Chapter 107: Shh! I’m In S.M. (3)

When pushed into extreme situations, some people crumble, while others burn even brighter.

Though she might deny it, Vanitas Benibeni was also one of those types.

“Break! Sever! And boil over!”

Too reckless to be called an incantation. But for Benny, Magic was inherently like that.

Desperately yearning, drawing out the hidden desires deep within and painting over reality with miracles.

An ignorant fool who knew nothing became a mage that way.

In that sense, it’s not surprising that the Magic painted on the canvas of reality touches Benny’s darkest memories.

A gigantic chunk of meat in the shape of a fist suddenly appeared in the air and fell, the jaws of a translucent beast snapped shut, and blood-mixed mud that melted everything it touched churned on the ground.

And the entity that put the finishing touch on Benny’s previously casted magic, combining them into one. It was Shadow.

-Kyaaaak!

A sharp scream resembling a shriek. It didn’t resemble any existing creature, yet parts of it seemed like they could belong to any creature.

No, should this entity even be called a living being?

It lacked any essential organs for sustaining life and only possessed organs meant for hunting its prey.

It moved as if alive, but even if half its body evaporated, it would soon bubble and regenerate, resembling a phenomenon more than a creature.

This is a bizarre phenomenon far beyond human comprehension, and ordinary people feel a sense of repulsion towards such things.

Surely, this is why people call Benny and Shadow the Creepy Witch.

In contrast, Morgana simply smiled gracefully, as if she didn’t feel such instinctive repulsion.

“Regardless of the potential you hold, I’ve never liked you. How can you be so lacking in dignity?”

Morgana waved her staff elegantly. With just that, the surrounding space began to align in a certain order and then connected.

The fleshy giant’s arm crushed the beast’s maw, and the blood-mixed mud obstructed Shadow’s path.

Morgana effortlessly used Benny’s attack against her.

The lofty attitude, as if no filth could ever touch her, was like the embodiment of what people often called ‘magehood’.

However, to Benny, such elegance was nothing but needless affectation.

Magic is longing, desire, and hope. And collectively, it is called a Miracle.

“Shut up, you old hag! Missing your youth at your age? There’s not a single woman who doesn’t know that you seduce the male disciples of the Magic Tower with that pretentious face of yours!”

Benny spat and cursed, raising her middle finger high. Astonishingly, it became a seal.

The crushed flesh on the ground twitched, spitting white bone fragments out from within.

Shadow swallowed the bloody mud, which was more corrosive than acid, and swelled even larger.

Benny no longer wished for pure strength as she did when she escaped the place she was held in isolation.

But Magic to kill the opponent in front of her.

And the closest image of death to Benny was formed in her childhood and has not changed until now.

Disassembled, continued, and eventually evolving life.

That is Benny’s power and the trauma she dredged up from the bottom.

Bones born from the flesh sharpened like spears, dividing into dozens and hundreds, writhing like living snakes.

The body of Shadow, swollen several times its size to fill the entire passage, had countless eyes bubbling and bursting repeatedly.

Thus, the acidic fluid slowly continued to rise from the floor.

Benny was disgustingly but effectively coloring the surrounding area with death.

Anyone would have trembled at the sight, but Morgana remained composed.

For her, Magic was a field of study, a skill, and thus the more time she invested, the more intricate and powerful it became.

And Morgana had prepared extensively for today, to capture Benny.

Though she had to act swiftly upon hearing that she suddenly headed to the second floor instead of the usual deep Labyrinth.

This caused some trouble with the other mages of the foolish Tower…

Nevertheless, Morgana could fully unleash the magic she had long prepared for Benny.

Morgana was confident. She was certain that neither Benny nor anyone else could escape her trap.

“Poor beast. I will restore your usefulness.”

Morgana shook her head and lightly tapped the floor with her staff.

Tap tap.

An enchanted circle that started at Morgana’s feet expanded explosively, creating a domain.

A translucent barrier rose above the enchanted circle filled with runes and unknown shapes.

A realm that permits no filth. It was as if an isolated, separate space was engulfing the surroundings.

“This crazy bitch…”

Benny ground her teeth, sharp like those of a shark.

It was understandable since it was swallowing the environment she and Shadow had painstakingly created.

Desperately, they fired grotesque spells and sometimes Shadow tried to hold on with its body, but they were ultimately pushed back.

Benny was not weak. Her desire was intense, and Shadow’s madness was vicious, but…

The problem is that Morgana already knew about this and had prepared countermeasures.

A domain created solely to incapacitate Benny and Shadow. Within it, the power of its master, Morgana, is amplified, while her enemies become infinitely weaker.

Benny let out a deep sigh at the magic that didn’t move as intended and the increasingly blurry vision.

“Life is a bitch.”

Resignation. Yet, Benny’s eyes were filled with determination not to end it like this.

Even without the Demonic Eye, the succubus’s eyes glowed wickedly with heart-shaped pupils as they glared at Morgana.

Of course, Morgana just sneered in response.

“The experiment subject is quite arrogant.”

“Who are you calling an experiment subject!”

Benny growled, biting her own wrist to draw blood. She scattered it widely and poured out the forcibly drawn mana.

“Oh, flower that blooms by devouring corpses!”

In an instant, the blood drops turn black and rot. Inside, something like pus forms and then swells at an incredible speed.

A shape resembling a flower. But the stench emanating from it was enough to shake even the most mentally resilient mage….

Morgana had prepared for this as well.

“The magic you use. No, calling it magic is too generous. I have understood all the miracles you desperately cling to.”

The gem at the end of the staff shines multi-dimensionally like a well-cut diamond. Its brilliance amplifies madly and soon reaches Benny’s corpse flower. And then.

Clank.

With the sound of chains, Benny’s magic freezes in place. Shortly after, the sound of something breaking can be heard from within.

Creak… Crack!

Dozens, hundreds, thousands…perhaps even more pieces shattering into fragments from Benny’s magic.

Even those fragments began to crumble and scatter like sand somewhere.

That was the end. The magic Benny cast at the cost of her own life disappeared without a trace.

Morgana, standing with her staff, looked down at Benny with aloofness.

“Your eyes still show no signs of giving up. But this is the end. Just because you do not age or die, doesn’t mean you have no other recourse.”

Morgana flicked her fingers. A translucent guillotine-like object appeared behind her.

“…Spatial Severance.”

“Yes. It’s the pinnacle of Spatial Magic, even a beast’s dull mind can grasp that. And it will also be the pincers to preserve you wretches.”

Getting struck by spatial slicing does not mean death. It is not Benny’s body that gets cut but the space surrounding her.

She just continues to live in pieces. Until Morgana allows her death.

“So there’s a woman more disgusting than me.”

Benny grits her teeth and sneers.

Not all of her strength is exhausted yet. But what does it matter? Just because the time of resistance is prolonged doesn’t mean the situation will be overturned.

Although she had sent Jonah up, it was to save the young boy, not because she really thought Ellie would come and help.

She didn’t even know how much help Ellie would be if she were here.

That’s how special Morgana’s magic was, and her preparation was thorough.

“…Shadow.”

-Grr.

Shadow, whose spirit seemed crushed, as if just existing was painful, wriggled and clung to Benny’s side.

Right. Even if the outcome is predetermined, she couldn’t just sit back and take it. At the very least, she had to leave a scratch on that annoying face.

It was the moment she resolved to fight until the end.

“Hmm? An assassin?”

Morgana frowned. This is her domain. No matter how exceptional their stealth abilities, no one can escape the master’s senses.

Morgana pointed her staff toward the empty space beside Benny.

A transparent glow flashed, and a bullet that distorted the space was fired. And then.

Paaat!

A massive holy power suddenly burst forth from seemingly nowhere.

A pink aura colored the pure white domain. In the center stood Jonah, whom she thought had already left.

No matter how solid the substance, the moment it touched the divine power radiating from Jonah at the center of the spatial magic, it melted away like snow.

As if such magic had never existed.

Jonah, who denied the spatial magic head-on. He raised the corners of his mouth, his pink hair fluttering, resembling the radiance of divine power.

The gesture of half-covering his mouth and giggling was a bonus.

“Pa~thetic. Pa~thetic. You call this magic?”

“……”

“Lousy formula! Mana premature ejaculation! Apologize! Apologize to the God of Magic for using such trashy magic!”

“……”

Now, at this moment. Benny didn’t care why Jonah had returned, what the divine power enveloping his body was, or how he had nullified the spatial magic.

She just wanted to give him a good knock on the head despite being an ally.