The smiling Sloth still looked half-asleep.
Even when it was bound in midair the next moment, that expression did not change.
Formless power imprisoned Sloth's body.
Like an invisible hand gripping Sloth by the back of the collar, it "carried" him before the Witch.
The chin exposed beneath the hood was dry and sharp, like a protruding branch about to pierce through Sloth's head. Bound in place, Sloth simply widened his eyes and looked up at that "branch."
The Witch clearly did not like looking up at others.
After binding Sloth, she stood suspended in the air. In the biting winter night wind, she resembled an Evil Fiend that had emerged from the deepest darkness, looking down upon the mortal world.
Anyone who met her gaze would be frozen.
Sloth, however, was an exception.
Because the moment that gaze swept over him... Sloth closed his eyes.
If possible, he would even have liked to find a mirror and make the Witch meet her own gaze.
Unfortunately, he could not do that.
And even if he could, it would have been useless.
The Witch was not someone who could be hurt by her own power.
Even if...
This was not yet a fully matured Witch.
According to his brother's speculation, the Witch before them should have been at the very moment before becoming a true Witch.
They had entered a severed fragment of time.
An extraordinarily crucial fragment of time.
And based on what he had observed, Sloth could confirm that his brother's guess had been correct.
That makes things easier.
Sloth let out a breath of relief.
"You know me."
"I hate your smile."
Though phrased as a question, the Witch's tone was certain. She raised a withered hand, and those branch-like fingers touched beneath Sloth's cheek before slowly dragging