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Chapter 53 Part 2 – We are fighting in the forest during the night. Against the cruel Witch of Doom. A cruel …… eh?

「Now, do you see the difference in our strength? If you get down on your knees now and swear never to do evil deeds again, I will allow you to turn around and run away. Although I’d sneer at you from behind ……」

The old woman trembled in humiliation as she realized that this was in return for the insults she had just hurled at me.

「…… Young child, what do you mean by getting down on my knees?」

「Like this.」

The attendants from〈Lawless Crew〉tilted their heads to the side in confusion, but then, Bradd threw himself on the ground with folded hands and demonstrated how to stretch out the arms and legs.

Hey, you cross-dressing maid. That’s not kneeling, that’s prostration. Are you planning to go to a holy ground for a pilgrimage? Hey, the rest of you, don’t start practicing this erroneous knowledge.

「…… You little bastard!! I’ll kill you!!」

Thinking she was being made fun of, the Witch of Doom became furious.

No, that prostration was not my instruction though.

The vines spilling out of the Witch of Doom’s hood were thrashing about like the tail of an angry tiger. The vines crawled noisily to the ground. And that’s not all. The vines were also coming out from the sleeves and hem of the robe. Not only the hood, but the entire robe was filled with vines. The vines were densely covered with ominous-looking thorns.

「These vines have been modified into a very powerful poisonous plant. It can launch attacks from all directions!! This is the power of the priest of the people of the forest that is obtained through the sacrifices, just try to dodge it if you can!!」

Apparently, these poisonous vines are the Witch of Doom’s prized possession. It can move like a whip and if its thorns grazes a person, he will be out immediately.

The witch had completely regained her confidence and sneered at me.
In response to that, I laughed scornfully at her.

「…… Dodge? Why? There’s no need to dodge. I declare that I’m going to defeat you without taking a step from here.」

I was really pissed off.

Sacrifices? The power of a priest? Don’t play games with me. How dare you boast about your evil ways that are gained on the sacrifice of human lives.

I glared at her and she got upset.

I’m just a little girl who could easily be blown away, but the overwhelming victory of the〈Lawless Crew〉and the imperial guards earlier had frightened the witch. Her personality is haughty and arrogant, but she has no guts and perseverance. Those who put their faith in power will be ridiculously distraught when they are shown a greater power.

「You’re bluffing!! There is no way you can do that ……!!」

But she still shouted and attacked as if to shake off her hesitation, which means she still had a shred of pride left. Bradd laughed in front of the countless vines flying wildly in all directions.

「…… I can do it. Shorty Scarlet, I’ll borrow your fan for a minute.」

He put his hand on my head.

「…… Mnn, I’ll leave it to you.」

「Got it.」

As expected of Bradd, he understood what I’m planning without needing me to explain it to him.
He took the folding fan I held out to him, and without any fear, he directly stepped forward.

The poisonous vines attacked Bradd and I all at once. It bustled and tried to wrap around us like wire saws to cover our entire field of vision.

「Hyahaha!! What can you do!! A conceited brat like you!! Even an elephant won’t survive this much poison!!」

Convinced of her victory, the Witch of Doom laughed, but then she froze the next instant.
Like the petals of a cherry blossom petal scattering, Bradd’s figure became hazy and then his entire body vanished in a flash.

The laughter of the witch of ruin who was convinced of victory froze the next moment.

Brad’s appearance was hazy, as if the petals of cherry blossoms were scattered, and the roots disappeared from the head to the feet.

「…… That might be true if I get hit by it. But that won’t be possible. Because I’m right here.」

Bradd suddenly appeared in front of the Witch of Doom and called out to her, causing her to jump up in surprise. The vines that had been rushing toward me came to a screeching halt as they were influenced by their master.

「…… Impossible!! All this time you’ve been standing by that little brat!!」

「…… That’s just an illusion. It’s a cloning technique called the Blood Sakura Butterfly. You should remember it as a souvenir to take to the afterlife. A technique exclusive for maids.」

Stop it, the last line is redundant.

「Damn it!! Get back here!!」

All the vines that tried to attack me from all directions turned around just in time. This was because the foul-mouthed witch pulled back the vines to defend herself while spitting out curses. But the vines’ response was terribly sluggish. They seemed confused by the sudden change of target from me to Bradd.

「F-Fuck!! You guys should quickly …… Shit, you useless guys!!」

The assassins and horses that are manipulated by the mistletoe are trying to respond to the old woman’s voice, but they can only struggle on the ground and cannot get up. Moreover, sometimes they even stop moving. They seemed exhausted. Could it be that this old woman is trying too hard to simultaneously control the vines and her servants that she is losing control over them?

On the other hand, Bradd’s movements were as brilliant as a bolt of lightning.
He spread out the folding fan and swung it in a circle.
A gust of wind blew around the witch that has vines growing from all over her body.

It looked like a graceful dance, but my folding fan had a thin blade attached to its outer circumference. When I wield it, at most I can leave a scratch on a pillar, but when the wielder is Bradd, it’s a completely different story. He can cut off a branch about the size of a human’s arm. And no matter how much it has been strengthened, there is no way that vines can withstand that power.

Forced back from its advance by the flustered witch, the vines had a momentary lull in which they could neither attack nor defend. It was like standing still at the top of a parabola. For the extremely swift Bradd, that pause was more than enough to annihilate them. The fan flashed and all the vines’ tentacles were cut off from the witch’s body and it flew in the air.

「The way you fight is too amateurish. I can figure out what you’re going to do next from your gaze and signs. As long as I can crush your attacks before it’s launched, all your amazing weapons and techniques will be useless.」

Bradd’s friendly smile seemed extremely horrifying to the witch that she let out a shriek and fell down due to the fear. Her heart was broken. She was supposed to be a formidable opponent, but her heart was too weak. The outcome of the battle has been decided. If the witch had half of Seraphy’s intelligence, we would have been completely defeated.

「…… How is this possible …… How could I, a priest of Wiskum, lose to a young maid ……」

She was still mumbling, unable to accept the reality of the situation, but the light of energy was fading from her eyes. As if in tandem with her, the light from the blue diamond on her chest also seemed to be fading weakly.

At any rate, this old woman still hasn’t realized that Bradd is a boy? She’s not that capable, considering that she introduced herself as a witch. I kind of feel sorry for her …… actually not really. Okay then, let’s finish her off mentally.

「Our family’s maid is the most powerful person in the world. Where she goes, the seas will dry up, the earth will split open, and all kinds of life forms will go extinct. Someone like you never had a chance of winning in the first place. I’ll return your earlier lines exactly as you said it. …… Know your place.」