Release that Witch

”Andrea!” Camilla yelled.

”I, I got it — ” Andrea said as she quickly grasped the gun, closed her eyes and concentrated her mind. She muttered to herself, in a hope that the Magic Slayer did not spot her, and then her eyes snapped open!

In a second, her vision contorted, and everything seemed to overlap with each other and elongate indefinitely. She knew she now possessed the vision of the Magic Eye. As numerous trees and the vast land stretching ahead gradually slid into her view, she felt the surroundings instantly light up.

At the same time, she was connected to Sylvie’s mind.

By the time the images around her slid into focus, her eyes had been somewhere several kilometers away. A familiar armored figure rushed into her sight, and Andrea could feel the Magic Slayer brimming with heaving power. His power was so thick and strong as though it had condensed into a physical entity.

Unguarded, the Magic Slayer zoomed through the air. Andrea was not sure whether he was too shocked at the loss of Taquila or at the fled Skeletons.

”How’s it going?” Ashes asked darkly.

”The Magic Slayer... isn’t aware of our presence!” Andrea said in excitement. ”He was flying toward the Red Mist supply line, a little east to our shooting range! Load the gun. This is perfect!”

Ashes gave a curt nod and loaded the gun with that huge God’s Stone bullet. The bolt produced a gentle click.

The target was at eight to nine kilometers, not surrounded by any other demons. The wind was coming from the northeast. Out of all the shooting conditions Andrea had thought of, this was the most ideal one. She thus took her aim at the Magic Slayer while holding her breath.

Thousands of lines stretched away toward the Magic Slayer, some of them swirling and some twisting. However, most of them immediately faded out, leaving only one silver curve shimmering before her.

Andrea knew that she had located her target.

She felt her magic power inside her dropping rapidly. Andrea knew this would be her only chance to kill the demon!

Andrea clenched her teeth and pulled the trigger.

With an earsplitting explosion, Andrea felt something bludgeon her shoulder heavily and started to sway backwards when Ashes caught her just in time in her arms.

”I really don’t like you holding me like this,” Andrea protested airily while twitching her lips. Her shoulder was now numb and swollen with pain. Andrea knew she had to seek Nana later for treatment.

One drawback of a large-caliber weapon was its high recoil, which was unavoidable no matter how many buffers installed to the gun. Andrea had already realized during the test that this weapon could only be used once, despite that they could produce tons of God’s Stone bullets. The operation was physically and mentally demanding, and the weapon itself was so heavy it was almost all that the Magic Ark could carry.

Nevertheless, Andrea was confident in her superb shooting skill.

Only savages preferred a ferocious close-range combat.

For example, the one who was now pulling her back belonged to that category.

”I hold you back only because of Sylvie,” Ashes said gruffly while rolling her eyes. ”How did that go? Did the Magic Slayer — ”

”Just a minute,” Andrea said as she pressed her finger to her lips. ”The bullet is still en route.”

The silver thread was shrinking rapidly. It was not attached to the Magic Slayer but brushed past him and formed a tiny angle, as though the bullet and the demon were vying with each other for the same destination.

The God’s Stone would not deviate from its course once it escaped from the muzzle. The only variable was the target. If the Magic Slayer changed his direction, then all their effort would be in vain. It took 25 seconds for the bullet to reach the Magic Slayer. The only thing she could do now was to pray that the demon would stay where he was.

Gusts of winds continued to push the bullet from the east to the west, making sure that its speed did not drop. Andrea held her breath as the bullet drew close to the demon. For a moment, she even broke her silence.

”Don’t move. Don’t move. Don’t move...” she muttered out loud.

Just at that moment, the Magic Slayer turned around abruptly, and their eyes met!

Andrea was frozen to the spot.

The next moment, the falling bullet landed precisely on the demon’s back.

The God’s Stone crumbled under immense pressure and splintered into numerous tiny pieces, but the damage was nothing next to what the Magic Slayer sustained.

Andrea had not expected that the small stone would generate such enormous power. The demon’s thick armor was ripped open, and his blood and inner organ gushed out like a muddy waterfall from the large hole created by the bullet.

As the hole was too huge, the body of the Magic Slayer snapped in half. The demon rolled over in the air and then plummeted to the ground.

It took Andrea a while to come out of the trance. She swallowed hard and then said, ”The Magic Slayer is... dead.”

”We did it?” Margie asked jubilantly.

”Yes,” Sylvie said on a deep sigh. ”The bullet slashed the demon in half. Even Nana wouldn’t be able to cure him in such severe condition.”

”Good job,” Ashes said as she patted Andrea on the shoulder and then instructed over the Sigil of Listening, ”Lightning, ask the ’Seagull’ to come over here. We’re done. Let’s head back.”

”Got it,” Lightning replied quickly.

They immediately dissembled the giant gun and waited for the return of the other unit from the east, ready to pack up and go home. Everyone was glad that the war was finally over.

Except Andrea.

The whole ambush went just as they had planned, except for that last sinister glance the Magic Slayer cast her.

Andrea could still feel a chill lingering on down her spine.

Did he spot her?

How could that be? The Magic Slayer had been eight or nine kilometers away from her, his vision obscured by the jungles between them. It was almost impossible for him to find her. Plus, the demon had not, particularly, attempted to seek her but simply locked his eyes on her directly as if he had known she was there a long time ago.

Further, why had Sylvie not noticed anything unusual when she had seen the demon look backward? Did she think that this incident was too frivolous to have her attention?

Regardless, the Magic Slayer was now dead. Whether it was a coincidence or not, there was no need to further probe into this matter.

Andrea rubbed her forehead and suddenly stopped dead.

She remembered Ashes had been wounded by the Magic Slayer when she had tried to protect Leaf.

”By the way, how long does it take you to heal up minor injuries such as a shallow cut?” Andrea asked while turning to Ashes.

Ashes answered with a shrug, ”One to two hours approximately. Why?”

”In other words, you’ll feel better in just ten minutes, right?” Andrea pursued while gazing at Ashes avidly. ”Are you feeling better now?”

Ashes was mildly taken aback for a second, her hand reaching for her cheeks involuntarily, and said, ”That’s strange... It still hurts a bit.”

Sylvie was the first to realize something went wrong. Horror-struck, she forced herself to reopen the Magic Eye, and fear leavened her exhilaration. ”Watch, watch out!”

Ashes yanked out her sword immediately and swung it upwards.

With an almost inaudible clang, a shadow brushed past the blade with such enormous strength it collided with Margie and sent her flying through the air.

No sooner had the other witches realized what had happened than a slender, blue-skinned, manlike demon ambled over.

”Found... you,” he drawled complacently.

The very word chilled Andrea to the bone.

To her astonishment, she had not sensed any fluctuation in the magic power since the demon presented himself.

Her heart sank to the bottom as a surge of despair stole through her.