‘How unreliable…’
Ai’er sighed inside the carriage.
When she had watched the System use that Disposable Magic to instantly freeze the Minotaur, Ai’er had thought to herself:
‘If a single strike has this much power—and that wasn’t even a “full-power strike,” but a simple “hit”! And at only 10% power at that!’
‘Then how exaggerated would the full-fledged Witch of Time be!’
Ai’er had almost laughed out loud at the thought of the power she would obtain once she conquered Elena.
But in the end…
Although that thing had frozen the Magic Beasts outside the cave entrance as well, it had *only* frozen them. It hadn’t caused any real damage.
“Ugh, it’s so useless. It can’t even kill a Magic Beast.”
Ai’er sighed, then suddenly realized—the Apprentice Saint across from her, Eve, was already sobbing.
“Waaaa—we… we’re so useless… I’m so sorry… waaaa…”
Ai’er’s eyelid twitched. ‘Wait, man — sister?’
‘Lady Saintess, why are you crying? I wasn’t talking about you; why are you taking it personally?’
Ai’er was suddenly at a loss. In this situation, changing the subject was the best course of action.
But to what? Ai’er had plenty of questions herself…
So, Ai’er sighed and reached out to pat Eve on the head.
“Miss Eve, don’t cry. I wasn’t talking about you and your knights. I actually meant—”
Before she could finish her sentence.
Light from outside the carriage suddenly rushed into Ai’er’s vision.
This wasn’t the kind of light that came from a window being opened; it was the light of the outside world as the entire carriage was split vertically into two segments.
Sound, after all, was slower than light.
Before the panicked neighing of the horses began, Ai’er saw red flowers.
Those red flowers were like liquid spraying out from a squeezed faucet, except this liquid was crimson.
Is this… blood?
Whose blood is it?
Her vision began to tilt, as if gravity itself had been overturned. Ai’er could feel her balance slipping away.
**[Emergency mechanism triggered. Time Stop activated.]**
**[Remaining uses: 2]**
**[Time Stop status remaining: 20, 19…]**
The System’s countdown echoed again, and everything before Ai’er’s eyes paused.
Looking out from the severed carriage, Ai’er saw birds frozen in the air, a black-robed figure suspended mid-air, and a magic circle expanding in front of that person…
Finally, Ai’er saw an arm.
The arm, frozen in mid-air, was still stained with red… but at the base of the arm, only crimson blood-flowers remained, connecting it to her own shoulder.
**[Pain Nullification activated for the host.]**
**[Time Stop and Pain Nullification remaining: 14, 13…]**
The black-robed figure had attacked the convoy, using magic to cut the carriage into two—and in the process, had severed the arm she was reaching toward Eve.
‘…Is that it?’
**[Yes.]**
**[The being attacking the host is an “Apostle of the Evil God” from the Black God Church, as mentioned by Sater.]**
‘So… am I going to die?’
Perhaps it was because time had stopped, or perhaps it was because of the severed limb flying before her eyes, but Ai’er felt her heart racing faster than ever before.
The System did not answer her question directly.
**[The System’s Transmigration function is ready. Current phase mission: Conquer the Witch of Time, Elena White, and sign a contract with her.]**
**[If the host agrees to the current mission, the System will open a channel to a parallel timeline.]**
Just like the prompt before her first transmigration to Elena’s timeline, the System simply asked if she wanted to transmigrate.
Her gaze drifted over the severed arm once more, and she felt a wave of nausea. With her sense of pain nullified, the scene was disturbingly surreal.
Beyond the severed arm, Ai’er’s eyes fell on Eve.
The sobbing Saintess seemed as though she hadn’t realized what was happening yet. But since the System had identified the black-robed figure, Eve was likely the target.
This meant she would probably survive, while everyone else would likely die.
**[Time Stop status remaining: 5, 4…]**
“I agree.”
**[Channel opening.]**
In another sensation akin to an out-of-body experience, Ai’er’s vision was violently pulled out from her back once again.
**[Note: This transmigration has no time limit, but System Points will be deducted periodically to maintain it.]**
**[Additionally: While the host is transmigrating, time in the current world will be temporarily stopped.]**
**[After the transmigration ends, the host will return to the original location.]**
**[Timer starting.]**
Last time, Ai’er had obtained a Disposable Magic—but it clearly wouldn’t be enough to deal with this Apostle of the Evil God.
This time… she wondered how much she could progress her relationship with Elena.
Everything before Ai’er’s eyes vanished.
—
**[Pain Nullification deactivated.]**
**[Transmigration mission refreshed: Enter Elena’s room and retrieve the Magic Stone left there intentionally to disrupt Mana control.]**
**[Reward: 10 System Points.]**
—
Elena, who was fast asleep, was suddenly jolted awake by a girl’s scream.
She snapped her eyes open to see the morning sun rising over the sea horizon outside the cave, casting dawn’s light over her.
As far as Elena could see, there was no one injured by her Mana. Was the scream she just heard… a hallucination from a dream?
She seemed to remember something and turned around. The girl who had pulled her out of the sea last night had already stood up.
But for some reason, she had her back turned, and—she was clutching her arm?!
Had her Mana leaked out again!
“You! Are you okay!”
She grabbed Ai’er’s shoulder, just as the girl turned her face toward her.
There were two tear stains on the girl’s cheeks, and tears still seemed to cling to the corners of her eyes. The slight redness on her nose stood out against her white skin, looking like a drop of melting snow under the winter sun.
“What’s wrong?! Does it hurt anywhere?!”
Seeing Elena’s worried expression, and with the pain from the severed arm fading quickly, Ai’er’s nerves relaxed slightly.
But with this relaxation, the tears Ai’er had been holding back suddenly spilled out, startling Elena.
Elena immediately let go of Ai’er’s shoulder, her arms waving frantically in a state of utter confusion.
Seeing the girl act like this, Ai’er managed to smile again.
“I-I’m fine. It’s just… I had a nightmare,” Ai’er said, moving her right arm and giving it a light squeeze. “I dreamed my hand was cut off…”
‘Why would you dream about your hand being cut off?!’ Elena wanted to ask, but then she thought of herself.
Whenever she heard the rumors of people calling her a “Witch” behind her back, she would have nightmares too.
What one saw in dreams was usually a reflection of what they experienced in their daily lives.
This silver-haired girl before her must have her own hidden sorrows.
Seeing Ai’er scratch her head with a silly smile before wiping away her tears, Elena suddenly felt that the silver-haired girl was truly strong.
She had traveled here from a distant place, and even in her dreams, she suffered from physical torment… She must have endured many unspeakable hardships in the past.
And yet, despite all that, this girl was living life with strength.
She had even… saved Elena when she had wanted to die.
Lowering her gaze silently, Elena looked at her own fingers.
“Ai’er, I can’t accept this ring for nothing.”
After thinking for a moment, Elena noticed Ai’er’s slightly tattered clothing.
“You must have come from a very distant place, right? Ai’er… do you have a place to stay now?”
“A place from far away? It is quite far.”
Ai’er’s eyes darted around before she nodded, confirming Elena’s assumption.
After all, she had come from another parallel world; it was indeed very far.
“As for a place to stay… I think this cave is pretty good?”
So, she had nowhere to live.
After a moment of silence, Elena lightly bit her lip, then raised her gaze again to look into Ai’er’s eyes.
“How can a person live in a cave? In that case… as a return for this ring, Ai’er—would you… want to come be a maid for my family?”