Chapter 196

Chapter 196. The Witch’s Decision (3)

Valhalla City.

The large city built in front of Reynaldo Hero School was bustling with people gathered from the three kingdoms even in the early morning.

“Here… there are so many people.”

Lanes shivered as she looked at the crowded streets.

Being naturally timid, just seeing so many people made her feel dizzy.

‘But… I have to go.’

Of course.

She hadn’t officially submitted a withdrawal form and left the school.

Originally, “withdrawing” from Reynaldo Hero School was much harder than one might think.

‘You have to sign a pledge to never engage in hero activities again and wear several surveillance magical tools to withdraw.’

For withdrawn candidates—those without an official hero license but possessing a Holy Mark—they must live the rest of their lives under strict surveillance.

Most heroes without an official license tend to get involved in illegal activities.

Lanes had bypassed all those complicated procedures, submitting only a withdrawal form and sneaking over the school wall.

In other words, she had committed the serious crime of “unauthorized withdrawal,” which, according to the school’s rules, is treated as worse than assault or theft.

In military terms, it was akin to desertion.

‘Soon, a pursuit team will come after me.’

Unauthorized withdrawal isn’t common, so the response might not be immediate, but soon a pursuit team led by some professors will be formed to chase her.

‘Until then, I have to run as far as I can.’

She can’t use warp gates.

The gate entry records would quickly give her away.

“……”

Lanes wandered aimlessly through the streets, recalling yesterday’s memories.

Her comrades who had gathered out of concern for her.

A time so warm she couldn’t have imagined before meeting Dale.

“…Ah.”

It had only been a few hours since she left the school, but her heart was already filled with longing.

Should she just go back now?

Conflict and regret weighed heavily on her.

‘No.’

She tightly closed her eyes and shook her head.

‘Until I can perfectly control the Blessing of Frost… I have to stay as far away as possible.’

When she heard about her past life.

When she learned of the future where she would become the “Witch of the Night” and slaughter countless people.

Lanes made a decision.

‘I can’t stay with them.’

She had to distance herself from Dale… and the others.

‘I’m… like a ticking time bomb.’

If she couldn’t control the power of the Blessing, countless people might die.

“Hehe… If I had only known Dale, I wouldn’t have thought like this.”

She had never seen it herself, but Dale possessed the Blessing of Resurrection, so even if he died, he could come back to life.

‘But.’

What about the others?

What if she couldn’t control the power of the Blessing and hurt those precious to her?

‘Precious people…’

A smile spread across Lanes’ lips.

Before meeting Dale, there were no precious people in her life.

The world was bitterly cold and suffocating.

In that life.

A warm flame had ignited.

Precious people… no, precious “people” had entered her life.

‘Sophia, Iris, Yurina, Berald, Professor Elisha…’

And others she had met during the school trip, like Camila, Juliet, Albert, etc.

She had become close to so many people, something she could never have imagined before.

She now lived in a world where no one called her a “witch.”

That’s why.

‘I don’t want to ruin it.’

She didn’t want to hurt them with her own hands.

She didn’t want to extinguish the warm flame she had barely grasped with a cold breath.

“…Let’s go.”

Lanes took heavy steps forward.

* * *

After walking for several more hours.

Having left Valhalla City, she pondered her next destination.

“East is the Republic, west is the Empire, north is the Holy Kingdom…”

But no matter where she went, she couldn’t stop the pursuit team from following.

The three kingdoms and Reynaldo Hero School were closely connected.

“Then the only option is…”

Lanes turned her head south.

The southern part of the continent.

The direction of “Gehenna City,” the city of the Mains.

A place where few people lived, so even if the Blessing of Frost went out of control, the damage would be minimal.

‘Let’s go south.’

Recalling memories from her mentoring class, Lanes headed south.

As if to prove why it was called the “Demon Realm.”

The road to the southern part of the continent was so deserted you couldn’t find a single person.

“…I miss Dale.”

Lanes looked at the photos of Dale she had saved on her Hero Watch as she trudged along.

“Dale’s post-onsen photo… I wanted to have it.”

As she walked down the quiet road, thinking about the photo she hadn’t managed to get from Iris.

Rustle, rustle.

A sinister sound reached her ears.

Thinking it might be a monster, she turned her head to see…

“…Who, who are you?”

A mysterious figure wearing a half-mask shaped like a wolf.

From the sharp jawline visible below the mask, it seemed to be a man.

“Lanes Malam, right?”

“……”

She didn’t answer, but the man in the wolf mask seemed already convinced she was Lanes, continuing in a low voice.

“Come with me. That person wants you.”

“That person…? Who is that?”

“You don’t need to know.”

The man spoke in a dry voice, as if all emotion had been stripped away.

Lanes shook her head with a wary expression.

“No.”

“Well, I figured.”

The wolf mask nodded as if expecting that response.

“Then I have no choice.”

Swoosh.

The man in the wolf mask drew a greatsword from the sheath on his back.

Whooosh!

The Holy Mark glowed, and aura condensed along the blade.

“…Huh?”

Lanes’ eyes widened as she stared at the aura.

Given his suspicious appearance, she had guessed the man in the wolf mask might be a Main.

But…

‘A hero?’

She couldn’t sense any mana, the symbol of a Main, from the man in the wolf mask.

“Are you going to stand still?”

“Eek…!”

Before Lanes’ doubts could fully form, the man lunged at her, kicking off the ground.

The wolf mask swung the greatsword, which should have been too heavy to lift with one hand, effortlessly.

A chilling sound of slicing air echoed in her ears.

“Haah!”

Whooosh!

Lanes let out a short shout and stretched out both hands, creating a wall of white snow in the air.

Clang!

The greatsword bounced off the wall.

“Freeze!”

Lanes drew more power from the Blessing and launched snowballs at the wolf mask.

A fierce blizzard raged, and dozens of snowballs shot toward the wolf mask.

“Huff!”

The wolf mask nimbly dodged the snowballs raining down.

Where the snowballs hit, the ground instantly froze, covering the surrounding area in ice.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Lanes stretched her arm toward the swiftly fleeing wolf mask.

Whoooosh!

A spear of ice, formed from the blizzard, aimed at the wolf mask.

The wolf mask tried to dodge the ice spear quickly, but…

Crack.

“Huh?”

Ice surged from the ground where the snowballs had hit, freezing his feet.

Thud.

The ice spear pierced the wolf mask’s abdomen.

“Hoh.”

A glint appeared in the wolf mask’s eyes.

“So this is the Blessing of Frost.”

He nodded as if intrigued.

The pierced abdomen quickly necrotized, and blood gushed out.

“But…”

Crack.

The wolf mask grabbed the spear piercing his abdomen and pulled it out.

“You’re still too inexperienced.”

The wound in his abdomen regenerated at an incredible speed.

“H-How…?”

Lanes stared in shock at the wolf mask’s rapidly healing wound.

He hadn’t used healing magic or a recovery potion, yet his wound healed so quickly?

Even a wound where the cells had all necrotized from frostbite?

“Are you done showing off?”

The wolf mask’s eyes glinted ominously.

Whoosh!

He kicked off the ground and charged.

The greatsword, wrapped in a fierce aura, aimed at Lanes.

“Eek!”

Lanes tried to create another ice wall to deflect his sword, but…

“Ah, uh… Argh…!”

The blizzard raged.

The Blessing of Frost began to go out of her control.

“Hmm.”

The wolf mask stopped mid-swing, observing the blizzard swirling around her.

“So you still can’t control the Blessing.”

“Haah, haah! Sh-Shut up…!”

Lanes bit her lip hard enough to draw blood and stretched her hand toward the wolf mask.

Whoooosh!

The raging blizzard gathered into a single point, forming an ice spear, but…

“Argh!”

Crack!

The ice spear shattered into pieces.

“Ahhh!”

The shards of ice scattered and tore into Lanes’ body.

Red blood seeped from the wounds caused by the ice shards.

“Ah, uh… Sniff.”

Lanes knelt on the ground, sobbing.

Not only could she not fight the enemy, but she was also harming herself.

‘Pathetic.’

Tears streamed down her face as self-loathing overwhelmed her.

“Do you want to control the Blessing?”

The wolf mask looked down at her and asked in a dry voice.

Instead of waiting for an answer, he pulled out a green-glowing magic stone from his pocket and tossed it to her.

Thud.

The magic stone rolled on the ground and touched her hand.

“…Huh?”

The blizzard instantly calmed.

Lanes stared wide-eyed at the green-glowing magic stone in her hand.

“W-What is this…?”

It wasn’t just suppressing or nullifying the power of the Blessing of Frost.

The moment she held the green magic stone, she could literally “control” the Blessing of Frost.

Whoooosh!

The blizzard moved freely according to her will.

Crack!

The ice spear, which had shattered moments ago, formed perfectly in the air.

Not just one, but dozens of spears.

“That magic stone contains that person’s power.”

“……”

“With that stone, you can control your Blessing.”

Lanes looked down at the stone in her hand with a blank expression.

The Blessing of Frost that had tormented her so much.

She could control it so easily, so simply.

“Come with me.”

The low voice reached her ears.

The dry voice, devoid of any emotion, somehow felt incredibly sweet.

“Then your problem can be easily solved.”

There was no need to doubt the wolf mask’s words.

Just holding the magic stone he gave her allowed her to easily control the Blessing of Frost.

“……”

Lanes looked down at the green magic stone in her hand and firmly closed her mouth.

“Do you need to think about it? Controlling the power of the Blessing was your goal, right?”

Right.

As he said, the reason she had decided to withdraw without permission and run away from the school was all to control the power of the Blessing of Frost.

With this stone.

She wouldn’t become a witch.

She could stay with Dale… and her precious comrades.

“That’s right.”

Lanes slowly stood up, holding the stone.

Her hesitation didn’t last long.

“I…”

Lanes summoned the full power of the Blessing.

And.

Crack!!!

She focused all that power into the stone in her hand and crushed it.

“What…!”

The wolf mask’s eyes widened in shock.

Whoooosh!

The moment the stone was crushed, the Blessing’s power began to rage again.

“I… won’t follow you.”

Amid the raging blizzard.

The witch spoke her “decision.”