< Chapter 7 - Full Moon >
Chapter 7 – Full Moon
[If you can hear my voice, open your eyes. Wake up and look at me.]
Yuder slowly opened his eyes at the faint voice he could hear.
Warm lights, cozy space.
What came into view was the face of a witch with long black hair and green eyes.
[Consciousness has awakened.]
A white-faced beauty who appears to be in her early thirties.
The witch was wearing a black dress decorated with black bird feathers, and on her head was a wide-brimmed hat, as if it were the symbol of a witch.
“This is······.”
[This is my conscious world. Your body is in a deep sleep because it is overworked. I am only conscious and talking to you. Now, take my hand and wake up.]
In the midst of the haze, Uther stood up, holding the witch’s hand. And on the other side, he could see Cordelia standing up, holding the witch’s hand as well.
“Cordelia?”
“Uder?”
[It’s really nice to see people taking care of each other here.]
The last witch’s voice came not from the witches sitting in front of the two, but from the rocking chair that was slowly rocking in front of the fireplace.
This time it was a witch again.
[Come here, both of you. It’s warm in front of the fireplace.]
As the witch in front of the fireplace gestured, the witches in front of Uther and Cordelia disappeared as if in a lie, turning into mist.
Uther and Cordelia looked at each other reflexively, then exchanged glances and nodded.
‘Let’s go for now.’
The witch won’t harm them.
As Uther and Cordelia stood up awkwardly and stood in front of the fireplace, the witch also stood up from her rocking chair.
[First of all… I need to talk to you. But before that, I have a question for you to answer. Do you know why I was sealed here?]
The reason the witch was sealed.
Uther hesitated whether to pretend not to notice the witch’s eyes that were secretly filled with anticipation, but Cordelia nodded reflexively.
[Yeah··· I know this··· I know······.]
The witch, who was clearly sullen, slumped her shoulders and pouted her lips slightly.
The reason the witch was sealed.
Despite being a lowly slave, the existence of a witch who had defeated countless demons was enough to irritate the five great lords of Hell.
Eventually, the witch came into conflict with Belial, the Lord of Corruption, one of the five overlords, and suffered a miserable defeat at the overlord’s overwhelming power.
But just before Belial’s flames could completely consume the witch’s soul, another overlord stole it away: Asmodeus, the overlord of lust.
‘Asmodeus believed that the soul of the witch who had defeated countless demons could become a dagger to stab other overlords.’
In order to hide the witch’s soul from the other overlords until the day it could be useful, and also to make the witch’s soul obey them, Asmodeus sealed the witch’s soul deep in the Trefalgar Forest.
‘That’s also the reason why the soul of the Great Witch was sealed in the human world, and under the protection of only one demon.’
If the Witch’s Seal was in Hell, then even if she was in the human world, if she received magnificent protection, there was a high possibility that the other great monarchs would notice.
Anyway, Cordelia was flustered when the witch made a sullen expression on her face and quickly opened her mouth to speak.
“Ah, no… That… Well, I don’t really know! Please explain in detail!”
[Really?]
“Yes, really.”
When the witch was tempted, Cordelia smiled brightly and said this, and a smile spread across the witch’s face again.
And then Uther thought.
‘I was lonely.’
It makes sense that he would do that, having been locked away in a sealed room alone for hundreds of years.
[So··· the beginning······.]
The witch began to whisper and tell a story, and Cordelia’s eyes sparkled and she became a good listener.
And roughly about four hours.
[That’s what happened.]
The witch smiled broadly with a satisfied face, and Cordelia and Uther nodded with a dispirited look on their faces.
In the game, it was a simple summary of the story, but when I heard the full story from him, it was a really long story.
[Ha, that feels refreshing. Anyway, let’s get to the main point now.]
“yes?!”
We’ve been talking for four hours and now we’re getting back to the main topic?!
When Cordelia asked in surprise, the witch laughed out loud and came closer to Cordelia, saying:
[The past is in the past after all. Let’s talk about the future.]
In fact, in the original work, a conversation like this did not exist.
The witch who descended into Cordelia’s body and defeated the demon ascended into heaven.
[Cordelia, my dear child. You have held my soul for a moment, and I have read the possibility in your soul and body. The possibility that you will have the same power as I do.]
The witch who had spoken up to that point smiled a bit more wickedly than before and kissed Cordelia’s forehead, eyes, cheeks, neck, chest, and the back of her hand in that order.
“Oh, witch?”
[I have left my mark on your soul. Remember how it felt when you handled my power. Through it, grow your own strength.]
The witch who had spoken up to that point whispered something softly into Cordelia’s ear, and Cordelia swallowed hard and recited the spell the witch had taught her.
The change was instantaneous.
However, it was a little different from the previous witch transformations that took place when the witch descended directly.
Cordelia’s hair had turned black, but the tips were still red.
Instead of turning green, both eyes became a stronger blue color than before.
[Grow your strength.]
Cordelia’s witching.
A time-limited transformation spell that greatly increases all magical abilities when in witch form.
When Cordelia nodded after looking back at herself, the witch kissed Cordelia’s forehead once more as if she really loved her.
[Look carefully at the place where I was sealed. There should be a magic book I wrote there.]
A magic book containing all of the witch’s spells.
“Thank you very much, witch.”
When Cordelia bowed her head in greeting, the witch laughed heartily and hugged Cordelia tightly.
And Uther, who was watching this whole scene, let out a tiny cough.
“Ahem.”
A cough that means, “Is there anything I need?”
Unlike the original, Yuder is also meeting the witch, so wouldn’t he be able to gain something?
Of course, on this journey, Yuder had already obtained the divine right and the magic of the Holy Cross Guardians, but isn’t there a saying that the more the better?
At Yuder’s appeal, the witch narrowed her eyes and licked her lips as she spoke.
[Yuder, you don’t suit me. Rather… I have other possibilities.]
Uder tilted his head at the unexpected story.
‘Another possibility?’
In the original, after being cured of his nine-syllable vein, Yuder is reborn as a powerful warrior with the power of the Heavenly Martial Arts.
But the witch’s words now didn’t seem to be talking about that.
[You don’t know yourself very well yet. But don’t worry. Fate will guide you.]
The witch, who had a strange smile on her face as if she knew but didn’t, stroked Cordelia’s head, who was blinking and wondering just like Uther.
[Look for the place where the demon resides. There will be something there that can help both of you.]
That was it.
The witch released Cordelia from her arms, then took a step back and took in both Uther and Cordelia in her sight.
[I’ve been delayed too long. I think it’s time to leave. But Cordelia, and Uther.]
The witch’s body floated into the air.
The surrounding area, which had been a cozy fireplace, had also become a pitch-black space filled with darkness.
[We will meet again.]
A phrase that implies a reunion, not a permanent separation.
Uther and Cordelia widened their eyes for a moment at the different lines from the original, but that was it.
Before I could even utter a word, my vision became dark.
&
“”ah.””
Uther and Cordelia opened their eyes at the same time and raised their upper bodies at the same time.
“master.”
“miss.”
The voices heard almost simultaneously belonged to Jun and Dahlia, respectively.
Uther and Cordelia blinked, looked at each other, and soon realized that they were still inside the witch’s seal.
“Oh, you’ve come to your senses!”
Lucas, who had been standing over there talking to the knights, approached with a bright face.
“The witch guided the knights. I told everyone what happened here.”
“Uh… What happened here?”
“Yes, I relayed everything I saw without leaving anything out.”
Lucas proudly straightened his shoulders and pounded his chest, but the knights’ expressions were not normal.
Everyone had a very happy and warm expression on their faces as they looked at Uther and Cordelia.
‘What the heck, what did she say? Why is Dahlia’s expression like that?’
Cordelia quickly nodded to Uther, but instead of answering, Uther just shut his eyes tightly.
Because I roughly imagined it.
‘You shouldn’t just ask.’
But Lucas had already opened his mouth, showing no intention of doing so.
“The moment the demon’s attack was about to strike Miss Cordelia! The sight of Prince Yuder flying towards Miss Cordelia was truly amazing. It was truly proof of true love that did not even fear death.”
As expected from a fan of heroic novels, Lucas’ gift for speaking came to life in strange places.
The knights, led by Dahlia, all looked at Uther and Cordelia with happy faces again, and Cordelia looked at Uther.
That’s why Yuder spoke with his eyes in a hurry.
‘No, I didn’t. I did it because I believed in the fairy’s footsteps.’
‘I know, too?’
The two people who had been having a perfect conversation just with their eyes tried to get over the situation by coughing in vain as if they had made a promise.
And luckily Lucas didn’t bother those two too much.
“The knights are all safe. The witch said that you two are just very tired, but are in good health.”
Although he had lost a bucket of blood, he was just tired, just as Lucas had said, and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with his body.
“We decided to spend the night here today and leave the forest early tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
You also had to take the Witch’s Book of Magic and the helpful items that were said to be located in the Demon’s Treasure Chest.
Of course, I was tired, too.
Yuder closed his eyes for a moment and thought about the flow of the original story.
‘Cordelia, who has acquired the witchcraft······.’
While repelling the pursuers of the Devil’s Hand in the Witch’s Forest, you learn two things.
One was that the reason the Hand of the Devil had kidnapped the children of the Twelve Families was to use them as sacrifices for the devil’s summoning, and the other was that the place where the devil’s summoning ritual would be performed and the date when the ritual was to take place were approaching.
As time was running out to return to Count Chase’s household to inform them of the crisis, Cordelia decided to suppress the ritual and head north to save the children of the twelve families.
‘It’s already gone astray.’
Because the Devil’s Hand couldn’t kidnap the children of the 12 families at all.
In the original, even if Cordelia was lost, there were people like Lucas and Sylvia who could be sacrificed, so the ritual was forced through, but now that not a single person has been secured, it is questionable whether the ritual should be carried out.
Moreover, this latest attack by the Devil’s Hand was enough to raise the alarm in the cities located in the north.
It would be impossible to hold large gatherings now that there is heightened awareness of demon followers.
‘But there is something called ‘if.’
The goal of Uther and Cordelia was not simply to follow the main scenario.
The goal was to twist the main scenario and create a happy ending that originally did not exist.
‘Let’s go north.’
If a ceremony is held, it is blocked.
And it fundamentally distorts the main scenario of Uther, the ‘Northern Barbarian Raid’ scenario.
As Yuder opened his eyes, Lucas continued his explanation.
“For now, I plan to stop by Viscount Northern’s mansion as planned and stay for a day or two. And… I think the person who picked me up from my family will also meet me at Viscount Northern’s residence.”
At Lucas’ explanation, Uther reflexively turned to Cordelia, and Cordelia also turned to Uther, so their eyes crossed.
The reason was simple.
‘Who’s coming?’
The event of each of the 12 families sending people to greet them from their homes did not exist in the original work.
Strictly speaking, the fact that Count Gale and Count Chase came from the Bayer and Chase families was different from the original.
Who is the one who comes to greet you at Count Hresvelg’s house?
As Juder began to recall the people of Count Hresvelg one by one with a serious face, Cordelia shook her head and just looked at Lucas and asked.
“Prince Lucas, do you know who is coming?”
“Yes, I heard that someone I respect a lot is coming. It’s a little embarrassing to say, but I’m really looking forward to meeting him since it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.”
As Lucas spoke with sparkling eyes as if he were telling an adventure story, Uther and Cordelia’s curiosity grew even more.
Who could it be?
Who is it that makes Lucas react like that?
As Uther and Cordelia began to show increasing interest, Lucas spoke with a proud look on his face.
“Both of you, have you ever heard the story of the ‘Red-Haired Warrior’?”
Uther and Cordelia nodded at the same time. It had to be that way.
Red-haired warrior.
Landius of the Red Flame.
In Heroes Chronicle 2, he was one of the five main characters from Heroes Chronicle 1 who died early in the setting and did not appear.
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< Chapter 7 - Full Moon > End
