Great Sage 30 – The Queen of Darkness and the Valley of Death Part 3

July 27, 2022Zathael

As I was falling down the cliffs, perhaps due to the curse of the Witch of Darkness, a peculiar mana was emanating to my left and right and I was unable to use magic properly.

Gradually my body became enveloped in a darkness that light couldn’t pierce,

“Ugh”

I finally hit the ground.

“Owowow”

At the very least, it didn’t hurt as much as being hit by Master,
“Normally you’d die from that”
For a while I couldn’t move my body and looking up I was unable to see the sky.

My body was surrounded by the dark.

I managed to stand up and confirm I was uninjured,
“Is this a side effect of the healing magic I receive after being hit by Master?”
The durability of my own body surprised me.

“Well let’s just call it the results of my training”

It’s definitely not because I’ve been harassing Master too much.

At that time I could still only use simple magic and determined that I would not be able to break through the anti-magic field and fly out,

“Back to rock climbing is it…..”
I sighed helplessly,

“For now let’s go talk to [Witch of Darkness]-san like I’ve been told. Just as Master says, you should always think positively”

I confirmed my surroundings.

The rocky surroundings were devoid of any grass or moss and full of traces of that peculiar dark mana.
I turned towards the direction where that mana was the strongest and walked forward…..

Finding a stone statue like object surrounded by rocks over ten meters tall.

“This should be the origin of that mana”
Rather than a witch, it was more fitting to call it a sculpture of a fantastic monster.

Four arms and two legs, large bat like wings on its back, and curved horns like that of a sheep on its head. The face was close to human but the eyes were strangely pointed and the mouth extended into the cheek.

Not to mention, like the rocks surrounding it, it was well over ten meters.
Gripped in one of its four arms was a sword piercing its own chest.

“According to the story this should be the witch?”

However I could feel no vitality from it and it didn’t seem like I would be able to hold a conversation.

After getting close, the odd shape and black colour of the surrounding rocks created an unnerving atmosphere…..

But at the same time, it had a sense of divinity similar to the saints I’d read about in my textbooks who’d shoulder the sins of the people or the statue of Buddha suffering from the karma of the human world that I saw on a school trip.

I put my hands together and bowed out of reflex,

“…..Beautiful”
The words spontaneously came out.

I heard the sound of something peeling off and raised my head,

“What did you just say?”
The black rock on the surface was peeling off, revealing the dark red skin beneath.

“Oh good, we can talk properly. I simply spoke what I was thinking”
I gave a smile and the witch’s lips rise as if being torn apart,

“This appearance is?”
She glares at me.

“Everything I guess”
With a smile, I told her how I felt and the witch…..

“It seems that Lilianess and Arius was telling the truth. That this abominable curse of immortality would be broken when a person who knew of true love appeared”

She broke into laughter as she slowly turned smaller and changed from her appearance into one more human.

I rushed up in a panic to find a beautiful woman in her mid twenties with fiery red hair and translucent white skin, naked and collapsed over with a sword in her chest.

“Hold on!”

Taking care not to get distracted by her bouncy well shaped chest, I began to use restoration magic that I had yet to learn fully,

“It’s already too late….. However I can only feel relief at the thought that this is the end of my eternal cycle of death and rebirth. Young man, could you….. tell me your name and let me have a good look at your face”
The woman laughed cheerfully.

I took the hand of the beautiful woman that was a witch,

“Sorry but I’m not ready to give up yet. After the treatment is done, I’ll tell you my name or whatever you want, of course you can look at my face however you want too”

I try to think back to the healing magic that Master used but my mana was overwhelmingly insufficient.
Probably because the life of the woman carried the [Sins] of thousands and thousands of people.

“What’s missing just has to be borrowed”

Scattered inside the valley was the power of the [Grudges], [Anger], and [Sadness] spewed out by the witch.

It was the emotions of the witch herself and also the emotions of the monsters that had been killed and eaten by the witch.

“Oh evil power that resembles my heart, turn your hatred, anger, and sadness towards me and become nourishment for my strength!”
I spoke an incantation and the resentment throughout the valley reverberated.

Then the [Pain], [Hardship], and [Loneliness] took form and tore my spirit, converting it into a grand amount of mana.

“What are you trying to do! If you try to do that as a human, your body and mind will be destroyed….. no, before that there’s no way your spirit will last”

“I’m busy right now could you be quiet”
I ignore the words of the former witch and focus on drawing the sword from her chest.

“Going this far….. Is there a need to save a woman like me…..”
Taking the sword out caused the former witch to recoil and she glared at me,

“Unconditionally saving beautiful girls and women is the reason I’m training after all”

“Th- That’s….. then you’ll take responsibility”
“Of course I intend to do so”

For some reason my words caused the woman to blush,

“You’re not lying right”
She spoke again in a quiet voice.

“Since the moment I encountered you, your beauty stole my heart”
“By that appearance…..”

I smiled and gave her a nod. Seemingly convinced, she closed her eyes.

Then with all of the curses of the valley within my heart, the restoration magic was finally complete.

“That’s why I’ll leave regretting it to later”
I forced the magic into her beautiful body and…..


Fainted together with the witch.