Chapter 563: Knowing Ignorance

Filaret was literally on the brink of death after a fierce exchange of magical powers with the great witch. Half dead, half alive.

Magic or sorcery belonged to a secret art that built one’s world over the years.

Just as geological layers thickened over countless years, those who wielded magic rose to greater heights, one step at a time, with time.

The vast difference in the years accumulated by the witch Baronuis and the sorceress Filaret was immense.

One was a monster over a thousand years old. The other was a young girl who hadn’t even lived a hundred years.

「…Interesting. But shallow. Just as I expected. Still a weakling. But, I see, you can hurt me. 」

Baronuis was certain of one thing after mocking and insulting Filaret.

This girl was confronting her without hesitation. The wound on her shoulder was proof of that. She performed acts that seemed to twist the very laws of the world.

It was a world Baronuis had never known. A smile involuntarily spread across her face.

Knowing one’s ignorance was paramount for those who wielded magic. To erase what one didn’t know and to understand it was the true essence of magic.

To understand meant to grasp its existence.

If one could know all the physical laws and information of the world, then even the future could be predicted.

…If you wish to make the world yours, then strive to understand it, even if it’s troublesome.

She once said this; she was, in a sense, a predator of knowledge.

That’s why she so easily committed blasphemy, betrayal, and tarnished morality. No, perhaps such things never existed for a witch.

Baronuis bit her middle fingers.

「Creating the demon eye was excellent. Taking from others is one of humanity’s fundamental natures. The more primitive it is, the more magic resonates. It’s been a long time since my heart was moved like this…But it’s a shame. Too young. A thousand years too early to lay a finger on me, the culmination of the past. 」

Baronuis bit the skin off both of her middle fingers. The witch’s blood that dripped from her fingers was a crystallization of magical power. Since ancient times, the bodily fluids of those who possessed magic had inherited special properties.

But…

Baronuis narrowed her deathly demon eye. Filaret’s resistance was far too weak. After all, the torrent of rage and emotion was fleeting. It was meaningless unless the opponent crumbled under its influence. She was being far too optimistic.

The witch was once a great figure who, together with the human king, laid the foundation for human nations. She had dealt with countless little mice that showed their fangs when cornered.

「But, but, but…Filaret. You’re good. 」

Grinding her teeth, Baronuis stole information with magic. She could easily extract the name that was etched into it.

The distance was still great. The distance at which they could barely see each other was the right range for a witch and a sorceress, but it wasn’t a distance where words could normally reach each other.

But they definitely perceived each other’s words through magic; otherwise, they would have died long ago.

「Don’t call me by my name so casually. 」

「Yes, I will, Filaret. Filaret. Filaret. 」

Filaret yelled. But Baronuis spoke loudly after leaving that reaction behind.

「…I want you to be mine. You possess terrifying talent. I love talent. Life is not equal; those with talent should be valued. Perhaps those without talent should be killed, and only those with talent should live. 」

She didn’t hear the reply.

Baronius’ brown skin gleamed, her beautiful twin horns and blue hair pointing upwards.

Filaret wasn’t the only one terrified by Baronius’ presence, as she acted as if there were no restraints whatsoever. The group of monstrous beasts behind Baronuis, their eyes filled with fear, felt the same.

「Baronuis, what the hell…!」

「Shut up, you weakling. You don’t want to die, do you? Keep stomping your feet bravely. 」

The monstrous beasts became speechless with just a slight movement of Baronuis’ head.

Although they were currently held in a moment of stunned silence, this demon’s true nature was that of a curse. Human or monstrous beast, if you were to look at her, then you’d die.

「If you keep acting so recklessly, then the Great Demon Lord will never forgive you. 」

「The only one who can ever forgive me is myself. Not you, not Altius, and certainly not Zebrililith, who has lost its will. 」

Filaret said this because she knew what Baronuis was about to do.

Not the demon eye. It was the very essence of the witch Baronuis. Her blood was scattered onto the death snow.

「When I see something wonderful, I revert to my childhood. In other words, I want it all. 」

Originally, she had no intention of using this. She had intended to counter the overflowing passion and talent that had so bravely forged the demon eye herself with only her own magic.

But Filaret wouldn’t be a person who would end with just the demon eye. And above all, Baronuis cherished her. A strong desire to overflow from the known into the unknown. A shamelessness that would crawl forward. And on top of that, she possessed talent.

Having talent didn’t guarantee success.

Those who possessed talent often experienced the expected hardships and encountered the expected obstacles.

Baronuis believed that a common “bad habit” among many of them was knowing what they could do.

Why? Because when they hit a wall, they would think, I can’t do it, so it’s impossible.

How many people still clung to that wall, wearing it down until their nails bleed? How many talented individuals were there who would try to break through even if it meant spitting up blood?

And yet, those who shattered that wall were called geniuses.

「Filaret, you surely possess the potential to be captivated by evil. To me, who has known both past and present, you are truly fascinating. From the tips of your hair to the tips of your toenails. From a single piece of skin to your eyeballs. Let me say this. I will make you mine. 」

Baronuis’ blood mingled with the death snow, and the earth was swallowed by its magic.

…A magnificent shadow stretched from her. The earth rose.

A torrent of the witch’s power surged around her. Baronuis, terrifyingly, was only looking at Filaret. She no longer had any interest in anything else. She could only think about how to devour the unknown before her.

Therefore, it was a complete blind spot.

A magical beast was latching onto the witch’s neck.

—

It was around the time Filaret was confronting Baronuis.

The demon-eyed beast Doha Surah watched it with its blind eyes. More accurately, it was tracking the magical energy.

It possessed the same twin horns and blue hair as the witch. His body wasn’t yet fully recovered.

…To sense the figure of the former king. To know that abominable woman.

Would that woman truly be destroyed? She was the lowest, most vile, and foolish demon. That’s what Doha Surah thought.

She was once human, but by the time Doha Surah knew her, she was already reigning as the Demon-Eyed Queen. Doha Surah never knew her when she was human. Those who knew her were surely extinct by now.

After all, she had swallowed and destroyed the Demon-Eyed Tribe, who had likely followed her the longest.

There may be a few survivors like Doha Surah, but as a species, survival was probably impossible. Either way, they were destined to slowly disappear.

Hatred was inevitable. That woman was Doha Surah’s lifelong enemy. It all began when that woman ruined everything.

But Doha Surah’s feelings were complicated. Despite being someone he should hate, she was there, under Altia’s command.

…Perhaps opposing her would be a mistake.

Doha Surah’s face contorted as he thought about the strange path he had continued down. Born as a member of the Demon-Eyed Tribe, he was under Baronuis, only to have his species destroyed by her. He survived, only to be defeated, and now he was here.

Although following Altia’s orders, he was at odds with his thoughts, while simultaneously serving humans and elves.

「This is utterly ridiculous…」

He sighed, lamenting his own way of life. It seemed he was only capable of living a life of being tossed around by others. Being thrown left and right like that was unbearable.

「…Altia. You always saw everything. So you must know what I’ll do if I stay here, right? 」

A mere magical beast, blinded in both eyes and devoid of its demon eyes. He was probably of no use anymore. He had been waiting for the day Altia could become great again.

He inhaled the cold air. The magical beast, in the form of a beautiful young boy, swung its horns. He galloped on his horse. He was slowly transforming his body back to what it was once, the one known as the Southern Demon Eye.

「Even if this was all your doing…I’m grateful to you, Altia. Revenge is sweet. Even if my position, my feelings, everything is a mess. There are some things that are certain, after all. And please forgive me if this is beyond your expectations. This time, I’ll be completely on their side, Altia. 」

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