Chapter 5
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Blue flames ignited and encircled the area around them. Bella slowly stepped through the fire.
“Ugh, aahhh! A witch!”
“It’s a witch, a witch. Witch!”
“Waaah! Help!”
Screams of terror erupted everywhere. It was complete, utter chaos. Everyone became entangled together, whether they were enemies or allies.
As Bella reached out to them, Elaine shouted urgently, “Bella! You can’t kill the people with eagle emblems on their chests! Those masked men are the enemies!”
“Hm, just deal with them yourselves.”
Bella, who advised briefly, set off a spark amongst the masked people who fled. Five or six enemies collapsed at once, and in the aftermath of the shock, even the allies around them were thrown back. Surrounded by blue flames, the assailants fell helplessly, unable to escape. Those who attempted to flee through the flames were swallowed up.
In the meantime, the assassins who remained faithful to their duties were eager as they lunged for the Crown Prince. However, they were cleanly handled by Espel, who appeared on top of a tree.
Such a one-sided fight ended in a flash. As Elaine had requested, Bella only dealt blows to the masked men. After the situation was over, Espel, who leapt down from the tree amidst the knights’ silent dismay, checked over Elaine’s condition.
“Elaine, are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. More than that…”
Elaine, who nodded, looked over at Bella with an embarrassed expression. Bella turned her hand over lightly and smiled at Elaine.
“Now, can you explain what happened?”
“Uh, that…”
“Or will the person next to you explain?”
Bella turned her head towards the Prince, who stood next to Elaine.
The moment he made eye contact with Bella, the Crown Prince had a hunch. The unabated anger did not dissipate from the eyes of the woman who revealed herself to be a witch, and his men’s lives wholly depended on his tongue.
The Crown Prince fell onto one knee on the ground. Then, all the knights followed and knelt down on the ground in unison with their master.
“I reveal myself as Lloyd de Phillion, Crown Prince of the kingdom. While crossing the mountain, I saw a child wandering alone in the darkness and thought it was dangerous. I decided to follow her, but we were attacked by assassins who were aiming for me. The situation turned dire, as you’ve just witnessed before.”
“Hmm, is that so? I see. Then, what should I do with you all now?”
Lloyd’s hands were bathed in cold sweat at the voice of the blasé witch.
“I deeply apologize for putting your precious person in danger due to my mistake. However, it was purely due to my inadequacy, so your anger should only be directed at me.”
Voices of protest poured out among the knights at the words of their Prince.
“No way! It’s our fault for not serving Your Highness properly!”
“Your Highness, you don’t have to kneel down to a witch!”
“Witch! Kill us first if you want to hold us accountable!”
Elaine and the Crown Prince shouted in a rage.
“A witch? Watch your mouth!
“A witch? Watch your mouth!”
The voices of the two overlapped.
“Huh?”
Embarrassed, the two faced each other in astonishment.
“Pft, ahaha!”
Bella’s clear laugh rang out among them, who were unable to say a word.
This was their first very intense meeting with Lloyd. Later down the line, it wasn’t long before Lloyd and Bella fell in love. No one who was present during that time—not even the two people themselves—would have imagined that their relationship would develop in such a direction.
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Lloyd de Phillion was the First Prince and Crown Prince of the Phillion Kingdom. He was a good person—warm, wise, tolerant, and impartial. He knew the people counted on him, and he had a strong and upright character.
Bella needed someone who could embrace all of her flaws, and Lloyd was a man who was capable of that. The two quickly fell for each other. Their love sprouted, and a few years later, the two bore a lovely son.
The people of the kingdom rejoiced and blessed their love. It was a time where the days passed by in peace and happiness.
Years have passed. Presently, today was a month before her son’s third birthday.
“…Strange.”
Bella mumbled, fiddling with the necklace on her neck—something she had received as a gift a few days ago. A round, pure white jewel sparkled and reflected in the light. She could feel a faint touch of magic emanating from it. It was probably a lucky stone infused with a simple magic spell—like an amulet of sorts. But she had other things to be more concerned about at the moment.
Since a little while ago, there has been some sort of strange energy present in the royal palace. Little by little, it slowly crawled through the entire palace—a deep and sinister energy. She ran through the palace halls in search of a spot where the energy was most concentrated.
When she reached a point where she felt was the source of the energy, a space opened up. Inside, white pillars embedded in the circular ground supported the high ceiling. It seemed to be a place of ancestral offerings. There was an altar in the center—the King, priests, and sorcerers were gathered around it.
A blood-red magic circle covered the ground, and an ominous energy emanated from it. The menacing scent of blood circulated around the magic circle, where an enchantment of red lines intricately wove together.
The blood of the Evil Dragon. Bella had just realized what was used to draw the magic circle. An ancient magic that had long been forsaken was now being used to spread a powerful curse.
Then, who was the target of the curse?
Without even having time to ponder over the question, she stiffened. Lying on the altar, a familiar-looking man was completely covered in blood.
Bella walked towards him like she was possessed. As she entered the magic circle, the priests and sorcerers began to chant a spell, as if they had been waiting for her. The clamor of humans talking sounded like a buzzing bug.
Her mind was fixated solely on the man who was lying like a corpse on the altar. Her acute sense of smell detected the putrid smell of blood coming from the man.
She fell down and embraced Lloyd as if she was about to pass out. The scent of blood assaulted her senses and caused her mind to waver. Who was this man lying here with the face of her lover—whose body was she holding as she sat here crying out the name of her beloved.
“Lloyd…open your eyes, will you? Why are you doing this…Lloyd…!” Bella cried out as she held onto Lloyd, who was growing cold. Then, she suddenly raised her head. A person’s shadow in front of the altar entered her blurry, tear-filled vision.
The King, whose mouth was stained with red blood, showed his teeth through a grotesque smile. He held an unidentifiable mass of red flesh in the grip of his hand.
Bella began to feel dizzy. Who dared called those things humans? Those were not men. They were evil beings who wore human skin. The unfathomable anger and endless sorrow intertwined with one another and completely filled her inside. Something hot sprung from deep within her, melting her mind and sense of reason. Her vision was burning red.
All she could think about was tearing apart the evil beings in front of her and kill them all.
Then, the beads on her necklace resonated and began to eat up her flesh. One by one, the white beads gradually turned red. The same pattern on the magic circle drawn on the ground was then engraved on the surface of the smooth beads. At the same time, the blood-red magic circle turned black, emitting an eerie light.
[I’ve finally found them.]
At this moment, eyes with vertically-torn pupils appeared, and a chilling voice was heard.
The pupils revealed on the surface of the red-colored beads stirred and moved from side to side.
[Alas, those who plucked out my eyes, cut open my stomach, and wrenched out my heart.]
It was only then that Bella realized what horrible mistake she had made.
What she had previously thought was just a necklace were the eyes belonging to the Evil Dragon—a medium that connected the curse to its target. The target of the curse was none other than Bella herself.
Dripping with red energy, the beaded pupils looked as if it were shedding bloody tears. It howled out a wicked laugh.
[Kill, kill, kill!]
Beyond her distant consciousness, a terrible howl—not knowing whether it was laughter or a cry—invaded her mind. As always, it was too late to realize.
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Riding her horse through the wind, Elaine’s hair whipped around her in the cool night air like scattering silver dust. Her silvery hair reflected brightly under the full moon, seeming to melt with the moonlight.
Elaine was on the road leading to the entrance of Seveka. She was returning after more than ten days of being away from home. As Elaine rode her horse with excitement, she suddenly felt the capital ahead was rather noisy. She couldn’t understand why exactly, but something like loud screams rang out, and the whole city was lit up like daylight, burning with an unknown light.
Elaine, who quickly reached the gates with an ominous, foreboding feeling, couldn’t help but doubt her eyes at the shocking sight. Her whole field of vision was engulfed in blazing blue fire and crumbling debris. The entire city was littered and overflowing with corpses.
People frantically poured out of the palace with tearful screams of terror. Elaine ran in the opposite direction towards the place where people were running away from. She ran like a madwoman, searching for one person without any moment to think.
Elaine didn’t have to go very far. She quickly caught sight of the person she was looking for. She arrived at the center of the royal palace, where the pillars and roof had collapsed.
There, Elaine met Bella, who had gone mad beyond reason.
Around the area where Bella was standing, a large black magic circle covered the ground. People appearing to be sorcerers wearing robes were crawling around on the floor. Bella, who was slaughtering people at random, noticed the appearance of another human and turned her head.
Her eyes were hazy without focus—they were engulfed by dark, bottomless pits. Elaine stopped breathing in the face of that darkness. She murmured in a stupor, “Bella…?”
Bella, who was gripping someone’s neck with one hand, walked out of the magic circle, flinging aside the drooping body. The action was akin to throwing away a broken toy. Bella tilted her head as if it was interesting to find a living creature still breathing and alive.
Elaine, who had come back to her senses, cried out in an urgent voice, “Bella, what happened…!”
But her question couldn’t be finished.
In the next moment, the woman fiercely rushed towards Elaine with terrifying momentum. Bella flew at a ferocious speed as if she was going to kill her. There was a sense of murderous spirit in Bella as she came at Elaine.
Bella couldn’t recognize Elaine’s face or voice.
Clang!
“Ugh…!”
Elaine, who reflexively drew her sword and blocked Bella’s crushing blow, briefly groaned. If she were an ordinary person, it would have been a blow that would have killed her in an instant. However, Elaine has reached a point where she could be considered the best amongst masters.
Furthermore, it was none other than Bella who had taught her swordsmanship over the years. Otherwise, Elaine would have perished into a puddle of blood.
However, even though Elaine was able to block the blow, the aftermath of the witch’s powerful attack was lethal. She felt a terrible pain in her right shoulder, and she figured some amount of damage had been dealt to it.
But due to the follow-up onslaught of attacks, Elaine had no choice but to raise her sword without taking any time to recover from the pain. Their swords continuously collided without rest. Time and time again, the distance between them would grow apart and then closer again.
How many could stand this much on their own against a witch like this? Elaine’s attacks may well be compared to a monster’s, but ironically, the person she was dealing with was an even worse monster than her.
It was Elaine’s side who began to grow tired as time passed. Before she knew it, countless wounds marred her body. Blood leaked out from the open wounds, dyeing her whole body in red. It was a disaster that couldn’t be saved—like a nasty wound that couldn’t be taken care of. These thoughts tangled in her head.
Everything was confounding. Elaine couldn’t understand why someone who had been fine and well up until now suddenly became like this. She couldn’t believe that it was Bella’s blade that was rushing to kill her.
Why, why? For what? The fragmented questions swarmed her head. And as the questions gathered together, they erupted into even more questions.
How could she put an end to it?
As soon as she thought of the question, Elaine’s gaze became fixed on the necklace around Bella’s neck.
It was a necklace she had never seen before. As she was jumping around while fighting Bella, the necklace in question around her neck glowed bright red with slits.
Maybe, just maybe she could stop it. Elaine had a strong intuition that she must destroy that ominously glowing thing.
Elaine, who had been on the offensive with Bella, suddenly changed her stance to a defensive one. Instead of attacking head-on, she continued to dodge from the pouring attacks. At the same time, she maintained a certain distance without separating herself too far. Bella stopped attacking and stood tall as her prey continued to move around. Then, slowly, she raised her arm towards Elaine.
The action was a precursor to a witch’s blue fire. As if she had been waiting for the signal, Elaine swiftly threw her body forward. In a blink of an eye, Elaine appeared right in front of Bella—she reached for the necklace.
She was risking her life. Elaine coming into direct contact with Bella meant that Bella could also take Elaine’s life. She knew it was irrational and beyond her power, but she had no choice. She had to stop everything before an even bigger sacrifice took place.
But Bella was a witch. Even though she had lost her mind, no one with human power was a match for her. Elaine’s heart was pierced first before she could reach the necklace. A terrible pain came, but Elaine didn’t stop. Her desperate hand finally reached the beads. She gathered every last drop of mana into her hand and grabbed the red beads.
Then, she crushed them. The beads shattered, and red mana poured into the air like blood.
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What was she looking at?
Bella wanted to believe she was still wandering in her dreams. When she had come to at this moment, Bella covered her face with both hands at the gruesome sight before her. A mountain of corpses, burning fire that had turned everything into ash, a city once full of life was now completely demolished—and lastly, a dying Elaine.
The world, visible through the cracks in her hands, was in utter ruins.
Bella remembered the maniacal laughter she had heard right before she lost consciousness due to the manifestation of the curse. She remembered her senses being engulfed by an intense intent to murder—an irresistible urge to burn everything down.
Oh, I see.
She realized that reality, like a scene from a tragedy, was a work she had created. The price of a moment of carelessness was devastating.
Children who chattered about in the streets, lovers whispering sweet nothings to each other through flower paths, elderlies resting under tree shades—the lives of those who lived and breathed in this city, and the life of a precious girl she destroyed.
All of it, I destroyed everything.
There was no turning back. She couldn’t pick up the shattered pieces in her hands. And yet, there remained only one thing that could be reversed.
A witch’s heart was the source of immortality. Even if every part of the body was damaged or lost, they would be restored to their previous complete state unless the heart was destroyed. From these facts alone, a witch may be considered almost omnipotent.
Bella had no power to heal or resurrect life other than her own. The power of a witch could not revive a life that had already perished.
But, what if it was a life that hasn’t yet lost its breath?
Bella groped along the floor and picked up a sword that had fallen on the ground. She aimed the sharp blade at her heart and pierced into it without hesitation.
She could still save her. Elaine, who was not yet dead, would surely survive if she ripped out her heart.