm rushed forward as the approaching light aimed its spear at Circe.

Toward her, the light waved its hand as if annoyed.

With just that, Soltrimm’s body caught fire.

“Aaaaaagh!”

“My children. Remember. The witch will disappear from this world today. And this child who led it. Remember and beware the Great Witch Circe forever.”

The priests and knights cried, rejoicing that their god, Serapias, was still alive.

Listening to their praise, Serapias aimed his spear at Circe’s neck.

“Farewell. I will show you respect and completely annihilate even your soul.”

“Kueueuk…”

She didn’t have the strength to lift a finger.

Circe stared at Serapias, helplessly slumped down.

“You don’t give up until the end.”

Serapias said sternly, despising her.

“God is absolute. You will be a good example of what happens when you resist the absolute.”

“Where in the world is there an absolute?”

Serapias flinched.

Next to Circe, who had been empty until just now, stood a man.

A man wearing a white robe.

“…Who are you. What are you. No…”

Serapias couldn’t even take his eyes off the God-Slaying Sword that Circe was holding.

That man.

Something was wrong.

“You… You are not a being of this world.”

“Not bad for a god, you know that much. That’s right.”

He lightly gripped the sword that Circe was holding and flicked it.

“I was just going to watch. Hey. Isn’t that a bit of a cheat?”

“What…?”

“The reason you’re called a god is because you received faith from that many humans and gave them power. But it’s a bit much to take back the power you gave them, even though you received the faith.”

“The power I gave!! What’s wrong with me taking it back!”

“Of course, I agree to some extent… But you know that much, right?”

Keltud grinned.

And pointed to the fiercely fighting army.

“You do know that by taking away the divine power you gave them, their lifespans will be less than a year.”

Serapias couldn’t say anything.

He just aimed the spear of light.

Toward him, Keltud flicked his sword.

“This is a bit too much of an absurdity, so let’s call it a victory for the witches.”

And.

He lightly swung his sword.

-Slash!

With that light strike, Serapias was annihilated.

Everyone who saw it stopped moving.

What in the world was going on.

“There will be no god in this world.”

He declared, threw the God-Slaying Sword into subspace [a theoretical region or dimension beyond normal space], and then said.

“You guys over there too. There’s no god anymore. And you guys who had your divine power taken away. You’re going to die in a year, so why don’t you go back and finish your lives?”

“Th-This, this, this impious being!”

The eyes of those who saw the god’s defeat again went wild.

Seeing them scream and rush at him, Keltud grinned.

“To resist me, who annihilated the god. That sight is very beautiful.”

That’s why he raised his hand.

“So I’ll show you respect too.”

* * *

The war was over.

The annihilation of the god.

Serapias, who had been brought down to earth by the witch, was annihilated by the hand of the sage.

The rumor quickly spread across the continent, and the people of the continent came to fear the witches.

The countries that had oppressed the witches until now lifted their policies.

And those who had been oppressed by the Serapias Order turned their swords and spears against those who had lost their divine power.

As a result, a great chaos came to the continent.

In that chaos, all the witches moved to the Great Northern Forest.

Keltud and Circe also moved to the Great Forest like them, but they did not live with them.

They lived in a small house on the outskirts of the Great Forest.

“Master. Tea is ready.”

As Circe put down the teacup, Keltud sipped the tea she had made.

“Is this what they call a maid outfit? Hehe. It suits me well, right? My mom sent it. She told me to serve Keltud-nim well.”

Even though the war was over, Circe decided to serve her master, Keltud, instead of living with Remilia or the other witches.

So the witches made and sent her the outfit, telling her to serve him properly.

As Circe showed it off proudly and smiled brightly, Keltud said bluntly.

“You don’t see any more hallucinations, do you?”

“Yes. Master’s medicine was a great help.”

“Okay. But if you access the Truth, it will happen again. Don’t access it.”

Keltud took another sip of tea and said nonchalantly.

“Now go.”

“Ah. Yes. You want to be alone, right? Then I’ll do the laundry…”

“No. Don’t do that. I don’t need you, so go back to the witches.”

“…Why?”

“I saw the wonderful scene of a witch bringing down a god. So that’s enough.”

He said without even giving her a glance, and Circe gripped her hem tightly.

And.

“I refuse. I will resist that order.”

“It’s going to be tough? I’m telling you this because I’m thinking of you.”

“I’m prepared.”

“Then do as you please.”

At those words, Circe smiled brightly.