[ A time that might have been ] The Saintess of the End and the Rebellious Witch

[Perhaps existing spacetime]

"I'm not good at fighting, and I don't want to die."

"The Saintess of the End" Todd spoke to her several Great Demons "colleagues" before her, explaining her principles of survival.

"I have no interest in the survival of the Demon King or the Demons; I only care about whether I can continue my research into magic and whether I'll go hungry tomorrow."

"I only hope to live quietly until the day my curse covers the entire globe, bringing about the end of the world."

This was her ultimate goal, a grand plan that required extreme patience and secrecy to execute.

That's why, when the order to besiege the hero Himmel came, she refused without even thinking.

It's too dangerous. That Hero Party doesn't look like someone to mess with. They've defeated several Great Demons, and even the Seven Sages of Destruction Aura. Why would she want to join in?

Getting involved in that kind of thing was practically challenging her bottom line for survival.

"It's better this way." She felt perfectly at ease with her decision to follow her heart.

In fact, this did allow her to live longer.

It is said that even Grausam, one of the Seven Sages of Destruction, was injured in that battle, which led to his death at the hands of an unknown Human race.

"Tsk, so they say the nail that sticks out gets hammered down first."

She was very glad she had been wise.

Her curse was indeed powerful; a mere gust of deep purple wind could silently reap a vast number of lives.

However, she was very cautious, after all, she didn't think she was good at direct combat, so she usually only hunted in small areas where few people went by. After all, she could live without eating people, but it was hard to go hungry.

She will wait until the magic that can truly cover the entire planet is completed before she reappears in the world.

But today, her secrecy seems to have come to an end.

A sharp aura pierced the silence of the swamp where she was hiding.

Todd sensed this immense magical power.

A figure appeared silently in the open space not far away.

She was an elf, with long, pointed elf ears peeking out from her pale golden hair. Her long hair was tied into an elegant high bun, while the rest flowed freely. A few carefully braided strands in her hair added a touch of untamed delicacy.

She wore a loose-fitting, elven-style robe with a cinched waist, the fabric light and airy. But what was most striking was the wide belt around her waist—set in the center with a perfectly round obsidian stone, dark and deep, as if imbued with the magic of the night.

"Demons," the elf's voice was cold and detached, yet carried an undeniable air of judgment, "I am Minus Great Mage Minusi. You have been exposed. Are you prepared to die?"

Todd's heart sank. An elf? How could it be an elf? She thought elves were almost extinct.

"Ah..." She slowly crawled out of the tree hole where she was hiding, trying her best to put on a harmless, slightly aggrieved expression.

"Why were you discovered...? Okay, you're an elf. Um... how about you let me go? I'm really not good at fighting, I'm no match for you. Look, I don't even have any decent offensive magic..." She shrugged, indicating her "harmlessness," "I'm just a good Demons who wants to live a good life and do some research..."

Minusi's gaze remained unwavering, instead growing even colder. "Shut up, Demons. How many Demons do you think I've seen speak like you?"

Todd shut his mouth, expressionless. Well, indeed, elves had a long history of dealing with Demons, and they were probably tired of this kind of pleading. How could an elf possibly trust Demons?

But she wanted to struggle a little longer.

"But... even for your own sake," Todd tried to make her tone sound like sincere advice, "You should retreat. If you kill me, you'll be entangled in my curse too, really, really." This was her last resort.

Minusi slightly raised her staff, and the surrounding magic began to surge. "Stop bluffing and prepare to die."

The battle... if it could be called a battle, ended very quickly.

Todd was indeed not good at head-on confrontation. Her curses were different from those of ordinary Demons, requiring time and distance to take effect, but under Minusi's precise and swift magical attacks, she had almost no chance of doing so. Several dazzling beams of light flashed, and Todd was quickly pierced through the chest.

"Ugh... really..." Todd's body began to dissipate. She looked at the expressionless Minusi, a complex expression on her face. "I'm telling the truth... Minusi. My curse... will haunt you... until you... die..."

Before she finished speaking, her figure completely turned into specks of light and dissipated into the murky air of the swamp.

Minusi stood holding her staff, confirming that Todd's presence had completely vanished.

"Varied...?"

At that very moment, she felt something invisible and intangible, yet chillingly cold, like a bone-deep infection, quietly entwining her soul. The world before her seemed to distort slightly, and something firmly locked away in her heart seemed to crack open with a tiny fissure.

A barely perceptible shadow of gloom quietly spread through the depths of the elf's icy gaze.

The Southern Lands have been embroiled in war for several years.

"The Rebellious Witch" Minusi —this is her current title. As one of the only three remaining Great Mages in the world, her strength is beyond question.

As a peace-loving elf, she brought not protection, but endless chaos and destruction.

In the Southern Lands, the wars she instigated destroyed countless villages and towns. But a closer look reveals that perhaps only 30% of those who died directly from Minusi's powerful magic died. The vast majority, a full 70%, died from war, madness, or infighting.

That was Todd's curse.

An invisible poison that twists the mind, amplifies malice, and incites madness, is something even Great Mage cannot be completely immune to. Like a highly contagious plague, it Swirl silently through Minusi's magic, or even just her very existence. She cannot control it, or rather, in a state where she herself may not be fully conscious, she is powerless to control it.

Todd alone wouldn't have such an effect, but Minusi's magic is far more powerful, and so...

Among these, she also seems to have destroyed a... well, a village with a little girl with purple hair.

Minusi vaguely remembered that the girl had been hidden in the cellar by her parents, who looked like fallen nobles with gentle eyes. Through the cracks, she saw those pitiful eyes filled with fear, helplessness, and confusion.

You could sense that she had a pretty good talent for magic.

What a pity.

At that moment, Minusi seemed to have this thought flashed through her mind, but her body was uncontrollably gathering magic power. If it weren't for a Human race warrior who happened to rush up and attack her, drawing all her attention, the purple-haired girl would probably have been doomed as well.

Who can come... and kill me?

This thought would sometimes float briefly in the depths of Minusi's mind, which was intertwined with madness and curses, like a bubble at the bottom of a body of water, only to be submerged by deeper waves.

Until this day, she met a soldier.

She had seen him before, but he had lost that time; he had fled in a pathetic manner, like a stinking rat in a sewer, escaping from her in a sorry state.

But this time, he seemed to have grown. He no longer fought head-on; instead, he attacked while others were fighting or casting spells. He didn't exude any magic, but his attacks were filled with a resolute determination to stop at nothing. His swordsmanship carried a tragic sense of mutual destruction, and his attacks were aimed directly at vital points.

Even so, he was not killed in one blow. He was not skilled enough. If he improved a little more, he might be beheaded in one blow.

The battle was exceptionally fierce. After regaining the initiative, Minusi's magic remained powerful, but her opponent's will and highly targeted fighting style put pressure on her. More importantly, at a certain moment, perhaps due to intense pain or the pure, extreme hatred in her opponent's eyes, her chaotic consciousness cleared for a fleeting instant.

Uh... Stop...

This can't go on...

I've killed so many people...

This curse...

Taking advantage of this brief moment of clarity, she managed to regain a sliver of control over her body.

She looked at the soldier in front of her, whose right eye she had burned out.

So, in the next round, she paused slightly when she saw a sword strike that she could have easily dodged or blocked.

"Pfft--"

The blade pierced her body with pinpoint accuracy.

Finally... we can stop.