Chapter 252. Witch (3)
The first question.
"Why were the memories that should have disappeared transferred to Your Highness Silis?"
"The witch's memories are not merely a collection of information, but a living entity imbued with emotions and knowledge. Based on that, the reason I inherited those memories was purely because I was born with the witch's talent. A talent far greater than my mother's."
"Is it also thanks to that talent that you have survived until now?"
The king who killed the queen and the ducal house for his experiments.
There was no way he would leave Silis alone simply because she was his daughter, or because she was young. She was still of the bloodline of the Ducal House of Rubinelian.
Silis nodded.
"That's right. Thanks to the witch's memories and magic, I was able to avoid becoming an experimental subject."
By inheriting the witch's memories, Silis had gained insight far beyond her years.
And she judged. With her current strength, it was impossible to resist or to escape.
So she decided on deception.
She artificially caused an explosion to sweep herself up in it, and with the witch's magic, sealed her own mind. In other words, she became a doll itself.
And on her body, she cast a suggestion to activate a defensive mechanism in response to external stimuli. The moment someone touched her, she would convulse, and if severe enough, her heart would stop. It was concealment that risked death itself, and the result was successful.
"Unlike my mother who suddenly received the memories, I had the chance to study the witch's magic. Even how to erase the traits and traces of magic power that had settled in my body. That's how I survived. It also helped that it happened right after the failure of making the entire ducal house into test subjects."
Perhaps it should be called luck.
Silis smiled in self-mockery.
Verden carried on with the third question.
"Is the reason the Marquisate of Esperanza aids Your Highness related to the ducal house, or the witch?"
"No, it is simply because of the Marquis's guilt."
Silis declared firmly.
"The Marquis of Esperanza of that era, Ruben, pursued pure justice. If such a man were to learn of the unjust destruction of the ducal house that happened in the kingdom, and that countless people including my mother were killed in human experiments, what do you think he would do?"
It would not be something he could overlook just because he had not known. Not with the Marquis's character.
"I revealed the truth to exploit the Marquis's heart, and naturally, the Marquis chose to join me. You could say it was a kind of atonement."
It hardly mattered, one way or the other.
Silis shrugged.
Verden, who had been listening intently, presented the fourth question.
"...The [Crown of the Witch's Thorn] that was put up at the underworld auction. Was the buyer Your Highness?"
An artifact that had been sold for 10 billion Elk.
It was hard to think the name contained in it, and the witch standing before him, were unrelated.
Silis laughed silently.
That alone was enough. What stood before Verden was no mere princess, but a revenant of vengeance.
Now only the final question remained.
Both Verden and Silis had a sense of what was about to be asked and answered.
"The blue crystal from which the sound of a heartbeat came, the one Leonil used in his experiments. What exactly is it?"
"My mother, 'Remien's Heart.' The very source imbued with the witch's magic power."
Creak.
Silis rose from her seat.
Walking through the garden, she spoke calmly.
"I had thought the experiments were completely abandoned. But to think they preserved my mother's heart, and processed it, over decades… If it weren't for you, Asher, I would not have realized it. Thanks to you, I now have the chance to hasten my plans."
Silis turned her body.
With the darkness at her back, she looked at Verden.
"Ever since I inherited the memories, I have awaited only revenge. My father, the King of Estiria, who cruelly murdered my mother. The nobles who helped annihilate the Ducal House of Rubinelian. Even the ignorant citizens who praise the king, despite living in peace thanks to my mother's blood and flesh."
Everything is hateful.
But now, there is no need to endure.
"And I am not the only one who feels this way."
Silis gestured.
Two figures, illusions from her memory, floated in the air.
"Cland the black-market dealer. His real name is Sebas, and in the past, he was the butler of the Ducal House of Rubinelian. Chemion was his apprentice. The two barely escaped with their lives from the burning territory and mansion."
Then three more appeared.
"Adel, Flona, Lorian. They had died during Gluttony's experiments and were buried in the earth. I revived them. To be exact, I awakened them from their deep slumber."
Through the Marquis of Esperanza, Silis had found Gluttony's laboratory.
Though she already knew it had vanished along with the newly appointed chancellor, she thought there might still be something to be gained.
In the midst of that, she discovered three children.
They seemed to have been captured with their families, experimented on, and killed. Yet, strangely, their bodies had not decayed at all.
Not even insects had invaded their organs.
There was only one reason.
Thanks to the witch's magic power transplanted into their hearts, they had entered a special state of suspended animation.
Realizing this, Silis immediately triggered the magic power, breathing life back into the children. Afterward, they gained acquired unique traits.
The failed test subjects of Gluttony were perfected in the hands of Silis.
"...These are the only people to whom I can entrust my life."
Silis stroked the illusions.
Her touch was filled with affection and tenderness.
"In that sense, Asher, I want to seek your cooperation."
"You want me to help with your revenge?"
"Help with my revenge… Yes, surely if you were to intervene, it would be a great strength. But I dislike variables. I will never entrust my lifelong wish to someone I do not trust."
Silis turned her head.
Her gaze crossed with Verden's.
"I do not want you to interfere."
Rumble.
Space began to tremble.
This was not a phenomenon occurring within this mental world.
'...Outside?'
Fwoooosh!
Sensing a strange sensation, Verden immediately released his magic power.
Silis tried to stop him, but he ignored her.
Overwhelmed by his magic power, Silis's garden shattered into pieces at once, and at the same time, Verden's consciousness returned to reality.
Lorian, Cland, Chemion.
He saw their bodies gradually fading away.
Since their true selves had already moved elsewhere, there was no way to stop it.
Rrrumble...!
As the tremors grew steadily stronger, Silis's voice echoed in his ears.
───I have no intention of harming you. Until my revenge is complete, I will only seal all of Roafra. Originally, it was a plan to imprison Grond, but no matter that you killed Grond, you will not be able to break the witch's seal. Not unless I release it myself.
Silis whispered softly.
───Please, understand that I had no choice but to make this decision. I don't know if you can even understand the feeling called vengeance.
With those words, her voice ceased.
The figures of Cland and his group also vanished without a trace.
Verden stepped outside.
Beyond the trembling ground, a rainbow-colored barrier was enveloping all of Roafra.
***
"Cough, cough!"
"...! Your Highness!"
Silis coughed up her breath and collapsed onto the floor.
The shock triggered in the mental world felt as though it was shredding her entire body. Only after vomiting up streams of clear stomach acid did she manage to breathe a little easier.
"Are you all right, Your Highness Silis?! Should we contact the Marquis of Esperanza…?!"
"I… I'm fine, Flona. Just, just let me rest a little and I'll recover."
Flona hurriedly supported Silis and moved her.
Silis collapsed onto the bed as if thrown, breathing harshly. Her head spun, and when she touched her forehead, her temperature was blazing hot.
'To think the mental world would collapse in an instant…'
She tried to stop it, but it was impossible.
The vast amount of magic power she had experienced for the first time in her life was far beyond what she could withstand. His mental strength also far surpassed hers.
It was definitely not magic, nor a magic item, disguising his appearance.
Judging by appearance alone, he seemed about her age, or even younger.
Yet how he gained such strength, she simply could not understand.
'Could it be, he inherited some special trait like me?'
For now, it was impossible to know.
Silis let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Whatever the case, the sealing plan for Roafra had ended in success.
Even if Asher had truly intended to help her, she felt no regret for her decision. This way, she could eliminate a massive variable.
Yes, that fact alone was what mattered.
"Flona."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Tell everyone. The sealing of Roafra has succeeded."
And then.
"Tell them to prepare for the coronation."
One step forward.
The time was drawing near.
***
"Ro, Roafra…! What is this tremor? Don't tell me, another earthquake?!"
"The elevators won't work! They're not working!"
"What on earth is that light…?"
Roafra stirred in chaos.
The outcries of the residents echoed everywhere. Soon the tremors stopped, but the confusion only deepened further instead of calming down.
The elevators had stopped working, as if the flow of magic had been cut off.
The mages living in the underworld flew high into the sky, but they were blocked by the rainbow-colored barrier, unable to get out.
Whether sliced with a sword, struck with a club, or attacked with magic, it didn't budge in the slightest.
Roafra was a vast underground city.
And yet, some people had already begun to fall into panic.
No matter how wide the underworld was, they could not overcome the psychological pressure of being trapped underground.
It was literally pandemonium.
Amidst it all, Verden remained calm.
He observed the seal formed of the witch's magic, analyzing it magically.
'The space has been separated.'
It was certainly not the supreme attribute of spatial magic.
The barrier surrounding Roafra was a wall blocking between one reality and another.
Kwagwagwagwang!
Even struck by Verden's magic, it remained unscathed.
Not that it endured or absorbed the shock, but rather, it felt as if it diverted it elsewhere.
Since the witch was said to be one who dealt with dreams… this barrier before him might well be a kind of imaginary boundary.
A line impossible to cross unless one interfered with space itself.
'The witch's magic.'
If the magic were directed at him personally, Verden had confidence he could handle it.
But for it to target the entire underworld, he honestly had not anticipated it.
It was the first time he had encountered such an exceptional unique trait.
───Asheeer!
A familiar voice rose from below.
Calia, Robert, Perne, Karans, Galliark, and others had gathered.
They must have realized something abnormal had occurred in Roafra.
He lowered his altitude and landed on the ground.
"Lord Asher, what in the world has happened to Roafra?"
Perne asked.
A question that contained the many doubts rising in everyone's minds.
What should he answer?
Since things had come to this, there was no harm in revealing the truth, but explaining it all now would be too complex, the conversation too long.
After some thought, Verden summarized the situation.
"Roafra has been sealed."
"What?"
"You can consider everyone here trapped inside."
Verden was not the type to joke about something like this.
The sudden news sparked loud murmurs. Galliark, leaning on his crutch, smacked his own forehead.
"Damn it. I knew it, once you get mixed up with that bastard Asher, this is what happens."
That was rather unfair.
This situation would have occurred regardless of Verden.
Of course, if he weren't here, Galliark would never have remained in Roafra in the first place.
"Hmph, a seal. I'll ask the reason later. Is there a way out, Asher?"
Hopeful gazes turned toward him.
As if it were natural, Verden nodded.
"Of course there is."
Two ways, in fact.
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