Chapter 77

Chapter 77

#77 Haran’s Curse (3)

Ah! My beloved Mentor Haran.

She was a diligent scholar and an idealist.

I’ve always watched her from the side… but she lacked a sense of reality and wasn’t politically savvy at all.

Still, she was someone who reached the level of Grand Witch purely through her magical talent.

“Isabel! Hurry up! Go! You have to live!”

“Mentor! Please come with me!”

“I’m not going, alright?!”

This clueless and stubborn mentor of mine didn’t catch even a bit of my feelings.

Well, that’s why she ended up making enemies out of all the witches in the Coven by creating it, right?

“The Coven still has witches who follow you till the end… In fact, there are as many as—wait for it, wait for it! A hundred witches! We’re going to build our own independent force somewhere no one knows about! It’s a fresh start!”

So I exaggerated and tried hard to persuade my mentor.

“A hundred…?”

“Yes!”

“A hundred, really, Isabel?”

“Yes! So… Mentor, you weren’t wrong!”

I managed to breathe hope into her eyes as she was on the verge of death.

“There are still so many left! So many!”

But I shouldn’t have done it…

Even though it was tough, I should’ve looked for another way…

“As the head of the Coven, I can’t just sit here anymore.”

My mentor stopped writing the magic tome she was obsessively continuing and stood up from her seat.

“Not just one or two, but a hundred… I can’t betray their trust.”

“Yes! Hurry, hurry, let’s go, Mentor! I’ll take care of the Coven witches!”

At my urging, my mentor closed her eyes and checked the situation outside the barrier.

Then she opened her mouth with a determined smile.

“Isabel… It seems it’s too late. It looks like the Coven is surrounded on all sides.”

“But then…!”

“But there’s still a way.”

That was probably the last time I saw my mentor’s warm gaze.

“Others whispered that I was following useless visions, but there’s no such thing as useless magic in this world.”

After saying this, my mentor patted my twenty-year-old head back then…

WHOOSH!

And burned the magic tome she had been writing.

“!!”

GOOOOOSH!

Before I could even be shocked, she cast a massive spell.

The great spell she had been synthesizing seemed to use the magic tome she just burned as a catalyst.

“You’ve realized something through synthesizing those visions, haven’t you!”

I instinctively felt it and was astonished.

“That’s why it’s even more regrettable. If we combine our powers, we could all grow together…”

“Mentor…”

“101 people. Isabel, including you, I’m preparing a teleportation spell for 101 witches.”

“Really?”

“So hurry up! Bring the 100 witches you mentioned here!”

“!!”

Her words turned my mind blank at that moment.

A hundred? Are there really a hundred witches who believe in and follow my mentor? Ten would already be a lot.

“Remember this bell sound.”

DING DING DING

Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, my mentor played the bell sound for me.

“When you hear this bell, stop whatever you’re doing and come here immediately. Understand?”

“Do I really need to gather exactly a hundred?”

“Why? Now that you mention it, do you think it won’t reach a hundred?”

“Well, it might exceed a hundred, right?”

“Yeah… It might.”

My mentor gently stroked my cheek with a sad look.

Perhaps my mentor noticed my lie from the beginning.

“Don’t worry about the number being exactly a hundred. This is just in case.”

“…”

“But still, just in case… if your words are true and it exceeds a hundred, let’s prepare anyway.”

“…Yes.”

“So Isabel, when the bell rings, you must stop what you’re doing and come here. I can’t activate the teleportation alone.”

“I’ll go out, gather as many witches as possible, and when the bell rings, I’ll come back and help with your spell.”

“Exactly! And before the bell sounds, absolutely no one is allowed inside. No one!”

“Yes! I’ll make sure of it no matter what happens!”

“Trust me.”

Leaving my mentor behind, I went out into the Coven hallway.

Inside the Coven building, it was chaos.

“Everyone! All the witches of the Coven, look over here!”

“It’s Isabel!”

“Winter Witch Isabel! What’s going on?!”

“We’re surrounded on all sides!”

“Where’s Haran? What is Haran even doing?!”

There were quite a few witches of the Coven isolated there.

‘All together, fifty.’

Many or few, these were the final numbers.

Still, they were witches who hadn’t betrayed us harshly until the end.

More accurately, they were more like wimps who couldn’t decide which side to take because their abilities were ambiguous.

“Mentor Haran is preparing a large-scale teleportation spell! Until it’s ready, we need to gather witches and guard the entrance.”

I briefly summarized the conversation I had with my mentor and explained it to the witches.

“That’s strange, though.”

Then one witch raised doubts.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s strange, isn’t it? Is there even such a spell in the world? To gather everyone without letting anyone in until the bell rings, then suddenly converge and teleport?”

That sharp-looking witch remained unusually calm despite this desperate situation.

“Is spatial teleportation even possible? Did you secretly obtain a Golden Age magic tome?”

“She said she created it after gaining new insights.”

I only understood why we weren’t supposed to let anyone in until the bell rang a hundred years later.

Because once a large-scale teleportation spell starts casting, there must be absolutely no external interference. Otherwise, the coordinates get messed up.

“Do you believe that?”

“Huh?”

“Do you believe that? Even if it’s possible, isn’t it suspicious?”

“…”

But I, inexperienced back then, had no way of knowing, and I couldn’t properly counter the suspicious witch.

“Right now, Isabel and we are abandoned by Haran.”

“No!”

“Then let’s confirm, shall we? Quickly lead us to where Haran is. Let’s see if your old mentor is secretly escaping through some other hole.”

By the way, the center of the Coven where my mentor was located was protected by a powerful barrier that no one could enter without permission.

Back then, I was the only one who could enter that center.

“Barrier! Open the barrier, Isabel!”

“Alright! Let’s just close our eyes and open it!”

The cold and composed witches incited others, and they started pressuring me.

“No! Until the bell rings, absolutely no one is allowed inside!”

I gritted my teeth and firmly refused.

“But…”

Then, suddenly, I carefully observed the calm and sharp-looking witch in front of me.

“Who are you? I’ve never seen you before.”

“Who am I? Hah!”

“Don’t pretend to be clueless. You… aren’t even a witch, are you?”

In the midst of confusion, I belatedly realized.

She wasn’t a witch.

“Reveal yourself. Before I attack.”

I prepared an attack spell while speaking.

“Hmm… Really can’t smell any elemental energy?”

“Who are you?! Who are you?!”

The surrounding witches finally began to distance themselves from her.

“My, my, sharp eyes indeed? Is that why you’re the direct disciple of Grand Witch Haran? Completely different from the fools around here.”

The sharp-looking woman smirked.

“Look at that, reinforcements coming from all sides?”

Simultaneously, people began gathering from all directions.

It seemed the magic circle and barriers set up in the Coven building had been broken long ago.

“I am Inquisitor Helena of the Theocratic Church.”

The cold and sharp-looking witch threw off her hat and robe, revealing herself as an Inquisitor in a black robe with red patterns.

“It’s over! From the Theocratic Church!”

“It’s… it’s even a High Inquisitor!”

Seeing this, the witches trembled.

Back then, it was before the Imperial Sect split from the Theocratic Church. Though not as extreme as the Holy Age and Dark Age, it was still an era where the authority of the clergy was terrifying.

And the Theocratic Church had sent clerics led by an Inquisitor.

THUD THUD THUD THUD

And the clerics of the Theocratic Church were just the beginning.

Mages from the Mage Tower, even witches who betrayed us, cautiously revealed themselves, seemingly wary of the Theocratic Church.

“We’re… we’re done for…”

The forty-nine witches around me screamed.

TREMBLE TREMBLE TREMBLE TREMBLE…

I also forgot what to say and trembled with fear.

“Let’s make a bet?”

To me, frozen like that, Inquisitor Helena made a proposal.

“About that bell, right?”

Her eyes filled with arrogance and fanaticism are unforgettable even now.

“Starting now, within twenty minutes. If the bell doesn’t ring within twenty minutes, you all die.”

The cold and ruthless voice of the Inquisitor.

Skilled in intimidation, terror, and interrogation tactics.

“But if the bell rings within twenty minutes, I’ll give you a choice.”

We were frozen like mice in front of a snake.

“If you open the barrier and let us in, I swear by God to spare you and the witches here.”

“Spare us?”

“Yes. My mission is to dissolve the Coven and take Haran’s life. You fools don’t seem threatening enough to keep alive.”

“And if… if I don’t open the door?”

“I swear by God to torture you in the most cruel way possible. I’ll keep you alive as long as possible so you can experience the greatest suffering this mortal world has to offer.”

Goodness, how could someone like that be a cleric? It’s still vivid in my memory—the terrifying aura of madness and fanaticism that Inquisitor exuded.

“By the way, it’ll just take a little longer. That barrier will break soon. With me and the brothers of the Theocratic Church combined, we can dismantle it within an hour.”

“…”

We, surrounded, had no other options.

Thus, time flowed slowly.

Every second, every minute was the cruelest in my life.

I regretted endlessly inside.

I shouldn’t have talked about a hundred.

I should’ve fled with Mentor alone.

Or even if not, I should’ve escaped by myself.

If I had, Mentor might have found another way.

As 7, 8, and 9 minutes passed…

DING DING

“!!”

“The bell really rang.”

It rang much earlier than the time given by the Inquisitor. For some, it was the sound of salvation.

But for me, it was the sound of falling into hell.

I had to choose.

Would I sacrifice my life to protect Mentor, or betray her to survive?

DING DING DING DING DING

When I didn’t react, the bell sounded urgently and repeatedly.

“Make your choice. What will you do?”

I felt the cold touch of the Inquisitor’s hatchet against my neck.

“Isabel!! Open it! Open it, please!”

“Haran wouldn’t have caused this if she wasn’t involved!”

The surrounding witches pleaded with me to betray.

TREMBLE TREMBLE TREMBLE TREMBLE TREMBLE

“…I’ll open it.”

“Good. I swear by God to spare you girls.”

“Is that true…?”

“I’ve sworn by God. My oath to God is pure and steadfast. Not like your pitiful sense of honor.”

“But don’t you hate us witches… almost as much as dark wizards?”

“That’s why we always leave a few survivors.”

“!!”

“If you understand, open the barrier and get out of here.”

In the end, I betrayed my Mentor.

I opened the barrier connected to the Coven’s center.

“Attack!”

“Destroy the wicked witches!”

“Magic books first! Grab the magic books Haran wrote!”

“There’s Haran, the Grand Witch of Verdant Magic. There must be plenty of valuable magical artifacts and materials!”

Hundreds of clerics, mages, and witches, dripping with malice and greed, stormed into where my Mentor was.

“…”

THUMP…

I collapsed on the spot, trembling dumbly.

“We’re alive! We survived! We survived!”

“Huff… Huff… Huff…”

“Sniffle sniffle… Sorry, Haran. I’m so sorry…”

Around me, the witches alternated between joy, relief, and sobbing.

BOOM!!

SCREAM!!!

ROAR!!

For quite some time from the center, screams and destruction echoed.

Then, after some more time passed…

“It’s me! Inquisitor Helena! I’ve plunged my sword into the heart of the Grand Witch Haran! HAHAHAHAHA!”

Her shout echoed.

“!!”

It was all over.

[So… Witches, let’s live forever in isolation.]

And the end gave birth to a new beginning.

‘Mentor!?’

Together with the mad echo of the Inquisitor, my Mentor’s cold last words reached my ears and those of the witches.

[This is Isabel’s revenge.]

My Mentor probably thought I was dead.

She believed until her dying breath that the enemies had killed me and forcibly breached the barrier.

[I’ll burn my soul to curse you! You witches will never learn magic from anyone other than your mentors. Disciples cannot teach magic.]

Thus, she cast the most desperate and cruel curse.

[Go ahead! Continue living in a closed-off, isolated manner just like now! Even as the times change, remain obsolete forever! Then eventually become extinct in a miserable and tragic way!]

None of the witches present at the time could utter a word, only listening intently to the curse.

[If you defy this, the curse of me, Haran, will consume your mana and souls…]

She must have hated the sects and mage towers more than the witches.

[Your filthy tongues will not carry my name or anything about this curse!]

Her grudge was not only against me and the witches here but was fairly engraved upon all the witches of this land.

[My curse will continue until the day all witches of this land disappear.]

That’s how the curse began.

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