Chapter 5: The Resurrection Ceremoney

Translator: Roblag

The Skeleton Lord guided Shatia to a cave deep in the mountains. It was a bit cold, and the place was quiet with no sign of any living creatures in the area.

When they reached the front of the cave, Shatia stopped at the entrance. Next to her was the Skeleton Lord. The Skeleton Sorcerers did not follow them because they were all still impaled in the field of needles.

“Hmm, should I disguise myself just in case?”

Shatia decided to disguise herself, thinking that it might be a little problematic if someone discovered her identity. After checking her attire, Shatia nodded slightly and cast a spell on herself. Then Shatia’s figure faded as if covered by fog. When the fog lifted, there was a tall, silver-haired woman standing in Shatia’s place.

“I don’t think it is necessary to change the colour of my hair. Hmm, my appearance is completely different from when I was a witch. As I remember, my figure had more curves.”

Shatia commented on her impression of her new look.

When she was a witch, Shatia was a very glamorous woman. She had a truly seductive look and, except for her hat, she always wore very revealing clothing as it allowed her greater mobility. This was probably one of the reasons why people did not have a good impression of her.

However, Shatia’s new look had a rather slim figure, and the clothes she wore were a large version of the ones she wore as a child, made of ordinary fabric. It was as if the girl had grown bigger rather than matured into an adult.

“This will probably be what I look like when I grow up. Not that I mind, though.”

Shatia felt a curious freshness with her appearance that was opposite to what she had in her previous life. And after confirming that the illusion magic was working properly, it was finally time to enter the lair of the Skeleton leader.

“Well, now that we are ready, let’s strike at the enemy lines. I hope to meet someone interesting who uses magic that I have never heard of. Could you guide me inside, mister Skeleton Lord?”

“Gooo…“

The main reason Shatia decided to enter the cave was to solve the problem with the Skeletons, but it was also because she was curious about the individual who could control them.

The power to control the Skeleton Sorcerers and even the mighty Skeleton Lord was something that piqued Shatia’s curiosity. Was it an artifact? Or maybe it was magic she didn’t know about? That’s why she went into the cave because she believed that she would find something worthy of her attention there.

Inside the cave, there was a long passage. The footprints were still visible, indicating that someone had come and gone several times. Shatia lifted one of her fingers and created a small fireball bright enough to illuminate part of the passage.

Shatia continued to create more of these fireballs until eventually, they came to an open place. It looked like a kind of sacred place, with high ceilings and decorated like an altar.

“Who are you?”

And in the middle of the place was an old man. A man with a wrinkled face, sunken eyes, and thin enough to be mistaken for a corpse. When the old man noticed Shatia, he stared at her and said.

“How dare you enter this sacred place without my permission? Do you know how important this place is?”

“I am sorry. I don’t get out of the village too often. Please don’t mind me.”

The old man looked hostilely at Shatia, who had suddenly appeared, but Shatia, instead, walked casually towards the altar.

There was a kind of coffin surrounded by pillars that were ablaze with fire. Shatia assumed that all this was in preparation for some sort of ritual.

“By the way, I came across this thing while walking through the valley, could it be that you were controlling it?”

“Are you dismissing the Skeleton Lord just like that, you damn woman?”

“Well, what do you think?”

The old man did not answer Shatia’s question, instead, he asked his own question. Noticing this, Shatia decided to do the same and smiled quietly.

The old man turned to see the Skeleton Lord who was accompanying Shatia. It looked worn out and its armor seemed to have been pierced by something. The old man could tell by her appearance that Shatia was not a swordsman. However, he could not help but be afraid of the unknown identity that was in front of him.

“Are you a member of the Order of Knights, woman? Are you a companion of the knights I recently defeated?”

“I see, so you defeated the knights. That means you are the one I am looking for.”

“Tch! Don’t you intend to answer my questions?”

Shatia did not answer the old man’s question, but just smiled and nodded slightly. He seemed to be irritated by the little information he was getting, but at no point did he rush to attack.

If the woman in front of him had the power to defeat the Skeleton Lord, then he had to be extremely careful. The old man moved slightly to the side and proceeded with the talk, taking care to keep his distance from Shatia.

“What are you doing here? Have you come to stop my noble plan?”

“Oh, you have a plan? I would very much like to know what that plan is.”

Seeing that Shatia finally responded appropriately, the old man smiled. The old man acquired a haughty expression at the thought of his noble plan. Shatia, on the other hand, was curious about this whole situation, so she allowed herself to engage in a calm conversation with the old man even though she was in enemy territory.

“Kukuku! Do you want to know why I’m doing this? Let me explain it to you.”

The old man suddenly dropped his guard and began to speak openly as he held out his hands as if to show the magnificence of the altar.

“I plan to bring back to life the witches who were destroyed by the despicable heroes and create a world of darkness!”

The old man proclaimed this with great enthusiasm as he looked up at the ceiling. Shatia had to pinch her arm tightly to keep her from bursting out laughing.

After all, she was one of the witches that the old man wanted to resurrect. It was a rather complicated feeling, but Shatia managed to remain calm and then faked a surprise exclamation.

“Oh.”

“May the wonderful witches create the ideal world of witchcraft! My wish is that all the ignorant and deluded disappear! And soon it will be fulfilled! Kukuku! All thanks to this resurrection ritual!” Said the old man as he pointed to the altar. Shatia had finally discovered the purpose of all this.

Shatia changed her opinion about human beings and their views on witches. She always believed that humans thought that witches were aberrant monsters, but some people did worship them. This made Shatia somewhat touched.

“Kuku… a woman like you would never understand. How wonderful witches are, their magnificence…”

The old man commented haughtily, mistaking Shatia’s reaction for one of surprise, then he began to tell a peculiar story. Hearing those words made Shatia feel strangely embarrassed.

She was not used to being complimented, so she did not know how to react when someone spoke praises of her. At that moment, she just put a hand over her mouth to prevent her from laughing and kept her composure.

“Good gracious…”

After the old man finished bragging, Shatia slowly lowered her hand and finally opened her mouth, showing her face. His eyes were glowing, he seemed quite pleased with his story.

“That’s a great plan! So who are you going to bring back? The chatty Fantaletta? Maybe Koroku (Cloak), who does nothing but magic research? I would very much like Esmeralda to come back to life…”

Shatia asked as she approached the old man, forgetting her vigilance. One after another, she mentioned the names of the witches, causing the old man to widen his eyes in surprise.

The old man was puzzled. The fact that such a woman, who had not even reached adulthood, mentioned the names of some of the Seven Witches. This caused the old man to misunderstand the situation and to think that Shatia also worshipped witches.

“Hoho…I am impressed. Despite being so young you know the name of the Seven Witches.”

“Hmm, well, I had plenty of opportunities to learn them.”

The hostility between the two disappeared completely when the old man heard Shatia’s words. Even the Skeleton Lord, who was standing in the doorway, stepped back as if confused.

“But, the first one I plan to bring back…”

Said the old man as he raised a finger, then turned his head to the altar and walked towards it. Shatia stood there and listened intently, without attempting to do anything. On the contrary, she wanted to witness the resurrection ceremony. The old man stopped in front of the coffin, touched it delicately with his hand, and turned to see Shatia.

“Is the legendary Shatifal, leader of the Seven Witches, the Witch of Wisdom!”

It took Shatia a moment to understand those words. She never imagined that her former name would be mentioned in this place. Shatia looked at the old man, who had an expression of immeasurable pride, in awe.

And when she finally realised that it was she whom the old man wanted to resurrect, an indescribable feeling appeared in her chest.

“O-Oh.”

“A sage whose powers could not be compared to anything in this world! Oh, Lady Shatifal, I will bring you back to life now!”

With bright eyes, the old man said that in a sweet voice as if he were in love as he looked up at the ceiling. The reality was that the woman in front of him was Shatifal and that she was using illusion magic, for her true appearance was that of a little girl. That little girl was the witch Shatifal. Shatia looked on in horror as she saw the old man almost jump with emotion.

Honestly, she was very happy that someone was worshipping her. Perhaps controlling monsters to gather the magic elements of nature inside a cave was a bit much, but if one ignored that, it would be quite flattering to any witch. But even if he performed a resurrection ceremony here, Shatifal would not come back to life. Because she had already been reincarnated.

But since the old man would never believe such a thing, Shatia merely saw that what was happening. Meanwhile, the old man began to prepare for the resurrection ceremony, took his staff, and began to infuse it with his magic power.

“Now is the time! Lady Shatifal, the most powerful witch, will return to life!”

Turning the magic elements, which the Skeletons collected, into magic power, the old man sent a large amount of magic power to his staff. A pale light began to leak from the altar, shining brightly. The Skeleton Lord retreated in fear and hid in the shadows of the cave. Even when a wave of pressure came from the altar, Shatia remained motionless, staring at the old man.

What should Shatia do? Should she stop the old man? Was there even a way to do it? It was obvious that the ritual would fail if he continued. Perhaps she should tell him that she was the witch he was trying to resurrect? But it would be difficult to persuade an individual with such devotion. Shatia decided that the best thing to do in this case was to let the old man exhaust his magic power and give up, but even so, she tried to warn him.

“Hey, let me give you some friendly advice, you shouldn’t do that.

“Ha ha ha! It’s too late to stop now!”

Shatia tried to stop the ceremony, but the old man refused. He had no intention of listening to the words of a stranger just as he was about to fulfill his most cherished dream.

At that moment, a strong gust of wind began to blow around the whole place. The escape route was now sealed by the wind, but Shatia did not seem to be bothered by this and began to approach the altar.

Suddenly, the old man’s staff began to glow, he quickly chanted a spell and hit the ground. Then, with a deafening roar, the light faded and the wind disappeared. The pillars surrounding the coffin also went out, and the area became completely silent.

The old man thought the ritual was a success, and smiled, distorting his wrinkled face. But from the coffin came what appeared to be a black, slimy hand.

“Wh-What the hell is that?”

The old man was so surprised to see that, instead of Shatifal, a black hand had appeared that fell on his butt and crawled away from the altar. As the old man ran to Shatia’s side, she sighed heavily and stared at the black creature.

At first, only the hands were outside the coffin, but eventually, the black creature came out of the coffin, walking on two legs like a human. However, the creature did not have anything resembling a face, and its strange appearance, with its hands and feet made of that black substance, was very much like that of a demon.

“Good gracious. Look what you have resurrected.”

“What does this mean? I tried to resurrect Lady Shatifal! What is that black thing!”

Asked the old man as he pointed at the creature, which was not the witch Shatifal. Shatia remained calm, and as she brushed the hair on her forehead, she slowly began to explain what had happened.

“Resurrection ceremonies must be performed in the right way, otherwise you will end up summoning ‘Wicked Spirits’, vicious beings full of hatred, envy, and resentment.

The black creature trembled in response. Immediately afterwards, its body inflated and began to transform, its arms became as thick as trunks, its legs had claws as sharp as those of dragons, and its torso opened in half to form a monstrous mouth.

“Greetings, wicked spirit. If you return the way you came without causing trouble, I promise not to do anything to you. But if you try to harm me, you will have to face the consequences.”

Shatia conversed with the evil spirit as she politely bowed. It was not possible to know if the creature understood Shatia’s words, but in response, the creature began to tremble and a hundred needles shot out of her body. Shatia easily dodged the needles that were heading towards her while the old man quickly hid behind some pillars.

“I guess that’s a no. Then I will have to fight.” Shatia said with a smile as she dodged the projectiles with minimal effort.

Shatia then clenched her fist tightly, put all the magic power she could into it, and threw a vigorous punch. Shatia’s blow generated a kind of magic bombardment that struck the creature from the front and sent it to the wall behind the altar.