Witch Taming System-Chapter 60: Nyarlathotep [3]

Lancel had no idea what had just happened.

One moment, he had been crawling on the ground, barely holding onto his life.

The next, he was suddenly seated at a banquet, surrounded by people he didn’t recognize, facing a king he only knew from fiction.

And now, just as abruptly, he was back.

His gaze lowered slowly.

"...."

Below him lay the crimson-haired witch’s body, split cleanly in half, as if everything that had just occurred had been nothing more than a dream.

And more importantly...

"...."

His arm.

The one that should have been gone was there, fully reattached, moving as it should. There was nothing to suggest it had ever been severed in the first place.

Thud!

Lancel dropped to his knees, his legs giving out as if they could no longer support his weight. Only then did he realize that his mana had been completely drained.

He turned his head to the side slowly. Fiore was still there, lying on the ground, unconscious just as she had been before.

"...."

So this wasn’t Fiore’s doing.

That was when it came back to him.

Right at the very end, in that final moment when he had been certain he was about to die to the Death Knight, he had used that spell.

The spell he had avoided until now, the one he had never once considered using until he had been pushed into that corner.

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➤ ▒▓█▌▐░▞▟

[Bond Level : 999]

[Unlocked Spells:]

∎ Nyarlathotep

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Nyarlathotep.

Whatever it was, it had to be the cause of all this. There was nothing else that could explain what had just happened, nothing else that could bridge the gap between those moments.

But that only left more questions.

What exactly was Nyarlathotep? What did it do?

Lancel’s gaze lowered to the witch before him. If anyone could have answered him, it would have been her.

But she was dead.

There were no witnesses left who could tell him what had actually occurred.

———!

At that moment, the atmosphere turned heavy, pressing down as crimson mana mixed with something darker, slowly condensing around the witch’s body.

"Now what..."

Lancel narrowed his eyes, watching closely.

Was she dead? Was she not? She had been cut cleanly in half. Not even a witch should be able to survive something like that.

But then again, for someone who emitted death from her very scent, for someone capable of creating a Death Knight, wasn’t it possible that she could cheat death as well?

"Ah, fuck...!"

Whatever the answer was, he couldn’t afford to wait and find out.

Lancel forced himself up, gathering what little strength remained in his body. He quickly realized his dagger was missing. There was nothing left for him to use.

So he picked up a decent-sized rock.

Thump——!

And brought it down onto her head.

There were possibilities he had to account for.

If this magic allowed her to function even with her heart destroyed, then the brain had to be the first target.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

He struck again, and again, making sure to crush her head, specifically her brain, thoroughly so that no neural senses could return.

Thump——!

Then the heart.

If it could function autonomously, even without the assistance of the brain, then destroying the heart was just as necessary. He targeted both vital points without pause, making sure neither was left intact.

"Die! Die! Die—"

Lancel suddenly stopped.

"...!"

A crimson ribbon had wrapped itself around his arm.

He immediately tried to tear it off, dragging his arm back, even raising the rock to smash against it. But it didn’t budge. There was no strength behind his movements, nor any mana left to reinforce anything.

"Fuck... fuck...!"

He pulled at it again. The ribbon tightened in response. Lancel stumbled, then dropped lower, his movements turning frantic as he tugged and tugged, trying to free himself.

But it didn’t work. He ended up on the ground, dragging himself back, trying to create even a bit of distance.

It was then.

"...!"

The witch’s body moved.

Lancel froze for a split second before turning his head. The crimson-haired witch had risen, looming over him.

A thick stench of death emanated from her. Crimson mana seeped out from her body, while the ribbons wrapped around her figure, binding and pulling at her limbs as if she were nothing more than a puppet being held together and moved by those very strands.

That grotesque face alone was enough to send a chill down Lancel’s spine.

He dragged himself back, desperate, his nails digging into the dirt with force as he tried to claw away. Blood began to flow from his fingertips. Even then, he didn’t stop, trying to create distance.

It didn’t matter.

The crimson ribbons tightened around his body, restricting his movement and preventing him from going any further.

"Fuck you!"

Lancel hurled the rock at her.

It did nothing.

Crackle——!

In the next instant, a beam of lightning struck down from above.

There was no time to react as Dua’s body ruptured on impact, flesh and blood bursting apart as the force tore through her entirely. The explosion was immediate and violent, leaving nothing intact as fragments scattered outward.

Lancel’s eyes widened, frozen in place as the blood sprayed across him.

"Lancel!"

He turned at the voice calling out to him.

Faust was already closing the distance, running straight toward him, the green-haired witch following just behind her.

The moment they reached him, the tension in his body finally gave way. It felt as if all the air he had been holding in was released at once. Lancel let out a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing as the immediate danger passed.

Faust crouched down in front of him, checking on his condition.

"Are you alright? What the hell happened?"

"Yeah... I’m fine. Just... check on her."

Lancel turned his gaze to the side.

The green-haired witch was already kneeling beside Fiore, examining her closely. Her expression creased as she went over her condition.

"She’s been afflicted by Death Parallel."

"Death Parallel?"

"It’s a curse-type spell that forces the victim into a psychotic state. When she wakes up, she’ll start seeing hallucinations."

"...Can it be lifted?"

"Not with my expertise. But for someone who specializes in curses, like Duchess la Blanc, it shouldn’t be a problem."

She paused for a moment, finally turning her gaze toward him.

"Who are you, by the way? And what was that monster just now?"