An ancient laugh permeated the darkness, piercing through it like a rapier to paper.
The alluring woman smiled. She was the epitome of 'matured beauty,' beholding great wisdom, and looks that paled in comparison to everybody in the world. Everybody present couldn't help but hold their breath in front of that presence involuntarily.
…Well, all except for one.
"W… What is that…?!'
Cold sweat ran down Lieren's face as he beheld the… thing in front of him.
It was, in the worst way possible, absolutely disgusting. It was the epitome of disgust, revulsion, and vileness he had ever, in his entire life—both fictional and non-fictional—had ever seen or imagined.
The figure , which was apparently a person, by the looks of it; seemed to be rotting ever so slowly. Pieces and parts fell and regenerated constantly, evaporating as it fell from—what seemed to be—a woman's face. There were hollow holes where her eyes were supposed to be, a cold remnant of the past and a cruel reminder of the harrowing future. She had… arms, it seemed like. It looked more like dehydrated wood, actually, like the bark of a burnt tree, weathered by time in the worst possible way. Her body structure was no different than a few sticks tied together carelessly by a sick amateur with no skills whatsoever.
Nothing paled in comparison when it came to the pure evil she continuously leaked out like a broken faucet. Her intent filled the air constantly, almost suffocatingly.
"A Witch…"
The boy muttered, his voice hoarse—as if asphyxiated—by the figure's crushing presence.
'Ugh! Dammit!'
Lieren clung onto the aura that possessively held onto him. He didn't know how it worked, or how to control it—beyond a certain point—but he did know that if it could resist something, it would do so at all costs.
Even if that meant branding him as an Insig.
The horrid figure glared at Lieren, a glint of ancient madness prevalent in her eyes. From the looks of it, only the boy could see it, otherwise the others would have reacted much in the same way. Especially his Aegis.
"You…"
She pointed, thrusting out a rotting bark of a withered tree branch at him, causing a deep sense of dread to wash over him like some kind of primal instinct, causing powerful shivers to reverberate throughout his body. He could feel his Resistance working wonders for him at the very same time, diluting whatever terrible magic had been leaking this whole time like toxic fumes, contaminating all those present.
"You can see it, can't you, little boy? With those blue eyes of yours."
Her beady eyes grew wide, her face arcing—ripping apart as the skin around her hollow eyes sockets fell apart, as if it was being ripped off by some merciful force, trying to end her long suffering. There was deep presence in those hollow eyes of hers, as if it was containing something much more powerful than what was in front of them, hiding in plain sight, just out of reach.
"….!!"
Lieren leaped back, pushing his mana out and stepping back with explosive speed. Even now, he could still feel the Witch's spell gnaw at the back of her mind like a squirrel, chewing the shell that was his mysterious aura, stopping whatever magic she was inflicting to all that bore witness to her presence. Despite her horrendous appearance, the Witch had the agility of a well-trained rogue, disappearing and reappearing in front of him in a flash… except that, there wasn't one. Instead, there was only darkness; as well as the zero lag pseudo-teleportation she just exhibited with what seemed to the casual nonchalance of casting a cantrip.
Her hollow eyes stared directly into Lieren, seemingly piercing whatever protective layer that he considered to be his most trusted power as if it wasn't there with just a glance. She leaned closer to him, whispering a malignant threat that shook the very core of Lieren's entire being.
"Didn't your parents ever teach you to keep to yourself, little one? It's not nice to peek in on others' secrets."
The dark circles that were her eyes seemed to… glow? It was a weird image. The hollowness of her eyes blended into the dark abyss that was swallowing the forest like some kind of enormous shadow cast by a Titan or Giant. Moreover, it was more real than fiction. The scene was just so mysterious and unusual that, amidst his panic he couldn't help but feel somewhat mesmerized by the sight for the first time, as well as threatened of what to come with that reaction.
"It's a secret, after all. It's not meant to be known."
Lieren felt the world grew still, as if in a tunnel; expanding and contracting, all points of exit pointing to one thing: her. The shivers disappeared, replaced by cold acceptance. He felt his body go limp.
For the first time in a while, the boy felt helpless and confused. It was as if death stood by his side, telling him of his inevitable future. In fact, he may not be as far away from the truth as he thought he was.
"Don't touch him!"
In a flash of green light, a lean man stood beside him, his eyes holding some kind of intense emotion that Lieren couldn't quite figure out. It seemed to be burning, almost mischievously, like some kind of burning trickster, though you could day that that is the worst to describe it somebody's burning desire. His sword seemingly conjoined with his chaotic mess of a life, the starless sky somehow becoming deeper and richer. Harita swung his katana with both hands on the sword's hilt, putting as much force to his strike as possible.
"..."
The horrid figure, noticing this, disappeared once again. This tine, she stayed gone, the non-existent gap that she had exhibited earlier completely gone. There was only the dark space filled with endless waves of shadows.
"...Wha—"
Motes of silver twinkled like beautiful stars where she had just been, where Harita's sword was currently in mid-swipe, sparkling beautifully.
Harita tried to stop, but found himself unable to move. There was cold dew flowing down his face, as he finally realized the grim truth of the situation.
'This woman she's…'
She reappeared just beside Harita, holding her bark-like rotting arm on his face. For some reason, Lieren didn't feel right to call it that, as accurate as it may be. Arcane power began to gather just before her extended "palm."
The horrid figure clicked her tongue, she snarked at the man as she passed a gaze just beyond him.
"Pesky rebel. Don't you know when to keep quiet? It's never a good idea to anger a beautiful lady. Who knows how she might sting you?""
Sliver motes of violent mana coalesced just a few inches in front of her outstretched palm. With a dismissive flourish, sent the mana flying, still barely finished.
The boy screamed from the top if his lungs, his voice almost on the verge of breaking.
"Harita!"
Red had to hold Lieren back, lest he charges in and kills himself. She reminded herself again:
'Stop, no, don't. I should calm down and wait for an opening. If judge it to be too tight or impossible, then I run; take Lieren with me leave the man here to stall. He seems to be very subservient—by magical proxy—so it should work out… somehow. Then, I just need to deal with Lieren, if all goes well, he'll rely on me for the remainder of his life. (He could also despise me and try to kill me on the spot in a frenzy, but I can deal with until he calms down.) I'll be here to calm him, so everything should be fine. I just need to wait, plan, and execute. Calm down, calm down.)
Her mind worked at ways they normally never should, the gears in her head twisting and turning. As long as the boy was safe, that's all that mattered.
Harita braced himself, reapplying his Reinforcement magic, doubling down and condensing its effects on his arm, going beyond his regular limits. He was flung back.
"Sheesh, kids these days. I swear, they get worse with every generation. How Cortesia can just sit down and watch the world eat itself from the ground up with each passing year, to me, remains a mystery. It's about time she did something about… this."
The alleged Witch spoke confusing remarks completely unrelated, in Lieren's eyes, to the current situation. Was she not taking this seriously? Of course she wasn't, that much was obvious. However, that did not mean he had given up trying to decipher her dialogue.
A lean figure shifted in the side, illuminating the forest with the subtle white glow of a ring of runes around his left wrist shone in the darkness, as well as the runes below his right eye, and the feline green eyes that seemed to pierce the world with nothing but a glance.
The Witch looked to the side. There was a hint of surprise in her voice, tinged with a bit of interest and annoyance.
"…They seem tougher, too."
Harita stood on his own two feet, his left arm bleeding profusely as pieces of the silver motes of mana drifted around his runes, as if gravitated to it. The lean man glared with a distant gaze, seemingly disconnected from the world. There was the smallest hint of cold fury burning in his eyes.
"HAR—"
Lieren yelled at the top of his lungs—tried to, anyways—only to be stopped once again by Red, covering his mouth with her giant paw, almost covering his entire face. She was mid-transformation right now, so her size less than double her other form.
"Scary~ Is that supposed to make me cower, force me to bow down?"
The Witch glanced to the side, at Red and Lieren, and something about the way the abyss shifted in her eyes that, Lieren realized, signified that she came into something of an epiphany.
"Excuse my language, pesky rebel, but you're less of a hero than you might think. Somebody much more powerful than you ever could be has already tried. Much more boldly and bravely than you did, actually. It's not even a competition..."
She trailed off, as if the rest of the bored her from even the mention of it. Her hollow eyes shifted back to Harita, as well ss the growing fire burning deep within him, something only she could see with her almighty vision.
"…So that's what it was."
The Witch faced the man directly, as if to humor. She reached her rickety stick arm out and provoked him with a beckoning wave. Her cheeks parted into something akin to the horrid carvings of a sick madman, a grim reminder of the bottom-line of life and its inevitable end.
"Very well, give me your best… if you even have one."
Harita glared at her in return, flaring his fire. With an explosive leap, he charged at her full-on, gripping his sword tightly.
This time, he wasn't going to miss.