Author's Note: I'm an anime-only who just read too much of the wiki for my own good. I'm not Tappei so please don't kill me if there are elements that don't align with the canon. I'm also not a good storyteller (at least in my standards) but I hope you enjoy what I came up with.
If anybody asked Echidna what her past was like, she would respond that it wasn't something too interesting. At the very least, it wasn't something that she pondered on in her free time. She found it more productive to plan for the future instead of dwelling on the past. The past was something to learn from, not to reminisce about.
Besides, Echidna believed that everybody had some sort of past. Nobody's life was perfect. That was how life was. It didn't matter whether it was either small or big. Everybody had an experience or event that they could talk about.
Echidna believed that her past was truly boring. If possible, she would leave her memories in the corner of her knowledge, not to be touched.
"However, if that is your desire, then I suppose I could entertain you with some history about me."
Echidna was born a witch, her mother being the witch and her father a regular human. Most, if not all, of the known witches came to be after taking in Witch Factors so Echidna could be considered one of a kind.
This was further emphasized when Echidna was gifted with a never-before-seen affinity with magic, being proficient in all six of them.
However, there was one indisputable fact about witches, whether they were born one or not.
Every witch had a… disreputable trait.
One was obsessed with herself, wanting to be the center of attention. Another caused natural disasters without care, only focusing on what was before her. One even killed potentially innocent people who she deemed as sinners.
Echidna's parents realized it when she first awakened her magic.
"Look, dear! Our child awakened magic at such a young age!" Echidna's father looked happily at the small fireball forming in Echidna's petite hands. The ball of fire had a beautiful tint of red and orange as it flickered with a gentle but powerful force.
"Ara, to perform magic at the age of six. That's quite the talent. I wonder if it runs in the family?" Echidna's mother looked proudly at her daughter with a happy expression. Which parent wouldn't be proud to see their daughter be successful?
Echidna also had a smile on her face at her own achievement.
However, the parent's happiness soon turned to shock in the next 10 minutes.
After Echidna formed her first fire spell, she set alit one of their neighbors. Her smile still remained without a single hint of regret, ever constant as she watched the beautiful flames swallow the person.
Apparently, she only wanted to see how powerful her spell was.
Echidna couldn't comprehend the emotions of others. She lacked the basic ability to sympathize with other people, not being able to understand other people's pain, anger, joy, sadness, etc. This was perhaps because she didn't feel these emotions as well. Everything was just information to her.
However, if there was one thing she found interesting, she would say the soul of a person was quite interesting. She found it fascinating that such humans could reveal such unique expressions in certain situations.
Such situations as being in despair.
Perhaps it was then she realized that people were fragile. Countless methods could be employed if one wanted to break a person, whether physically or mentally.
Her parents quickly realized that if Echidna continued along this road, she would naturally turn into a sociopath. Her mother knew personally that if Echidna went along that road, only blood and solitude would await her child.
Echidna's family lived in a village with a decently sized population. There, the people would constantly ask for help from Echidna's mother, who was a witch. Despite being a witch, Echidna's father was the village chief which helped earn their trust, and seeing that the witch was willing to help them with their daily life, they quickly warmed up to Echidna's mother.
Echidna would always watch with her father as Echidna's mother would do all sorts of tasks to help the village. It would range from small things such as helping them water their fields to big things such as going out to clear out the monsters near the village.
"Mother, why do you help those people? Isn't it a waste of time?"
One day, Echidna asked her mother this question. Echidna couldn't understand the reason. She was sure that the things the villagers could give were something that her mother could easily obtain by herself. There were no benefits from what she could see.
Her mother looked at her inquisitively. She could just give a carefree, basic answer about how helping people was the right thing. However, when she looked at Echidna's deep black eyes, she saw inside of them intelligence that shouldn't belong to a child.
"To be honest, yes, it's a waste of time." Echidna's mother gave an answer that most mothers shouldn't give to their child. However, she wasn't done.
"In the past, Mother used to do all sorts of bad things. I found life to be boring and disappointing and thought that maybe in the darkness, I could find something that I couldn't find in a normal life."
She had stained her hands with blood of countless people. The number of innocent people that she killed and tortured for her own sake was unforgivable. She thought that by performing crimes that were banned from a normal life and represented one's dark hidden nature, she would find a freedom that could only be found in this life.
"But I never found it. Such a life will continue to eat at you until you're at the brink of death."
However, that was when I met your father.
Her mother remembered how her husband found her seriously injured after she had barely escaped from her pursuers. She must've looked suspicious with all the blood and injuries on her body yet he personally carried her on his back and tended to her injuries till she got better. When she asked him why he saved her…
"You were beautiful." Such a naive response had amused her greatly back then. Saving a person with that kind of reason was stupid yet honest.
On a whim, she decided to stay here with this person until he finished treating her injuries.
Every day, the man would always come to meet her to prepare meals and change her bandages. She found it cute how he would personally feed her as if she was a child despite her insistence of being capable of eating by herself.
One day, she told him that she was a witch. She was curious to see what his response would be like.
"Oh, so you're the one who was responsible for all the deaths in the area back then?" The man didn't look surprised.
"Ara, did you already know?"
"It was merely a suspicion of mine." The man didn't deny it.
"In that case, are you going to turn me in now? I'm sure that you can detain me while I'm still injured."
"Ha, if I was going to do that, I would've done that the moment I found you on the road. Besides, I believe that you're not a bad person."
This made the witch laugh. Did this man know who he was telling this to?
"Ara, you're as foolish as always."
"More importantly, what do you want to do after you get better?"
"Who knows? At this point, I'm tired of everything. Life is pointless whether I live in the light here or go back to the darkness there."
There was nothing that the darkness had to offer that the light didn't have. Controversially, there was nothing in the light that the darkness couldn't offer either.
"Your father then told me something I will never forget." Echidna's mother caressed her daughter's head as she still remembered the exact words said then.
"If living in the light or darkness doesn't matter to you, then why not become a good person? At least that'd make you a little bit better."
Her soon-to-be husband could surprisingly say such enlightening words. She decided then to leave her past self and go on to eventually marry this person.
"Now, I live in this village so I could help the people around me and I must say, it's nice to not fear someone trying to kill me. What do you think, Echidna-chan?"
Echidna looked at her mother and then looked outside to all the villagers who were working and playing, the joy and happiness on people's faces evident. She could see the brightness in each of their expression and thought, 'Ah, so people could reveal those kinds of faces too.'
She looked towards her own hand as she remembered the incident of burning her neighbor, the despair of that person crying out. Despite having a smile during that time, she didn't feel joy upon seeing that person burning. She only observed the effects of the fire on the person and thought, 'Ah, so that's how people burn in flames.'
To be honest, she felt nothing when seeing both sides of the coin. Light or darkness, good or bad, those terms meant nothing to her. She only had a desire to gain more knowledge.
She looked back to her mother. Her mother's beautiful smile was warm as she looked lovingly at her daughter. Whatever path her daughter chose to take, she would love her daughter always, even if she became pure evil. Of course, she and the father would want the best for Echidna but that was for Echidna to choose. Her mother had already done her best to reach her intentions to Echidna.
Even though Echidna couldn't understand her mother's emotions, their connection as mother and daughter was able to convey the mother's thoughts to her.
Echidna made her choice.
"I want to save everybody."
Echidna decided to protect people. People who could easily be broken by the sway of her hand. People who were so weak yet could display such bright emotions despite the fact that their life could potentially end the next day. People who continued to hope for the tomorrow.
She decided that maybe it wouldn't be so bad protecting that hope.
Echidna was sitting in the living room, reading a book about magic. Her mother had decided to personally attend to her magic learning and had many books about magic, which Echidna enjoyed reading in her free time.
Echidna would also go on journeys so that she could learn more about the outside world and she would follow in her mother's footsteps where she would help the people she met along the way. Of course, it didn't help that when she met a person for the first time, they would immediately throw up in front of her.
"Oh, what a charming young girl we have here. What is your na- bleh!"
"That will be three silver coins and 8 copper coi- bleh!"
"I fell in love with you at first sight! Please marry me- bleh!"
As she grew older, the witch miasma emitted from her became stronger and while she was able to restrain it, first meetings would always go this way.
Echidna got rid of the thought as she once again focused on her book. She could think about her journeys later. She was planning to go on another one once she finished her objective today.
"Dona, you're only fifteen and you're already reading such advanced books!" Echidna's father entered her room with a smile. He looked at some of the books that were on her desk and already found himself getting a headache looking at them. Sometimes, he wondered if this girl really was his daughter. Then, he remembered that he had an amazing wife.
Echidna put aside her book while keeping a bookmark of the last page she was on as she turned her attention to her father with a playful smirk.
"Father, do you need anything from me? You'll make Mother jealous if you keep meeting a young maiden like me alone in her room."
"Oh, look at you! Do I need a reason to see my beautiful daughter?"
Her father rubbed Echidna's head affectionately as Echidna smiled at her father's love. Just because she didn't understand emotions didn't mean that she couldn't appreciate what her father does for her. At the very least, she knew that a relationship between a father and daughter was something that she wouldn't be able to find anywhere else. She only had one father after all.
"You should take a break from time to time, Dona. You've been reading for 5 hours already."
"It's fine. I find these books very interesting."
"Someone your age shouldn't be reading those books all the time.
"It's not like I have any other books to read."
Her father's heart felt a stab as he saw Echidna's sad expression. His doting side of him came out as he quickly thought of what could possibly satisfy her daughter.
"Oh, in that case! Let me recommend a book to you."
"Oh, from you, Father?" Now, this was interesting. She wondered what kind of book her father was going to give her. She didn't see the glint in her father's eye as he quickly went into his room, most likely to find something. A moment later, he came back as he slowly took out his recommendation from behind his back.
"Let me tell you, Dona. I learned many things from this book. Father was able to make your mother very happy because of this. One day, this will help you in the future."
"Oh, I see. Then, I'll read it earnestly." Echidna took the book with a smile. After reading the title, she knew why her father spent time reading this. Well, this was an area she was unfamiliar with so with that in mind, she opened the book and began to read.
Once her father saw his daughter absorbed in the book, not wanting to disturb her anymore, he left her room to get back to his duties. Giving one last look at her daughter, he smiled again.
He accomplished his mission here.
A little while later…
"Echidna-chan…what are you reading?"
"I'm reading about the process of sexual reproduction between a man and a woman and how one can make the procedure more pleasing with certain maneuvers and dexterity."
"Ara, is that so?" Echidna's mother looked at the book in Echidna's hands again. Her eyes slanted dangerously as she knew there was only one person who would give this kind of book to her daughter.
Needless to say, her mother had a long talk with her father.
"Dear, calm yourself down!"
"Ara, do you really expect that of me after what you did?" Echidna's mother sent another attack of magic towards her husband.
"Agh! I understand you're angry but-"
"Why didn't you give that book to me first so I could read it?!"
"That's what you're angry about?!"
Echidna looked at her father running from her mother's magic before going back to reading her father's book secretly. She already accomplished her objective of finding where her father kept his "educational" books.
Her father was pretty easy to manipulate with a few choice words and expressions at the right time. Parents were truly useful in times like these, being able to give you things for free if you knew how to go about it.
She also made a copy of every book before her mother confiscated the one she was previously reading. Well, she would destroy them once she finished reading it.
More importantly…
Echidna looked at the black book in her hand. The book was empty but she could tell there was a unique aura to it. Her mother gave it to her as a present, saying that she had stolen… no, acquired it when she was a notorious witch.
Echidna had already decided that she was going to make this her Authority. Her Authority hadn't manifested itself yet but she was confident she was on the tip of awakening it. It was only a matter of time till the Witch Factor inside her awakened and connected itself to this book.
For now, she was off to another place to who knows where.
"We confirmed that the Witch of Decimation is in the village ahead of us."
A group of cloaked figures was gathered a large distance away as the full moon shone in the silent night. The group was about twenty people but out of them all, there stood out two people.
"Hah, it would be easier if I did this by myself. How foolish. How tiring. Is it really necessary to send this many people?"
A man was dressed in purple-white clothes that if one looked at him at first glance, he would look like a clown. However, his eyes had heavy bags under them as if he hadn't slept in a long time and the color of his face was so pale that it was as if he was sick despite his youthful appearance.
"Now, don't be like that, Hector. I have no doubts that you wouldn't be able to handle the target alone but it's best to have these followers around to prevent any interruptions. You would dislike it if your work was prolonged due to some accident, I'm sure. Isn't that right, Warlock of Melancholy?"
A platinum-haired girl who had a simple cloth with blue ribbons as her only attire smiled. Her blue eyes along with her fair skin would make anybody who happened to lay their eyes on her to be enchanted. This only made Hector frown, however. Despite the beautiful smile on this person, the feelings he got from her were disgust. He knew better than to be fooled by her seemingly pure appearance.
"What a pain in the ass. You understand me well, Witch of Vainglory. How saddening. How frustrating."
Pandora laughed lightly at Hector's comment, not taking it to heart. She didn't care about his attitude as long as he got the job done. She was only interested in obtaining the witch.
"Now then, let's begin."
At her command, the cloaked figures dispersed as they made their way to the village.
"There's something wrong outside."
"Really?"
Upon hearing his wife's concern, he looked out the window but he found nothing suspicious. The night was silent as usual.
"I don't see anything unordinary," he responded. However, knowing that this was his wife, he didn't tell her that it was nothing. His trust in her showed as he didn't let his guard down, keeping watch to see if there was anything he missed.
Echidna's mother narrowed her eyes. Her instincts were something that was honed through many experiences and situations. She may have been living in peace for a while but they hadn't grown dull over the course of time.
"Honey, evacuate the villagers at once. Our enemies aren't normal."
"Understood."
Without a moment of hesitation, the father went out, performing his role as the village chief. He ran quickly towards the middle of the village to sound the alarm. Soon, a huge bell rang out, causing a commotion as the villagers began to come out of their homes.
"Village chief, what's the emergency?"
"We're under attack by unknown enemies. Stay on guard and follow the usual procedure."
The villagers didn't question the orders as they soon quickly packed up and began to exit the village. The retreat was quick as a crowd of people began to leave the village. The women and children went first with the men on the outskirts with their weapons on hand.
On the other hand, the assailants were startled by the huge bell ringing in the middle of the night. Worrying if they were already noticed, they began to hurry up ahead, hoping to catch the people in time.
However, it was too late. By the time the assailants reached the village, they found that the village was empty.
"Ara, so it's you bastards again."
A voice filled with malice quickly revealed that they were wrong, however. Turning around, they saw a woman standing behind them.
"Has it been 16 years? No, 17? Should I reward you for finding me after all this time?"
The wind fiercely blew around her as all the cloaked figures felt sweat running across their skins.
This was the Witch of Decimation.
The harbinger of death. There was almost no information about the witch because every person who saw the witch in her power was killed. The only few records that were available revealed a white-haired woman in a tattered-black cloak as her appearance.
This very person, the infamous Witch of Decimation, was the one who was directing her killing intent towards them, the one who made her victims' blood turn cold upon sight.
The witch swung her hand, the motion causing half of the cloaked figures to spurt blood immediately as the winds sharply tore through their clothes and razed through their skins. Cries of pain were let out as the other half of the group immediately backed away, keeping the witch at a few meters' lengths.
Echidna's mother sneered at their actions.
"Did you really think you could defeat me with vermin such as you? Bring a Sword Saint if you want to have a chance."
"That isn't necessary."
Just as she was about to continue her attack, she widened her eyes in surprise. In reflex, she jumped away before the spot that she was just standing on immediately formed a crater.
"So loud. You haven't changed at all, have you, Witch of Decimation?"
Echidna's mother immediately raised her guard upon hearing that familiar, dull voice.
"Hector, you also came? I must say that it's rare for you to work with these buffoons of a cult. I thought you preferred being independent."
"I told her the same thing too but she wouldn't listen to me. How annoying."
"Her?"
That was a surprise. There was someone that even this clown listened to? This moody clown who claimed that everything was a hassle?
Hector didn't seem to entertain her with an answer as he turned his attention away from the witch as he looked towards the cloaked figures.
"Why are you still here? Don't you have something else to do?"
Gathering themselves, the cloaked figures bowed down to him slightly before trying to leave.
"Did you think it'll be that easy?" Echidna's mother tried to interrupt them but noticing her intentions, Hector sent an attack towards her, forcing her to guard instead.
The cloaked figures were able to leave successfully as Echidna's mother realized they were heading in the direction of the villagers. While she was worried on the inside, she couldn't afford to be distracted from the opponent in front of her.
"Now then, getting back to business. Are you still going to resist now that I'm here? Your efforts will just be wasting both of our time. To be honest, dealing with you is very exhausting so I would appreciate it if you just gave up."
Despite having his dreary voice and hunched posture, Hector's eye looked at her warily with a sharp gaze. He would find the rug pulled under him if he underestimated the person in front of her just because she wasn't a Witch of Sin.
Of course, Echidna's mother didn't accept his offer.
"Ara, that's great to hear. After all, I always hated you."
Echidna's mother raised her hands, preparing her magic as Hector could only sigh as he also raised his hands for battle.
Echidna was coming back after her recent journey.
"Hah, I finally worked out the fine details of my magic spell. I wonder how Mother will react."
Echidna gave a smile as she felt pretty confident of her newest spell. She wondered how what kind of face her mother would make when she performed it.
Well, maybe not in the village. If she did, the village would be destroyed.
In the air, Echidna quickly flew using wind magic as she soared through the forest with happy humming. She would occasionally strike down mabeasts on the way while reading the book in her hand.
Echidna's proficiency as a mage could already be seen as ground-breaking and her talent which was nurtured under her mother's teaching only blossomed even more. Granted, her mother could only teach her the fundamentals and then a bit more but Echidna was intelligent enough to carve her own path as a mage, creating spells that surprised even her mother at times.
Thus, Echidna was motivated to make spells astonishing enough to see her mother's surprised face. With a relaxed face, she made her way to the village.
However, her face became serious as she got closer to the village. Flashes of magic and sounds of blades clashing could be heard in front of her.
"In the middle of night too…"
Realizing that something was wrong, Echidna quickly made her way to the commotion and she was greeted with a scene.
People from the village were scattered around. The village men were fighting with cloaked figures while trying to protect non-combatants in the middle. Her father was also fighting with a long sword where the heat of the battle was.
Echidna quickly saw that the situation wasn't good.
"Village chief, we can't hold much longer!"
"Hold the formation! If we break, it's all over for us!"
"But!"
The cloaked figures, while fewer in number compared to the village men, were clearly experienced. Using their short daggers and magic spells, they were using guerilla tactics as they slowly but surely pressured the village men into submission.
"Hmmm, I guess this is where I come in then."
"!"
Everybody looked up to see Echidna floating above the battlefield as her white hair fluttered from the night wind. Echidna put her palm out in front of her as she cast her spell.
"Ul Shamak."
Immediately, the area was covered in darkness as both the villagers and cult members couldn't see where they were. Even when they tried to reach out with their hands, they couldn't feel or sense anything. They couldn't even see their own hands or tell whether they were standing or not.
Of course, in the confusion, Echidna began to target only the cloaked figures as she mercilessly killed them off one by one while they were still wandering in the darkness. In a few moments, she quickly dealt with the enemies.
By the time the darkness disappeared, the villagers found that all the cloaked figures were dead with Echidna smiling over them.
"Dona, you came back?" Her father was the first to greet her. Echidna's appearance was a blessing as he didn't hide his joy upon seeing her.
Echidna gave a nod towards him in acknowledgment as she looked around. She had entered during the middle of the battle so there were already casualties on their side by the time she came. Some of the villagers were crying in sorrow and fear from seeing their loved ones die and some were heavily injured.
However, that was none of her concern at the moment. She was only looking for one person.
"Where's Mother?"
Echidna didn't find her among the group while she was looking around. She found it curious as she knew that her mother would've been able to handle enemies of this caliber if she was with them.
"Your mother said that she was going to deal with the enemies by herself but we hadn't heard a response from her since then."
Echidna's father looked at his daughter, who seemed eerily calm despite the situation. Even though she was smiling, he wondered what his daughter was thinking during this time. Was it her confidence in her mother that she wasn't worried? Or was the smile just habitual and she was actually worried? Or maybe she didn't care at all and was just going with the flow. It was times like these that Echidna's father wished that he could read his daughter's mind.
"I see. Then, I'll head to the village." Echidna made her decision after hearing what her father said. She figured there was no time to waste and with a stretch of her hand and few words, the air began to distort and swirl in front of her.
Soon, a huge portal of darkness appeared to what seemingly led to the village. All the surrounding people's jaw dropped at the magic before them as Echidna leaped into the portal without hesitation.
The Witch of Decimation was currently in dilemma.
No matter what kind of attacks she threw at him, the Warlock of Melancholy would be perfectly fine. With just a single motion of his, all of her magic would be neutralized without him having a single injury. The only thing that increased was his complaints but he did seem to get more tired as the battle continued but it was meaningless if she couldn't land a hit.
Hector wasn't only good at defense. His Authority of Melancholy seemed to be of an invisible force that worked the closer he was to his opponent. His attacks were annoying as she wouldn't know when they would come until the last moment. She had to rely on her instincts to dodge by a hair's breadths but even that had its limits as the attacks continued to increase in speed and number.
Keeping her distance so that she wouldn't be overwhelmed, she checked her condition.
She already had some broken ribs and she was finding it troubling to breathe. At this rate, she would only last for another minute.
Hector sighed at this pointless battle.
"Witch of Decimation, isn't it time we put this to an end? I think you proved yourself enough at this point."
This only earned a scoff from her.
"Sorry. Unlike you who's tired of living, I have a reason that I must stay alive."
"That hurts. I thought we were birds of the same flock. Didn't you tell me that you also were bored of this world?"
"Hmph, I have no reason to explain to you."
"How stubborn."
Hector decided to stop this futile struggle as he decided to resume his attack. However, another person entered his sight.
"Mother!"
Echidna ran towards the two of them as both of their eyes widened at the sight of her.
"Echidna-chan?!"
"Oh?"
Upon arriving, Echidna immediately analyzed the situation before instantly throwing a fireball towards Hector. Of course, Hector easily swatted it away.
"What an adorable child you are. Are you that woman's daughter?"
"So what if I am?"
Echidna quickly saw that spells of that level didn't even bother him and realized why her mother was struggling against him. One would need a spell of much higher impact to even break through his defense.
"How annoying. I'm not a fan of killing children so it's best for you to get out of the way-"
"Shario."
Echidna cast her new spell. Hector immediately put up his guard, not familiar with the spell name but didn't see any immediate attack. It didn't seem to be a buffing or debuffing spell either as none of their states changed. Was it a bluff then? However, he definitely sensed a considerable amount of mana being used for that spell.
"If you're confused, then why not look up?"
Echidna smiled with blatant provocation as if laughing at Hector's lack of understanding. Hector felt a ping of annoyance already growing inside of him as he looked at the child's smug face but when he looked up, even his facial expression became shocked.
"Oi, oi, are you serious?" Hector even rubbed his eyes to see if he was seeing things but he wasn't, shocking him even more.
A huge blazing comet was traveling down the atmosphere at full speed.
Hector couldn't believe what he was seeing. Echidna had pulled a star from the sky and dragged it down to earth. This was from a teenage girl? Not even the Witch of Decimation was capable of this destruction!
Hector's surprise only increased more and more as he confirmed once more that a freaking meteorite was indeed heading towards this place.
The huge mass of energy continued to descend as it razed everything in its path. Hector could already feel the pressure from it as it aimed directly at him.
What about the other two people? If it continued like this, they would also be caught up in the explosion. Was that girl really willing to sacrifice her life just to bring him down?
However, Hector's stress only increased as he saw Echidna open a portal as both she and her mother were already entering it, most likely to a safer place. This girl also knew teleportation magic, something that was deemed as unrealistic? What was this monster of a child?!
"Have fun. I'll be taking my leave first."
Echidna waved her hand at him with a smirk as the two disappeared from his sight.
"This shitty kid!" Fixing his posture as he put both arms in front of him, Hector could only exercise his Authority of Melancholy to the fullest to brace himself for impact as the falling star fell on him.
An explosion rang out in the distance as Echidna and her mother came out of a portal.
"Hmmm, that's quite the flare. I doubt he'll get out there unscathed even with his abnormal power."
Echidna looked back to the falling star that was still bright compared to the dark night. She figured this was the strongest attack currently available to her right now. This spell was supposed to be the one to surprise her mother but she guessed the time to use it came sooner than expected.
Well, seeing her mother's face right now, she figured that she still accomplished her goal.
Echidna's mother was still looking at her daughter with unhidden shock. She thought she saw it all when her daughter first showed her teleportation magic and thought nothing else would be astonishing than that. But, the scale of this magic was too grand to be compared to her previous spells.
"So, Mother… didn't I do good?" Echidna had a calm look on her face as if what she did was normal but her eyes secretly stole glances towards her mother, wondering to see what her reaction was. Her eyes were blinking and expecting, waiting to hear her mother's words.
Her mother laughed at her daughter at her obvious want of praise. It was times like these that she remembered that this girl wasn't a monster but her daughter.
"Yes, yes, you did well."
Echidna's mother patted her head to which Echidna gave an adorable smile. Her eyes closed in contentment as a blush rose to her face. Being praised, especially by her mother, always brought joy to her as she continued to revel in the warmth on her head.
"Echidna-chan, what about the villagers?"
"Ah, yes. About them…" Echidna explained everything about how she found the villagers under the cult members' attacks and how she quickly got rid of them. Her mother listened carefully and gave a sigh after hearing the losses they suffered. Thankfully, her husband was still alive but there was one issue she had a problem with.
"Echidna-chan, you just left them right after?"
"Was that a problem?"
"What happened if there were more enemies waiting around? What if there were people who were injured and needed healing? You just left them without any protection?"
Echidna's mother gave a stern glare to her daughter as Echidna meekly lowered her head. There were plenty of explanations coming up to her head. She already scanned the area and didn't find any enemies. She didn't see anybody who was on death's door and needed healing as soon as possible. She figured that her father would be able to handle everything else well.
But the main reason she left quickly was…
"… I was more worried about you," Echidna mumbled under her breath.
"…"
Echidna's mother couldn't say anymore when she saw her daughter's pouting face. She was also saved from the precarious situation because of Echidna's action so she also didn't feel good chastising her daughter.
"Let's quickly check up on the villagers then."
"Mmmm."
Echidna agreed as her mother held her hand, preparing to leave but a voice stopped them.
"That won't be necessary. They are in my hands, Witch of Decimation."
A platinum-haired girl suddenly appeared before them. Her face was a timeless beauty and her blue eyes stood out from her white skin and clothing. She gently smiled at the two of them but none of the two let down their guard at the suspicious person.
"Who are you?" Echidna's mother asked coldly to the young woman. There weren't many who knew her title as a Witch and of those who knew, all of them were enemies.
The petite figure raised her arms lightly as if to reveal that she didn't bring any harm.
"I am Pandora, the Witch of Vainglory."
"?!" Echidna's mother couldn't hide her shock. This was the Witch of Sin that was said to be forgotten over the course of history? It was this woman?
"So, what does a person like you want with me?"
Echidna's mother decided to take things slow and hold back on the hostility for now. Pandora smiled at her question as if she was waiting for those words.
"I want you to destroy the world."
What came out of Pandora's mouth was something absurd. Both Echidna and her mother wondered if they had misheard what she said or if that was a joke they didn't understand but the expression on Pandora's face remained the same.
"The Witch of Decimation. I know all about your feats and achievements that were done in the shadows of this world. It surprised even me when I learned about you. Even without an Authority of Sin, you were able to achieve this much. With my help, destroying the world should be accomplishable for you."
"Destroying the world? That sounds like something a typical evil person would say."
"Hm, it's not that I need to destroy the world. For my goals to be achieved, it's just the fastest route out of all the processes. Will you help me?"
Pandora offered her hand towards Echidna's mother. Even though she looked innocent and angelic, Echidna's mother realized that was all a façade. Behind that graceful appearance was a twisted and selfish personality, an evil that would cause catastrophes without a single hint of guilt.
Echidna's mother hated how much Pandora reminded herself of her past self.
"What makes you think that I'll go along with your ploy?"
This response only disappointed Pandora. The reason she went to this Witch instead of anybody else was because she believed that the Witch of Decimation would be the most willing to go along with her plans. However, it seemed that she changed during her abrupt disappearance.
Well, she guessed she had to go the typical way.
Pandora lightly waved her hand and immediately, a barely conscious person appeared floating in the air behind Pandora.
"This is your husband, isn't it?"
"You!"
"I'm sure I don't need to explain what will happen if you don't follow what I say, do I?"
Pandora went towards Echidna's father as she grabbed his right hand lightly. She smiled as she reached towards the man's pinkie finger.
*Crack!*
The man's finger broke as it went unnaturally backward. The man screamed in pain as stinging heat flowed from his hand.
"Stop!" Echidna's mother yelled upon seeing her husband in pain but Pandora gave no regard as she moved towards the ring finger next.
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
Pandora continued to break the man's fingers despite the witch's yelling. She decided that it was best to give a little incentive first.
It was only until she broke all 10 of his fingers that she decided to stop.
At this point, Echidna's mother was on her knees as she was forced to hear her husband crying in pain and the ugly sight of his fingers broken abnormally.
"Hmmm. I wonder what else I should do? Should I increase the physical torture on him? I wonder how long he would last if I cut his nails off, then his fingers. If that doesn't do, we still have his toes, don't we?"
"Stop…" Echidna's mother said weakly but Pandora kept going.
"Ah, would electrocution be more fitting then? Maybe we can also watch him suffocate without air as he struggles to breathe. Or perhaps you would prefer poison as his body slowly deteriorates into nothing?"
"…please…"
"How about I just make him mine? I don't mean to brag but people can be quite obsessed with me. Should I sexually torture him and break him so that he'll only be able to think of me? I wonder how he'd feel when he can't help but lust after another person besides his wife. Ah, but at that point, would that really be torture? He would be quite happy when he serves me with all his being."
Pandora traced her fingers across his chest and stopped till it reached his lower stomach.
"Maybe, I should instead get rid of his pride as a man. Crushing one or two of them should be fine. I know from experience that men can continue to live even without them. That is, if the pain doesn't ki-"
"STOP!"
"…have you finally made your decision?"
Echidna's mother bit her lips. Even now, this foolish husband was still causing problems for her. Ever since he took her in and gave her a new life, he always found ways to frustrate her.
She was a witch and he was just a normal person. It was natural that there would be conflicts between the two of them.
Yet, the memories together with him were only filled with light and love. When the thought of abandoning him came to her mind, she found herself looking back on those memories.
The witch realized that her family was something that was irreplaceable and she would do anything for them.
Even if she had to destroy the world.
"Witch of Decimation, what is your response?
Pandora smiled as if she knew what her response was going to be.
Echidna narrowed her eyes as she began to observe the Witch of Vainglory before her but quickly gave up; everything about her was an enigma. Echidna couldn't trust what her eyes saw because it was telling her that Pandora was just a normal person but that was impossible.
Echidna especially hated the way Pandora looked at them. What those eyes saw weren't people of equal standing, it was as if they were looking at children. She could even go so far as to say that Pandora considered herself a being higher than humans and they were just inferior beings to her.
Currently, Pandora was right now holding her father hostage in this situation. Her mother seemed to be thinking heavily. It didn't seem that any of them would be making a move any time soon.
Echidna wondered what she could do right now.
She still had a considerable amount of mana. However, she didn't want to waste it futilely. She didn't have the leisure to test out what her opponent's ability was. She already had a feeling that the opponent before her was out of her capability to handle.
Echidna looked at her father.
'What?'
Echidna was calm on the outside, not giving away anything but on the inside, she was surprised.
Her father was looking at her with half-closed eyes. He was still conscious, if not barely, even after the torture. He was in terrible shape but he looked at Echidna with desperateness.
He seemed to have understood the situation as he looked at his wife who was suffering from her decision and then looked toward his daughter. He mouthed two words to her.
'- -.'
Echidna widened her eyes slightly before returning her face back to normal.
"Witch of Decimation, what is your response?" Pandora asked Echidna's mother.
Echidna's mother clenched her fist until she drew blood from it. This was probably something that her husband would make her regret. He would probably try to talk her out of it and tell her to leave him behind.
But no matter how much she tried to, she couldn't.
She made her choice.
"I…"
"Fura."
A blade of wind suddenly lashed out through the air. Echidna had chosen this magic specifically because of the speed. In fact, Echidna made sure to reduce the attack size to only 5 cm and focus more on drastically increasing the speed. It was the perfect surprise attack and would bypass anybody's reaction speed. However, this spell was considered meager in front of the Witch of Vainglory.
However, Echidna's target wasn't Pandora.
The wind blade soared past Pandora and before anybody could react, it went to Echidna's father.
The wind blade was very small and would only deal a flesh injury usually. It wasn't lethal at all.
That was, if you didn't know where to aim for.
The blade sliced the left side of his neck, cutting the carotid artery cleanly.
Echidna's father's eyes opened widely. He could feel his head become faint as darkness began to overtake his sight. He could hear his wife yelling at him as he approached death. He looked at Echidna last who still had a calm face.
His head fell down limply as the light from his eyes faded.
Echidna's father, the village chief, was dead.
Pandora's expression changed for the first time into bewilderment. She never expected for the daughter to kill her own father without any regret. This was out of her calculations. However, this turn of events wasn't bad.
Echidna's mother looked at Echidna, who calmly patted her hands together.
"… Echidna-chan… why?"
Echidna looked at her mother, who seemed to be on the verge of crying.
"Mother, one man is not worth the destruction of the entire world. Even if it's Father."
Of course, that was reasonable. To put the whole world at stake, billions of people at stake, for just a single man was ridiculous. Even Echidna's mother knew that. But…
"…Echidna-chan, do you not feel even a single hint of remorse from your father's death?"
"…" No.
"He loved you, more than anything. He considered you his joy and treasure."
"…" I know.
"Ne, Echidna-chan… how can you smile like nothing happened?"
"…" Is that how it looks?
"…"
There was nothing more to be said.
Echidna's mother didn't know what to do anymore. What was the point of living? Her husband, the reason why she was able to continue living, was dead. All she needed was one person to love her. Was that too much to ask for from this cruel world?
"Yes, you must have loved him greatly and now he died. Why continue to live in a world without him? Is it truly wrong to wish for such a world to disappear?"
The Witch of Decimation shivered upon hearing Pandora's words as they resonated with her soul. Pandora smiled as she saw that her words have an effect on the woman. She continued to use her Authority of Vainglory.
"The world is too cruel. This world is built on plenty of sacrifices just for the brief illusion of peace and happiness. Sacrifices such as your husband. Yet, everybody forgets them in the passage of time and conflicts will continue to arise. How can everybody else be happy when only you suffer alone? In the end, everything is meaningless."
That's right. The world was built of countless sacrifices yet there were people who were living in ignorant bliss while her husband was dead. And for what? History continues to repeat itself as wars continued to be waged again and again.
"If that's the case, why not bring this hateful world to an end?"
The Witch of Decimation opened her eyes with a blank look. If the world ends, everybody would be free. Free from pain, free from loneliness, free from everything.
She saw the Witch of Vainglory offer her hand to her. Her hand offered salvation to her as it promised her that no longer would she have to suffer like this. Ah, how great that would be.
She reached out to grab the hand.
She stopped.
She saw Echidna looking at her. Her smile was still there… but was that really a smile?
"…No."
Pandora frowned.
"Witch of Decimation, you-"
"Don't call me that." Echidna's mother cut Pandora in the middle of her sentence. She wasn't a witch. She was a mother now.
If she couldn't realize her daughter's pain, what kind of mother would she be? Good, evil, her daughter never cared about such things. If there was one thing she knew her daughter wished for, it was happiness.
She slowly walked towards her daughter, her only daughter as she caressed Echidna's face.
"Echidna-chan, I'm sorry."
She was only holding on through her love for her daughter. But even that was fading away.
Her mind was already half-taken by the Witch of Vainglory. Her soul was already influenced to the point where the desire to destroy the world was embedded into her and continuing to grow.
Before she was completely overtaken, she had some things to say.
"Sorry, Echidna-chan. I couldn't be a good mother to you until the end. I had to force you to do something like this."
How could she allow her daughter to come across the choice to kill her father? No person should ever be forced to do that but because of her own weakness, her daughter had to stain her hands with her father's blood.
"Echidna-chan, I regret that as your parents, we couldn't make you happy as we wished to. However, we always love you and though we may not understand how you think sometimes, we only want the best for you."
In their desire to protect and form a more special relationship with their daughter, they did their best to love their daughter no matter how tough it was. Even if the emotions that Echidna displayed may have been just for show, even if she may not feel the same way for them, their experiences together as a family weren't fake.
She didn't have much time left before she lost her sanity. That soothing sensation that was enveloping her mind was so tempting to give in to but she held on to her remaining willpower.
"Echidna-chan… you'll definitely meet somebody in the future. A person who will be able to awaken your emotions like never before. Someone who'll definitely make you happy. So, please. Don't give up. Your mother will always be with you."
Echidna's mother hugged her daughter tightly as her arms trembled. She would have to make a selfish request from her daughter again.
"Kill me."
Unknowingly, the mother made the same wish as the father. The wish was so that they wouldn't be a burden to the ones they love.
"…if that's what you desire."
Echidna knew that this was the end as she quickly cut her mother's neck, giving her a quick and painless death.
With that, Echidna killed her favorite witch.
What was greed?
Was it want for money? Fame? Power?
That could be a definition.
However, Echidna thought differently.
Greed was having a desire. It was about holding on to a wish no matter what.
She wanted to save everybody no matter what. She thought that she was powerful enough to do so. She was confident in her own talent as she continued to make rapid progress in her magic knowledge.
However, she realized that she was powerless. She had just killed her father and mother.
Was saving everybody really possible for her?
No, not yet. She couldn't give up like this.
If only she had more knowledge, if only she knew more, she could've found a different solution. She could've saved everybody.
Knowledge was power. With knowledge, anything was achievable.
She needed more knowledge. She needed to become a person who knew everything. She needed to know everything about this world if she wanted to save everybody in the world.
She'll do whatever she could to reach her goal. No matter how much she lost or was hurt, she'll do anything to attain her wish.
This was the awakening of the "Witch of Greed."
The sun rose as the night began to disappear.
"What a disappointment."
Pandora sighed with unhidden regret. She had great expectations for the Witch of Decimation when arriving but…
"In the end, she was worthless. What a hopeless witch. She accomplished nothing with her death. Don't you also agree?"
Pandora asked the young girl who stood in front of her parents.
Echidna looked at the two dead bodies before her.
Her mother and father, despite being dead, had smiles on their faces.
Her mother had asked her if she felt remorse over her father's death, which she didn't. However, she certainly felt something that she never felt in her entire life.
"Ne, Witch of Vainglory. Who are you to talk about my mother?"
Strong miasma was released from the teenager's body, the density surprising even Pandora. This kind of miasma was something that could only be emitted if one was a Witch of Sin.
Besides the Witch Factors of Envy which was currently in her hands, there was one other Factor that currently wasn't known.
Greed.
This girl was able to awaken her Witch Factors of Greed and even manifest her Authority? She was wondering where the Greed factor was after its disappearance and it seemed to have reappeared in this girl.
However, now was not the time for admiration.
"My mother was the best witch I ever met. Compared to her, I'm an evil witch. A witch who murdered her own parents."
"The time I spent with my family was something that I truly enjoyed. They were the only ones who allowed me to even feel a true sense of joy and happiness. They helped me feel like a regular human being when everybody else called me a monster behind my back.
"And you took that away from me."
Pandora instinctively took a step back as Echidna gave a dark smile. Her black book opened as the Tome of Wisdom awakened for the first time. The Authority of Greed began to resonate and emit a stygian aura as if she had been using it her entire life.
"Tell me, fellow witch. How should I repay you for letting me experience this new emotion?"
When she killed her own parents, what filled her wasn't remorse. It was something else. Something darker.
Hatred.
The Witch of Greed learned hatred for the first time as her black eyes locked into Pandora.
Pandora looked at Echidna. She weighed her options and quickly decided.
She retreated.
Her plans already were in disarray as her target had died. She would need to search again for a potential candidate once more.
As for the Witch of Greed, there was no merit in battling against her. As much as she coveted the latter's Witch Factor, she knew it was difficult in battling a fellow Witch of Sin. She might even lose in the process.
Echidna made no signs of chasing after her but her eyes continued to stare at Pandora, burning her into her memories. She would never forget this witch until the day she died.
"Oya, it looks like the Witch of Decimation is dead. How disappointing."
Hector walked forward, approaching Echidna. However, his appearance was a far cry from his normal appearance. His clothes were tattered and ripped while his skin was burned all over his body. It was the first time that he'd been injured after becoming a Warlock.
He didn't like that he had to feel pain after such a long time.
Looking towards the scene, he realized that something major had happened while he was gone. The Witch of Vainglory seemed to have disappeared while another Witch seemed to have awakened. The Warlock of Melancholy felt his Witch Factor pulsing in response to the young girl in front of him.
"So, you were the Witch of Greed? To think that such a cute girl as you would actually be such a monster. It's a shame that you'll have to die at such a young age."
Echidna looked at Hector with a detached look. Well, this was perfect timing anyway. She needed someone to vent this anger on.
"Warlock of Melancholy, it seems that your Authority is quite useful. Even after that spell, you seem to be in a relatively good condition."
Echidna reached her hand towards Hector as she began to use her Authority of Greed for the first time. Her Tome of Wisdom glowed in response to her wishes as pages began to turn indescribably fast.
"But, I wonder if it works for attacks like these."
Echidna tightened her fist.
*Cough!*
Hector suddenly felt a tight pressure in his stomach as he suddenly instantly put his hand on there in pain.
"What is this magic attack…"
"It's not magic. It's an Authority."
"!"
"I normally wouldn't be able to do this if you were at full strength, but it seems that you're quite weakened."
Echidna pulled her hand. Ever since she was young, she was obsessed with souls. The soul was a representative of one's self and defined who a person was.
She wondered what the Warlock's soul would look like.
Hector screamed as he realized that his soul was being pulled away from his body. At this rate, his body would end up as an empty shell.
"Don't get cocky, you brat!"
Despite being weakened, he was still the Warlock of Melancholy. He wouldn't allow himself to die in such a foolish way. However, Echidna also knew that.
"I'm not. It would be much easier if I got closer to you but even I'm not that much of a fool. Instead…"
Echidna opted to only take a piece of his soul away. It could barely be called a piece as it was only 1% of his soul. However, the feeling of one's soul being separated could never be a good feeling.
Hector widened his eyes as he fell to his knees. He felt there a vague emptiness inside of him. It was just 1% yet he felt indescribable pain as something that should be there wasn't.
Echidna stored his soul into her Tome of Wisdom as the book darkly glowed. It seemed that she required more souls to unlock its full potential. Well, no matter. She simply needed to gain more then.
"Witch of Greed, don't think that you'll get away. I'll surely hunt you down no matter where you go."
Hector looked at Echidna as he swore an oath to her. As long as she had a piece of his soul, he would continue to track her till the ends of the earth.
"Yes, I'm sure you will."
Echidna agreed as she opened a portal in front of her. There was no more reason to stay here. There was unknown knowledge out there in the world, waiting to be discovered by her. She needed to keep searching, keep learning, keep analyzing. She would learn all she can. With the limited knowledge she knew, she would then help the people around her.
Perhaps the amount of knowledge will never be enough. Perhaps even if she did acquire the maximum amount of knowledge from this world, she would never be satisfied. She would be a slave to her desire for knowledge, forever seeking more even when there would be none to be found.
However, that was fine. The moment she let go of her greed, she would abandon the resolve of saving everybody.
That's why she'll continue to get hold of more knowledge.
That was her role as the Witch of Greed.
Echidna kept her mother's last words in mind.
"Find someone who'll make me happy, was it?"
However, no matter how many people Echidna met, there was nobody who could make her feel happy. At least, not the same way her mother did.
When Echidna met the Witches of Sin, she thought that maybe because they were all witches, they would have something in common and get along with each other. That part was true as soon enough, they would have tea parties once a year hosted by her. However, that was it.
Well, she was close enough to them that she gathered their souls and stored them after their death so that they wouldn't experience "true" death.
When Echidna created Beatrice, an artificial Spirit, she decided to take on the role of a mother. She decided to care for her and do what her mother used to do for her. It was certainly nice, having someone call her Mother. However, that was it.
When Echidna decided to take in Roswaal, it was merely on a whim. His magic talent was somewhat comparable to hers and thought it would be nice to teach him a few things. Seeing him grow quickly too also gave her a sense of pride. However, that was it.
No matter who Echidna met, no matter who the other person was, she didn't feel that they were the person that her mother was talking about. To be honest, she half-given up on finding the person. This notion was only reinforced after her death.
It was then she finally met a person.
Her soul continued to reside in the Sanctuary even after her death. She saw a boy who had unkempt black hair with brown eyes. He was wearing foreign clothes, adding to the mystery behind him.
Curious about the boy, she decided to go through her Tome of Wisdom. What she saw shocked her.
His experiences, his motivation, his perseverance, his past, everything about him intrigued her. She kept reading more and more as she felt her heart beat like never before.
What was this feeling welling up within her?
She wanted to know more about him. She wanted him to know about her. She wondered how he would feel about her if he knew about her. She wondered how she would feel when meeting him for the first time.
Suddenly, she couldn't think of anything else besides this person.
She wanted this person. His power to collect information was something she desired. His desire to save everybody was something she wanted to support. Everything about him attracted her to him.
Echidna put her hand over her chest. Her heart was beating rapidly like never before. It was greater than even her time with her mother.
She smiled, finally finding the person her mother told her about.
"Natsuki Subaru, what an intriguing person."
Author's Note: Please leave a review! I always read them although it's tough to reply back on this site but know that I appreciate them! Tbh, I feel that this story could be longer if I wanted to but I'm not too good with long stories so I decided to keep it to the level where I would be able to complete it. Sorry if the story feels a bit too fast-paced. Tappei could probably make a better past for Echidna than I did. I did my best and I wanted to do this idea since nobody else did. Thank you for reading!
