Witch Taming System-Chapter 54: Mount Kratoa

"Hey, when are we going back? Haven’t you had enough yet?"

"Just a bit more... sorry..."

"Eh, seriously... this is getting really boring. At this rate, I’ll just kill all the Darkmaws for you. Can’t I do that?"

"Please don’t..."

Lancel answered without looking back. The strain was starting to show despite how he tried to keep it even.

By now, he had already taken down three Darkmaws on his own. It would have been less taxing if he used magic.

But now that Fiore’s suspicions had been cleared, he had no intention of bringing that back into question.

"I really don’t understand... How is fighting like this considered training for you...?"

Lancel kept moving.

"...If I can’t handle this much, then there’s no point."

"Hm?"

"It’s just that."

He didn’t elaborate further.

Truthfully, it did feel like training. Even if his initial intent had only been to clear the quest, the longer he kept at it, the more it felt like his movements were getting sharper.

At the same time, his awareness had changed. His senses felt stretched and pushed to their limit, as if everything around him was being picked up more clearly than before.

By this point, Lancel had already adapted to it.

Slash——!

Eventually, the fourth one fell.

Lancel had already grown used to fighting them. To the point that, if he were to face a Mother Silkbane right now, he felt like he could handle it alone without relying on magic.

∎ Subjugate Darkmaws 4/5

Just one more.

Rumble——

As they moved deeper into the fog, a loud rumble echoed from the distance. It shook the surroundings, making them pause as they turned toward the source.

"What was that?"

"Sounds like an explosion..." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Should we check it out?"

"It might be my Master..."

Fiore’s gaze lingered in that direction as she considered it.

She couldn’t tell for sure if it was her Master or something else. If it was the witch responsible for all of this, then it wasn’t something she could say she was confident in deal with.

After all, this level of distortion was beyond Fiore’s capabilities. It was clearly a witch way out of her league.

And moreover, Lancel didn’t even need to be factored in. He was still just a human, someone she could deal with effortlessly if it came down to it.

If it was her Master, then there was nothing to worry about.

If it wasn’t, then they could just discreetly back off from her without alerting them.

"...Yeah. Let’s check it out, Lancel."

"Alright."

* * *

"What are you doing here, Countess Lieber?"

"I should be asking the same, Countess Gretelle. Do you have any idea what’s going on here?"

"There seems to be some sort of distortion. I surmise it’s a Black Witch behind it."

"I thought so too..."

"I’m here looking for my apprentice. She went missing a day ago after I sent her to procure some herbs around here. Have you seen any signs of her?"

"Unfortunately, no," Faust said, shaking her head. "’m also looking for someone. An acquaintance of mine. He seems to have taken up a similar request to procure something here."

"Oh... by any chance, was it to procure some Fangscales...?"

"I’m not too sure. I only followed him because he has a habit of getting himself into trouble. But when I blinked, he disappeared along with the fog. I haven’t seen him since."

The two moved through the fog as they continued their conversation.

"It might’ve been my request... I thought I told the guild to make it a party request."

Countess Gretelle paused slightly before continuing.

"Is your acquaintance alone?"

"That is the case." Faust nodded. "And it seems my judgment was correct in following him. There’s clearly something off about this place. I sure hope he’s still alive."

"Then we should search for them together," Countess Gretelle said. "If a Black Witch is behind this, we can deal with them."

"Agreed, Countess."

Despite the shifting perception, the two Count Witches moved without obstruction, nullifying any effects as they traveled through the fog on their broomsticks.

Monsters naturally followed, but they barely paid them any attention.

For every creature that approached, it fell just as quickly, as if it had never been a threat to begin with. Neither of them stopped moving, nor did they interrupt their conversation.

"It seems your magic has grown much more powerful, Countess Lieber."

"And yours has become much more refined, Countess Gretelle."

Truthfully, they weren’t close. They only knew each other through a handful of past interactions, nothing more than that.

But that didn’t make the atmosphere any less awkward.

* * *

"Mount Kratoa..."

If there were the Seven Wonders of the World, then there were also the Seven Blights.

Not something people praised, nor something anyone wished to see. But things that existed all the same.

Places, phenomena, or remnants that were so repulsive that they became considered the exact opposite of wonders.

And Mount Kratoa was one of them.

The reason wasn’t just its appearance. Structurally, it was already unpleasant to look at, but that alone wouldn’t have earned it such a title.

It was what happened there.

Witches would pass over it on their brooms and discard their waste without a second thought, leaving everything to pile up over time.

What was thrown away didn’t simply remain as it was. The surrounding creatures fed on it and, over time, changed in response to it.

That was how things like Fangscale Lizards, Darkmaws, and Armored Snakes came to exist in the Wastefield.

Centuries upon centuries ago, they had been nothing more than ordinary animals. But over time, through repetition and exposure, they evolved.

And then there was the smell.

Mount Kratoa reeked worse than sewage, making the place unbearable to stay in for long.

Because of all that, it cemented itself as the fifth most repulsive destination on the planet.

And yet, at the same time, it remained an interesting tourist spot. The kind of place travelers would visit at least once in their lives, if only to say they had seen it for themselves.

It was even considered a popular hiking destination despite everything.

However, at the moment, there was not a single tourist in sight.

Given what was currently happening in the Wastefield, the reason wasn’t hard to understand.

Because they were probably already dead.