Immortal's Ascending Path - Episode 26
Episode 26. The Witch's Accomplishment
The lord of the castle, Matthias, arranged a modest drinking session. Kir Castle wasn't wealthy enough to throw a banquet for a sudden guest. All they could do was light a few candles in the castle's cramped dining hall and drink.
Ulrich, using the alias Armin, sat next to the lord and drank the wine he poured. A smile played on his lips as he raised his voice and engaged in conversation.
He appeared to be a generous young man in his early twenties. As the young and promising man responded with praise, the lord felt pleased and downed twice as much wine as Ulrich.
Roberta and Fritz watched Ulrich's performance with interest. The act didn't falter even as the night deepened, leading them to wonder if that was his true personality. It was that different from the restrained life he had shown in Ditmarsken.
"······."
At the same time, Roberta glanced at Oxana. Oxana Narses, the lord's wife and a sorceress who used the name of the Five Sages as her surname, was also present in the conversation.
She seemed to be responding to their conversation, but she would occasionally look out the window or towards the door, distracted. She was aware that the group was scheduled to leave in the morning, which made her anxious.
However, Matthias didn't understand her feelings, so he continued his conversation with Ulrich, preventing her from leaving his side.
"Has Lord Matthias not had any children yet?"
Ulrich asked after the lord's face turned bright red.
"Hmm... Didn't the young master tell you separately?"
"Ah, was that an inappropriate question?"
Setting down his glass, Matthias sighed.
"Actually, I have an only daughter. She's just not here at the moment."
"I see. She must be staying somewhere else."
"No. I wish that were the case. I'm ashamed to say she caused trouble and ran away from home. I spoiled her because she was my only daughter, and she didn't know her place."
With his eyes glazed over from the alcohol, Matthias rambled on. He said that his only daughter, Marica, had caused trouble by harassing the servants who cared for her, insulting her stepmother Oxana, and having scandalous affairs with Priests.
"She wasn't always like that. But after her mother died and I brought in Oxana, she became jealous. I scolded her severely each time, but soon she became too much for me to handle..."
"That must have been tough."
"Well... I could still bear it. Because she's my daughter. However, it seems she didn't feel the same way, and she ran away with a servant while I was away."
Matthias gave up because he didn't feel like chasing after her, and added that it had been ten days since Marica left home. When asked if he wasn't worried, the lord shook his head.
"How far can she go with a weak body and a few servants? She'll be back soon when her pockets are empty."
Roberta narrowed her eyes as she listened to the conversation.
'It's slander. He's been fooled by the witch like an idiot.'
If the lord's words were true and Marica really had a difficult personality, would Oxana even need to intervene? If left alone, she would ruin her reputation on her own, right?
Oxana and Matthias didn't have any children yet, but there was plenty of time. They were both young, so they could expect children at any time.
Even if they had a child next year, it would take twenty years for them to grow up, which would be more than enough time to push Marica out of the way. Even if she was the only daughter of his deceased wife.
"I have no intention of forgiving her even if she comes begging for forgiveness now. I've overlooked all the things she's done so far, but in the end, she spat in her own father's face."
Bang! He slammed the table with his glass. His face, red with intoxication, was mixed with anger and flushed as if about to explode.
"But she's still your daughter."
Ulrich leaned forward and said calmly.
"Even if you're angry right now, wouldn't it be better to have a calm conversation when you meet again? I heard she hasn't even had her coming-of-age ceremony yet, and emotions can't be controlled at that age."
The lord sighed deeply at those words and hung his head. Ulrich gestured to the servant standing by the wall. The servant helped the lord up and left the room.
Now, the only people left in the room were four people, excluding the servants, and among them, Oxana also got up, using the excuse of following her husband.
#
The night sky was cloudy.
The visible moon was already less than half full, and when the clouds covered it, the darkness completely veiled the land. Not a single breeze stirred, and even sounds seemed to be swallowed up in the silence.
Marica was in that darkness. She was alone in the stable. The girl with the form of a young horse was kept far away from the other horses to prevent her from mixing with them. Fritz had said that the young horse was sensitive and would cause a disturbance if mixed with other horses.
Thus, the stable, which had been empty for some time within the small castle, became her shelter for the night. It was a space that no one visited except for the servants who occasionally came to clean it.
But now, at this late hour, footsteps were heard.
"······."
Marica perked up her ears and turned her head towards the direction of the sound. Someone was approaching, but the world was too dark to see.
She would be able to tell if they came closer, right in front of her, a few steps away, but a gentle breeze blew and tickled her nose. Then, drowsiness came and closed her eyes.
Thud. A person approached the fallen Marica.
As the person walked into the stable, they rummaged through their pockets. Just in time, the clouds that had been covering the moonlight moved away, dispelling the darkness of the land, and the glass bottle in her hand sparkled.
She checked the contents of the glass bottle and pulled out the stopper. A sinister smile formed on her lips. Her gaze turned to the unconscious Marica.
"What are you trying to do?"
But the moment she entered the stable, a voice erupted. Startled, she looked to the side and saw two people hiding in the shadows of the wall.
"Oxana, please explain," Roberta said.
Whoosh! Fire flared up.
Roberta adjusted the flow of mana and lit the torch. The torch revealed Fritz, who was standing next to her, and also revealed Oxana Narses, who had invaded the stable.
Oxana, suddenly exposed to the light, covered her face with both hands, then calmed the shock on her face and replied.
"...I was worried, so I came to check."
Her voice trembled severely.
"You said it was a sensitive horse. I thought it might be scared if left alone... so I came to bring it something."
"You know that's a futile excuse, right?"
Roberta scoffed and gave a cold smile.
"We know that child is Marica. We also know that you made her like that, and we know that what you have in your hand is poison. Don't waste your time unnecessarily."
Oxana was silent.
"We were just planning to meet with you and the lord first to avoid any misunderstandings. There was a small chance that the lord might have been complicit with you."
She spread out her bare palm, revealing the insignia of the Priest. In the dim moonlight, the Ganymea emblem, emitting a strong blue light, made Oxana's eyes widen.
She was convinced that she hadn't been caught, but she had been deceived. She regretted her foolish actions, which she wouldn't have done normally, swayed by impatience.
"Now that we've confirmed that you're the only culprit, there's no need to hide it anymore."
And then another set of footsteps was heard.
There were two people. Ulrich and Matthias, who followed the path Oxana had taken and stood behind her. They had been chasing after her. Matthias's expression was more serious than ever.
His intoxication seemed to have worn off, and although he still smelled of alcohol, his face was the same color as usual. He hesitated for a moment as he looked at her, then opened his mouth.
"Oxana..."
He trailed off. But no one in this place didn't know what he meant. Was it true, was the young horse lying in front of them his only daughter, and had she made her like that, he was asking.
Of course, Oxana was going to shout that it wasn't true. What would change if she admitted it? Even if the identity of the young horse was revealed, if she denied it, there would be no way to prove it other than circumstantial evidence. Even if she couldn't reverse the outcome, she had to escape the immediate crisis.
But she couldn't. Because she met Matthias's gaze and read the conviction in his face.
'Why?'
Oxana couldn't understand.
'Why are you giving me that look?'
Even if there was circumstantial evidence, wasn't it just the claims of people they had met for only a day? No matter how much of an official Priest's statement it was, Oxana and Matthias had spent a long time together. Hadn't they whispered sweet nothings in the morning? But why had he changed his mind like that? What words had he heard?
That wasn't enough with Priest Roberta, nor with the fourth son of Count Meyer. Then there was only one reason. The young man standing next to Lord Matthias, the adopted son named Armin from Ditmarsken, was the only reason she could think of.
"I've shown you an embarrassing sight, Ulrich."
Matthias revealed the answer in a voice filled with fatigue.
Oxana widened her eyes and looked at Armin, no, Ulrich. Him? A man who had lived for over three hundred years, the one Count Meyer had courted so much and sent his most beloved son as a servant to?
Reason shouted that it was a lie. How could a human, or a being with the blood of some unique race mixed in, live for hundreds of years in such a young form? Even she, who was skilled in magic enough to use the name of Narses, couldn't do that.
Her pupils were filled with confusion and shook violently.
"Oxana, you who use the name of Narses."
"······."
"This is entirely your doing."
Ulrich said calmly, giving Oxana his gaze.
"I should have ended it cleanly."
"Oxana..."
The lord called her name. Her soliloquy had confirmed the conviction he held, and various emotions, including regret, were present.
Oxana frowned as she read it. If he had properly mediated between Marica and Oxana in the first place, would she have acted so drastically? She felt more resentment than guilt.
"Yes, I did it. While you were doing neither this nor that, I made the decision. You were hesitating between the inferior firstborn and the child to be born in the future, weren't you?"
"Didn't I say I would take care of it myself?"
"So, was it properly resolved?"
She scoffed.
"I just did what you couldn't do. So that there wouldn't be any problems later."
"...I didn't know you were that kind of person."
Roberta stepped forward, interrupting the two's conversation.
"Enough talk. Return Marica immediately."
"Why would I? Would that undo what happened?"
Swish, Roberta's sword was drawn with a sound. And as she recited a prayer in a low voice, the blade was surrounded by a subtle light.
Oxana had never seen many people who honed mana so sharply, so tension filled her face.
"A warrior suits you better than a Priest."
She smiled to hide her tension. Roberta coldly looked at the witch without replying.
"Do you think you can beat me?"
"······."
"No, would it even come back if you killed me? Do you think this is a simple spell? Like in a fairy tale, if you kill the witch, the truth will be revealed?"
Wind began to blow outside the stable. The clouds that had been scattered in pieces without blocking the moonlight for a while were caught by the wind and gathered in one place.
"This is a very carefully crafted combination. It's not just twisting and suppressing the flow of mana in a clumsy way. Even if I die or the connection with me is severed, it won't come back. Because I've fixed it that way. Only I can undo it."
She twisted one corner of her mouth and smiled.
"Why don't you beg? Who knows? Maybe my mind will change."
"Don't be ridiculous, witch!"
Roberta kicked off the ground.
"Hmph!"
At the same time, Oxana stretched out her right hand. Thunder struck. Lightning struck, breaking the ceiling of the stable, and struck the crown of the Priest's head, who was wielding a blue blade at her.
In an instant, light spread in all directions, turning the vision white. But Oxana didn't lose her vision at all and tilted her head back. By a hair's breadth, the blade of honed mana cut through the air.
"...You monster."
Oxana, who had her back against the wall, spat out a curse.
Roberta stood a few steps in front of her, glaring at the witch. Her body, struck by lightning, was boiling with white steam, and her skin was also red as if she had suffered internal injuries.
'Is she hiding her age like a countess?'
Watching her take a deep breath, Oxana gritted her teeth. She thought that the blade honed with mana was unusual from the start, but she didn't expect her to withstand the previous blow like that.
'Matthias, Fritz, even if I don't know about those two, it might be dangerous if the count is added. No matter how much it has declined, Pantheon is still Pantheon.'
The witch changed her form.
She became a crow about three spans long and flapped her wings with all her might. She changed almost in the blink of an eye, so Roberta couldn't stop the magic in time. The crow dodged the blade once again and escaped the stable, soaring into the sky.
- You will not catch me.
Oxana's laughter echoed in the minds of the humans left on the ground.
But at that moment, Ulrich reached out his hand.
The flapping stopped. Her body stiffened as if a seizure had occurred in mid-air, and she began to fall helplessly. Eventually, she hit the ground with a thud.
The crow trembled. The time it took to change from a human to that form was very short, but the process of returning to human form was long. Like water spilled on the floor, her body spread out, and black fur turned into white skin, becoming the witch Oxana.
She let out a silent scream at the pain of the fall, but she had a look of astonishment.
'Mana, it doesn't move.'
Why?
The mana that she had controlled at will her whole life didn't listen to her. Only a thread-like flow responded to her call. It was a faint flow that couldn't even illuminate a bit of light.
It felt like she had lost something. It felt like one of her senses had disappeared. She had hardly felt the flow of mana that she had felt her whole life. She had never experienced such a case in her entire life.
But she knew. Her intuition told her that she had lost the source from which she could control mana.
The substance that the gods scattered to prosper all things when they built palaces in the sky did not follow her. The reason was that the accomplishment had been withdrawn.
"Foolish thing."
She realized what it meant to be rejected by the heavens in a world created by God. As the weight of that pressed down on her, she looked up at a human with eyes filled with loneliness and fear that she had never felt before.