Chapter 49
The Witch Odr chuckled and extended her hand toward Rufus.
“Fine. I don’t know what you’re up to, but I shall ask my king. I can’t guarantee he will agree to see someone like you, though.”
“Thank you.”
Rufus tossed the antidote to the Witch Odr.
Drinking the antidote, Iruel’s blood slowly began to circulate again.
“If King Audixus permits, I’ll come for you tonight. My son will guide you if things go as planned.”
After confirming Iruel’s recovery, the Witch Odr shot Rufus a sharp smile. Simultaneously, the magic lifting Iruel abruptly ceased.
Thud!
Iruel dropped to the ground.
“Damn it…”
Iruel coughed harshly, gasping for breath.
“I’m swearing off alcohol from now on… drinking makes me a fool…”
The Witch Odr looked down at her son with a mix of pity and disdain, then quickly turned around.
The red-haired witch inside the tent transformed in an instant. This time she turned into a snake, not a mouse.
“Let’s meet again if the opportunity arises.”
Transformed into a snake, Witch Odr flicked her tongue at Rufus and then swiftly disappeared through the tent.
***
“You seriously know the Demon King?”
“Talkative, aren’t you.”
“…Lieutenant Rufus. Do you really know King Audixus?”
“Yes.”
“Huh, a Baron’s son with such wide connections… What’s your real identity, Lieutenant?”
“That’s none of your business.”
On a pitch-black night without the moon, Rufus and Iruel quietly left the camp, walking deep into the forest.
Even though Iruel had taken the antidote, the aftereffects of the Karosis poison left him pale and haggard. He spent the entire time recovering by hurling all kinds of insults at Rufus, eventually earning a punch in return.
“This is the place.”
Rubbing his still sore head, Iruel stopped walking.
The ground was excessively damp. The soil condition was poor. The black earth emitted a rotting stench.
The closer one gets to the domain of demons, the more desolate the land becomes. The Inferna domain turning into a wasteland follows the same logic.
As they waited, a snake slithered toward them from a distance.
“Mother.”
Responding to Iruel’s call, the snake transformed back into the Witch Odr.
“We’ve sneaked out, haven’t we? It’s annoying if humans tag along.”
In the darkness, the Witch Odr’s fiery red hair glowed brightly. In her hand was a broomstick.
Seeing it, Rufus thought of Sarubia. She, too, had been holding a broomstick when they first met.
“I checked, and indeed, King Audixus knows about you. He has ordered that you be brought to him.”
The Witch Odr snapped her fingers, and the broomstick levitated.
“Lieutenant Rufus, I will escort you to the Demon King’s castle. Please, get on behind me.”
The witch gracefully mounted the broomstick and gestured for Rufus to follow.
Iruel hesitated.
“Mother, isn’t it a bit cramped for three?”
“Of course, it’s cramped. You fly on your own.”
“What?”
“Transform into a bird and fly over. If it’s too much trouble, just go back to the humans. Actually, you don’t really need to come.”
“Iruel can also transform?”
Rufus, cautiously climbing onto the broomstick, asked.
“Of course. A witch’s child is a witch.”
This was news to Rufus.
“But isn’t Iruel a man?”
“He’s male because he’s mixed with human blood. A half-witch.”
Witch Odr shook her head as if it were a pity.
“If he had been born a girl, I would have kept and raised him in the Demon King’s castle. But since he’s a boy, I had no choice but to send him to Viscount Eustice.”
Like the Witch Odr had done, Iruel shook lightly. His form glowed red as it began to change.
Chirp-chirp—
Before Rufus appeared a small sparrow.
“…What is this, such a trivial creature.”
Rufus was incredulous. He had expected something larger and more fearsome, not a mere sparrow.
The sparrow chirped and flew onto Rufus’s shoulder, pecking his cheek with its tiny beak.
Rufus swatted it away.
Squawk!
The sparrow let out a pitiful scream as it dropped to the ground.
The Witch Odr sighed.
“I told you, he’s only half a witch. That’s the best he can do.”
The Witch Odr infused magic into the broomstick. The broomstick, now activated, soared across the pitch-black sky. The sparrow frantically followed behind.
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