So Se ris, Ec wision nes ria feo.
For whom do you shine?
elmei xel lihit Ec flow. Uhw kis lin song-pilis flow.
All the stars of this world seek your light.
Your light more noble than anything in the world.
Shie-la So nec kfen. Fert Ez ema siole pile..
So do not be mistaken, you of true pride.
PROLOGUE 1
Called the Cowardly Princess
“Elletear will evolve into a true witch. Into a being no one can stop.”
“Now, how do we fight her? We only have one option.”
“The Planetary Calamity is a threat to all creatures. She just happened to have a higher resistance to it than others. So all we have to do is pour more power into her than she can resist.”
“That’s the undiluted solution.”
They were at the northern extremities of the continent.
The gigantic cavern leading to the planet’s core known as the Gregorio was right before their eyes.
“Urgh?!”
The witch’s screams echoed throughout the space.
The mad scientist Kelvina from the Empire had given Talisman a small ampoule of undiluted solution.
That flipped the tables on the battle.
“It’s an overdose. And now, my dear Elletear, because you have power you cannot possibly adapt to, it will run rampant within your body. The calamity isn’t your friend, Elletear, my dear.”
Talisman, the patriarch of the Hydra family, tossed the empty syringe aside.
The witch before him was crumbling as she lost her form.
She writhed on the ground as her limbs tore and evaporated into a black mist. The black mist was her true form as a witch.
“Hgh!”
The black mist began to form a current midair, whirling round and round into a vortex.
It formed something like a cocoon. At that moment, Elletear didn’t even have the power to keep her human form. She was using all she had to preserve her very existence.
It was either disappear or fight to survive.
“You won’t be able to withstand it.”
Talisman’s words seemed to pierce her, as though attempting to crush any last will she had to struggle.
Then he spoke softly. “The calamity’s undiluted power will destroy even you.”
“No…” In that moment, the sound Elletear made as she formed into a pitch-black cocoon wasn’t a cry but a howl. “Not…alone!”
Fwoosh.
An undulation traveled through the dark cocoon and a long, thin, black tentacle shot out from it. It grasped Talisman by the neck and coiled around him.
“What?!”
“I’d like an escort. Let’s go down together!”
Talisman had been caught.
Then he was dragged into the eddying black cocoon.
From within the cocoon, the head of house and the witch both screamed as though their worlds were ending.
As she watched the events transpire, Princess Mizerhyby of the Hydra forgot to even breathe.
“Uncle…?!”
What had happened to the head of the family?
What had happened in Elletear’s cocoon? What in the world had occurred inside of it?
“Vichyssoise!”
“I wouldn’t know either, Princess.”
Behind her was the witch Vichyssoise. The witch’s hair was red as rubies but opaque, and her body was transparent like glass. In other words, she was a monster.
She had also been turned into a witch through the power of the calamity, but even she had no idea what had just transpired.
“But I think our leader won. Even a monster like Elletear wouldn’t be able to withstand being injected with undiluted power from the calamity. It should beat her, and she’ll disappear…”
But then at that moment, they heard a cry.
The echo of two death throes.
The cocoon split.
As it cracked in half like an egg, it turned into a current of black vapor that dissipated into the air.
As the mist cleared, they saw Elletear collapsed face down on the ground. Talisman stood with his back to them.
The witch had fallen.
The head of the house was still standing.
“You dreadful man…”
Elletear’s voice was raspy. She was barely managing to keep her human form; small pieces of her arms and legs were breaking away, turning into wisps of smoke.
She was breaking apart.
To anyone’s eyes, it was clear these were her last moments.
“This was why…I didn’t want to fight you…”
She began to crawl along the ground, slowly, ever so slowly. She was moving away from them.
Did she mean to escape?
The vortex was ahead of her. If she reached the yawning crater and pitched herself in, she would both escape and reach the planet’s core. However…
“Uncle…?” Mizerhyby was more concerned for Talisman, the head of her family.
He hadn’t turned around.
Why?
Elletear continued to drag herself along the ground. If Mizerhyby simply walked to her and grabbed her by the neck, it would be so easy to end her.
“How truly unfortunate.” Elletear abruptly turned to look at Mizerhyby.
She was a monster without eyes, a nose, or a mouth.
It was strange that Mizerhyby even knew the monster was looking at her. The strange, frightful sensation that assaulted the Hydra princess caused her to jump back with a cry.
“Lord Talisman…your misfortune was that you never found anyone who could match your talent. Had there been two of you here, I would have undoubtedly perished. For all this time, you must have been disappointed that this spineless princess was your heir.”
“Huh!”
“You were a brave and wise head of house. On the other hand, this princess is too afraid to even finish me off.”
She crawled forward, continuing on and on until she had reached the edge of the vortex.
The Gregorio.
This was the gigantic hole the Hydra had once discovered, which led to the planet’s core.
“Ah-ha! Ah-ha-ha! This is the calamity’s power…amazing. If I make contact with its primary form at the center of the planet, I’ll gain even greater power!”
“Stop…!” Mizerhyby yelled, having regained her spirit.
The witch was on the verge of death. This was her one chance to stop Elletear.
“Stand up, Vichyssoise! Get that monster—”
“Sit.”
Thump…
Mizerhyby almost lost consciousness for a moment as she felt something jab and pierce into her side.
“Ah!”
As she regained her senses, her knees buckled beneath her, and she knelt on the ground.
Deep in her throat, she felt the urge to vomit.
“You…?!”
As her vision blurred, she saw a red-haired man looking down at her. He wore a coat that was integrated with armor and a heavy two-handed sword. Mizerhyby only knew of one person who matched such a description. He was an Imperial.
“Saint Disciple Joheim…”
She recognized him.
That was because of the intelligence on the Empire that Elletear had offered to the Hydra. Among the top secret files had been the list of Saint Disciples. Then she made the connection.
……How cunning.
……So Elletear gave us that information on the Saint Disciples for when this time came!
He was the Saint Disciple of the first seat, Joheim.
This man had another identity outside of the Empire.
……Elletear’s faithful dog!
……She kept him a secret until the very last moment!
She couldn’t yell or say a word.
Vichyssoise couldn’t make any sudden moves either because of Mizerhyby’s position.
“The head of the Hydra truly was amazing.”
Joheim picked Elletear up with one arm. “It was a close fight, just like we anticipated.”
“I’m…so sorry, Joheim. I made you go through so much trouble for my sake.”
The witch’s voice was faint.
It was a strange scene. Elletear, the merciless witch of unmatchable power, was apologetic toward Joheim. She even seemed to show a tender side of herself to him.
She was like a ferocious beast who was kind only to her sole caretaker.
What relationship could these two have?
“We’re going down.”
After saying only that, Joheim threw himself into the gigantic hole. He kept Elletear cradled in his arm. They fell deep, deep, deep into the Gregorio vortex. They would fall for tens of thousands of meters toward the planet’s core.
“Huh! They got away…”
They were gone.
Mizerhyby bit the inside of her cheek as she saw the truth before her.
The Hydra’s plans were ruined. They had been planning to reach the calamity before Elletear could. This was the worst thing that could have possibly happened.
“Uncle! What do we do now?!”
“…”
“If Elletear reaches the calamity, we have no idea how much more she might evolve! At this rate… Uncle?”
Her uncle hadn’t responded. He simply stood there, his back to her.
This was strange.
Why? Why hadn’t he said a word? The situation was becoming more and more disquieting. Mizerhyby and Vichyssoise shared a look.
“I touched it.”
The man finally spoke. Though he still would not turn to face them, his voice had its usual mirth.
“I made contact with the greatest knowledge and power in this world.”
“Uncle…?”
What was he saying?
Though her uncle rarely spoke in such a cryptic way, it wasn’t the time to analyze his every word. Mizerhyby was simply thankful he had come to his senses.
“Uncle! I-I’m glad you’re all right. Are you hurt…?”
“Hurt? Of course I wouldn’t be hurt. And I wouldn’t care if I had been.”
“Y-yes, of course! Then we must hurry to—”
“After all…”
The man turned around.
The left side of his face was covered in black fibers and his eye was twice its usual size.
“I have attained it!”
“Huh?!”
She screamed. A cry of shock, grief, pity, and anger broke from Mizerhyby’s throat.
What was that?
What had the head of the family turned into?
“That…!”
Vichyssoise pointed at Talisman’s neck, which had been impaled with Elletear’s pitch-black proboscis.
“It was Elletear?! Of course…she couldn’t have handled the power of the calamity on her own. So she injected the rest into him!”
She had shared the poison with him.
That was why she had said she would take him down with her. That was why Elletear had dragged him into her cocoon.
She had forced the power of the calamity onto him.
“Uncle!”
But her uncle was still standing before her eyes, which was reassuring.
Though half his face had been transformed.
“Uncle, are you in your right mind…? Your face!”
“You have nothing to worry about, Mizy.”
He laughed mirthfully and shrugged.
He acted the part of a gentleman as if nothing had changed. At first Mizerhyby felt relieved—until fear froze her heart.
“I…I-I’m…”
His face swiveled. His left eye began to wriggle as though it were an entirely separate organism.
The calamity had started to take control of him.
“Princess!” Vichyssoise’s voice was tight as she cried out. “That’s not the head of family anymore! He’ll capture both of us!”
“It can’t be!”
“Just hurry! He’s calm now, but if he starts to rampage, we’ll be no match for him!”
“Elleteeeeeear!” Mizerhyby bit her lip and cried out the name of the witch who had caused this tragedy. “You’ll see! I’ll get back at you for this disgrace!”
The head of their family had been transformed into something else.
As she looked at the thing that had once been her uncle, the princess of the Hydra clamped down on her lip until she drew blood.
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