Realms of Magic: Demon Invasion

96. Old Memories

"Teacher. I see you are still an idealistic fool."

"It's sad to see you, Weiss," Grandma says. "Because I have to kill you right here, right now."

"You're talking as if you could. Third Eye, open!"

"You leave me no other choice, Weiss," Grandma says. Lita and I walk forward to aid Grandma, but she holds us back.

"This is my duty. I created this monster. I have to end it."

"Oh, please, Teach. Those Al-Azharians who shunned me were the ones who turned me into a monster," the White Witch says. "But yes, you did give this monster claws and fangs."

"Grandma," I insist. "She's not weaker than you."

"Do you trust me, Vio, Lita?"

"W-we do, Grandma. But Vio's right. No reason to do this alone," Lita says. "If we gang up on her, we'll definitely win."

Grandma smiles, patting us both in the head. "Some people say emotions are fickle. But some emotions are unchanging–I know this day will come. And I know I must do it alone."

"Hello, is your drama finished yet, Teach?" the White Witch asks. "Do you mind if I attack first?"

"Feel free." The White Witch's hand glows.

"Mana Blast!" The White Witch extends her hand, a gigantic sphere of light advancing.

We leap backwards while Grandma casts a protective glyph, dampening the spell. "Heah!" Grandma roars, launching a powerful shockwave.

The White Witch gracefully swings her arms, creating a wall of silk fabric. She is pushed back, but only by a few metres. Both of them dash towards each other.

"Edelweiss!" Grandma shouts as the two clash in a brutal, physical fight. "It is not too late for you!"

"Not too late for what?" the White Witch asks, almost landing a strong kick on Grandma's neck. "Not too late to return to your foolish ideals?"

"Not too late to rediscover your kindness," Grandma replies. She punches her student's ribs, cracking some of them.

"Kindness is a weakness," the White Witch shoots back. "Here, let me show you, Teach, what Roenzia has achieved."

The White Witch pulls out a small, blue pill out of her robes. The pill opens, emitting blue smoke. The White Witch consumes the smoke.

"What is that?" I whisper. Lita's eyes jolt out.

"Souls," she says. "The Princess of Terror can turn souls into power ...."

"From the hundred thousand we killed we extracted two of these pills," the White Witch says. "I think you can feel for yourself how much power I have gained. Now imagine if one were to consume ten. Or twenty."

The White Witch opens her arms. "Come to me, Teach. Join us, and we all will be invincible."

"I have no intention to do so, Edelweiss. You may think you are powerful, but you're wrong," Grandma taunts.

"We shall see." The White Witch dashes forward, almost slashing Grandma's throat.

Strangely enough, Grandma disappears. "Where is she?" I hiss to Lita. I couldn't feel her aura at all.

"I don't know," she murmurs. "I can't detect her."

"Augh!" Suddenly, the White Witch falls to the ground face first. A series of mysterious explosions occur, bombarding and shredding her back.

Yet the durable vampire holds out and manages to rise. Grandma reappears from nowhere. "Impossible," the White Witch gasps. "How could you hide so well that my Third Eye can't detect you?"

Grandma smiles sourly. "Very well, I will give you one last lesson. I coated myself in my mana, essentially becoming one with the surrounding nature," Grandma says. "Of course, you, who have chosen to mix my pure mana manipulation magic with Lumiya's dark magic, will never be able to use it."

"What a load of rubbish!" the White Witch exclaims. "I don't need it!"

The White Witch pumps all of her mana into one gigantic grey orb. "Look at this, Teach! Look at all this power!"

Holy hell, she's going to hit Grandma with that?

"Grandma, what are you doing?" I scream. Grandma just stands idly with a smile, even though I feel her mana bubbling up.

"One last chance, Edelweiss. Please. The past is the past; we cannot change it. Yet we live in the present and we can change the future."

"You can stop with the nonsensical philosophy now!" the White Witch barks. The orb has become the size of a large carriage.

"Do something, Grandma!" I shout.

Grandma sighs. "I'm sorry, Edelweiss." Grandma raises her arms. The White Witch's orb, which has grown to the size of a massive building, becomes unstable and coils around itself.

"W-what?" Lita mutters. "How-how can Grandma control the White Witch's mana?"

What? Controlling someone else's mana is considered an impossible feat; the only exception is Darryl, and he uses corpses, not living creatures; and even that is only possible with his special Third Eye powers.

"Behold the pinnacle of mana manipulation," Grandma says. "You will never understand, Edelweiss. True, your raw power surpasses mine. But that is where your advantage ends."

"I-I-akh!" The White Witch struggles to control her orb.

"The White Witch's pouring all of her mana into that attack!" Lita gasps. "That's why she's powerless against Grandma's mana manipulation!"

"Explode!" With a simple command, the orb bursts into a ball of energy.

"Blood Shield!" I scream, weaving a thick barrier of blood to fend off the aftershocks.

"That's crazy!" Lita whispers in awe, "I never thought something like that is possible at all!"

"Don't just talk, help me reinforce the barrier!"

The White Witch, roasted by the explosion, stands almost motionless. Her mana has been sapped by her spell. Grandma walks slowly towards her.

"Hahaha." The White Witch laughs coldly. "So this is how it ends. You're right, Teach. You're right."

She forces a bitter smile. "Please kill me now, Teach. I have no purpose now. I wanted power–and you have proven my path wrong."

Grandma shakes her head. "You can still return, Edelweiss." Grandma extends her shaking hand.

The burned vampire looks at Grandma with two peaceful eyes. "Please grant me one last wish," the White Witch says. "Kill me."

Grandma closes her eyes, biting her lips.

"Mana Blast!" Grandma hurls a wave of energy at the White Witch.

"Wall of Anguish!"

A wall of rotting flesh and bones emerge from the ground, absorbing the impact. The Princess of Terror lands on the battlefield.

"You still have purpose, Edelweiss. After this war is over, we will establish a new order, and you will be key to it," she says. "Meanwhile, I'll finish off this pest for you. Barrage of Shadow Swords!"

"Storm of Ice Swords!" No sooner than the black blades leave the owner, they are checked by a collection of ice swords.

"Your problem is with me!" Madam Fron declares.