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Volume 6 Chapter 2 Part 12

From their fight against Charybdis, Theo now knew exactly how difficult it was to actually quell a Demonic Realm. The only reason why they were able to succeed with that was because Siluca identified what was causing the Chaos Vortex and found a method to lure Charybdis out of the ocean, and because Theo’s companions have put up a valiant fight alongside him.

「However, the Rossini family underestimated exactly how popular the Cornero family was with the people of the island. Because of that, as soon as the Rossinis became the new Lords of Sistina, people began to rebel against us. 」

「You have no one but yourselves to blame for it. Did you really think that the people of the island would react differently when you started to suppress any signs of rebellion in a bloody, oppressive way? Did you really think that this was the right response as Lords?」

「Those who rebelled against our government were foolish people clinging onto equally foolish Lord. We became the new Lords, so the people should’ve unconditionally obeyed us. Isn’t that what the peerage and rank systems are all about? 」

「Even the people of the fief have the right to choose the Lord to rule over them. Establishing tyranny for your own, selfish reasons is absolutely unacceptable. If you didn’t realize something as elementary as that, then that means that you guys were never worthy of becoming Lords of Sistina. 」

「You are the same as the hero of the former Cornero family. You are nothing more but a foolish Lord who will only get as far as your popularity among the people will take you. You can try as hard as you can… but your rule and your house will never… last for hundreds of years… like ours did…」

And with those words, Doni Rossini died with his eyes wide open after he had exhausted the last bit of his strength that he had left in him.

「Bury this man with the other dead. 」

Theo looked back at Siluca and gave his order.

「As you wish. 」

Siluca nodded back at him. At that moment, the rebel soldiers gave a loud cheer. Theo listened to it for a while, and then he raised his right hand and ordered his men to quiet down.

「It’s still too early to rejoice. We might’ve achieved victory here, but there’s still more fighting ahead of us to be done. We still need to defeat Pederico Rossini in Laxia, so I ask all of you: lend me your strength for just a little while longer. 」

At Theo’s call, the rebels raised their weapons and cheered again.

* * *
Even though she was struggling to remain conscious, Yana finally managed to make her way to the battlefield. From her spot in the air, she could clearly see the spot in which Theo Cornero and the Witch from Elam were standing.

Concentrating every last bit of strength she had left in her body, Yana soared even higher into the sky.

After getting herself higher still she looked down, and then she allowed her body to lean forward, but since her broom was still flying, she continued to hand on to it. After holding her breath for a while, Yana stopped raising the altitude of the broom. It stopped briefly in the air, and then it naturally began to fall, slowly gaining more and more speed.

「Shooting Star, oh Shooting Star, can you make my wish come true?! No, no, its is not a Shooting Star, but a Malevolent Star, and only death and destruction does it bring! 」

When Yana chanted her spell, her whole body was wrapped in a dazzling light. She then gathered it all in her hand and threw it towards Theo.

Last time, he managed to block her spell with his shield, but this time he didn’t have it with him because of his battle with Doni Rossini, so this time she was sure that her attack was going to reach him.

「Die, Theo Cornero! And you, pathetic Witch from Elam! 」

This time, she was going to kill hem for sure, and there was no one who could stop her.

Yana threw her head backwards while laughing loudly.

Seeing the Black Witch that was rapidly approaching, Siluca knew that she has come with only one goal in mind: she wanted to kill them no matter the cost. However, she couldn’t predict what method she was going to try to employ to do so.

(If she’s going to try summoning a Demon, then I’m going to have to interrupt her.)

Even if she cannot possibly summon a Demon Lord in present conditions, she could still be capable of summoning an exceptionally powerful Demon.

But the Black Witch continued to hang onto her broom in the air as she was falling straight towards the ground. Before long, her body is wrapped in light…

「A Shooting Star! 」

Siluca immediately understood what the intentions of the Black Witch were. At that moment, her magic wand was also wrapped in light.

「Shooting star, oh shooting star! My wish will surely come true! 」

And at the moment the Black Witch released her Malevolent Star, Siluca also pointed her magic wand at her and released her own Shooting Star.

When she fought the Black Witch back in the Forest of Eternal Darkness, that magic nearly killed Siluca. So she asked Zelma, the Elder of the White Witches, to teach her the magic of the stars, and with the knowledge she obtained from her, she devised a similar kind of magic using her magic wand.

It took a lot of effort to be able to chant instantly and still hit the target without fail. However, Siluca believed that if she’d even have to fight against the Vlack Witch again, that magic would definitely be useful to her.

(I just have to be very careful…)

The Shooting Star magic released by Siluca collided head-on with the Malevolent Star magic-infused broom of the Black Witch, emitting a flash of blinding light and a powerful explosion, causing everyone who was there to witness it to become confused.

Meanwhile, the Black Witch continues to fall towards the ground.

Without her broom, she won’t be able to fly anymore, but she must have been so determined to see Theo and Siluca dead that she was willing to accept her own death in order for that to happen.

「Aishela! 」

Siluca raised her voice.

「I know! 」
When Aishela nodded at Siluca, she kicked the ground hard at the same time and she soared into the sky, grabbing hold of the Black Witch as she was falling.

People who still had no idea what exactly happened just now released another loud cheer while Aishela landed back on the ground with a Black Witch in tow.

「She’s unconscious, and badly wounded at that. Judging by the shape of the wounds on her back, my guess is that she was fighting Luna and Emma and lost to them. It’s a miracle that she’s still alive. 」

「I’m sorry to dump it all on you, but I want you to take her to Priscilla, and tell her that she should prioritize healing her wounds above everyone else’s. We need to keep her alive long enough so that she can be properly captured and send to Elam, where the Inquiry Commission is going to take care of her. 」

「Why do you even want to bother with it if you know that she’s going to be given a death penalty anyway? I think it’d be much more merciful to just let her die like this. 」

「I know that, but if we let her live that much longer, then we might be able to find out the truth behind 「The Tragedy of the Grand Cathedral」. Also, we can use her o gain ourselves a favor with the Mages Association. 」

「Do you really think they’ll be willing to owe you anything? 」

「No matter what their true feelings about it might be, they’ll have no choice but to do that if they don’t want people to judge them suspiciously for refusing. And besides, we might be able to win even more for ourselves here if we go and announce that Theo Cornero was the one who has found the real perpetrators behind 「The Tragedy of the Grand Cathedral」instead of the Mages Association. 」

「As expected of you, Siluca. You’re as sly as ever. 」

Aishela nodded her head, but for some reason it didn’t feel like she was as bright as she always was.

「What’s wrong, Aishela? Is there something bothering you? 」

「N-No… 」

Aishela hastly denied anything being wrong with her.

「Alright then, I guess I’ll be taking her to Priscilla now. 」