“It seems like a rat has made its way into the castle…” The big nosed advisor spoke loudly, as if he was trying to make sure I heard it. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice your mana? Nightwalker scum!” Had I had a heart, it would have been leaping in my throat at this point.

My cover was blown instantly, and my suspicions were confirmed. This man was definitely the advisor. He was clearly magically adept from the amount of mana swirling near him, but he was able to detect and see people’s mana, just like I did. I was a monster, so with that logic, he was most likely one as well. I slowly stepped out from behind the pillar, as the advisor snickered at the sight of me and my feeble and ragged body. I tossed my dwarf disguise aside.

“How vile…” He scoffed. “A filthy witch dares to step into this hallowed chamber?! Only the Mhiir’im are allowed within his Highness’ presence! Do you not know shame?!”

“…” I looked around quietly. I was nervous, but the haughty air of the advisor also ticked me off a bit. The provocation was urging my will to resist, and after a deep breath, I spoke. “I could say the same for you, mister advisor.”

“Hah! I am a through bred Mhiir’im noble!” He chuckled confidently, stroking his bushy eyebrows.

“Witches can also detect mana…” I replied under my breath. “What are you actually? A gnome? A goblin? Some sort of doppelgänger?” I listed, watching the man carefully. His brow twitched ever so slightly at the word ‘goblin’.

“Arrogant wench… How dare you throw dirt on my heritage!” He began raising his voice, but the king interrupted him by slowly lifting his hand.

“Surely… With the risk, you have taken to come here… You must have a very…crucial reason for it. Let us hear it. I’ll assume you are…also the cause of the riot down below…” He spoke in his low, rumbly voice.

“…” I hesitated for a moment. How would I even approach a so called ‘mad king’ with the source of his madness standing right next to him, whispering lies into his ears? “… Your people are dying.” I spoke quietly.

“For a good cause, they are…” He murmured back. He didn’t even blink when I mentioned the repercussions of his decision.

“… What if I told you, it’s not a good cause.” I replied awkwardly.

I hated talking to people like this. It was clear from the moment he revealed his hand of considering the horrors happening outside a ‘good cause’, that this man was most likely not changing his mind, no matter what I’d say.

“Are you…saying…the safety of my daughter…is not a worthy CAUSE?!” The man’s voice raised with each word, until the final one was nothing short of a roar, and it left my legs shaking from the sheer immensity of it.

“You don’t understand… This isn’t how curses work!! Curses only last for as long as mana is provided! Meaning, if someone remains under a curse for long, they must have someone recasting the curse over and over again!” I argued feebly.

“I know how curses work.” He rumbled, calming down a bit. “Whoever cursed my daughter is still casting the curse from where-ever they are hiding…which is precisely why we need so much mana for the anti-curse.”

The viper-like goblin had come prepared. It was clear he was ready to have someone argue against the madness, so even if I were to blame the advisor, the king would definitely take his side. My one way to prove my case, was to somehow expose the advisor was a goblin.

But how would I do that…

I looked at the goblin as carefully as I could. He was standing pompously with his back straight, clearly confident of his position. I looked him all over, and my eyes were first drawn to his different face structure. I’m guessing he was probably disguised with make-up or something. Don’t goblins usually have green skin anyway?

With this, I began looking at his clothes carefully, and to my relief, around his collar were fingerprints matching his skin tone. Surveying around, I was starting to brew up an idea.

“Only monsters can cast curses.” I spoke. “If I am able to prove your advisor is a monster, just like me! Will you listen to me!?” I shouted at the king, but he simply sighed deep and waved at the advisor.

“We’ve heard enough out of you, witch.” The goblin took a few steps towards me from the throne.

“W-wait!! I also have this!!” I began digging through my pockets, finding the amulet we found on the goblin who had been tossed into the river. “This has some kind of meaning to you, doesn’t it!?” I pleaded at the king, who wasn’t even looking at me.

Before the royalty managed to look, a red lightning bolt shot at my chest in an instant, sending me flying back in burning pain. I didn’t even manage to make a sound as I connected the stone floor.

“AS I SAID! WE’VE HEARD ENOUGH OF YOU!!! WITCH!!!” The advisor shrieked. His face was marred with anger, so it seemed the trinket did indeed have some kind of meaning…

If only I knew what it was. The golden amulet flew a distance away from me. It wasn’t visible enough for the king to see what the fuss was all about.

“King!! The amu-“ I tried to speak, but another lightning bolt roared through the air at me, making my words about impossible to hear.

“ENOUGH! I’ll commend you for being able to take a lightning spell without dying… I must have missed your heart… But NOW YOU WILL DISAPPEAR!!” A barrage of flashes came hurdling my way.

I managed to just barely dodge behind one of the pillars. The amulet had been blown to a corner of the room, away from the king and the goblin, due to all the magic being thrown around.

Being protected from the magical barrage by the stone structure, I got a moment to think about the situation. I was having a battle to the death…with someone way more proficient in magic than I was, while my biggest power was to light dry things on fire.

How the hell was I supposed to do anything here?!

My win conditions were two-fold. Prove to the king the man before me was a goblin…or get to the princess. If I could reach her, I could use her as a shield until the monster would have to recast the curse again, which would reveal their identity as well.

Direct one-on-one combat was completely out of question.

“HIDING BEHIND THE PILLAR WILL DO YOU NO GOOD! IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME!” The advisor’s taunts echoed in the room as I tried to think.

He had fingerprints with make up on his collar… Maybe water would be enough to wash away some of the make-up, but how’d I even get water inside a castle made of stone?! As I mentioned a while ago, my water spell basically just drained all the moisture of a thing into a single point.

If the object I drew the sigil on had no moisture to begin with, obviously no water would be drawn from it.

This room was dry like a desert… Everything was made of stone or iron. I stared at my shaking hand. What was I supposed to extract water out of…!?

… No…

… Wait…

There WAS water…

For a moment, it felt as if the shrieking of the goblin quieted down. The realization dawned upon me as if another lightning bolt had just hit me.

My breathing began getting erratic as my line of sight began focusing on my fingers. Looking around, the amulet was too far, so I couldn’t bet on it now. I needed to find an opportunity to get past the advisor, and the princess was most likely my best bet.

In order to take care of the goblin, I needed water.

It seemed like the advisor didn’t know witches have no heart, which meant electricity wasn’t as powerful on me as he was thinking. My heart wouldn’t stop from a shock, as I didn’t have one to begin with. This most likely meant I could take a hit or two more from his spells, but the burns they left were still painful to a horrific degree.

I looked around, and a plan started formulating in my head. I had very limited resources, but it’s exactly because of that, I had to rely on more extreme measures.

If I tried to run, I’d die, if I tried to fight, I’d die. In the panic of the moment, I couldn’t think of anything better, so I decided to put my plan into action, no matter how awful it sounded.

As soon as I heard another lightning bolt connecting with the pillar, I dashed out to one of the indents on the wall and grabbed a very decorative, albeit dusty vase.

“STEALING THE ROYAL HEIRLOOMS ARE WE!? I DON’T THINK SO!” The man laughed triumphantly as another bolt connected with my side.

“Ghhhha-!!” I managed to at least gasp in pain this time. The burning sears all over my skin made me want to drop the vase and run away, but some maddening survival instinct within me forced my legs to move. I managed to run behind the pillar again, heaving and gasping.

A blackened stain of red began slowly forming around the spot I had gotten hit in on my clothes, but somehow, I didn’t pay it much attention. Maybe due to adrenaline, I was able to force my focus elsewhere.

I smashed the pot to the ground to the disbelief of the goblin next to the king, who now seemed slightly annoyed by my behavior too.

“Just go over there and kill her already…” The mad ruler murmured at his cowardly advisor, who seemed keener on keeping his distance.

“V-very well, your Highness…” The mega-nose agreed begrudgingly, and soon, I could hear his footsteps drawing near.

Meanwhile, I set my plan into motion by casting a fire spell through one of the pot shards. It didn’t have nearly enough mana to even heat up, so it simply turned to dust.

I grabbed a fistful of the dust, and as soon as the goblin peeked behind the pillar, I tossed the dust in his eyes.

“GHAHHHH!!! YOU BITCH!!” He roared and began shooting magic everywhere. I hid behind the pillar for the first barrage, until I rushed in and tackled him to the ground.

I didn’t have a weapon to fight him with, so this was the only thing I COULD do. My middle finger was aching from the bloody spell-seal I had carved into it earlier with one of the pot shards.

Soon the pain got much worse, as my finger began turning black and drying up as all moisture began draining from it. Gritting my teeth, I groaned as the crushing pain surged through, and a roughly gumball sized dollop of water formed at the tip of the dried-up digit. I guided it to the forehead of the goblin, who was now screeching underneath me.

“YOUR HIGHNESS! I DON’T THINK DWARVES ARE NORMALLY GREEN!!” I screamed and began furiously wiping the make-up off the advisor’s forehead, leaving a noticeably green area and revealing his skin.

Just as the advisor finally managed to open his eyes, I stepped away from him, bouncing closer to the king.

“YOU CUR!!!” The goblin shrieked, only to notice his reflection from the smooth marble-like floor. The green of his skin was more than apparent. He howled in surprise and rapidly turned away. “What did you do to me?!”

“You check him yourself.” I pointed at the king, who simply sighed and stood up.

He started walking towards me…but he didn’t seem to intend to check the goblin. Instead, he pulled a sword from his belt, and mercilessly lunged at me, slamming the weapon into my right leg.

I could feel the exact moment when the blade connected with bone. I don’t think I can describe the scream I let out at that moment with words. It was as if the entire center of balance to my body got shaken along the earthquake of pain surging through me.

WHY DID HE NOT BELIEVE ME?! WHY DIDN’T HE GIVE ME A CHANCE?! WHY?! WASN’T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE IMPORTANT TO HIM?!

All fell silent, as I stared at the man up close. An immense visage of tiredness stared back at me, as I could see my own amber pupils reflected in his glassy eyes.

The king was no longer here. It was clear to me now. He hadn’t been here for a good while. He had given up a long time ago, and was simply tired of running up this rollercoaster of hope and despair. This lunatic wasn’t going to listen to me, and he wasn’t going to believe anything I’d say unless I somehow magically awakened his cursed daughter.

“YOU MORON!!” I roared at him with all of my strength, trying my best to mimic Amelia’s battle spirit. I grabbed my leg, the blade was still lodged in. Even with my limited knowledge of medical stuff, I could tell the wound was going to be lethal in a pretty short amount of time.

Cupping blood from my leg in my shaky hand, I splashed it in the eyes of the dwarven king, causing him to roar and reel back. The advisor was acting a bit weird. He had started scratching his forehead wildly, groaning and screaming to himself. I had no idea what was going on with him, but at least he wasn’t focusing his attention on me. I ran past the king to a pathway behind his throne. All I could do was guess that this was the way to the princess’ bedchambers.

The fact, that I was most likely going to die, was the only thing running through my head as I moved. This was a terrible idea. Behind me, I could barely hear the king swinging his sword around and flinging swearwords in random directions.

I made my way into a dark corridor leading towards a single door at the very end of it.

At this point, I could no longer hear anything. It was as if the entire world had lost sound. Not even the usual static hum you hear when everything is otherwise silent was present.

It felt like the corridor kept on going forever. The decorative pillars all looked the same, so I couldn’t figure how many I passed, until I finally limped my way to the door. The blood stains on the floor would surely guide my assailants in their search for me soon enough.

My leg felt like it would give soon. What was I supposed to do even if I found the princess…? How would I use her as a shield, if I’d faint with her in my arms soon in the first place? I could hear both the king and the advisor shouting after me as I burst through the door with some of the last bits of my remaining strength.

The echoes of the voices behind me quieted down. Everything was completely silent once more. The room was dark, but a hint of blue light from the hand-mushrooms shone through a closed glass window, bathing every minute detail of the room in what looked like pure magic.

I commented on how melancholic the blue hue made everything seem in the dwarven kingdom a few times, but somehow in this little room, it made everything look mystical.

There were beautiful paintings and decorative items such as a sword that looked like it was straight out of a fantasy game on the walls around the room. There were gemstones glimmering in the faint lights lining drawers, as if whoever owned them had only left out momentarily.

And then, there she was.

The princess of the dwarven kingdom of Subtherma.

‘Fanael’.

A visage so dainty it was impossible to tell whether if she was alive or simply a doll. Her body was completely static, and not even her chest was raising up to imply she was breathing.

A horrifying thought occurred to me. What if she was dead?! I couldn’t put it past the goblin and the golden knights…

I shakily leaned in; my line of sight was spinning from side to side as I weakly held my blood-stained hand over her mouth to feel if she was breathing, and while I’m not sure if it was just my imagination, I thought I MIGHT have felt a bit of an airflow.

With a loud BANG, the door was slammed open, shining the light of the corridor into the dark chamber.

“W-what did you do to me?! You fiend…!” The advisor’s forehead was red and swollen. He was still clawing it with his hands while the king rushed towards the chamber not far behind him.

“GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!!” He roared as he arrived.

Obviously, I only had one choice at this point. I apologized to Fanael in my head before grabbing her with my blood-stained hand. Her face and upper body were already stained in my blood as I dragged her back to a chair propped up next to the window.

Everything was getting dark as I held on to her. I felt terrible for staining her like this, but I had no choice.

“Not…one step closer, or she gets it…” I coughed weakly.

“You monster…!” The advisor faked concern, but I could see his focus was more on his growing discomfort due to whatever was going on with his forehead.

“Takes one to know one…” I hissed and wrapped my hand around Fanael’s neck gently. She felt so frail, even I’d be able to crush her neck in my weakened state.

“NO! LET GO OF HER!” The king shouted helplessly. He truly was useless when it came down to Fanael, so he couldn’t approach me at all.

“Fear not your Highness… Look.” The advisor snickered. “She’s going to pass away soon. We need not do a thing.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the bed Fanael was originally in arrogantly. God, I wanted to kill him so much…

Scum like him were the source of everyone’s suffering down here… He and those golden perverts. If only I had the power…to make him pay…

But everything was…going black.

My line of sight began blurring. I wasn’t sure if I was looking at the ceiling or the floor anymore…

Until a strange, unfamiliar voice echoed from somewhere far away.

“I trusted you…” It was a slightly nasal and most adorable female voice, but there was a notable hint of anger to it. Maybe not even anger…? It was more like unbridled fury.

“GGHHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” A shrill scream of agony pierced me out of my stupor, and to my surprise, despite being unable to move due to exhaustion, my mind began regaining focus.

Before me stood a doll-like girl in a night gown. The hem of the gown was dark with blood, but it was otherwise quite clean and pretty. Her hair was long and slightly curly, and it was tied up by a single hairband at the base, making for the wildest ponytail I had ever seen. Its color was difficult to describe accurately, but to simplify it, it was like golden fire.

image [https://i.imgur.com/HygMSpg.png]

Hinted much more towards red than the golden hair of those people who caused us to end up like this, which was honestly refreshing…

A magical energy in a magnitude so immense I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming, was roiling around her. One of her little hands was extended at me, a white light raining upon me from it, and I could feel my body slowly regaining energy.

Healing magic, maybe?

“F-Fanael!? H-how can this be…?!” The king’s eyes were wide open, the focus and glimmer of life had returned to them instantly from seeing his precious daughter moving again.

“I TRUSTED YOU!!!!!” The princess roared in an almost inhumane manner, causing the window glass to shake. Looking more closely, Fanael had grabbed the fantasy-sword from the wall, and it was firmly lodged in the shoulder of the goblin.

“Y-YOUR HIGHNESS! PLEASE CALM DOWN!” The goblin groaned.

“YOU QUIET YOURSELF, FIEND!! YOU MIGHT NOT REALIZE, BUT I’VE BEEN FULLY AWARE THIS WHOLE TIME!!” The tiny embodiment of fury snarled.

“W-wha…?!” I’m sure the goblin paled up from those words, but the make-up made it about impossible to see.

“The way your FILTHY hands were laid upon me… I remember it ALL!!” The princess roared, and the king instantly grabbed the advisor’s free shoulder, and an immense bolt of rose-tinted lightning surged through the sword into the advisor, instantly burning the right-side of his body into a crisp. The odor of burnt goblin flesh was sickening.

“RRRRGHHHHHHHH!” The creature howled in pain.

The weapon Fanael had was more like a rapier than your usual broadsword. It seemed like a stinger in shape and had a flower-like design to it. The entirety of its mystical, transparent blade was coated in subtly visible mana-circuits. The way mana traversed through it was incredible. It converted the magic in the air like a laser beam, to a point where the very blade was shining with the power the princess guided into it.

The goblin was twitching on the floor, most likely in shock. The king stared uselessly as Fanael’s dress got stained in even more blood as she began violently stabbing the twitching body of the advisor.

All I could think of…was how satisfying it felt to see him suffer.

Oh, how he deserved it.

Maybe it was the witch within me speaking, or could be I was just an evil person, but I took immense pleasure in seeing the goblin draw his last breath while drowning in his own blood.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“F-Fanael, what happened…!? Why are you moving?! Get away from the witch, too! She’s evil!” The king kept whimpering.

“YOU!!” The girl stomped her way over the king. “DO YOU NOT SEE?! THE WITCH SAVED ME!! YOU STUPID VERMIN!! I KNEW THIS’D HAPPEN!! MOTHER WARNED ME OF THIS!!” The princess stabbed her sword at her father’s shoulder.

“Unnnghh…!! W-what do you…mean?!” The dwarven king groaned meekly.

“YOU LET MONSTERS INTO OUR SACRED CASTLE!! THE PROUD AND NOBLE MHIIR’IM RACE’S NAME IS FOREVER TARNISHED BY YOUR INSOLENCE!” The booming roar of the royal made the king fall to his knees. “That advisor…was a monster. He has been having his way with my UNMOVING BODY FOR THE LAST THREE MONTHS!!” The girl was livid, and judging by her words, she had every right to be angry.

“B-but they promised they’d cure you…! Those humans!”

“You are blind. You’re repeating what happened with mother all over again. I knew it. What the hell is going on in my country?! WITCH!! SPEAK!!” She turned to me, rapidly marching to me and grabbing me by the cheeks.

“The golden humans…they told him he needed to absorb mana from his people to cure you… There is a mana siphon in town, and a massive number of dwarves are dead…” I replied weakly.

The princess went even paler than she was before. She instinctively shook her head a bit before falling onto her rear, before turning to her father rapidly, rushing over to him and grabbing him by the collar.

“SHE IS LYING!!! SHE IS LYING, ISN’T SHE?! TELL ME YOU’RE NOT THAT STUPID!! TELL ME!! RIGHT NOW!! IT WAS THAT DAMN GOBLIN WHO KEPT CURSING ME, YOU STUPID MOUTHBREATHER!!” It was honestly quite incredible how such loud noise could come out of someone so small.

“I… I thought…it’d cure you!” The king whimpered in tears now. The lion from before was gone, and nothing but a whimpering little kitten was left in the hands of the princess.

The princess collapsed while still holding on to her father’s collar. She was totally silent, as if everything she had believed in had just been crushed right before her eyes.

“Princess… The danger isn’t over yet.” I gasped and slowly crawled over to her. “There are three humans clad in gold…they are the masterminds behind this.” I spoke in a wheeze.

The eyes of the little creature lit up, and she looked at me with fury so fiery I could feel the heat emanating from her aura. “Lead the way.”

Fanael dressed up in a deep red dress, reminding me a bit of what flamenco dancers usually wore. It had golden plating here and there, but not in a quantity that’d provide any real protection, so I couldn’t quite figure out what their function was. The king was left staring at a wall, as the weight of his deeds seemed to have finally dawned upon him.

I limped out of the bed chamber, with Fanael walking ahead briskly. It was a bit challenging to keep up with her when considering the condition of my leg. The bleeding had stopped, but so had all feeling from it. I’m sure the leg was going to be about useless soon enough, but I was given no luxury of concern over it though, as a horrid echo sent chills down my spine.

“Must we do all the heavy lifting around here? I am starting to feel the choralium in here isn’t quite worth the effort…” It was as if the voice rang all over the room. I had to take a step back as I realized the magnitude of the danger we were in now. It was that accursed golden-man, Godwyn.

From within the darkness of the corridor, the clanging of armored feet against the floor grew ever nearer. A glimmer of metal shone through, as the first light caught the polished, shining plating of the figure appearing from the shadows.

I felt like vomiting on the spot, as Godwyn was dragging a body alongside him…

Amelia’s limp frame left a bloody trail on the smooth stone floor as she was pulled along by her hair by the tall man. He had a stone-cold expression across his face, as if he was looking at dirt when he arrived in the throne room.

image [https://i.imgur.com/UzOlB7p.png]

“The gremlin princess has awakened, I see. I hope your dreams were satisfactory…” Godwyn’s voice had an air of spite to it. I suppose seeing Fanael awake was annoying enough to tick him off, but he didn’t really fly into a blind fury or anything. He had this eerie calmness to himself, to the point where I started to wish he was screaming instead.

He tossed Amelia to the side, somewhat near the golden trinket I lost during the battle with the goblin.

“Mmh… I’m starting to see what must have happened here…” He chuckled and nodded at one of his servants, who now appeared from the shadows as well, to go pick up the trinket. “You ladies must have stolen this from someone important… I did hear rumors about highway robberies committed by humans.” He smiled and tossed the amulet to Fanael, who caught it with ease.

“What’s thi-“ Fanael was unable to finish her words, something about the amulet seemed very shocking to her. “No…”

“While your Highness’ awakening is certainly unfortunate, our plans will remain as they are. Your heretical lot will all find light within the loving bosom of the Goddess.” Godwyn walked into the blue light shining through the windows, causing halcyon reflections to dance across the walls due to his armor.

“You monster…!” Fanael gripped the amulet fiercely.

“Staying asleep and quiet suited you better. Did the bed not match your tastes? The goblin surely took good care of you, did he not?” The man clearly knew exactly what had happened to Fanael.

“I will gut you… And bathe in your blood.” Fanael growled under her breath.

“How barbaric… I did, however, not expect anything less of your kind.” Without a warning, the man drew his blade and, in and instant, swung it around.

I could only see it for a moment, but a shining wave of mana flew at Fanael, who could only barely shield herself with her sword, sending the tiny princess flying against a wall behind the throne.

Her reflexes were insane, and she landed on her feet on the wall.

“Unseen weapon?!” Fanael gasped…but what did she mean by ‘unseen’? She couldn’t see the wave of light Godwyn sent at her?!

“Those loved by the gilt light are blessed in more ways than one…” Godwyn spread his arms, causing the golden reflections in the room to shift. “Your kind, who live in the darkness of the earth, would never understand its glory.”

“Goddess of light, my ass!!” I growled now too. “You lunatics worship those dark hand stones! There ain’t a speck of light touching that!” I shouted at him, and instantly, Godwyn’s expression grew cold.

“For there to be light…there must be darkness.” He spoke softly, “A sacrifice of the light of heretics is a necessary cost for her resurrection. You, too, will find the warmth of her light in death, Nightwalker.” And with that, he swung his blade in a wide arch at me, the wave shot through and cut into the pillars in the room. I slid down and ducked underneath it, which did expose me for a follow-up attack…but to my surprise, it didn’t come.

“Wha…!?” Fanael stared at me in surprise, and so did the golden knights.

“How do you see…the light of the unseen weapon!?” Godwyn growled under his breath. “It is a sacred glow only the chosen may bask in…!”

Before I managed to reply, the princess slapped her hands together and rushed to me, pulling me behind the throne hastily. “Do not tell them! This is our trump card!” She hissed and jumped out from behind the chair. “GUIDE ME!” She roared and, without a warning, dashed at Godwyn.

“I see we must exert some additional effort here!” He shouted and swung his blade again.

“TO YOUR LEFT!!” I instructed Fanael, who followed my guidance flawlessly. Her reflexes were truly insane, and she reacted almost faster than my words finished.

Instantly, her blade was lodged in Godwyn’s forehead. It pierced right through and came out the back. As if that weren’t enough, the furious princess set a magical lightning bolt crashing through her blade, which caused the head to burn pitch black.

The man fell over onto his back with a clatter of gold…and the golden reflections on the walls ceased.

Fanael jumped off his corpse and spit on the body. Just as I was about to jump out from behind my cover, I was caught off guard by something.

From Godwyn’s body, a small golden light slowly rose…and rapidly flew into one of the armored people. Fanael didn’t seem to notice, so she didn’t pay any attention to the knights, as the one who that strange glow went inside swung his sword at her.

“FANAEL!!! LOOK OUT!! BLOCK!!” I screamed, but it was too late. The invisible blade of mana swung through and cut into the uncovered backside of Fanael’s outfit. As soon as the light blade hit her though, a small flash that looked a little bit like a barrier appeared. She was sent flying into one of the pillars next to me. To my horror, the surprise of the attack made her unable to react to the trajectory she was moving in on time, and she hit her head in a really severe-looking manner. She hadn’t been cut…but the decorative metallic pieces on her armor were now somewhat worn out. Was it some kind of protective magic? Either way…she had seemingly been hit unconscious by the impact.

The golden knight chuckled, and the voice coming from inside the helmet was most distinct.

“What a farce…” Godwyn’s voice echoed in the room once more, as one of the knights took off their helmet, revealing another Godwyn underneath.

“W-wha…?” I stared in disbelief.

“A being of darkness cannot harm those blessed by the halcyon light” The man nodded at the unconscious princess. “While your mysterious ability to detect the unseen weapon caught me by surprise, your fortunate little sneak attacks will not succeed again.” He walked to the center of the room again, the golden reflections spread on the walls once more.

“What…are you?!” I managed to gasp out, as the king rushed out from behind me with his blade in tow.

“I am Godwyn fil Halowa, a mere servant to the Kingdom of Gold. I am what the masses call…a hero.” He smiled gently, as the king was blown away by another strike from his weapon. The other knight unsheathed their weapon as well, beginning to cut at the king relentlessly, until the man was rendered fully unconscious, if not dead.

“You’re…immortal?!” The words barely got out of my mouth.

“Indeed I am.” He turned to look at me, causing the flickers of gold to shift again. “However many times you manage to cut me down matters not. A hero will always remain victorious in the end… Only then, can hope truly exist in this desolate world.”

What the fuck…?! A cheat ability?! Are you kidding me?! What is this?! Am I being duped here!? Did this person also reincarnate like me? Was he gifted this skill upon rebirth by this…Goddess he kept talking about? Why was I reborn as a feeble skinny witch when this guy is essentially undefeatable?!

“Are you…from another world…?” I blurted out without thinking.

The man seemed a bit curious and tilted his head. “I’m not quite sure if I understand your question.”

“N-never mind…” I guess he was just born a cheater.

“As much as I’d love to discuss the reasoning behind your ability to see the light, time is of the essence. We still need to put significant effort into excavating all the choralium resources this dark nest hides.” He sighed. “So, unfortunately, I must put an end to you here.” The man began walking towards Fanael and I from the other end of the room. “Letting a monster, who can see the light, live would be a direct affront to everything we believe in” He then glanced at the unconscious princess. “… I suppose I should take care of things in order, however…” And with that, he swung his sword at the dwarven girl, sending another wave of light cutting its way through the air at her.

I don’t know why, but for some reason I lunged at the tiny creature. I laid my body in the way of the magical blade, causing the searing radiance to slice into my back.

“Nnnnnghhhh….” I bit onto my lip until it began bleeding.

Godwyn sighed and shook his head. “Why must you make my duty so difficult?” He then walked over to my bleeding body, as I slowly sat up to face him, my back pressed against Fanael to cover her.

Godwyn stepped in front of me, his shadow draped over me like a piece of cloth. His presence felt oppressive. How was I supposed to fight against a damn hero with immortality and long-range magic attacks?! Why is this stupid world so incredibly unfair?! All that effort I put into survival with Amelia… It was all so…incredibly pointless…

I slumped against Fanael more, gazing at the light shining through the window …only to be met by the ugly glowing hand-mushrooms. What a miserable place this was… This entire trashy world… Everything was out to kill me… Everything wanted to hurt me.

I had closed off my heart at the end of my previous life…but somehow here it hurt a lot more to do so. I felt like letting things stay as they were would be a mistake. Letting it all end like this was a terrible…terrible thing.

But what was I meant to do…?! I was bleeding to death for the second time today. I had a powerful, but unconscious dwarf behind myself, and my best and only friend was dead in the same room.

I…really did the ‘Yverna’-name dirty. I was supposed to be a fierce and cunning monster…

A being even the heroes feared…

And yet, here I was getting beaten up like a rat by the first one I faced.

I had nothing left, so I figured I could at least annoy him a bit before dying…

I began pressing the dried-up finger I lost with the water spell against the ground. There was no feeling as it cracked silently, so I slid it under the weight of my good thigh and ripped it off.

“I suppose witches must not read enough books to know that heroes never lose.” Godwyn spoke softly as he squatted down before me, clearly not thinking much of me.

“It’s often the best books…where the villain wins.” I chuckled back at him weakly. “People like you…who think they’re heroes…can often only think so because you never challenged yourself with anything to begin with…” I taunted him in response. “Everything must have been given to you on a golden platter…oh…what a soldier of justice you are, indeed…!”

“What would a dried-up woman like you know about challenge…?” He grabbed me by the chin, lifting it up a bit. “Ohoo… What a beautiful eye-color you have… Almost like gold…but not quite.” Godwyn’s voice still had its usual soft and calm demeanor to it. “I wonder if it’s thanks to these eyes, you’re able to see the light…”

“I don’t know if that’s the case…” I coughed a bit as he let go of my chin.

“Is that so?”

“A friend once told me… My eyes are orange…because the fires of hell burn behind them!” I raised my voice, and with that, finished casting my magic. While Godwyn was reveling in his victory, I managed to carve the sigil of fire on my numb, bleeding leg using the finger I broke off as a makeshift pencil.

The mana-lights began to gather, and suddenly a violent blaze burst out from my thigh right at Godwyn’s face. The fact that he knelt before me made it effortless to make sure he got a good helping of hellfire into that arrogant mouth of his.

“Hahaha…” I cackled to myself as the man fell on his back, his head smoking. Surely, I got his stupid golden hair if nothing else. The flare was most likely not enough to kill him with his full plate…but at least I got a semblance of revenge.

While the man was still coughing and groaning in pain, I heard a familiar voice from behind myself. “Good one.”

Fanael dashed from behind me. I don’t know when she recovered, but she was quickly upon the golden knight again. Godwyn was still squirming on the floor from the blast of my spell, and he had no time to react to the princess rushing at him.

The man was rapidly stabbed to death in the most unceremonious manner.

“Hahahahahahahah….!!” I laughed on my back like a lunatic, giggling at the sight of the pompous knight dying again in such a lame manner.

The golden light rose from the man slowly yet again, and something about seeing it made me feel a strange sensation in my stomach. It felt almost like there was a pressure…or a giant cavity where my innards were, until the light vanished within the remaining third knight.

“You truly know how to get on people’s nerves, don’t you?” The final knight spoke as he took off his helmet, and as expected, Godwyn was there once more.

“I’ve been told that before.” I laughed weakly, but then wincing in pain due to my aching burnt leg.

“I can imagine.” The man spoke as he effortlessly deflected one of Fanael’s lunging slashes. The princess seemed quite surprised at the sudden prowess from the golden man.

Without much a word, the man began fighting with Fanael, and to my surprise, the princess was getting pushed back despite the man not even using the invisible magic blades anymore. It was as if Godwyn’s reflexes had gone through the roof, and he was able to react to everything the smaller swordswoman was doing.

“W-what is this?!” Fanael groaned as she was sent back by the man’s blade. “Your movements are completely different from before! What did you do?!”

“I simply got a better body.” He replied bluntly and swung at the tiny princess, forcing her on the defensive completely. The man was agile and oppressive with his movements, so there seemed to be barely any opportunity for retaliation, until finally, Fanael’s sword was deflected off her hand.

The man stood there, scoffing a bit as he looked down upon the panting girl. The golden reflections shone upon the room once more. I tried to crawl towards Fanael to help…but what could I realistically do anyway?

“This time I won’t be careless.” Godwyn spoke coldly. “I certainly hope you didn’t think you were close to victory…” The reflections on the walls shifted once more. “Even if you were to kill this body here, I’d simply return with an army soon after…”

“You fiend…” Fanael swore in the midst of panting.

“The only fiend here is that one right there.” He pointed at me. “Your existence alone is an act of heresy, so you will meet a fitting end… similar to that woman from before…!” Godwyn must have been referring to Amelia. “What a farce. To see a human woman convincing several dwarves to fight by her side…!” He laughed sarcastically. “She even managed to convince some umbral knights! I can only wonder what she told them to have them side with her.”

At that moment, I looked over to where Amelia’s body rested…only that…it wasn’t there? I began looking all over, but I couldn’t find her anywhere… Until… I saw something strange.

There was something like white smoke puffing behind one of the pillars.

Or maybe more like the kind of mist your breath makes during an icy day?

Godwyn didn’t seem to notice the absence of Amelia’s body yet, and this filled me with an immense urge to stall a bit with him. Even if it was all pointless in the end.

“Godwyn!” I shouted from the pillar I was sitting at. “What’s that golden flicker that escapes your body whenever you die?” I spoke as loudly as I could, hoping his attention would be drawn to me.

He remained with Fanael, but his head was turned my way. “You…” All of a sudden his expression changed completely. “What exactly are you?” It was a mixture of anger and maybe…concern? Was he nervous over something? Was the golden light somehow relevant? Either way, I had never seen him make a face like this before.

“I don’t know… Perhaps you should look into my eyes more carefully this time to find out?” I teased with a weak chuckle.

“No… Really. WHAT ARE YOU!?” He roared his command, causing the entire room to shake.

“…!!” I was too stunned by the loudness to even answer.

“I was certain you’re merely a witch… But you truly can see the light!!” He growled, seeming to almost want to lunge at me, but he stayed still, most likely because I was too weak to pose a threat. He was very agitated all of a sudden, and his calm demeanor was completely gone.

“Is it your weak spot?” I questioned; he didn’t really react to it. I figured I should shoot various options at him… I focused my eyes on his face carefully, watching every minute movement on it. “Is it the source of your powers? The light of the Goddess? Maybe it’s like a ghost that possesses bodies? Or possibly your soul? Some kind of life essence other than a soul?” I kept shooting, but it was clear what it was already from his reactions.

Silence fell into the room, but the man’s eyes flickered to the left ever so slightly when I said the word ‘soul’. It was almost as if a reflexive fight or flight response appeared for just a microsecond. He looked like he tried to look at Fanael, as if afraid of her jumping at him. In that tiny moment, Godwyn felt exposed, which caused him to get more afraid of the immediate threat next to him for just a second.

“Soul…huh?” I contemplated aloud, and the look on the man’s face was quite horrid.

It was like I had discovered his greatest secret. Fear, anger, defiance, and anxiety mixed into a strange concoction of facial muscle spasming.

He just stared at me wide-eyed, as if he had seen the most disgusting thing in all existence right there, and instantly, he began rushing at me, entirely ignoring Fanael.

It seemed like my taunt worked.

As his footsteps echoed in the hall, it felt like time slowed down, and from behind the pillar I noticed that strange white smoke at dashed Amelia. There was an icy mist flowing from underneath her shirt, and that sigil burnt into her skin by that dream-monster was shining white.

Godwyn gasped and turned around to look at the surprise assault.

Fanael used the opportunity to somehow pull her sword back into her hand with what I could only assume was magic, and the two rushed at both his front and behind at the same time, making retaliation close to impossible.

“YOU HERETICS!!!” He screamed and began swinging his blade, only for Amelia’s voice to pierce the roar.

“THE HERETIC IN HERE, IS YOU!!!”

As he was about to swing at Amelia, Fanael’s blade pierced through his lower abdomen, only to be followed by Amelia cutting the arm he was holding his sword with. The limb flew in a bloody arc through the golden lights of the room and clanged onto the floor heavily.

Godwyn was left staring at it in stunned silence for only a second, when suddenly, with some immense bestial strength, he swung around and sent Fanael and Amelia back, only to grab his sword with his remaining hand.

“You will all pay for this!! EVEN IF I HAVE TO EXPEND ALL I HAVE! I WILL BURN YOU LOT TO DEATH IN THE RADIANCE OF PURGATORY!”

The crazed hero began amassing mana at his sword.

“I WILL ALWAYS BE REBORN! BUT WHAT OF YOU LOT?! WHAT WILL YOU DO ONCE THE CEILING COMES CRASHING DOWN!?” He began preparing for a wide swing, most likely in an attempt to cut through all the supporting pillars of the hall.

“IT’S COMING RIGHT AT YOU!! DUCK DOWN AMELIA!!” I screamed at my friend, who simply stood there. Unmoving, unflinching.

Even Fanael stared in horror watching Amelia simply standing there, but the swing of Godwyn somehow went low, and the magical energy only managed to leave a rather intimidating burrow on the floor next to him.

“W-wha…?” The man gasped a few times in place, only to realize his remaining hand was hanging limply by his side.

“The very concept of a man being immortal stands against everything life is meant for.” Amelia began speaking. “You are an insult to the deities and existence as it is. Godwyn fil Halowa.”

“Wha… What did you do to me…?! A paladin with no blessing…what could you possibly do?!” His voice was tired, but the anger and hatred in it was still just as present as always.

“I have misunderstood the intentions of someone important.” My paladin companion spoke, and oh, how her words made my heart flutter.

The fact that she was alive was enough, but standing before this man of horror, like a true hero. The sight of her was truly blinding. I still had no idea what this strange mist flowing from her body was, for I couldn’t feel any mana in it.

“What…?!” Godwyn attempted to reach his sword, but his body didn’t yield.

“Your Highness, can you take off one of his gloves? I promise he’s harmless at this point.” Amelia spoke in a surprisingly calm voice, and I stared in wonder as Fanael gulped and began approaching Godwyn.

Somehow the man of gold was completely unable to move now, as if he had been petrified. I didn’t understand what was going on at all.

Maybe Amelia had managed to poison her weapon somehow? That didn’t explain the mist, though…

“STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU FREAK!” Godwyn protested in a roaring voice, as Fanael grabbed one of his gloves and pulled it off.

“H…huh…!?” The princess stepped back and fell on her rear from the surprise.

Godwyn’s hand was pitch black. The skin looked like it was cracking, and the flesh was a bit swollen.

“W-what is this…?” Godwyn’s voice shook as he stared at his limp hand. Looking at him, it seemed like his neck was also starting to grow black little by little.

“Is that…” I gulped dryly.

A memory flashed through my head. Having spent most of my life in a hospital caused me to see numerous different kinds of cases from time to time. Occasionally, when I felt a bit better, I’d wander the hospital, checking around simply to not let my mind get lost in my depression.

There was this one guy whose leg looked similar to how Godwyn’s hand was. I think it was called ‘necrosis’. Something about cells digesting themselves to death or something? I’m not completely straight on the details…

But basically, to simplify it, whatever tissue is covered by it, is about as good as gone.

“Necrosis.” Amelia stole the words straight out of my mouth.

“What…!?” Godwyn managed to just barely creak his neck to look at the female knight.

“Necrosis doesn’t grow this fast!! What did you do?!” The golden knight staggered and soon fell onto his back.

“I simply was blessed…” Amelia spoke softly, lifting her hand to the dark sigil glowing through her clothes. “A paladin is nothing without their patron deity after all…” She smiled a bit and gave me a small wink.

I could feel warmth booming inside me. Amelia had found a new deity to worship?!

“What demon did you sell your soul to…?!” The man on the floor coughed weakly as the darkness covering his body grew in volume.

“She disliked being called a Goddess… But to me, her hallowed nature was more than clear… Not that I blame you for misjudging her due to your current state.” Amelia walked over to me and hoisted me up with ease. “During the time I spent unconscious due to your assault, I was able to see her true form at last. For that, I owe you my appreciation, Godwyn.”

“You accursed bunch…” The man on the floor coughed. “To think that I’d be put in this state by a vermin princess… a paladin serving a heretical Goddess… and…what the hell ever she is…” The man looked at me. The golden reflections from his armor shimmered on the ceiling of the room still. “I won’t forget this…” He started closing his eyes.

“You will.” Amelia carried me over to the man and gently laid me to rest atop his chest.

“Whue…?” I stared wide-eyed at the surprise placement.

“W-what in the world do you think you’re doing!?” Even Godwyn seemed to be a bit surprised by this development.

“My apologies, Yverna.” Amelia smiled at me gently as she let me rest against Godwyn’s armored chest. “I was simply told to place you like this. Supposedly, you’ll know what to do from here.”

“H-huhhh…?” All I could do was stare at my paladin companion in disbelief. What the hell was she on about?!

I will know what to do from here?! What does that even mean? Who told her to put me here? Her Goddess? What exactly was I supposed to know?!

All this thinking made my stomach ache with hunger. I grasped onto it with my remaining hand and groaned…

…

Hunger…

I realized suddenly, that when I noticed that golden light flickering from Godwyn’s body to the next, the feeling around my abdomen was most likely hunger.

I grew hungry from seeing what I could only assume was Godwyn’s soul…

“Y-you mean to say…” I began instinctively reaching for the golden man’s face. My dry skinny fingers grasped onto his still warm flesh clumsily, as I dragged myself to stare at his face. “The thing about witches eating souls…wasn’t just nonsense…?”

At first, the man didn’t react at all, until something finally clicked in his mind. A horrifying scream exited his throat, only for it to be muffled by my blood-soaked and torn up hand being forcibly stuffed into his mouth.

I recalled his soul exiting through his mouth previously…somehow it felt right…

I could feel what felt almost like warm hairs inside his throat. Long thin threads tickled the tips of my remaining fingers, until I managed to snag onto one.

“HHNNNNHHOOOOGHHHHH!” The man screamed in horror, tears running down his cheeks, as I began pulling the golden light out of his mouth. A glowing orb of warmth exited his body and I gingerly held it in my hand, staring at it.

The light the soul was emitting was mesmerizing. It was so warm…so full of life. Some of those strange strings of light were hanging out of Godwyn’s mouth as I looked at him straight in the eyes, gauging his reaction.

Absolute terror.

What a satisfying expression it was to see…

After all he had put us through, seeing tears streaking down his cheeks, and that handsome face distorted by despair…

It was…

Delightful.

My stomach growled with immense hunger, as I began pulling the blob closer to my mouth.

Godwyn kept shaking his head, but his mouth made no sound. A single strand of gold was still connecting his person and the glowing sphere I was grasping onto.

I bit into the soul mercilessly, ripping through the strand, causing the body of our tormentor to flop back limply. His eyes began slowly staring into nothing, as I ravenously ripped into the final light of his life.

The soul was warm and squishy, a bit as if there were a skin on top. I crunched into it with all the might of my jaw, piercing the surface, and from within a black fluid began to drip along my chin. It was…the most delicious thing I had ever eaten.

The flavor was a bit bittersweet and completely indescribable. I munched and slurped like a beast, sucking out every drop of that delectable black sludge.

Suddenly, a strange feeling overcame my body, and an immense warmth flowed through my very being. I felt as if I fell into an endless bed of absolute comfort, so I closed my eyes…

I began seeing a vision. Everything was blurry, so I couldn’t make out any of the details, but I think I was sitting at the end of a long table.

To my left and right there were people with golden hair, raising glasses, most likely in celebration of something.

Was I seeing Godwyn’s memories? What was this…?

The vision suddenly disappeared as quickly as it started, and I opened my eyes back in the throne room.

For what felt like the blink of an eye, I’m almost certain I could feel a single heartbeat… but the familiar feeling disappeared as soon as it came. The afterglow of the immense warmth and satisfaction of eating the golden man’s soul began gradually subsiding afterwards.

My reality rapidly replaced the pleasant feelings.

I could feel the warmth of my blood trailing down my back.

I could feel the burnt skin from the lightning the goblin shot at me…

I could feel the pain of my fully ruined leg and destroyed finger…

Dizziness followed suite rapidly, and I felt like vomiting.

Somehow, as soon as I realized this… Everything started going dark.

The faint echoes of Amelia shouting rang in my ears as I finally blacked out.