Chapter 263

A gentle hand reaches out and strokes the chin.

A warm, rosy hue spreads across the cheeks, and a sweet breath escapes through slightly parted lips, scattering into the air.

In the faintly curved eyes, the hazy pupils gaze lovingly at Isabella, revealing her affection without filter.

To anyone watching, it was the perfect image of being utterly captivated.

…Wait, what are you doing there? You said there was a way to resist.

You’re not resisting at all—you’re completely under her spell!

Lacey approached me, gripping her cross-shaped spear.

Her breathing was rough, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead, likely from expending a lot of holy power, but her eyes still shone with unwavering determination.

Specifically, the same determination she had during the funeral of the Great Fire.

“It’s said that magic attracts each other… But to be so easily seduced and embraced by a witch, truly a blasphemous act. I’ll have to purify you before you fall further.”

…What kind of nonsense are you spouting?

Sure, mages and clergy don’t get along, but we were just fighting together moments ago. Isn’t it a bit much to point your spear at me now, as if you’ve been waiting for this moment?

“Hey, stop messing around. Don’t you know any way to break this charm magic?”

“…Hmm. Even with a blessing to strengthen the mind, if the person has no will to resist…”

So once you’re charmed, it’s hard to break free? That’s troublesome…

“Hehe. Useless, isn’t it? This child is mine now. With this level of talent and looks… She’ll work hard in place of Claire.”

Isabella licked her lips and stroked Ophelia’s hair with a lecherous smile.

Ophelia, with her eyes closed, happily hugged Isabella and buried her face in her chest, like a child longing for her mother’s embrace.

“Huuu… Sister…”

Wait, should I say she’s a younger sister longing for her sister’s embrace?

She looked so happy, like she could die from joy.

“…Sister? Hmm… No wonder the charm worked so well on her. Did she have such feelings for Claire…? That’s right. I’m your sister, Ophelia.”

Isabella also tilted her head slightly at the word “sister,” but soon smiled as if it were nothing and gently hugged Ophelia’s head.

Her darkened eyes cast a sharp gaze toward us.

It was a silent threat—if we made any wrong moves, she’d crush Ophelia’s head.

Damn, what do I do?

No matter how fast I rush in, I’d still be slower than Isabella twisting Ophelia’s neck.

Should I just give up on Ophelia?

No, but that’s…

As I hesitated, pondering a solution, a swirl of magical energy rose around Isabella once more.

“Haah…!”

A moan escaped, scattering the tension.

Isabella’s brow furrowed slightly.

Ophelia, who had been burying her face in Isabella’s chest, was now suckling at her breast like a baby.

“Ah, ah…! Wait, wait a second. We can do this later…!”

Her sucking was so skilled that Isabella’s face flushed, and her body trembled slightly.

“Th-This is blasphemous.”

Lacey gripped her spear tightly, her face red.

…Yeah, tell me about it.

Really, what kind of nonsense is this?

It was a scene that could even dissipate the tension.

“Huh…? Why isn’t it coming out…?”

An innocent, pure voice.

Ophelia lifted her head from Isabella’s chest, tilting it in confusion.

Sticky saliva stretched like threads from her red lips.

…What isn’t coming out?

What exactly did you do to Claire’s body…?

“Strange, isn’t it?”

With a suspicious expression, before Isabella could react, Ophelia’s face buried into her neck.

She sniffed, licked her neck with a long tongue, and even groped her chest with her right hand.

“The scent is different. Sister smells like peaches and violets…? The taste of your sweat isn’t sour but sweet, and your chest… is about 7 cm bigger.”

Doubt turned to certainty in an instant.

The genius mage’s brain worked faster than her breath, delivering the answer.

Her hazy eyes twisted fiercely as if burning, and the curse of charm shattered in an instant.

“…Who are you, impersonating my sister?!”

A thick surge of magical energy erupted from Ophelia’s body.

Thick lightning bolts struck all around, swirling like a storm.

“Kuhhh!”

Isabella, struck directly by the lightning, trembled and staggered back.

Her arms were charred black, turning to ash, and burn marks shaped like lightning bolts were etched all over her body.

Ophelia landed lightly, spewing lightning and flames as she distanced herself from Isabella.

“…So, that woman was doing that with her dead sister?”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

Come to think of it, Lacey didn’t know Claire was alive, did she?

Claire was also a criminal deserving of execution, so Ophelia had asked to keep it a secret.

Though I’m not sure if floating in a tank counts as being alive.

“Good heavens, there’s a limit to blasphemy…! It seems there were two witches here after all. Both must be purified by the light…!”

Lacey sighed in disbelief, wrapping her spear in holy light.

She looked ready to fire a holy blast at the two of them.

“…By the way, does the Elpinel Church Order forbid homosexuality?”

If so, we’d have to throw Lilliezes in jail first.

“No. That’s not the issue… That woman is beyond the problem of gender. How could she do that with her own sister?!”

Lacey’s eyes were twisted as if looking at filth.

…Honestly, I have no defense.

Not only was it incest, but breaking the charm in *that* way? Even Isabella, who’s recovering over there, would be impressed by the depravity.

No point in making a half-hearted excuse… Better to change the subject.

“Anyway, lend me your ear. I’ve thought of a way to break that power.”

“…Is that true?”

Lacey’s face lit up as she leaned in.

After hearing my explanation… She looked like she thought it was insane.

[That’s a crazy idea. But it sounds fun.]

Hersela chuckled. I knew she’d find it amusing.

This woman secretly enjoys these bizarre things.

It seems like she enjoys causing trouble.

The problem is Lacey…

“How about it, do you think it’s possible?”

“…Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t know if it’s even possible, or if it would actually work even if it succeeded.”

“We’ll find out if we try. Even if we fail, it’s not like we lose anything, right?”

With a confident smile, he tries to persuade the skeptical Lacey.

After all, it was a plan that couldn’t even be executed without her agreement.

A buggy strategy that’s been used routinely in games.

Lacey’s role was crucial in this plan.

“Hey! What are you doing not coming over? How am I supposed to handle this alone?!”

The crazy witch who’s obsessed with her sister yells frantically.

Through the fluttering red hair in the aftermath, her bloodshot eyes turn towards me, pleading for help.

All the confidence she had while casting magic is gone. She couldn’t even last three minutes on her own.

『Sing』

“-Salta.”

Isabella, who had been battered by Ophelia’s magic, had somehow revived and was now overwhelming her.

A weakened version of the spell that had collapsed the underground waterway.

Black whirlpools began to rise around Isabella, and the overflowing dark energy intercepted and destroyed Ophelia’s magic.

Light shattered, and sound exploded.

A young genius and an old mage. The two magicians wildly unleashed every kind of magic at each other.

Lightning clashed with lightning, and flames scattered in the wind.

A cursed beam shot straight out, colliding with Ophelia’s magical barrier and canceling it out.

The ground rose, and a fist of rock swung, exploding with chunks of flesh clinging to it.

It was a spectacle that couldn’t be more dazzling.

“Much better than Claire! Indeed. No wonder that child is jealous of your talent?”

“Don’t you dare talk about my sister with that seafood-smelling mouth!”

…Anyone watching would think they were deeply affectionate sisters.

Are they really that close? It’s rare for sisters to be that close, I guess.

Anyway, the difference in power was clear.

Ophelia, though she hadn’t mastered high-level magic, was a genius with a magical capacity and casting speed comparable to a high-level mage.

However, Isabella’s main combat style was to simultaneously unleash dozens of types of magic like a bombardment…

Even with a simplified version, Ophelia alone couldn’t handle it.

All of Ophelia’s magic was intercepted and destroyed, and black tentacles reached out towards her.

The oddly blunt tentacles, glistening with black oil.

They didn’t seem designed for killing, but getting hit by them would surely shatter bones.

“Haaah!”

A blue flash drew a crescent moon, slicing through the tentacles.

From the severed ends, a pale fluid gushed out.

No, this is that thing. Damn it, really…!

“Disgustingly vulgar! Are you still playing around?!”

Jumping towards the pillar, I avoided the repulsive fluid.

Ophelia, who wasn’t as quick to react… let’s just say I feel sorry for her.

“Ahhh!”

Covered in the fluid, Ophelia let out a scream-like roar.

Magical energy filled with rage erupted like a volcano.

“I’ll kill you!”

The magical energy, filled with hatred and unleashed without any calculation, was surprisingly more powerful than any magic Ophelia had cast before.

-Kiiiiing!

A sound like a dagger piercing the eardrums.

A whirlwind rising from the ground lifted Isabella’s entire body.

“Ah, this is unexpected.”

And everything touched by the whirlwind was shredded like fruit in a blender.

The scattered debris, the walls and pillars within range, even Isabella’s body.

A spray of blood scattered everywhere.

Isabella’s body was ground to dust like a cloud.

That power, undoubtedly high-level magic.

Certainly, she had the potential to awaken as a high-level mage at any time…

But who would have thought such a ridiculous tantrum would be the trigger?

Really, she’s a baffling woman in many ways.

Ophelia, still seething, stretched out her right arm, and underground water gushed up like a waterfall, washing over her body.

Even after grinding Isabella to dust, her anger didn’t subside, and her face remained twisted like a demon.

Well, she’ll just revive anyway.

“I’ve heard rumors that a man’s affection can enhance magical power, but I never thought someone would actually awaken as a high-level mage. Should I congratulate you?”

With a laugh that seemed to find it all hilarious, a black mist gathered at the spot where the whirlwind had appeared.

Of course. The immortality of a witch is a tenacious power that allows them to reappear even after their entire body is destroyed.

Like molding clay into a human form, the gathered mist transformed into Isabella’s shape.

Unscathed even after being hit directly by high-level magic.

And there I stood, right in front of her.

The revival point is where the life was cut off. The moment the high-level magic hit and the underworld’s summoning activated was the best opportunity to approach her without any interference.

“It’s too early to congratulate you!”

A crimson flash of ice, a pale glow of Durandal.

Two streaks of light pierced through Isabella’s body.

Your reliance on revival ends here.

The power you believe in, it’s surprisingly easy to break, you know?

The spurt of blood tickled my cheek.

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