Part 3
Inside Celestia's church, Lina was praying alongside several believers.
"I'm sensing an impure power."
"Selka is taking too long..."
"I'd better go check, even if she doesn't want me to."
Outside, far from the city.
The Witch of the Eternal Journey stared fixedly at her target. Not out of fear, but while analyzing him.
Observing the monster that young man had become.
"This is magnificent!" Kazuki exclaimed as he looked at his arms. "Absolute power...!"
His broken arm was completely healed, and he moved it proudly.
"And here I thought you couldn't get any more unpleasant..." Selka commented as the pages of her grimoire flipped one after another.
Enraged, Kazuki charged straight at her.
Each of his steps cracked the ground and made it tremble.
It was like watching a rhinoceros charging at an antelope.
He threw a powerful punch at her.
Selka jumped.
She didn't have time to snap her fingers.
The blow slammed into the ground, sending rocks and dust flying everywhere.
As she remained in the air, Kazuki's fist burst through the cloud of dust.
A blind spot for Selka.
"Damn it!"
She barely managed to defend herself.
The impact sent her flying backward, smashing through and knocking down trees along the way.
"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Kazuki roared at the top of his lungs like a wild beast.
Selka slowly stood up, brushing the dust off herself.
"Tch... I really liked this dress..." she muttered while looking at a torn section.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Kazuki's heavy footsteps echoed through the air, accompanied by trees being crushed and snapped apart as he approached at incredible speed.
"Heal."
A green aura covered her, healing the wounds caused by that blow.
Then, as the pages of her grimoire flipped one after another, she fixed her gaze on Kazuki once more.
With a simple snap of her hand, sharp pillars began emerging from the earth.
They pierced the young man's flesh, but he ignored the pain.
He shattered them and kept moving forward.
As unstoppable as a locomotive.
One of the pillars drove itself into his shoulder.
Kazuki ripped it out with his teeth like a furious beast.
"I'll catch you, you damn witch!" he roared with his distorted voice.
Selka's gaze lost every trace of amusement.
She could see blood pouring from Kazuki's body while his own Hero's Grace tried to heal him with little success.
"It was fun, but I can't keep wasting time."
"I've seen everything I needed to see..."
Selka raised her right hand, and the pages of her grimoire finally stopped on a particular page.
A magic circle began to form in her hand as she chanted in an ancient language.
"Your cheap tricks won't—"
Selka's magic circle finished forming, and the speed of that monster gradually began to decrease.
"Abyss Swamp!"
"What's happening?"
With every step he took, a dark tar-like substance clung to his skin and restricted his movements.
"No matter how strong you are..."
"Abyss Swamp won't let you get out of there. And the more you struggle, the deeper you'll sink," she added, pointing at the dark, viscous mass beneath Kazuki's feet that seemed to be slowly swallowing him.
She walked around Kazuki as he threw punch after punch, unable to reach her.
"How adorable... Did you really think you could defeat me with your magic potion?"
"Aghhhhhhh!"
The young man could only scream.
He had completely lost himself.
The grimoire flipped through a few more pages before stopping.
Then Selka calmly recited:
"Paralyze!"
At last, Kazuki became completely still, unable to move a single muscle, while his body continued to pour blood due to the immense cost of his power.
Selka walked a few steps and picked up the young paladin's sword, holding it in her hands with curiosity.
"I'm going to kill you..." Kazuki muttered with an exhausted voice.
"Look at yourself... Did you really think power comes without consequences?"
"It only took two intermediate spells from my grimoire to stop you."
Kazuki's bloodshot eyes, filled with hatred, never left her.
"I don't expect you to understand my point of view or the world my master is trying to create... Only the truly righteous have a place in the future."
Her grimoire began turning pages once more.
"You're not even worthy of me using an advanced spell."
Little by little, Kazuki's body began to shrink, and the glow in his eyes faded away.
The swamp vanished, and the young paladin collapsed onto his back, barely breathing.
"Just as expected..."
"The effect of that thing ran out faster than I thought."
"His body reached its limit."
"There's your so-called justice..." she commented, though Kazuki could no longer hear her. "I'll be merciful. I'll end this right now."
Selka began chanting words in an ancient language once again.
She pointed her index finger at him as a circle of dark magic finished forming.
"Shadow of—"
At that moment, before she could complete the spell, a beam of light pierced the sky and struck her directly.
"Light Flare!"
A heavenly voice echoed through the air.
The beam of light blinded Selka and prevented her from moving for a brief moment.
When she was finally able to open her eyes, three winged women, like celestial angels, stood before her.
One of them was carrying Kazuki, while another was healing his wounds.
The last one stepped forward and stood before Selka, who immediately adopted a defensive stance against those three presences.
She had lived for many years, but she had never seen beings like them before...
"Witch of the Eternal Journey... daughter of darkness," declared the blonde woman.
"I order you to stop this instant..."
And there they remained, staring at each other.
For the first time, Selka felt that her enemy was far more dangerous than she had imagined.