Book 9: Chapter 11: More terrible than painful thing

——Monica likes it when Cyril addresses her as "Treasurer Norton". Because it makes her feel like she's been accepted as one of the student council members.

"Just because I called you differently, you're treating me like a stranger?" said the man who resembled Cyril while glaring at Monica from the inside of the lightning cage. And Monica gave a cold look at him.

"…I suggest you stop impersonating Lord Cyril."

That person may look similar to Cyril. And most people might have been deceived by his face—but, Monica who's good at spotting the difference, that trick will not work on her.

Just like when she instantly found the imbalance in the ledger, she could recognize that the person in front of her was an imposter.

First thing first, there was a slight discrepancy at the portion of his torso. Considering how Monica had a habit to remember a person by the numbers—like the length and thickness of the limbs of people around her—she can't be deceived even he'd skillfully dressed himself some clothes and boots to make it similar.

Second, the real Cyril Ashley had a constitution that will always absorb mana around him, so he's constantly releasing mana out of his body by using a brooch magic tool. If he was the same Cyril she met at the hall earlier, she would sense some mana he had released, but she didn't. The brooch he wore had a similar design, but not the kind of a magic tool.

And last…

"… each person has different shape of ears."

After hearing Monica's words, the man cupped his hand on his ear.

She couldn't see through his disguise at the chess tournament because she didn't know Eugene Pittman in person. But, if it were someone she knew—Monica was confident she would be able to distinguish it.

"Also… You might have been able to change your face skillfully with a body manipulation spell. But your modification didn't extend to your ears… a crude work, if I would say." said Monica indifferently like cornering her enemy with her move in the chess, and the man's profile changed in an instant.

"Ha… Haha…"

The lips of the man in front of her slowly lifted up to carve a smile like a crescent moon. The laughter overflowing from his lips was sweet as if honey had been boiled down and burnt.

"A crude work? Wouldn't a person who remembers even the shape of her acquaintance's ears considered be unusual? That's so creepy… but, as expected of the Seven Sages, I suppose."

Noticing her shoulder jolted, the man smiled even deeper and he licked his lips.

"I was a little doubtful, but I guess I was right… I still can't believe it, to be honest. I didn't expect that Monica Everett of the Silent Witch, one of the Seven Sages, was such a little girl!"

She had expected her identity was exposed by that man. After all, there is only one person who could use the no-chant spells. After concluding there's no reason for her to hide her identity anymore, she opened her mouth.

"…stop speaking using that face."

"Nooope. I'd love this face, you know. Just look at this beautiful face… it made me so envious." said the man as he stroked the face which resembled Cyril while sighing like an enraptured person.

That gesture felt so uncomfortable. And for some reason, Monica felt so irritated.

"…cease your resistance and surrender yourself."

"*snicker* but I.Re.Fuse."

Still caught inside the lightning cage, the man waved his right sleeve swiftly. What was coming out from it were dozes of tiny spiders, which were slipping through the gap of the lightning cage, latching onto Monca's face down to the neck. And the expression of "Cyril" who did that warped into a wicked smile. (TL: BURN IT WITH FIREEEE!!)

＊ ＊ ＊

Yuan—the man who transformed into Cyril—smiled confidently after assuring his victory was certain.

While Monica was preoccupied with the spider he had released from his sleeve, Heidi jumped in as she opened the door. Yuan had made Heidi dressed in Serendia Academy school uniform and had her standby in the hallway. So when she came, she had finished her chant to launch an attack spell.

Just like chess, every move in this battle was fixed. There might be some exceptions, but a magician can only use two spells at the same time.

If a knight fights with a sword and shield in his right and left hands, then a magician's tactic is to simultaneously deploy offensive and defensive spells.

So while Silent Witch currently maintaining the lightning cage to trap Yuan with ‘one hand'. Yuan, using mana manipulation released spiders from his sleeve to force Silent Witch to use her other hand. And when Silent Witch used both of her hands, she would have no means of preventing Heidi's attack and will be left defenseless and vulnerable to attack.

Even she's the no-chant genius magician if they can catch her by surprise when she was maintaining two spells at the same time, they still can defeat her.

"Pierce through, Ice Spear."

Heidi aimed her ice spear toward Silent Witch.

Unfortunately for her… the current Silent Witch hadn't put any attention to the spiders Yuan had released. Let alone lose consciousness.

Most people feel disgusted and disturbed when dozens of spiders were thrown at them while they crawl all over their skin. And he thought a little girl like her would be in tears and panicking.

However, Monica Everett of the Silent Witch only glanced at the spider and after confirming it was not poisonous, she did not shake it off or scream but looked at Heidi with a poker face.

Then, while maintaining the lightning cage that restrains Yuan, she canceled out the ice spear that Heidi released with her fire magic. While ignoring a countless number of spiders cling to her face and neck.

Heidi immediately pulled out a hidden knife and attacked Silent Witch, but by the time she took out the knife, Silent Witch had already unleashed her next spell.

"Heidi! Watch your feet!" shouted Yuan who had noticed, but it was too late.

Just like a spider web, Silent Witch stretched out a thread of lightning from the lightning cage where Yuan trapped, to ensnare Heidi's feet.

Heidi, who was too late to notice, touched the thread of lightning at her feet then collapsed to the floor after her whole body convulsing.

"…a-ah… Y-Yuan… I-I'm sorry…"

Silent Witch picked up a knife that Heidi dropped, then gazed at both of them expressionlessly.

Standing in the center of the thread of lightning that spread out like a spider's web with her face covered with spiders, her image resembled a spider incarnate.

Her young, naive face gazed at Yuan and Heidi with a horrifyingly blank expression. It was just like a spider catching a butterfly entangled in its thread to eat it mercilessly.

Without changing her expression, Silent Witch waved her finger. A lightning thread, which had been like a spider's web, changed its shape again and became a cage surrounding Heidi.

The witch, who had trapped Yuan also successfully restrained Heidi.

Like the time when she completely defeated her opponent in a chess tournament. She had shown her opponent, expressionlessly, emotionlessly, and ruthlessly, how overwhelming the difference between their power was.

＊ ＊ ＊

Monica stared silently at the spider crawling on her skin as it lost its strength and fell to the ground with a flop.

This spider was just a corpse from the beginning. That man, who was called Yuan, had put magic into the spider's carcass and temporarily controlled it.

Monica might haven't seen it, but the spider on Felix's shoulder was also one of these. If it were a normal spider, it wouldn't have died from being thrown at the window. But it fell down because the supply of magic was cut off and turned back into a corpse. If anything, the goal of manipulating a non-poisonous spider could only be for a diversion. And Monica knew that, so she didn't use her magic to get rid of the spiders.

Monica quietly brushed off the spider carcass that was still stuck to her skin.

"…Spider would never scare me."

After all, the thing that frightened Monica most is always people.

Even the word ‘justice' that had no malice would make people trample innocent people or even kill them.

To Monica Raine, who has her father taken away from these terrifying people, she was hoping all of them to disappear.

To Monica Norton, who had found her precious friend in the Serendia Academy changed her thinking, she wants to protect all these people.

And so, Monica Everett made one conclusion.

"I don't fear spiders nor dragons, but human…  it's the most terrifying thing to me. That's why I think I could hurt or even do something worse."

"Is that supposed to be a threat? What do you mean by ‘do something even worse'? Are you going to torture me?"

"Cyril" sneered at Monica.

Is a little girl like her can even bear doing the torture thing, in the first place?

In front of that man, Monica formulated a spell. Since Monica didn't imbue her spell with mana, it wouldn't be activated. But, Yuan and Heidi who heard Monica's chant, their complexion change drastically.

Monica was planning to cast the kind spell that banned in the Ridill Kingdom, a mind spell. It was a spell to dominate and control people to your bidding. With that spell, she could make them tell her everything.

Struggling a bit, Yuan opened his mouth.

"…hey, hey, should that spell supposed to be forbidden in this country?"

"Among the forbidden books that only the Seven Sages could read, there was a book that described the mind-involving spell. Once you know the theory, it's not hard to reproduce."

If Yuan resisted, she would not hesitate to use the forbidden spell. So, if he didn't want to be turned into a vegetable, he should answer her everything, or so Monica threatened. But Yuan raised his head and laughed.

"Aha… hahaha… I thought you're just a little girl… but also a crazy one at that, huh. To think you could pluck out someone else life emotionlessly like a chess piece. I guess that's your true nature, am I right, Monica Everett of the Silent Witch?" confronted "Cyril" in Monica's ruthless manner. And maybe what he said was not wrong.

Monica, who only sees people as numbers, could hurt people without feeling anything.

And she's able to do it.

No matter how much she tries to imitate Lana, she will never be able to be like Lana.

…Even then.

As long she could protect people she care about, she would pluck everything that threatened her friends, even it would make her being called a merciless witch.

"…this is your last chance… tell me your goal, all of it."

"Hey, Silent Witch… do you know what the real Cyril is doing right now?"

The last time Monica saw Cyril was at the ballroom. She has not seen him since then.

And Yuan didn't miss it when Monica twitched her shoulder.

"I had my people monitoring him right now. If anything happens to me… they will kill the owner of this face."

Trying to imitate Cyril's manner, Yuan expressed his stubbornness with a smile.

"…You will release this cage for me, right?"

"………"

After a few seconds of conflict in her mind, Monica released the lightning cage.

Yuan pushed the defenseless Monica down to the floor, mounted her, and held her wrists.

"The crueler you can be for someone else, the more that someone else will drag you down, don't you think that's ironic?"

Even if she can't move right now, Monica still can kill this man.

But if Monica harmed this man, Cyril would die.

Heidi got up and put a handkerchief soaked in the drug over Monica's mouth.

"Mm! Mmmm!"

It was the kind of drug that would make a person who smelled its strong odor lose consciousness. Even after trying to hold her breath, a small sniff still made her very dizzy.

If her consciousness got more clouded, she would unable to cast spells, and the situation will be worsened.

Monica tried to resist but the smile on Yuan's face which resembled Cyril's turned more twisted.

Then he leaned forward and ran his tongue down Monica's neck as she struggled to hold her breath.

"Mmm!?"

Monica screamed and unconsciously inhaled the drug hard in the spur of the moment. The back of her head went numb and her vision distorted languidly.

She can't calculate accurately. The beautiful mathematical formulas that run through her head, the magic formulas, were distorting and collapsing.

"…mm… m…"

Yuan licked his lips as he watched Monica letting inaudible voices before she stopped her resistance and give in to the drug.

"You know, I am more experienced in doing some cruel thing to people. Now, let's do some cruel thing, shall we?"