Episode 369

My legs nearly gave out and I almost collapsed on the spot, thinking, Ah, I'm saved.

I had thought of a few ways to survive, but most of them were very unlikely. There was a reason I had assumed the worst-case scenario. Now, seeing Lise finally appear gave me an immense sense of relief.

I immediately shared that joy with Seren, saying, "Hey, we're saved now."

However, she shot me a strange look. Come to think of it, I was in my Nalu form right now. There were still many people here, so I couldn't reveal my identity.

I cleared my throat and said, "Excuse me. It was a slip of the tongue. That person is an acquaintance of mine. She came to save me."

Seren frowned slightly and asked, "An acquaintance? Not a colleague?"

"She might look like this, but she is kind-hearted. Don't judge by appearances."

"Really? What is her identity?"

"Uh, the Badnikers' secret weapon? If you learn any more, you will get hurt."

Seren tilted her head and stared at me, muttering, "Have we met somewhere before?"

"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"

"Your annoying way of speaking is strangely familiar."

I couldn't help letting out a short laugh. To think the one who had told me she would kill anyone who talked to her at our first meeting was calling my tone annoying.

"This is the first time we are meeting," I replied roughly before watching the situation again.

I wondered how much Lise knew about the Abanaham Witch Society. Based on what I knew, the group didn't have a short history. It was likely at least 100 years old, which would make it far older than most arrogant groups that boasted of their history.

Of course, it was a secretive group, so its exact age was impossible to tell. Considering that Lise Ladygoth had been trapped in the library for a few hundred years, it was possible she didn't know about them at all.

"A spell that turns hair into snakes? I've seen it in literature. It is a type of ancient black magic, but it hasn't been practiced for at least 200 years." A strange desire swirled in Ozma's empty eyes as she spoke. The drowsy feeling had vanished and was replaced with a sense of warmth.

Lise stopped checking the inside of the bag and finally looked at me. For a moment, it seemed like she might call out my name, so I hurriedly interrupted her by crying out, "You have come to help me, mage!"

"Hm?"

"You came all the way here to save this Nalu, who is just a mere servant. This Nalu doesn't know how to express my gratitude." I emphasized Nalu twice as I responded.

Lise tilted her head slightly. I could see her eyes narrowing through her messy, long hair. It was a tense moment, as Lise had lived for a long time but she didn't seem to have much life experience. I had no idea how she would respond to my ad-lib. Honestly, it wouldn't be strange if she simply replied, Luan, what are you talking about?

"Mm..." Lise sighed before asking, "What can I do?"

It was a relief. Lise was inexperienced, not stupid. She had a pretty good response, completely changing the subject.

I looked around and asked, "Can you make sense of the current situation?"

"If you wish, I can bring everyone here to their knees in front of you," Lise replied.

Dorothy burst out laughing and Ryan roared like a beast.

Lise continued, sounding like she didn't care. "Or I could just kill them all."

Seren paused before asking, "That... Can you think about it again?"

She was asking Lise, but her eyes were fixed on me. It seemed she thought that Lise would comply if it was my request.

I wondered if there was something special about this place. I still didn't know why Seren was taking the risk of interacting with the witch society.

I thought it could be useful, so I looked at Lise and asked, "Will it be enough to subdue them for now?"

"Well, sure," Lise replied.

Ryan, the one who looked the least patient, stepped forward with a face red with anger. "The more I hear, the more ridiculous it becomes. Breaking through the barrier of the Emerald Tower is impressive, but do you think that is enough to handle everyone here? You weren't the only one holding back in the fight just now!"

It seemed he was deliberately picking a fight.

Lise covered her nose when she heard that, saying, "You smell bad, so close your mouth."

"What?" Ryan exclaimed.

"Are you too much of a beast to understand? The stench typical of a drug user is making me dizzy, so shut your mouth."

A drug user? I thought. I sniffed but I didn't notice anything.

"What nonsense!" Ryan's face burned with anger as he extended his front paw. His face looked no different from a lion's.

Lise stood still. However, the hair that usually moved like her loyal servant flowed down like a waterfall and grew into dozens of large and small snakes in an instant.

The startled Ryan slashed with his claws and bit with his teeth, but the snakes weren't torn or cut. Instead, they wrapped around his body with clever movements and fully restrained him in an instant.

"Let go of me!" Even in this state, he let out a roar that sounded like that of a real lion.

Lise moved her hair and pulled Ryan closer.

"Ahaha..." Her eyes curved into a crescent moon shape as she laughed wickedly. "So, shall we see for ourselves whether it is nonsense or not?"

One of the snakes slithered slowly towards Ryan. It wriggled and transformed as it narrowed the distance. Before long, it took the shape of a bizarre syringe.

"What are you trying to do?!" Ryan exclaimed.

"I'm going to prove that I'm not wrong. I'm not going to use anesthesia, so it might be a bit painful," Lise answered.

"What?"

Then Ryan's agonized scream rang through the air as a syringe the size of a finger pierced his heart. It certainly looked like it hurt quite a bit.

"Ryan!"

It seemed these people had a sense of camaraderie. The ghost knight, Tin, drew her axe and rushed in, but Lise waved her hand without looking back. There was a loud noise as the round table flipped over and attacked Tin. She swung her axe, aiming to cut apart the round table in a single strike.

Then something astonishing happened. Suddenly, a black hand grew out of the round table and grabbed the axe.

It wasn't just one hand, however. Hundreds of arms sprouted from the round table and started to reach out indiscriminately toward the surroundings.

Ugh, I thought. I knew it was black magic, but it didn't look good in terms of aesthetics.

The round table instantly turned into a bunch of hands and rolled like a ball, crushing Tin. She was still struggling with her axe despite being crushed, but it seemed difficult for her to escape right away.

In the meantime, I looked at the rest of the group. Ozma watched the entire situation with wide eyes. There was a glint of madness in those eyes as if she was determined to not miss a single moment of what was happening. Dorothy still had a strange smile on her face as if she was watching the situation. Meanwhile, the doll called Crow was stomping its feet like a child.

"Now the extraction is over." Lise smiled contentedly and threw Ryan away.

I wondered if she'd taken all his blood and turned him into a mummy. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. The freed Ryan looked pale but he didn't seem to be in danger of dying.

Crow strode up to him and asked in a muffled voice, "Are you okay?"

"Hiik!" Ryan was startled and covered his face.

"R-Ryan?" The surprised Crow tried to follow him, but he screamed and ran away.

Seeing this, Lise burst out into a very witchlike laugh. "Ahahahat!"

I hadn't planned to do this at the witch society's hideout, but it turned out this way in the end.

Ozma asked, "What did you do?"

Lise responded to Ozma's question with a smile, "I only extracted the drug from the user. It is a substance that forcibly stimulates the central nervous system, elevating the body and mind. If the dosage is balanced properly, the side effects are minimal. Being a beastman, he must've been able to endure it better. Well, looking at this, it seems that he took it for mental problems rather than physical problems."

It was hard to see the previous brave warrior in Ryan's trembling form. He seemed like the biggest coward in the world now.

Apart from that, I was impressed to see Lise overpowering two members of the witch society in an instant. In truth, I didn't know much about her. She was a figure from several hundred years ago, a descendant of Black Fairy Kuset, and a master of all sorts of special forbidden arts, but that was all I was certain of.

I also vaguely guessed that her skills and knowledge might rival the seven archmages, but I didn't know for sure. However, Lise's actual performance exceeded my expectations.

Ozma narrowed her eyes and said as if she felt the same way, "Ancient magic and the art of imbuing objects with a soul. All of this indicates someone well versed in black magic."

"Hoh..." Lise sounded slightly impressed. It seemed she was quite surprised by Ozma's vision.

"Who are you?" Ozma asked.

"The serpent dragon that roams the deepest darkness. The mage of the night sky, untouched by even the seven colors that crossed the sky... I don't know if the brats of this era can comprehend it," Lise answered.

For some reason, she looked pleased. It was just like when she was eating delicious food at the restaurant I'd taken her to. Her demeanor suggested that she didn't see the current situation as a crisis or unexpected disaster, but as an extension of the outing that she hadn't experienced in hundreds of years.

Ozma's eyes narrowed even more. She muttered, "The mage of the black sky? A master of black magic that was active hundreds of years ago?"

"Hmm. I wonder if this Lise Ladygoth is still famous."

"It is hard to believe. Based on what I know, the Black Sky Mage simply vanished one day. The prevailing theory is that you went crazy from delving too deeply into black magic or died suddenly."

"My mind isn't weak enough for me to have gone crazy while studying magic. Why don't you try it yourself? See if I am real or not."

"Stop bluffing."

"What?"

"Putting aside your identity, your current strength must be limited."

I wondered what Ozma was saying. As if on cue, she pointed to the bracelet around Lise's wrist. It was the bracelet that Assad had handed me. It was a magic tool that allowed Lise Ladygoth to go outside only once a month.

Ozma remarked, "The bracelet has a sealing technique engraved on it. You are bound somewhere."

"Your eyes are pretty good. It is engraved on the inner side of the bracelet, not the outer surface, but you managed to notice it," Lise remarked.

"I can understand the essence of magic tools just by looking at them. As you said, I have good eyes." Ozma blinked as she spoke. It almost felt as if something was wriggling under those dark eyes. She then said, "At most, the mana output you can produce now is only around half. If you try to overdo it beyond that, you will be penalized in some way, right? For example, being forcibly sent back to where you should be."

I had a hunch that everything Ozma said was true. It was because of what Assad had said when he handed over the bracelet. There was indeed a spell engraved on it, and there were restrictions.

Meanwhile, Tin finished struggling with the monster created by Lise, smashed it with her axe, and rejoined the group.

Ryan was still huddled in a corner, muttering, "Drug... I need the drug..."

If everything Ozma said was true, it could be difficult for Lise to fight the remaining four alone. However, that was only the case if Lise fights alone.

I exchanged a look with Seren. She quickly noticed and nodded. If we participated, it would be four against three. There still weren't enough people, but it wouldn't be too difficult if Lise took on the two most troublesome opponents.

Just as I was thinking that, Ozma looked behind her and said something out of the blue. "Tin, take Crow and Ryan. In addition, Dorothy, move them."

Dorothy nodded. "I thought you would give that order. What floor should I send them to?"

"The fifth... No. The sixth floor."

"Hmm. Normally, I would've complained that it is too much, but it is appropriate right now," Dorothy said with a grin. Then she suddenly tapped the ground a few times with her feet. A cheerful sound rang out like dancing at a ball.

It was only at this time that I noticed the bright red shoes that Dorothy was wearing. The moment I thought to myself that they were unusual—

The surrounding landscape started to turn upside down.

What is this now? I thought as the concept of up, down, left, and right disappeared and my body moved in all directions. It was like being trapped in a carriage that was falling off a cliff.

I immediately called on my internal energy to regain my balance, but I realized belatedly that the surrounding scenery had changed significantly. It was still dark, but I was no longer within the confines of the hall. I found myself in an open space. A chill went down my spine when I saw the cracked earth, the gloomy air, and above all, the unsettling green sky.

Don't tell me? I thought.

What suddenly came to mind was the sight of a dead city under the green sky, accompanied by buildings that were twisted as if someone had squeezed them, structures devoid of any life, and an ominous presence emanating from behind red-stained windows; there was also a transcendent being that appeared while playing with a ball.

Seren frowned and expressed the thought in my mind. "Is this Hell?"

"No." I immediately denied it. The scenery was surprisingly similar, but I didn't feel the insidious Dark Qi unique to Hell.

Lise looked around and asked, "Is it a place that imitates Hell?"

—That's right. Dimensional shifting and demon summoning are also fields of black magic.

Ozma's voice came from somewhere. It seemed that she wasn't in this space, but was watching us from somewhere far away.

—It is a place that imitates Hell, but the hundreds of demons we have summoned actually live here. You won't be able to get out until you kill them all.

This was a bit troublesome. I'd never imagined that the witch society would resort to the cowardly means of overpowering us with numbers.

Meanwhile, ominous presences emerged around me. They were demons. Judging from the sensation, their level wasn't very high. There were no legion commanders. There were only low and some medium-level demons. However, it was a different story if there were hundreds of them.

I sighed and said to Lise, "Leave these small fries to us."

"Why?'

"She said that we can return to the original place if we take care of them, right? You handle the witches once we get back, and we'll deal with these guys."

"Once again, why?"

"Why?" I repeated, staring as if something was out of sync.

Lise said, "You don't have to deal with those troublesome things because it is already over."

"What do you mean?"

In response, Lise reached out toward the sky. A black, oily substance gathered at her fingertips, wriggling slightly before taking the shape of an arrow and shooting upward into the air. Eventually, the sky was pierced. Cracks appeared in the false sky as if glass was breaking, covering the entire sky before spreading to the ground.

I stood still, not knowing how to respond. Then the surrounding scenery shattered with a loud sound. Fragments of light flew like snowflakes. We returned to our original spots, facing the members of the witch society.

Ozma showed signs of panic for the first time, exclaiming, "What the Hell did you do?"

"Reverse calculation," Lise replied like it wasn't a big deal. "It is only possible through understanding the structure of the spell and discerning the mana patterns, provided that the executor's capability surpasses that of the caster."

"Did you reverse the summoning magic? Is that really possible—" Ozma began.

"It is possible. For this body," Lise cut her off.

"One more thing. Earlier, you asked what I could do with only half my mana." Lise smiled and finished, "Child, with half my mana, I could subdue this place more than twelve times over."