The hammer that judges all witches and heretics like a spear.
There exists a manual for witch hunting called the Malleus maleficarum.
This manual contained the sins committed by ‘Evil Witches’ as determined by the Holy Sorcerers and methods for killing them legally.
The horrific divine objects created by the Holy Sorcerers, each laced with magic, ensured that the witches could do nothing but cower, spreading this dreadful madness far and wide and causing great suffering to the witches.
And within this book, it is recorded that:
There was a time when a duke nicknamed ‘Long Beard’ laid siege to the Lendelbrunn Castle. The residents inside the castle indulged in plunder and took pleasure in tormenting people from other castles, their behavior not differing from that of thieves.
At that time, among the duke’s subordinates, there was an archer named Puncker, whom people called Puncar or Punker. He was a master archer capable of shooting every person within the castle, except for one, to death with his bow, and everyone marveled at his uncanny ability to hit his target without fail.
Puncker possessed truly powerful abilities.
He was said to hit his targets three times a day without fail. Furthermore, in order to hit his target, all he had to do was lock eyes with them, which was a truly remarkable ability indeed.
But who would have guessed?
That this mighty power came from a despicable miracle forged by an evil being!
Puncker was an ordinary man, possessing shooting skills not much different from the other archers accompanying the duke.
Yet, the reason he could shoot arrows that would hit three times a day was that he had made a deal with an evil being.
The evil being whispered to him: “If you act as I desire, you shall receive power from me.”
And so he did.
He committed the sin of shooting three arrows at the image of the Crucified Jesus on the last Friday of Lent, during a grand mass. In the process, he even denied his faith; such a sin was truly horrific and dreadful.
Moreover, the evil being claimed that for every hit he made on the image of Jesus, he could kill an equal number of people, and yet he shot three times to deny the Trinity, revealing a disgusting and wretched intent. He even devoted both body and soul to worshiping this evil being!
Ah, how vile and ugly!
And thus he obtained power.
He would lock eyes with his intended target, solidifying his resolve to kill, allowing him to gain the ability to kill anyone he wished. The marked targets could never evade his arrows and he could hit even the smallest of targets without fail.
However, he met a horrifying demise at the hands of peasants without ever being able to atone for his sins, which stands as the quote of one who serves and worships an evil being.
Thus, Malleus maleficarum warns of Puncker’s wretched end and dares to assert that one must never covet such evil powers, lest they dare mock the divine.
But due to such warnings, this magic gained immense notoriety.
Countless works utilized it as a subject, and thanks to its fame, the means of this magic has persisted until now.
Isn’t it truly ironic?
To have written in a book that it was evil sorcery not to be practiced, only for that very fact to allow it to be passed down for centuries?
Cluck cluck.
Of course, notoriety wasn’t the sole reason the Magic of the Arrow survived.
It survived because it possessed simple yet undeniable might.
“Simple makes it even stronger.”
The ability of the Magic of the Arrow is straightforward.
It ensures that projectiles hit their targets.
Assassinations, battles, and wars—it’s an unbelievably useful ability, is it not?
Even a child, using this magic, could strike even distant targets—even those hidden in rooms or lurking somewhere—without fail. Of course, just because it can hit doesn’t mean it will inevitably lead to death….
Well, that’s easily resolved with poison-tipped or explosive projectiles, is it not?
This Magic of the Arrow was indeed a powerful sorcery.
Yet just because it’s strong doesn’t mean it’s without weaknesses.
The Malleus maleficarum notes instances where the grace of the Savior has surpassed the miracles given by this evil being.
Long ago, in a newly constructed church in the Diocese of Constance, an event unfolded.
A vile and loathsome man shot an arrow at the image of Jesus, and at that moment, the image began to bleed miraculously. Immediately after, the man who dared commit such a sacrilege fell shrieking to the ground, an arrow lodged in his leg.
Hearing that scream, a person rushed over, astonished by the sight of the man shot by the arrow and asked what happened, but the man could not make a sound. Eventually, the bystander understood the situation upon seeing the image of Jesus, the arrow, and the blood flowing from Jesus.
In fury against the man who had shot an arrow at the Lord, he rushed towards the castle, crying out the man’s crimes, and soon people gathered to surround him.
Ultimately, the man recognized his sins and met a miserable end.
This account recorded the existence of magic capable of countering the Magic of the Arrow.
Of course, the Holy Sorcerers at the time deemed this an outright miracle, refusing to diminish it by labeling it mere ‘sorcery.’ However, as time passed, it began to be chronicled as sorcery devised to counter the Magic of the Arrow.
And thus, tales of this sorcery spread at an equal pace and importance to the Magic of the Arrow itself.
Ironically, Malleus maleficarum preserved the Magic of the Arrow until today, while simultaneously passing down methods to counter it.
Thus, spear and shield spread forth.
The strength of the spear could not be helped.
As the notoriety and fame of the Magic of the Arrow swelled, methods to counter it did not gain equal recognition.
However, excessive attention can often prove to be a poison.
Humans are creatures destined to seek out answers, and many have sought out ways to counter this Magic of the Arrow.
Indeed.
Ways, plural.
The Magic of the Arrow had numerous countermeasures.
As mentioned, there was sorcery to return the arrow to the shooter, blessings to repel or deflect projectiles, enchantments to toughen leather so that it couldn’t be pierced, and even spells to simply enhance one’s regenerative abilities or life force, thereby allowing one to sustain an arrow hit and remove it afterward.
There were even spells to replace the part where the arrow would strike with another.
And that’s not all.
Beyond mere sorcery, there were plenty of methods to defend against the Magic of the Arrow.
Warriors could use protective energy or concentrate their qi on the target area to prevent the arrow from piercing. Remarkably, high-level warriors could even see bullets coming and evade them, so predicting where a projectile would hit was a piece of cake.
No, some warriors didn’t even undertake such defenses.
Those who mastered martial arts that solidified and hardened their bodies found that ordinary projectiles could do nothing against them.
Wizards?
Wizards had it just as easy.
They could use artifacts or spells.
Other capable people had their own ways of either taking a hit or standing firm against it.
Couldn’t evade, you say?
Nope.
The Magic of the Arrow always hits.
However, conversely, once hit, the power of the magic will dissipate….
If you get hit without pain, it’s all good, right?
The Magic of the Arrow was strong but simple, thus making it all too easy to counteract.
Moreover, it wasn’t only abilities that could block its effects.
Artifacts could be utilized by those who weren’t sorcerers, and weaponry developed through magical science offered enough offensive and defensive power.
Additionally, modern bulletproof vests and stab-resistant suits even protected against high-caliber sniper rounds!
Indeed, if one had the right equipment, even ordinary individuals could withstand being hit by the Magic of the Arrow!
So, is merely getting hit the solution?
That’s not the only answer either.
To use the Magic of the Arrow, certain conditions were required.
The shooter had to maintain eye contact with their target.
Taking that condition into account, there were plenty of countermeasures available.
Isn’t it peculiar?
Because of its notorious reputation, countermeasures began to be researched.
And as many countermeasures emerged, the magic itself became weaker.
Such is human nature and the way of the world.
