“Watch closely, Alfred.”
As the Night Witch declared, a mud-like blackness began to ooze out from her shadow.
“This is the power of the spirit [Claudia]. My magic. Its ability is—-[Despair].”
“Despair…you say…?”
“You’ll understand once you experience it.”
The shadow coiled around her staff. I couldn’t tell what she intended to do, nor what that ability entailed.
Then I’ll just have to strike first.
“[Phantom Skirmish]!”
I closed in, slashing at the shadow-coiled staff twice.
The spirit [Arsène]’s magic—stealing any magic I struck at the same place twice.
With this, I should be able to steal her so-called [Despair] magic and—-
“—-!?”
I couldn’t steal it.
No, it was more than that…the swords felt heavy. I couldn’t feel any magic power or magic at all…!?
“Your blades have now fallen into the darkness of [Despair].”
“………..!?”
“You can no longer use magic theft. Those blades have become mere, dull instruments.”
“Guh……!”
I blocked the staff swing from the Night Witch, but the blow I had been able to endure until moments ago was now too heavy. Unable to bear it, I was blown back.
“What’s going on? The swords are getting heavier…no, they keep getting heavier…!?”
The swords…[Warning Right Blade] and [Receiving Left Blade]’s powers were weakening?
“That is despair.”
“What did you say?”
“Despair is to give up entirely, to stop moving forward—to lose hope. Anything touched by the power of my [Despair] will stop, gradually losing its power.”
Stopping and losing power. That was the ability of her…the Night Witch’s despair.
“The moment your blades touched this shadow, their magic theft ability stopped. That’s why you couldn’t steal my magic. The moment your blades touched this shadow, their power began to diminish. That’s why they keep getting heavier.”
What kind of magic was this? So that shadow devoured everything, making one lose…no, making one give up hope…!
“Your magic cannot reach me. Give up.”
“……Like hell I’ll give up.”
“What?”
“Whether your magic is despair or whatever, there’s no way I’d give up over something like that!”
So what if her magic was despair? So what if it was powerful?
That wasn’t a reason to give up on Charl. No such reason existed in this world, no matter how hard I looked.
“How pitiful, to refuse to give up.”
“You seem pretty intent on making me give up.”
“……Of course. It would be lamentable for such talent to be wasted on a futile endeavor.”
“Don’t pity me on your own.”
“……..Hmm?”
It seemed the Night Witch had finally noticed.
“These magic pulses…the [Search] magic enhanced by [Sublimation], activated in parallel during our battle. Quite the skillful trick.”
The information gained from the [Search] I had been activating in parallel guided me to hope.
“Charl is still alive.”
“………..”
“I can sense her faint magic power lingering amidst your miasma.”
“…Kukku. You are truly remarkable, Alfred.”
The Night Witch chuckled, her laugh different from Charl’s despite sharing the same face.
“If she’s been consumed by the miasma, then all I have to do is sever the source…in other words, if I defeat you, I can take Charl back—-“
“Impossible.”
The Night Witch declared coldly, her voice eerily frigid, in response to my assumptions.
“Charlotte is indeed alive. But saving her is impossible. To put it bluntly—even if you defeat me, Charlotte will never return.”
“You’re the source of all miasma. If I destroy you, who controls it—”
“Did you think that would bring her back? A grave misunderstanding, Alfred. No—you’ve been wrong from the very start.”
The Night Witch gazed down at me with languid, almost pitying eyes—
as if watching a foolish child stumbling through a mistake.
“What do you think the [Night Witch] truly is?”
“…………”
“A terrifying witch? A demon king bent on destroying the world? No. I am nothing so tangible.”
“…What… do you mean?”
“Think. Why would I gather human hearts through my children? Why collect the power of the Six Emotions? Why seize Charlotte’s body? Why crave magic strong enough to invert light itself? If I were merely a witch or a demon king, wouldn’t I already possess emotions, flesh, and magic? Why go to such lengths?”
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She was right. We’d always held only a vague image of the [Night Witch]—a calamity said to have once shrouded the world in darkness…
“A calamity that once shrouded the world in darkness… Could it mean… literally…?”
“Yes. Exactly, Alfred. Well done.”
The Night Witch spread her arms wide, radiating genuine delight.
“The [Night Witch] is nothing but a phenomenon—a type of [Ragment] you’ve hunted endlessly. More precisely… [miasma with a will]. A [sentient Ragment], if you will.”
“…………!”
“Legends claim the [Ragments] are curses left by the Night Witch as she died, slain by past kings. But the truth is reversed. Miasma existed first. It spewed forth, birthing [Ragments]. This phenomenon has occurred worldwide, long before your kings arrived.”
I, We—the royal family—had misunderstood everything.
We believed the Night Witch was the source of miasma.
“Do you think there’s some root producing miasma? A convenient villain pulling strings? No. Nothing like that exists. Even if you destroy me, miasma and [Ragments] will never vanish.”
Eradicating [Ragments] and freeing the world from the Night Witch’s curse was the royal family’s greatest wish. Her words shattered that dream in an instant. But worse—for me—was…
“As long as this world endures, miasma will endlessly spawn. All miasma is interconnected. Think of it like… mouths spewing miasma across the world, funneling into a shared [stomach]—a boundless, expanding realm of corruption.”
The night witch speaks fluently. She even seems to enjoy talking to humans.
“By absorbing Charlotte, I’ve trapped her in this [stomach]. Have any creatures swallowed by [Ragments] ever returned? No. Destroying me—this mere vessel—would only erase a Ragment. Charlotte remains lost.”
“………… I’m not going to let you do that!”
If only we could defeat the Night Witch. If only I could defeat her.
Deep down, I’d clung to the hope that defeating her would fix everything. She saw through me—and crushed that hope.
“But… still…!”
“You’ve let your guard down.”
A flash of darkness erupted.
“Damn—!”
By the time I realized my mistake, violent shadows had already consumed me.
“Gah…! AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaHHHHHHHHH!”
I could’ve dodged. The attack was telegraphed. Yet I failed.
My vision flickered. My body burned as if engulfed in flames.
Worse—[Despair]’s power corroded my spirits. My spirit armor faltered… crumbling away.
“Fufufu. Well done, Mother.”
“Shaking their resolve, creating openings, then annihilating them… Far more entertaining than brute force. The human heart truly is versatile.”
“Agreed. Delightfully so.”
This was bad. My transformation had broken. My body… wouldn’t move…!
“Ah, let me clarify, Alfred. While my words were meant to break your spirit… everything I said was true.”
“…………! [Alvida]…!”
“Futile.”
A shadow of despair engulfed the summoned [Alvida] in the blink of an eye.
Power faded. A second spirit shattered before I could act.
“Summon all you like. My [Despair] drags everything into darkness. Your [King’s Robe Ring] holds no sway over me.”
“[Fire Orb]…!”
I hurled flames, but shadows crawling from the witch’s feet snuffed them out.
“How stubborn.”
“GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
Darkness devoured me. Black lightning surged. I barely clung to consciousness.
“Kuh… Hah… [Fire Orb]…!”
No magic responded.
“[Alvida]… [Arsène]…”
No spirits answered.
“Your journey ends here.”
All rings dimmed.
“Hope is lost.”
My magic… drained away…
“The gap is absolute.”
…………My body… won’t move…
“This… is [Despair].”
Dammit… To die here…
“Farewell, Alfred.”
Without saving Char…
“It’s been a pleasure fighting with you.”
Darkness surged to erase me—
“—[Lion’s Roar]!”
A lion’s roar split the air.
“…………!?”
A torrent of royal magic devoured the Night Witch’s shadows.
The shockwave slammed into her and Lucille, who’d thrown herself as a shield, crushing their defenses.
“Pathetic.”
A voice—nostalgic, steady, reassuring—echoed.
“Is that all your strength amounts to… Alfred?”
Standing there was the one-armed former king to be—
“…………Leo… brother…!”
My elder brother. The First Prince, Leor Berg Leuville.
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