Granny gently lifted her cold gaze, meeting the finality of her brutal work.

Sounds of crackling bones crunched from a smoky black ring while a series of bony, grotesque pale arms began to crawl free from the revolving rune she had conjured. Wisps and whines of sparking static surrounded it while countless fiendish-looking hands writhed out. One by one, each hand began to wrap itself around the masked fellow she had staked in the air.

She observed this strange fellow from a safe distance, watching his body slightly convulse with blood pouring out from the gaping hole made within his chest. Grotesque pale hands remained stiffly intact, propping the fellow in the air.

> * Rank 4 incantation* : Garuda's Hallway. An incantation reformed from an ancient curse.

>

> A lofty prince had one day sought a dark helper against the tyrannical rule of his father. For payment, the soothsayer required the life of a loved one as payment, unable to bear losing anyone close to his heart, the prince went and married a baker's child, and presented her as the sacrifice.

>

> Garuda's spell was given to the prince, but once summoned. Garuda ate the entire castle, all the lineage of the prince and his tyrannical father. They say the great monster only spared a single hallway, precisely where the room belonging to the baker's daughter dwelt.

Granny observed her two incantations working in tangent with one another.

The black tentacles continued squeezing the mysterious intruder's bones like a python.

"Gyuk... blerg—why—why didn't you... go for the kill?" He managed to choke out brokenly.

Granny regarded the strange fellow in silence for a moment; she caressed many questions about this entire ordeal and not for a moment believed things were as easy as they seemed. Purposely ignoring the question, she strolled closer before holding her footsteps around 40 meters away.

Her lips parted slowly, with a question of her own creeping free.

"You're too weak to be risking your life like this... so enlighten me, why have you come here?"

A pitiful groan sounded in response, followed by more spluttering noises. Blood dribbled down the inside of his mask. A soft cackle breathed through the mask. And very slowly, the figure began to lift its helm.

What surprised and annoyed Granny the most was the stoic unpredictability of this stranger. From the clothes he wore to the manner of words he spoke, not to mention the sheer audacity of his attempt today. Nothing seemed to make sense about any of this.

And to an Arcanist, the unknown was one's greatest enemy.

'You're hesitating? Why? Kill him and be done with it, a dark voice whispered in the back of her mind.

'It's strange. No one is stupid enough to come here, so why do it? Something else is going on, but what is it? Why come here to die?' Granny mused. This didn't make sense the more she tried to understand it, her brow furrowed in contemplation.

Granny refused to dismiss the outward simplicity of all this. She was far too experienced to believe this was just a mindless suicide attempt.

Her gaze narrowed stiffly, observing the strange captured fellow above. Despite the apparent difference in power, she couldn't shake this uneasy feeling, as though he was standing on top of her despite his current predicament.

"Blergh— cough — cough ... Ahh... such a great question? Why does anyone do anything these days? For pleasure? For sport? For love? For hate? Kukuku, you could choose either, and we could delve into many ways to make it so. Though if I had to choose... kukuku —I would have to say... I merely came here out of intrigue," the masked figure rasped, his words punctuated by wet coughs and sputters.

Granny studied those words intensely.

His reasoning sounded too convenient due to the lack of objectivity regarding his actions. She sensed he was lying.

A cold aura howled softly, and her intent spiked a reaction as the tentacles coiled tighter around his body. She heard the crackle and pop of his joints and the grinding of his soft bones beneath the unrelenting constriction.

This scene continued for a few more moments before a whining voice of concession broke forth.

"Ghraaaaaaa! Ok—please mercy—I'll talk—geh—gah... I'll... talk—hah—hah." He breathed those final words out whilst Granny allowed her intent to soften.

She narrowed her gaze, dousing a cooling chill over a roaring intent.

"Araaah! Scary—scary! One can never pull the wool over the eyes of a Conjurer, ey? Well, I'm partially telling the truth. Part of my decision in coming here today is to do with testing myself—"

Granny scoffed loudly in response. "Testing yourself?"

The masked fellow nodded a few times as though his reasoning was the most normal thing in the world.

"Indeed. What's that old saying... Iron is best tempered under highly rigorous conditions! Ho-oh, and what better way to temper one's abilities than against death?

Ah, Death! The ultimate opponent, how strong might I become if I was to say...grab it by its horns."

Despite the slightly childish way of speaking, Granny couldn't entirely disagree. Wasn't this the same plight for every Arcanist on their lonely journey towards self-fulfilment and growth? The scent of death clung desperately to their shadows every step they took.

Arcanists understood that universal language, the unspoken vow they all make upon stepping onto the crimson road of blood, a lonely road of death, and selfish desires, ultimately leading them towards a more significant discovery than anything else.

"And was it worth it in the end? Your choices have unduly brought disaster upon yourself.

Your ambitions were nothing more than a fool's errand," she mocked with a cruel smirk creased against her aged features.

"Ahh! di-disaster, you say? Ahaha, my—oh my, if only that were true.

You see, I wouldn't mind dying if it was deserved. Such a thing would be the ultimate...adventure!"

More mouthfuls of blood sprayed out, but this time, there seemed to be a weird change in the fellow's vigour. Granny noticed it, too.

'His body should've been growing weaker, but why am I sensing that's the complete opposite?'

"What... what are you... truly?" Her mouth moved without her realizing, shedding away the show of aloofness she beheld moments ago.

"Fufufu! Why do you have such an interest in that? Is it because I am defying all reason?

Should I be dead right now?

Or perhaps it is my tone of speech? Too confident? Sh-sh-sh-should I have become a blubbering mess by now?

Haha. Or... could it be the mask? That must be it! It's the mask? Ahaha-in the end...it usually always is the mask."

A childish laughter bounced menacingly against the cool air.

Watching his calm demeanour despite being impaled by one of her conjurations brought a surprising churning in her stomach, an emotion Granny herself was pretty surprised to be nursing at this point... uneasiness.

The lingering sensation spoke to her rational mind. She needed to end this quickly. She had played and untangled this weave of curiosity long enough.

Just as she held out her fingers to the side, the figure called out from above,

"Wait!" He yelped at a sudden

Granny steadied her movements; her eyes stiffly locked onto the gaping hole impaled through his chest; she noticed the blood had stopped falling.

'Wait! Is he healing?'

"I know it. Truly, I understand your concern," he said, his voice tinged with a strange, almost knowing tone.

Her brows furrowed deeper in response. Somehow, she had forgone all her usual instincts and allowed herself to be entranced by this enigmatic figure.

She couldn't place her finger on it, but there was something harrowingly familiar about this figure.

"Wh-what is it then?" she asked with a curious tone, trying to buy enough time to discern if this was a planned attack. Her intent had already begun spreading across the many acres of her farm.

"It's simple. L-l-look, you purposely aimed for my vitals and my mana core. So in truth...ahem...wh-what I'm about to do now... should be impossible."

Granny was caught off guard as he suddenly held out his gloved hand and twisted it into a strange, inviting motion.

"Fly away... my pretties."

A silvery wind howled away from his outstretched hand, and a birth of white smoke erupted by a noisy clatter of porcelain white teacups no more significant than his fists hurled out from the cloud of smoke with the same ferocity as Granny's Mana missiles.

Granny was left speechless, watching half a dozen spinning teacups flying down upon her, gliding against the silvery wind at a troubling speed.

Without wasting any time, Granny slammed her cane down and spat forth,

{Blink}

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Her entire presence vanished before reappearing a few feet away. A noticeable azure glow had circled within her one remaining eye, filled with a deep-rooted coldness.

As for that sudden attack...

*boom-boom-boom* *Crackle*

Once the dust cloud finally settled.

'That's absurd,' she thought, staring into the gaping, deep hole with an unsightly grimace drawn against her face.

'You've spent 25% of your Mana stores. We need to end this now,' her other self groaned.

Granny knew she was right; she had allowed this farce to go on for way too long.

Begrudgingly, she held out her hand and spoke,

{Book!}

Her large black-encased grimoire appeared floating beneath her palm again. Granny bit the corner of her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. She licked the trickling carmine liquid and parted her lips into song.

"From him, the all-knowing, parted himself free of his sight, with one eye, for the sake of wisdom, he drew a cadence of stirs that night. From seas to heavens, dusk to the dirt, fire and brimstone, murder and more."

Her golden eye flashed open, and a burning amber glow circled like a serpent swam inside a pool of golden fire. Granny raised her profound eye towards the fellow held against the air. Her golden stare, writhing with chaos and ruin, widened, and all shadows suddenly seized.

An influx of information poured into her mind, and she couldn't help but draw a deep breath behind the heavyweight held against the back of her eye.

Beneath the dark scrutiny of her accursed eye, all veils and hidden meanings were stripped bare for a short time. Of course, this came at a price; her mana would drain at x5 the average rate.

"That's... that's quite absurd,"

"But it makes sense now, doesn't it?" her dark side answered

Now that she was using such a power, her eye could make sense of the strangeness surrounding this fellow. His strange clothes, to be exact, were the object of her great intrigue lay. From the top hat to the gloves he wore, and finally that discoloured long coat, the suede caked in blood and filled with holes from her attacks.

According to the innate skills of her golden eye, these things were as strong as high-grade magical artefacts.

Top Hat = S Class. Durability 200%

Beige Trench Coat = S Class. Durability 150%

Leather Gloves = S Class. Durability 100%

'Special grade? Our instincts were right! This is not someone we can allow to live.'

The sounds of soft applause echoed from above.

Granny shifted her gaze towards the skies again, her stare slightly wavering, having noticed one of the fellow's arms had broken free from the embrace of her spell.

She pinpointed those gloves he wore, somehow able to dismantle both of her Rank 4 Conjuring incantations easily.

Granny still couldn't pinpoint the nucleus of his abilities. His body's rapid healing was alarming but not unusual; many Arcanists would deploy many safeguards on their bodies. Although there was something quite morbid in how he remained unbothered by the active spell impaling him through his chest, Granny imagined those artefacts were at play here, somehow possessing a high quality of defensive armaments that would eventually cause his body's reaction to heal.

"It's frustrating, isn't it?" the figure remarked as though he could read her thoughts.

"Not knowing... fufufuh." His childish cackle was beginning to stir her ire.

But composed she must remain. Especially when dealing with an anomaly

"That's why you're torn between killing me or temporarily sealing my movements."

A wry smile crept across her lips.

"You speak as though you know me personally," she replied, slowly allowing the accursed eye's power to wane.

"Arah! That's the beauty of it all. I feel like I do, oh-ho-ho! After all, who else could understand you like I do? Dear Granny... Baba."

A deep shock flashed across her face when she heard that strange change in his voice.

"What did you just call me?"

The masked fellow quickly held up his two gloved hands in protest.

"Ahaha—I jest, I jest.

After all, isn't that title reserved only for your loved ones?

What is it your enemies call you again?

Hmm—Ah! I remember now.

Queen of the Owls,

The one-eyed witch.

No-no, my favourite has to be... the lost matriarch of the Raito Clan—"

"SILENCE !"

A baleful intent poured out, containing all her frustrations and annoyance. A dark and bluish glow covered her entire form, stirring her grey hairs to dance beneath the surge of wind conjugated beneath her feet, spreading outwardly away from her like waves.

Her golden eye burned with a gold and grey flame. She held her hand again, beneath which the countless pages against her grimoire rapidly cycled.

"I don't know who you are. But... you will regret... you will regret trespassing on my land," she cackled darkly

"kukukuh...Figuro,

GET UP!"

*Screeeeee-Awooooooo*

A storm of golden particles erupted from her grimoire. A golden formation of lights linked and drew shapes across the air and very quickly formed into a large Owl with heavy feathers regally poised against its body. The Owl ascended skyward, leaving a trail of golden dust in its wake. It opened its beak, and a loud squall screeched forth, rustling the heavy bushes of the great oak in the process.

Granny glared menacingly at the masked fellow, whose countenance remained unchanged.

"Ahh—so-so cool! Hey— Is that a summon, by the way?" His voice yelped with glee.

But disaster was closely upon him. A thick golden spear spat out of the Owl'smouth and slammed through the masked fellow, sending his body free-falling toward the earth; there was a resounding thud upon its impact against the solid ground beside the towering oak.

Webs of cracks scattered across the ground made from the impact.

Granny was forced into taking another step back, watching the dust cloud kick up before gradually dispersing away with a single swing of her grotesque staff.

She waited expectantly; an eerie quiet returned, but soon enough, the soft murmurs of laughter resurfaced again.

"That didn't kill him?" Her Dark passenger spoke, sounding slightly concerned this time around

"His body is strange. Could it be some necromancy?"

"Perhaps, or maybe there's something strange with his apparel. S-Ranked artefacts can be pesky things to deal with."

"How so?"

"There's usually a price to pay if one overuses them. So his strange body may be a result of that."

"Hmm, similar to a chaos of annihilation user. You must pay a price to use their abilities. Which means..."

"There's a limit... keep delivering fatal blows. He'll fall soon enough."

Granny nodded and waved her staff in an arching motion.

{Magic Missiles!}

Ftsch! Ftsch!

Coiling amber light beams streaked through the air, ripping through the faint dust smoke before colliding against a set of incoming projectiles made of tiny azure daggers. Unearthing away from the rubble stood the masked fellow, clutching his broad shimmering azure greatsword with dozens of smaller azure blades hovering around him.

Granny paid close eye to her incantation, the few remaining fingers desperately trying to stay held to his body. Judging by the freedom of his movement, he somehow managed to dispel the numbing effects of Garuda's Hallway.

The masked figure raised a single hand, then he pointed his index finger towards Granny, his thumb propped up, forming a makeshift gun.

"Kukuku... Boom," he cackled darkly.

The swirling blades roared towards her.

Granny's cane bounced off the ground.

{Blink!}

She vanished from her earlier spot, appearing a few feet away.

She materialised a few yards away, and her staff traced a circular motion.

"Borno { Fireball }!"

A ball of fire spat forth. It was swirling with corrosive intent before becoming a comet roaring forward.

The masked fellow waved his hand and made his fingers into the sign of a cross before wrapping his middle finger over his index finger.

He propped it just beneath his chin and exhaled a cooling breath.

{Moon Cross}

A tall, burning white cross conjured, intercepting the ball of fire before its arrival. It split the raging fire into four parts.

Granny wasn't done.

Her cold voice sounded again.

{Garuda's Hallway: Narrow!}

The earth rumbled beneath the masked one's feet, followed by a raging barrage of pale, insidious hands breaking out from the ground. He jumped backwards desperately, just about avoiding the incoming spell, but his back met something firm awaiting him in the air—a revolving grey rune.

The same kind that initiated the grey tentacles.

A cruel smile creased against Granny's face seeing this.

"Got you."

Black, slimy tentacles coiled out before latching themselves against every limb possible. Before the masked one held a chance to react, he found himself entirely bound by the magic circle.

Granny tapped her staff off the ground again; a snarling cry echoed as two fiendish-looking pale hands rose from the soil.

Granny released her staff and began forming hand seals, mirrored ideally by the two pale hands with callously long bronze fingernails.

She completed the seal, locking her hands together in a final, intricate pattern.

"Now Die."