Eternal Undying Chronicles

Chapter 157 Good Deed

Malefica's eyes narrowed. He cleared his throat and quickly floated upward, gently placing the hatchling back into its nest. Descending, he met her satisfied nod.

"I have asked a known mass murderer to save a life,"

she intoned, as if reciting a grand proclamation.

"And I have successfully returned the hatchling to its nest. Truly, this is a good deed."

Alicarde's mouth twisted.

"Mass murderer… seriously, are you for real right now?"

But Malefica was already moving through the forest again, scanning her surroundings for more good deeds. Before long, her eyes landed on a deer, grazing quietly, unaware of the wolf crouched nearby, poised to pounce.

Before the wolf could move, she picked up a stone and threw it, scaring the deer away.

"There. I have saved another life. What a good deed,"

she said, dusting her hands off as if she'd just done a noble service.

Alicarde looked at her, then at the retreating deer, feeling exasperated.

'The poor wolf just lost its meal. In the middle of winter, no less. It's probably going to starve now.'

He kept his thoughts to himself, knowing that interrupting her spell's logic could be dangerous. If he contradicted her too much, the spell might backfire, amplifying her "bad deeds" by threefold instead.

He shivered at the thought.

'What a dangerous spell.'

Almost as if she'd read his mind, Malefica turned to him with a serene smile.

"Yes, it is dangerous. And that is why, out of the goodness of my heart, I shall save the wolf by giving it food for the winter."

She hummed softly, and the wolf, ears perked up, trotted over. Malefica pointed back toward the direction they'd come.

"Go. There is the carcass of a bear nearby. It may not be fresh, but it will fill your belly."

The wolf growled but, after a moment's hesitation, turned and loped away.

Watching this strange scene, Alicarde tried to process her twisted logic.

'Didn't she kill the bear herself? It was hibernating peacefully, and she woke it up just to kill it… Doesn't that mean all her good deeds are built on the foundation of a bad one?'

Still, he kept quiet. The absurdity of it all was almost too much to handle, but one thing had become clear in his mind.

'If a hole appears in her logic or her heart, then the spell might backfire.'

As they continued walking through the cold, barren woods, Alicarde wondered if that loophole would be his only chance to break the spell.

Someone like Alicarde, always weighed down by regrets, could never use it safely.

Malefica continued her journey through the forest, lending a hand to the animals in need. She helped a mouse escape a raven's claws, then turned around and offered to guide the raven to a nest filled with carrion.

When she found a beaver struggling to build a dam, she enlisted Alicarde to do the heavy lifting while the beaver supervised, gesturing and squeaking in what Alicarde could only assume were instructions.

Each squeak tested his patience; he didn't understand a word, but Malefica translated it all for him with a smile, while the beaver waved its little paws like a foreman directing a worker. Alicarde shot the beaver an annoyed look but continued with the task, grumbling to himself.

As hours passed, Alicarde realized that Malefica's power seemed to grow stronger with each good deed she performed. They had lunch by a frozen stream, where Alicarde caught a few fish, and Malefica cooked them with a mixture of fragrant herbs gathered from the forest.

The roasted fish smelled divine, and when she handed him a portion, she announced proudly,

"I have fed a starving young man and saved him from hunger... what a good deed I have done."

Alicarde sighed, his thoughts grumbling.

'I was the one who caught the fish… damn it.'

But he kept his grumbles to himself and continued eating.

There was still time until sunset. As Alicarde sat beside Malefica, she busied herself chatting with a squirrel about acorns, her conversation filled with soft laughter and gentle words.

"At least the witches haven't sent anyone yet," Alicarde muttered to himself. He had left those warlocks sprawled unconscious in the snow, though they'd probably be awake and fuming by now.

He rose to his feet, brushing the snow from his coat, and took a few steps toward Malefica. Just as he approached, she frowned, suddenly raising her hand and conjuring a barrier around them. In an instant, the earth trembled, snow erupting from the ground in powerful waves, swirling as if defying gravity itself.

Trees quivered, their branches casting off cascades of ice, while the snowy ground buckled and shifted. The air filled with a roaring wind, whipping the snow into a thick blizzard before it crashed to the earth with a thunderous thud, blanketing everything in silence.

As the last flurries settled, Alicarde narrowed his eyes, spotting three women emerging from the snow-dusted pines. The three witches stood against the winter landscape, their beauty striking, though paling compared to Malefica's ethereal presence.

Each of them bore an aura of cold determination.

The first witch, with emerald-green hair braided down her back, wore a long, flowing dress with a corset cinching her waist, emphasizing her lithe frame.

The second had auburn hair cropped in a sleek bob, paired with a tight-fitting outfit beneath a cloak that fluttered dramatically in the breeze.

The third witch had violet hair swept into a sophisticated bun, crimson lipstick accentuating her sharp smile.

Around her neck, a locket dangled, the gem at its center glowing as it pointed in Malefica and Alicarde's direction like a compass.

The emerald-haired witch stepped forward, her tone commanding.

"Lady Malefica, please surrender. We will take you in and let Lady Diana decide your punishment upon her return."

Her gaze shifted to Alicarde, a sneer twisting her face.

"As for you... kill yourself, so we don't have to sully our hands with your filthy blood."