Suddenly, your vision went dark.

Sitting in your chair, you blankly stared at the black screen.

It took a few seconds for your brain to understand that the connection with the Tin Knight had been cut off due to using up all the mana.

It felt like suddenly becoming blind without any warning.

It was said that vision accounted for 77% of human perception.

Considering that the Tin Knight’s senses perceived far more information than your senses outside the monitor, it was an apt comparison.

At some point, you relaxed the tension that had built up in your shoulders and leaned back against the chair.

It had been quite a concentration-demanding battle.

While saying you had to give it your all might be a bit of an exaggeration, it was certainly the most intense fight you had experienced as the Tin Knight thus far.

The initial encounter. The battle in the giant country after being scattered. The naval battle to reach the island. The frenzied rush to avoid the giant arrows. The bumper car on the plains. The final battle on the rooftop.

In terms of momentary intensity, the fight with Kalidahs was no pushover either, but while that was a short and intense burst, this was a long series of battles.

The very last fight was especially overflowing with tension.

While the individual strength of each enemy wasn’t that extraordinary, the problem was that forces with a certain level of quality were attacking in hundreds.

It wasn’t just about cutting down the enemies in front of you, but you also had to simultaneously cancel out the enemy’s powerful attacks without missing a single one and constantly manage your depleting mana.

It felt like you had properly experienced a war of attrition.

Well, the satisfaction of clearing it was worth it, though.

If it weren’t for the situation where one small mistake could cost your companions’ lives, you might have even wanted to applaud how fun it was.

Apart from fatigue, as you were stretching here and there following the habits left in your body, the “Standby” text on the screen disappeared and the monitor brightened.

Also, the sense of another body that had been firmly blocked off returned.

Your eyes lit up.

It was time to start the Tin Knight’s story again.

***

The collapse was quick.

The homunculi, who had been showing a fighting spirit that disregarded the death of comrades until now, started throwing away their weapons and fleeing as soon as the Witch of the West fell.

“Karma, I guess. Not a single one of these many children is rushing to help their parent.”

At the voice heard from behind, Dorothea, who was pouring mana into the Tin Knight with her hand on his back, glanced back.

Franka, who had come up to the rooftop at some point, was looking at the bisected golden sphere with a strangely complex gaze.

“Look at you, sneaking in as soon as the fight’s over.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Who was it that guarded your rear?”

At Franka’s sharp response, Dorothea shrugged.

She had just lightly sneered because the timing was too perfect, but in fact, she hadn’t meant it seriously either.

Just looking at Franka, who was in tatters unlike her usual flashy appearance, and the two monkeys panting beside her, it was obvious how fierce the fight downstairs had been.

After confirming that the Tin Knight’s eyes lit up again after being limp, the party approached the fallen Witch of the West.

Elphaba’s condition was miserable.

Severed from the left shoulder to the right thigh, the bisected corpse was sprawled in pieces.

The old, wrinkled face was extremely distorted, and the emotion contained in it was clear to anyone who saw it.

Shock and disbelief.

“A face that shows she never thought she’d be taken down so pathetically.”

Well, it’s not unreasonable.

Dorothea thought.

More than anyone here, being well-versed in corpses, Dorothea had somewhat noticed that the many bizarre races commanded by the Witch of the West were actually homunculi.

Almost all creatures in this workshop were Elphaba’s soldiers, citizens, and slaves.

How could she have imagined that with such forces, she would be defeated by a mere party of four?

“Um… Is it really over now?” Adelaide cautiously asked.

Using her two-handed sword as a cane to barely stand, she looked extremely precarious.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ advises that it’s better not to carelessly use words like ‘defeated’ or ‘over’ as they have the magical power to revive enemies!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that of course, if there’s additional combat, that would be fine too!]

“Eek!? M-Miss Witch, is that true?”

“No. There’s no such magic.”

Although Dorothea firmly denied it, she seemed a bit uneasy herself as she poked Elphaba’s corpse with her staff.

She asked Franka with a dubious face, “But didn’t you say the monkeys handled by the Witch of the West were originally close to a thousand? I thought reinforcements would naturally come. Why aren’t they coming?”

Franka answered nonchalantly, “It’s not that they didn’t come, you probably took her down before they arrived. Well, there’s no need to worry much about it. Judging by the reaction of the homunculi left here, they won’t burn with revenge against you now that their master is dead.”

“Hmm.”

As Dorothea was folding her arms with an unconvinced look, it was then.

“Sir Tin, could you help me for a moment?”

Sophia, who stepped forward, held out her hand to the Tin Knight.

The Tin Knight, who understood her intention, grasped her hand, and her mana flowed into his body.

When he transferred the wine-colored mana to his eyes, he saw red fissures undulating around Elphaba’s corpse.

After confirming that Sophia had also given mana to the other companions around, the Tin Knight reached out to the fissures.

The afterimages shown by the “Chalice of Tuberose” were always different.

Sometimes it was like experiencing a play from someone’s perspective, sometimes like a story sung by a minstrel, and sometimes a single intense image.

What unfolded before their eyes this time was close to the last.

Someone sitting on an emerald throne wearing clothes woven from light.

Someone sitting on a bronze throne wearing clothes woven from darkness.

A girl in a green pointed hat and witch’s clothes looking up at a mural depicting them side by side with eyes full of admiration.

─The vision abruptly ended.

Their perception returned to normal.

Dorothea frowned.

“This one was particularly short.”

“Yes, but I wonder if that person looking up at the mural was… Ah.”

Adelaide’s words stopped with bewilderment.

Squelch.

Elphaba’s corpse started melting.

It didn’t look like it was rotting. It was different from clay or mud. Rather, it was closer to clear water.

Before they could even touch it, one of the greatest witches turned into water just like that.

Only the clothes left behind and the indigo gloves swaying in the waves proved she had once existed.

***

Outside the Witch of the West’s barrier.

The space around a huge rock seemed to ripple, and a small shadow fell from midair.

It was a girl with beautiful features.

Despite looking to be in her early teens at most, the proportions of her body and the harmony of her features were perfect.

Rather than a natural living being, she gave off an atmosphere closer to an artwork meticulously created by someone according to mathematical ratios.

However, her expression was viciously distorted, unbefitting her beautiful appearance.

“How dare, how dare!? I, to such novices!”

Her voice was youthful, but her manner of speaking exuded a very aged feeling.

There was a sense of dissonance, as if an old person had entered the body of a young girl.

The beautiful girl gritted her teeth with eyes full of resentment and malice.

“Go ahead and revel in your victory. If you think this is all my power—“

“How unsightly.”

A cold and elegant disdain interrupted the vow of revenge.

At the voice heard from behind, the girl’s head turned roughly.

The intruder with snow-white hair calmly continued speaking towards the girl, “Regardless of the process, a defeat is a defeat. Isn’t it too ugly to make excuses like you didn’t use your full power?”

The girl’s eyes narrowed.

Showing wariness and doubt, the girl asked, “Who are you?”

“Hmm?”

The white-haired intruder tilted her head as if puzzled.

The fact that there was no change in her expression while doing so created an even more unique atmosphere.

“Ah, I see. I apologize. You’re not Elphaba.”

“What?”

The girl’s face became grotesque.

“What nonsense are you spouting? I am—“

“No, you’re just a homunculus that copied Elphaba’s memories right before her death. Not only is your capability incomparable, but it seems even the soul transfer wasn’t properly done,” the intruder, Algind Goodwitch, continued speaking with an admiring tone. “This is beyond expectations. I thought with the necromancer’s unique compatibility and that magic doll’s power, they would push Elphaba quite hard… But to think they’d kill her without even giving her a chance to escape. A satisfying result. There was merit in simply sending them off instead of unnecessarily draining their strength at the martial arts tournament.”

The girl bristled at Algind, who kept talking incomprehensibly by himself, as if ignoring her.

“What nonsense! I am Elphaba! Elphaba Thropp! I am the Golden Alchemist!”

The girl clutched the necklace around her neck.

That thing, shaped like an eyeball, was a magic tool used by the witch Elphaba to control her homunculi.

If she sent a signal, hundreds of homunculi guarding outside the barrier under Elphaba’s orders would gather in an instant.

But for some reason.

Even seeing this, Algind didn’t show any sign of trying to stop the girl.

At first, the girl sneered at her carelessness and ignorance, but soon after, it was rather the girl’s face that hardened.

“What, why, why is no one…?”

“Nameless homunculus. It seems you’ve inherited your creator’s stupidity as well. The very fact that I’m waiting for you here so nonchalantly should be the answer.”

At those words, the girl’s face was dyed with disbelief and shock.

“No way. No, no! Impossible! It can’t be! Such a thing is impossible!”

“Well, it was quite troublesome. Especially that pirate crew on the golden ship was exasperating. In the end, I failed to finish them off.”

The girl couldn’t close her mouth.

Only then could she understand why there had been no news, even though Elphaba had called in some of the forces guarding the barrier.

And also the future that awaited her.

The girl’s eyes filled with murderous intent.

Fortunately, the opponent was now off guard, indulging in leisure.

Dorothea’s party inside the barrier would be busy checking the interior and regrouping, so if she could just eliminate Algind, she could escape anytime.

Click!

Part of Elphaba’s luggage reconstructed, turning into a crossbow.

Already tightly loaded, it was fired with fierce momentum as soon as the girl moved her finger.

The moment the arrow was about to pierce Algind.

《Denied.》

The whirlwind summoned by the masked stranger shattered the arrow in an instant.

Along with the girl’s body behind it.

“Oh.”

The death cry was too short and fleeting.

As if slashed by countless swords, the girl’s body was shattered into pieces and scattered on the ground.

Algind’s eyebrow twitched.

“Bard. We were still talking.”

At the reproachful words, the stranger with the green mask flinched.

《Sorry. My bad.》

For a moment, the mouth of the green mask turned blue.

《Yeah, yeah, we should have tormented her more calmly for daring to attack without knowing her place! How could you just kill her so easily!?》

“That’s not the issue. Gawain.”

The mouth of the mask turned green again.

《You’re no different.》

《What’s that supposed to mean!?》

Ignoring the masked stranger bickering while changing colors, Algind snapped her fingers.

Rough water currents appeared from thin air, sweeping the girl’s corpse into the sea without leaving a trace.

“Well then, since we’ve succeeded in the witch hunt as per my master’s orders, it’s time to return.”

《Why don’t we sweep away those youngsters while we’re here?》

《If ordered, we’ll fight.》

“I have no such intention now. We’re comrades who took down one of the Four Witches together, we can’t stab them in the back. Well, they probably won’t even know of my existence for a while,” Algind continued with an expressionless face that looked far from tired. “Besides, I’m honestly quite tired after fighting the monkeys.”

The masked stranger, finding something in Algind’s words hilarious, giggled and grabbed Algind’s body.

After a great gust of wind and some water spray appeared, they soared high into the sky and disappeared.

Swish, swish.

Only the quiet sound of waves echoed, like a funeral song mourning those who died without achieving anything, without leaving a trace.

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken