Volume 9 Chapter 67 Day Four (Dora Ghorat’s Atonement)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Haruka, don’t trust her. If I’m the keeper of the Underworld, then this one was once the keeper of the living world.”
Dora Ghorat snorted through his nostrils, a guttural sound, heavy with disdain. It was the fourth day since war had broken out. From blood-soaked Seron, Livia had teleported straight into our camp, appearing before Date Haruka.
”My, such harsh words. I’m no god anymore. Just a court witch of the Quvarian Empire—long-lived, powerless. And yet here I am, holding this little document written in Japanese by none other than your Master, Takumi Nash-sama.”
Because Dora had lingered so long in the Underworld, he was ignorant of how the surface had shifted. Livia knew it, and lied with a smile, angling to twist hearts the same way she always had. Her goal was simple: maneuver Cartera into a fight with Haruka and Dora.
Her grand plan had already collapsed—Takumi meeting his other self had wrecked it—but she didn’t know that. To her, the old manipulation game was still in play.
”If you don’t believe me, then I’ll show your cute little witch my body. See the instrument of enslavement fastened between my lips—” she parted her mouth in mockery “—or the restraints down below. Once you witness that, maybe you’ll trust me. If not, well, you’re free to kill me.”
Just as she had once broken Takumi down, she pressed her staff into Haruka’s hands and began stripping, casual as could be. She sat her bare hips down in the dirt, spread her thighs wide, and with painted nails pulled herself open in obscene proof.
”Behold. For your trust, I gave myself to Takumi-sama’s enslavement.”
”…There’s definitely Enslavement Magic clinging to her,” Haruka muttered, uncertain.
It was sleight of hand, of course. Using remnants of her divine authority, Livia could mimic the bindings perfectly. Inwardly she smirked, layering lies on lies.
”My wish is only this: to strike down the great evil of this world—the ‘Eternal Witch’ Cartera, who slew Sheryl-sama. For that I beg your strength, Haruka-sama, Dora Ghorat.”
”Yet fundamentally, you are still an enemy witch.”
Sanada Shiori spoke carefully, weighing each word. Top of national exams, class vice-president—like Saki had been, she was one of the people most dangerous for Livia to face. And so Livia softened her voice, feigning humility.
”You know Takumi-sama inherited the rights of the Empire, yes? I leave my life in his hands. If Cartera falls, and he commands me to drink poison, I will. If he demands my head, I’ll kneel to the axe. There’s no reason left for me to keep breathing otherwise.”
Almost word-for-word, she echoed the oath the First Emperor had once given to Chinatsu.
”Pah. I still don’t trust you. You’ve clung to life too long, too greedily. You’d never just lay it down for some imperial princess.” Dora’s voice rumbled.
”And yet, Dora Ghorat, isn’t that suspicion only natural? Even I would doubt me.”
She smiled serenely, though inside her irritation coiled. To shut the lizard up, she bared a different secret.
”Tell me, why did you crawl out of the Underworld? Not just because the gates opened, right? You had another reason. Same as me.”
Her breasts swayed as she leaned in, whispering words only Dora could feel cut. He stiffened where he perched, shrunken and settled on Haruka’s shoulder.
”…It is none of your concern.”
”Oh, but I know. Someone begged it of you, didn’t they? The one you ate—the one still inside you.”
”That’s not—”
”Pointless to deny it. You were just a black dragon haunting the middle layers, until you swallowed Haruka-sama. You devoured her, absorbed her Magic Power, rose to the Abyssal Emperor you are now. This is your penance. The same as mine.”
Livia’s lips curled upward in a smile she did not let reach her face. Haruka tilted her head, watching Dora carefully descend from her shoulder.
”Dora-chan ate me? But… I’m alive, right here. I’ve never been gulped down and spat back out…”
”Haruka… forgive me. Long ago, as Labyrinth guardian, I killed you. I’ve hidden it ever since. When I came to this world, it was your Magic Power that pulled me. I wanted… to atone.”
Dora’s voice cracked as he bowed low, shame breaking through. Even the Emperor of the Abyss could not resist Livia’s needle. He had chosen to serve Haruka not because of magic contracts, but because his guilt drove him here.
”And not just once, right? You tasted her more than once. That’s why you wandered free, searching for penance. All those deaths on your claws, and only now you repent. Then shouldn’t you stand with Takumi-sama’s Haruka, and help him kill his enemy? Isn’t that the obvious atonement?”
Her breath turned venomous, words laced with invisible poison aimed at Dora’s soul. But the poison never reached. Haruka reached out instead, stroking Dora’s nose with a fingertip.
”Don’t. I don’t need the details. Listen, Dora-chan—you saved so many in Lesta. Remember that too. Don’t just hold onto the ones you killed. Think of the ones still alive.”
”…Haruka. Thank you. I only… wanted to apologize. But I was afraid.”
(Pathetic, useless tear-play! That’s not what I came here to watch!)
Livia’s inner bile rose even as she smoothed her features.
”What a beautiful master and servant bond, desuwa. So then, Dora Ghorat—join us against Cartera, yes?”
”Well, about that…”
Finally, Shiori cut in. Livia kept her smile as calm as she could, turning toward her.
”If I recall, you were head of the Merchant Guild Kinvale, weren’t you, Shiori-sama.”
”And you are the ‘Witch of the Turning Heavens’ Livia-sama, correct?”
”Of course. I am Livia, court witch of the Quvarian Empire.”
”See, I got curious. I used the guild’s network. Dug up records. A lot of them. So many they buried me in ink. Haruka-chan, may I share my analysis?”
”Yes. Tell us.”
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Livia’s back. Her vanity had always stopped her from hiding her name, and her narcissism had left records everywhere—little souvenirs for her to reread and gloat over. Until now, no one had ever had both the motive and the means to compile them. But Shiori had both.
”It’s awful. And this is the abridged version. Every war, every slaughter, your shadow’s there. You’re no ally of humankind. And the fact you know the word ‘Japanese’ at all? That alone damns you.”
”Okay. Dora-chan, let’s do it!” Haruka’s voice rang sharp.
”Hmph. This woman can’t be trusted. Let us kill her, Haruka.”
Magic Power surged off Haruka, resonating with the same power coiled inside Dora. Panic itched Livia’s skin.
”Wait! Please, look—I’ve made myself powerless before you. Kill me if you want, I won’t resist!”
She wasn’t weak. Not by any means. But compared to Cartera, or Haruka now backed by Dora, she was outmatched.
”Then why do you know the word ‘Japanese’?” Shiori pressed.
”Because… this isn’t my first time meeting you.”
So she cracked the door open, revealing the barest slice of the truth: that their entire class had been dropped into this world over and over again. Shiori, with Dora’s confession fresh in mind, could piece it together.
”It does fit with the records I found…”
”Exactly. I only dove into war to lessen the damage. If you still don’t trust me, then take my arm. I’ll cut it off myself.”
Her words were smoke and poison, drifting unseen, wrapping the room the way they always had. This was how she had nudged kingdoms, toppled orders, driven war.
”…If you insist that much.”
”We don’t need your arm.”
Her lips curled upward again. They were buying it. Until the static hit.
From a Magic Power receiver, the harsh tone of emergency communication crackled in—plain text, wide open. The kind only states possessed.
”Wait. This voice—Kahoru-chan?”
”It really is. Why is Kahoru-chan broadcasting?”
Private channels were impossible without divine authority. But right now, open was perfect.
”…Rusty’s dead? Kurumi-chan, Saki-chan, Ranka-san too?!”
”Livia’s true identity—Livia-sensei?!”
The reports came one after another, fast, raw. And because they carried classmates’ names, they rang with undeniable truth. No poison of Livia’s could cover it now.
”Shiori-chan, thoughts?”
”Kahoru-chan’s intel is real.”
”Then fine. I won’t forgive.”
Just a few words. But they burned hot enough to warp the air. Livia realized it—she had lost. Her Cartera gambit was dead.
”…So it failed. At which point, I wonder?”
Still she didn’t shed her grin. She straightened, showed her teeth, stared them down.
”Then fine. Yes, I am Livia-sensei. Date-san, Sanada-san—you ought to obey your teacher, shouldn’t you?”
”Shut up. Die.”
Magic roared—destructive, raw, enough to massacre an army. Date Haruka, the Witch of Destruction, unleashed everything at Livia alone.
”My, how frightening. Didn’t your parents ever tell you murder is a crime? You must’ve had such a polite upbringing.”
But Livia had come armored—layered Defensive Barriers, talismans hidden in her body. One hit she could take. Two, maybe. Beyond that? She’d die. Naked or not, she chose to run.
”Date-san terrifies me, so I’ll excuse myself. But don’t worry—I’ll flip the board later. Look forward to it.”
She drew on her console, the divine interface only she could touch, pouring out the Magic Power she’d stockpiled overnight in Seron. Teleportation ignited—destination, her hidden safehouse.
”Farewell, then.”
”Ah, Livia-sensei. Please be sure to die to the ‘Eternal Witch’ Cartera you’re so afraid of.”
Shiori smiled, calm and cutting, for once radiating absolute confidence. And in that moment, Livia’s instincts screamed. Trap.
”That spell is teleportation, right? We’ve seen the signs before. And those numbers of Magic Power forming? Coordinates. Already analyzed. Already rewritten.”
”What? What are you saying, brat?!”
For once, her mask slipped, her words turned coarse. And she noticed—the faint shimmer in the air, thinner than her own poisons. Shiori’s original magic: Magic Power Calculus. With it, she could reach into others’ spells, rewrite them.
Just as Rakw had captured Chinatsu the day before, so now Shiori—paired with quiet little Kahoru—had smashed Livia’s grand scheme.
”You know where you’re headed, right? Sakasaki-sensei.”
”You bitch… you dare say that name to my face?!”
”Then goodbye. Humanity’s enemy. Lumine-chan’s murderer.”
Rage twisted Livia’s features as the spell closed. Her form winked out, dragged to coordinates not of her choosing.
”Shiori. Where did you send her?” Dora asked.
”McGaref, probably. I hooked it to Cartera’s Magic Power.”
”…I don’t know the mechanism, but Shiori, you terrify me. Still—let’s hurry. If she somehow survives, we can’t risk a second chance. Haruka…”
”Don’t worry, Dora-chan. The part of me you ate? Give it back to someone else who needs it.”
And so Livia was hurled straight into Cartera’s waiting jaws—into Takumi’s battlefield.
—
”Hey, hey, Takumi-chi!”
”What is it now, Kahoru-chan.”
”Dora-chan’s confession was wild, but Livia—does she seriously strip that much?”
”Ah, she’s similar to Haruka-chan. High on self-display, always craving eyes on her.”
”No! No, no! That’s not Haruka at all! Haruka’s about, like, magma-level inner desire, hidden cravings, thrill-chasing passion—”
”Mm, sorry, Kahoru-chan. Can we just call it what it is? Pervert.”
”…Fair. Okay. Haruka’s a pervert.”
Notes:
• Haruka – Witch of Destruction — Silver-haired, F-cup. Former class vice-president, now a powerful witch. Wields the Agilaus Staff, capable of devastating ritual magic. Became the world’s strongest after acquiring the ‘Dark Emperor of the Abyss’ as a familiar. Exhibits exhibitionist tendencies, often seeking public intimacy with Takumi. Deeply devoted to him, balancing her role as a leader with her desires. First appears in v1c1 Prologue.
• Livia – 8th-ranked imperial witch, heir of Cartera and friend of Lilus (Neige’s sister), whose death drove her to hate Quvar. Austere, sharp, and feared, she opposed the Ghost Army and toppled Emperor by using then betraying Gritch, secretly backing Princess Sheryl. First appears v9c3. Reminder: Brilliant witch who twists loyalties to save the world.
• Dora – Dark Elf from the underworld, sharp and cautious with deep knowledge of magic cycles. Travels with Takumi, Shiori, Haruka, and guides Scaya and Neige, often taking a steady leadership role. Her body can morph into deadly substances like Aqua Regia, capable of melting or piercing mountains. First appears v6c14. Reminder: Dark Elf who blends wisdom with terrifying alchemy
• Quvarian Empire – Ruling kingdom. Harsh world, restricted freedom.
• Takumi Nash – Councilor of the McGaref Autonomous Government commanding the Liberation Army.
• Cartera – Eternal Witch — The First Emperor’s mistress and a resurrected sorceress of immense power. Cruel and seductive, she takes pleasure in destruction and defilement. Her loyalty to the Emperor is absolute, and she shares his desire to end the world. First appears in v9c3.
• Sheryl – Second Princess of the Quvarian Empire, a striking beauty with red hair. Initially appears as a diplomatic envoy, but she is a reformer within the empire, seeking to atone for Quvar’s past betrayals, particularly the destruction of the Northern Kingdom. Sheryl is highly intelligent and politically savvy, using her position to gather secrets and undermine the empire’s plans to destroy McGaref. She is also a slave to Takumi, bound by enslavement magic, and tasked with sowing chaos within Quvar. Despite her circumstances, she maintains a sense of duty and hopes to bring about change. First appears in v6c26.
• Saki – Endo Saki. C Cup. Virgin. Actually…
• Chinatsu – White Wall — Black hair, B-cup. Adventurous, masochistic, Takumi’s first slave & lover. Master of Asakura-ryu Iaijutsu, wields cursed sword Chisame (blood-powered). 12th-ranked fighter, close to Hikari. First appears in v1c1 Prologue.
• Merchant Guild Kinvale – Largest drugstore in McGaref, managed by Nasselle. Regular shopping destination for Takumi with 5% discount.
• Kaho – 3rd Army leader. Worried, ceremonial magic.
• Saki-chan – 3rd Division, virgin, grateful to Takumi.
• Ranka – She’s a guild shop assistant with a friendly demeanor and a practical mindset. Ranka’s recommendations are based on logical, merchant-minded suggestions, catering to the buyer’s needs.
• Rusty – Golden-haired elf courtesan of McGaref’s Night Butterfly, famed for beauty and skill-reading. Becomes Takumi’s lover, quits brothel, joins harem under slave bond. First appears v1c36. Reminder: Sultry elf who chose devotion over luxury.
• Rakw – ‘Clay Witch,’ 3rd Division vice-commander and Keirald’s cousin-lover, died shielding him on the Northern Front and was reborn at his side. One-eyed, Cartera-inspired, sly yet devoted, she teases Keirald while backing his schemes and joins him in slaughter. First appears v9c11. Reminder: Loyal clay witch bound by love and death to Keirald.
• McGaref – Fortress city, adventurer hub.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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