Chapter 8
The witch glared up at Alnazir, panting with anger. She didn’t need to be told. It was obvious he was the cause of her predicament.
But why did that resentful look in her eyes thrill him so much?
Alnazir shivered with a sense of delight he didn’t fully understand. Maybe his brain had gone funny from sleeping so long.
He wasn’t in his right mind, that much he could tell. Still, he found it nearly impossible to look away from her. Even a brief glance away, and he might miss the smallest flicker of expression on her face. He couldn’t bear that thought.
He was obviously overstimulated by the excitement of finally meeting a witch. To steady himself, Alnazir took a long, deep breath.
“I’m not going back.”
That was the only conclusion he’d come to. He would not go back.
He stared straight at her as he declared it. The two of them silently locked eyes, neither willing to give ground, and both of their bodies trembled with adrenaline.
She seemed so wound up, it was almost as if her heart was about to give out…no, it actually looked like she might pass out any second.
Alnazir, who’d been looking at her like he might devour her, regained his senses and relaxed his gaze. The witch wobbled and pitched forward.
If he’d waited even a second longer, he might have killed her again. What a troublesome ‘great being’. One moment of carelessness and she nearly dies. There was nothing great about this at all.
What a nuisance. Alnazir clicked his tongue as he watched the witch struggle to catch her breath. How could someone so fragile possibly rule over the world?
He suddenly became curious—was she really in charge? What kinds of creatures did she command? What was her favorite kind of disaster? In fact, he wanted to know her entire life story, top to bottom.
“Witch,” Alnazir called her name, trying to sound as gentle as possible.
“Ugh…!”
“There are so many things I want to ask you.”
“Ah… ahhh…!”
Apparently, he still hadn’t managed to keep all the power out of his voice. Just hearing him call her witch made her clutch her chest in agony.
“Please… snf… please, just stop…”
He wasn’t even touching her anymore, yet she kept begging him to stop as if he were.
Alnazir used a tentacle to make sure she couldn’t escape, wrapping it tightly around her clothes as he fell into thought. If he wanted to satisfy his curiosity, he needed to figure out a way to talk to her without hurting her.
How could he make that work? He watched her squirming, short limbs and got an idea.
Maybe if he matched her, made himself as weak as she was, or at least looked like it, he could control his power. Besides, if he could shrink his body, maybe he could get through the narrow ring and free himself entirely, and finally touch her directly.
He’d never tried this before, but it seemed worth a shot. Thanks to this witch, he realized that even a great being could take on a pitiful form.
Slowly, Alnazir exhaled and began reshaping himself, using everything he remembered about humans: two eyes and ears, one nose, one head, probably no tentacles…
While she sobbed, Fay suddenly sensed the tentacles were gone. She snapped her head up. There was nothing but swirling fog, the monster nowhere to be seen.
Instead, she heard the sound of wet footsteps coming her way.
Hurriedly, Fay grabbed her staff off the floor. It was the only thing she could rely on right now, her mother’s staff. Fay’s fire magic hadn’t worked before, so maybe ice this time.
She waited for her chance as a man finally stepped into view. How could there be a person here? And not just anyone, but a rather handsome man, with striking, sharp features.
Fay waved her wand at him as he approached with easy, unhurried steps.
“Stay right there! That’s dan—wai-wait a minute!”
As his body came into focus through the mist, Fay’s jaw dropped. The man was almost entirely naked, save for a thin white cloth tossed over his shoulder. Not even the most important part was covered.
Fay flushed with embarrassment; she’d never seen a man’s that so openly before. On reflex, she stuck out her hand to block her own view of the man’s dangling thing.
“Who—who are you, showing up like… like that?!”
“Is there something wrong?”
“You’re not covered! I-I’m sure you didn’t mean to, but—ah, you, you forgot, you’re not covered…!”
The man tilted his head, then took the cloth from his shoulder and draped it around his neck.
That’s not it! Cover yourself down there!
Fay’s thoughts were in complete chaos.
Who was this man, to just appear and parade around naked like nothing was wrong? Was he some kind of pervert…?
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