Chapter 1: “A Happy” World
Cold floor, chilling breeze, a cold room—.
Warm meals, happy times, they should have existed, smiles—.
But now, before his eyes spread—.
A sea of flames, consuming everything in its path, as if to engulf the entire area.
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Three hundred years ago—【Gastar】
Before him lay a cold floor, and before him, a warm liquid spread.
Besides him, in the mansion, his parents also lived, but they lay on a red carpet with pale faces, their expressions lost.
And now.
His beloved sister was about to be abducted by the hand of a “witch.”
Since the “witch” was leaving the Duckarts mansion, he followed her outside, only to be met with a mountain of undead Gastar villagers’ corpses and choking on the smell of blood and burning that filled the area.
Cries and collapsing sounds came from somewhere, shaking the ground. The voices of the people trembled the earth. The “witch” seemed intent on sinking this small country into a sea of flames.
His world had turned into a land of ashes.
Yet, he alone breathed easily in it.
If you’re breathing, then speak. Even if your words don’t reach, speak as if you’ll devour them.
He let his instincts guide him, shouting at the “witch” with indescribable emotions.
“――――Wait, ‘Witch of the Blue Rose’!!”
The “witch” who was carrying his sister and taking steps forward stopped, slowly turning to face him. His sister seemed unconscious, her body hanging limply.
“Do you… hate me? Want to kill me?”
The blood pooling at the edge of her black skirt was being absorbed into the ground. The sight of red slowly spreading on the skirt was captivating.
In this darkness, where the night’s curtain had fallen, her face couldn’t be seen, but the bloodstained figure appeared to be a guest of his father, Count Duckarts.
The one the Count had invited was the ruling king of the country passed down in Gastar—the “Witch of the Blue Rose.”
“…………Ah, I want to kill you right now.”
“Then, listen to my wish.”
The clacking sound of boots peeking out from under her skirt, combined with the smell of blood, shook his mind and made nausea well up. His hands and legs trembled from the tension caused by fear.
There was no escape. He found himself in a situation where he could do nothing but listen to this woman’s words.
Suddenly, darkness fell in front of him. As he tried to look up to see the “witch,” a searing pain, like a burn around his right eye, surged through him.
“――――Uuuuuuuhhhhh!!”
He immediately swatted the “witch’s” hand away and touched the area around his eye.
It was clear what had been done to him. He had his right eye taken by the “witch.”
“Beautiful… This is Duckarts’ cherished [Eternal Blue of Tokoyo], isn’t it?”
The “witch” astonishingly swallowed his right eye, extracted from him. He heard a gulp, and he knew that his right eye had reached the “witch’s” abdomen.
The pain, the heat, and the “witch’s” bizarre actions caused his thoughts to finally abandon him.
“Find my daughters, come to me. Then you can kill me. I’ll be waiting. My beloved child.”
The “witch’s” face drew closer to him, and her voice brushed his ear.
The whispered words were involuntarily etched into his brain.
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“I am the ‘Witch of the Blue Rose’—a being with eternal life. Now, listen to my wish. Bet your life and your sister’s life.”
