I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

23 – 23. Witch’s Magic

“But Ball Puluth. That forest is the forest of nymphs. Are you really sure you can take out the elves just by setting fire to them?”

Knight Commander Karkal asked the wizard with a pipe.

I heard that this red-haired woman with tear spots is a powerful archmage sent from a magic school.

The sorceress shed tears as if she was sad about this situation, but the corner of her mouth smiled.

“I hope the elves are safe. After all, they are colleagues who overthrew the demon king together.”

A wizard who speaks while wiping his tears with a handkerchief.

However, unlike the sad look on the outside, the wizard’s eyes contained the scenery of the burning forest.

“I don’t want them all right. Rather than being treated like that by the humans who survived and were our comrades… I’d rather disappear from here.”

“Oh, did Lord Karcal, who is called Her Majesty’s sword, have sympathy for them?”

“Humans have emotions, so it’s natural.”

Karkal looked at the forest.

Nymph’s Forest was engulfed in flames so great that it was difficult to even approach.

“…No, that one?”

At that time, for some reason, dark clouds suddenly rolled in over the sky and heavy rain began to pour.

It was a heavy rain that could put out the fire in the forest if it went wrong.

Karkal had no choice but to draw his sword and go directly into the forest with his knights.

“You don’t have to do that. After all, that fire isn’t just extinguished by rainwater.”

“What is that…?”

The wizard gave a fishy smile to Karkal who had doubts.

“That can never be extinguished with water. Even if there are nymphs who are water fairies.”

In fact, the flames continue to burn without weakening at all even in the strong rain.

After all, more than fire has bad compatibility with water, but I wonder how that is possible.

“That flame is an eternally blooming flame reconstructed by referring to the literature left by the Witch of Embers in the past.”

“As for the ash witch-“

The Witch of Embers.

“Seriously?! There’s no way Prince Puluth doesn’t know how dangerous the witch’s magic is now! Even after a long time has passed, the danger of that witch is still being told…!”

Surprised, Karcal reacted in disbelief.

“It’s okay. Her Majesty the Queen gave permission to use it. The only thing that will go back to ashes anyway is that forest.”

“That’s fortunate, but… if I do something wrong, the entire continent might be engulfed in flames.”

“Of course, we took care of that part, so you can rest assured. Sir Karcal worries too much.”

How many of those who know magic do not know its name?

A cruel witch who destroyed Terrarium, the magical kingdom where she was born, just because she interfered with her own research.

Her nickname is ash, because the flames created by the witch do not burn forever.

“We’re just following Her Majesty’s orders anyway, right? Lord Carcal is His Majesty’s sword. I am His Majesty’s staff. That’s enough.”

“…That’s a pity.”

Karkal thought that such a thing might be possible with the witch’s magic.

Even though that was long before he was even born, even after hundreds of years have passed, the fear that the witch’s name brought has not disappeared.

As much as that witch’s flame, the fear and notoriety she left behind remained forever in the world.

†††

“That flame won’t go out until the firewood is completely burnt to ashes. Because that’s magic created by the sorcerer you humans call the Witch of Embers.”

“…If it’s the witch of ash, is it the witch I know?! That she almost turned the whole world into a sea of fire?!”

Arsel was shocked to hear the identity of the flame.

This was because I had seen with my own eyes why the name witch was given, and what kind of people were called witches.

“No way, the witch of embers is a witch from old stories from hundreds of years ago! She can’t believe that witch is still alive!”

Witch.

A name given only to heretics among dangerous wizards who can cause catastrophic damage to the world.

Although not as much as the devil, witches were also designated as dangerous by the church, and countless knights and adventurers stepped out to subdue them.

However, the probability of succeeding in subjugation was less than half even if set high, and most of them were only sacrificed by witches.

The witch of embers is the most terrifying among them.

“There’s no way you don’t know the story of the Witch of Embers!”

She burnt and destroyed the Terrarium Kingdom, her hometown where she was born and where numerous wizards lived, and countless people died at the hands of that witch.

It was the witch of embers that had as much notoriety as Satan Alfred, who was right next to Arcel.

“Yes, as you said, the witch of embers is not alive. Because she died quite a while ago.”

“How do you know that?”

“Of course you know, that witch of embers is my mother.”

“What, what?”

And after hearing Alfred’s answer, Arcel felt as if the accident had gone far away for a moment.

The shocking fact that I suddenly found out was that it was to the point where it was understandable that my thoughts gave up on understanding and left.

“Oh, no. For once yes Let’s say the Witch of Embers is your mother.”

But now the situation is urgent.

Understanding Alfred’s words was delayed, and now it was more important to solve the immediate disaster.

“Then how is her magic here? According to what you said, the ash witch no longer exists in the world.”

The witch of ash was also called the best and strongest wizard of the time.

She was only 10 years old, and as a child, she brought the best wizards of the day to their knees, so there is no need for explanation.

She was

She was an ash witch, who was called a genius magician, but unfortunately, the magic she created was not recorded in the present world.

It is said that she wrote countless spellbooks, but those spellbooks were also destroyed along with the fire that burned her hometown.

Because of that, it was incomprehensible that the magic of the embers was here now.

“This is something I should reflect on a little bit. Do you remember when we first met in the old days? Even then, it was a situation that was engulfed in flames like this.”

“When I first met you…”

The two first met after Alfred burned down the magic school and murdered the principal.

“At that time, there were two main reasons why I dealt with the principal. One was that the demon king ordered me. It’s because the two of them tried to restore the witch’s magic that disappeared.”

“Witch’s magic-“

Arsel looked at the flames burning the forest.

Of course, that’s no ordinary fire.

It burned in a darker red color than normal flames, giving the illusion that red blood was burning.

It was very similar to the witch’s flame left in the records.

“Yes, this magic right in front of you. The eternal flame my mother made. A flame that never goes out until the object is completely reduced to ashes.”

Alfred picked up Arcel and headed for the sky.

“My God… who the hell did this?”

“Perhaps the humans noticed that the elves were hiding in this forest. Aren’t the dark elves chasing humans earlier? Maybe that was it.”

“Such…”

The forest seen from the flames is truly devastating.

The once-beautiful green forest turns black, and red flames gradually approach the still green areas.

Perhaps in a few hours only black ashes will be left here.

“Anyway, after I killed the principal, I burned all the remaining materials, but I didn’t expect to restore it like this. There must have been some students or teachers who tried to restore Mother’s magic with him.”

At that time, Alfred burned only the principal and the school and sent the rest alive.

Going beyond simply saving lives, Arsel knew that Alfred hadn’t harmed anyone except the principal.

“Does this make me feel bad too? Those who used to curse and swear all kinds of things at my mother actually stole magic because it looked useful.”

Alfred said as if he was sick of it.

I didn’t know the exact reason because Arcel didn’t know the details, but at least I was sure that Alfred truly hated him.

“…Wait a minute, they-“

“They are elves, you managed not to be swallowed up by the flames.”

Then, Arcel was able to spot the elves running away in a hurry on the ground.

The number seems to be around 100.

The group of elves, mixed with dark elves, was running away from the fire, but the flames engulfed the forest faster than they ran.

If you keep going like that, you’ll catch up soon enough.

“Alfred, can you possibly turn off or control this spell? If that ember witch is your mother-“

“I can’t. In the first place, I couldn’t use my mother’s magic properly either. Of course, I can’t pull it off with my own strength. If you turn it off, it will only blow up this forest without a trace.”

At Arsel’s question, Alfred firmly shook his head.

The magic created by the Witch of Ashes is so dangerous that even Alfred doesn’t use it.

Come to think of it, all of the flame-type magic Alfred used already existed, most of which he learned from his grandmother, Shion.

“Then is it impossible to physically drive out the flames? If you can’t put out the fire, at least temporarily open the way for the elves to escape…”

“That’s possible, if instead you risk the fire spreading somewhere else and engulfing the world in flames.”

An unquenchable fire engulfs the world.

At Alfred’s words, Arcel bit his lip.

In the end, the only way to get rid of that flame is to really erase the forest itself without a trace.

“…But send me back to the forest, if possible, to those elves.”

But Arsel said he couldn’t leave them alone and wanted to go downstairs.

“I can’t recommend that much? I know you want to save those dwarves, but that would be like suicide.”

Alfred shook his head and said it was difficult.

Even if you fly and move the elves right away, you won’t be able to save them all in time.

Besides, most of the elves could not stand the heat and would die.

“Even if your holy sword can cut through even that flame.”

This was a sober judgment.

As it says, the holy sword is a warrior’s sword with great power that can even cut through magic.

“Just because you got the holy sword back doesn’t mean you’ve regained the strength you had when you defeated the demon king yet. Even if you were fine in the first place, dealing with that flame would be quite a chore.”

But this is on a different scale.

Cutting down the flames that had already engulfed more than half of the forest was a difficult task even for the warrior who cut down the demon king.

“I’m not just trying to save Stella. If possible, I want to save those elves too.”

Still, Arcel made up his mind.

For some reason, in her eyes, she had a strong will to save those elves.

Alfred looked at Arcel with narrow eyes for a moment.

Perhaps it was because she had recovered her holy sword, but the hero she had seen before was reviving, albeit weakly.

“Umm… Then I’m going to go down first, but no matter how much I think about it, you seem insane.”

Seeing that firm will, Alfred had no choice but to descend into the forest.

“Because you are there in the first place, I am also doing this reckless thing. My life is precious too, but if it were you, wouldn’t you be sure to protect me?”

Arsel smiled happily at Alfred’s actions.

At the same time, she unconsciously hugged Alfred.

Until now, Alfred had only embraced Arcel, but this time Arcel also embraced Alfred.

Warm warmth came from a little closer.

“That’s right, but…”

Then Alfred showed a surprising reaction.

It’s because Arcel didn’t expect this to happen in the first place.

“…If you think it’s really dangerous, will you forcefully drag you and run away? Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Okay. I will do my best.”