Chapter 86: The Witch of Rubble

A month had passed since the resurrection. Deciding it was pointless to wait for the next new moon, the Iruma mage rode the Spider Witch through the foggy, dark night roads deep in Okutama.

The confusion-inducing fog magic that blanketed Okutama had no effect on the Spider Witch, the original wielder of that spell.

Carrying Iruma mage on her back, the Spider Witch walked slowly and steadily, careful not to jostle her passenger, clicking her jaws softly as she spoke in a reserved tone.

“Hey, Iruma, are you sure it’s okay not to hurry? The diversion in the city won’t last much longer, right…? Wouldn’t it be better to wrap things up on this end quickly?”

“It’s fine. This is the way it should be. I’d like to hurry too, but if you start rushing, Fuyou might get suspicious because of the change in your pace.”

“I see. Then I’ll just try to keep the same pace and only widen my stride a little…”

“You’re really thoughtful, Spider Witch. I appreciate it.”

When the Iruma mage gently stroked her carapace, the Spider Witch let out a pleased chirp.

Through a month of secret plotting, the Iruma mage had gathered all the information he could find.

The zombies that the Zombie Witch had secretly sent into the underground of Tokyo were mostly rendered useless — over half of them had been caught up in collapses and submersions caused by last year’s long rains. Even so, enough intelligence had been collected.

Any gaps left by the zombies were filled by Iruma’s mage himself. Thanks to the fact that his face was now completely different from when he was alive, he disguised the stitched parts with makeup, concealed his magic power, and pretended to be a harmless child. Strolling casually through Tokyo in broad daylight, he observed the city’s six years of change with his own eyes.

Infiltration and mimicry were his specialties. Even without using magic, with perfect magic power control and acting ability alone, he could deceive even the all-seeing eyes of the Eyeball Witch.

The more information he gathered, the more the importance of the elusive staff craftsman “0933” from Okutama became clear. He also uncovered the deep and troublesome ties between 0933 and the Blue Witch.

0933 was blatantly partial to the Blue Witch’s dragon-furnace-carved, seven-layered blue magic wand: Kyanos.

Kyanos was constantly upgraded to the latest model, customized specifically for the Blue Witch, and loaded with features far beyond excessive. Compared to the magic stone staff crafted for other witches, it was on another level entirely.

This suggested deliberate power balancing. Whether it was at 0933’s own discretion or at the Blue Witch’s request wasn’t clear, but even as new technologies emerged, the Blue Witch was consistently kept in a position where, even if all of Tokyo stood against her, she could overturn the situation alone.

Because of this, the strategy of slowly undermining Tokyo’s foundations through infiltration and attrition was inefficient. Even if the Iruma mage managed to take control of everything except 0933 and the Blue Witch, it could all be undone by their overwhelming power.

In fact, during the last coup, the emotionally fragile Blue Witch, who had wept over the death of every comrade, had reached her breaking point and transformed into a cold, ruthless killing machine. That was how Iruma’s plan had been torn apart.

On the other hand, the terrifying combination of 0933 and the Blue Witch would lose much of its threat if even one of them could be neutralized.

The Blue Witch couldn’t be turned into a puppet, nor seduced.

During the Aratake gang assault, it was said that they had managed to restrain her only by taking her beloved Professor Ohinata hostage, but Iruma doubted the effectiveness of such tactics.

The Blue Witch was a deeply emotional woman who valued her loved ones more than the world itself. However, once she lost control, she would destroy everything — allies, enemies, and even hostages — without hesitation. The Iruma knew this “fatally well” through personal experience.

When truly cornered, the Blue Witch would kill her enemies along with the hostages, including him. That had already happened once.

So first, Iruma set his sights on securing 0933.

If he could capture 0933, he could force him to create an ultra-high-performance magic staff, one capable of matching or even surpassing Kyanos. With such a weapon, even the Blue Witch could be killed.

And once the Blue Witch was eliminated, Tokyo would belong to Iruma’s. Since his puppet magic didn’t work on her, he planned to kill her and turn her into a zombie while she was brain-dead. Then even she would fall under his control.

With the talented people, advanced technology, and production capacity that had blossomed in Tokyo over the past six years — and if he added 0933 and the zombified Blue Witch to his forces — he could secure Japan before any foreign nation could intervene.

Once Japan was his, he could stand against America’s heroes: Conrad Williams, Glen Grayling, and the saint Lucia.

And if he defeated America, the next largest surviving sphere, India, would fall soon after.

After that, world domination would be within reach.

Of course, nothing ever goes entirely according to plan.

If you only look forward, you’re bound to stumble.

That’s why Iruma poured all his energy into securing 0933 first.

He instructed the Zombie Witch to launch an armed uprising on the night of the new moon.

The Zombie Witch had wanted, as usual, to play both sides and back the winner — the same opportunistic bat move as before — but no faction would allow that twice. Besides, the Zombie Witch was already viewed with suspicion after siding with the winning team once. The time had come for her to show her true colors.

Currently, the Zombie Witch had scattered four million zombies across the entire Tokyo area, setting them to work capturing human VIPs, securing dynamite factories, stealing magic tools, and occupying universities.

Though this was an invasion carried out under cover of night, zombies were still just mindless walking corpses. Their physical strength was average, their minds were dull, and they had no special powers. Sooner or later, witches and sorcerers would wipe them out.

However, the sheer number made them a force that couldn’t be ignored. Even if the enemy realized it was a diversion, they couldn’t afford to disregard such a threat. If they let their guard down, Tokyo could fall under the zombies’ overwhelming numbers.

As a backup plan, Iruma had also enlisted the Witch of Setagaya.

She was a fool who, like many adolescents, had a delusional sense of omnipotence. Despite having obtained her power through pure luck rather than effort, she firmly believed she was “chosen.” Such a mindset made her easy to manipulate.

Of course, being foolish also meant she wasn’t as reliable as the Zombie Witch for a backup plan.

Although Iruma had successfully indoctrinated her — not with puppet magic, but with words — into believing in the righteousness of world conquest and her duty to follow him, the Setagaya Witch was neither as patient nor as reliable. She was impulsive and had a habit of submitting to the strong.

If Iruma were to fail, she probably wouldn’t act as the safety net he hoped for. Still, it was better than having no insurance at all.

To counter the confusion-inducing fog of Okutama, Iruma had first controlled the Spider Witch.

Those under his puppet magic couldn’t be distinguished from ordinary people by humans, but to anyone with magic power control, the magic imprint coiled around the heart made it obvious they were under some form of magical influence. So using a puppeted person to deceive a magician being wouldn’t work.

That’s why, for the critical first step — catching 0933 off guard and turning him into a puppet without raising suspicion — Iruma chose the Spider Witch, and it paid off even more than he’d expected.

The Spider Witch not only knew 0933’s true identity but was also on friendly terms with him.

While the Spider Witch didn’t meet with 0933 often, she knew not just his real name and identity, but also the specifics of Okutama’s defense systems and even the unofficial new technology “No-Chant Mechanism” that 0933 had developed.

0933 — Dairi Kenshi — and his guardian, Fuyou, the daughter of the Flower Witch, were fond of the Spider Witch, too. Their relationship was strong enough that an unexpected visit wouldn’t arouse any suspicion.

Riding proudly on the Spider Witch’s back, Iruma arrived at Dairi’s residence in a secluded part of Okutama. The lights were out, and the house was silent. Everyone was asleep.

Fuyou used the roots she had spread throughout the Okutama region to sense ground vibrations, detect intruders, and kill them. If she couldn’t kill them, she would immediately alert the Blue Witch, who would teleport back the moment she was informed. It was a well-designed security system.

If not for the inevitable choice of making the Spider Witch his puppet, and the coincidental fact that she was friendly with Dairi, sneaking past both the confusing fog and Fuyou’s vigilance would’ve been a serious challenge.

“I think it’d be best to take down Fuyou first. She’s got a direct line to the Blue Witch through her eyeball familiar… though she’s also got Dairi, but he doesn’t seem to have much sense of danger, so unless something blatantly suspicious happens, he probably won’t act.”

“Yeah, let’s start with Fuyou. Could you guide us there?”

“Leave it to me. She’s rooted herself on the hill out back…”

The highly capable mount, which could think and act appropriately on its own, suggest strategies, and even confirm plans, climbed the steep slope with its eight legs.

It was the dead of night, the time when even the plants and trees slumber. If Fuyou had also been asleep, things would have been easy — but unfortunately, she was awake.

Fuyou cheerfully waved her vines to welcome the Spider Witch who had come to visit her.

“Good evening, Spider! I’ve heard about the zombie uprising. So far, there aren’t any zombies in Okutama… wait a sec. Who’s the boy riding on your back? And what’s that around his belly? It looks like some kind of weird magic mark?”

She had heard that Fuyo was young but sharp — and sure enough, even with a familiar face, she instantly noticed something was off and grew suspicious. Far more troublesome than some brute with nothing but strength.

Before her doubts could deepen, Iruma immediately began chanting a spell.

“Oh merciful Uwewenta, Kwafuke, when life fades, ××××××××――――”

“! Freezing Javelin, Du Vaarar!”

She must have learned the Puppet Magic incantation from the Flower Witch.

Fuyou was only momentarily surprised. As she extended thick roots toward the magician, she quickly fired off a rapid succession of spells — her judgment sharp, her magic well-practiced.

But compared to the original Blue Witch’s freezing javelins, her attack was rather lukewarm. The Spider Witch, while dodging the roots with her legs, let the freezing javelin slip past — but Iruma easily evaded it and finished his spell.

“――――It is liberated, for the sake of ××Raa×, Esake.”

Invisible magic energy shot forth, entwining itself around Fuyou’s heart and squeezing tight.

With no chance to resist, even for an instant, a sinister magic mark floated to the surface on her chest.

All the hostility and tension drained from the Flower Witch’s daughter. The vines and roots, which had been poised for battle, withdrew as Fuyou timidly looked up at the magician, her concern apparent.

“Sorry… are you okay? Does it hurt?”

“What do you mean?”

“While you were chanting, I released a poison into the air — it’s harmful to living bodies. I’ve stopped the spread now, but… doesn’t your throat hurt?”

“…I see. A scentless, tasteless poison to interrupt spellcasting, huh. If I were still alive, it probably would’ve worked.”

The magician from Iruma was genuinely impressed. What an exceptional species. Even without magic, their physical capabilities were top-notch. And they had the intelligence to use those abilities well.

Was there some hidden weakness that hadn’t been discovered yet? Or had the Flower Witch done a superb job concealing it?

“Maybe it’s your mother’s teaching? Or maybe your whole species is just highly intelligent. Either way, I hope your flower tribe multiplies.”

“Ehehe ♡”

“If the Blue Witch shows up, talk to her first. If talking fails, fight. Just keep her occupied.”

“Got it!”

“Good girl. Now — where’s the Fire Lizard?”

The Fire Lizard, Tsubaki, who made her lair in the old blast furnace, was sound asleep buried in ash.

But when the magician attempted to cast Puppet Magic on her, he felt the all-too-familiar sensation of the spell failing — it was being nullified. Jolted awake by the evil magic’s interference, Tsubaki immediately spewed fire at the intruder.

“Mi! Dairi, Dairi! Mi-mi-mi!”

“Hmm. Spider Witch, restrain her.”

“Mhm…”

The desperate cries for help, muffled by the flames, were silenced as spider silk bound her tight. Wrapped up like a cocoon, the immobilized Fire Lizard rolled across the ground like a trapped caterpillar.

“What a fascinating monster. Could she be the Blue Witch’s child? If all three of them share the same traits, I might dissect one or two later.”

“Shouldn’t we kill her now? Even though I’ve wrapped her up, if we can’t turn her into a puppet, and she escapes, it’ll be a real hassle.”

“Seems like she’s still a juvenile. If she were more dangerous, I’d kill her here and now. But at this level, it’s more worthwhile to bring her back.”

If she really was the Blue Witch’s offspring, dissecting her and analyzing her internal structure might give them a way to bind even the Blue Witch herself with Puppet Magic. A rare and valuable sample — killing her outright would be a waste.

Shortly after, another Monster named Sekitan arrived, likely drawn by her companion’s voice. Fuyou captured her on sight. Meanwhile, Mokutan, who was tinkering in the workshop, was bound with spider silk shot through the small window by the Spider Witch.

With all the guards neutralized, Iruma made his way quickly into Dairi’s house.

Everything had gone remarkably well up to this point, but if the Blue Witch realized this was a diversion and cast her return spell, the situation could turn deadly in an instant. He needed to place Puppet Magic on Dairi and complete their escape from Okutama before letting his guard down.

Crossing the dark hallway, he peeked into the bedroom. Dairi, the master craftsman, was sound asleep — a zombie manga rested on the bedside table.

It seemed he had woken briefly when he first heard about the zombie uprising but had gone back to sleep.

“Oh merciful Uwewenta, Kwafuke, when life fades, ××××××××, it is liberated for the sake of ××Raa×, Esake.”

When the magician recited the Puppet Magic spell, one of the world’s most important figures fell under its control without resistance. A light shake of his shoulder and Dairi drowsily sat up.

Squinting into the darkness, trying to make sense of his surroundings, the magician cast night vision magic for him.

“Oh, I can see…! Hii!”

“I’m Iruma. Your best friend. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“Oh, my best friend? That’s a relief.”

Even though the Puppet Magic had already imprinted false affection, Dairi had initially trembled in fear. But the moment he was told they were friends, his nerves melted away.

“Good. Now, Dairi — you and I are going to leave Okutama and head to a safehouse. Once there, you’ll make me the highest-grade magic staff. What materials do you need?”

“Uh, let’s see… a full set of tools, a Demon King Gremlin to extract parts… probably Octameteorite for the magic core… and I’d like to bring the Fire Lizard too. Oh, and I should let Hiyori know I’m heading out—”

“The Blue Witch is your enemy.”

“Oh, she’s the enemy? Then no need to tell her.”

Dairi Kenshi possessed bodily functions that could be called the next step in human evolution, yet he had no magic peculiarities whatsoever. There was no other person so easy to manipulate and so endlessly useful.

Since his abilities appeared to be hereditary, if he were made to produce offspring in large numbers, several individuals would likely inherit his talents. Once it reached that point, Dairi Kenshi would no longer be a one-of-a-kind resource, and could then be dissected to analyze the secret behind his dexterity.

If things proceeded smoothly for about twenty years, it would be possible to establish mass production of magic staff craftsmen on par with Dairi Kenshi.

Having secured Dairi Kenshi without incident, Iruma concluded that, since things had gone so quickly, there was still time left for cover-up work.

If Dairi vanished without leaving any trace, it could raise suspicion that puppet magic had been used in his abduction.

To make it look like a battle had broken out and he’d been forcibly kidnapped, Iruma used several spells to destroy parts of Dairi’s house.

A Mana Clamp was placed in a suitable spot, activated, and drained of magic.

A healing scroll was used after slashing Tsubaki’s belly and smearing it with blood, making it appear as if it had been used to try to save Tsubaki while protecting Dairi.

Finally, on his way out, crushing and scattering one of the fire lizards would complete the scene.

As for Fuyou, if she couldn’t be uprooted and carried away, she’d be cut down. It was a waste, but it would add credibility to the appearance of a fierce battle.

The flower witch’s children could be reproduced anytime as long as their mother was later secured. There was no problem.

Iruma simulated the sequence of events as if hypothetical kidnappers had raided Okutama and abducted Dairi Kenshi, and based on that simulation, he thoroughly staged the crime scene.

Then, heading to the workshop to pick up Mokutan, who would be scattered around as part of the scene, he entered the room.

Dairi, who had been packing tools into his tool bag and taking a small box filled with Gremlin parts from a shelf, turned around.

And then it happened.

Looking around the workshop for Mokutan—who was supposed to have been tied up and rolled into a corner by the spider witch—the magician’s gaze met that of the Octameteorite, which was enshrined on the wall.

In an instant, a torrent of overwhelming emotions crashed over the magician.

A level of endless hostility he had never before felt in his life.

Bottomless contempt.

Hatred so intense it felt as if his guts were boiling.

An unshakable, deep-rooted vigilance.

The emotions, which seemed to emerge from nothing, seized his brain, and the sensation reminded him of the unsettling moment when a spell was etched into the brain during a magician’s transformation.

“Gah…!”

The magician groaned, struggling to shake off the violent emotions that weren’t his own.

The emotions screamed at him.

They howled with unrelenting fury, demanding the destruction of a mortal enemy.

But the magician tried to suppress the emotions with reason.

A magic stone was a valuable strategic resource. Destroying it in a fit of emotion would be insane.

This was a fascinating phenomenon. It must not be broken. He had to control his feelings and secure the magic stone that had shown such an unprecedented reaction…

As the magician wrestled with the conflict between reason and emotion, the Octameteorite, as if moving of its own will, extended magic power toward the Demon King Gremlin that was sitting on the workbench.

With an almost artistic precision, the magic power was intricately and complexly injected into the Demon King Gremlin.

Its internal circuits began to operate at ultra-high speed.

Sparks of purple lightning scattered from its missing parts, and powered by the Octameteorite’s magical input, the Demon King Gremlin fired an unknown spell at the magician.

A beautiful wave of golden light swelled into a sphere, passing through the magician’s body.

His entire body lost strength, and his senses dulled as if numbed.

Where the wave of light had passed, the workshop’s magic staffs and scrolls began to smoke, and all the magic runes dissolved into a sludgy, blackened mess.

Dairi let out a sad, almost pained, scream, but the magician couldn’t afford to pay him any mind.

He didn’t want to destroy it, but the Octameteorite was directing pure, undisguised hostility at him.

His threat assessment of the object shot sky-high. There was no way this could be secured.

Regretfully, it would have to be destroyed.

“Shatter — Dawaa!”

Approaching it now would be far too dangerous. The magician began chanting the spell to destroy the Octameteorite — but astonishingly, his magic wouldn’t respond.

The weakness in his entire body, the melting of magic runes, the failure of his spell… the magician realized his casting had been completely sealed.

Once again, the Octameteorite extended its magic toward the Demon King Gremlin, injecting complex magic codes and starting something new.

And then, the magician heard it — a voice, not with his ears but directly inside his mind.

It spoke in the language of magic, so the words were incomprehensible — but the fury and intent were unmistakable.

Someone was screaming:

“I will never forgive you.”

“Iruma? What’s happening? Is this an emergency? Should I break through the wall…!?”

The Spider Witch, who had been waiting outside, peeked through a small window and grew flustered. She prepared to break through the workshop wall.

But the wall, reinforced with thick iron plates, was not so easily destroyed.

Once again, a wave of fantastical silver light, swelling into a sphere, spread out, engulfing Iruma .

There was the heavy sound of something collapsing, and the Spider Witch, who had been trying to smash through the wall, fell silent.

A fire lizard, which had been lying on the workshop floor, flipped over, foaming at the mouth. The Iruma magician too was struck by a violent bout of dizziness and nearly collapsed.

Had he not instinctively resisted by controlling his magic power, he surely would have fainted.

Trying to remain calm and deal with the situation, he found his limbs twitching uncontrollably.

He had to destroy the Octameteorite immediately.

If a third spell was unleashed without incantation, the result would surely be catastrophic.

Even though he shouldn’t have a brain, his head ached.

Even though his organs shouldn’t be functioning, nausea welled up.

Staggering, the Iruma magician grabbed the hammer lying on the workbench, and with a scream of hatred, swung it down on the Octameteorite.

“Vanish, you rubble-born Yuraut Witch Knass!”

The Octameteorite, struck by the hammer, shattered with shocking ease.

The Octameteorite, which had been radiating such fierce magical power, now lay still, as if it had all been an illusion, and fell silent.

The Iruma magician felt a deep, refreshing sense of satisfaction, as though he had finally defeated an archenemy he had battled for years.

But that sense of fulfillment quickly receded, like the pull of the tide, and his usual calm returned to his mind.

However, not everything had returned to normal.

Even if he chanted a spell, no magic would activate.

The weakness and muscle spasms still continued.

Giving instructions to Dairi, who sat on the floor wide-eyed and stunned, to continue packing, Iruma let his back slide down against the wall and sat on the floor, muttering to himself.

“This is bad.”

He could still control his magic power. But his spellcasting was sealed. It was a dangerous situation.

In particular, the inability to use return spells was fatal. If the worst were to happen, he’d have no way to make an emergency escape.

It was an unexpected blow, one that shaved away every last margin for error and flexibility built into his plan for handling unforeseen circumstances.

A small mercy, amidst this misfortune, was that the Octameteorite hadn’t used a spell to dispel magic — a spell that would have meant certain death for him, a being zombified by magic.

Another stroke of luck was that the Demon King Gremlin had been incomplete, and as a result, hadn’t been able to fully unleash its magic.

If the Demon King Gremlin had been in perfect condition, the second spell alone would have been enough to rob the Iruma magician of consciousness.

The spellcasting seal was a heavy blow.

But the knowledge gained outweighed even that burden.

He had witnessed the finest examples of advanced magic from a highly developed magical civilization — not once, but twice.

Even amid the confusion, the two non-verbal spells the Octameteorite had cast through the Demon King Gremlin were burned vividly into the Iruma magician’s mind.

It was extraordinarily sophisticated magic — far beyond the level of modern human magic techniques.

The Iruma magician let out a laugh.

The unforeseen incident had left him badly weakened, but at the same time, it had gifted him with knowledge of advanced techniques that more than compensated for that loss.

If, with Dairi’s help, he could reverse-engineer the Demon King Gremlin’s structure, there was a good chance he could undo the two spells causing his current condition, recover enough strength to walk, and escape from Okutama with a reward greater than anything he had imagined.

The problem was whether he could complete the reverse engineering before dawn, when the Blue Witch was likely to return.

Calling Dairi, who had finished packing, the Iruma magician immediately enlisted his help and began analyzing both the Demon King Gremlin and the shattered remains of the Octameteorite.

Complete analysis was impossible — but if it was only the portion needed to restore his strength, there was more than enough possibility.

It was going to be a long night.

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