It was a clear judgment error.
This was not only Usher’s mistake, but also a problem that arose from the blindness of the entire order.
Why hadn’t I thought of it?
If this was a place swarming with artificial witches, I should have anticipated that they would cooperate with each other.
To make an excuse, historically, there had never been many witches in existence at once. But in the end, it was just an excuse. Usher had to admit the mistakes of himself and the order.
‘My body…’
His head was buzzing. His condition wasn’t good.
But it seemed that nothing else had been done to his body.
It was merely the aftereffects of the poison.
Should I consider this a blessing?
Grinding his teeth, Usher began to search for a way to resolve the situation.
One thing: it was certainly not going to be easy.
“Enough. Ahaeya. I’ve lived long enough to see through your thoughts.”
The witch before him was different from those he had faced before.
She was different from the one he had assassinated just before.
The nauseating smell of her heresy was there from the start.
Its intensity was too strong and deep.
Was she one of the strongest among them?
Tension was rising to the tip of his head.
“I didn’t expect the order to arrive so quickly. I thought I had more time.”
It seemed they already knew their identities.
When did they find out? Then, was this witch the one who placed the white witch in the spy position?
His mind grew more complicated.
But, should he consider this fortunate? The witch solved that problem for him.
“Don’t be surprised. I predicted this would happen, so I placed that child there. I knew you would bring out your blade.”
“…That’s a nice thing to say.”
“Hehe, no need for thanks.”
She didn’t emotionally react to his sarcastic words.
It was only making him realize more clearly that she couldn’t be dealt with like the other witches.
What should he do now?
Diego must have figured out the anomaly on this side. If he could just hold on until then…
But how? Should he keep talking like this?
His mind was racing.
However, immediately after, a sentence came out that stopped Usher’s thoughts.
“So, how about the curse of longing?”
“…!”
“How does it feel for your mind to crumble? Is the sweet fall thrilling? Oh, right, it hasn’t completely fallen yet. That’s why you’ve walked in here on your own.”
“How do you know…”
“It’s not difficult. Just like how you exchange information under the name of the order, we also know each other’s news. That child you killed on the island was quite emotional. Despite that, they received our god’s curse. What did they do while dying? If you think about it, the conclusion comes easily, doesn’t it? Of course, there are other grounds, but they’re not important, so I’ll skip that.”
The witch finished her words with a smile.
Her smile, which seemed kind at first glance, was eerily dry and emotionless.
“It’s the greatest curse among a witch’s powers. I was curious. How our god’s legacy has manifested.”
The witch’s hand touched Usher’s cheek.
Usher stiffened his expression and held his breath.
The witch’s eyes curved gently. The decadent woman with dark circles under her eyes laughed with every breath, cutting her laughter into bursts.
“You’re struggling, aren’t you? Indeed, you could be called a saint. Blue eyes, light blue hair. You’re biased. Is the curse suppressed by your parents? How unreasonable. That child on the island must have cursed with their soul.”
The witch’s thumb traced Usher’s lips.
Usher felt nauseous, but the witch, unfazed, continued her actions before pulling her hand away.
Then, she stood up and dusted off her hands.
“Well, I guess I’ll learn that little by little. What’s more surprising, though, is that you managed to find the lost crown prince of the former dynasty.”
Snap!
It was the moment the witch snapped her fingers.
The surroundings brightened.
Usher’s eyes widened in shock.
‘Gester!’
“Ugh! Mmm!”
Gester was tied up across from him.
He hadn’t noticed until now because the lights had been off, but this was the ground.
It appeared to be inside a grand building of the palace.
Gester, tied to a pillar across from him, had his mouth sealed with something black.
When the witch snapped her fingers again, the object sealing his mouth vanished.
“Untie him now! You damn bitch!”
“If I untie him, would I have tied you up in the first place?”
“Ugh…!”
“Calm down. It’s been so long since we last met, hasn’t it?”
Usher couldn’t understand those words.
Long time? Does this mean Gester knew her?
He couldn’t understand.
Artificial witches had only been created within the past 1-2 years.
If they knew each other, it must have been at least ten years ago, when Usher was still in this land.
The timeline didn’t match.
“You… you’re the culprit…”
“That’s half right, half wrong. Ahaeya, I did stretch out my hand to create this situation, but it was Anton’s envy and the greed of the sandstorm that executed it.”
Usher’s lips trembled.
The witch, unable to hold back her laughter, shook her shoulders before saying “Ah!” and then turned her body toward Usher.
“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself here.”
She said.
“Tehra, Tehra Ushiophe.”
“…!”
“I am the queen consort of this Baern.”
The words spoken in an elegant tone were ones Usher could not possibly understand.
Was it revealed in his expression? Witch Tehra chuckled and added more.
“Your order is always like this. How stiff you all are.”
“Mus…….”
“Heretics must be killed. Heretics are not human, and they are evil that must be exterminated upon discovery.”
Tehra, who had been speaking as if singing, sneered.
“After killing like beasts, do you really think we’re beasts?”
Her tone was either scornful or perhaps sympathetic.
“I don’t know why you don’t think about it. Didn’t you yourselves call us artificial witches? Artificial. Made by humans.”
Tehra bent her waist. Her eyes narrowed.
“Why don’t you think there must be someone who made us?”
Usher’s heart sank with a thud.
Some of the implications in her words were directly connected to Usher.
His mouth hung open in a daze.
He replayed the information in his head.
The mastermind who created the artificial witches, and the “real witches” who existed even before artificial witches.
Ah, so this witch must be different from all the others he had met.
But, there was an even more striking fact.
‘Queen consort.’
The wife of Anton Ushiophe, who usurped the throne.
The woman who had been in Baern since then.
She was a witch.
“Ah, being a queen consort was quite enjoyable…”
She was the one who toppled the Quolin royal family and brought down the lion-hearted Therbion.
“AAAH!!!”
Gester screamed. Blood tears were flowing from his eyes.
Usher didn’t know what to do. He was too confused, and it felt unreal.
The buzzing in his head grew worse.
He felt nauseous, like he was going to vomit his insides out.
His head hung low.
It felt like a spark that could burn everything inside him was spreading from his chest throughout his body.
His heart was pounding madly. Blood rushed to his head.
His expression twisted.
His tightly clenched lips split open and blood flowed.
He lifted his head again and saw Tehra through his disheveled hair.
She just smiled softly.
“What’s so unfair? Did you not consider the possibility of witches who are not artificial? Did you not know that these heretics, no better than insects, have been slowly killing a nation for ten years?”
He had never felt such emotions.
Pure evil remained, and he wanted to tear everything in front of him apart, but not let it die, making it suffer forever.
He could honestly say he had never felt this way in his life.
“It’s divine favoritism. A spoiled brat. What’s so wrong with me?”
You.
The very existence of this witch in front of him.
He hated it with all his being.
His teeth ground together.
Killer intent surged and enveloped Tehra’s entire body.
Tehra chuckled softly.
“What do you think you can do?”
She snapped her fingers again.
Then—
BOOM!!!
A loud explosion sounded as screams echoed from all directions.
Gester, with a stunned expression, moved his lips.
“What…?”
“Well, what can you do now? You’ve been discovered. We’ll clean up.”
The ground continued to tremble.
The screams of the people grew louder and closer.
“If you were waiting for backup, I’m afraid that won’t come. I’ve prepared thoroughly in this part.”
Tehra’s lips curled upwards.
Speaking of which, all the eleven concubines I’ve brought into this palace… they’re all children who came through my hands. In other words, they’re all artificial secret witches.”
Black energy gathered over Tehra’s hand, forming into a long spear.
She gripped it and pointed it at Usher’s neck.
“There will be no backup. The knight you believe in is busy dealing with other witches. So I’ll send you off cleanly. It was nice meeting you. Now, die…”
It was then.
FWOOSH!
A brilliant light exploded, and half of Tehra’s body, along with the building in its path, was completely erased.
It happened so fast that even Usher, who was standing right there, realized what happened only a moment later.
[…Huh?]
Tehra made a sound not from her neck, but from somewhere else.
With only half of her head remaining, she turned her neck, spilling brain matter as she twisted her head.
Usher stared blankly at the spot where the light had come from.
“Well, look at that cockroach-like thing.”
Creeeek, creeeek, a blonde girl holding a weapon larger than her body walked toward them, laughing menacingly.
“You must think you won’t die unless I grind you down into tiny bits.”
Halia was there.