The queen charged at the ghosts, swinging her weapon filled with flames.
Finding herself in less-than-stellar spirits recently, she felt a strange excitement about this unexpected emergency.
‘Finally, the perfect chance! Just when I was feeling down, these guys show up for some venting!’
As a level 6 mage, the queen had a strong confidence in her abilities.
While it wasn’t exactly fair to compare timing, considering that the illustrious Santana couldn’t even rise past level 3, she had already reached the rank of level 6, just below her father, at her young age.
This fact served as a source of pride for the queen, who felt inferior to Santana in many ways.
“Haah!”
With her faith in her skills, the queen cleaved through the ghosts without hesitation.
Each swing of her sword sent ghosts up in flames, rapidly leading to their demise. Inspired by her courage, the other soldiers quickly followed suit, firing up their weapons to strike the ghosts before them.
“Gaaah!”
Though some soldiers fell, shrieking from being struck by a ghost’s attack, the overall battlefield was a stark contrast to their earlier one-sided defeat.
After a brief skirmish, the queen cleared all the ghosts blocking her path.
Despite being outnumbered, the overwhelming advantage of flames had allowed her and her soldiers to most likely eliminate the majority of the ghosts.
Even with over 80% of her soldiers fallen, the tides of battle seemed to favor them.
“It’s over! You have no chance of winning! Surrender peacefully, and I’ll spare your lives!”
The queen shouted confidently, her sword engulfed in flames.
However…
Despite watching the queen, the witch’s face was still adorned with the same smile as before.
In fact, that smile seemed to have grown even more pronounced.
Just as the queen began to feel a twinge of suspicion about this, the witch spoke.
“You have some skill, it seems. I’ve heard there are capable mages in Bohemia, and it seems that’s not just a rumor.”
“Cut the nonsense and make your choice! Surrender or death!”
The witch’s voice oozed with intrigue, neither fear nor embarrassment present.
Hearing this, the queen retorted fiercely.
Given the state of the battlefield before her, the victory was nearly in her hands.
True, a giant scythe was at the witch’s side, and she had a different aura than the other ghosts, but the queen believed she wouldn’t pose a significant threat, just like the others regarding the flames.
However, despite that logical reasoning, an unshakable sense of dread lingered in the queen’s heart.
The vague fear she’d felt since first laying eyes on the witch still gnawed at her.
Yet she pushed it aside, convincing herself it was likely nothing to worry about.
Suddenly, the witch remarked, “I must commend you for reaching such a level at your age, but being so arrogant at a young age isn’t wise.”
The witch’s voice seemed to emit genuine amusement and joy.
And just after finishing that sentence…
Pointing her sword at the witch, the queen felt a chill run down her spine.
A sudden wave of icy coldness flooded over her, a sensation she could only attribute to the immense magical power radiating from the witch.
“What… what is this…”
“Heh. What do you think it is? It means the fun and games are over.”
“!!!”
With that, the witch casually waved her staff.
At that moment, several ghosts began to appear around her, as if they were emerging from the earth itself.
As if to show that the previous encounter had been a mere amusement, their numbers seemed to have more than doubled, and their quality was evidently superior.
Gone were the ragtag group of specters holding tattered weapons; now, they were clad in full armor and accompanied by numerous cavalry.
If the previous soldiers were akin to village self-defense forces, these figures looked like well-trained elite soldiers.
Upon witnessing the witch summon a vastly superior army in both skill and number, a profound despair washed over the queen, and the remaining soldiers felt the same disheartenment.
‘Wha—what nonsense is this? How… how can one person wield such power…?’
The manipulation of souls—that was a magic that transcended all known disciplines, demonstrated with a scale that defied logic.
As she stood before such a terrifying sight, the queen couldn’t help but grimly gauge the witch’s true power.
‘If this scale of magic is any indication, then she must be at least a level 9… possibly even a level 10 high mage, a rarity on the continent. Why is such a monster here…?’
It felt akin to encountering a dragon plummeting from the sky during a stroll in the city.
Yet even in this moment of despair, the queen knew she had no choice but to raise her sword once more.
This was the heart of Bohemia, the lord’s castle.
It was her home where she had lived and must continue to live, which meant there was no retreat for her.
No matter how desperate the situation, she could not abandon her home.
Furthermore, in this critical moment, the queen knew precisely what she needed to do.
“You all fall back. Go tell Father about the intruders!”
“B-but Your Highness…”
“Quickly! I will hold them off, so hurry!”
“Ugh…”
Under the queen’s resolute command, the soldiers reluctantly retreated to their stronghold, and soon after, the queen fixed her gaze on the witch before her while brandishing her sword.
‘Those numbers won’t help much now; it’ll be better for me to alert them and buy some time.’
With a swift decision and assessment of the situation, the queen took charge.
Seeing her demeanor, the witch spoke again, her voice tinged with delight.
“With skill like yours and that level of confidence… you certainly delight me, even enough to spark my greed in such dire circumstances.”
“Quit the petty talk and come at me! You’re nothing I can’t handle alone!”
With those words, the queen lunged forward, sword ablaze.
In response, the witch extended her staff toward the queen.
At that moment…
-BANG!-
“?!”
“Heh…”
Suddenly, a red flash erupted from the direction of the stronghold.
The queen’s face twisted with both confusion and heightened unease, while the witch’s lips curled into a broad smile.
‘This is ending quicker than I expected. Looks like I need to hurry as well. I can’t let this opportunity slip away…’
*
Suddenly, all the lights in the lord’s castle went out.
However, the internal reactions to this were late to occur.
Except for the queen, who was swinging her sword in fury, the lord’s family was deep in slumber, and even the soldiers on patrol, awake and alert, couldn’t be roused simply because the lights had gone out.
Seizing the opportunity amidst this brief quiet chaos, she…
The witch known as Bloody Mary swiftly moved through the darkness toward her intended destination.
‘Almost there, just past this point…’
As she arrived at the location she previously marked through her magic circle, she suddenly halted upon spotting someone at the door.
‘…A maid?’
