Chapter 371: Witches Are All Mad
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH————————"
Flugel clutched the stump where his arm had been, howling in agony. His arm had burst apart as if detonated, scattering flesh and bone fragments in a gruesome spray. Trembling violently, he knelt on the ground, staring in horror at the absence of his right arm—his precious right arm was gone! Sobs wracked his body as tears and snot streamed down his face.
"Master!!"
Shaula, equally horrified, rushed over and knelt beside him. Frantically, she rummaged for something resembling bandages to stem the bleeding from his wound. Reid gripped the hilt of his sword, his expression grave as he fixed his gaze on Typhon, the Witch of Pride.
Roy stepped forward, shielding Satella behind him. Narrowing his eyes, he studied the green-haired witch, whose innocent demeanor suggested she cared little for the carnage she'd caused. Under his breath, he murmured, "...Judgment?"
The moment the "Witch of Pride" activated her authority, Roy sensed something eerily familiar and instantly understood the nature of her power.
It was an "authority of judgment" similar to his own Sword of Judgment.
However, while Roy's Sword of Judgment forcibly declared the target guilty before execution, the Witch of Pride's authority directly invoked the sins within a person's body, resulting in consequences like Flugel's severed arm.
Every person was born with sin unless purified through specific rituals. Thus, the Witch of Pride's authority was effective against anyone—the more sinful the target, the more devastating the damage upon contact. When sin reached a certain threshold, death was inevitable.
This authority aligned perfectly with the "Biblical system."
Yet, fitting for a witch, while sin was universal, not all sins warranted judgment. The Witch of Pride, in her arrogance, judged every sin indiscriminately. This excessive fairness only bred greater fear among humans.
"So this is a Sin Archbishop Witch..."
At that moment, Roy comprehended the essence of these beings.
Much like the "Evils of Humanity," even if the witches possessed kindness and justice, any benevolence or righteousness they exhibited ultimately manifested as "malice" toward humans.
"Master... Master..."
Shaula wept as she stared at Flugel's severed arm. Injuries like severed limbs required immediate treatment by the most skilled healing mages to be cured. Such mages were already rare, and with this being the witches' territory, there was no time to find one. Flugel's right arm was as good as lost.
Shaula glared at the childlike Witch of Pride, her fury driving her to charge recklessly.
"Shaula, don't! You're no match for her!"
Flugel quickly stopped her. Though he hadn't instantly deciphered the witch's authority like Roy, he understood how terrifying she was—anyone she touched would suffer the same fate as him.
"Typhon likes you~ Your sins aren't very heavy~"
The innocent child spoke innocently, clapping her hands and giggling like a carefree little girl. Yet her words sent chills down everyone's spines.
She had just severed someone's arm, yet claimed to like them—this Sin Archbishop Witch's moral compass was utterly alien to normal humans.
"Hah... So this is a witch."
Flugel's face paled as he finally grasped the true nature of witches.
"UNACCEPTABLE!! I absolutely forbid it! I will not allow any battles or wounded to appear before me!"
Suddenly, an enraged voice rang out. In a blur, a golden-haired, green-eyed girl in a short skirt—voluptuous and full-figured—burst onto the scene.
Petite yet seething with fury, her most striking feature was the disproportionately large pair of assets on her chest, jiggling temptingly with every movement—an undeniably lewd sight.
At first glance, one might mistake her for the Witch of Lust, but the palpable wrath radiating from her left no doubt.
This was the "Witch of Wrath"!
The Wrath Witch appeared and immediately charged at Flugel again. Shaula tried to stop her, but the Wrath Witch's martial skills were extraordinary. With a sweep of her arm, she flung Shaula aside.
"Huh?"
Reid let out a surprised sound, his face brimming with eagerness. He noticed this newly appeared witch followed the same physical combat style as him, stirring an urge to fight within him.
However, the Wrath Witch paid no attention to anyone else. She rushed to Flugel, who was nursing a severed arm, and under his terrified gaze, kicked him to the ground. Then, she unleashed a flurry of punches at his face and the wound where his arm had been severed.
"AAAAAHHHHH——————"
The Wrath Witch's fists were incredibly heavy, each blow excruciatingly painful. What made it worse was that she deliberately aimed punches at Flugel's wound, making him experience the pinnacle of agony—what true secondary damage felt like.
"Master!!"
Shaula, crying, tried to save her master again, but the Wrath Witch punched her aside once more. Shaula struggled to her feet, attempting to intervene repeatedly, only to be thwarted each time.
It was then that Shaula remembered Roy and Reid were also present and turned to them for help, but her expression froze the next moment.
Contrary to what one might expect, Flugel's face wasn't bruised and swollen from the beating, nor was his severed arm mangled. Instead, under the Wrath Witch's relentless punches, his severed right arm began regenerating at a visible rate. Before long, his body was restored to its complete state.
Once the 'treatment' was done, the Wrath Witch stood up and glared furiously at Typhon. "...Always like this, always like this! Typhon, can't you grow up a little? AAAAAH, don't let me see anyone injured in front of me! My wrath is about to overflow!"
The Pride Witch, being scolded, pouted but couldn't retort due to her young age.
"Enough, all of you!"
The silver-haired girl who had been standing with her back to them finally couldn't take it anymore. She turned around, casting an exasperated yet annoyed look at the Wrath Witch and the Pride Witch. "...Minerva, Typhon, you've completely ruined the atmosphere I worked so hard to create!!"
Then, the witch turned her gaze to Roy. Breathing heavily, her face flushed, her black pupils burning with intense 'desire (greed).' "...You've finally come, the one guided by the 『Book of Wisdom』!"
Her eyes seemed ready to devour Roy whole, like a maiden meeting the man she adored.
Reid clicked his tongue at the sight and glanced at Roy beside him. "...Do you know her? She's not an old flame of yours, is she? This is way too enthusiastic."
Roy raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "...I don't know her. Honestly, these Cardinal Sin Witches all strike me as a bunch of lunatics."
Reid nodded in deep agreement.