Reasons to Protect the Witch's Son

As Bella slowly approached, blue flames covered the ground. She calmly walked right through the flames, without harm.

“Ah! She’s a witch!”

“Witch! Witch! It’s a witch!”

“Ahh! Help me!”

Screams of terror erupted all around. Allies and enemies mixed together creating chaos all around. Elaine shouted urgently as Bella stretched out her hand toward the crowd.

“Bella! You must not harm any of the people with an eagle symbol on their chest! The masked people over there are the enemy!”

“Hmm, I’ll try to avoid them.”

With that short warning from Bella, she ignited a flame that engulfed a group of fleeing men in masks. Five or six of the enemy assailants were taken down with the flames and the shockwave even caused some of the allies who were nearby to be knocked back by the impact. The assailants were surrounded by the flames, helpless, unable to escape. Any who tried were immediately swallowed by the flames and died.

Meanwhile, there were still some assailants who, instead of trying to flee, stayed true to their original purpose. They were targeting the Crown Prince relentlessly; however, they were cleanly dealt with by Espel who suddenly appeared on a tree.

The one -sided fight ended quickly. As Elaine had asked, Bella only targeted the people in masks. After everything had ended, the group was in shock barely moving. Espel chose this moment to jump down from the tree to check Elaine’s condition.

“Elaine, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, but…”

Elaine dropped her face in embarrassment and looked over at Bella with a sheepish look. Bella lightly touched her head and smiled at Elaine.

“Now, would you care to explain what happened?”

“Uhh, well…”

“Or would the person next you rather explain?”

Bella nodded toward the Crown Prince who stood next to Elaine.

When the Crown Prince made eye contact with Bella, he felt as though something was not quite right. He saw a hint of anger undisguised in the eyes of the woman labeled as a ‘witch’. He knew subconsciously that the lives of himself and all his people depended on the words that left his mouth next.

The crown prince knelt on the ground with one knee, then all of the knights around them followed suit at once.

“I am Lloyd de Philion, Crown Prince of the Philion kingdom. While our group was crossing the mountain, I saw a child alone in the forest and thought she could be in danger, so then decided to accompany her, but the assassins targeting me attacked us as we approached and, it then became the situation we find ourselves in now.”

“Hmmm. Well, I see. Then what should I do with you now?”

Bella’s ominous voice caused Lloyd to break out into a cold sweat.

“I take full responsibility for putting the child in danger because of my mistakes. However, because this is entirely my responsibility, as such, your anger should be directed solely at me.”

At the words of the prince, words of protest spread throughout the knights.

“That is ridiculous! It’s our fault for not serving His Highness properly!”

“Your Highness, there is no need to kneel to a witch.”

“Witch! If you want to hold someone accountable, kill us first!”

Elaine and the Crown Prince both shouted at the same time.

“She’s a witch watch what you say!”

“She’s a witch! Hold your tongues!”

The two voices overlapped each other.

“Uh…”

The two were embarrassed and looked at each other with dumbfounded faces.

“Pff, ahhahaha!”

Bella’s clear laughter echoed throughout the group of people who were silent, unable to say anything.

It was an intense first meeting with Lloyd, the Crown Prince. After that, it didn’t take long for Lloyd and Bella to fall in love. No one present, not even the two involved, would have dreamed that such a relationship would develop.

***

Lloyd de Philion was both the first prince and the Crown Prince of the Philion Kingdom. He was a good person and would make a good ruler. He was wise, patient and open-minded. He knew how to lead the people with strength and honor.

Bella needed someone who could heal the deep wounds she had accumulated from over the long years. Lloyd was the man who could do that. They quickly fell for each other. Love blossomed and, a few years later, a lovely son was born to them.

The people of the kingdom supported and blessed their love. The days were happy and dreamlike.

Years had passed and today was one month before their son’s third birthday.

“It’s strange…”

Bella muttered while fiddling with the necklace she had received as a gift a few days ago. The round, pure white jewel shimmered and reflected the light. A faint magical aura emanated from it.

‘It’s probably a lucky stone with a simple spell like an amulet. Rather, I’m more concerned about other things right now.’

A strange energy had been hovering in the air for a few days now. A thick and ominous energy, slowly seeping throughout the castle, little by little. Bella had a bad feeling. She ran throughout the palace corridors, searching for the spot the energy was the strongest.

As she reached the spot she suspected to be the source of the energy, a space came into view with pure white pillars embedded in the ground in a circle, supporting the ceiling. It seemed to be a place that was used for ancestral rites. There was an alter in the center. Around it stood the king, wizards and priests.

A blood red magic circle was drawn on the ground with lines that were intertwined intricately. An ominous energy was emanating from it. The eerie smell of blood filled the room.

She recognized the source. It was the blood of an evil dragon that drew the circle on the ground. An ancient magic that had now disappeared, used to unleash powerful curses.

So, who was the target of this curse?

She froze, not even having time to answer the question. On the altar a man with a familiar face laid, covered in blood.

Bella walked in front of him, as if in a trance. As she entered the magic circle, the priests and wizards began to chant a spell, as if they had been waiting. The chanting voices rang in her head like the buzzing of insects.

All of her attention was fixed on the man lying dead on the altar. The first thing that penetrated her senses was the strong smell of the man’s blood.

She collapsed as she hugged Lloyd. The scent of blood overwhelmed her sensitive sense of smell and made her lose her reasoning. ‘Who is the man laying here who has the same face as my lover, and whose body am I holding onto as I sit here in front of him crying out my lovers name?’

“Loy… open your eyes, okay? Why are you doing this… Loy…!”

Bella hugged Lloyd’s body as it slowly lost its warmth, and cried. Then, suddenly, she raised her head. The figure in front of the altar slowly came into focus through her tear filled, blurry vision.

The king, whose mouth was covered in red blood, was showing his teeth in a bizarre smile while holding an unidentifiable red lump of flesh in his hands.

The sight before Bella was going out of focus again. Was this thing before her really human? That wasn’t a person. It was a demon wearing human skin. Uncontrollable anger and endless sadness filled Bella’s insides with a scorching heat. The heat overflowed from within, scorching any reason she still possessed. Her vision turned red.

All Bella could focus on was trying to tear the demon in front of her to pieces.

At that time, the bead on the necklace began to resonate and consumed the killing intent that was radiating off of Bella. The once pure white bead gradually turned red. A magic circle with the same pattern drawn on the ground appeared engraved on the bead. At the same time, the magic circle on the ground turned black and emitted an eerie light.

[Finally, I’ve found it.]

It was at that moment Bella made eye contact with a vertically split pupil that was accompanied by an eerie voice.

The eyeball appeared on the surface of the red bead and moved back and forth with a squeaking sound.

[Ah, there are the ones who gouged out my eye, cut open my stomach and pulled out my heart]

Only then did Bella realize her mistake.

What she had thought was a necklace, gifted to her by the king, was actually the eye of an evil dragon. A medium that connects a curse with its target. The target of this curse was none other than Bella herself.

The eye was dripping with bright read energy. It gave off the appearance of tears of blood being shed. The eye howled with a terrible laugh.

[Kill, kill, kill!]

Beyond her fading consciousness, a terrible cry took over her mind. It was unclear whether it was a cry of laughter or sadness. Though as always, it was already too late by the time she realized.

***

As Elaine rode her horse at full speed, her silver hair floated, scattered in the wind like delicate silver webs. It was shining in the light of the full moon as though it was infused with the moonlight itself.

She was galloping down the road that lead to Seveka’s gate. It had been 11 days since she had been home, and she was filled with excitement at the thought of returning. She suddenly felt that the road was in chaos. She couldn’t quite hear clearly, but it sounded like a scream was coming from the distance and the entire city was illuminated by an unknown light. It almost appeared as if it was the daytime.

Elaine had an ominous premonition and urged her horse to run faster. When she arrived at the front of the castle, she could not believe her eyes. It was a shocking scene. Her entire vision was filled with bright blue flames and charred, collapsed debris. There were corpses everywhere.

People were pouring out of the castle, screaming loudly. She ran in the opposite direction they were going. There was no time to think, she ran like crazy, eyes scanning everywhere looking for a single person.

There was no need to go far. She quickly found the person she was looking for, right in the middle of the royal palace where the pillars had fallen and the roof collapsed.

There, Elaine faced Bella, who had gone crazy.

A large pitch-black magic circle covered the floor around where Bella was standing. People in robes, appearing to be wizards, were lying scattered around on the floor. Bella, who was slaughtering people indiscriminately, turned her head when she noticed a new figure approaching.

Her once beautiful purple eyes had lost all focus, as if engulfed in a darkness as deep as the ocean. Elaine’s breathing stopped as she stared into the darkness. She muttered absentmindedly.

“Bella…?”

Bella, who was holding someone by the neck with one hand, carelessly threw the body away and walked out of the magic circle. The action was similar to throwing away a broken toy. She then tiled her head, as if intrigued there was still a living creature nearby.

Elaine came to her senses. And urgently shouted at Bella.

“Bella, how did this happen…?!”

But she was unable to finish her question.

In the next moment, Bella lunged at Elaine with terrifying strength, as if to end her life in an instant. She felt a foreboding sense of death as Bella rushed at her.

She didn’t recognize Elaine’s face or voice at all.

Clang!

“Ugh…!”

Reflexively, Elaine drew her sword to block Bella’s strike and let out a low moan due to the force. If she had been an ordinary person, the blow would have killed her in an instant. However, Elaine has reached a level where she could be called the strongest among all the sword masters.

Moreover, wasn’t it none other than Bella who had been teaching her swordsmanship all this time? Otherwise, Elaine would have disappeared at the first blow, just another corpse among many.

Even though it was possible to block the attack, the aftermath of blocking a witch’s full force blow was significant. There was a sharp pain as something in her right shoulder was injured.

Due to the barrage of attacks that followed, Elaine pushed the pain to the back of her mind as she raised her sword again. The blows continued. The distance between the two continuously increasing and decreasing.

How many people can survive an attack like this from a witch? Right now, Elaine’s moves could be considered monstrous but, ironically, the person she was fighting right now could be considered even more of a monster.

As time passed, it was Elaine who became weaker as she grew more tired. Before she knew it, countless wounds had been inflicted on her body. The blood leaking from the open wounds dyed every part of her body red. Like her bleeding that would not stop, her mind was also thinking nonstop.

Nothing made sense. She couldn’t figure out why someone who had been perfectly fine until recently, had ended up like this. It was unbelievable that the person trying to kill her now was Bella.

Why? How? For what reason? Endless questions kept circling in Elaine’s mind. Then all of the questions came together into one.

‘How can I make it stop?’

As soon as she asked this, Elaine’s gaze became fixed on the necklace around Bella’s neck.

It was a necklace she had never seen before. As the necklace passed by during their fight, it seemed to emit a bright red light.

Maybe it can be stopped. Elaine had a strong intuition that she must destroy the eerie, glowing necklace.

Elaine suddenly changed her stance as she was confronting Bella. Rather than fighting her head on, she continued to back away from the barrage of attacks. However, she did not move away completely, maintaining a certain distance. As her prey continued to avoid her attacks, Bella stopped and stood tall, annoyed. She then slowly raised her arms toward Elaine.

It was the precursor to igniting the witch’s flames. As if that was the signal Elaine was waiting for, she quickly leapt forward and in the blink of an eye was right in front of Bella. Elaine stretched out her hand to the necklace.

It was an action that risked her life. The fact that she could touch Bella meant that Bella could also take Elaine’s life. She knew it was an unreasonable action, but she could not help it. She had to stop Bella before any more lives were sacrificed.

But Bella was a witch.

Although she had lost control of her consciousness, she was not something a mere human could touch. Before her hand could touch the necklace, Elaine’s heart was pierced. She was in terrible pain, but did not stop. Her desperate hand finally reached the bead and with every last drop she had left of her mana gathered in her hand, she grasped the red bead.

And it shattered, as it broke into thousands of pieces, red mana poured into the air like blood.

***

‘What am I looking at?’

Bella wanted to believe she was still in a dream. It was at that very moment that she came back to her senses. She covered her face with both hands at the horrifying sight. A mountain of corpses, piles of ashes, a city where no life remained. Elaine lying on the ground, dying.

Her world, visible through the cracks between her fingers, falling apart.

Bella recalled the maniacal laughter she had heard in the moments before she had lost consciousness because of the curse, and the feeling of being consumed by an intense murderous aura. There was an uncontrollable urge to burn everything.

‘Oh, I see.’

She realized that the reality before her, like a scene from a tragedy, was created by her. The cost of a moment of inattention was severe.

Children chattering and playing in the streets, lovers walking through flower gardens, whispering their love, the elderly, resting under the shade of the trees. All the lives of the people in the city, living, breathing. And the precious life of the girl laying at her feet.

‘I ruined everything.’

There’s no turning back. She couldn’t pick up the shattered reality and put it back together. There was only one thing that she could fix.

A witch’s heart is the source of their immortality. Even if every other part of the body is damaged or lost, as long as the heart is intact, the body will revert to its perfect state. With this alone, a witch could be thought of as an omnipotent god.

She did not have the power to heal or resurrect the dead. A life, once lost, could not be revived. It was the law of the world.

But, what if that life had not yet expired?

Bella searched the ground and picked up the sword that had fallen. She aimed the sharp blade at her chest and thrust the sharp end in without hesitation.

‘If I cannot heal Elaine, I will rip out my heart and give it to her. She is not yet dead. She will survive.’