Elegy for the Witch
“Hmm? It seems as though someone has died.”
In Rinne’s room, where she was drinking tea, a witch muttered these words.
Hearing this, Rinne wondered whose death it could be. Due to Inie resuming her actions, the members of the Doom Party had been told to refrain from any activities not requested by the witch.
Ordinarily, they wouldn’t take such independent actions. However, since the witch had said someone had died, it must mean one of the Doom Party members had perished.
“Who was it?”
“Orneas. I gave her a specially-made monster, but she went straight at Inie and lost.”
Orneas.
Number 8 of the Doom Party, a Magical Girl who uses a bow. She used to work for the Magic Bureau but became a member of the Doom Party after a certain incident.
Through pure hatred alone, she reached Enhanced Form, but among the members, she wasn’t particularly notable. Still, her strength was comparable to that of a Ranker.
“…Did she use the drug?”
“Of course she did.”
The drug.
Its official name is known only to witches, and it’s generally referred to simply as “the drug.” By incorporating the power of monsters, it allows one to exert power beyond their limits. However, once used, there’s no going back.
The body mutates into a monster, and rationality gradually dissolves, eventually turning the user into a rampaging beast.
Why would a witch distribute such a dangerous drug?
It wasn’t that the witch cared if someone wanted to die—she didn’t mind if they killed themselves—but rather than dying meaninglessly, she handed over the drug upon request.
In Blue Colette’s case, the drug was given because it might torment Inie, but as a witch, she had no intention of using it herself. Once used, everything ends quickly.
Unless there were multiple contractors of Arcana, which there wasn’t this time—it was just one person. Using the drug would diminish the fun. When there were more Arcanas in the past, the world was destroyed all at once, but the result was ultimately empty.
“I see. What do you think of her?”
Inie’s evaluation isn’t high. In fact, among previous contractors, hers is abysmally low.
That said, the witch had assessed her.
“Hmm… perhaps she’s an irregular. I thought she was just a complete failure, but surprisingly, she’s doing something.”
Through Fool, the Demon regained its original power, and Inie suddenly grew stronger. Originally, she was just a slightly unusual Magical Girl with two forms, but now she’s become a unique existence with two powers of Arcana.
People and Magical Girls exist differently in each world, or perhaps their histories diverge, but there are still similarities.
For instance, Kaede always assumes a leadership role in every timeline, and Prizes usually works in education.
Of course, there are worlds where everything is entirely different.
Though the witch has seen hundreds or even thousands of worlds, she hasn’t encountered a Magical Girl corresponding to Inie-Freung.
When they actually met, the witch felt both interest and disappointment. Among the few remaining Arcanas, Inie was the sole contractor, but the Demon Arcana had lost its original power, and the Magical Girl herself remained mediocre. Yet, she had risen so quickly within such a short period.
The last contractor. The final battle.
The witch believed it was only fitting to prepare appropriate trials and suffering for Inie.
“From a failure to an irregular, huh. We ordered her to hold back once, but what will we do next?”
“Hmm. The Magic Bureau wasn’t as useful as I thought, so should we handle what we planned to entrust to them?”
“Ho, do you have some plan in mind?”
While Rinne sometimes proposes ideas, fundamentally, all strategies come from the witch. The Doom Party itself is an organization created by the witch for witches. It’s only natural.
Rinne also holds authority to issue orders, but what she does is earn funds for the Doom Party’s activities.
Wherever people gather, money becomes necessary. Since legitimate means don’t suffice, they resort to covert operations, but they’ve saved enough to start formal activities whenever the witch decides.
“To destroy—a country.”
Magical Girls feel a sense of crisis due to the witch’s declaration of war, but ordinary people aren’t quite as alarmed. Ideally, the Magic Bureau would have caused more chaos, and using monsters, they’d destroy a nation. That way, all humanity would feel the danger, providing greater enjoyment for the witch.
However, most of the corrupt upper echelons of the Magic Bureau were wiped out by Arongante and Zea. While it could be considered self-destruction, the witch hadn’t anticipated them being so useless.
Thus, she decided to take over.
“To destroy… People? Or land?”
“Which would you prefer?”
Rinne crossed her arms and pondered briefly. What the witch desired was Inie’s suffering. Which option would harm Inie more?
“The land… maybe?”
Eliminating the population would be flashy, but destroying the land altogether would have more impact. Most importantly, it would evoke despair.
“The land, then. Let’s deploy ‘that’ soon. It’d be troublesome if anyone interferes.”
“That?”
“Yes, ‘that.’ It’ll take some preparation, but until then, feel free to do as you like.”
Rinne didn’t know exactly what “that” was. From the mention of deployment, she guessed it might involve a barrier or something similar. But if the witch said it required preparation, it must be something significant.
She couldn’t even imagine what the witch intended to do.
“Hmm? Is Rinne alone?”
As Rinne contemplated what the witch was planning, Lockwert, exuding a languid aura, came to visit.
“Ah, it’s Lockwert. What brings you here?”
“What brings me here…? I’m bored because the witch and you told me to hold back.”
After the witch left, Lockwert sat in the vacated seat and drank vegetable juice conjured by magic. Normally chasing Jeanne, Lockwert followed orders diligently when idle.
“Regarding that, the witch asked me to ask you to bear with it a little longer.”
“Hmm. Is she planning something?”
“Yeah. It seems she’s preparing something to destroy a country.”
Rinne summarized the earlier conversation for Lockwert. Even so, Rinne herself didn’t know what the witch intended.
“So, huh? If it takes more time, should we go provoke them?”
“About that, it seems Orneas is dead.”
Lockwert’s eyes widened. Realizing the cause of Orneas’s death, her expression turned grim.
“Was it Inie?”
“Seems like it… By the way, I haven’t seen the footage yet, but can we check in that room?”
That room was where the witch held meetings, equipped with functions similar to the Operator Room at the Magic Bureau. Instead of machines, everything was powered by magical arrays, covering the entire room in geometric patterns.
Additionally, battles within the barriers prepared by the witch were recorded like those at the Fairy Bureau. However, since fixed cameras were used, manual operation was needed for detailed footage.
“Why don’t we go see? We might glimpse our future selves too.”
Future selves… referring to the transformation into monsters caused by the drug.
—A final recourse to die without regrets.
Or perhaps a hidden trump card to win.
“I intend to die as a human, but since I’m curious, let’s go see.”
The two left the room and headed toward the conference room.
The base was fairly spacious, but aside from Rinne, rarely anyone stayed there. Occasionally, lower-ranking members of the numbered Doom Party would show up.
Upon reaching the conference room, Rinne activated the magical array and summoned the system. Then she located the relevant footage.
“There it is. Oh, and get my drink too, please.”
“Sure.”
Lockwert waited seated, sipping warm tea leisurely.
Seeing Lockwert relax, Rinne also prepared her own drink.
The footage began with Orneas deploying a barrier.
“That Magical Girl was supposed to be killed by Orneas and me. But Inie interfered.”
“Wasn’t it the Nightmare from Russia? I heard she took over the eighth position after the one we killed.”
Amidst such perilous conversations, the video played on. The Nightmare confronted M·D·W alone, and the battle between Orneas and Inie commenced.
With Inie dominating, Orneas lost an arm, retaliating by tearing open Inie’s abdomen with her bow.
“Probably here. Where she uses the drug.”
“Right. With just one arm, there’s nothing else she could do.”
Blood dripped from Orneas’s mouth, and her throat moved as if swallowing something.
From the severed wrist sprouted an unnatural replacement arm, altering Orneas’s form.
She had taken the drug.
Now, there was no returning to human form.
Orneas grinned eerily, taunting Inie, but Inie also transformed similarly.
“I’ve seen this form twice, but it’s still bizarre.”
“She’s a Demon, yet she’s using the power of the Fool. The witch was shocked too, calling it absurd.”
“Some things can’t be understood from footage alone. Ah, they’re moving.”
Orneas fired an enormous projectile from her bow, aiming to kill Inie.
However, Inie countered skillfully with magic, retaliating with fireballs.
As flames illuminated the surroundings and approached Orneas, she narrowly dodged and flew away.
“Wow. S-Rank monsters are disappearing like common grunts.”
A fireball casually launched by Inie struck a distant monster, causing an explosion. Hundreds of monsters were reduced to dust.
“It’s almost as bad as an awakened Taragon.”
“No, worse. If what the witch said is true, Inie in this state can use unlimited magic power. Even with a time limit, it’d be tough for us to win during that period.”
Inie’s limitation of needing incantations to cast spells is nearly nullified by the supplied magic power.
Though her body struggles under the strain, she can’t maintain this indefinitely. Still, her magical attacks bypass defenses, and approaching her results in counterattacks from her magic and orbs.
Even a nation’s full team of Rankers could barely hold their ground against her for a short while.
Occasionally, the footage showed the Nightmare fighting countless monsters alone, but compared to the duel between the two, it seemed trivial.
The battlefield was devastated, dotted with craters resembling bomb sites.
Just as the fight seemed ongoing, Inie’s two orbs emitted blinding light, binding Orneas with chains.
As Orneas struggled, the chains broke, but new ones continuously emerged from the magical array, determined not to let her escape.
Countless magical arrays layered upward, reaching skyward.
Orneas retaliated with her back bow, but the barrier rendered it ineffective.
“Same as with M·D·W. What an absurd Magical Girl. No one would normally attempt such reckless magic.”
“Is this really that impressive? Sure, it’s dramatic, but…”
“I may have mentioned this before, but for Magical Girls to fight, they need magic power, and how efficiently they use it is crucial. Output varies individually, but Inie shifts the burden onto the magical array, enabling her to perform feats otherwise impossible. For a Magical Girl limited to magic, it’s futile, but through forced recovery magic, she ignores the strain. Regardless of how much the array absorbs, her body would break first.”
Rinne rapidly explained her analysis, speaking so fast that Lockwert was slightly taken aback. Though she understood the content, she thought there was no need to talk so quickly. Rinne was likely conducting further analyses in her head.
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. This is speculative, but she might be sacrificing her lifespan. Given the Demon’s abilities, it’s plausible.”
“What do you mean?”
“This isn’t detailed in the witch’s records, but the Demon Arcana governs souls. With such reckless actions, recovery magic alone wouldn’t suffice. It’s highly possible she’s healing injuries and conditions by borrowing from her future lifespan.”
Rinne’s analysis was mostly accurate. Though it was unclear how much lifespan she sacrificed, it was evident her time was limited.
Lockwert merely nodded without responding.
An ice spear emerged from the magical array, piercing Orneas. As she writhed in agony attempting resistance, the spear shattered and multiplied, raging within the barrier.
Orneas’s form disappeared completely, and the barrier shattered. All that remained was Orneas in a blackened, fleshy state.
“Is this the end?”
“No, this is strange. Upon taking the drug and dying, one should turn to dust. Meaning, Orneas is still alive.”
“Alive in that condition?”
“Yeah. Whether it’s specific to Orneas or others as well, I’m unsure, but it’s clear why the witch hesitates to use the drug. Creating several such monsters could destroy the world instantly.”
The black fragments wriggled, gathering in one place. Orneas resurrected.
Even Inie, typically composed, momentarily revealed discomfort before regaining her usual blank expression.
“Well, it’ll be interesting to see how she defeats this. Will she burn it all or shred it into pieces?”
Rinne watched gleefully as lives hung in the balance. An ordinary person might feel revulsion, but Lockwert, sitting beside her, observed Inie’s combat without concern.
To them, the lives of humans and monsters were equivalent.
Living or dead—that was all that mattered.
As Inie used magic, the screen filled with flames. Orneas, wary of rushing in, carefully observed the wall of fire.
The flames disappeared after a few seconds, revealing something black.
Though unable to perceive the actual magic power through the screen, the two were unnerved by its eerie appearance.
Black droplets fell from its body. The dress-like attire from before transformed into a plain black outfit, soaked as if drenched in water.
Its skin was obscured by the black substance, with only red eyes glowing eerily.
It was… human.
But its form…
“Just born. Or perhaps, on the verge of breaking?”
“Frankly, it’s disgusting. What’s happening?”
“Likely, its body can’t withstand the power or magic. It’s like water constantly overflowing from a container. Standing there is almost miraculous.”
True to Rinne’s assessment, Inie was enduring excruciating pain, barely able to stand.
Swinging her sword to deflect incoming arrows caused them to shatter. Sensing something amiss, Inie continued to dispel the arrows similarly.
Impatient, Orneas charged at Inie, but the latter vanished from the frame.
Too fast for the footage to capture.
The two noticed Inie again when she had positioned herself behind Orneas, impaling her with her sword.
Orneas, frozen in shock, collapsed from the feet, turning to dust without regeneration. A battle expected to drag on ended in an instant.
“…Can we win?”
“Impossible. More monstrous than a monster. How could she effortlessly erase those arrows? Besides, that last move wasn’t teleportation; it was regular movement, right?”
“Judging by the marks on the ground, yes. Also, there’s a secret behind those eyes. At this point, it’s hard to tell who’s the real monster.”
Returning to her White Mage form, Inie spat blood copiously, soaking the ground.
Briefly, she began a new incantation.
M·D·W still remained despite Orneas’s death.
“Only the final explosion remains, but anything could happen.”
The outcome was already known. They merely confirmed how she defeated them.
Inie used magic to eliminate the struggling Nightmare and the monsters.
Magic raged as if depleting all her magic power, swiftly reducing the monsters.
Releasing the Fool’s power once more, Inie recalled the Nightmare and sealed M·D·W along with the remaining monsters inside a barrier.
A magical array surpassing the one used on Orneas ascended skyward, awaiting activation.
Then, the screen turned white as M·D·W disappeared.
Rinne turned off the footage and drank her now lukewarm tea.
“Whether it’s the Arcana or Inie herself, either way, battling her will be our end.”
Fighting Inie seriously would require more than Enhanced Form. Winning or losing, without taking the drug, defeat was certain.
And once the drug was taken, there would be no return.
That’s what Rinne meant.
“Besides, Rinne doesn’t intend to fight, does she?”
“Well, yeah. I’m responsible for support. Combat is handled by specialists.”
Rinne stood up from her chair and deactivated the magic.
“We should probably show this to everyone later. Can you handle it?”
“Sure. Consider the footage payment enough.”
Rinne smiled and left the room. Lockwert stepped into a rift created by magic and exited the room.
Exiting the room, Rinne suddenly felt something amiss. Returning to the room and looking around, she noticed one chair was missing.
“I see. You care about your comrades more than expected.”
Leaving these words, Rinne closed the door.
