Weir Appears

"Forbidden... life?"

Ailiya stared wide-eyed, murmuring in disbelief.

The old witch sighed again, perhaps more than she had sighed in her entire life. She said, "That child, Menair, is obsessed with the magic path. Do you think she loves your father? Do you think she loves you? No, you are all just tools for her to indulge in the magic path."

"Otherwise, do you think I would have crippled Menair's magic for such a reason? She violated a taboo that no mage can break, a taboo that only dark guilds would touch—a desecration of life."

She looked at Ailiya with pity and said, "You were originally people abandoned by the world..."

"Abandoned by the world...?"

Ailiya seemed to have lost all her strength and stopped struggling.

Am I... so superfluous?

Tears streamed silently down her face, and her eyes turned a deathly gray—the color of despair.

The old witch drew her sword and said calmly, "Life that should not exist... perish here..."

A ruthless glint flashed in her eyes, and in the chilling light of the blade, the Crimson Sakura stood upright.

The glint of the blade met her eyes; she had already stopped resisting...

Am I going to die...?

"Clang!"

The crisp clang of metal striking metal echoed through the silent courtyard, drowning out the wind and the sounds of explosions outside, striking a chord in Ailiya's heart.

Ailiya felt as if time had slowed down; the sounds of the wind and explosions were so clear. Fallen leaves rustled as they fell to the ground.

"Even though she's the disobedient younger sister, no older sister could bear to see her adorable little sister beaten like this and still keep quiet..."

Weir's pretty face was now covered with hideous veins, and her voice was as deep as a demon's.

"You old bastard, do you want to die?!"

The Demon Sword Crimson Sakura clashed with the demon's foot, covered in sky-blue scales, sparks flying. The old witch looked at Weir before her, narrowing her eyes. "The demon god... Halphas, huh..."

"Bang!"

A terrifying burst of energy emanated from the sword, sending the old witch flying.

"Elder sister..."

Ailiya stared blankly at the demonic figure before her, murmuring in a low voice like a little girl.

Weir turned around, bent down, picked her up, and flew towards the spot in the sky where the magic circle had been broken.

But the old witch's hand seals changed, and a powerful surge of magic spread out, restoring the magic circle in the sky to its original state. At the same time, a bolt of lightning struck down from the magic circle, hitting Weir directly.

"Ugh!"

Weir let out a demonic roar, and lightning raged across her body, about to strike Ailiya in her arms.

Weir folded his wings, completely enveloping Ailiya, but even this made it impossible for her to maintain flight. She fell from the sky and crashed into the shrine.

The old witch flicked her hand and unleashed a sword aura that cleaved the entire house in two, causing the massive mansion to collapse with a deafening roar.

"The Heavenly Punishment Barrier was prepared specifically for you. I knew you would come when she arrived; you wouldn't abandon her." The old witch, sword in hand, walked towards them and spoke slowly.

Weir spread her wings, lightning crackling across her body, leaving charred marks. She stood up, grinning, "As expected of the previous generation's witch, what a cunning old woman. Hiding here for so long, just to subdue us sisters?"

The old witch slowly shook her head. "I'm simply using the rest of my life to protect the village."

"The power of the Demon God Halphas is too great; it is something even the gods fear. Letting you go back then was the biggest mistake, so now I will personally erase that mistake."

"You son of a bitch!" The scales on Weir's face trembled as she said, "You hypocritical old man, if you hadn't driven my mother to her death, if you hadn't broken Ailiya's leg, I would have left here long ago!"

"Sister..." Ailiya, who was in her arms, felt that her sister seemed to have changed a lot today.

My older sister used to always remind herself not to kill, to let go of hatred. She was so gentle, and yet so helpless with herself.

But tonight, my sister was so irritable, so ferocious, so... that she felt loved.

She had always thought her sister didn't care about anything—not about their mother's death, not about her crippled legs. She had always thought... she had been abandoned by her sister...

But when he was about to die, his sister still came.

"Ailiya, you idiot! Didn't I tell you not to come to this village?" Weir yelled at Ailiya in his arms.

"Sister, I..." Ailiya hesitated, unsure how to answer.

"Idiot... it must hurt a lot..." Weir held her close; her wings had been cut off by the old witch, and blood was flowing continuously. Weir pressed his hand against Ailiya's pale face, his voice trembling slightly.

Ailiya snuggled closer to her sister. Despite her injuries, she was incredibly happy. She remembered how, when she was little, she would nestle in her sister's arms like this, listening to her mother tell stories, all by the dim candlelight.

"Are you planning to fight me while holding her?" the old witch said in a deep voice. "It's shameless, but if you put her down, I will choose to attack her."

"Heh... using any means necessary to win... it's a real shame someone like you is a priestess. You should be a great general in a kingdom on the continent." Weir wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, holding Ailiya in one arm, and said, "I'm not afraid of you taking advantage of me. If you really want to be honest, it's me who's taking advantage of you. After all, you old codger already have one foot in the grave."

The old witch didn't say much to her, and charged forward with her sword drawn.

Weir, holding Ailiya in his arms, leaped into the air, conjured a magic circle in his hand, and launched a burst of magical energy as an attack.

The old witch's gaze was calm. With a flick of her wrist, the Demon Sword Crimson Sakura slashed at the magical energy fluctuations, splitting them in two. The hunched figure moved swiftly forward like a nimble snake. The magical energy fluctuations grazed her body, creating a massive explosion on either side.

The old witch leaped into the air, unleashing a sword aura. Three magic circles formed in front of Weir, blocking the sword aura. At the same time, she dashed away like lightning.

"Bang!"

A knee kick struck the old witch squarely in the chest, sending her flying backward like a cannonball, crashing into the ground and creating a large crater.

"Bite!"

With a crisp sound, she opened her claws, and a magic circle was formed. A torrent of dark magic attacked the large pit below.

"Boom!!"

A deafening explosion echoed around them, and the old witch in the pit held her Demon Sword Crimson Sakura, horizontally to block Weir's attack.

"Snort!"

Weir snorted and poured in more magic. The old witch couldn't withstand it and was blasted away.