NOVEL FROG Chapter 17: Hope
What had just happened?! A big explosion went off, and then the Queen began to fight another man, but the match was so quick it was over before anyone even realized what had happened. The Queen was down on all fours, screaming as the man pressed his foot against her back, calling her weak.
Naturally, the fight between the remaining witches and the surviving soldiers resumed once the barrier fell. Vera and I hid while Baba went on to fight, showing far more courage than both of us who chose to stay hidden. I wanted everything to be over. I didn't want to see any more violence. I had enough already. Make it stop!
Lady Baba was the first to try and do something about the upcoming soldiers using the power I had only seen from someone like the Queen.
I began to have nightmares and daydreams as we hid behind some rubble. My traumas began to creep back at the sight of another defeat.
"Limit breaker! All-encompassing jail!" At her words, a void of light opened and sucked multiple men in before closing as she tried to move toward the Queen, perhaps wanting to tend to her injuries, but the man who had just beaten her had other plans.
"You're an annoying rat. Let your rat Queen die! Accept your defeat in grace!" The guy had no mercy against poor, sweet Baba, who was only trying to heal the Queen's open bleeding wounds, yet Baba did not stop as she kept crawling.
"You're the rat here. I have lived too long and never been the fighter type, but I cast my most powerful curse upon you here! One day, a Witch shall be your doom! You shall die by the hands of those you're trying to erase!" Baba threw something at the man, who merely laughed at the hag as he approached her.
{Footsteps}
"I'll grant your wish to DIE!" The man quickly picked Baba with his left arm as he prepared his right arm to hit her in the face. I couldn't stand to watch as I saw the last remaining motherly figure I could cling to about to die, too. The Queen was dying, my mothers were missing, and now even Baba was about to die. I couldn't take it.
"BABA!" I screamed as I closed my eyes to not watch how the man beat up the old lady. I couldn't watch yet. The punches were so loud I could see the beatdown with my mere hearing. Julius was destroying Baba with each punch, evaporating her body into nothing, killing her in an instant without any signs of remorse. He was a beast.
Unfortunately, my scream called the attention of some nearby warriors, forcing Vera to fight for me as I stood there speechless and defenseless, incapable of fighting. I didn't know how to! What could I even do?!
[Despair series]
[REJECTED]
[Dark magic incompatible with despair series]
The text screens popped up again as Vera began to fight some of the soldiers, and she was doing well, yet even she wouldn't be enough to save us, so she tried her best to move my body, but I was unresponsive to her words and tugs.
[𖤀𖤢ꕷꛤꛎꛈ𖦪 ꕷ𖤢𖦪ꛈ𖤢ꕷ ꚶꛘꚳꛕ𖣠𖢉𖤢𖤀]
[REJECTED]
[ꚶꛘꚳ𖣠ꛕ𖢉𖤢𖤀]
[REJECTED]
[𖤀𖤢ꕷꛤꛎꛈ𖦪 ꕷ𖤢𖦪ꛈ𖤢ꕷ ꚶꛘꚳ𖣠ꛕ𖢉𖤢𖤀]
{𖦪𖤢ꚠ𖤢ꛕ𖢧𖤢𖤀}
The same dark mist that had covered my body before manifested again, distracting the soldiers fighting Vera. My vision blacked out for several seconds until I saw a dark void. I wanted to help; I wanted the fighting to stop. Why would anyone ruin my peaceful life?! WHAT HAD I DONE TO DESERVE IT!?
Dark lightning began to spark throughout the dark mist as the field expanded beyond my bubble, covering the entire battlefield. The man who had beaten Queen Julius soon took notice of my actions, and he tried to stop me from losing my mind to despair. Yet I didn't let my mind break into it.
"Another rat?! You guys sure are annoying. ANTI MAGIC FIELD! CANCEL AURA!"
[𐌃𐌄𐌔𐌓𐌀𐌉𐌐 𐌔𐌄𐌐𐌉𐌄𐌔 𐌵𐌍𐌋𐌂Ꝋ𐌊𐌄𐌃]
[REJECTED]
Another screen appeared as Julius tried to get rid of my mist, but his spell got denied inside my field of influence. Still, a bubble appeared around him, but the same could not be said about everyone else with him, as they seemed to grow weaker when the mist hit them.
"What the? How are you doing that? Appraisal!"
[Six Sins against god series has been rejected]
[Cursed series has been rejected]
[Seven Heavenly Virtues series Unlocked]
[Hope series Unlocked]
I felt a slight tingle when the man launched a strange attack on me, yet I did not feel hurt. I might be weak, and I might be useless, but I can't stand this much violence! Make it stop!
"STOP IT!"
My voice grew in strength as my mist began to shoot out dark lighting against everything and everyone, including friendly allies since I didn't have control of my own power. Soon, the entire field turned against me while the Queen cast something behind Julius' back.
"Impossible! Your stats are so shit! How are you able to! UUUUGGH!! This power is draining my MP! HOW?! Ughhgg!!! She's draining my power away! I need to get out of here! What the hell is that shit!? I've never seen it before!"
Julius was fast enough to jump out of the way while he scanned my mist with more of his skills and abilities, trying to understand how my magic worked. Still, he came up empty-handed, even though I didn't know what I was doing. I wanted my mist to stop coming out of me, but I didn't know how to stop it.
{Wispers: "I'm the source of all power... transfer all my children to different corners of the world and let them prosper. I Claudia...}
"Yoimiya! Please, we gotta get out of here! You've made the perfect smokescreen to run! Please answer me!"
"Vera! I can't stop producing this stuff! I don't know how to stop it!"
"You've got to control your emotions! Everything is okay! We can be safe! Everything is fine!"
Vera was right; I didn't see the man who had beaten up Baba and the Queen anywhere, and the mist was getting too thick to see if we could run to safety. She was right. We could escape to live another day. The fog stopped pouring once I regained apparent hope, yet out of nowhere, a bright, sizeable magical circle appeared beneath every living remaining witch.
"Thank you for your hard work, Yoimiya. I knew you were special, and you saved everyone today. This is my last message to everyone. Take care of each other and prosper across the world. We are not exterminated but weakened. Our kingdom will rise again. It's not over. Thank you all for your support."
Why was the Queen speaking in such a pessimistic manner? I wondered as Vera reached me when suddenly the light grew brighter and brighter until we were no longer in the witch forest, but somehow, we were somewhere completely different.
I lay on the floor next to Vera in the middle of an open wheat field with loud cowbells and moos from those same cows strolling by a nearby road. Had the Queen used all she had to save everyone who had survived the fierce combat? But what would that mean for her?! That man would kill her! We had to help her!
"I'm coming!" I screamed just to be shushed by Vera, who placed her hand on my mouth.
"Don't destroy the second chance the Queen gave us. We need to blend into this new place. I don't know where we are, but it can't be that bad."
{Julius POV}
"What was that?"
"I don't know, but that child will be troublesome if we let them grow up. You must find them before it's too late, you useless pope."
"Yes, my lord! I shall accomplish the orders of the true God of the world!"
"Mppphh! You're such a sucker! You'll worship anything if it means living, don't you? PATHETIC!"