“Really? Well, now I’m excited.”
He was eager because he either heard him or he didn’t. Daebaltos scratched his chin with a look of interest as they ventured deeper into the forest.
“The monster that killed a whole squad of the local lord’s army and Zig… You think we can beat this thing if it’s real?” Daebaltos poked at his partner, perhaps finding the whole thing amusing.
Viktor gave him a curt reply, voice laced with cruel reality. “Don’t think of it as human. It’s not something that can be beaten with sheer numbers. More soldiers wouldn’t even make for a decent meat shield. If anything, they’d just get in the way… But yeah, I don’t know if we can beat it.”
He had only seen the witch for an instant, but that had been enough for him to understand her strangeness and the danger she posed. The witch turned a hundred men into ash with a wave of her hand and disappeared before they could register what had happened.
That was not how a man should die. There were many ways to die on the battlefield, and Viktor had seen his fair share of degrading deaths. Even he thought the witch went too far.
Viktor went silent after recalling the scene. Daebaltos gripped his warhammer; his partner didn’t usually act like this. The silence of the forest was deafening.
“Damn it, Zig, you really had to poke your nose where it didn’t belong,” Daebaltos joked, attempting to lighten the mood. He was still half serious.
“You can say that again.”
With that, the two continued wordlessly deeper into the forest.
Eventually, they came across a clearing where a small house was standing. This was probably the witch’s abode where the extermination squad was wiped out.
Everything besides the house was in disarray, with dried up corpses scattered left and right. There were gigantic, gaping holes through several heavily armored soldiers like they were hit by a ballista. One of the dead men was wearing luxurious armor—probably the unit’s commander.
“Talk about a mess… It’s like a hurricane came through here,” Daebaltos said dryly as he took in his surroundings.
The battlefield would have typically been looted by scavengers by now, but the local lord’s strict ban had left everything intact. Then again, the scavengers would’ve probably left the dead alone in this case. Even they weren’t greedy enough to set foot into this strange forest.
“They said the witch was killed in the fight… I don’t know about that, but it definitely looks like she’s no longer here.”
Daebaltos scratched his lionlike hair. The disarray didn’t make sense. The witch seemed to have the ability to manipulate the ground. She should’ve at least tidied up her front lawn.
“Earthen pillars… Spikes? No point in wearing armor if one of those went through you.”
Daebaltos touched a crumbling cone of soil. It disintegrated on contact, returning to whence it came. Viktor frowned at the unsettling scene.
Strange. The spike was powerful enough to pierce heavily armored infantry, yet it had deteriorated so much in a single year. As he was about to voice his musings, Viktor sensed a new threat that he hadn’t encountered before.
“Dael.”
“Right. Yeah, that is something.”
There was no need to elaborate—Dael had noticed it at the same time he did. A savage smile crept on his face. He shouldered his warhammer ready for battle, his body an even balance of tension and ease.
Viktor tightened the grip on his spear as if to make sure it was there, then relaxed. He lowered its point and squeezed it against his side before turning to the source of the presence.
“Oh, do we have guests?”
A woman stood before the lone earthen house. She looked to be in her mid-twenties. Her curvaceous body was succulent like a ripe fruit. Her deep crimson hair looked like a river of blood, with beautiful waves flowing to her hips, the tips sharp as if expressing her aggression. What caught their attention most of all were her eyes. They were red and fiery, and had a hint of purple that made them look like rubies.
Their instinctual alarms continued to blare.
Looking at her—no—being around her was enough to let them know that she was a witch.
She walked elegantly toward them, her eyes like swirling fire. She tilted her head and pressed her hand to her chest.
“I’m sorry, I’m not the owner of this house.”
The woman was tall, but nowhere near as tall as the two mercenaries. Despite their larger size, the woman didn’t seem the least bit afraid of them.
“Yeah? Is the lady of the house out on some errands?” Daebaltos quipped, cold sweat running down his chin. The muscles in his arm tensed at the presence of this superior life-form.
“Why, yes she is! I actually came to pay her a visit myself. Perhaps she moved out.”
She happily answered Daebaltos with a bright smile. They weren’t expecting a witch to be so talkative. Seeing the joy displayed by a predator, her beauty only inspired fear.
“I have a favor to repay the girl who lived here… Would you happen to know where she went?” She tilted her head and took a step forward. A strange pungent scent filled the air when she mentioned having to repay a favor.
A pillar of flame erupted between Viktor and the witch, instantly melting the weathered earthen spike between them.
“What was that?!” Daebaltos’ frown deepened at the sight of the mysterious magic and the inexplicable scent. His eyes darted around for its source. Viktor did the same thing.
It had been a strange, striking aroma. Although their senses registered it as a scent, it didn’t feel like they smelled it with their noses. However, the source of it was clear. It was standing right in front of them.
“Answer the question, human,” the witch said, angered at the lack of a response. Whatever she was, she wasn’t patient.
“We also have some business with the witch who lived here,” Daebaltos said placatingly, scratching his chin with his left hand.
“Do you, now? So…”
“We don’t know where she went, sorry,” Daebaltos continued. He then tried to get as much information as he could. “Is she still alive? The lord of the land said he exterminated the witch of the forest.”
He had never heard of witches interacting with each other, but this witch said she owed the other a favor. Although he couldn’t discern the nature of the favor, he could tell they definitely knew each other.
The witch looked quizzically at him before bursting into laughter.
“Heh… Aha ha ha! That is the funniest thing I’ve heard all day! Aha ha ha!” Her sudden outburst caught the two men off guard. She held her stomach, caught in the absurdity of his statement.
“He he he… You really think humans have a chance against us? That’s a good one!”
Deciding she was done for the day, the witch began whispering something. A strong, pungent smell wafted through the air, causing Viktor and Daebaltos to turn pale.
“Anyway… Goodbye.”
As the witch said her farewell, a gigantic flaming snake rose up to swallow the two whole. The snake shot straight for them, burning everything down in its path. It left behind a scorched trail, melting down iron armor until there was nothing left.
And there was no trace of the two humans who entered the forest.
“What a colossal waste of time.”
The crimson witch turned her back on the two, not bothering to see what would become of her handiwork. She heaved a lazy sigh and frowned, disappointed at not finding who she was looking for.
“I thought I’d kill that girl since she was getting weaker… But where could she have gone? Don’t tell me some human actually killed her.”
The witch who could control flames was feared throughout the land for her power. Known as the Witch in Crimson, she wielded her powers to burn human and witch alike. She had also burned down an entire kingdom on a whim.
Despite being feared by humans and her own kind, one person had once managed to defeat her. She then stopped fooling around with her powers for decades, choosing to live in a quiet place instead—all for the sake of growing in strength to seek revenge against the witch that got the best of her.
“But where am I supposed to start… I guess I can start by burning the local lord alive for chasing her out of this place.”
Her schedule set, the crimson witch smiled. It had been a long time since she took center stage. It was unfortunate that she had to do a show in the middle of nowhere, but it would make for a nice bonfire. She would do her nickname justice and make a huge spectacle of it. The humans were so quick to forget.
“I’ll start by burning down three towns and then—”
“So, the stories of you being ruthless monsters are true.”
The witch stopped as a man’s voice called out from behind her. She flipped her deep crimson hair and saw two men unscathed. The tips of their clothes were slightly singed, but neither had fatal burns.
“Oh my, you actually managed to avoid that… Too bad, though. You would’ve survived if you had kept your mouths—”
Daebaltos cut her off before she could finish. “I’ve never talked to someone this crazy before. We’re communicating, but it’s like I’m not getting through.”
“I told you they’re a different species. She’s not someone who abides by our norms.”
The two no longer had anything to say to the witch. There was no point, and their lives would be in danger if they thought they were actually having a conversation with her. They had narrowly escaped with their lives.
Daebaltos flexed his shoulders and took a step forward. “We’re not exactly heroes, but this is your last day on earth.”
“We have a strict rule against doing jobs for free, but this dangerous beast has to be put down.”
Her pathetic prey was making such insolent statements before her, their bold words enough to anger the short-tempered witch.
“I feel bad for your lack of self-preservation. Very well. I am also to blame for being too impatient with my prey. I will carve the fear of witches into your bones.”
A strong smell that could make a face wrinkle filled the air. The Witch in Crimson was now clad in flames, facing off against the two feeble humans. However, these humans were no ordinary prey.
“Demon and witch. Let’s see who’s stronger.”
“Show me the strength of the creature that defeated my pupil.”
Witch and mercenaries clashed within the desolate forest.