Unnamed Memory - Volume 1 - Chapter 4

4. On the Shores of the Lake

The earth was dry and cracked. Reminiscent of the lands surrounding the witch’s tower, the desolate area had been shrouded in perpetual fog for seventy years.

This was the site of the battle between Farsas and Druza, where the giant magic weapon referred to as a demonic beast once went on a rampage. A young man wearing a robe gazed out over the dried-out expanse that mages called a magical lake. The silver-haired girl standing next to him looked up at her companion.

“What’s in a place like this, Valt? It’s definitely thick with magic, but…”

“You can’t see it, but it all starts now,” he answered, running a hand through his light-brown hair.

They were outside the Farsas castle city, but Valt was still concealing his magic. He’d put a fair distance between himself and the witch, but there were others in this land. To ensure the path to their destination went smoothly, he’d lent a bit of help and guidance, but he didn’t want anything more to be expected of him. Valt would only risk stirring up trouble with his own magic as an absolute last resort.

“She should be noticing it right about now. Let’s see what she’s got.”

“The Witch of the Azure Moon? Will she really come all the way out here?” the silver-haired girl asked.

“She will. She has eyes all over the mainland. Especially out here,” Valt answered. He looked up at the sky. The gray cat that raced among the clouds was the witch’s familiar. That was how she searched all across the land. The witch being unable to give up on the man was her destiny. That’s how Valt knew she’d notice a tipping of the scales like this right away.

“We’ll have to hide in the clouds for a little bit, too. I don’t want to go toe to toe with her,” Valt said. Though his magic far exceeded that of the ordinary mage…and he held memories no other person could, any of the witches could easily twist him into surrendering. Such was the gap of strength between them.

“The only one who could face off against a witch head-on and kill her is the Akashia swordsman.”

“By Akashia swordsman, do you mean the crown prince of Farsas? Are you going to make him kill her?”

“He can’t right now. He can’t beat her yet.”

Which was why things were still stagnant. The poor witch’s wish remained unfulfilled, and the scales of the world were yet untipped.

“Let’s go, Miralys,” Valt said, taking the girl along and leaving the wasteland behind. The gray fog grew even thicker, cloaking their ever-more-distant figures.

The light of a clear summer sky shone down on the castle training grounds yet again. Tinasha was cooling off in the shade, her sword set aside, when Als came to sit next to her.

“You’ve made major progress. Or maybe it’s just your senses returning to you,” he remarked.

“Do you really think so? Thank you,” Tinasha replied.

After their first match, she’d started regularly showing up at the training grounds to get in some practice. Als recommended some times to drop by—all of them being when he was free and Meredina was away—but his childhood friend might have picked up on that. He felt bad for Meredina, but because the soldiers’ morale went up whenever Tinasha came by, he welcomed the mage’s visits.

Tinasha had her arms folded over her knees, and her head was resting on top of them. “How long do you think it’ll take me to be as good as him?” she asked.

“Do you mean His Highness? That’s been impossible for as long as I’ve been practicing a sword. I’ve never beaten him once.”

“What? Really?” Tinasha asked, looking up at him with big, round eyes. The sun caught her dark orbs, making them sparkle like black quartz.

Als nodded, retying his boots. “Really. This is just between us, but I was pretty upset after the first time we sparred. I’d kind of looked down on him, thinking royal blood couldn’t be anything special.”

“He’s that strong…,” Tinasha said, trailing off and glancing up at the sky as she sighed. Clouds were streaming rapidly by; the winds up there were likely pretty quick.

“Lately, His Highness has been fairly good about staying in the castle, but until recently, he was always sneaking off with Lazar to who knows where… That wasn’t too dangerous in and of itself, so I let it be. When I heard he was going to the witch’s tower, though, I thought he’d lost his mind. It was pretty surprising to see he’d come back in one piece.”

“I heard he crushed the tower’s guardian beasts easily,” Tinasha said.

“Are we sure he’s human?” Als muttered.

They both sighed. Als combed back his red hair so it wouldn’t get in his way. “Couldn’t you just use magic? Can you not use it at close range or something?”

“Normally, I have a barrier up, but don’t forget that he carries Akashia with him,” reminded Tinasha.

“Oh…right, yeah,” Als said.

The royal sword that granted absolute protection from all magic. It had been two years now since Oscar first armed himself with the enemy of all mages.

“I guess it’s impossible,” Als concluded.

“It really is,” sighed Tinasha. The general made it sound so final that she felt a little panicked.

Als apparently took notice and gave her a pitying look. “Isn’t it still possible to get him to train you?”

“Mmmm… I don’t really want to show him my hand just yet. I still don’t know how things are going to turn out.”

“I see, I see…” The youngest general in Farsas tilted his head thoughtfully. “Yeah, I think it’s impossible,” he reiterated.

“Noooo!” cried Tinasha. She looked even more anguished than she had a moment ago. For an instant, Als thought she’d fainted from the agony of it all, but she’d merely sagged listlessly to the ground.

Finished with practice, Tinasha was walking along a connecting passage when someone called out to her, and she stopped in her tracks. No one else could hear the voice that had spoken. Tinasha went outside and walked up to the base of a huge tree in the gardens.

“Litola.”

“I’m glad you appear well, Master. You’ve been blessed with a good contract holder,” said Litola.

“You think so?” Tinasha asked.

Litola, sitting in the upper branches of the tree, jumped and landed on the ground silently, then bowed. “You seem like you’re having much more fun now than you used to.”

“I suppose it is fun, but… Well, it’s not bad,” the witch said, shrugging as she made a face.

In reply, Litola frowned a little. “Shouldn’t you just marry him? It doesn’t look like things will change in a year or even a hundred.”

“They’ll change, they’ll change. Besides, I have no desire for a spouse,” Tinasha said, waving her hand dismissively.

At this very human gesture, Litola bowed their head respectfully. “I’ve said too much. Please forgive me. I have completed my assigned investigation, so today, I’ve come to report.”

“All right, go ahead.” The curtain hiding Tinasha’s emotions fell from her dark eyes. Her gaze was like a completely still pool of water. This was her witch’s face, the one very different from the expressions she normally showed Oscar and Als. Silently, Tinasha listened to the report. She clicked her tongue in irritation when Litola finished.

The witch appeared in Oscar’s study just as he and Lazar were taking a break to play spinning tops. Her sudden intrusion caught both men off guard.

She wasn’t wearing her usual mage’s robe or fluttery clothing but a formfitting magical costume made of black fabric inlaid with sigils. The outfit hugged her curves, and the cut was one not seen in Farsas, lending her a strange, commanding presence and an eye-catching charm. Over it, she was wearing a cloak, yet again inlaid with magical symbols.

Perhaps most unusual of all was a slender sword that hung at Tinasha’s hip. Crystal-embedded wrist braces adorned her hands, and belts affixed to her waist and legs held other items that resembled weapons.

In all likelihood, this was her battle ensemble.

Oscar was quick to pick up on this and rose to his feet. “What’s happened? Why are you dressed like that?”

“I’ll be heading out for two or three days,” she replied curtly, turning to go. Oscar grabbed for her wrist, barely catching hold of it.

“Wait, wait. Where are you going?” he demanded.

“Does it matter? I’ll come back safely,” she said.

“It doesn’t look like you’re just going out to play. You’ve taken off all your sealing ornaments.”

To keep up the guise of an apprentice mage, Tinasha normally wore a number of rings and earrings designed to seal her magic. If a normal mage wore even one such item, they wouldn’t be able to cast spells anymore, yet Tinasha wore close to ten while working as a court mage. That was just how powerful she was, but now she’d removed all her shackles.

She made to leave the room, but Oscar pulled her back toward him. Lazar rushed to close the door, blocking her exit.

“At least tell me where you’re going. You made a contract with me. You can’t just go off and leave,” Oscar pleaded.

Tinasha glared in reply. She looked completely unlike her usual self, and Lazar was clearly unnerved by it. Seeing that Oscar wasn’t cowed at all by her flashing eyes, the witch reluctantly admitted, “The magical lake in Old Druza.”

“Old Druza?” Oscar repeated, but he quickly understood. “So that’s why that mage was killed.”

“What? What? What are you talking about?” Lazar was utterly confused, unable to follow the conversation.

Oscar explained, still gripping the witch’s wrist tight. “The guy who was poisoned used to make monthly trips to study the magical lake in Old Druza. Someone who didn’t want him doing that egged his girlfriend on to kill him, right? Pasval was sent to the city to stir up confusion among the royal council and buy time.”

Tinasha nodded, confirming Oscar’s guess. “Waves of powerful magic are coursing through the magical lake. I’m going to go investigate and see if someone’s up to something. Is that acceptable?” she asked, imploring with her eyes for Oscar to release her.

Oscar shook his head. “Give me an hour. I’m coming, too.”

“What?” Tinasha went agape, but she quickly regained her composure. “That’s not necessary. Rather, the prince should not be roaming about.”

“What do you think you’re doing going alone? Under the terms of the treaty, that land belongs to no country, but in reality, Farsas controls it. If something happens and you’re the only one investigating, I won’t have enough of a reason to get the country involved.”

He made a good point, and Tinasha’s face softened just a little. She maintained a fierce glare on Oscar, however. “If I take you along, it’s going to be an even bigger problem.”

“I’ll assemble a capable team. Fifteen should be good for an investigative mission,” Oscar reasoned to himself.

“I am not obligated to protect anyone besides you,” she warned.

“I understand,” came the prince’s flat reply.

Oscar hadn’t hesitated at all, and Tinasha was left speechless. The prince hadn’t wavered, to an almost enviable degree. He’d made a purpose-driven snap assessment. Surely, this was what made him worthy of the throne—the mark of a strong warrior who could take everything in and stand tall.

Tinasha inhaled deeply. Her thoughts were paused, but in their place, an infinite number of memories filtered past her mind’s eye. Sights and sounds she’d lost. Herself as a child. A country on the verge of ruin. Countless…people she’d made contracts with who were no longer alive. It was like the last lingering traces of her sentimentalism. All of it, she could never get back. What about this moment had sparked such thoughts?

As Tinasha stared at this man before her, she spoke hoarsely. “One hour… I won’t wait any longer.”

“That’s all I need,” Oscar said, finally releasing her. He left the room to begin getting everything ready.

Exactly one hour later, a group of fifteen, including Oscar and Tinasha, had gathered. Soon they would step onto a transportation array that would bring them to a fortress on the northern border. There were nine soldiers, including Meredina, and four mages. Everyone had protested Als going, saying that the castle would be lost without him, so the general had stayed behind. For that same reason, Chief Mage Kumu also wasn’t part of the group. Both of them had shown up to see everyone off, though, perhaps out of worry.

Tinasha was standing in a corner still looking a little sullen. While they waited, one of the mages in the party came to say hello.

“My name is Sylvia. I think this is the first time we’ve spoken. It’s nice to meet you.”

She had glossy blond hair and a cute face. The mage looked to be around twenty years old. She exuded a kind of natural warmth that helped melt Tinasha’s irritation.

Breaking into a smile, Tinasha replied, “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“Um, is that a dragon?” asked Sylvia. She pointed to the red dragon the size of a hawk perched on Tinasha’s shoulder. The dragon in question yawned, paying her no mind.

“Yes. But it’s not really used to people, so be careful.”

“Wow… I’ve never seen a dragon before,” said Sylvia.

“Tinasha!” came a man’s loud, well-projected voice. There was only one person in the whole castle who referred to her that way with no “Miss” before it. Summoned by the one with whom she’d contracted, Tinasha nodded at Sylvia before running over to him. Oscar caught sight of the dragon, and his eyes widened.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“When I was planning to go alone, I summoned it to ride there,” Tinasha explained.

“That doesn’t look big enough to carry a passenger,” Oscar observed, ending their conversation there. He then addressed the group.

“We’re going to investigate the magical lake in Old Druza. We don’t know what’s going to happen, so be careful. Also, do what she says,” Oscar ordered, reaching around the dragon to place a hand on Tinasha’s head. The dragon looked up at Oscar curiously.

The order caught Tinasha off guard. “Is it okay to say that?” she hissed.

“Well, we can’t explain the full story,” Oscar replied quietly.

“You’re so strange,” Tinasha said. Regius had been a little strange, too, but Oscar was in a league of his own.

Tinasha glanced over at Sylvia, who appeared somewhat troubled. As she did, the witch also caught sight of a sour-faced Meredina. She then took in Als, Kumu, and Lazar in turn, all of whom were wearing concerned expressions. Finally, she looked up at Oscar, who smiled a little when he felt her gaze on him.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll handle it.” His voice was a pleasant hum.

Tinasha inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. As she did, memories of the day she’d left this castle to fight against Druza flashed through her mind.

“Let’s go, Tinasha. I need your power.”

The recollection was ephemeral, like a bubble on the water’s edge. No one from that time was still alive. Everything eventually flowed on, leaving Tinasha behind. Yet she was still stuck in the same place. That was what she had chosen for herself.

Tinasha lifted her face. Her long eyelashes fluttered open, and she gave everyone such a beautiful smile that, for a moment, enchanted them all.

The sentimentality overflowing from her eyes was nothing but pure, crystal-clear loneliness. A light that loved and adored the fleeting lives of mortals. Oscar was stunned by it for a short while. Sensing him gasp, Tinasha turned to look up at him. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Ah… Nothing.” The prince averted his gaze, and Tinasha was left with no idea what he was thinking.

“Let’s go,” Tinasha said, re-centering herself.

As she spoke, the transportation array began to move.

Having been teleported to the northern border fortress of Ynureid, the party borrowed horses and crossed the national border to ride for Old Druza’s magical lake. The entire environment was still cloaked in gray fog year-round—something many assumed to be some sort of lasting aftereffect of the war seventy years earlier. Visibility was poor, but the group relied on the magic sunk deep into the ground to guide them.

After riding for an hour, the hazy landscape at last began to demonstrate some observable change.

At the vanguard, galloping along side by side with Tinasha, Oscar frowned. “What a view. Looks like someone’s nightmare.”

Every so often, a tree would appear with twisted, spindly branches and a crooked trunk. Nothing but these leafless, snakelike trees and fallen rocks surrounded them; it looked like another world entirely.

Tinasha replied without turning toward Oscar. “It was pretty much destroyed seventy years ago. This is actually better than it looked back then, but it’ll take another two centuries for it to completely self-purify.”

“So we’re not even halfway there. It must’ve been pretty bad at the time, huh?”

The witch riding next to Oscar was the one who’d brought a close to that historic battle. Tinasha patted down parts of her hair that had gotten mussed in the wind. “Yeah… It was incredibly tough. That beast isn’t remembered as a terrible magic weapon for nothing, after all. It was everything I could do just to seal it away.”

“If even you couldn’t beat it, doesn’t that make it pretty damn strong? Did they really deploy something like that in battle?” Oscar wondered.

“It couldn’t be fully controlled. I think they just dropped it into the conflict and let it go wild. I’m glad I decided to seal it, though. Considering the situation, if we had fought it head-on, the carnage would have been gruesome.”

Tinasha speaking so candidly about a war from so long ago while looking like a beautiful young woman made it sound like a fairy tale; it didn’t feel real. She looked up at the fog-covered sky. “The magical lake is right up ahead… Even so, I think the horses are almost at their limit. Any more, and we’ll ride them to exhaustion.”

Tinasha was right. The horses’ strength and speed had been starting to wane. They were probably more sensitive than their riders to the surroundings. The party had no choice but to hitch their mounts to nearby trees and continue on foot.

As they walked, Tinasha murmured a light incantation and lifted her hand. Oscar sensed that the air surrounding him had changed and looked around.

“What did you do?” he asked.

“I set up a barrier. The miasma was growing thick.” After she’d commented on it, Oscar noticed that everyone was looking somewhat pale and unwell. With Tinasha’s barrier in place, the group quickly recovered.

Oscar, who hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary at all, pointed to his own face. “Was I spared the effects because of your protection?” he asked.

“Correct. I can protect you from the miasma without lifting a finger,” Tinasha answered, grinning.

Behind her, a young mage named Doan muttered, “Temys’s reports didn’t mention any miasma…”

“Maybe something’s happening.”

“I’d like to avoid any sort of historic events in the making…,” Doan said, shaking grit out of his dark-gray hair. He was widely seen as next in line to be chief mage, but considering his crafty tendency to keep his talents hidden, he acted more like a worldly bureaucrat. He made no secret of his mild concerns.

Oscar answered, “You don’t get to be in something like that just by thinking about it anyway. I should know. I used to wish I could be in one all the time as a kid.” Doan looked visibly disheartened at that reply smacking of adventurous curiosity, and Tinasha gave a little sigh.

They were almost at the magical lake.

It was a wasteland, stripped of water and grass. The same thick murk blanketed everything, making it hard to see more than ten steps ahead. The cracked earth was bone-dry, but every so often, invisible ripples undulated slightly above the ground like waves.

Oscar stared at one ripple that slipped past his feet. “This is my first time here… Are these waves normal?”

“More or less,” Tinasha answered. She then began reciting another spell, a longer one this time. In response, a giant circular design spread out on the ground. When she finished her incantation, red threads floated up from the outer edge of the circle. They knit together above the design, forming a half-sphere-shaped cage.

“Don’t go beyond this and wait here for a little while. I’m going to go take a look around,” she ordered.

“Ah, wait, Tinasha,” Oscar said, grabbing after her arm immediately, but the witch had already floated into the air. In an instant, she’d disappeared into the fog.

Doan watched her go, murmuring, “Just what is she…?”

“She’s a bit of an eccentric. I want to bring her back…,” Oscar said. He’d followed Tinasha in the hopes of preventing her from going off alone, but he’d lost sight of her. He wanted to go after her, but the fog made that difficult.

However…since he alone had Tinasha’s protection, he could probably leave and move around just fine. Oscar glanced down at the royal sword at his waist. Meredina took notice and was just about to say something when there came a cry from another soldier.

“Th-the fog!”

When the group turned to look, high waves of thick fog were rolling in. In an instant, they had poured into the barrier, making it impossible for anyone to see. Screams pierced the air, and disorder threatened to take over.

“Stay calm! Don’t move!” shouted Oscar.

Even if they couldn’t see anything, they only had to stay inside the barrier. Such was the logical conclusion from the man who knew Tinasha’s true identity. The strange mist, as if mocking Oscar’s orders, seemed to thicken. It was freezing cold. Just as Oscar was about to click his tongue in annoyance, he heard the distant, high-pitched scream of a girl echo from somewhere in the distance.

“Tinasha?” Oscar only hesitated for a second. He shouted to his subordinates, “Stay here! I’ll be right back!”

“Your Highness!”

The prince stepped out into a sea of fog, unsheathing his sword. He advanced through the floating gray sea in pursuit of his protector. The farther into the gloom he traveled, the more he felt the air around him warping.

After some time had passed, the fog finally thinned out a little. Oscar noticed a figure up ahead and made for it, but someone caught hold of his hand from behind.

“Your Highness… You can’t.”

“Meredina? You followed me?”

Meredina, the army officer, was holding on to Oscar with a desperate expression. She shook her head, deathly pale. “It’s a trap. Please come back.”

“I know that, but…,” Oscar protested.

He was aware it might be a trap. Even so, if Tinasha was in danger, he couldn’t leave her to such a fate. He had gone out knowing that he alone could endure the strange fog.

However, Meredina showed no signs of relenting. Acquiescing in the face of her stubbornness, Oscar pointed to the figure up ahead in the fog. “Okay. Then I’ll go back after I check out who that is.”

The small-statured silhouette stood totally still. Based on that, it couldn’t be Tinasha. However, Oscar reasoned that if he didn’t check to see who it was, then their whole fact-finding expedition was pointless.

Meredina reluctantly released the prince, following behind him. Proceeding cautiously through the fog, the two reached the hazy figure. Its back was to them, and after Meredina got a good look at it, she let out a yelp of surprise.

“This is unexpected,” Oscar commented.

As if reacting to their voices, the figure slowly turned. It was a skeleton wearing a battered suit of armor.

Tinasha took a lap in the sky above the magical lake, releasing her magic to scan the landscape. What she could see through gaps in the fog suggested nothing unusual, but the unconcealed miasma and unusually powerful magic waves indicated obvious irregularities.

“Maybe it’s underground…”

The witch returned to the barrier she had created but instantly noticed that something was amiss. A few people were missing, one of them being her contract holder.

“Miss Tinasha!” Sylvia half shrieked at her, and Tinasha flew over to the mage.

“What’s happened? Where is His Highness?” she asked.

“Th-the fog suddenly pressed in on us… We could hear all sorts of voices from outside the barrier. He told us all to wait here and…”

“…”

This was the enemy who had laid the groundwork to thoroughly obstruct the investigation in Farsas. It should’ve been no surprise they’d do something to the investigative team, too. The enemy had probably robbed the group of sight, used noises to create confusion, and teleported whoever left the barrier to random places. It was Tinasha’s fault for having not taken precautions against such actions, but she’d thought things would be fine if she only left for a short while. Now she was cursing herself for having not had the foresight to knock Oscar unconscious.

One would’ve never known she was blaming herself by her words, though.

“That…idiot…prince!” Tinasha was shaking with rage, and the others eyed her fearfully.

Desperate to soothe her, Sylvia said, “His Highness was worried about you, Miss Tinasha. He should be back soon…”

“I really need to give him a stern talking-to!” Tinasha spat, swallowing her irritation and opening both hands to weave a spell with no incantation.

“I’m going to detect their location. I don’t think they’ve gone far,” she explained.

Tinasha would have noticed if anyone had been teleported beyond the wilderness. Just as she anticipated, she sensed the location of people. She’d warned Oscar that she wasn’t obligated to protect anyone but him, but in reality, Oscar was the only one Tinasha trusted would be fine without her coming to his aid. The same could not be said for the others the enemy had scattered. If she didn’t retrieve them fast, none could say the kind of danger they could find themselves in.

While Tinasha repeated the detection spell, she manifested three small balls of light in her hands to both illuminate the way and provide protection. She sent them out into the air, where they flew along until one hit something and flew back.

“What?” Tinasha said, surprised. It had made a metallic clank. Several shapes emerged from the fog.

Though wearing armor and carrying swords, they were unmistakably not alive. Sylvia caught sight of their empty eye sockets and let out a high-pitched scream.

“D-dead bodies! Skeletons!” she cried.

“Whoa, they really are dead,” Tinasha muttered.

Countless corpses, their flesh having long since rotted away, staggered toward them.

Inside the barrier, the mage Doan frowned. “That armor has the crest of Druza on it. Some of them have Farsas crests, too.”

“Ghosts from seventy years ago…”

The casualties of the war had been colossal, and many soldiers had been hastily buried on the battlefield. Someone had raised up their bodies. The shambling things were reaching for their swords, as if they didn’t know they were dead. Ever so slowly, the animated dead came to surround the investigation party from all sides.

An army officer spoke up with a decision. “Let’s fight back. Those who left won’t be able to return at this rate.”

“…I suppose you’re right,” admitted Tinasha.

They could stay holed up inside the barrier, but that would mean giving up on retrieving those who’d gotten lost.

Tinasha unsheathed her sword and gave an order to the dragon on her shoulder. “Nark, go find Oscar and bring him back! He’s the man with blue eyes who was here earlier. He has a mark on him, so you’ll recognize him, okay? If he’s with anyone else, pick them up, too. Don’t eat them!”

The dragon gave a cry, and its neck and tail warped as the creature grew and lengthened. It expanded until its scarlet body was the size of a horse. Throwing a sidelong glance at the stunned group, the dragon flapped its wings and soared off into the fog.

Tinasha didn’t even bother to watch the dragon depart. Instead, she stepped outside the safety of her barrier. A skeletal warrior stabbed at her, but Tinasha sent the creature’s weapon spinning off into the air, then used her own sword to lop off the corpse’s head.

“Once everyone’s back, we retreat. Hold them off until then,” Tinasha ordered.

“I’ll back you up,” Sylvia said, running up behind Tinasha. The others made their own battle preparations.

The ensorcelled dead gradually tightened their ring around the group. Soon after, the sound of slashing steel erupted from amid the horrifying spectacle.

There was no apparent end to the dead soldiers they cut down. The approach of shuffling footsteps echoed in the humid air. The stench of mildew and dirt was overwhelming, as was the temptation to retch.

Meredina fought back the urge to shriek as she fought. Had she been alone, she might’ve already joined the undead ranks.

After barely managing to fend off a longsword attack from overhead, she staggered back from the impact. A different sword darted out of the fog, aiming for her side. She was unable to dodge it, but another blade repelled what would have been a fatal strike.

“You okay?”

“Your Highness… Thank you,” Meredina said.

Oscar had also been pressed into the battle with no end in sight, but he hadn’t even broken a sweat. His steady presence was reassuring, and Meredina took a breath. At the same time, a bitter feeling prickled her chest.

“Let’s force our way through and go back. I’m sure she’s safe.”

“I think so, too, but technically I’m kind of her protector,” Oscar answered, his gaze searching through the fog for Tinasha.

His words sounded like he only felt a sense of duty toward her, but Meredina knew it was more than that. She bit back a sigh of grief. She was positive Oscar hadn’t realized it himself. At the moment, he simply appeared to feel he had to protect the girl he’d brought along.

Looking at the circumstance from the outside revealed something more, however. Like the clear smile Tinasha had flashed Oscar when they left the castle…and how it had drawn him in instantly.

Up until this point, the prince had most likely regarded Tinasha as no different from an adorable kitten. He spent the most time with her but cared little for her exotic looks or magic. Meredina was probably more aware of those attributes than Oscar…and she was tortured by secret feelings of inferiority. It had only gotten worse when she’d learned her rival had gone to Als for training and was even better with a sword than Meredina herself. She knew there was no need to compare herself to this woman, but she couldn’t help feeling a sense of defeat just by knowing that such a nemesis existed.

Still, Oscar had to have known something when he saw that smile, too… Perhaps that Tinasha wasn’t a defenseless child under his protection but, rather, someone he’d spend the kind of time with that he wouldn’t spare for anyone else.

“It’s all right, Your Highness. By now, I’m sure she’s returned and is waiting for you.”

“Meredina,” Oscar said, grateful for her words.

It probably wouldn’t be much longer. Meredina’s lord was perceptive and would soon realize his own feelings. Until that happened, while he was still unaware, all she could do as his subject was warn him against it. Pushing down her bittersweet feelings, she took up her sword again.

“I’m sorry to be a burden on you. I’m going to clear a path,” Meredina declared. She knew that when she saw Tinasha again, she’d feel irrepressibly jealous. However, she was an army officer. She had to stick to her duties without being led so casually astray. If she didn’t, she’d be letting down her old friend—Als.

The animated corpses swung their swords at Meredina. She advanced, trampling fallen armor underfoot.

The ring around them was never-ending, and Oscar spoke up apologetically just as she began to panic. “Sorry I caused you some trouble.”

A flash tore through the atmosphere.

Without a sound, the dead soldier that was about to attack Meredina collapsed. Then, all its compatriots in the area fell flat on the ground in kind. Shocked, Meredina looked at Oscar.

One swipe of his sword had ripped through the fog. As he broke the shambling corpses, mowing them down ruthlessly, a sword tip drove for his empty left hand. However, even though he was weaponless, something shattered the sword the instant before it touched his hand.

“What…was that…?” Meredina asked.

“Let’s just keep this just between us, but I have a protective barrier that can neutralize almost any attack. Sorry for dragging you into this.”

“What?” Meredina was stunned, but feeling an enemy attack coming, she lifted her sword to deal with it. As she jogged after her lord to catch up with him, she heard the sound of huge wings beating from the rear.

The fog dispersed instantly. Aware that something had landed behind her, Meredina turned into the heavy winds and saw two fiery-red eyes gazing at her.

“…A dragon? A real one?” Meredina said, incredulous.

“It got pretty big, huh…? Looks like people can ride it,” Oscar noted.

In response to their remarks, the magic dragon answered with a shrill cry.

“Now all that’s left are His Highness and Meredina!”

“Don’t look away!”

Angry roars sailed up into the air from the battlefield as Tinasha fended off attacks with her sword while spreading out her magic to search the landscape.

The lake overflowed with magic, but that alone wasn’t enough to ensorcell these dead bodies and get them walking. There had to be someone, somewhere, controlling them. Tinasha had to find out who—and fast.

Whoever the ringleader was must have been aware of that themselves, because they seemed to be constantly on the move. Their location was difficult to pin down.

Tinasha cut off the arm of a dead soldier that was attacking Sylvia. The tattered appendage flew through the air, falling into the fog.

“Th-thank you!” Sylvia said, gasping in surprise.

Tinasha smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it. Just a little longer.”

Then, as if in response to its master’s voice, a sharp cry came from overhead. The crimson dragon spread its wings, catching an updraft and descending slowly. On its back were a man and a woman. The man jumped off the dragon’s back before it even touched the ground.

Tinasha regarded him coldly. “You’re due for a scolding.”

“Sorry,” he apologized.

“Everyone, get inside the barrier!”

Upon that order, the group retreated into the red semisphere. The dragon landed inside it, too, Meredina on its back. The walking corpses tightened their perimeter even further. Tinasha sheathed her sword and began chanting a spell.

“Recognize my will as law, transformer that sleeps in the earth and flies in the sky. I control your flames and summon you. Know my command to be every concept of your manifestation.”

A ball of flame appeared in the witch’s palms. She took it in her right hand.

“Burn!”

In an instant, the conjured fire grew blindingly bright. The scorching ball became waves of flames. With a thunderous roar and fearsome power, tongues of crimson lashed out in all directions.

After only a moment, the rippling fires consumed the swarm of animated dead, reducing them to cinders. Voiceless screams of deathly agony swept over the wasteland while hot winds blew into the barrier.

Sylvia had instinctively turned her face away from the impact, but when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but level ground beyond the barrier. All that remained of the army of bodies was a burnt smell wafting through the air.

“I guess that’s all it was. Finally cleared that away,” Tinasha said, dusting off her hands. The others were stunned by the sheer force of her magic after witnessing it at such close range.

Meredina dismounted from the dragon, eyeing Tinasha fearfully. She felt like she finally understood why Als had called Tinasha terrifying.

Oscar was the only one who was calm. He surveyed the area and let out a low whistle. “The fog’s totally gone; that’s great.”

The flames had engulfed the entire stretch of land, dispersing the thick mists. Now the blasted acreage was completely unobstructed. Oscar turned back and patted the witch’s head.

“Tinasha, one zombie survived the fire,” he observed.

Some distance away stood an old man in a mage’s robe. He was so emaciated, he could’ve easily been mistaken for a skeleton, and he stared at the party with sunken eyes.

Tinasha noticed him and frowned. “It looks like he put up a defense.”

The old mage caught her gaze on him and spoke in an unexpectedly sonorous voice, “It has been a while. I didn’t think I would see you again during my lifetime.”

Starting with Oscar, everyone cast a questioning look at Tinasha, but she ignored it. She looked at the man dispassionately, and he continued.

“Glimpsing that outfit and your beauty nearly fooled me into believing I’d gone back seventy years. Witch of the Azure Moon, are you doing this again in memory of the man you loved?”

The man’s words made everyone except Oscar and Tinasha let out a sharp gasp. Sylvia was astonished and panicky, while other soldiers put their hands up in the air for no reason.

Behind Oscar, Meredina spoke in a quivering voice, “Witch… Is that true?”

“It is,” answered Oscar, sounding sullen for some reason. Tinasha, for her part, paid no mind to the actions of those behind her and faced the old mage with an entrancing smile.

“You’ve gotten quite old. At the time, you were just a child. You haven’t just gone bald, you’ve completely dried up,” she commented, and the old man laughed loudly.

He rubbed his head, little more than skin and bones now. “I should be long dead. Not everyone is like you.”

Tinasha snorted lightly. “You’ve come to resemble your master both in speech and appearance… It’s disgusting.”

“My master whose head you cut off? That’s quite the compliment.” Dramatically, the strange old man spread both hands wide. Recognizing that for the challenge it was, Tinasha casually drew her sword and walked out of the barrier.

“Since we’ve met again, how about I take your head, too? You can get down on your knees and thank your master for sacrificing himself.” The witch’s smile was chillingly cruel and beautiful.

Tinasha swung her slender sword. With a crackling sound, blue lightning coiled around the blade.

But before she could take another step forward, the old mage vanished like the fog that had only minutes earlier pervaded the place.

“I am not strong enough to fight you, so I’ll be taking my leave now. Perhaps you should return home soon, too. Or maybe that only comes after a death or two, hmm?”

His presence disappeared in a cloud of throaty laughter. Once it died out, a silence fell over the group. Tinasha was lost in thought for a short while, but soon enough, she stowed her sword and turned back around.

She stuck her tongue out childishly. “He got away.”

“Someone you know?” asked Oscar.

“In the war seventy years ago, he was one of the Druzan mages who controlled the demonic beast.”

“The demonic beast…,” Oscar mused, hand on his chin.

Tinasha returned to the barrier, and Sylvia addressed her hesitantly. “Um… Miss Tinasha, are you really the Witch of the Azure Moon?”

“Sorry for keeping it a secret. I didn’t want to scare anyone,” Tinasha admitted. No traces of the cruelty she’d so easily adopted just moments before remained on her face. Her current smile held faint tinges of loneliness. Sylvia’s heart ached seeing it. At the same time, the mage felt a little ashamed of how she’d been afraid of witches without knowing much about them.

“Ah, I…”

“No, no. Witches are scary creatures. Don’t worry about it,” Tinasha reassured, cutting Sylvia off with a shake of her head. The witch gave her a sunny smile that was lovely and also somewhat distant. Sylvia swallowed what she had been going to say.

Oscar looked up and spoke. “Let’s go back for now. We need to prepare forces and equipment.”

The crown prince’s decision put everyone at ease. Staying where they were would only lead to more undo eeriness.

Party members checked in with one another, then started on the trip back. Thankfully, the ground visibility was much better now.

Oscar put a hand on the head of the witch at his side. “The horses didn’t get burned, did they?”

“Probably not…” She gave him a worried smile. Perched on its master’s shoulder, the now-little dragon yawned.

The horses were indeed alive and waiting where they’d been left. The fog was still thick in that area. Without delay, the group set off on horseback, returning to the fortress of Ynureid. Oscar and Tinasha rode side by side.

“Do you think their goal is to bring back the demonic beast?” Oscar asked.

“In all probability, yes. It’s quite annoying,” Tinasha answered.

From behind, Doan the mage piped up. “Isn’t it possible that they’re building something else?”

“I’m afraid not. There seem to be some misunderstandings… They did not create the demonic beast. It would be the end of the world if ordinary humans could build something like that. Most likely, a core of some sort entered the magical lake, and it absorbed each wave of magic as it came… After hundreds of years, that became the demonic beast,” Tinasha explained.

“So all they did was control the beast?” Doan pressed.

“The entire point is that they were unable to fully control it. Honestly, I don’t know why they want to stir up trouble.”

As they were talking, the fog gradually began to clear. After riding for a while, the spires of the fortress came into view on the horizon.

Upon reaching that point, though, Tinasha slowed her horse and came to a halt.

“What is it?” Oscar asked.

Tinasha dismounted and gave the reins to a nearby soldier. “Continue on with everyone else. I’m going back in.”

“What are you talking about?” Oscar demanded, dismounting in kind and approaching her.

The witch’s reply was calm. “I suspect the enemy wants us to take this opportunity to retreat and prepare. They’re trying to undo the seal as quickly as they can. I’m not going to give them the time to do that. I’m attacking now. That bag of bones might have thought he got away, but I’m going to chase him down.” She held up the back of her right hand. The crystal on her wrist brace was vibrating a dark red, as if it held a flickering flame. Oscar was struck speechless.

He glared at his protector. “You… Did you wear that with the intention of doing this all along? It was never your aim to just go out to investigate.”

“Of course not,” Tinasha fired back instantly. There was no emotion in her eyes.

Oscar caught hold of her slender wrist. “I’m going, too.”

“Not again!” Tinasha cried, feeling utterly exasperated. She pulled a sulky face, looking very much like she wanted to give Oscar a piece of her mind. In an attempt to free herself, she lifted off into the air and looked down at him, but Oscar held firm.

“You are infinitely capable, and I admire you for wanting to do everything yourself. However, as a future king, you need to learn to use those around you a bit more,” Tinasha advised. As a mother would have, she placed a hand on Oscar’s cheek. He glanced fondly at that hand but quickly returned his gaze to Tinasha’s own and still did not yield.

“I know, and I’ll be mindful of that. But I can’t right now. I don’t intend to use you like that,” Oscar said.

“Isn’t that why you brought me from the tower?” asked the witch.

“No,” Oscar replied.

“Reg would have let me go,” Tinasha reasoned.

“I don’t care.” Oscar tightened his grip. The demonic beast that slept beneath the earth was something Tinasha had only managed to seal away. Back then, she’d had the king of Farsas and his army. There was no way Oscar was going to let her try it again alone. At the same time, however…he knew that was just his excuse.

Seventy years ago, Tinasha had almost certainly battled to protect the others. She’d said there had been no choice but to seal it away—which meant she’d done it to prevent further loss of life on the battlefields. Thus, even if Oscar followed her here, they’d just be repeating the same mistake.

Even in the face of such rationale, Oscar didn’t want to let her go alone. “Their target is Farsas. I can’t make you bear this responsibility alone,” he asserted.

“I have my own reasons pertaining to that… I really can’t allow you to go,” Tinasha replied, giving the prince a pained smile. It was an expression identical to one she’d had in the castle.

Her long, glossy locks fluttered, though no magic enchanted them. Slowly, she blinked her obsidian eyes.

Whether Tinasha was recalling a specific event in the past or merely losing herself in the thoughts of her many lifetimes was difficult to discern. She gave Oscar a gentle smile. “Our contract is only for one year. Please don’t be shy about giving me the annoying work.”

“Tinasha…”

“I can bear your burdens quite easily,” she added, almost singing it out.

Oscar’s words caught in his throat at that. All the burdens he’d carried his whole life. His royal blood, his duties, his curse—she knew all of them and told him to hand them over, smiling as she did so. Tinasha was insisting that none of it was heavy for her to bear and that Oscar should make use of that.

The witch’s eyes, the color of a moonless night, bore into the prince’s. “Oscar, I’ve made a contract with you, and as long as I’m your protector, I promise to return to you no matter where I go or what I do. I will not die before you. I swear it.” Her promise sounded close to a wedding vow.

Oscar stared back into Tinasha’s eyes. It felt like he was gazing into a bottomless abyss. He had been naive to think of her as just a clueless young woman. Just how many more years had she seen than him? It was impossible to imagine. He had no way of catching up now. In fact, all he knew for certain was that he had no hope of closing that distance.

Oscar bit back a sigh. Gently, he released his grip on Tinasha’s wrist. “All right. Go,” he conceded.

Tinasha gave him a soft smile. She lifted her left hand, and the dragon on her shoulder gave a cry and flew into the air. It grew even larger than it had before, expanding until it rivaled the size of three small houses.

“I hope you’ll put a little more faith in me from now on. Regardless of how I look, I’ve never once been defeated,” Tinasha said.

“Then I’ll be your first,” Oscar quipped.

“…I need to look into some countermeasures first, so give me a little time…” The scarlet dragon extended its neck, and the beautiful witch climbed onto its back.

Tinasha and her mount made for a fantastic sight, like some fairy-tale painting. All who beheld the scene let out an instinctive sigh of admiration, their fear of witches mixed in with their admiration of Tinasha the person. As Meredina looked up at Tinasha, she felt a curious warmth filling her heart.

The dragon dropped back to the ground a little, hovering in front of everyone for a moment. Its huge left eye, seemingly lit with flames, stared at the assembled soldiers and mages. Tinasha was checking her equipment.

“Hey, when you come back…,” Oscar started.

“When I come back?”

“Do you want to get married?”

“No! And don’t make it sound like I’m going to die!” Tinasha snapped back the same way she always did, laughing.

She gave the dragon a light slap, and it took off for the magical lake in a cloud of dust. The dragon and its rider disappeared into the fog.

Druza lay to the northwest of Farsas. During the war, Druza had been the first to attack. At the time, the nation had been suffering from bad harvests and hoped to acquire its neighbor’s large tracts of land and abundant natural resources.

The Farsasian army put up a good fight in the face of such a sudden invasion. They pushed back the enemy forces with a staunch show of military might. After only a week, it seemed the conflict would end. It was then that Druza awakened the demonic beast sleeping within the magical lake and set it loose on Farsas.

The giant magic weapon lay waste to the Farsasian army. Such an unprecedented strategy was felt all across the mainland. However, the decision to use the demonic beast had been a rather arbitrary one put into practice by a group of mages. In reality, the magical weapon could not be completely controlled, and just as many Druzans were crushed beneath the monster’s claws. The miasma that surrounded the beast also seemed to poison the earth, reducing the battlefield to a foggy, barren wasteland for many years to come.

Casualties of the demonic beast rose beyond two thousand on both sides. Everyone despaired in the face of its overwhelming power, but the monster was finally sealed away by the witch who had been accompanying the king of Farsas.

After that, the witch had killed almost all the mages who had loosed the beast, and those who escaped her slaughter met their ends at the hands of their fellow Druzans.

From there, the demonic beast slept underground, and the fog-covered land finally knew peace, at least on the surface.

After the passing of seven decades, the very same witch who had defeated the beast had come to this land once more.

“Hurry and break the final spell on the seal! There’s no time!” the old mage shouted as soon as he returned to the underground cavern.

“Right now? But the control spell isn’t completed…,” a young mage replied in surprise.

“I don’t care! Start the incantation for breaking the final spell! The witch knows!” commanded the old man.

“She does?!” The younger mage seemed to have grasped the gravity of the situation. He ran into the depths of the cavern. Coughing, the old mage followed.

“…I’m not going to let it end here,” he muttered.

After the war, Druza had broken into a number of smaller nations. The old man’s hometown now belonged to the most destitute of all the shattered pieces of Druza. That was why he was going to use the power of the demonic beast to reunify Druza, destroy Farsas, and save his birthplace. In pursuit of that goal, he’d offer up his own life and those of his comrades’ countless times over.

“…I’m not done yet; we’re only just getting started…”

Dragging along his stiff and creaky body, the old mage finally arrived at the spell-breaking site. More than ten mages were already gathered there. All were united with the same desire, though different reasons had led them to it.

Just beyond this cavern floated a bluish-white pattern of spells—one so intricate it hardly looked man-made. This incredibly detailed multiple-configuration spell was the very seal the witch had constructed to end the war. Beyond it, within an enormous cave…was a giant, closed eye.

The eye was black around its edges, and its tremendous size made it difficult to discern it for what it was, unless viewed from a distance. Long silver fur lined the beast’s enormous body, most of which was veiled by the dark cave and couldn’t be distinguished. The only visible parts of the great monster were those illuminated by the seal, but the creature must have been the size of a small castle. When seen in full, the beast resembled a giant wolf, from its eyes to the shape of its snout.

Its immeasurable magic filled the air, making its presence nearly impossible to ignore. The sleeping beast was enigmatic—dreadfully so. To awaken this fearsome creature, five mages had already begun chanting the incantation. The old mage left them to look down into the cave. He asked a mage kneeling behind him, “How long will it take?”

“We’ll need three days…,” replied the mage.

“Three days… It’ll take about that long for the Farsas army to arrive. That should be enough time,” said the old man.

“I understand,” answered the kneeling mage. Then came the sound of something tumbling onto the ground. Puzzled, the younger mage looked to where it had originated.

The freshly severed head of the gaunt old mage was lying on the ground.

“Wh-wha…?” The startled younger man could barely get a word out before he felt something cold at the back of his neck. He died before even realizing what had happened.

The tragedy was over in a flash.

A mage in the shadow of a rock, concentrating on his incantation with his eyes closed, realized he didn’t hear his fellow mages chanting anymore. Suspecting something, he looked to where they had been…and his mouth fell agape in horror.

A pool of blood was spreading across the ground. His comrades were facedown in the crimson pool. The head of their leader, the old man, sat severed on the ground. Its face was fixed in an incredulous expression.

“Wha…?”

The mage who had been beneath the shade of the rock clapped a hand over his mouth. The stink of blood in the air assaulted his nose, and the scene was so gruesome that he felt dizzy.

What terrified him most of all was the sight of the young woman standing at the center of the ocean of blood. She held a sword dyed deep scarlet. The frightening woman grinned when she spotted him.

“Guess I missed one,” she said cheerfully, and a paralyzing terror gripped the man. He collapsed, unable to speak.

The diminutive yet no less commanding young woman approached him casually. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to undo the seal?”

Stammering, the man nodded. The girl’s dark eyes opened wide, and she smiled.

“Then I’ll open it for you.” She swung her sword at the wall, shaking off the blood clinging to the weapon before sheathing it. Then she lifted a hand to the seal. Amid the thick stench of blood, what stood out most was that the mysterious young woman appeared to be backlit by moonlight.

“Sing, old admonition. Let the chains created long ago rot with my command…” It was a clear, resonant incantation.

While the seal was active, none could approach the demonic beast. The same was true for the witch who’d first put the spell in place. She lifted her right hand and unraveled the complicated seal. Off to the side, the mage stared at her, pale as a sheet.

The pattern was made up of seven smaller spells. One by one, they came undone as the witch’s hands worked. After only a few moments, the spell pattern disappeared.

Very slowly, the beast’s eyes began to open.

No sooner had the investigation party passed through the gates of the fortress of Ynureid than a sudden quake made the ground lurch beneath their feet.

Spooked, the horses whinnied frantically. Their riders looked back and heard heavy rumblings echoing from the direction of the magical lake. Such a sound suggested some sort of cave-in or collapse. Sylvia blanched.

“Just now, was that…the demonic beast?” She sounded almost too afraid to even ask.

His people looked panicked, but Oscar said nothing. He eyed the wastelands with a sharp gaze for a few seconds before shaking his head lightly and giving an order. “Let’s get inside. We don’t want the horses running off.”

“But what about Miss Tinasha…?” Sylvia asked.

“She told us she’ll be fine. She’ll handle it,” Oscar assuaged.

Undoubtedly, none, including Oscar, really knew of Tinasha’s true form, the strongest witch in the whole mainland—an embodiment of overwhelming power.

After the Dark Age that had plagued the land for eons came the current era: the Age of Witches. It had been dubbed so because Tinasha and her fellow witches used their power to direct the course of history.

If a witch was angered, she could destroy a country overnight. That was something even little children knew, but until now, Oscar had never considered Tinasha to be that same sort of creature. He knew he’d learn of it someday, however. That was what it meant to have signed a contract with the Witch of the Azure Moon.

While the rest of the group continued milling about, Oscar rode through the gate and dismounted. Doan took notice and turned back to look.

“What is it, Your Highness?”

The immediate area beyond the gates to the fortress was flat and stark. Any trees near the gate had been cleared to ensure an unobstructed line of sight when looking out from the front of the bastion.

Oscar glanced around before suddenly unsheathing Akashia. In one motion, he kicked off the ground, advancing several steps in a flash. The blade of his mighty weapon cut through the air with frightening speed.

To all others, Oscar appeared to be slashing at nothing, but a bit of dark-gray fabric stained with blood suddenly fluttered from out of thin air. Doan, who’d been watching, immediately understood and let out a gasp. Akashia had cut open an invisible barrier, revealing the robe of the mage hiding inside it.

“Who are you? Are you with that old mage, too?” Oscar demanded.

“…Dammit. I knew you had good instincts, but I didn’t expect this,” said the young man, looking down at his torn robe and laughing. He had a youthful face and light-brown hair. His similarly colored eyes were filled with anxiety. After getting a good look at him, Oscar recalled something.

“You’re the one from the festival, aren’t you? So you’ve been following us since parting ways with Tinasha. Have you been keeping an eye on her this whole time?”

“Of course not. She’d catch me right away. She’s actually been trying to track me down.” The man’s comment revealed he was aware Tinasha was looking for him. Someone who could discern a witch’s actions and escape was more than an average enemy.

Imperceptibly, Oscar shifted his balance of gravity, taking a firmer stance.

Clutching his belly, the man gave a pained smile. “Relax. I only wanted to give you some advice.”

“Advice?”

“Yes, it’s something your protector is dying to find out. I’d appreciate it if you could pass on the message. I’m sure she’ll be pleased.”

“More likely she’ll just get mad at me. If there’s something she wants to know, she’s more than capable of finding it out on her own,” Oscar fired back, and the man’s smile stiffened. He appeared about to say something but clearly thought better of it, sighing instead.

“It really is…so annoying how both of you are like this. You’re too smart for smooth talk. That’s why I always end up having to use backhanded forms of attack,” he said.

“Stop joking around. Are you the one who killed our mage?” Oscar pressed.

“All I did was tell them to avoid an investigation. They decided how to do it. My role is always telling someone what to do. How they do it is up to them.”

“You sure do talk in circles. Do you mean to say you’re not with the Druzan mages?”

This man was clearly a mage, and he also gave off an unpleasant aura. Tinasha had said the man she saw at the festival was concealing a fair amount of magic—perhaps that was the reason.

“I belong to no country. Strictly speaking, I am not your enemy, either. I merely have business with the witch.”

“I see. So you have some score to settle? In that case, die here.” Before Oscar had even finished speaking, he rushed the man. His sword, one that could slash through all magical barriers, was now leveled at the brown-haired mage.

However, the blade never found its mark, hitting a rock that had appeared suddenly out of thin air and bouncing back. As Oscar’s eyes widened in surprise, his opponent wove a transportation spell. A second before Doan’s own capturing spell could reach him, the man disappeared.

Doan ground his teeth in frustration over barely missing the suspicious mage. “I’m very sorry, Your Highness… I couldn’t catch him.”

“No, don’t worry about it. What’s with this rock? Where did it come from?” At Oscar’s feet lay a large stone about the size of a cat. It had seemingly formed out of thin air to block Akashia.

Doan explained with a bitter expression, “He transported it from wherever it was before. A pretty quick-witted move.”

Akashia could dispel any magic but was only slightly stronger than a normal sword when it came to ordinary physical objects. Someone who knew that and could adapt to it was a tricky adversary indeed.

After checking to make sure the man had truly left, Oscar shook the blood off Akashia. “I’d intended to kill him…”

So long as his goal was Tinasha, Oscar wanted that man removed. At the very least, Oscar reasoned he should’ve been able to stop him while Tinasha was battling the demonic beast.

Yet all he’d been able to achieve was a first blow. Judging by the feel of the cut, Oscar knew he hadn’t inflicted a fatal wound, but it hadn’t been a glancing touch, either.

Doan shook his head. “Even if he has that injury tended to, he won’t be able to make any moves for a while.”

“So I managed to ground him. Next time, I’ll finish him off,” Oscar promised.

Another tremor rippled through the ground, and Oscar looked in the direction of the magical lake. Fog had wrapped around the spot like a gigantic cocoon, and his witch was somewhere inside.

Amid a cloud of fumes, Tinasha floated in the sky and looked below her.

The force of the demonic beast’s awakening had caused a violent cave-in. Most likely, the surviving mage and his dead brethren were now buried there.

Tinasha called to her dragon as it circled the sky. “Nark, it’s going to be dangerous until this is over, so stay back.”

The dragon heeded its master’s order and made off into a distant cloud of dust and fog.

Rubble on the ground was gradually clearing away. In the middle of the magical lake, a giant silver wolf lifted its head and glared at Tinasha. A red stone was embedded in its silver-furred forehead. Hostility glittered in its crimson eyes as the gigantic creature fixed them on the little witch in the sky.

Tinasha smiled beatifically. “It’s been seventy years. Did you sleep well?”

This first encounter between the two since the war was sure to bring death upon one or the other. The demonic beast must have known that as well as Tinasha did. Its silver fur began emanating a faint glow in preparation for battle. Its pure quantity of magic might’ve rivaled that of Tinasha’s fellow witches.

“Still, a mage’s strength isn’t measured only by their store of magic,” Tinasha said, lifting her right hand. In response to the action, a ball of light appeared above it.

The blindingly bright sphere quickly expanded and began to emit an earsplitting noise. Lightning sparked out in long filaments that swirled around the glowing orb. The demonic beast loosed a booming howl in response.

Menace seeped into every available space. The demonic beast opened its mouth and released a powerful shock wave. Tinasha leaped to the side, dodging the beast’s preemptive strike. Without a moment’s delay, she hurled the ball of light at her opponent’s still-open mouth.

Right before the sphere reached the beast’s maw, the creature ducked. The white light impacted on the creature’s forehead. Its long silver fur somehow absorbed the sphere—sparking as it diffused the attack.

“Just how fluffy is this thing…?” Tinasha muttered.

One reason she’d had such trouble with the demonic beast seventy years ago was because of its high resistance to magic. Anything other than an all-out attack wouldn’t so much as scratch it. Had Tinasha used any attack powerful enough to overcome such incredible defense, the humans of the gathered armies wouldn’t have escaped alive. That was why she’d chosen to seal it.

“I knew it would be, but this sure is tricky,” Tinasha grumbled as the demonic beast tried to mow her down with its sharp claws. She only narrowly avoided the swipe. Flying through the air, Tinasha dipped toward the beast’s feet. She pulled out a cylinder that had been attached to her leg and snapped the tiny lid off. A red ball rolled out onto her palm, and she poured a spell into it.

“Grow full, my definition…”

A second swipe of the great wolf’s claws was fast incoming. As Tinasha leaped off the ground to avoid her demise, she threw the spell-imbued red ball at the beast’s hind legs. The ball tore through the beast’s silver fur with the precision of a knife. It burrowed itself deep, embedding into the flesh beneath the beast’s hair. A moment later, the creature’s leg exploded in a spatter of blood and flesh.

A howl of anguish rent the air. The beast sought Tinasha with eyes of dreadful fury. It spotted its foe standing on top of the magical lake. Hoping to tear her to pieces, the gigantic wolf opened its jaw wide.

“Oh no you don’t.”

As the beast’s gigantic maw loomed, Tinasha erected a defensive barrier to withstand the attack. Floating up into the air again, she looked at her opponent’s shredded hind leg and saw that the mangled flesh had already begun knitting together. Silver fur sprouted over the freshly healed wound.

“Seventy years has done little to slow your recovery,” Tinasha complimented sarcastically. She then shook another red ball out of the cylinder. Flipping over in the air, she took aim at the beast’s forelegs this time. The targeted spot burst apart with a muffled sound.

“If the Witch of the Azure Moon hadn’t been with King Regius seventy years ago, the demonic beast might have ravaged all the way to the castle city.”

Most scholars agreed with this postulation made by a famous history book.

In terms of characteristics, the demonic beast possessed a magic-resistant exterior. What’s more, its huge body was endowed with inexhaustible physical stamina, the muscle power to flatten forests, and astounding resilience. Such capabilities were more than humans could have hoped to contend with and allowed the monster to wade through tens of thousands of soldiers.

Even those countries that had remained neutral in the Druzan invasion of Farsas were in an uproar as they scrambled to take any sort of measure they could to combat this walking nightmare.

In the end, they’d worried for nothing. A witch in service to the king of Farsas had appeared on the battlefield and sealed away the beast only a half day after its first appearance. With her work done, the witch then vanished from Farsas.

Perhaps she had sealed the rampaging monster not just for Farsas but for the safety of every other country, too. This incident drove home to the people just how almighty a witch’s power was, all over again.

Seventy years had passed, and the very same witch had appeared once more on behalf of another contract holder to do battle with the demonic beast.

“Ooh, close call.”

The creature’s claws grazed through Tinasha’s black hair. For a while now, the two had been exchanging barrages of deadly attacks. Tinasha had even used up seven of the exploding balls. Eventually, the beast’s silver fur had started absorbing the attacks, simply causing ripples in its coat as if nothing had happened.

Tinasha, on the other hand, was starting to pant from the exertion of flying around with no time to rest. She leaped up high to dodge another claw swipe, then looked down on the beast from the air again.

“I didn’t plan on getting tired so quickly… But I can’t do anything about my endurance.”

There were limits to Tinasha’s slender body, even if she was a witch. Sweat collected in little beads on her forehead and neck. Her hair was sticking to her skin, and she tossed it over her shoulder, muttering self-deprecatingly that “The real test starts now. Will we have a repeat of what happened last time?”

No matter which way things went, one of them was still going to perish.

Tinasha sucked in a deep breath and began an easier incantation. “Rise. The cage that imprisoned you lays still in the dark. What you see are only these seven shackles.”

In response, the red balls embedded in the creature’s flesh shot through it and began glowing. The beast let out a howl of pain as light spilled forth from several spots in its body.

“A tranquil blindness that seeks no meaning. Sleep in the cave of stupidity that you rejected.”

The magic light pouring from the seven balls morphed into innumerable threads, winding around one another as they bound the beast and began weaving into a giant spell. Though the great wolf struggled to escape, the netlike configuration twined flexibly around its giant body and refused to yield.

Once the spell was complete and the beast netted, Tinasha finished the incantation and caught her breath.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to die this time. You have nothing to gain from staying here.”

The towering beast had come into the world a magical creature and had only been awakened to serve as a tool of war. Its life had been terribly warped. It had become an unsustainable existence. Tinasha looked at the beast with pity in her eyes. The thing had never wished for itself to be this way. Then, she began to chant the spell that would, at last, kill it.

“Recognize my will as law, silencer that fills all spaces. Without my words, you have no power. May the light of death be the definition…”

A huge array made of light appeared above Tinasha’s head. The circular spell pattern revolved slowly as it began sucking up magic from the magical lake below. A frightening amount of power congealed above her.

As light surged into the formation, the beast took notice and looked up. Hatred burned in its fiery eyes and met the witch’s own dark gaze. A low growl issued from its muzzled mouth, shaking the earth.

Bloodlust and emptiness. The two embodiments of dissimilar feelings stared each other down.

Seconds of silence stretched out, feeling like an eternity… Then, suddenly, the beast sprang up, breaking through its bonds and charging for the witch.

“…!”

Tinasha instantly shrugged off her cloak, tossing it at the hungry white fangs. Woven of magic, the cloth filled with air and billowed out. The defense array embedded into the fabric activated, erecting a wall of light. Undaunted, the beast’s teeth penetrated the barrier without so much as a moment’s pause. The demonic beast’s huge snout closed in on Tinasha and snapped her up before she could escape. Its teeth lodged deep in her slim belly. She was trapped in its jaw.

“Ahhhh!”

Shock and blinding pain bent Tinasha’s body like a bow. She swallowed all other anguish, but in return, her mind went blank. The beast opened its mouth to bite down on her again.

Tinasha began to lose consciousness but refused pass out. If she did, the spell she’d initiated would disappear. If she didn’t hold her ground here…everything would have been for naught.

The beast’s maw gaped wide as Tinasha wielded all the strength in her body to kick at its teeth. A spell glowing at her toes shattered the alabaster fangs. She used the momentum of the recoil to escape its jaw.

Tinasha clutched her left hand to her stomach, where a deep wound had started oozing copious amounts of blood.

“This is the end,” Tinasha declared. Outstretching her right hand above her head, a brilliant light began gathering in her palm. The spell she let fly grew to the size of the lake and swallowed the giant silver beast.

The earth rumbled with a thunderous boom. A great flash of light erupted from the magical lake; it was so intense, it was visible not only from the fortress of Ynureid but from the castle city of Old Druza as well.

A white luminescence rent the sky, and faraway cities trembled and shook. An inhuman howl of resentment echoed in the air, ringing in the ears of all who heard it.

Despite such strange occurrences, none of the citizens of Old Druza dared to approach the magical lake. Though it was now a stateless territory, it was still the site of many bitter memories.

It was thus that the legacy of an old war vanished in secret.

The sun was slowly setting, and the winds in the fortress smelled dry.

Meredina had gone out onto the ramparts of the fortress. There she found Oscar, still waiting.

“Your Highness, shouldn’t we return to the castle…?” Meredina asked with some reluctance.

Oscar had been gazing out at the faraway wastelands but turned to face Meredina. It’d been around two hours since they’d seen the strange light from the magical lake, and Oscar had been standing out on the ramparts all the while. It was starting to get dark, and lamps were being lit all around the fortress.

Oscar shook his head. “No, I’ll wait a bit longer.”

Meredina looked like she wanted to say something but kept silent and left him to it. Oscar turned back to gaze upon the wilderness.

…In reality, he’d thought of going out to check on things many times over by now. In the end, though, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

As the contractee, part of his job included trusting in his protector, the witch. He hadn’t brought home some powerless girl locked in a tower; she was the embodiment of overwhelming strength. One who stood in the shadows of history. He knew better than to confuse her for anything less.

“Reg would have let me go.”

Tinasha’s words were redolent of long-past days of which Oscar knew nothing.

“My great-granddad, huh…?”

Had she loved him? Oscar had never even met the man. He considered asking Tinasha if she’d ever met his great-grandfather again… As he thought, his face twisted in a bitter smile over how he was already acting like Tinasha wasn’t coming back.

…There were still ten months left until the contract ended. Oscar had plenty of time left to ask.

He looked up and caught sight of a dark shadow. The distant thing was fast approaching, and Oscar recognized it as Tinasha’s dragon. It was flapping its huge wings as it approached the fortress. Unconsciously, Oscar let out a sigh of relief. The dragon looked like it was coming right for him, only slowing once it was directly overhead.

Oscar couldn’t see the dragon’s back but called out, “Tinasha? How did it go?” He didn’t doubt that she’d been victorious, but no reply came from atop the winged creature.

“Tinasha?” he called. All of a sudden, worry overtook Oscar, and he leaped up onto the dragon. Keeping his balance, he took in the scene and was struck aghast.

Lying there was his witch, covered in blood.

The color drained from Oscar’s face in an instant. He lifted Tinasha up, not taking his eyes off her as he shouted, “Somebody help! Call a mage!”

“Your Highness? What’s happened?!” Meredina, who’d been waiting nearby, came running.

Oscar saw Sylvia behind her and called her over. “Sylvia! She’s hurt!”

Tinasha’s whole body was caked in blood, but the worst of it was her stomach. Her clothes had been torn open around the midsection, and bits of what looked like meat were sticking to it here and there. Tinasha was breathing, but it was questionable how long she could hold out in her current condition. Oscar set her down, and Sylvia screamed at the sight.

“B-bring her to my room!” she cried. “I’ll treat her right away! Meredina, get some gauze and hot water!”

“Got it! Your Highness, take her to that room!”

Yelling out directions, the two women sent the entire fortress into an uproar as they ran off. Cradling the witch in his arms, Oscar set off as fast as his legs would take him. The dragon shrank itself and followed.

Surprisingly, the process of healing Tinasha didn’t take all that long. Sylvia exited the room, wiping her hands. She bowed gently to Oscar, who had been waiting outside.

“I examined her thoroughly, but she didn’t have any major injuries, though I treated the smaller ones…”

“No injuries? What about her stomach?”

“That appears to have healed on its own. I don’t know what things are like internally, however…”

“I see… Thank you,” Oscar said. His whole body sagged with relief.

Sylvia smiled at the prince’s expression of gratitude. “Because she’d bled so much, I’d thought it was a serious injury, one that wouldn’t be able to be fully healed. It’s a good thing that wasn’t the case. I’ve cleaned the blood off her body and placed her ripped clothes and other equipment to the side.”

“Excellent,” Oscar said with a nod. Nark the dragon landed on his shoulder, holding a huge red crystal in its mouth. The prince petted its head.

“Can I go in?” Oscar asked eagerly.

“Go right ahead, though I don’t think she’ll wake up until she’s done recovering her magic.” Sylvia bowed to Oscar as he walked past her into the room.

Tinasha was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, wearing a peaceful expression. He checked to verify she was breathing and placed a hand over the blanket covering her stomach to make sure that was fine, too. Only after receiving confirmation of both did he exhale.

“You really…really had me worried,” he admitted, reaching out to stroke her cheek. It was warm and firm.

In the end, Oscar spent that night at the fortress. Of the investigative party, Meredina and most all the other soldiers returned to the castle ahead of the prince. Two guard soldiers as well as Sylvia, Doan, and the other mages remained, in case Tinasha’s condition worsened. Oscar had asked them to stay, hesitant to move the severely wounded witch.

The night passed without incident. By the next afternoon, Oscar was working in a chamber in the fortress while waiting for Tinasha to recover. Doan had been patrolling the grounds and was presently giving his report.

“There was no trace of that mage last night. I reinforced the fortress wards, but this is still a completely unfamiliar enemy…”

“For now, it’s enough. So long as we prevent him from coming near until Tinasha recovers. We can discuss the next move with her once she’s awake.”

The suspicious mage seemed to know a fair amount about Tinasha, so she would need to be apprised of things. At the moment, protecting her was paramount.

Oscar deliberated over whether he should go check on her one more time. Just then, a woman’s cry came from Tinasha’s room.

“What?!” Oscar stood up.

It hadn’t been the witch’s voice. Expecting some kind of attack, Oscar dashed over. Sylvia was standing in front of the entrance, her face rather red for some reason.

“What’s wrong?!”

“Ah, Your Highness… No, I’m sorry. It’s nothing. Please wait a moment.” Looking oddly panicked, Sylvia blocked the door.

Suspicious, Oscar pushed her aside. “I’m going in.”

“Your Highness! Wait!” she called to stop him, but he ignored it and entered regardless. There, Oscar was met with a sight that confounded his senses, and he froze in place.

On the bed, Tinasha was sitting up, half-naked. That, however, wasn’t the shocking part. It seemed that, overnight, her black hair had grown long enough to touch the floor. Strands of inky locks spread out all over the room.

Tinasha noticed Oscar and pulled the covers up over herself. Smiling stiffly, she didn’t look anything like the girl he knew. She appeared very nearly twenty now.

Glaring at the prince, Tinasha grabbed the pillow behind her. “Don’t come in until I’m dressed!”

Oscar dodged the hurled pillow and took his leave without a word, closing the door behind him. Unconcerned, Nark yawned from his place on Oscar’s shoulder.

“What the hell…?”

“That’s why I told you to wait…,” Sylvia muttered, a hand over her face.

Tinasha emerged with a frown, wearing a change of clothes borrowed from Sylvia as she dragged her long hair behind her.

She was still every bit the breathtaking beauty she’d always been, but now that she looked a few years older, she’d gained a cool serenity and a sensual charm.

Her long eyelashes drew one’s gaze and gave the witch a sorrowful look. The sense of eternity in her eyes was a mystery in and of itself, captivating anyone who looked upon her and robbing them of a sense of time. Oscar gazed wonderingly at her, staring into her eyes, utterly fascinated.

For a long while, he said nothing. Tinasha scowled in annoyance. “What is it? You’re acting creepy. Say something…”

“Uh…” Hesitantly, Oscar reached for Tinasha. When he petted her head the way he usually did, she closed her eyes like a cat. This really was the same witch as before.

Feeling reassured, Oscar asked, “What in the world happened out there? How did you end up like that?”

“My internal organs were severely damaged, so I repaired them by drastically speeding up my body’s rate of growth. My hair is much too long now.” As Tinasha spoke, she whipped out a dagger and brought it up to a spot along her hair.

Sylvia rushed to stop her. “I’ll do that! You sit down.”

“What? I’m just going to cut it off.”

“Let me! Do that!”

“Okay…” Tinasha conceded, sitting down obediently in a chair, and Sylvia began carefully combing out the obsidian locks.

Oscar sat down opposite Tinasha. “So is everything all right now?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just suffered a bit of blood loss.”

“Yeah, I really thought you were dead. Will your appearance go back to normal?”

“It won’t. Like I told you in the tower, my appearance isn’t fabricated by magic. My body’s growth has stopped, that’s all. I suppose I could use a spell to look the way I used to… Do you prefer young women?”

“I definitely don’t,” Oscar replied emphatically. In fact, the way she looked now was much more attractive to him. Taking her mental state into account, this was much closer to who she really was. Her more-mature-looking eyes suited this form well, and Oscar gave an internal sigh of relief.

Nark jumped from Oscar’s shoulder to Tinasha’s lap, and she stroked its back.

“Oscar, it appears it’s fond of you now. Look, it’s like it’s giving me this.”

The dragon dropped the red stone in its mouth into Tinasha’s palm. The jewel-like thing was a little smaller than her hand, and she tossed it to Oscar. He caught it in midair and stared at the crimson stone. There were marks on it that suggested it had been carved from something larger.

“That’s the demonic beast’s core. It looks like Nark could only pick up half of it, though. It’s just an ordinary jewel now, so no need for alarm.”

“The demonic beast’s core… Wait, you defeated the demonic beast?!”

Oscar knew Tinasha had gone out with all her battle gear, but he hadn’t expected her to really go that far all on her own. The prince was dumbfounded, and Tinasha’s eyes narrowed as she smiled.

“I didn’t want to have to go through the trouble of sealing it a few years down the road again. Oh, the bodies of the mages who wanted to break the seal are all buried underground. Sorry I didn’t retrieve them.”

“I don’t care about that… Just…don’t act so rash next time.”

“That was nothing!” Tinasha argued.

“You got seriously injured,” Oscar replied matter-of-factly, and the witch stuck out her tongue at him.

Oscar sat up straight and rephrased himself. “You saved us. It was because of you that we didn’t suffer any casualties. Thank you.”

If those mages had gotten their way, the carnage would have been unfathomable. Thankfully, this witch had taken care of it before that had come to pass. Her big black eyes opened wide as a broad grin spread across her face.

“It was no trouble. I’m a witch, after all.” Paying no mind to the burden Oscar bore, his protector beamed.

Sylvia’s little pair of scissors did their work well, cutting the witch’s glossy-black hair back to its previous length.