Witch of Envy

Augria Sand Dunes, former site of the Seal Stone Shrine.

Higashino Makoto stood on the land that had been burned to the point of glass, gazing at the shrine in front of him, which was now unrecognizable.

The sealed Wall of Stone was mostly shattered in the previous battle, revealing the deep darkness within.

The air was thick with the smell of sulfur and burnt wood, mixed with something even more ancient, as if it had been dormant for four hundred years.

Reinhard van Astrea stood beside him, his red hair fluttering in the wind, also gazing into the darkness.

His hand rested on the hilt of the sword, his fingers slightly clenched.

"This is the sealed land? How did it become like this? Where is the ancestral hall?"

"I accidentally ruined it."

"You destroyed it when you came last time?"

"Yes, it was a necessary sacrifice to kill Pandora."

Reinhard van Astrea paused for a moment, looking at the glassy sand beneath his feet.

Within a radius of several kilometers, sand was burned into glass, glass was burned into magma, and the magma cooled to form a black, cracked plane.

The air still carried the aura of calamity—a dark, scorching, and instinctively unsettling residual magic.

"Mr. Higashino Makoto, did you accomplish all of this by yourself?"

"Right."

Reinhard van Astrea looked at him, a complex light flickering in his eyes.

"Actually, you probably don't need me. You can handle the Witch of Envy on your own."

"I know."

Higashino Makoto's tone was flat.

"But if there's free labor, why not use it?"

Reinhard van Astrea paused for a moment.

Then, a relieved smile appeared on his face.

"You're right."

His gaze shifted from the glassy ground and returned to the seal.

The runes on those Wall of Stones had faded after four hundred years of erosion, but they had been further damaged in the previous battle, and many of them had shattered.

The seal is loosening.

The seal is about to give way.

"I know."

"Is it because of your last battle?"

"Perhaps. Or perhaps the time has come. A four-hundred-year seal, no matter how strong, cannot last much longer."

Reinhard van Astrea remained silent for a moment.

"Shall we make our move?"

"Let's do it."

Higashino Makoto strode forward, with Reinhard van Astrea following behind him.

The two approached the seal. The massive Wall of Stone was covered with ancient runes, which flickered dimly, like the heartbeat of a dying person.

A crack runs through the center of the Wall of Stone, extending from the top to the ground. Black mist seeps out from the crack, carrying a cold and unsettling aura.

Higashino Makoto reached out and placed his hand on the Wall of Stone.

"I'll do it."

Golden light emanated from his palm, seeping into the runes.

The runes began to flicker violently, dimming, brightening, dimming, brightening... and then shattered.

As if they had never existed, the runes fell off the Wall of Stone, turning into countless specks of light that dissipated into the air.

The Wall of Stone began to crack, and the cracks spread from the center in all directions at an increasingly faster rate.

Gravel broke off from the Wall of Stone face and fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Black fog poured out from the cracks, growing thicker and denser until it almost obscured the entire sky.

Then, the seal shattered.

The Wall of Stone collapsed with a roar, and smoke and dust filled the air.

Black mist surged from the ruins, condensing, churning, and contracting in the air.

A figure slowly emerged from the mist.

Her long, silvery-white hair swayed in the mist, and her purple eyes gleamed with an eerie light in the darkness.

She was wearing a long black dress.

No, that wasn't a skirt, it was shadow, a living shadow rising from beneath her feet, weaving into the shape of a skirt.

The sleeves were long, but the tips of the hands were visible, revealing unusually white fingertips.

Above the face, everything was covered by dark shadows, making it impossible to see the features.

Satella, the Witch of Envy.

She stood there in the night, her figure like a calamity itself emerging from an ancient legend.

Mist swirled around her, and shadows flowed beneath her feet.

Reinhard van Astrea gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

"This is... the Witch of Envy..."

Higashino Makoto looked at her, his golden eyes devoid of any emotion.

Then he realized he was wrong.

Garden is not a panacea.

The moment the domain expanded, the Authority and protection were indeed severed, and the unseen anomalies that had been wrapped around Satella disappeared.

But her power did not disappear.

The unseen hand still exists.

It's probably due to the accumulation she made four hundred years ago when she devoured half the world, plus what she's been building up all along.

They are still there, dozens, hundreds, thousands... countless, invisible hands extending from her body.

Four hundred years of accumulation, the magic power gained from devouring half the world, are stored within her, like a volcano that could erupt at any moment.

The Garden severed her connection with the world, but it could not sever the power that had been stored within her.

"Reinhard van Astrea."

"Exist."

How much have you been weakened?

Reinhard van Astrea was silent for a moment.

"... Most of the protection has failed, but my swordsmanship remains, so there's no problem."

Higashino Makoto looked at the witch in front of him.

Is that enough?

"Have no idea."

"Fine, I'll just unleash my Authority. That way, with the Divine Protection of the Phoenix, you won't die."

"Good."

Satella.

Countless unseen hands lifted her and surged toward them with astonishing speed.

Reinhard van Astrea drew his sword, the silvery light slicing through the air as he slashed at the unseen hands.

The blade clashed with the unseen hand, producing a metallic hiss.

"Reinhard van Astrea, stop her."

And you?

"Add a buff."

Reinhard van Astrea didn't ask any further questions and charged forward. Sword light flashed, and with each swing, he severed several invisible hands.

As expected of Reinhard van Astrea, even the Witch of Envy couldn't do anything about him.

"Quick--!"

Higashino Makoto raised his hand.

Golden, silver, pale blue, and emerald green light shimmered alternately on his body.

One floor, two floors, three floors...

He buffed himself with every buff he could, even those that clearly overlapped.

"Greater Full Potential."

"Magic Caster's Blessing"

"Angel's Blessing."

"Holy Shield."

"Dragon Power."

"Fortune."

"Hero."

"Free."

"Indomitability."

Then--

"Reinhard van Astrea, get out of the way!"

A flash of silvery-white light appeared. Reinhard van Astrea rolled to the side, dodging Satella's attack range.

Higashino Makoto raised his hand, and a torrent of crimson-black energy surged from his palm.

"Great Catastrophe".

A torrent of crimson and black energy surged toward Satella like an enraged dragon.

Those unseen hands and darkness disintegrated, vanished, and evaporated in the torrent.

Satella's body was swallowed by the torrent, her long silver hair fluttering in the energy, and her black shadows struggling within it.

It's not over yet.

"The Wrath of the Salt King"

By using premium items, the incantation can be skipped, and the skill can be activated directly.

The sky turned the color of sulfur.

Yellow-green light poured down from the sky, and white flames fell to the ground and onto Satella.

The shadows evaporated in the flames, and the long, silvery hair curled in the fire.