With a sickening rip, a pale arm rolled towards me. It had sprouted from Gretel’s back. Elise, unlike her usual self, wasn’t grinning maniacally as she unleashed violence; instead, with a completely blank face, she tore off all the grotesque arms sprouting from Gretel’s back like it was nothing.
“AAAAAAAAH! IT HURTS!!!”
Gretel crawled on the ground, wailing in agony. Elise stared down at her with cold eyes, and I could feel my throat go dry at the sight. This version of Elise was far more terrifying than anything I’d ever seen before.
bl**d splattered everywhere as Gretel’s screams of anguish echoed through the House of Candy.
“UUUUUUGH!”
Gretel bit her lower lip until it bled, trying to endure the pain, but couldn’t stop the moans escaping her lips. She desperately tried to put up a barrier to escape Elise, but it crumbled effortlessly under Elise’s relentless assault.
“What gives? You’re this weak yet still showing delusions?”
Having removed all the disgusting arms from Gretel’s back, Elise now grabbed her head and began smashing it into the floor.
THUD THUD!! THUD!!!
Each time Gretel’s face hit the ground, it became more and more disfigured. Teeth flew out, her nose broke, and her face was rapidly becoming a bloody mess. Her shoulders trembled—she was utterly terrified.
Terrified of Elise.
Reflecting on it now, Elise is strong. Really, really strong. From the very beginning, she was at the top of the food chain. She mentioned being trapped here for over 20 years without aging. That means the Heart Queen probably wanted her dead for years, and Elise has been slaughtering every force sent after her.
Not only did she have the power to massacre an entire nation’s army, but after meeting me, she even killed the queen.
Excluding Rapunzel, her might is undoubtedly unmatched.
I’ve realized something now—Rapunzel was truly powerful and way too kind to me.
“Ow, ow, my head’s spinning…”
At that moment, Adel stirred beside me. He clutched his head, looking dizzy, then gasped in shock.
“W-WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?! WHAT IS THIS?!”
Adel was horrified by the brutal scene unfolding before him. Considering he was almost roasted alive not too long ago, seeing Gretel near d*ath must be quite the shock.
“Hmm, my partner just woke up and decided to beat up Gretel.”
“Wow, your partner is insanely strong! This is incredible! Truly… AMAZING!”
Adel’s eyes sparkled as he spoke. His gaze reminded me of a kid who just found their dream toy.
“Haha! Looks like we can just sit back and watch this lady take down the witch!”
“…Yeah.”
That’s right. There’s nothing left for me to do. Elise has already incapacitated Gretel. At this rate, she’ll finish her off soon. So why…
Why does my chest feel so uneasy?
Even though things are going smoothly, there’s no action required from me, and I just need to watch… why does my heart feel so heavy?
An inexplicable discomfort made me want to claw at my chest.
“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”
Suddenly, Gretel let out a deafening scream that shook the house. Along with it came an unexpected shockwave that swept through the entire House of Candy, knocking us all off our feet.
Urgh, what’s happening? What’s going on?
Struggling to get up, I saw Gretel somehow escape Elise’s grasp, panting heavily. Where’s Elise?
No matter where I looked, I couldn’t find her.
Just as I started feeling something was off, crumbs rained down from above, followed by a loud thud. Elise emerged from the ceiling, clearly irritated.
“You’re annoying me with your tricks. Not that it matters anyway.”
Gretel, covered in bl**d and missing half her teeth, glared at us defiantly.
“You miserable prey dare humiliate me like this?! Don’t make me laugh! You think your powers can beat my innate magic?!”
PSSHT. The sound of a bottle opening. What? When did Gretel have a glass bottle in her hand? Inside the transparent container was an unknown purple liquid sloshing around.
“All I need to do is strengthen my body more than you!”
Without hesitation, Gretel chugged the potion. I got a bad feeling about this, but Elise paid no mind and charged at her, swinging her fist.
Right before Elise’s fist crushed Gretel’s face, it stopped mid-air. A monstrous hand with fur and sharp claws had caught Elise’s arm.
“Huh? Trying to transform into some cute animal to evoke sympathy?”
Cute animal? My mouth went dry as I stared at the monstrosity before me. Towering so tall her head touched the ceiling, this creature had an owl’s head, a massively bulging bear-like body beneath it, and a grotesque giant mouth on its stomach.
“KEEHEE! Who would’ve thought I’d use this today! Well, guess what—I’m destroying everything here and starting anew! You bastards who ruined my Henzel and my world will suffer endlessly!!!”
WHAM! With one swing of her arm, Elise was sent flying into the wall like a baseball hit by a bat.
“ELISE!”
Gretel didn’t waste any time. She immediately hurled her massive body toward Elise. Dust filled the air along with cookie crumbs as Gretel wildly swung her monstrous limbs, laughing maniacally.
“HAHAHAHAHA!!! THIS IS IT! THIS IS WHAT IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE! THIS is our rightful position! You ugly brute, how dare you defy me?! d*e, d*e!!!”
She relentlessly pummeled Elise with reckless abandon. The tables had completely turned.
I quickly grabbed my scythe and stood up. This was dangerous.
I lunged at the horrifying owl monster, ready to swing my scythe at her back when…
A chilling voice rang in my ears.
“Don’t interfere.”
BOOM!
I don’t know what happened. One second Gretel was right there, and the next, she was gone. Behind me, I heard a tremendous crash. Turning around, I saw the wall of the House of Candy had collapsed, revealing the outside scenery. There, Gretel writhed in the bushes, clutching her broken arm and screaming.
“AAAAAAH! MY ARM! MY ARM!!!”
Her proud arm was snapped clean in half, with jagged bone piercing through the flesh.
Clomp clomp. Elise walked past me, bleeding slightly. Though not as battered as Gretel, she had taken some damage.
“Elise…”
Ignoring me, she stepped outside.
“GYAH! STAY BACK! WHERE DID THIS MONSTER COME FROM?!”
Gretel panicked, trying to get up, but Elise kicked her back down. Then, with ease, Elise stomped on one of Gretel’s massive legs.
Placing her foot on a leg five times her size, Elise slowly pressed down. The thick limb caved in instantly, followed by a sickening crunch as it shattered and flattened.
“!!!!!”
Unable to handle the excruciating pain, Gretel silently screamed, tears streaming down her face.
The same fate awaited her other leg and remaining arm. Once all her limbs were destroyed, Gretel could only wheeze and struggle for breath. Her chest heaved violently. Elise climbed onto her torso with an indifferent expression.
“Does it hurt?”
“P-Please… P-PLEASE HAVE MERCY! I-I WAS WRONG! ANYTHING YOU WANT, I’LL GIVE IT TO YOU! JUST PLEASE LET ME LIVE!!!”
“Alright.”
Elise agreed readily and smiled sweetly.
“Send me home, and I’ll let you live.”
“B-But that’s…”
Impossible for Gretel to do. Elise anticipated this and reached for her head.
“Can’t? Then d*e.”
