CHAPTER 64: THEY CALL IT THE REALM OF GODS (BEGINNING)
I continuously blasted the Hydra with my Magic Arrowsâ
And the Hydra withstood it while closing the distance between us.
How long has it been already?
Like an unchanging still image, our battle raged on endlessly.
Only two things changed.
One: I brought down the Hydraâs remaining heads to four.
Two: The Hydra reduced the distance between us to around a third of what I started with; around four kilometers were left.
âMagic Arrow, Magic Arrow, Magic Arrowââ
This is badâŚ
Around half of the Hydraâs heads remained because of my head start. And yet, the distance Iâve been keeping between us was cut to a third.
To make matters worse, there was another abnormality.
My body was hot to the core. I could feel some sort of heat in my body, and it felt like the flickering flame of a candle.
As time continued to pass, that heat slowly began spreading all throughout my body; the heat in my right arm was especially intense.
Did I catch a cold or something� At a time like this?
I didnât feel sick, though. What was this feeling?
I guess the Hydra had the edge over me.
âŚNow then, how should I turn this around?
I had the option of flying on my Magic Arrow and running away, but⌠Based on how fast the Hydra was going, it might just instantly close the distance the moment I stop shooting.
It didnât really seem like the most brilliant of moves.
The only thing I could do was fire away until the very end.
The Hydra was riddled with wounds, and the remaining heads were standing on their last legs; it should be nearing its limit.
My defeat wasnât set in stone yetâ
âHaa⌠haa⌠haa⌠haa⌠haaâŚ!â
Laura, who had been running nonstop from the village, came to a stop and breathed heavily. In her right hand was a small wand with Lighting cast onto it.
She finally got through the dense woods and arrived at a spot where the lake was visible.
While catching her breath, she set her gaze to the lake.
ââ!â
Laura saw the Hydraâs form for the first time.
It was exactly as the mayor told her; it was an enormous dragon with nine heads. Its massive body, which was large enough to be mistaken for a mountain, towered over its surroundings.
And aiming for that dragonâ
Was a vast amount of white arrows, endlessly pouring out from the mountainside in front of the dragon.
That was where Albert was.
As expected of Albertâs Magic Arrow. It was suppressing the Hydraâs movement through its sheer power.
He was suppressing its movement, butâit wasnât perfect.
As proof of that, the Hydra had already made its way out of the lake and was considerably close to Albertâs position on the mountain.
ââŚAlbert!â
Laura didnât know how the battle was going.
However, Laura knew this wasnât an opponent Albert could win easily against.
âŚI need to help himâŚ!
I want you to stay in the village â
She ignored Albertâs wishes and came all the way here to help him.
I want to assist Albert.
After allâ
The current Laura wasnât the same powerless Laura from before summer break.
The hand holding her wand trembled slightly.
âŚIf I use the Witch of Calamityâs magicâ
Laura distinctly remembered the Witch of Calamityâs magic, which she saw in that library.
It felt as if she had mastered it already.
She most likely already met the conditions to activate it and could use it whenever she wanted.
Naturally, thatâs if I have the mana to do it, butâŚ
The Witch of Calamityâs original spell.
She had no idea if she could successfully use such a thing.
No, before that, there was another problem.
She was scared.
Donât ever have anything to do with the Witch of Calamity.
She was taught that over and over at the village.
This was far from just the Witchâs knowledge.
This was the Witchâs very power itself.
She was scared of having such a power inside of her head.
She was scared of using such a power.
However, Laura obtained that power.
She had it in the palm of her hand.
And now, Albert was fighting for his life before her eyes.
She was given a choice:
Will you save the person in front of you? Or will you not?
Everything was smooth sailing until now.
She didnât need to make such a decision. Laura, who was powerless to do anything, merely waited for Albert to snap his fingers and solve everything.
However, things were different now.
Laura had powerâthe power to decide the fate of the world, just like Albert.
Will you save the person in front of you? Or will you not?
The answer to that question was already set in stone.
If Laura didnât use this power here, sheâd probably end up regretting it for the rest of her life.
She was scared, terrified, and couldnât help but tremble, butâ
She had to throw away those feelings right here, right now.
Thatâs right! This is for Albertâs sake, after all!
Laura steeled herself.
She was going to activate the Witch of Calamityâs magicâone of the many secret techniques among the Witchâs repertoire.
â O power that corrupts all who reside in the heavens above, heed my voice. I command thee, the chain that binds all â !â
Laura commenced the activation chant.
The chant served two purposes.
The first one was to compensate for her own lack of power.
When fully mastered, almost all spells could be used by just saying the trigger word, but using a chant raised the probability of success.
The second one was because this spell was too powerful.
It was too much for a human being to handle.
That was the spell that Laura was about to use.
Why was it so powerful, you ask?
Because it was a divine-class spell.
Why was the Witch of Calamityâa woman nothing more than a mere magicianâable to wage war against the kingdom?
The answer to that question was divine-class magic.
Divine-class magic was different from regular magic. It was a wide-scale technique that affected an extremely large area and had an extremely long range.
So much so that it was considered as the realm of gods.
You could count the amount of existing divine-class spellbooks available to the public with your fingers.
Practically all magicians couldnât even learn from them in the first place.
Using the countless Original Magic that only she knew at her disposal, the Witch of Calamity fought against the kingdom.
And right now, Laura was attempting to cast one of those very spells.
The spell she was about to use manipulated gravity.
It chained all living beings with weight to the ground, preventing any movement.
If I use this spell, I should be able to buy some time at the very least!
The long, long chant ended, and before longâ
â The Commandment of the Unseen Deity: Gravity Chains! â
Pointing her wand at the Hydra, Laura let out the words that acted as the trigger.