Even in such a dire situation, her priority was still to fight the Snow Woman in front of her. Her bombardment completely drowned out the moans of her teammates in the rocking cage on the ground, and the bursts of brilliant explosions unfolding before her were like a series of dazzling fireworks displays. Ice and flame, she was a madwoman no matter which side you looked at. Especially… heedless, displaying and venting all her power in this battle. Just as… just as all the legends about “witches” mentioned. Witches were indeed powerful. Witches indeed excelled at fire. Witches were indeed quite mad. She was worthy of the name witch, high above the Snow Woman’s castle, using grand explosions, overwhelming firepower, and indiscriminate damage to display a terror that made even her supposed allies, the “adventurers,” gasp.
*Thump.*
Ward, the captain of Shadow Flame Variation, who was looking up at this scene, fell to his knees.
… At least, after seeing the witch on the 70th floor that day, who unleashed countless ancient magics he had never even heard of, Shadow Flame Variation, having just ascended to S5, no longer wanted to clear The End of Ice Abyss 70th floor. Not only did their captain abandon the attempt, but he also decided to move his entire family to another dungeon once his injuries healed. Because… even such a witch… even with such a mad attack, in the end… she couldn’t break the Snow Woman’s ice wall.
… “Tsk. If… if it were me a few months ago, she wouldn’t have lasted this long.” Sitting at the Adventurer’s Guild priest’s counter, Liya exposed her arm and complained. Although she also needed treatment, compared to her teammate who had “invited” her and was still covered in ice even while lying in bed, her injuries were almost negligible.
“Th-this little girl, please don’t move, frostbite requires continuous treatment…”
“Who are you calling a little girl? I’m probably… probably older than your grandmother.” Liya’s tone was a bit agitated at first, but softened in the latter half.
“That… is… is Teacher Liya?” At the Adventurer’s Guild’s frostbite aid station, Hunter, who was also slightly injured, saw who he had long suspected… it was the witch lady, his teacher from Entak Academy. Although she appeared much “gentler” now than when she was their homeroom teacher, no longer a professor with a mysterious whereabouts. Back at school, he was Will’s subordinate. Naturally… as Will’s mentor, Liya’s relationship with Will, which was never quite ordinary, was something he had witnessed. But… Liya was clearly not with Will’s adventuring team now, and Will was nowhere to be seen—he seemed to have disappeared from this world at some point. Even the royal family had stopped mentioning his existence after postponing the wedding. And… her slightly strange right ring finger, adorned with two rings.
“I originally thought… I thought Teacher Liya had already formed a team with big brother Will, and now she should be…”
*Whoosh.*
Liya picked up her staff and aimed it at Hunter’s head. Flames were already flickering at the tip of her staff. Her blood-red eyes held anger, sorrow, and resentment. This expression was even more terrifying than the madness she displayed while suppressing the Snow Woman with firepower; the look in her eyes seemed as if she wanted to devour him.
“Now she should be… living… living a happy life for two, just the two of you.” Hunter’s eyes and body couldn’t react to Liya’s murderous staff in time, but he still finished the latter half of his sentence.
“…Sorry. You shouldn’t have said that name.” Liya didn’t say much, glancing at the priestess who was healing her. The priestess was also terrified now. But it was precisely this glare that made the priestess intensify her treatment, not daring to slack off.
“I-it’s okay, so Will… he must have had a reason for asking you to be in the rocking cage, after all, he…”
“He’s dead.” Hunter seemed to understand where Liya’s terrifying aura came from. She was now… very, very persistent, very, very obsessed, and very, very regretful. Therefore, no one could stop her. “I will defeat the Snow Woman of The End of Ice Abyss.” “I will twist her head off.” “I will complete… Quest 513.”
… “What kind of witch is the most terrifying?” “The lamb said it was a witch who hadn’t eaten enough; its parents were spinning on her grill.” “The songbird said it was a witch who hadn’t slept well; its sister became charcoal at her entrance.” “The fox said it was an angry witch; its child fell into eternal flames just for stealing her fruit.” “Only the prince of a fallen kingdom said it was a witch who lost her lover.” “Because she is always hungry, always sleepless, and always angry.” “More importantly, no one can control her anymore—not even the king, if he were alive.” “After all, no one can be crazier than a witch.”
… The minstrel finished singing a song with a hop and a skip. In this town where a genuine “witch” already existed, singing such a ghost ballad seemed like it would cost him his life several times over. But… the adventurers now were all in a hurry. Even with him trying to leverage the hottest trend and passing adventurers, few listened from beginning to end, let alone dropped a coin into his hat. Except… *clink clink*. His only listener, completely hidden under a black hood and wearing a black mask, looked more peculiar than the story itself, no matter how you looked at it. Without even squatting down, he held up his hand, and coins clinked from his fingertips into the plate.
“Alright, alright, thank you, esteemed guest. Would you like another song?”
“No. I just wanted to tell you…” His voice wasn’t loud, but his appearance, which concealed his entire face, and his tattered, dirty adventurer’s clothes did not make him look like a recent graduate. This made his identity difficult to guess.
“The witch who lost her lover isn’t that scary.” The minstrel seemed to hear from beneath the mask. “On the contrary, she can be quite cute in many ways.”
“That won’t do!” The minstrel had his own stubborn insistence on the terrifying ghost ballads he wrote. “The most important part of this ballad is the terror brought by the witch’s love, that combination of love and madness… you understand? You probably don’t understand…” The minstrel looked up and realized the person had already disappeared after speaking. He hadn’t even noticed how he left. And… the coins he gave. Every single one… was counterfeit! They were all imprinted with the head of a witch wearing a big hat!
