Chapter 290 : The Witch Of Calamity
Chapter 290: Chapter 290 : The Witch Of Calamity
Jax explained to the voice inside his head. "I mean the one that has been around me from the beginning. The one that grants me quests and tasks."
The voice of the woman replied with genuine confusion. "I don’t get a single thing you are talking about. And what do you mean by from the beginning I got inside you? Remember, you were the one who walked into my graveyard?"
Jax said. "Graveyard?"
She said with the exasperation of someone explaining something to a toddler for the third time. "Oh god, you are stupid. How did Mother like you? Listen, you dummy. You came from the place I was sealed in. And from there I have been following you around."
Realization hit Jax. "Wait. Do you mean the rumored Witch of Calamity? Or something like that?"
"That’s me. But I have a far better name and it’s Echidna. Which was blessed to me by my Mother Almighty. And she is the one who told me to help you."
Jax’s brain was reaching its processing limit. "What’s going on here? First you’re telling me some Celestials are hunting for me. Then there is some ’Mother Almighty’ of yours who somehow got attached to me. And then there is you. The Witch of Calamity herself. Who sneaked into my body uninvited."
He added. "Not to mention every woman in this world wanting to either slave me or cuddle me. Why does the whole damn world center around me?"
The voice shot back. "Oi, Mr. Delusional. Don’t think so highly of yourself. I am here because someone told me to be here. Someone I can’t turn down. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing some babysitting job for a clueless boy."
Before Jax could squeeze another question out of her, Zharina interrupted by charging at him with another devastating punch.
Jax clicked his tongue and raised his only remaining sword. The one in terrible condition. And hoped to every god that was apparently watching that the unbreakable description in its stats would hold true one more time.
The punch connected against his blade. His left palm slammed against the top of the sword to brace the impact and the force left a bloody imprint where his skin split against the metal.
But the power behind her fist was just too much. It overpowered his defense and the impact sent him rolling across the arena floor again. The only good news was that the sword was still in one piece. Barely.
He glanced at his HP bar.
[HP: 30,000 / 80,000]
’I didn’t even take a direct hit and it’s already dropped this much. One clean shot and it’s game over for me.’
He planted the sword into the ground and used it as support to drag himself back to his feet.
Zharina was circling him. Moving around him slowly like a predator deciding which angle to strike from next. She fixed her gauntlet casually while talking.
"Professor, you wanted to know why I gave you a fair chance to get out of the mess you foolishly created by signing that blood contract?"
She continued without waiting for an answer. "To be honest, I don’t know why I did it. I don’t know what changed my mind. Or why I felt defeated just by looking at you as a professor."
Her voice carried something that wasn’t mockery or taunting. Something honest.
"I can’t tell what turned my path of revenge into admiration toward you. Despite knowing what kind of evil person you are."
She stopped circling. "But there is no denying the fact that you were a far better professor than I ever was. I was there every single time you stood by your students. Every time they were in trouble. Well, great trouble if we’re putting it correctly."
Her eyes found his.
"You didn’t care about what helping them might cost you. You didn’t care about the tournament that I spent more than two weeks plotting to use against you. You just charged in and did what needed to be done."
She said it simply. "You opened my eyes. Made me realize the path I was walking was leading to the complete opposite of what I had dedicated my life to."
Jax was losing his mind. First some ancient witch was messing with him from inside his own skull. And now this woman was hitting him with an emotional backstory mid-fight. Everyone around him seemed contractually obligated to deliver incomplete information followed by a cliffhanger.
Zharina read his expression and smiled. Then her tone shifted.
"You know, I was brought to this land as a slave. A sex slave to be specific. And I was sold to a perverted old man when I was just ten."
The arena felt quieter even though the broadcasting was still off.
"I had nothing at that time. No parents. No mana. No magic. Nothing except a brutal past. And things would have turned out even worse if the sale had gone through."
She looked at her gauntlets.
"But before the deal could close, the entire auction house witnessed a slaughter. One that still counts as an unsolved mystery in this land."
She paused.
"It was done by a professor of this very academy. He saved me along with the others and helped everyone get back to their families or relatives."
Her voice softened.
"But for me there was no one to go back to. So he took me in."
She clenched her fist.
"I lived with him. And soon the bond between us turned into something like a family. He treated me like his own daughter. He taught me everything about martial arts and battle strategies since my mana core was underdeveloped and magic wasn’t a path I could rely on."
She looked up at the sky above the arena.
"Everything was going too good. I had a master who was close to a father. A place to call home. Other children I could call friends. But then fate played its cruel turn."
Her jaw tightened.
"I discovered that the man I called master was a Celestial. A being created using the primordial gods’ power and permission. And worse, he had abandoned the Empyrean Realm. Betrayed his kind. And was hiding inside the academy. Or rather, he had chosen to reside here as part of his own plans."
She lowered her gaze back to Jax.
"It was seven years ago when he told me everything. Because he knew I was about to be abandoned again. He could feel the presence of his father along with others coming to kill him."
Her grip on the gauntlets tightened until her knuckles went white.
"And in his last moments, he gave me these. His divine weapons. And fused every last drop of his celestial energy into them. Because he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against what was coming."
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[ A/N: Huge Shoutout to Jut_Beanz for the amazing car❤️ and thanks to DaoistbskKra, Outsxder, Katelyn_Morgan_0330, Jut_Beanz, Joshua_Cutler, Eduardo_Vicentini_6015 , Ordici_T and tony_adams_4787 for the golden tickets (sorry if i missed anyone)
(づ*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)づ♡
Also sorry guys for missing yesterday’s update! It was my birthday and some friends came over — ended up spending the whole day gaming, and well... the hangover did the rest 💀 I know I know, but cut me some slack, it was my first day off after writing continuously for 192 days. I think I earned that one 😅]
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