Chapter 303 300: Hunting the witch


    The witch tore open the barrier that protected Alfred with her ws.


    Looking at the man huddled inside, she smiled horrendously beforeunching an assault for his life.


    A wave of fear washed over Alfred, constricting his chest and making it hard to breathe as the witch''s elongated nail aimed for his eyes.


    Death was drawing closer and closer faster than he would have liked. The witch''s nail drew precariously close, mere inches away from sinking into his eyes. Just when it seemed that hope was lost and the darkness would consume him, an unexpected, forceful blow of immeasurable intensity struck the witch from the side.


    It wasn''t just any blow; it felt as if she had been caught in the eye of a furious storm or a tempestuous natural disaster. The sheer magnitude of the force sent her spiraling uncontrobly. She crashed through the numerous trees and massive bouldersid across the forest and she didn''te to a stop until she collided with the face of a mountain in the distance. The crash created a resounding echo that permeated the surroundings.


    Alfred''s heart raced, overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. "Thank the stars," he muttered, his relief palpable.


    Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him. Turning, Alfred saw someone gently descending onto the cocoon of vines that had entrapped him. Despite the daze and the haziness clouding his vision, he recognized the familiar contours of the silhouette. "Master Oliver?" he questioned, his voice filled with a mix of surprise and relief.


    Oliver, with a reassuring nod, replied, "Yeah, it''s me." He extended a hand towards the shaken Alfred. With gratitude evident in his eyes, Alfred sped the offered hand, allowing Oliver to pull him out of the entangling cocoon.


    Catching his breath, Alfred said, "I can''t thank you enough for saving me, Master Oliver."


    However, Oliver, with a humble shake of his head, responded, "It wasn''t me who saved you."


    Puzzled, Alfred asked, "Then who was it?"


    With a hint of a smile, Oliver said, "Someone you know very well."


    The realization hit Alfred like a lightning bolt. His eyes widened in recognition. "It''s brother Val, isn''t it?" he deduced excitedly.


    "Correct," Oliver uttered.


    "Where is he now?" Alfred inquired after scanning their surroundings and finding no sign of Val.


    Oliver too looked around. He felt puzzled as he didn''t see Val in the vicinity. Their n was to rescue Alfred and Rowan and make a run for it. But now it seemed Val was not following the very n heid out.


    "That''s a good question," Oliver said. "Just where did he go?"


    Rowan, who had been silently observing the exchange, piped in, "During the chaos, I believe I glimpsed someone pursuing the witch. Perhaps it was him."


    Determination etched on his face, Alfred said, "Then we must go after them. We can''t leave him alone to face that dreadful creature."


    Oliver, raising a hand, stopped him. "There''s no need."


    Alfred looked at Oliver, confusion evident in his eyes. "But why?" he questioned.


    "There''s not a single devil in the lesser dimension he can''t handle on his own," Oliver assured.


    Alfred was baffled by Oliver''s unwavering faith in Val. Thest thing he remembered, Val was just a level 3 bloodline user. The witch, on the other hand, appeared to be an intermediate-level devil. He couldn''t fathom how she had entered a lesser dimension restricted to level 1-3 devils, but he was certain of her formidable strength. After all, had it not been for hisbined efforts with Rowan, focused solely on survival, and her unwillingness to kill her prey without teasing them first, they would have been killed by that damn witch. She was just that strong.


    "You really trust him, huh," Alfred said.


    "After everything I''ve been through, I''m certain that old hag is no match for him," Oliver stated confidently.


    Rowan, still on edge, asked, "So, what should we do now?"


    "We wait. Let''s trust Brother Val and wait for him here. I have a feeling he''ll return once he''s finished with the witch," Oliver decided after thinking for a moment.


    *****


    In the blink of an eye, a figure shed towards the distant mountain. With a swing of his hand that held the power and precision of a master swordsman, a brilliant burst of red light emanated from him and went towards the mountain the witch was smashed into.


    The red light was so sharp that it cleaved the mountain in two.


    The upper section of the mountain dislodged and tumbled down, resulting in a powerful earthquake that sent massive clouds of dust billowing into the air.


    But the witch had dodged all harm as her body dissolved into a mist at the veryst moment.


    Her physical form dissolved into an elusive mist that surged toward Val. Val tried to distance himself, releasing powerful sts of soul energy in an attempt to dissipate the encroaching mist. But she was nimble, weaving through his assaults as she closed the gap between them.


    His flight was considerably slower than her mist form, and she was catching up swiftly.


    "You''re not of a lower-level, devil," Val called out, confusion evident in his voice. "How did you infiltrate the lesser dimension?"


    The witch''s voice emerged from the mist, chilling and taunting, "What good would such knowledge do a dead man?"


    Rolling his eyes, Val retorted, "Why are all devils so insufferably arrogant? No matter. I''ll find my answers."


    With intense focus, Val activated one of his skills to inspect the witch in detail.


    A holographic game-like interface appeared before him, disying:


    [System Notification]:


    Name: Witch of the Nearths


    Strength (Str): 64


    Agility (Agt): 62


    Stamina (Stam): 58


    Health Points (HP): 60/60


    Skills:


    Morph into Mist


    Soul Reaping sh


    Witch''s Hair


    Possession (only works on enemies whose bodies she has entered)


    Equipments:


    Law Maniption Bracelet: Allows its user to manipte dimensionalws, granting them passage into restricted realms.


    Strength Amplification Bracelet: Doubles the user''s stats temporarily for three minutes. Each subsequent minute reduces the user''s lifespan by a year.


    Val''s eyes narrowed as he analyzed the data, "Oh, so that''s your secret." A smirk graced his lips. "You''re not as special as I initially believed."


    "Says a fool who is about to lose his everything to me," the witchughed and sped up.


    Val, with a calcted mind, quickly devised a strategy to counteract the witch''s strengths and exploit her evident weaknesses right there on the spot. He began to subtly slow down, intentionally reducing his speed. To the witch, it seemed as though he was running out of his reserves of soul power, which was causing the drop in his flight speed. She couldn''t think of any other usible exnation for his sudden deceleration.


    Seeing this perceived vulnerability, the witch''s mist form sped up again and swiftly surrounded Val, eager to take advantage.


    "Soon, your youthful body will be mine to control!" she dered with malevolent glee, as she tried to infiltrate him through every pore on his skin.


    Throughout this, Val remained an unyielding pir of calm, betraying no hint of his next move. Without warning, he manifested a thin yet potentyer of abyssal hellfire over his skin. Since he possessed full mastery over this particr me, it didn''t cause him even a hint of difort. The witch, however, was not so fortunate.


    Kuagh!


    The moment she made contact with the searing mes, she emitted a deafening scream. It was the sound of pure, unadulterated agony. Her once threatening misty form hastily retreated from Val, as if he was the most lethal thing she''d ever encountered.


    With a confident smirk ying on his lips, Val taunted, "Did you truly believe you could defeat me so easily? I have hunted a number of intermediate-level devils in my life. Anyways, now that the abyssal hellfire has touched you, there''s no escaping your doom."


    "No, I refuse to die like this!" the witch cried out. Trapped in the relentless grasp of the abyssal hellfire, her misty form began to deteriorate at an rming rate. Before she could even process what was happening, her soul was erased from existence and her misty body had evaporated into nothingness.


    Two bracelets fell down.


    Val picked them up with his soul power and tossed them in his pocket dimension.


    Then he looked back. His gaze travelled a considerable distance before catching sight of a few figures stranded in the forest, "They are still waiting for me there. Let''s get back."


    Valnded on the ground and raced towards the ce where he had seen Oliver and the others.


    *****


    The three of them settled down, using the ruinedndscape as a makeshift camp, and keeping a vignt lookout.


    Time seemed to stretch out as the quiet of the lesser dimension enveloped them.


    Every now and then, a distant beast''s cry or the rustling of leaves could be heard, but there was no sign of Val or the white-haired witch.


    Alfred began to grow impatient. "Shouldn''t we at least try to find them?" he asked, pacing back and forth. "What if Val is in trouble?"


    Oliver sighed, "Alfred, we''ve been through this. Brother Val is stronger than you think. I have faith that he can handle the witch."


    "But what if he can''t?" Rowan chimed in, his recent near-death encounter still fresh in his mind. "That witch was something else. She wasn''t like the regr low-level devils we''re used to dealing with in the frontier."


    Oliver took a deep breath and looked at the horizon as he said, "I understand your concern. But you have to understand mine too. If we rush in without a n or knowledge of what''s happening, we could end up being more of a hindrance than help."


    In the end, they sat down.