Chapter 142: Come, Spring (7)
The sky was clear. The brisk air, unusual for the season, lingered along the shoreline. Ronan, deeply inhaling from his pipe, surveyed his surroundings.
‘What a marvelous sight.’
The frozen sea was thawing, scattered ice floes bobbing on the water. Cracks erupted, towering ice spires collapsing into the sea with a loud crash.
Contrasting the chilly air, the sunlight was warm. It was just a matter of waiting for the air to warm enough to bloom flowers. Smiling, Ronan muttered as he let out a puff of smoke.
“Looks like spring.”
It had been about an hour since the unprecedented prison break had been quelled. The witch’s ice began ominously melting as soon as Aselle lost consciousness.
Turning away after puffing his pipe, Ronan saw the completely ravaged upper part of Rodolan Fortress, resembling a volcanic eruption. It was the collaborative work of Aselle and Itargand.
Fixing that would likely require dozens of skilled earth mages, maybe even stonemasons or carpenters. Numerous people were frantically bustling around the dock carved out of the reef.
“There, move this!”
“Yes. Master Ahja, all the prisoners on the third floor have been subdued. There don’t seem to be any escapees yet.”
“Heheh, guess I won’t need to wear that stupid fur coat anymore.”
Despite the chaos they’d endured, people seemed overall invigorated. The horrors of the year-long winter summoned by the witch felt all too real.
However, if one were to ask if everything was resolved, it wasn’t. The biggest problem still lingered. Ronan, pondering while rubbing his chin, was interrupted by Elizabeth draped in a blanket.
“Ronan-nim.”
“You’re here.”
Her complexion had notably improved, evidently recovering from the ordeal. Her hair, once soaked and resembling seaweed, had dried out completely. Extending a blanket similar to hers, she spoke.
“I survived because of you. I’m always indebted to you.”
“It was nothing.”
“Not at all. What exactly did you go through for the past two years?”
Elizabeth’s voice trembled. She couldn’t fathom how she’d survived beneath the witch’s ice in the deepest recesses of Rodolan.
Being saved from drowning due to the barrier she had put up was one thing, but the real problem came after. When the witch froze the seawater, they were trapped in an airless, lightless ice prison.
The cold they felt then was indescribable. Without consuming the Eternal Snow Pearl, they surely wouldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes.
Escaping that hell was solely thanks to Ronan. Remembering the moment of escape, Elizabeth flinched.
– Move.
With just that word, Ronan swung his sword. The scene of the sword’s energy breaking the ice would remain unforgettable.
Afterward, they managed to escape riding on top of Itargand, who had come to his senses. Although she had thought that he’d grown considerably stronger over the last two years, he was in an entirely different league.
Ronan, who was reminiscing about what he had experienced in the Mental World, opened his mouth.
“Just roamed around here and there.”
“Are you going to avoid it this time too?”
“Explaining it all here would take a while. But hey, we’re alive, aren’t we?”
“…That’s true. And Aselle?”
Ronan’s brow twitched momentarily. Silently, he nodded toward where Aselle lay unconscious, pointing with his chin.
“Same as before.”
They had discreetly moved Aselle away, to keep the fact that he had been possessed by the witch hidden from the others. Elizabeth, seeing his still snowy white hair, grimaced.
“His hair color… hasn’t returned yet.”
“Yeah. How do we really get that old hag out of him…”
Ronan ran his hand through his hair, exhaling heavily. Knocking him out was fine for now, but the issue lay in what followed.
He had no clue how to separate the witch’s soul. Consulting with Elizabeth, Itargand, and a few seemingly skilled mages yielded no concrete answers.
‘I’d rather resolve this before it escalates.’
Of course, once news of Rodolan’s situation spread, there might be those who knew the solution. However, Aselle’s life was poised to be tumultuous for quite a while.
Considering the time left, it seemed wiser to swiftly resolve it before that. Amid his contemplation, a familiar voice came from behind.
“Oh, there you are.”
“Karaka?”
Ronan turned his head. Karaka approached, bearing the consequences, alongside a bird masked guard.
The two stood before Ronan. It seemed they had gauged the situation to some extent. Here they come. Ronan took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
“How many died?”
“Seven. All tried to escape and were intercepted by the interrogators. I feel sorry for them, but it was a pitiful end.”
“…Huh? Is that all?”
“Yes. I was surprised too.”
Karaka shook his head. Ronan breathed a sigh of relief. Considering Aselle’s telekinetic punch piercing through Rodolan, having so few casualties felt like a miracle.
“Of course, your warning was of great help, but having this few casualties, it feels like it was heaven’s intervention. We were incredibly lucky.”
“Damn, that’s a real relief.”
“However, there are nearly a thousand injured and the material damage is incalculable. Surely, this day will go down as the worst since the Fortress of Screams was established. Heheheh.”
“Damn.”
Karaka chuckled while stroking his beard. He also mentioned that most of Rodolan’s underground had been flooded by seawater. Ronan, looking at Aselle with a troubled gaze, spoke up.
“Will they hold this kid accountable too?”
“Well, if we can’t separate the witch’s soul from his body, the likelihood of that happening is significant.”
“Damn it…”
Ronan pursed his lips. This was the biggest reason why they had to somehow extract the Winter Witch from Aselle. Having been manipulated against his will, now he might also face severe punishment.
Having lost his body, if he returned to Rodolan as a criminal, it would be too tragic. As Ronan pondered, feeling disheartened, Karaka spoke again.
“Still, it doesn’t seem entirely hopeless.”
“What do you mean?”
Instead of answering directly, Karaka signaled to the guard beside him. The guard removed the mask, revealing a young girl’s face.
“I… I know.”
“Huh?”
The girl seemed familiar, with delicate features that exuded beauty and healthy brown hair. Elizabeth’s eyes widened.
“…Evelin?”
“Hello, Senior Elizabeth. I’ve caused you all a lot of trouble.”
The girl awkwardly bowed while greeting. Ronan’s eyes widened too. It was Evelin Droza, who had been a vessel for the Winter Witch. Her complexion had improved significantly since being extracted from the ice, making it difficult to recognize her for a moment.
“She woke up a little while ago, I thought it might get noisy, so I had her disguised herself. She knows a way to extract the Winter Witch from your friend’s body.”
Karaka remarked. Ronan’s eyes widened, and he grabbed onto both of her shoulders.
“Is that true? You know how to extract the Winter Witch?”
“Yes. It may take some time, but I can do it. My… shoulder.”
Evelin’s eyes trembled as if she was in pain. Only then did Ronan realize that he was exerting too much force and let go.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. You’re the one who got me out of that ice, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“I’ll never forget your kindness. Thank you.”
Evelin bowed deeply, and Ronan waved his hand. She seemed like a pretty nice girl with good manners.
Or was it that the atmosphere around her was good? Despite her history as a vessel for the witch, it was hard to believe she’d been involved in such crimes in the future.
‘There was a reason the witch chose her as a vessel. She’s strong.’
Her skills as a mage also seemed remarkable. Although Ronan felt sorry for Elizabeth, it seemed possible that she hadn’t lost to the witch during the entrance ceremony but rather to Evelin’s own abilities.
The time when the witch possessed Evelin, the people who imprisoned her—Ronan had several questions to ask when Evelin woke up, but now wasn’t the time. He inquired about the method.
“So, what’s the method?”
“It’s simple. I’ll become the vessel again and accept the witch. Since I’ve been a vessel once, it should be much easier.”
Evelin had some proficiency in soul-altering magic, thanks to her father, a former dark mage. Though it felt dubious, the potential was there. However, a thought crossed Ronan’s mind.
“Wait. Won’t that old woman rampage again? What if she takes over your mind and you become the Winter Witch again?”
“Yeah. So, as soon as I’ve transferred her soul, you need to seal me. A powerful seal that I’ll never be able to break free from. That will solve everything.”
Evelin said with a subtle smile on her face. Both Ronan and Elizabeth froze. Ronan firmly shook his head.
“No, that won’t work.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Damn it, if I said it won’t work, it won’t work. You’re suggesting something that makes no sense.”
Despite his advice-worthy expression and tone, he couldn’t fathom what she was saying. He couldn’t just sit back and watch her take on the sins to save Aselle in such a way.
“Is there no other way?”
“Well… perhaps. It won’t be easy to find a vessel that can handle the witch…”
“Can’t it be an object instead of a person?”
“In theory, it’s possible. But I’m not sure if there’s an object strong enough to seal the witch.”
Evelin sighed. She acknowledged that while the method of separating the vessel might be similar, the Winter Witch’s immense power was the issue.
While transferring to a mediocre vessel could lead to it breaking or the witch being released immediately, causing more casualties. The term ‘vessel’ struck a chord in Ronan’s mind suddenly.
“There’s one.”
“What?”
Evelin’s eyebrows rose. Ronan sat down in front of Aselle and started rummaging through every nook and cranny of his robe. Elizabeth was bewildered.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“Wait. He carried it even to the bathroom…”
He definitely remembered seeing Aselle carry it even after returning from the Mental World. Soon, Ronan’s face lit up. His hand emerged from deep within the robe.
“Found it.”
In Ronan’s hands, he held a pitch-black book. The two women’s eyes widened. It was none other than the Vijra of Destruction, an unprecedentedly forbidden book. Ronan said as he handed the Vijra to Evelin.
“It would be possible with this, don’t you think?”
The book that once contained an evil spirit and had brought ruin to countless nations. It was rumored to have the souls of countless mages sealed within each page. There was nothing more fitting to seal the witch than this. Evelin marveled as she looked at Vijra.
“I think this… might be possible…!”
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