But Roseithe wasn’t surprised at her appearance.
“…Ander, did you never believe me from the very beginning?”
She supposed it made sense.
She was always so unreliable and fond of smooth-talking, not a single word out of ten could be trusted.
It would be stranger if Ander actually believed what she said.
Ander didn’t answer Roseithe, only looked at her and spoke.
“Roseithe, come back with me.”
Roseithe had already expected this would happen, but she wasn’t planning to surrender so easily.
“Sorry, Ander, if you said that to me on a normal day I’d be running into your arms in a heartbeat, but not today. Right now, I’m a woman you can’t have, Ander~ So let’s save the date for next time, okay?”
She flashed her usual charming smile and blew a kiss.
Though her words were still light and teasing, her intentions were clear.
“You shouldn’t interfere in Lanafit’s affairs. Since she’s already made her choice, we shouldn’t meddle. Roseithe, don’t force me to use force.”
“Oh~ Ander, you’ve never held back when hitting me before. Every punch you landed on my face hurt like hell. Since when did you start feeling sorry for me?”
Facing Ander’s tough attitude, Roseithe joked as usual, but then her expression changed.
“But I can’t let it go. I’m Lanafit’s guide, I have a duty to make up for her mistakes.”
Her eyes were no longer frivolous, but serious, searching.
She wanted an answer from Ander.
“Ander, can you tell me? Why do you all treat Lanafit as such a special existence? Isn’t she supposed to be one of us, a part of our family, no different from the rest of us?”
“Even Anthera has been acting strange. Ever since she chased you out of my courtyard that day, she’s been worrying about Lanafit.”
She poured out the doubts that had been buried in her heart for so long, looking at Ander with emotion in her eyes that was almost pleading.
She wanted an explanation.
“Roseithe…” Seeing Roseithe like this, the severity in Ander’s expression softened a little. She could understand Roseithe’s feelings, but…
“You’re still too young, and it’s only natural that you act impulsively. I have never treated Lanafit as an outsider—she is indeed one of us witches, our family. But even so, you shouldn’t interfere in this matter. As witches, and even more as Servants of the Demon God, we must obey the will of the Demon God.”
But her gentle admonition didn’t bring Roseithe any relief.
On the contrary, it was like a spark igniting the fuse buried deep in her heart.
Confusion, bewilderment, and even a faint anger flickered in her eyes as Roseithe demanded loudly.
“Why… Why does the Demon God treat Lanafit this way? She shouldn’t have to bear such a responsibility. How much pain must Lanafit endure, still holding on to her human side? Is it just because he is our almighty creator that he can be so cruel to Lanafit?”
“Roseithe Elode! Watch your words—!!”
Ander hadn’t expected that Roseithe, as a witch, would dare to utter such blasphemy. She rebuked Roseithe sternly.
That instantly reminded her of Anthera. Back then, Anthera had already shown doubts about their absolute loyalty to the Demon God. Now Roseithe was the same, perhaps even more so…
Roseithe seemed to realize just how reckless her words had been. She covered her mouth, her eyes wide, her breath ragged, betraying her fear in this moment.
“I’m sorry… I, I…”
But she couldn’t continue. Roseithe couldn’t find any excuse for her earlier outburst. No matter how she denied it, in her heart, there was only one fact she couldn’t admit.
She was doubting the master she was supposed to trust.
“Roseithe, come back with me!”
At this point, Ander couldn’t let Roseithe stay in the lower world any longer—no matter what, she had to bring her back.
But Roseithe shook her head, even though her body was trembling with fear.
“I’m sorry, Ander. I have to finish what I need to do.”
“You! …Sigh.” Ander glared at Roseithe, annoyed at first, but then only let out a helpless sigh.
“If you’re still not going to behave, then I’ll just have to drag you back by force.”
Though she usually didn’t get along with Roseithe and even beat her up now and then, it had always been just harmless bickering—neither had ever used real force. Ander didn’t want things to go this far.
But Big Sister had said it before: the witches must not interfere in Lanafit’s affairs. She couldn’t allow Roseithe to keep making trouble.
Yet Roseithe wasn’t too worried about her threat, only giving a bitter smile.
“Ander, you might toss me around every time we meet, but if we’re both serious—as witches, we’re equals. You can’t stop me!”
In the next instant, flames engulfed Roseithe’s body. The scorching heat was so intense that even Ander, standing more than ten meters away, could feel it burning her skin.
Clearly, Roseithe was serious now.
But her target wasn’t Ander.
From start to finish, Roseithe had only one goal—to fulfill the Demon God’s will in Lanafit’s place: to destroy Stat Village.
Currently, Stat Village was encased in ice. The massive ice sheet covered the entire village like a lid. While it protected the villagers, it also trapped them, leaving them no way to escape.
So if Roseithe could pierce through the ice at the top and unleash her Flame, the whole village would become a blazing inferno—no one would survive.
The flames surrounding Roseithe plunged downward, but the villagers trapped under the ice had no idea what was coming.
They were still reeling from the shock of the ice wall’s protection, unaware of the new danger approaching.
This time, even the seemingly miraculous Ice Fortress would be powerless to save them.
But just as the Flame was about to burn through the ice—
“Do it!”
A sharp command rang out, and suddenly several figures appeared around the Flame. Magic Circles of all different colors flashed in their hands, and under their suppression, the falling Flame suddenly halted—then dissipated, revealing Roseithe inside.
She looked at the four women surrounding her, then up at Ander, who was still watching from above.
The weakness in her body told her her magic was vanishing rapidly—or rather, being sealed.
It was said that in the past, the Demon King who invaded the Sky Islands had his powers sealed in just this way.
At this point, all Roseithe could do was give a bitter smile.
She could no longer accomplish her goal.
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