The wind howled as the enormous wolf growled, pressing against us. The witch uttered a single sentence, laced with venom and relief: "Thank you for not killing me, dumbass."
Its eyes turned white, chains rattling against its thrashing body, as instinct screamed for freedom—yet it was forced into submission. The wolf's mouth gaped, teeth bared, body thrumming with raw defiance against the providence of dominion. Its nature urged it to flee, but the chains held it fast.
The knight raised his sword, and a brilliant light erupted from its blade—bright as the sun piercing the densest darkness. The dead forest, shrouded in shadow, was suddenly illuminated. Every gnarled tree, every skull and skeleton scattered across the land, was revealed. In an instant, the wolf's massive form was cleaved apart by the absolute slash.
The witch's eyes widened in horror, the yellow-haired girl's gaze shining with a mixture of awe and disbelief at the sheer force that could obliterate a creature so terrifying.
"No!" the witch screeched, straining against her chains as I hesitated, loosening them slightly. She lunged toward the wolf even as its skin faded into nothingness, dissolving beneath the knight's divine strike. The slash—an impossibility that could sever anything—had ended it.
The knight's eyes reflected confusion and surprise, unsure how someone could wield such terror against an animal yet fail to notice the devastation it left upon the landscape.
"How dare you!" the witch shouted. "Efrit! Wake up! Kill those monsters!"
Adam exhaled slowly, scratching his head. Killing robots, monsters, inhumane beings, masses of them—it was all becoming a blur. The witch wept softly, and a strange empathy stirred in me for her weakness.
Yuruki's voice cut through the tension. "Hey, you tried to kill us first. It's just… you know… an exchange." She locked eyes with the witch. "An eye for an eye, right?"
The witch's expression remained unyielding. She had never intended compromise; her only goal had been to kill us quickly. As yuruki words dripped with mockery. "It's even a blessing to pout and scream like a little child."
Adam stared, stunned. The dark knight froze, equally shocked.
"People who do that… know they won't suffer for it."
A laser drone hovered, targeting her head.
Adam shouted, "Wait!"
"So… will you just go, or not?"
The witch finally stood. The forest around us transformed as if under a painter's brush: the dead trees replaced by dandelions and sunflowers, white tulips carpeting the land. The air shimmered with an impossible contrast of light and shadow, dark and bright coexisting in her presence.
Yuruki crossed her arms, curiosity flickering in her gaze—the same curiosity she had held as a child, fascinated by games, landscapes, and the possibility of shaping the world herself. She had always wanted to mold reality, but magic had always been just a vain dream.
The houses were crowded with small, human-like beings, no taller than hobbits, bustling about as if the world were scaled down for them. Among them, walking dolls made of plants wandered lazily, their limbs sprouting leaves and flowers, moving with a quiet, eerie grace.
Medieval-like houses stretched across the land, their cobblestone roofs weathered but sturdy. Some rested atop gentle grasslands dotted with farms, while others clung precariously to cliffs or nestled deep within the earth, as if the ground itself had grown around them. There were countless variations—each dwelling unique, some quaint and humble, others grand and labyrinthine—forming a patchwork of civilization that defied expectation.
Analyse