Chapter 95: Chapter 95: First Kiss
"You think you can kill me? My puppet will devour you!" The witch shouted.
She hugged herself and suddenly, her shadow reached out from under her and covered the entire floor and walls of the monastery.
The sunlight from outside was blocked. The windows were dark as caves and the main door turned into a stone wall.
"This shit again!" Bas cursed.
A ghoul jumped at him and he swung his sword at it.
The sword was a bit short and couldn’t reach the ghoul but suddenly, its glowing blade grew longer and cut out a huge piece of meat on the ghoul’s face.
The ghoul backed off immediately. It didn’t feel pain but it was afraid.
"You’d better kill her quick, Sid! Or I’m going to finish these ghouls first and take your kill!"
Bas laughed out loud, having no worries about the situation at hand. He had his reasons to do so. Behind that crude facade was an even more crude strength. Enough to back up his arrogance.
The witch’s pupils dilated. Siderius had sensed fear from her.
"Didn’t think we’d be such a nuisance, did you?" Siderius said.
"No matter. Even a strong swordsman will be useless without his eyes!"
Nora raised her hands above her head. What little left of light disappeared from the church.
Nora’s voice echoed throughout the hall.
"These ghouls can see in the dark. They will eat you alive while you have no clue what’s going on."
And as if the trio had already anticipated what would happen, Quinlan lit up a torch, illuminating the space around him and Bas.
He didn’t bring only one. Inside his thick coat were a dozen torches. Quinlan lit them all up then threw them around Bas, lighting his battlefield.
"It’s just as Siderius said. She does find a way to block off light!" Quinlan said.
"Hey, man!" Bas turned toward Siderius at far. "Do you really not need some light?"
Siderius took off his obsidian glasses.
"No. Darkness is my ally."
His dark eyes took in the entire landscape. Everything lit up in black and white, showing him the exact details of the church.
With one swift movement, an arrow was released from his bow.
The witch screamed in pain. She dropped down on the ground with an arrow stuck in her shoulder. The puppet quickly stood before her, guarding her from harm.
"How?!" Nora screamed.
"You really are stupid, aren’t you?" Siderius smirked. He wasted no time connecting the next few arrows.
The ghouls had night vision. They would be most deadly in the night, when human eyes proved useless in the dark.
But witches didn’t have night vision. Not unless they crafted a dedicated spell for it.
But witches wouldn’t waste their time on ’low’ level spells like night vision. They liked spectacles that were grand and powerful, even if it’s ineffective in combat. As long as the spell aligned with their desire.
Nora had a good idea to create a spell that blocked off the sunlight. Her ability to morph reality was also respectable for a witch her level.
But she was no warrior. Not a warrior like Siderius. The natural predator of witches that knew her more than she even knew herself.
The arrows flew over Nora. The puppet constricted back to human form, only to be pierced by the arrows.
It didn’t die, however. Its host died long ago.
"I’ll make you pay for this!" Nora clenched her teeth. She closed her eyes.
It was true that she couldn’t see in the dark. But the ghouls were under her control. Nora tried to take over the mind of a ghoul to gain its night vision.
She figured if she did that, she would regain her advantages in this battle.
She was too naive.
Siderius drew the <Vertigo> symbol in the air. Immediately, Nora’s ears were filled with ringing and an unbearable nausea flooded her mind.
Nora grabbed her head and squirmed like a worm.
Siderius’ Vertigo had become significantly stronger thanks to the Dark Aether. The fractured mind of a witch was even more prone to these kinds of mental attacks.
Vertigo broke off her effort to take over a ghoul. The ghoul was standing still like a statue because of that.
"My man!" Bas yelled in glee.
The bodyguard rushed at the ghoul and swung the sword through the ghoul’s neck. Its head flopped to the ground.
Bas’ spiritual blade was much sharper than any sword Siderius had come across. He sliced through the thick skin of the ghoul without stopping.
Another ghoul jumped at Bas’ back and tried to sneak attack him. The man did a spin with the sword and sliced at the ghoul at the same time.
Its arm was slashed away. Before it even screamed for help, Bas finished it off with another decapitation.
Nora crawled backward with the puppet in front of her. For the first time in this encounter, she had felt the threat of mortality.
These men were not normal. They’re dangerous. She finally understood that now. But it was too late.
Siderius swung the sling at the puppet. In this darkness, Nora had no way to command it to dodge. She didn’t even know where the shot was coming from.
The clay ball exploded and with it, a ball of blue flame engulfed the puppet.
More pain invaded the mind of Nora. It was the consequence for having her puppet destroyed. She clenched her teeth to stop her voice from coming out, saliva flooded out of the corner of her mouth.
"There must be a way out!" Nora thought.
She clapped her hand, deactivating the spell of darkness.
Shadow retreated from the church and sunlight returned.
Bas was able to kill a few of the ghouls. The remaining all have cuts and wounds on them.
Bas wasn’t unharmed. He too had a few scratches on him and each wound had been infected by necrosis. The man breathed heavily.
His attacking power was superb but his stamina and defense were lacking. He was similar to a glass cannon, dealing a lot of damage but couldn’t take too much hit.
Bas looked over to Siderius. His eyes widened.
"Look out!"
As her final desperate attempt, Nora pushed her hand in the puppet’s direction. The destroyed puppet was flung at Siderius’ at high speed.
He jumped out of the way. Nora took this chance to fly at Siderius and hugged him tightly.
"What the?!"
"You’re mine now! Hehe..." Nora placed her lips on Siderius’. An act of enchanting her spell on him.
"Siderius?!" Quinlan shouted.
Bas was blocked by the ghouls, unable to help.
The tattoos of the witch lit up in pink and they were all running at her mouth. A pink column of light shot out from Nora’s throat and got inside Siderius’ mouth.