READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 9
It probably all started when another pair of arms began sprouting beneath my own.
That must have been when my mother and father decided to abandon me.
Within just three months, finding the new lower arms had grown so rapidly, my parents wanted to cut them off.
They were tying me down and trying to force the cuts.
When my father’s saw bit into my lower arm, the fear and pain overwhelmed me and—
Wham!
My parents flew away from me and crashed against the wall.
My father was hurt, and my mother screamed at me.
I distinctly remember her saying, “We should never have given birth to a creature like you.”
They yelled for me to leave, brandishing knives and sickles while calling me a demon.
I didn’t want to leave, crying as a deep gash was left across my face from the knife, and that was when Erpa finally ran away from home.
If my family reacted that way, it was no surprise that others would do the same.
After being pelted with countless rocks and chased away, Erpa purposely chose to live in the woods to avoid anyone seeing her lower arms.
Fortunately, her gifted magical talent allowed even a child to survive in the forest.
With four arms, she could do twice the work as others too.
And starting from when she turned twelve, more eyes started popping out on the left side of her face.
Even she couldn’t deny how horrifying she looked.
So she covered half of her face with leaves.
In the woods, despite no one teaching her, she conjured all sorts of magic freely.
With just a word, flames ignited; fierce wild beasts met their demise; and freshly prepared meat would be grilled and laid before her.
However, no matter what she could do, her grotesque arms and face remained unchanged.
One day, dreaming about the moment her parents abandoned her again, Erpa decided to get rid of her lower arms and left face.
Fainting and waking up repeatedly, the fifteen-year-old girl cut off two arms and scraped off the left side of her face.
As she cauterized the left side of her face and stopped the bleeding from the severed arms, she hoped that when she woke up the next morning, she’d look normal.
But her body betrayed her hopes.
When she awoke the next day, she realized her arms and face had returned to their original shapes.
The arms had grown back, and every eyeball she had plucked from her face was now twisted and distorted, mocking her with their hideousness as they grew back upon discolored skin.
Those ghastly objects would never disappear, no matter what she did or what magic she cast.
For the first time, a desire bloomed within her—a wish to learn proper magic.
She wanted to wield even stronger magic.
Thus, she hoped to remove these arms and eyes so that she could live as a human among humans.
When Jurgen, the Tower Master, happened to discover her living in the woods, wanting to take her to the Mage Tower to tap into her magical talents, Erpa didn’t refuse.
Then she studied like a madwoman.
She researched and researched, trying to find ways to cast stronger magic.
And she figured it out.
Her research on primary colors became a portrait of her obsession.
It could be viewed as a study on magical optimization and efficiency, but in another light, it was also about helping control magical phenomena on a scale the human body couldn’t typically handle.
She aimed to use this research to manage far grander magic to normalize her body.
However…
“You hideous witch!”
“I’m seriously about to hurl!!”
“Ugh!!”
Even if she returned to normal, would those people accept her?
The folks who had already seen her grotesque left side, would they treat her like a regular person when she appeared as an ordinary human?
Filth smeared in mud struck her head.
Her head jerked around, revealing a group of young wizards and witches hiding among the crowd, snickering at her.
Was this even a joke to them?
Did they find it all amusing, even in this desperate moment where a soul, a life, and a spirit were being wrecked?
Why?
Because I’m hideous?
Is it just because I’m different from them?
Just for simply not looking like them, they reduce her, who’d done nothing wrong, to this state?
Rage engulfed her body.
Slowly, the immense mana within and her overwhelming talent began identifying her targets to unleash her fury upon.
If she combined the results of her primary color study and the mana inside her, it could possibly wipe out the entire capital.
Maybe even the entire Empire.
She was done with it.
The years of desperation to seek acceptance felt foolish now, and she no longer wanted to survive alongside this Empire that had only brought her pain.
She planned to burn with it.
The mana started boiling within her.
The miracle suppressing her body began to birth a spell so intense it could easily be unleashed.
All she had to do was unleash it.
Just burn together with everyone and end it all.
As she thought that, she lifted her head.
“Stop!! Stop it!!”
“It’s the Saint! The Saint!”
“Don’t throw anything at the Saint, you fools!!”
Erpa’s eyes caught an unusual sight.
A man was walking slowly towards her, locking eyes directly with hers.
***
You goddamn idiots!
Are you seriously tap dancing on a nuclear bomb?!
Is there anyone here, including me, who’s gonna die today??
This whole bunch is getting a Darwin Award collectively.
Watching the members of the White Church yelling in shock at the mud and trash flying about while seeing the four-armed witch being dragged away made me bolt into the street.
The roads of this era were all muddy.
Cars and trains made their rounds, but radio broadcasts hadn’t yet spread nationwide—a violent time when romance and savagery married as one from a modern viewpoint.
It was as if no one had a scrap of conscience, throwing mud and trash around with shrieks of laughter as I pushed through them and stepped onto the road heading toward the witch.
That was when the projectiles began landing near me.
Poo, pee, and mud mixed with filth flew and hit me.
A rock or a piece of glass thrown from somewhere bounced off my head.
Blood trickled down my face, streaming down my cheek as it dripped on the ground.
Finally, the Sun Church knights and police who had been treating the poor around me charged forth, realizing the situation.
“It’s the Saint! The Saint!”
“What on earth are you doing? Stop it at once!!”
“Don’t harm the Saint!!”
A swarm of needy citizens surged out within moments, taking over the street, and no more trash or stones were hurled at the witch and me.
I was tense, not knowing when the witch would explode, so I didn’t even have the luxury to wipe away the blood trickling down my cheek.
I moved cautiously toward the witch.
“D-Don’t come any closer…”
Seeing my terrified expression, the priests of the White Church began to misunderstand and retreat in fear.
As they backed away, the miracle placed upon the witch’s body was released.
As she began to fall to the filthy muddy ground, I carefully caught her.
Whoa.
I’m completely freaked out.
This is terrifying!
I probably wasn’t this scared even when I tossed a grenade for the first time during boot camp.
This was too harsh for a loser like me.
But what can I do?
If I don’t, everyone here might die—including me.
I began to wipe the mud and filth caked on her face and body while embracing her.
This felt similar to soothing a cat about to get neutered.
There there.
You’re okay, right?
Just please, don’t explode?
Please don’t explode…
“Are you okay?”
My voice trembled with unexpected moisture.
I was so damn scared.
So terrified.
Any minute, if I let myself relax even a little, I’d probably embarrass myself and collapse in a puddle of pee and poop.
Finally managing to wipe everything off her face, I revealed…
Oh wow.
That’s a horror face.
But I didn’t care at all.
I had a high resistance to grotesque sights.
In my previous life, my hobbies included watching Japanese anime and gory films.
This was nothing compared to the horrifying monsters available with just a quick search online.
“…Do you think I’m ugly?”
The witch girl asked, staring blankly up at me with unfocused eyes.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
This situation isn’t good.
What if she explodes?!
No way!! I don’t want to die!
What should I do now?!
My head was spinning!
I had no clue what to say to make her feel better since I’d never even held a girl’s hand in my past life!
In the midst of needing to say something, my instinctive choice was this:
Slowly, I bent over and kissed her on the grotesque left side of her face, hoping to keep her from exploding.
Her body tensed at my kiss.
She started shaking uncontrollably.
This is bad!!
Did I screw up?!
Is she about to blow up?!
Right!
A random dude kissing her like that would probably freak her out!
I needed to say something!
A line that was super moving!
A cool line!
What can I say?!
All I had in my head were those Japanese anime and gory movies!
They say your brain gets sharper in dire situations.
Finally, one line popped into my mind.
Sorry, Miyazaki!
“You’re not ugly.”
I held her tightly.
“Live.”
I couldn’t even look her face in the eyes.
The minute her face shifted even slightly in a terrifying way, I thought I’d lose it and wet myself without a second thought.
Is this what it’s like to dance on a knife blade?
My voice trembled with fear as it was thick with moisture.
“You are beautiful.”
Please.
Please, don’t explode!!
Don’t explode!!