The Witch's Forest.
Once blanketed beneath towering trees and lush greenery, the Witch's Forest had suffered immense damage after the invasion of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, the Diamond Kingdom, and the fierce battle between Yuuki and the Witch Queen. Vast stretches of vegetation lay ruined, exposing bare stone and earth beneath.
High above, witches zipped back and forth on flying brooms. Some cast spells to extinguish lingering flames in the forest, others scattered seeds to replant trees, while still others worked to restore barriers and repair the land.
As they busied themselves, the witches couldn't help but glance toward the palace at the forest's center—fear and curiosity mingling in their eyes.
Since birth, they had never seen a human acknowledged by the Witch Queen and brought deep into the heart of the Witch's Forest.
The Central Palace
At the forest's core stood a colossal palace shaped like an enormous tree.
The vast hall inside was devoid of luxury. There were no ornate decorations or elaborate furnishings—only thick vines of varying sizes crawling along the walls, their leaves lush and vibrant.
Even the tables and chairs were formed from living vines.
Yuuki surveyed the hall. Beyond its sheer spaciousness, what struck him most was its sense of age—ancient, steeped in history—yet immaculately clean.
The Witch Queen sat upon a pale-red wooden chair crafted from some rare timber. Resting her chin on one hand, she pointed casually toward Yuuki.
Rustle—rustle—
The vines along the walls writhed like serpents. In moments, they coiled together on the floor, forming a vine-woven chair that floated up before Yuuki.
Without hesitation, Yuuki flashed forward and sat down, calmly meeting the Witch Queen's gaze.
"Speak," she said lazily, her expression indifferent.
"What do you want?"
The Witch's Forest did not welcome humans—especially men. Yet the man before her was powerful enough that even going all out, she could not guarantee victory. More than that, he possessed Fate Magic.
From her earlier observations, the only way to counter Fate Magic was to exhaust the user's mana completely.
That might work on Vanessa.
But on Yuuki—whose mana was vast beyond reason—it would be nothing short of foolish.
"Before that, there's something I'd like to ask," Yuuki said.
"You don't seem interested in my Replication Magic at all."
A hint of curiosity surfaced on his face as he looked at the Witch Queen.
Given her obsession with perfection, that reaction—or lack thereof—made little sense.
He hadn't even revealed the true core of Replication Magic. Just the fact that it could copy others' magic and bestow it upon someone else should have been enough to tempt any mage.
Especially since the Fate Magic she so desperately sought had already been replicated by him.
Yet from start to finish, the Witch Queen showed no interest whatsoever.
And this wasn't an act born of caution—Yuuki could tell. She genuinely didn't care.
The Witch Queen's eyes flickered with faint surprise. Seeing that Yuuki's question was sincere rather than a probe, she lifted her chin slightly.
"I pursue purity and perfection in magic," she said coolly.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, boy."
"I've seen far more powerful magic than you can imagine. Over the centuries, magic similar to yours has appeared more than once."
There was faint disdain in her voice—she truly looked down on Replication Magic.
Yuuki didn't mind the mockery. Instead, his attention locked onto one word she had used earlier.
Purity.
A thoughtful glint passed through his eyes. He recalled how, after learning to use ki, the sheer number of mana sources within his body had caused his ki to become chaotic and disordered.
"...What exactly do you mean by purity?" Yuuki asked seriously.
Regardless of her temperament, the Witch Queen had lived for hundreds of years.
In terms of sheer knowledge, even Lolopechka of the Heart Kingdom—who inherited the magic and memories of past queens—could not compare to her.
"You know of the Mana Zone, don't you?" the Witch Queen replied, still aloof.
Yuuki nodded. Of course he did—it was an incredibly powerful technique, though one he still hadn't fully grasped.
"By human understanding, the Mana Zone is something awakened once Mana Skin is trained to a certain level. That's incorrect."
"Mana Skin is related to the Mana Zone—but only loosely."
Her words surprised Yuuki, but she continued without pause.
"The Mana Zone is, in essence, power drawn from natural mana. The problem is that ordinary mages cannot sense the flow of natural mana at all."
"That's why they must train Mana Skin repeatedly—so they can resonate with the mana in nature that matches their attribute, and thereby draw out the Mana Zone."
Yuuki froze.
He had suspected something similar before—but never confirmed it.
Mana Skin wasn't the source of the Mana Zone—it was a lever, used to pry open the power of natural mana.
But—
Yuuki frowned.
Unlike ordinary mages, he had been able to sense natural mana from the very beginning. As his mana grew, his perception of the natural mana flowing through the air only became clearer.
By the Witch Queen's explanation, with his powerful Mana Skin and his natural sensitivity to mana, accessing the Mana Zone should not have been difficult at all.
Yet he had no clue where to even begin.
Purity…
That word echoed again in his mind.
"I see you've figured it out," the Witch Queen said, a faint curve appearing at the corner of her lips.
"Your magic may look powerful, but the sheer number of attributes mixed together has stripped your mana of its purity."
"The Mana Zone is the ultimate expression of a single attribute taken to its extreme. With so many different attributes, how could you ever develop such a pure power?"
She paused, then added coolly:
"Frankly, the fact that you were chosen by the Fire Spirit at all is already exceptional."
With that, she fell silent, giving Yuuki a long, measuring look.
Being chosen by the Fire Spirit proved that Yuuki's magic was anything but ordinary.
And yet, even so, the Witch Queen had no interest in it.
What she sought had always been the same—
Pure, absolute power.
Perfect magic.
(End of Chapter)
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