The witch began the battle with overwhelming firepower, forcing the magical energy she had accumulated to be depleted.
After that, Sylvia deployed a sanctuary to suppress the witch’s ability to recover her magical energy.
Finally, they would finish the witch off with magic once again.
That was the strategy humans had devised to defeat the Witch of Gluttony.
At a glance, it might seem like a simple plan, but it was anything but.
This was a crucial battle upon which humanity’s fate rested—there were no second chances, so how could they decide on a plan so easily?
Therefore, humanity decided to prepare the best possible strategy they could.
In light of this, they created a combat prediction simulation based on the data obtained from their previous battle with the Witch of Gluttony.
They ran every conceivable method hundreds and thousands of times through it, and humanity selected the method that had the highest success rate.
That was the current operation.
For the record, there were no dissenting opinions.
“…Although it’s only a simulation, it’s the only method that has never lost even once.”
So as long as everything went according to the operation and expectations, victory was assured.
Martina was confident.
And right now, the situation was unfolding as planned.
The magic circle beneath the witch was glowing, preparing to summon meteors once again.
Above her head, the sanctuary was scattering brilliant starlight, suppressing the witch’s abilities.
Martina, the Commander, pointed to the frontline and shouted towards her allies.
“Things are going well according to the plan! If we keep this up, we can win!”
““Woooah!””
The declaration of victory from the Commander ignited the spirits of the heroes who sensed the situation was going favorably, prompting them to cheer loudly in response.
At that moment, the witch let out a huge roar in response to the heroes’ cries.
However, the heroes did not flinch at her terrifying roar.
Rather, some mocked the witch, who had once been an object of fear, as she appeared cornered like a growling beast.
Standing on the magic circle glowing beneath her, the witch seemed to realize it was dangerous.
With a roar, she began to move her body.
But the heroes were not the type to just watch idly.
“Don’t overdo it! Just keep her from moving! As long as we can bind her feet to the magic circle, victory is ours!”
At Martina’s command, the heroes surged forward.
The mages, focused on reusing their meteors, were unable to take action, but there was still plenty of military strength left, excluding them.
Those among them capable of long-range attacks unleashed their assaults one after another.
Kababooooom—!!
Flames of the Holy Sword.
Fire from the witch.
A multitude of attacks unleashed by many heroes poured down upon the witch, creating a resounding explosion.
That alone showcased considerable firepower.
However,
The witch did not stop.
Withstanding such attacks, the Witch of Gluttony slowly advanced toward the city.
It was as if she understood that as long as she could escape the magic circle, there would be no attacks strong enough to take her down.
That was undoubtedly a correct assessment from the witch’s perspective, but—
“…Who gave you the permission to move—”
Suddenly, the witch’s movements came to an abrupt halt.
In the blink of an eye, ice blocks emerged, binding her legs to the ground.
“—You’re trying to move from there?”
The one who had frozen the witch’s limbs, halting her movements, was Lucas Eloise, the Deputy Commander of Astrape 3rd Squad and Marin’s father.
He had previously suffered grave injuries while defending against the self-proclaimed Witch of Arrogance, Freede, and had just recently recovered from being unconscious.
Now, he held an unyielding rage against the Witch of Gluttony.
Upon regaining consciousness after being in a coma, the first news he received was that his beloved wife, Natalia Eloise, had perished fighting against the Witch of Gluttony.
As if to express his chilling wrath, the witch’s arms and legs cracked and froze even harder under his gaze.
“…Don’t move, and die right there in the plain where Natalia sleeps.”
At that moment, Lucas muttered coldly.
But then, he felt warmth wrapping around his cold, icy hand.
He looked slightly to the side, and his hardened expression softened.
“Apa…”
His daughter, Marin, who his beloved wife had fought to protect with her life, was holding his hand.
For a moment, Lucas was overwhelmed with emotion, took a deep breath, and reminded himself that he wasn’t fighting just out of anger or for revenge; he was fighting for something greater. He allowed a small smile to form.
“…Yeah, Marin.”
Previously, people would evaluate Lucas like this.
At least in the domain of ‘protecting something,’ he was regarded as the most outstanding of the existing heroes.
And now, as he fought to protect something precious, he was stronger than ever.
“…Could you help me a little?”
“…Of course.”
Lucas poured strength into his resolve once more.
Marin, who had inherited the powers of both her parents, added her strength to his.
The combined abilities of the father and daughter blossomed as an ice flower on the witch’s body.
Offering it as a tribute to their wife and mother.
The flower became an extraordinarily strong shackle that bound the witch’s movements.
The immobilization through freezing would also work against the Witch of Gluttony, who could recover from all damage.
The frozen witch struggled and let out a massive scream.
Even as her frantic thrashing caused blood to flow from Lucas and Marin’s lips, the two remained calm.
They knew they could endure together. Their joined hands affirmed their will to hold the witch in place until their magic was ready once more.
Martina, short on words of gratitude, looked at Dwight and asked.
“…Dwight, how much time is left?”
“The magic circle will be back online in 15 minutes.”
“Got it.”
15 minutes. In 15 minutes, they could end this wretched fight.
Everyone watched the witch thrashing, bound in ice, thinking that.
And then it happened.
From the mouth of the witch, still yelling while frozen,
A dark liquid spewed forth.
“…What the heck is that?”
The sudden bizarre behavior from the witch bewildered everyone.
“I don’t know what it is, but attack it for now!”
“Attack! We need to stop the witch’s bizarre behavior!”
Some started to attack in a bid to halt the witch’s strange actions.
But even their assaults did not stop her breakdown.
The witch continued to vomit.
Black liquid.
The liquid resembling the black rain that had fallen earlier.
As if she were spewing out everything she had consumed until now.
She carried on, continuously and endlessly.
And was it merely a feeling?
“That thing is shrinking, isn’t it?…”
As the witch kept regurgitating the liquid, it seemed her size was diminishing.
“…Huh?”
Someone witnessed the anomaly.
From the massive black puddle formed by the liquid spewing from the witch’s mouth, something started to emerge.
First, it was one.
“…Huh?”
But the next second, it was ten.
And then, a hundred.
Then, subsequently,
“What the heck…”
An uncountable number of them, all identical in color but different in appearance, erupted from the pool.
Among those that emerged, there were some that were muscular and built for fighting.
Some were walking on two legs adorned with fur and ears.
There were small ones, as tiny as dwarves.
Some were as small as a finger.
On the contrary, there were also beings as large as a house.
And then there appeared one with immense size and wings.
Upon seeing that, someone muttered in confusion.
“……A dragon?”
Krrrrrrrrr───!!!!!
Waaaaaaaahhhhh──!!!
The enormous dragon that burst out from the black liquid soared into the sky with a flap of its wings, roaring.
Beneath its wings, beings once known as orcs, beastmen, halflings, fairies, giants, and many others, all formerly extirpated by the Witch of Gluttony, shouted.
“…What the heck! What is that!!!”
“Is it just an illusion? Am I seeing things?”
The heroes watching these beings emerging again couldn’t maintain their composure.
They desperately wanted to believe that this was a dream, that they were imagining things.
They had never heard of the Witch of Gluttony having such a power.
But what they were witnessing was neither an illusion nor a mirage.
“…How dare she.”
Realization dawned on Martina, blood vessels appearing on her forehead.
“That damned witch actually dares…!”
It was because she knew of someone who wielded a similar ability.
An illusion that was infinitely close to reality.
“We’re seeing the teacher’s ability…!!!”
It was the skill of the Witch of Jealousy, Eve, who had sealed the Witch of Gluttony and vanished along with the heroes.
Martina could not fathom how it was possible, but she was fully aware that the Witch of Gluttony had somehow utilized Eve’s abilities to summon that army.
And she felt an incomprehensible rage over the fact that the Witch of Gluttony was employing Eve’s abilities.
“Damn it…!!!”
But more than her fury, she felt a sense of crisis.
Was it possible that all the things she had devoured up to now became this illusion?
The army summoned by the Witch of Gluttony was unfathomably large.
The expansive plain quickly filled with an ocean of blackness.
As this assembly appeared, Sylvia, who was casting the sanctuary, screamed in distress.
“This isn’t like the demonic beasts; my abilities aren’t effective against them…!!”
Perhaps because despite being created from magic, they were illusions strikingly close to reality.
The army of illusions showed some resistance to Sylvia’s purification abilities.
Furthermore, judging by the pressure exerted by the dragon above, each one seemed to possess similar powers to when they were alive.
This army began to surge toward the city.
“Damn it, they’re coming in! Right now, hold them off!!!”
“If you don’t want to die, get a grip!!!”
The once strong side of humanity suddenly found themselves outnumbered.
To fend off the incoming hordes, all heroes had no choice but to step up.
“Protect the mages!”
“The magic circle is our hope! We must defend it at all costs!”
To guard the mages who were pouring everything into reactivating the magic circle, the two armies clashed.
“Grahhh!!!”
“Damn it, Philip’s down!!”
As screams began to echo from all sides, Martina clenched her teeth.
She was convinced that victory was within grasp, yet this unexpected turn of events had thrown everything awry.
“Dwight! How many minutes left?”
“10 minutes remaining…!”
“Damn it…!!”
Ten minutes—while that time was relatively short, in a large-scale battle, ten minutes could yield devastating casualties.
Moreover, most of the mages, who were supposed to specialize in area attacks and engagements, were preoccupied with reactivating the magic circle.
Martina couldn’t even imagine how much damage would be inflicted if she couldn’t handle the situation.
“Hold on!!!”
“Don’t let them pass!!!”
Martina’s gaze fixed on the heroic sacrifice of the heroes fighting fiercely, believing she would do away with the witch.
But she could not voice her thoughts amid those heroes perishing one by one.
In this situation, whether ten minutes could be endured was secondary; there was a chance they might not even defeat the witch after the ten minutes were up.
Given that unexpected contingencies now unfolded, their plan for victory was no longer certain victory.
It wouldn’t be strange if the witch possessed additional abilities to endure their magic.
Humanity was betting their future on a gamble that no longer had a 100% success rate.
The mages lost confidence in their magic.
They were gripped by fear that they could unwittingly drive everyone into hell.
But as there were no alternative strategies available, while the mages were hesitantly preparing their spells, at that moment,
“…Wait a minute.”
A person appeared before the anxious mages.
“Suddenly, I have a proposal.”
He seemed to have realized the problem only the mages had noticed.
“The prediction has gone awry. Perhaps the witch can withstand the magic. And if the mages can’t act, an enormous number of people will die.”
Or perhaps it wasn’t about realization at all; it was that he couldn’t bear to see people dying.
“So let’s change the plan. Let’s go with Plan B.”
Regardless of his reasoning, he said it.
“Let me take care of it. I’ll defeat the witch.”
Entrusting humanity’s future to him.
“Not just me, but us.”
“Oh, sorry. We’ll defeat the witch.”
At that moment, another person interjected, making it two people.
In any case, it was a ridiculous proposal.
To put humanity’s fate into the hands of two people was an absurd proposal, but—
“…Are you confident?”
Martina, instead of dismissing them, asked that.
“I’m not sure, but I’ll do it.”
“I will make it happen.”
Hearing the responses, she slightly turned her head.
Martina looked toward the flames dancing atop the magic circle.
The last sacred relic, humanity’s last hope.
Gazing at it for a moment, Martina turned her gaze back to the eyes of those who had made the proposal.
There, too, was fire.
Among them, one person.
The first time Martina had seen her, she had those same eyes.
Eyes that exclusively looked forward.
Unwavering and strong, burning with a flaming passion.
The other person shared the same kind of fiery spark in their eyes.
Seeing this, Martina understood.
At the very least, unlike her, who had lost faith, those two would fight with unwavering resolve regardless of the circumstances.
“…Sure. I understand.”
Thus, Martina,
“I’ll leave it to you.”
Resolved to trust that fire, not magic.
“Please.”
Transferred the sacred relic into her hand.
Humanity’s last hope met the same flame and blazed even brighter.
And so, prepared, the two spoke quietly.
“Let’s go, Yoon Si-woo.”
“Right, Scarlet.”
They were late due to the chaos of moving.
Anyway, it’s a situation where the operation has gone awry, and the fate of humanity is at stake.
Time for the protagonists to step up!
