Chapter 283 — The Alluring Witch (11)
The group had stopped in a relatively open area, giving them a clear view of the forest ahead.
Shadows darted rapidly between the trees. From time to time, the sound of vegetation snapping echoed through the woods.
Instinctively, everyone drew closer together.
From the noise alone, it was obvious—
They were surrounded.
And when the tide of monsters surged into view, that suspicion was confirmed.
"Sacrificers… Hive Queens… Flesh Tumors…"
Gideon muttered, recognizing the creatures he had fought before.
"These things usually operate independently… Why are they suddenly moving together?"
From the earlier explosion of the Sacrificer to this overwhelming swarm—
Something had clearly changed.
These monsters had evolved.
He hadn't warned the others about the Sacrificer before—not only to avoid revealing too much in front of Fiona, but also because its explosion radius had once been limited.
With proper defensive magic, it wouldn't have been fatal.
But now—
That assumption no longer held.
"Listen carefully!" Gideon shouted immediately.
"The flaming skeletons—don't attack them with sharp weapons! They'll explode!"
"And the ones surrounded by insects—their weak point should be around the waist!"
The information might not be perfectly accurate anymore—
But in this chaos, even outdated knowledge was better than none.
Zoe, Quentin, and the others looked at him in surprise.
Even Fiona raised an eyebrow, her thoughts unreadable.
"Form a defensive barrier first," Fiona said calmly.
"Then find a way to break through."
The witches began chanting.
A transparent barrier formed around them.
Gideon didn't stay idle either.
He placed a holy statue on the ground and activated a sealing array.
Moments later—
Faint lights appeared along the path they had taken earlier.
A corridor of holy light carved its way through the forest.
Several monsters happened to be in its path.
The moment they touched the light—
They were instantly incinerated.
Gideon let out a quiet breath.
At least that still worked.
But then—
The monsters attacked.
They slammed against the barrier, gnawing at it frantically.
The protective layer visibly thinned with each passing second.
"They can consume magic? What kind of monsters are these?!"
"At this rate, we won't even have enough power to resist the poison fog!"
Panic began to spread.
Fiona waved her hand sharply.
A Sacrificer was hurled outward, crashing through multiple monsters before lodging itself into the ribcage of a Hive Queen.
"Boom!"
The explosion cleared a small area—
But almost instantly, more creatures filled the gap.
Fiona's expression darkened.
"Mary, with me—we'll open a path!"
Then she shouted:
"Maintain the barrier! Retreat in groups through the corridor!"
With both sides cooperating, a narrow escape route was quickly formed.
Fiona immediately moved toward it.
But Gideon narrowed his eyes.
If they retreated now, Fiona's plan might work—
But if they went deeper?
It would only delay the inevitable.
The monsters ahead would only grow more numerous.
And once the witches exhausted their magic—
Chaos would follow.
More casualties.
If they had instead held their ground and confirmed the monsters' weaknesses—
They might have reduced the losses.
And just as he feared—
The moment some witches stopped channeling magic to retreat—
The pressure on the remaining ones spiked.
The monsters attacked even more violently.
Several Flesh Tumors suddenly stopped moving.
Their bodies swelled and contracted—
Then exploded outward.
Hundreds of leeches burst from within them.
Some landed on the barrier.
The rest burrowed into the ground.
Moments later—
The soil beneath the witches' feet began to shift.
At the same time, the poisonous bees in the air started vibrating their wings in unison.
A piercing resonance spread through the barrier—
Directly into their minds.
"Ahhh—!"
A scream rang out.
Everyone turned.
A witch's legs were covered in leeches.
Their bodies secreted a toxin—
Her entire body went rigid.
Then—
The leeches crawled upward.
To her face.
Under everyone's horrified gaze—
They devoured her jaw.
"Thud!"
Her mutilated body collapsed.
That was the breaking point.
Screams erupted everywhere.
More than a dozen witches were attacked at once.
The air filled with the stench of blood.
Control shattered.
Rocks flew.
Flames surged.
Monsters were torn apart—
Only to multiply again.
Magic collided chaotically.
The barrier trembled on the verge of collapse.
Then—
A flaming skeleton grabbed a witch by the jaw.
The barrier—
Finally broke.
What followed…
Was a massacre.
"Get away from me!"
A voodoo practitioner chanted rapidly, splitting a Hive Queen in half—
But the swarm of venomous bees immediately surged into his throat.
Everything below his nose—
Melted away.
The Sacrificers acted with eerie coordination.
Once they tackled a victim—
They destroyed the jaw first.
Then moved on.
In just minutes—
The casualties mounted.
The voodoo faction suffered the most.
Their spells were complex—
Many were killed mid-cast.
Mary's expression grew darker by the second.
In contrast, the academy witches fared slightly better.
Thanks to their training in combined magic, the younger witches quickly formed a new defensive line.
Meanwhile—
Gideon was still moving.
When Fiona ordered the retreat, he didn't follow immediately.
Instead, he took advantage of the chaos—
And struck down several monsters.
He needed confirmation.
And the result—
Was encouraging.
Though the monsters had grown stronger—
Their weaknesses remained the same.
"Good," he murmured.
"That makes things easier."
He immediately relayed the information to Jenny and the others.
Between Fiona and Gideon—
The four witches chose to trust Gideon.
"Tch… this guy's actually reliable. Damn… I hate that feeling."
Madison bit her lip, frowning.
Even if she instinctively rejected him—
She couldn't deny it.
Having someone like him as a teammate…
Was a blessing.
Zoe nodded firmly, her eyes fixed on Gideon.
Quentin, meanwhile, observed silently—
Her gaze shifting between Gideon and Jenny.
She had been quiet this entire time.
Watching.
Analyzing.
She was certain—
This so-called "assistant" wasn't simple.
She had felt his power multiple times—
Brief, but overwhelming.
And he was cautious.
Extremely cautious.
Along the way, he had repeatedly instructed her to set up escape routes—
And prepare for ambushes.
It was exhausting—
But undeniably effective.
He wasn't just skilled with materials—
His understanding of survival was exceptional.
And then—
There was Jenny.
She trusted him.
Too much.
Combined with what happened at the tavern days ago—
A suspicion began forming in Quentin's mind.
But she said nothing.
He had saved her life.
And right now—
Survival came first.
"Let me tell the Headmistress," Jenny said anxiously.
"If everyone knows their weaknesses, we can stop the unnecessary deaths."
Gideon shook his head slightly.
"That won't be easy."
He gestured toward the forest.
More monsters were gathering—
And this time—
They were heading straight for them.
The four witches' expressions changed instantly.
They took defensive positions.
The monsters charged several times—
But were burned to ash by the holy barrier.
Seeing this—
The creatures began circling instead.
Their numbers grew.
More.
And more.
From Fiona's perspective—
Gideon's group was already doomed.
No chance of survival.
She frowned slightly.
But inside—
She felt relief.
He had only been useful for handling materials.
Now that they had entered this zone—
He was expendable.
"Good," she thought coldly.
"Saves me the trouble."
Meanwhile—
Low growls filled the air.
The four witches swallowed nervously.
The monsters were so close—
They could clearly see the filth and texture on their bodies.
"Can we… really get out of this?"
Doubt crept into their hearts.
Almost instinctively—
They turned back.
Behind them—
Only one person remained calm.
Gideon.
At that moment—
One of the Sacrificers followed their gaze.
Then—
It froze.
Slowly—
It stepped back.
Leaving the swarm.
A faint black aura seeped from its bones.
The flames around it collapsed into the ground—
Forming a strange, shifting image.
A black silhouette.
Seated.
Across from it—
A burning figure resembling the Sacrificer.
At first—
The flaming figure lashed out.
Attacking wildly.
But then—
The black silhouette's head split open.
Opening and closing—
As if speaking.
And then—
Everything changed.
The flames began to fade.
The burning figure calmed.
It knelt.
Reaching forward—
As if touching something unseen.
From its hands—
The black energy slowly took the shape of a plant.
And finally—
The black figure turned its head.
Staring forward—
Silently.
Unnaturally.
Seeing this, the first sacrifice took another step back.
In the flickering vision before it, the dark silhouette began walking toward it.
Step by step—
The figure grew larger.
Clearer.
"Fwoosh—"
The flames on the sacrifice's body flared, briefly illuminating the figure's face.
Black hair.
Sharp, refined features.
Unmistakably human.
The sacrifice slowly raised its skull.
The image before it…
Gradually overlapped with the man standing in reality.
"Clack."
Its foot slipped, bumping into another sacrifice beside it.
The second sacrifice burst into flames, grabbing onto the first's charred bones instinctively.
But then—
The first sacrifice pointed at the ground.
Then at the human trapped within the formation.
The second one followed its gaze.
A moment later—
It, too, stumbled backward.
Elsewhere
Gideon was still considering whether to retreat from the forest—
When he suddenly sensed something off.
The monsters surrounding them…
Had gone silent.
One by one, they raised their "heads" and stared at him.
Gideon was certain—
That he had just witnessed something resembling "seeing."
His eyes narrowed.
The next second—
Every single monster stepped back in perfect unison.
Gideon: "…?"
The four young witches beside him also noticed something strange.
"What… are they doing?" Madison frowned.
"They're not about to attack all at once, are they?"
Zoe tilted her head.
"But… it looks like they're trying to run away."
As Madison was still processing, the monsters retreated another five or six steps.
Jenny blinked in confusion.
"But why would they run? We're the ones surrounded!"
"Maybe there's something here that's making them feel threatened," Quentin suggested calmly.
By now, the creatures had withdrawn over ten meters away.
The area around the barrier suddenly felt… empty.
At this point, all five of them—including Gideon—
Were certain.
The monsters were retreating.
"But… why?" Gideon muttered.
He hadn't even used any active holy techniques yet.
The barrier alone had been enough.
"Did something stronger just appear…?"
His expression sharpened instantly.
He scanned everything within a ten-meter radius—
Thoroughly.
Carefully.
Nothing.
Completely safe.
Meanwhile — On the Witches' Side
They had also noticed something strange.
"Bitch! Why aren't those sewer-crawling freaks attacking them?!" Mary snapped, her voice thick with a sharp accent.
Fiona lifted her head—
Just in time to see the monsters retreating.
"What did that boy do…?" she murmured, eyes narrowing.
Soon, every witch present had noticed.
Their gazes shifted back and forth between the two groups.
On their side—
Seven or eight grotesque flesh-beasts were still spewing foul, corrosive fluids against their defensive barrier.
On the other side—
That new assistant and his team had already stepped out of their protection—
And were actually chasing the monsters.
Same danger.
Completely different outcomes.
"…This is ridiculous," someone muttered.
"Fiona!" Fox turned sharply toward her mother.
"What exactly did you give that man? Are you sacrificing the rest of the academy for him?!"
Ever since the incident last time, Fox had noticed they had met in private.
An older widow…
A young, handsome man…
The implications weren't hard to guess.
And it wasn't the first time.
As soon as she said it, all the younger witches turned toward Fiona.
"Shut up, you idiot," Fiona snapped, forcing herself to stay composed.
"He's not alone—there are four girls with him!"
But deep down—
She was just as shocked.
These monsters had no intelligence.
They couldn't be controlled mentally.
She had already tested that.
"So… that man—or whatever power stands behind him—can actually influence creatures corrupted by evil…"
Her wariness deepened.
Back to Gideon
Gideon stroked his chin, walking slowly toward the retreating monsters.
The four witches followed behind him.
After several attempts, he confirmed it.
They weren't avoiding the group.
They were avoiding…
Him.
A strange feeling crept into his mind.
Those monsters—
Every single one—
Had been looking only at him.
"…Did I do something here before?"
He thought carefully.
"Set a few traps… purified a couple of monsters… collapsed a castle…"
"…Wait, that castle wasn't even my fault. That snake-shadow thing did it."
"Other than that… I didn't do anything."
Yet the result was undeniable.
The monsters were retreating.
Not just here—
Even those around the Witch Academy and the Voodoo Coven had withdrawn.
A few minutes later—
Not a single monster remained.
Only corpses.
And a group of utterly bewildered witches.
The crisis—
Had ended.
In the strangest way imaginable.
Deep Beneath the Forest
Darkness.
Silence.
Then—
A cold, blue flame flickered to life.
It illuminated a massive throne.
Seated upon it—
A skeletal figure draped in black robes.
Slowly—
Its dry, cracked fingers clenched into a fist.
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