novelraw Book 2: Chapter 26: The Undying Witch
Book 2: Chapter 26: The Undying Witch
Fischer dragged the unconscious, obese witch out of the tavern. Behind him, Arajina’s slender sword that radiated a chilling aura had disappeared without a trace, leaving Fischer very curious about where she had hidden that relic.
A bit further back, the pirate first mate, rubbing his shoulder and glancing at Fischer ahead, blinked and shifted his gaze between Fischer and Arajina. Suddenly, as if he understood something, he quietly stepped back a bit.
Although still following them, the group had split into two parts: Fischer and Arajina up close in front, and the grinning, obese first mate with other crew members trailing behind.
“Chirp chirp!”
The tavern sat on a slightly elevated street, from which one could see a group of people faintly approaching on the damp road illuminated by street lamps. Fischer glanced at a huge pipe extending from the proper road to the rocky cave wall, where countless mice were perched, chattering and waving at them—clearly guiding their way.
Without hesitation, Fischer leapt straight toward the pipe, shouting back to Arajina without looking back,
“Follow this way.”
Arajina nodded, about to signal the crew to follow, only to find them all blinking slyly and gesturing for her to go ahead first.
“...”
She opened her mouth in surprise, momentarily speechless, and had no choice but to follow Fischer up front. Ahead of Fischer, a large swarm of mice ran while looking back to guide them into the complex drainage pipe system inside the cave.“Wait, are those mice? Mice leading the way? Could the captain’s lover be a warlock—like the ones in fairy tales...”
“I don’t think so... That guy’s a bit violent. The captain can’t control him. I don’t think this marriage will work.”
“No need for your approval. You like the gentle type, don’t you? Maybe the captain likes this kind.”
A few crew members murmured quietly from a distance. Their figures soon vanished into the cave’s darkness, leaving the swiftly arriving gang members dumbfounded, staring at the wrecked but empty tavern.
The huge pipe was the end section of the city’s drainage system. Wastewater from here would flow into Nary’s rivers, then into hidden rivers, and finally into the ocean. This pipe route should lead back to the entrance of Snakehead Street. However, the Saint Nary drainage system was so complex that even the maintenance workers didn’t fully understand the exact route. Now, Fischer and his group were relying on a swarm of mice to guide them.
“Chirp chirp~”
“Hey, what’s dripping from above, water or something else?”
“I don’t think it’s anything good.”
“Damn, a drop landed in my mouth. It’s salty!”
At the very dark mid-section of the pipe, worried about losing sight of Fischer and the captain, the crew hurriedly closed the distance, no longer joking around. In the darkness, the only sounds were dripping liquid and the chirping of mice accompanying the few moving figures.
Before long, Fischer and the others reached the circular underground entrance tunnel of the pipe, where government-installed lights brightened the area. Seeing no one around, Fischer threw the witch he was dragging onto the ground, deciding to interrogate him for the information he wanted.
Using The Spinner, Fischer hung the witch upside down from the pipes mid-air. His limbs still held the shape of a cicada pupa, but because of the wounds on his body, blood ran down to his face, washing away his makeup and lipstick completely. Seeing that he remained unconscious, Fischer struck him again with his staff, forcing him awake physically.
“Clack!”
“Wait, stop! Don’t hit me anymore, don’t hit me!”
The drainage sound was less grating than his harsh, raspy quack. As soon as he spoke, it sounded like a roast duck hanging in a Saint Nary restaurant, making Fischer frown and press his staff against the witch’s throat to silence him.
“You answer what I ask...”
“Sir, sir! Don’t hurt me, I was wrong... Wait, you’ve been targeting me all along. You came to the tavern just for me! Damn, I wondered why someone dressed like you would show up here...”
Pain had completely sobered Bart, who was now dangling upside down and thinking rapidly. He soon realized that Fischer, dressed in a full suit, had come to Snakehead Street specifically for him. During the earlier fight, he had thought he’d angered the devil by seeking the Mother Goddess’s blessing.
“I want to know about the Witch Research Society, specifically... the ‘Undying Witch’ you’re searching for.”
Ignoring Bart’s delayed realization, Fischer questioned him while pulling out a small vial of glowing green sand from his pocket. He rubbed the sand on the tip of his staff, carving magical sigils deep into the ground.
“Undying Witch? How do you know? You’re police! You damned Nary cops have no pure faith left. You’ve defiled the Mother Goddess, corrupting her hopes with the swamp of your desires... Wuuu...”
Fischer said nothing. After finishing the sigils below, he snapped his fingers. The symbols on the ground instantly lit up, transforming into writhing, maggot-like flames crawling through the air, eventually enveloping Bart’s face and entering every visible opening.
At the moment the flames entered his body, Bart convulsed violently as if enduring immense torture.
Double-ring magic—“Bone-Clinging Maggots.”
This magic had been used by the Nary police to torture criminals. Fischer had participated in revising the standard interrogation magic for Nary, but after the New Party came to power, such penal magics were abolished. Now, Fischer was administering private punishment to the witch Bart.
This magic amplified the creature’s pain perception exponentially and worsened over time if not canceled. Eventually, even a breath of wind could cause pain lasting half a day. Many entertainment venues secretly used this magic to increase ‘fun.’
Bart’s body was already covered with wounds from the earlier battle. The moment the Bone-Clinging Maggots entered him, his eyes rolled back in pain and he screamed wildly,
“Stop! Stop! It hurts too much! You demon!”
The crew watching the Nary gentleman holding the staff saw him as a demon and silently prepared to keep their distance. Only Arajina’s gaze remained fixed on Fischer, as if pondering something. Even her normally calm face flushed pink, and her breathing quickened slightly.
That magic... looked like...
“Don’t... it hurts too much! I’m telling you! My mission is complete! The Undying Witch is protected in the Pink Pavilion. I can’t get in. I was about to leave Saint Nary to report this back to the Research Society!”
Amid the excruciating pain, Bart’s magic circuits suddenly began to glow uncontrollably. Fischer frowned, thinking he might resist, but Bart was momentarily stunned before shouting excitedly,
“No... no, that’s not right... She’s here! She’s nearby! The Undying Witch you’re looking for is close by! Look, my...”
“Bang!”
Just as Bart spoke, a spark suddenly lit up in the darkness of the pipe overhead, followed by the echoing sound of a blunderbuss. Fischer hadn’t expected someone to suddenly appear there.
Bart’s head exploded instantly, the liquid inside fortunately not splashing onto Fischer.
Fischer’s expression turned ice cold. He raised his staff and leapt up with draconic agility to the pipe above the tunnel. There, a cloaked figure holding a gun froze in surprise, clearly not expecting Fischer’s leap to such a height.
She raised her gun to shoot, but before she could act, Fischer lunged at her, landing a heavy punch to her face that sent her flying backward.
Despite the brutal blow, the figure did not stop. She grunted and arced through the air, landing on a pipe behind her, then immediately turned and prepared to escape without looking back.
“Trying to run?”
Fischer lifted his staff, preparing to stop her. Magical sigils glowed rapidly in his hand. The Spinner’s crystalline threads wrapped around one of her legs at incredible speed, pulling it tight.
Mid-air, her leap faltered slightly, forcing her to land on the original pipe. Below, the pirates raised their guns, aiming at her. Then she did something Fischer hadn’t expected.
The figure suddenly drew a blade from her cloak and slashed at her left leg—the one tangled in the threads. The leg was instantly severed, falling to the ground. Blood gushed out wildly, but in the next second, the blood seemed to freeze in time and rush backward. Flesh rapidly grew from the severed area, quickly regenerating a complete left leg.
In just a second, she performed a stunning regeneration feat right before Fischer’s eyes.
She revealed the bare, elegant foot of her left leg. Her face, hidden beneath the cloak, glanced back at Fischer once, then she fled swiftly upward without further resistance.
Fischer raised his hand, releasing multiple cutting waves of Dance of the Bees, but she was agile and dodged all of them mid-air, soon vanishing from his sight. He reluctantly pulled The Spinner’s threads, retrieving the severed left leg. Wrapped in white socks and boots, the detached limb still retained residual warmth in Fischer’s palm.
That breathtaking scene replayed vividly in Fischer’s mind, perfectly matching the prophecy of the “Undying” in the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook...
“The Undying Witch, huh?”
Fischer frowned, planning to keep the severed leg and later use magic to try tracking her. But just as the thought emerged, the leg slowly dissolved into a foul-smelling puddle of blood and water. Fischer hurriedly discarded it.
He opened his mouth, speechless for a moment.
......
......
At the entrance to Snakehead Street, a cloaked, barefoot woman gasped as she ran into the bustling street. Still uneasy, she dashed into a nearby alley and, after confirming no one was there, hurriedly removed her cloak.
Underneath, her beautiful, pure face was exposed to the air, framed by messy chestnut hair. Her complexion was normal, but her expression looked like she was enduring unbearable pain. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her muscles tensed.
She bit down hard on her discarded cloak, staring intently at her newly grown left leg.
“Ahhhh!”
The pain there was at least ten times worse than losing a limb, stabbing fiercely into her heart and threatening to break her teeth as she bit the cloak.
Fortunately, after a few minutes, the pain gradually lessened until it vanished completely, allowing her to relax slowly.
“I... I am the Undying Witch. This... this kind of pain... ugh...”
She wiped the sweat from her forehead, muttering to herself as crystalline tears slid down her cheeks. Flustered, she wiped them away.
After ensuring no one was nearby, she finally stood up and limped away, disappearing into the alleyways of the street.