Volume 1 - CH 4

Witches of Doom

Translated by SoundDestiny

Edited by SoundDestiny

“『No one loves a fearless, horrid witch like you. I have never loved you.』”

“Hiuuh……!”

A cold voice rang in her head. At the blade of words that tore at her, Neimilia jumped up with the force of a spring-loaded mechanism.

The deepest darkness surrounds her. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was in a familiar room. It is a room given to her, a maid, in the house of Raidorl in the pioneer city of Raid.

Apparently, she was asleep in bed. Neimilia hugged the sheets and breathed roughly.

“you’ve fallen asleep……You shouldn’t, a maid must not sleep without waiting for her master’s return. …..”

Neimilia turned her attention to the pendulum clock on the wall.

There are no lamps or candelabras in the room. Nevertheless, Neimilia, a dark witch, has cat-like night vision and could see the hands of the clock without any problem.

“Is it already midnight? Master, you are late again today. ………”

Neimilia mumbled anxiously and chewed the sheets with a ‘humph’.

Having decided to return to the royal capital, Raidorl had discussions with the leading figures of the frontier city late into the night, day after day.

However decorous he may be,  he has the final say for the town. There was a lot to take over, including how to deal with emergencies.

It was already midnight, but there was still no sign of Raidorl’s return. The Guild had already moved Mertina, who had been held as a prisoner of war, to a prison cell for criminals in the Guild, and Neimilia was left all alone in the not very spacious mansion.

No matter how late it is, Raidorl usually comes back before morning. Despite knowing this, Neimilia could not suppress the feelings of anxiety that welled up in her heart.

“Uuuu…… I miss him so much. Master……”

She squirms and chews on the sheets, then growls with tears in her eyes.

Alone in the dark like this, she remembers the hellish days of the past.

In Neimilia’s mind, the memory of the time when she met Raidorl came back to life.

〇　　　　　　　　　〇　　　　　　　　　〇

The Six Witches of Doom.

It is the name of a monster that has often appeared in human history and has driven a number of countries to destruction.

Eldest daughter –  Akasha, witch of『Fire』

Second daughter – Carmelan, witch of『Water』 .

Third daughter – Fufuru, witch of『Wind』

Fourth daughter –   Osman, witch of『Earth』

Fifth daughter – Neimilia, witch of 『Darkness』

And the Great Mother who created the five witches – Glasslead, the witch of 『Light』.

It was two years ago that Neimilia, one of the witches of calamity, met Raidorl Zain.

The Kingdom of Zain, a country in the western part of the continent. To the south of the kingdom was a vast sea of trees that stretched over one-fifth of the country. It is a ‘Demon Forest’, where enormous amounts of mana gush out from the spiritual veins running beneath the earth and continue to drain powerful demons caused by mutations.

And deep within that sea of trees. Hidden in the dense foliage stood an old stone ruin. The ruin, which may have been there since the founding of the kingdom,is magically sealed from the outside, firmly preventing anyone from entering.

“Houu……”

Inside such ruins, Neimilia sighs.

Neimilia’s hands and feet are bound by chains hanging from the ceiling and walls. Her body was not clad in a single piece of cloth, exposing her white naked body to the full darkness, where there was not a ray of light.

Her naked body is as spotless as virgin snow, untouched by anyone, and her black hair, which flows down from her head, is as beautiful as an exquisite work of art. The colour in her eyes is golden, and they shine like a full moon in the night sky, dimly illuminating the darkness.

Neimilia looked like a work of art in itself, but there was no one to admire her beauty and good looks in the ruin, where not even an ant could enter.

Neimilia, the Witch of Darkness, had spent 200 years in the ruins, which were as lightless as an abyss.

“I’m lonely………Someone help me.”

A murmur escaped Neimilia’s lips.

For Neimilia, the witch in charge of 『darkness』, the darkness of the deep abyss did not necessarily cause her pain.

However, the years she had spent alone, unable to meet anyone, had steadily pushed Neimilia’s spirit into a corner.

Trapped alone in the dark without light, a normal person would go insane in less than a week. Neimilia, who has spent 200 years in such an environment and still maintains an equilibrium of mind, is more abnormal.

However, Neimilia’s mind was finally reaching its limits.

Her spirit, which had been chipped away bit by bit over a mind-numbing period of time, was on the verge of collapse, and in a matter of days her mind would sink into madness.

How did the witch Neimilia end up in a never-ending captivity — it goes back three hundred years.

Three hundred years ago, Grasslead, leader of the Six Witches of Doom, declared the extermination of mankind. And – the five daughter witches responded.

Six witches plunged the continent into chaos as they were thrown into the fire. The turmoil, dubbed 『The Great Calamity』, lasted more than a hundred years and drove several countries and civilisations to extinction.

Just when everyone was about to fall in despair, heroes appeared to save the world. They were Excalibur Holder, the holder of the Twelve Holy Swords chosen as the Miracle Swords.

The Excalibur Holders fought fierce battles against the Witches and their allies, and finally succeeded in defeating the threat. Although they were unable to defeat all the witches, they saved the countries that were being destroyed by the witch plague and restored the human race.

Thus, in exchange for a number of sacrifices, mankind’s life line has been extended. However, it is not widely known that there are actually hidden actors behind this history.

The hero erased from history is the youngest daughter of the Six Witches, Neimilia, the Witch of Darkness. She fell in love with one of the holders of the Holy Sword, Excalibur Holder, and betrayed her mother and sisters to side with humanity for the man she loved.

If it had not been for Neimilia’s betrayal, more people would have been killed and several countries would have fallen by the overwhelmingly powerful witches. Neimilia was a witch, but she was certainly a saviour who saved humanity.

Neimilia supported the Holy Sword holder Excalibur Holder, whom she was in love with, and even made enemies of her family for the man’s sake.

Her reward was not eternal love, but a captivity that would never end.

“『Why! Why am I being subjected to this?』”

Neimilia screamed as she was chained to the ruins.

She betrayed her family for the man she loves. She had given up everything and put her existence on the line for him.

“『….. Don’t you understand, Neimilia?』”

The man she loved looks up at the hung woman with cold eyes. He is one of the Excalibur Holders, the one who saved the world.

“『It’s true that you betrayed other witches to help us. But that doesn’t erase the crimes you committed. It doesn’t bring back to life the people you killed.』”

“『but…… it’s ……』”

Neimilia is speechless at the denunciation from the man she loves. She desperately searches for words of excuse, but the piercing gaze of the man does not allow her to do so.

The man’s lips twisted sarcastically as he sniffed at Neimilia ‘s stammering.

“『I’m not going to kill you like the other witches. You should be so grateful..』”

“『That’s….』”

The lips that once whispered of love spat out sharp words of rejection. The first time she heard these words, she could not believe her eyes and tears fell from her eyes.

“『You will spend for eternity in this place, continuing your never-ending penance. Only then your sins will finally be wiped away. Finally, my heart will be satisfied.』”

“『……!』”

“『And one more thing I’ll tell you.』”

The man she loved stepped out of the ruins and looked back at the cowering Neimilia.

“『It was you who destroyed my birthplace and killed my fiancée. Neimilia.』”

“『Ehh……』”

“『No one loves a monster witch like you. I have never loved you.』”

Having said this, the man closed the door to the ruins.

The ruins close tightly and Neimilia is left in the darkness of the abyss.

“『Noooooooooooooo!　Don’t leave me, don’t leave me alone!』”

Neimilia’s screams spilled out into the darkness. Tears of blood spill from her golden eyes and wet the stone floor.

She was thus taken as a prisoner and aged 200 years.

As an immortal witch, she was not allowed to die, and she had to spend a dreary number of years in the darkness of the abyss.

“Someone, anyone, …… help me ……”

Neimilia squeezed out a desperate plea.

It had been 200 years since she had fought for her lover, only to be betrayed and trapped in the ruins. Every day she cried out for help.

But no one could hear her voice. No one would listen to her.

She had reached her limit. Neimilia’s heart is already on the verge of collapse and it is only a matter of time before it shatters and she goes mad.

“Please…..someone, save me ……”

Her voice does not reach them.

The ruin where Neimilia is sealed, is deep in the Devil’s Forest, and the entrance is further sealed by the power of the Holy Sword.

No one could hear her cry for help.

“Oh, it’s open.”

“……. eh?”

But even though it did not reach them, a helping hand was suddenly offered.

Without warning, the door to the sealed ruins was opened.

For the first time in two hundred years, light shone into the stone building and the face of a young boy emerged from the sunlight.

“That was bad. ……… I thought I was going to die.”

A silver-haired, red-eyed boy in a simple leather armour suit blurted out as he entered. The boy stepped into a building that no one had entered for 200 years.

The boy has wounds all over his body. On his arm, he has three wounds that look like the claw marks of a beast, and it seems that he was attacked by a demon and fled to the ruins.

The boy closed the entrance to the ruins tightly, preventing demons from entering from the outside. He took a spark from the toolbox on his belt and lit a light.

“…..Fu, what a relief. How about I rest……..ha?”

This is where the boy finally became aware of Neimilia’s presence.

Under a small light. He looked at the beautiful witch’s whole body from top to bottom, hanging by chains at the back of the ruins, and was often speechless.

“Ah …..”

A voice escapes Neimilia’s mouth as she remembers.

She had stopped thinking about the boy who had appeared so abruptly that she did not know what to say to him.

The boy and the witch often look at each other speechless.

And then -.

“…………”

The boy turns on his heel and tries to walk out with his hand on the door of the ruins.

Neimilia, realising that the first person she had met in a long time was about to leave, raised her voice in a panic.

“Wait, wait, wait!　Don’t go!”

Desperate cries reverberate through the stone building. Neimilia herself was most surprised to see that her own mouth could still produce such a loud cry.

“I won’t do anything! Don’t be afraid of me!　Look, look, it’s a naked Onee-san! This Onee-san has beautiful tits!!!”

“No, I’m leaving because there’s a naked lady!”

The boy turns around and speaks out rightly. His eyes wander through the air without looking directly at Neimilia.

“What’s wrong? See, see, I’m not afraid!”

“You’re the one who’s out of your mind!　At least put your trousers on!”

Neimilia was in a state of nakedness, and as her hands and feet were bound by chains, she was unable to conceal her bare skin.

Her soft breasts and legs, and even her more sensitive parts, were exposed in all their glory, a sight that was not pleasing to the eyes of a young boy of no more than a few years of age.

The boy scratched his head as he looked away and sat down on the stone floor.

“Well, …… okay. There’s probably a bunch of demons out there anyway. I think I’ll stay here for a while longer.”

“Thank you, I’m so happy!　You can touch my tits in return!”

“….. I knew it, can I leave?”

The boy glanced towards the door with a subtle look on his face.

He hesitated for a while about leaving, but eventually gave up and dropped his shoulders as if he had given up.

“So, ……, what on earth are you doing here?　Just to be clear, I’m going to ask you, you don’t have any strange proclivities or anything, do you?”

“Muu, in a way you could say I’ve been left alone to play, but…..it’s been too long!　I’ve been tied up here for a long time. For over a hundred years!”

“One hundred years……I see. That can happen.”

The boy nodded his head in agreement, his eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. The boy’s too understanding attitude made Neimilia tilt her head to the side this time.

“You’re convinced?　I think I did say some crazy stuff about myself.’”

“’I don’t know, but it could happen, couldn’t it?　There are legendary holy swords out there, so there must be other wondrous things out there.”

The boy said with a faraway look in his eyes and took a brown object from his toolbox. It was smoked goat meat, something adventurers carry as portable food.

“Nggu …… want some?”

“No ……, I’d rather talk to you about it.’

“Talking about it, …… I’m wondering why you’re in such a situation…..”

The boy looks at Neimilia and then panics as he sees her naked body again.

“No, …… it’s not for a man to pry into a woman’s affairs. Let me, tell you how I got here.”

The boy began to talk in a whispered voice about how he had come to visit the ruin.

He said that he had come to collect precious medicinal herbs that can only be found in these dense forests. On the way back, he encountered a swarm of demons of a scale that should not have appeared at this time of year. While running away from the demons, he went deeper into the jungle and was finally injured. It was then that he found these ruins and fled in a panic.

“These ruins were supposed to have a sealing spell on them. How did you get in?”

“Sealed?　I don’t know, I pushed it and it opened. So I went in. That’s it.”

The boy said it like it was nothing, while applying the medicine he always kept on his injured arm and leg.

There is no easy way to get in. If the seal was that easy to break, someone would have visited this place earlier.

Incidentally, and unknown to Neimilia, the ruins had been surrounded by an exorcism ward, so that even adventurers in the pioneer city had been unable to find her until now.

Neimilia was more intrigued by the boy with whom she had exchanged words for the first time in 200 years than by the cause of the seal’s breaking.

“Well, maybe the……years have loosened the seal. I wonder if there’s more stories to talk about it. Anything at all?”

“More stories……well then I’ll tell you what happened to me.”

The boy continues to talk about his past as if he were complaining. That he was once royalty. That he was banished from the royal capital after being chosen as the Excalibur Holder, the holder of the Holy Sword. He even mentions that his family, friends and subjects have all abandoned him.

Finally, when Neimilia heard the boy’s name, she burst into tears.

“Oi,oi what’s going on!”

“It’s nothing…..”

Neimilia did not know why she was crying.

Did she compare herself with the boy who was left alone?

When she heard that the boy was a Excalibur Holder, she remembered the man who locked her in here.

Was it because she heard that the boy’s surname was the same as ‘him’ and imagined that the man she loved had been united with another woman and had produced offspring?

The reason is not clear, but Neimilia continued to cry until the water in her body dried up.

The boy, Raidorl wandered around the ruin, while trying to cheer her up.

“Aaa, Mou!　Being cooped up in this gloomy, depressing place makes you emotional. I’ll take you to my town and we’ll get the hell out of here!”

“I’m glad you wanted to help…..I’m happy, but my chain is……”

“What’s wrong with these chains? Why don’t you just break these rusty, rusty restraints?”

“Eee……?””

Raidorl drew the sword at his waist and broke the chains holding Neimilia as if nothing had happened.

The magical chains, which had held her in place for two hundred years, easily fell apart.

“Such …… why …..”

“That outfit is a sight for sore eyes. You should put this on for now.”

Raidorl took off the jacket he was wearing under his armour and put it over Neimilia’s naked body. The black jacket still had the warmth of human skin, and Neimilia’s eyes widened at the first warm feeling she had felt in two hundred years.

“The problem is the demons outside. Now, how do we get home?”

Raidorl scratches his head and ponders with a difficult expression. While looking at such a profile, Neimilia was convinced as if she had received a revelation.

‘I see. …… I should live for this person’

Following her mother in trying to destroy mankind. Betrayed her family to fight for those she loved.

Then she was betrayed by her loved ones and held prisoner for 200 years.

If she had to find meaning in such a stupid, silly life, she could think of no other reason. All the misfortunes she had experienced were for the sake of meeting the boy in front of her – there was no other reason for the cursed witch’s life to make sense.

‘Live for this person. Protect this person. Do his bidding……I will devote my whole body and soul to him and one day I will give birth to his child. I’m sure that’s why I waited for him here.’

Neimilia, a witch with a severe romantic tendency by nature and tends to mistake coincidence for fate.

Because of this character, she betrayed her family for her lover, and it seems that her fundamental character did not change even after two hundred years of imprisonment.

Thus, Neimilia, one of the 『Six Witches of Doom』 – the witch of 『Darkness』 – became Raidorl’s maid.

The fact that Raidorl gained a fearsome ally in the exiled frontier would later influence not only the fate of the Kingdom of Zain, but even the fate of the world, but that is a future that no one knows yet.