“Carol! Are you back yet? I found something amazing!” Back at the hotel, I knocked on the door to Carol’s room.
“Hmm…” She quickly opened her door and greeted me with a doubtful expression. “Come in.” She stepped to the side and gestured. “You can tell me more inside.”
“Ehh… Cool room you got here.” I entered the room, and Carol closed the door behind us. “Looks just like mine!”
“Of course it does! We’re at a hotel. What did you expect?” It was just a little joke, Carol. Don’t get mad. “Stop messing around and just get to the point. What did you find?” Carol leaned against a wall while crossing her arms.
“You’re not gonna believe this… I found a map!”
“A map? From the hideout? That might be good… Lay it out. Let me take a look.” Carol sat down at the dining table, and I sat across from her.
“I infiltrated their hideout and found a map in there, but I don’t have it with me…”
“What? Why would you leave the map behind? Are you finally going crazy?” What do you mean ‘finally’?
“That’s not it. I didn’t need to take the map. I heard someone entering the room when I was looking at it, so I just took a photo and got out. It was really close, you know? I was scared I was gonna get found and cause the demons to go crazy.” I waved my phone and let out an awkward laugh.
“You’re unbelievable… You didn’t tell me you were going to sneak in… Not like it was hard to see coming.” Carol scoffed, then moved her chair closer to me. I put the phone down on the table so we could both look at the map.
“It looks like a map of the capital, but I don’t really get what all the scribbles mean. This here is probably the castle, then there’s the wide street…” My interpretation that the map was of the capital should be right. At least Carol nodded in agreement. “The most important thing is probably these three circles then. This one is where their hideout is, so the mansion has gotta be one of the other two, right?”
“Yeah… I figured it out.” Carol said with a nonchalant expression. “This one’s the mansion, and this one is another bait hideout.”
“Wait, what?! How do you know that?” There was nothing on the map that would allow her to come to that conclusion. How can she be so sure?
“You see this other bait hideout?” She pointed. “I went there. I just happened to find it when we split up. I wasn’t sure what it was at the time, and I was gonna tell you, but I didn’t find the right opportunity.”
“You found it that easily? I had to spend days looking for demons to trail, and you found one on your first try? Seriously?!” A smug smile grew on Carol’s face.
“I told you not to underestimate my skills, didn’t I? You may have surpassed me in brute strength, but you still have a lot to learn, you know?”
“Wow…” My reaction fueled Carol even more. “That’s impressive!” She’s so cute. I’m glad I brought her along! “I couldn’t have done it without you. I guess it’s time then.” I put my phone away and got up.
“You’re not going there right away, are you? It’s getting dark.”
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“I have to… I can’t leave Ririna there alone any longer. They’re gonna pay for everything they’ve done…” I can’t hesitate when the life of someone I care about is at risk!
“…” Carol looked up at me without saying a word.
“I- I still don’t know what’s the correct thing to do. I don’t want to cause problems for you, Ririna, Bea, or anyone. I don’t want the demons killing random people, but…” It’s a very simple truth for me. “Ririna’s life is more important.” I think I’d be just as upset if Carol, Flanne, or Bea died. I may end up making life harder for them, but that’s not the same thing as someone dying. There’s no doubt in mind… “Whatever happens, happens, I guess… Did you find a way to prevent their retaliation? I told you before I acted, so… Can I count on you?” I focused my attention on saving Ririna so much that I’ve neglected everything else. I don’t regret it, and I’m ready to accept the consequences. But if there’s a chance of reaching the perfect ending, it’s in her hands.
“…” Carol remained quiet, but this time she looked away in thought. “Can you wait like half an hour?”
“What?” Does she have something set up? Or is that the time she needs to finish preparing? I’d really love to know what her plan is…
“When you get to the mansion, wait for a while. I’ll give you a signal for when you can attack.”
“A signal? What kind of signal?”
“Oh, don’t worry…” Carol grinned. “You’ll know when you see it.”
----------------------------------------
Where am I…? In the middle of a dimly lit room, a girl hazily wakes up. The light from the sunset can barely be seen from a window up high on the tall wall.
“Do we really need to set up candles? Why do we need to do a primitive ritual like this?” Around her, she heard multiple sets of footsteps and the sound of people working.
“Isn’t it kinda fun, though? It’s just like our ancestors did it back in the day. A ritual like this is something you’d normally only ever see in a museum.” A feminine voice replied to the guy’s complaints.
“Less talking, more working, you two. If I see any mistakes, you can say goodbye to your heads.”
“Armand-sama, this is too much! Why do we have to use such a primitive ritual? We could use our machines if we just took her back to our land.” The man said with an immature tone.
“And risk the alchemist dying during the trip? We only have one chance to extract her skill. As long as you do your job properly, we won’t have any issues!”
“Al- alchemist…? What…?” The hazy feeling subsided, and the girl’s thoughts leaked out. She slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she noticed was that all the people around her had horns. “!?”
“Oh? You’re awake again? That’s too bad. You’re gonna wish you weren’t.” There was man in the middle of the ritual circle. He was next to the girl on the altar, so he noticed as soon as she opened her eyes.
“Y- you’re the merchant from before… I remember your face…” This is the merchant who asked me for the magical dirt that attracted that horde of monsters… “Yo- you’re a demon?!” Flanne told me he was working with the demons, not that he was one as well…
“And I remember your face too. Can’t believe the girl the Alchemists’ Guild decided to give that job to would be the one we needed. Ahahahaha! It’s a small world, isn’t it?” Armand laughed arrogantly in Ririna’s face. She wanted to get out of there, but her body was weakened, and she lacked the strength to move.
“What are you trying to do? Why are you doing all this?” Ever since she returned to the Alchemists’ Guild, she had spent more time unconscious than awake. While she didn’t know exactly what was going to happen to her, her body had more or less accepted its fate.
“You have a skill we really want, so we’re gonna extract it from you. While we’re here, we may as well try to raze this country’s capital to the ground.” The demon was confident yet indifferent, like massacring an entire city was no different from eating a meal. “You’re scared, huh? Ahahahhaha! You’re right to be scared. Without your little hero, humans stand no chance against us. But none of this is any concern to you anymore. Your old life is over, and you’re going to die when the ritual’s over. Blame fate for the skills given to you.”
“You’re never going to succeed…” Ririna had no evidence for saying that. She was just trying to resist in the only way she could.
“Right, right… And who’s gonna stop us? A human? Not your hero, that’s for sure. Still a long time until your hero gets the strength necessary to oppose us.” Armand and the other demons laughed. “There’s no way our plan’s gonna fail. Don’t make me laugh.”
Ririna was shivering, but she didn’t give up. “But the horde didn’t work. You wanted to wear out the army by having them fight the horde of monsters, didn’t you? Too bad they got wiped before the soldiers even got to them.”
“You sure are an impertinent one, aren’t you? If it wasn’t for the ritual, I would have killed you already!” Her comment struck a nerve, and Armand tried to intimidate her. “That reminds me… You were there when the horde was wiped, weren’t you? Just what kind of people did you find to help you? How does a mere alchemist like you have connections with high-ranking adventurer parties?”
“Parties? Heh…” Ririna’s small laugh was deeply unsettling for Armand. “You’re wrong. It wasn’t a party… It was a single girl.” Armand words got caught in his throat. “She’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. No matter how strong and how many of you there are, you don’t stand a chance against her.”
“There’s no way that’s true… Stop bluffing!”
“Have you ever seen it? Have you ever seen a person shine while they’re covered in blood? I saw it… The red blood on her blonde hair, shining brightly and thirsting for more…”
“S- sir, isn’t that the Violence Witch? There are rumors saying that she has revived! She’s the one who killed the horde!”
“Don’t be stupid!” Armand reprimanded his subordinate. “The Violence Witch is just a legend! Besides, the Violence Witch was an irrational creature incapable of directing her strength at any specific target. It’s nothing we have to concern ourselves with!”
Ririna giggled again, spreading more panic. “The same thing that happened to the monsters is gonna happen to you. The new Violence Witch is nothing like the one from the legend…” Ririna paused, and the silence paralyzed everyone in the room. “And she’s coming for you.”