Chapter 82: Chapter 76: The Light in Their Hearts
Ellize was surprised to see this new form. The shapely woman standing in front of her—Ellize estimated that the woman was about thirty, as per her modern Japanese standards—had ice-blue eyes as sharp as a knife but oddly devoid of life. Her harmonious features contrasted her cold and unfeeling expression.
Ellize wasn't quite sure which witch she was supposed to be, but she was starting to notice a pattern—the woman, like all the saints, had silver hair. She wondered how no one had found her out despite the obvious discrepancy, then laughed at herself for being preoccupied by such pointless thoughts in the middle of a crucial fight.
Whatever! It was kind enough to become compact again, so now's my chance!
With all her energy condensed in the same spot, the "witch" was certainly stronger than before, but Ellize didn't care. This worked in her favor. She just had to imprison her inside her barrier and send her on her way to outer space.
The "witch" didn't allow Ellize to bask in her optimism for long. She lunged at her at high speed, bringing down a sword made of mana. Ellize created one of her own and swiftly blocked it. However, she failed to withstand the momentum of the hit, and she was sent flying backward.
She crashed through several intact buildings behind her before slamming into the ground violently. She stood up, shaken. Ever since she'd become Ellize, she'd never suffered any major damage—her sturdy barrier had always protected her. Obviously, she hadn't disabled it. While most of the impact had been absorbed by it, she had been hurt.
Still, Ellize was confident that her spells were more destructive. While the "witch" could regenerate herself without limits, her maximum MP output at any given time was the sum of the fifty witches' mana—no more, no less. Ellize estimated that potential to be around a hundred thousand MP. She could easily double that in a single attack. In fact, now that she'd finally become one with Niito again, she could probably use ten times as much mana in one go.
The issue was that Ellize's reserves and stamina weren't unlimited. She could suck in mana to recover her MP, but she didn't have much longer to live. She'd only managed to come back from the dead because she'd taken what little time Niito had left.
In a drawn-out fight, the "witch" would eventually gain the upper hand. No matter what happened, she needed to avoid a war of attrition.
Ellize leaped and crossed swords with the "witch" again. She was prepared this time, and the one who was pushed back was the "witch." Ellize sent her crashing into the ruins, then threw her sword of light at her, impaling her on the spot. The sword got stuck into the collapsed wall behind the monster, preventing it from moving.
Ellize wouldn't let this opportunity pass her by. She created a barrier that wouldn't allow mana to pass through or around the "witch." She poured a hundred thousand MP into the barrier to make sure her enemy wouldn't be able to easily destroy it, then immediately moved on to her next spell.
"Festina Lente!" she exclaimed.
The pillar of light rose toward the sky, carrying the barrier and its contents. It would continue to rise until it reached a vast, dark space, very very far away from Fiori. Even if she didn't manage to send the "witch" into outer space, she'd make sure she ended up far enough to never be able to reach this planet again.
She watched the pillar of light rise over the clouds until, eventually, she couldn't see it anymore. At the same time, Ellize let out a sharp gasp and clenched her chest.
She'd been fine blasting magic in the past, but she was having more and more trouble calming her heartbeat. She couldn't tell if it was because she was out of shape, having been dead for a few days already, or if it was because she was to die soon. For all she knew, it could even be a bit of both. One thing was certain: her body wouldn't be able to cast powerful spells in close succession anymore.
"Lady Ellize! Are you all right?!" Layla screamed, running up to Ellize and helping her stay upright.
The unbridled joy that had filled Layla's heart when she'd seen her beloved master come back from the dead had been replaced by fear and uneasiness. She'd never seen Ellize struggle so much in a fight before. She'd always taken care of the largest of armies, the strongest of archmonsters, with a flick of her fingers. And yet, here she was, obviously exhausted, struggling to even breathe properly. Layla couldn't help but fear she'd lose her again.
"Layla... That's not important right now. You've lost so much weight..." Ellize murmured.
She could barely hide her shock at Layla's appearance. She had become so gaunt that her natural beauty had started fading.
Ellize realized all over again how deep of a wound she'd left in her heart. She'd taken this world too lightly. In fact, she'd taken everything too lightly from the day she was born.
She'd decided on her own that, since Layla was originally supposed to betray Ellize, she wouldn't be too sad when she passed away. She'd ignored Layla's personality and had refused to see her knight's devotion, all so that she could keep believing in her selfish and ridiculously optimistic little plan.
Anyone else would have noticed immediately that it was bound to end badly, but Ellize had remained blind until the very end. Now that she'd finally opened her eyes, it was too late. Her second coming would last but a few hours. Ellize doubted she'd even get to see the sun rise again in this world.
For the first time, Ellize feared death. Would Layla be okay after she was gone? She'd suffered so much already, yet Ellize had given her hope by coming back to life...only to rip it away from her. She was going to break Layla's heart again. The more she thought about it, the stronger this new, peculiar feeling became. Ellize didn't want to die, but there was nothing she could do about it.
"Is it over?" Alfrea asked, walking up to Ellize.
Unlike Layla, she seemed fine.
"I believe it is. I trapped it inside a barrier and sent it so high in the sky that it shouldn't be able to come back here, even if it breaks the—"
Ellize suddenly fell silent. Something was plummeting down from the sky with a sinister noise.
No way.
Ellize was aware that the "witch" could merge with living beings—it had done so with the saints over fifty generations, after all—but she would never have thought that it could parasitize inorganic matter.
She turned to Profeta nervously, and the turtle confirmed her fears. "This is bad... That thing took over a huge rock. It's falling straight toward us!"
Ellize understood at once what had happened. The "witch" had latched onto a meteorite, and it was using it to return to this planet! If Ellize let that happen, things wouldn't end well.
Damn! Humanity might just go extinct if this thing hits!
Ellize groaned. "I need to destroy it!"
She raised her arms toward the sky and started gathering as much mana as she could. She was up against a meteorite—one massive enough to sign humanity's death warrant—so she couldn't be half-hearted. Ignoring her palpitations, she squeezed out every last drop of mana she had left. The pain in her chest became sharper, but she refused to let it stop her.
"Aurea Libertas."
A golden beam of light came flying out of her hands. It was much brighter than any of the previous beams Ellize had fired. There was no doubt that the rising light was visible even from the depths of outer space.
Ellize's full powers pulverized the meteorite before it could even come close to Fiori's atmosphere. Needless to say, the "witch" vanished alongside it.
The fake saint fell to her knees, a hand on the ground for support.
"Ha... Ha... Ha..." she panted, clutching her chest with her other hand. The pain told her that she'd just shortened her life span again.
Layla was on the verge of tears. She helped Ellize up, cursing her powerlessness.
Despite all that, the "witch" started reappearing in the sky.
"Layla... Get away from here," Ellize said weakly.
Her legs trembled, barely holding her up as she started circulating her mana. Her last attack had entirely drained her mana, but she had no time to waste—she needed to recover it, and fast.
However, Ellize was surprised by an uncomfortable sensation she hadn't been expecting. Actually, rather than uncomfortable, the feeling was downright unpleasant. Fear, despair, hatred, jealousy... All kinds of twisted emotions entered her body alongside the mana she was absorbing.
Circulating mana meant taking in negative emotions. Ellize had always known that, but it had never affected her...until now. She wondered what had changed and soon came to the conclusion that she was the one who had.
Ellize had always observed everything—including herself—through a thick filter. She'd watched herself go through life from an objective standpoint, both in this life and her previous one. That was what had allowed her to ignore the negative emotions that had entered her body whenever she'd circulated her mana. They didn't fit in with the role she was playing, so she'd never paid them any mind.
As to why it had suddenly changed, she couldn't say. Was it because she'd come back to life? Because she'd finally recognized this world as her reality? Or perhaps because her soul was finally whole?
Whatever the reason, Ellize couldn't observe herself from above as though she was just controlling a character anymore.
The negative emotions she'd ignored for years now annoyed her, and destructive urges she didn't even understand crept into her heart. She tingled with a strange need to mess everything up.
People usually buried their darkest emotions deep inside their hearts, hidden from view. Taking in mana put you face-to-face with that darkness, that selfish desire to be saved even if the rest of humanity was damned, that urge to enjoy the best in life and leave others only the crumbs. The pangs of jealousy, resentment, or even hatred that were directed at those who did better than yourself.
All these feelings burned fiercely inside of Ellize and clung to her. No wonder Eve went crazy, she thought.
She'd surely wondered whether humans deserved salvation. Weren't they the ones she ought to destroy? The saints-turned-witches must have all reached that same conclusion—that was why they'd embraced the dark side.
Ellize let out a soft laugh, then took in as much mana as she could.
So what if people had ugly thoughts? She'd known that all along! She was also one of those irredeemable humans, so looking her ugliness in the face was nothing.
The previous saints, including Eve, had all been too good, Ellize realized. They'd been way too pure; their souls so pristine, that they'd easily been stained black.
Ellize wasn't like that, though.
Sorry to disappoint, but my soul's been pitch-black from the start!
She only ever thought about herself and couldn't think of a more enjoyable pastime than bullying those weaker than herself... Provided she had a believable justification. She was a piece of shit, through and through.
She wasn't stupid, though—she was aware that if she let herself run wild, she'd eventually have to deal with the consequences. To avoid that, she'd become pretty damn good at pretending to be a good person. Still, that didn't actually make her one; it was all just an act.
While feeling a surge of negativity enter her was unpleasant, it wasn't enough to cause any serious change. Her pitch-black soul might have ended up a little darker, but who could tell the difference? She certainly couldn't.
Things must have been quite different for the saints. They'd most likely gone through a harsh phase of denial. Ellize could almost picture it.
Humans can't be that bad!They're pure! they'd most likely thought.
Eventually, they hadn't been able to believe in their idealistic views anymore and had given in to despair.
Ellize wouldn't despair, though. After all...
They're definitely not as bad as me!
...one couldn't be disappointed when one had virtually no standards! As far as Ellize was concerned, none of the dark thoughts she'd seen were as terrible as her own.
Jealousy? Nothing worth making a fuss about! Anyone would be envious of those who had more.
Ellize, for one, wanted nothing more than to see all of the damn Chads who'd never spent a Christmas night alone drop dead.
Resentment? Anyone would be mad if someone did them dirty, right? The whole "forgive and forget" policy was easy enough to throw around, but wasn't that just weakness at its finest? What else could you do? Accept the affront and cry yourself to sleep?
Hatred? Well, didn't everyone have at least a couple of people they just couldn't stand?
Those were all natural feelings. So was craving the approval and attention of others. Men were social animals. They obviously needed to feel appreciated and loved within their community.
The same went for every desire known to mankind. If anything, Ellize didn't see how humans could live without desires to spur them on.
None of these feelings were worth worrying about—they weren't even all that shameful.
More than the negative emotions, what truly stirred Ellize's heart was something else. Hidden under the darkness were faint, barely noticeable noble feelings.
There were prayers—some wished for their loved ones to be safe; others for them to stay happy and healthy.
There were glimmers of hope. Somehow, some still believed that tomorrow would be a better day. A light still shone inside their hearts, pushing them to move forward despite the pain.
There was courage too—a pure white blaze that neither fear nor hardship could extinguish.
Finally, there was love. All kinds of love too: filial, friendly, affectionate, fraternal, and romantic. Ellize had never felt any of these emotions before, and for someone like her, love was a much stronger poison than any negative feeling.
AAAAARGH! I took in so much mana at once that I ended up with wacky feelings!
While dark emotions were merely annoying to Ellize, noble feelings were much harder to handle.
The pristine hearts of the previous saints had been tainted dark until they'd lost their minds. If that was the case...what if the reverse was possible too? What if Ellize's darkened soul could be cleansed by these noble emotions?
The answer was that it was very much possible.
Nope, nuh-uh, forget it! I'm out! If this goes on, I'm gonna be purified and die before the witch does! Don't you guys know you should never heal an undead?!
People's feelings seeped out of their bodies along with their mana, including their positive emotions. However, such feelings were so commonplace for the previous saints that they'd never even truly noticed them. Instead, they'd ended up focusing on the negative ones—the ones that had ultimately corrupted their souls and led to their downfall.
On the other hand, Ellize, who was already so low that she couldn't possibly fall any further, was the exact opposite. The negative emotions that flowed inside her seemed natural to her, while the positive ones threw her heart in disarray.
Ellize thus reached a very simple conclusion.
I so don't need all that.
Just as healing magic dealt damage to undead monsters in most games, impure people like Ellize weren't equipped to handle such light. What some deemed to be a warm, pleasant light could be blinding to others, and Ellize was blinded.
Sadly for her, the mana around her was thick with the prayers, hopes, and feelings of love directed at her.
Are y'all trying to kill me before the witch? Is that it?!
"Witches," Ellize said, looking up at the "witch" with an affectionate smile on her lips.
Her legs were still shaking. She couldn't for the life of her believe that her lips had automatically curled into such a soft smile. Had the purification process started already? If that went on, her soul would soon be as pure as the driven snow, and she'd become someone else altogether!
Ellize wasn't exactly enthusiastic about such a change, so she made up her mind to end things as soon as possible.
"You turned into witches because you couldn't bear the darkness of people's hearts," she continued. "However, darkness isn't all there is inside their hearts. The things you tried to protect as saints—the things you held dear—they're still there!"
Ellize had already entered uncharted territories. For some reason, she'd started thinking that the world was precious. A weird urge to embrace and love everyone and everything had bloomed inside her heart.
What the hell is that?! she thought. She could still make sense of the destructive urges she'd felt earlier, but this was too much. It was absolutely baffling. She'd always been up to hug cute girls, but now...she also somehow wanted to embrace dudes?! Had she lost her mind?!
Oh no. That's a huge no. I do not swing that way, and I sure as hell do not want to touch any filthy dudes!
And yet, Ellize couldn't help but see the world in a new light. She felt unconditional love for everyone, including Verner, John, and even the turtle!
She needed to do something before she seriously ended up insane.
Saints held out for five years on average before their hearts were entombed by darkness, but Ellize clearly lacked the willpower. Forget five years, she'd be doomed in five minutes—yet another record for her!
"So please, accept this! This...is the light inside their hearts!" she exclaimed, releasing the cumbersome feelings she'd been wanting to rid herself of toward the "witch."
They took the form of a clear white aura, and Ellize wrapped them neatly in her golden mana.
Ellize didn't need them. Her soul was darkness incarnate, and she was fine with that. Keeping them would only purify her and change her. The best people to dump those things on, she'd realized, were the witches, whose souls were originally pure light.
However, she'd underestimated the power of that light, and she collapsed. Before she could hit the floor, two pairs of hands held her up.
They belonged to Layla and Verner. Ellize felt their sincere love flow through her, and she almost died on the spot.
Damn, I'm gonna combust, she thought, but still smiled at them. They were so dear to her that she couldn't help it. This is bad. If I don't get rid of all these weird sensations soon, I'm gonna turn into a true saint. Eek!
Terrified, Ellize put her hand up and hurled all of the noble feelings that plagued her at the "witch."
Image here:
"Take thiiiiiiiiiiis!!!" she screamed as a blinding light streamed out of her hand.
The "witch" had yet to materialize, but the light hit it nonetheless.
(3.2k word count)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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