summerpeanut

The Abyss of Magic: The Witch of Annihilation

Added 2023-08-21 05:30:19 +0000 UTC

Author’s Note(AN) :

Thank you very much for the 1st place in the daily high fantasy category. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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Just before the witch, Lara, received the letters from Ferad and Elrika, or rather, right after she had received a ‘will’ from her husband, Sazaki.

"That drunken good-for-nothing husband of mine. It seems he's finally gone off the deep end with alcohol. Even though I heard from his disciple that the old man is as lively as ever, he sent me a will now."

In the depths of a bookstore filled with old books, an elderly woman with weathered brown skin, odd-colored eyes of blue and red, and short white hair, Lara, muttered in exasperation. However, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved upwards.

Written on the farewell letter from Sazaki, scribed using a rather peculiar magical tool, were not just instructions about the disposition of his inheritance and the spirit sword hanging at his waist.

The letter recounted their encounters, the battles they had fought through together, the day they became a couple, the moment they defeated the Great Demon King, and the memories of when their child was born. The letter concluded with words of love.

"Hmph, honestly."

Lara's lips curved even more as she snorted through her nose. She knew Sazaki to be someone who didn't express much verbally, but when written down, emotions she couldn't quite put into words welled up inside her.

"Huh? Elrika's familiar sent a letter? It's quite a day full of unusual things, seems like it will be a heavy downpour today."

Lost in thought about what to do next, Lara, upon seeing the white bird, Elrika's familiar, fly into her store, thought that her husband's letter and this strange occurrence were intertwined.

"Hmm... a final journey, huh?"

Having read the letter that the white bird carried in its beak, Lara learned that Ferad and Elrika were setting out on their final journey. Almost unconsciously, she moved her fingers to cast a spell.

"How nostalgic."

From an empty space, a picture appeared, depicting humans with uncanny precision. In the center were the youthful Ferad, grinning like a mischievous kid, and Elrika, who was standing close by him. On the edge, Sazaki drained a bottle of alcohol, while Lara stood next to him, arms crossed. And there were other companions as well.

These figures in the picture were none other than the legendary and mightiest group of humanity, the Hero Party. Of course, they were also a gathering of misfits and eccentric individuals. For instance, in the picture, a heavily muscled man sported nothing but a thin piece of cloth wrapped around his groin, showing off his prideful muscles. In other words, there were even exhibitionist narcissists in the party.

"... Well then, should I go get some food?"

Lara, who saw herself as having been tossed around by these eccentric people, remembered their oddities as she looked at the picture of the party members. She stored the picture in a separate space, then left the store to tend to immediate matters.

"Ah! It's the old witch!"

"Hehe. I might just cook you up and eat you."

"Gyaaaaah!?"

And so, this elderly woman, who had a lively and playful spirit, smiled a terrifying smile at the mischievous neighborhood children who came by, leaving them utterly shocked.

◆

"Be it letters or people with matters, aren't there quite the number today?"

Lara returned from shopping and looked with annoyance at the hooded figure standing in front of her bookstore. While such an appearance might raise suspicion in a regular city, this was the stronghold of these peculiar individuals, so no one paid it any mind.

"Come in. Just so you know, I only bought food for myself."

Lara invited the suspicious man into the bookstore.

"It’s been a long time, master."

As the hooded figure entered the bookstore, Aldrick, the "Incinerator," lowered his hood and bowed.

Maybe it’s because they are husband and wife, Lara also has several disciples similar to Sazaki. Amongst her disciples, Aldrick occupied a prominent position.

"You've just finished with the Magic Council, and you come straight to my place? Seems like you've brought some trouble along."

"Well, about that..."

Lara was aware that her disciple, Aldrick, had recently attended a council meeting where high-level wizards from all over the world gathered to discuss magic-related matters. Coming to her right after that meeting, Lara figured he must have brought some troublesome news with him.

And Aldrick's somewhat hesitant demeanor confirmed her suspicions.

"It’s about regarding this object but..."

Aldrick produced a black book bound with red chains from thin air.

"I recognize that appearance. I've heard of it before. This must be idiot Grace's strategic-level demon summoning book, right?"

"Yes. It was recovered by a council member from a collector's study. They believe that the demon inside might be on par with a deep tier wizard in terms of power, and they're struggling with how to deal with it."

"That idiot is a hopeless fool that has no restraint in his dictionary after all."

Seeing the black book after a long time, Lara wrinkled her brow, and Aldrick, too, furrowed his brows.

Grace, known as the "Evil Technician," was of the same generation as Lara. While she had once been a renowned magic technologist during the Great War, her extreme eccentricities had always held her back. Putting power and destructive capability above everything else, she seldom considered factors like control or safety in her creations. As a result, while her works could be useful when used properly, they often ended up being instruments of self-destruction if handled incorrectly.

This book was no different. It had been intended to imprison a demon powerful enough to rival a deep-tier wizard, to be used as a strategic weapon. However, demons were inherently driven by a desire to kill humans. What happened later was very simple, due to a complete lack of control, the book had to be sealed away. And now that it had been discovered, Aldrick was in a bind.

"Ah well, can't be helped. I guess it's up to our generation to clean up this mess."

"May you please handle it?"

While grumbling about the hassle, Lara declared that she, as a member of the same generation that lived through the Great War, would handle relics from that time. After receiving the cursed book, she teleported to an isolated space that stretched into the barren wilderness.

Lara's bookstore was enveloped by an abnormal level of magic, allowing her to create isolated spaces at will.

"Tch. I can't understand how can one manage sealing and isolation, yet fail to consider control at all."

Originally, Lara had wanted to obliterate the book and its contents entirely. However, the book itself was only a gateway to summoning demons. If she destroyed only the book, the demon sealed within would continue to drift within an unknown space and might accidentally appear at some point.

Hence, as inconvenient as it was, she needed to summon the demon before obliterating the contents.

"Come out."

Lara removed the chain that had bound the book and summoned the demon from within.

『Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!』

With a jarring scream, a giant, jet-black ant appeared, so massive that one could mistake it for a fortress, or rather, even a mountain.

In an era where heroes and legends abounded, it was classified as a strategic-level weapon. Its armor could only be damaged by deep-tier or profound-depth-tier magical attacks, while it remains nearly invulnerable to physical means.

With its razor-sharp mandibles, it could cleave mountains, and its sheer size could lead its charge to obliterate armies and conquer fortresses.

In essence, this ant was a weapon of mass destruction that had taken the simplest foundation to the extreme.

In other words, and in other words again... for Lara, it was just an ant.

What strategic-level demon? For Lara, Sazaki, Elrika, and Ferad, dealing with this level of existence was nothing. They had faced opponents that almost destroyed the world, head-on, and defeated them.

"Vanish."

Witch Lara activated her magic.

In that unprecedented realm.

A rank of madness that should be uncharted and unfathomable, even to the omniscient.

Her finger glows.

One ring, the coast layer.

Two rings, the outer layer.

Three rings, the middle layer.

Four rings, the gradual layer.

Five rings, the deep layer.

And with her dominant hand's wrist glowing as the sixth ring, there stood the legends in history, the profound-depth layer.

All of it was child's play.

The legend of few profound-depth wizards in history? Could they really rival the darkness that shattered logic?

Did she really need the brilliance of a seventh or an eighth finger?

No.

The ant saw it. It saw Lara's fingers glow.

Literally.

All of her fingers.

The glow from all fingers.

The brilliance of ten fingers.

It went beyond the dimension of profound-depth or any layer. It was unclassifiable.

If it had to be compared, it was like a depth that surpassed the depth of the ocean. The abyss. Abyss layer. Abyss tier.

Lara, the most powerful wizard in history, bent her fingers ever so slightly.

With that, ten shining rings overlapped above the ant's head. Complex and intricate patterns released into the air, centered on the target... and a tower of light soared.

Sound, erased.

Vibration, erased.

The ant's existence, completely eradicated.

"Is that all?"

As a result of dwelling within the abyss of magic for so long, the Great Demon King had shattered reason and plunged the world into darkness. But even he had regarded the ultimate firepower in the Hero Party, Lara, as a lunatic.

The Witch of "Annihilation," Lara, returned to her original dimension.

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Bonus:

“Witch of Annihilation", Lara