A werewolf boasting black, rough fur roared.

Their sharp teeth and claws were enough to easily tear apart a human’s fragile body.

Thud!

A centaur-like being with a horse’s lower body and head, and a human’s upper body, galloped across the plain.

The speed generated by its strong limbs, and precise archery seemed capable of hunting any fierce beast.

Crunch!

Green goblins with shabby faces and small bodies formed a group.

Though not very strong individually, their cunning and cruelty made them formidable opponents if one let their guard down.

Crack!

These terrifying magic beasts were now forming a great harmony as they all turned into a pulp together in front of the racing—no, rampaging golden carriage.

It was truly a heartwarming sight.

Not just stopping at handshakes or hugs—their bones, muscles, entrails, and brains intertwined and harmonized. Truly an aggressive inter-species cultural exchange!

The Tin Knight exclaimed willingly.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ gives 5 stars, saying this bumper car feels quite good!]

“Is this right? Is this really right?!”

“Enough, just turn quickly! There’s something big ahead!”

The shouts of the two witches riding together could be heard, but the Tin Knight didn’t care much.

Originally, thrilling rides were more enjoyable when one cursed a bit while riding them.

Thud! Thump! Splat!

Small magic beasts were trampled, medium-sized ones were flung away, and large ones changed their trajectory before colliding with the carriage.

Franka’s driving skills were truly artistic.

Of course, the enemies weren’t just taking it lying down.

The golden monkeys were thrusting down mana-imbued throwing spears from the sky, and numerous magic beasts clung to the carriage without sparing their bodies.

Most were futilely bounced off or ground up by the wheels, but some magic beasts succeeded in boarding the carriage.

[Grrrr!]

It was then that a burly werewolf thrust its maw into the carriage.

[Kyaaaah!]

With a shrill monkey-like roar, the insect-winged monkey struck the werewolf’s head.

A giant snake bit the monkey’s arm, but not even a small scratch appeared on the golden-glowing fur.

Thud! Crack! Crunch!

Although the gap had widened considerably after receiving  restorations in Tik-Tok, until then, Franka’s monkey had been fiercely fighting, exchanging blows with the Tin Knight.

Anyway, as long as the Tin Knight was in charge of the power source, pedaling didn’t have much meaning, so the monkey could use all its strength to protect its master.

[Ookiii!]

The bat-winged monkey that flew into the sky was the same.

The monkey, though smaller in size than those commanded by the Witch of the West, was far more agile than its opponents, darting in and out among and interfering with the throwing spears.

As if to say that while a head-on confrontation might be difficult, focusing solely on interference was quite doable.

Whoosh!

A black wave swept across the plain.

The corpses touched by the black mana spreading from the center of the carriage rose as if given new life.

It was Dorothea’s necromancy.

However, before the revived undead could start moving in earnest, the golden monkeys’ throwing spears fell on their heads.

The undead hit directly by the spears imbued with golden mana exploded without even getting to fight properly.

“Tch.”

Dorothea clicked her tongue.

Clearly, corpses were increasing on the battlefield, and she was immediately turning those newly created corpses into undead, but it wasn’t very effective.

Partly because the monkeys in the sky were smashing them as soon as they appeared, but more because the number of corpses itself was small.

Dorothea’s eyes swept across the battlefield outside the carriage.

She saw other magic beasts voraciously tearing at the corpse of a variant centaur sprawled on the ground after being hit by the carriage.

Even magic beasts shouldn’t be completely without reason, but their craving for corpses showed no hesitation.

Looking closely, a fierce light of madness gleamed in their eyes.

It was a terrible gluttony. Whether it was medicine or the effect of magic, it seemed the Witch of the West had done something.

Dorothea unconsciously sneered, “Rather than let me take them, you’d dispose of them yourself? Your monopolistic desire is quite fierce.”

Franka’s complexion wasn’t good either.

Her gaze was directed at a golden monkey fallen to the ground. It was one of the achievements of Franka’s familiar that had gone up into the sky.

Watching werewolves voraciously tearing at the monkey’s corpse, Franka spoke with a tone tinged with contempt and anger, “Even if they’re mere magic beasts, to use even homunculi like disposable cards like this.”

“Unlike you, since she has many, maybe each one isn’t very precious?”

“That’s not the point! No matter how many children a parent has, there’s no way they’d feed their child’s corpse to dogs!”

“Well, there’s one right here.”

After shutting Franka’s mouth with some casual words, Dorothea quietly fell into thought.

Even she couldn’t turn corpses that had entered others’ stomachs into undead.

No, if she poured in mana and concentration intentionally, it might be possible, but at least it was impossible just by sending out waves from a distance while moving at high speed like now.

But they couldn’t stop the carriage either.

Being surrounded while tied down by that crazed army was a problem, but even if they could endure that state, the Witch of the West who hadn’t shown herself yet was on the other side.

There was no guarantee that Franka’s estimate of the ballista’s effective range would be accurate, and even if the ballista couldn’t be used, there was no saying she wouldn’t bring out other bizarre weapons.

Should we just charge in like this?

Although the carriage’s speed slowed down at times due to enemies clinging without sparing their bodies, thanks to the Tin Knight’s booster’s overwhelming output, the carriage never came to a stop.

Having crossed more than half of the plain, rather than taking down all that quantity, directly rushing into the castle where the witch was might be an option.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says to hold on tight!]

Before Dorothea could express her question with “What?” the Tin Knight thrust the propeller blade he was holding into the ground.

With an incredibly violent emergency brake, the carriage body lifted greatly and soared about 1m into the air.

“Kyah!”

“Ugh!”

Franka and Dorothea’s bodies were thrown backward.

If the Tin Knight and the monkeys hadn’t held them, they might have fallen out of the carriage.

But they couldn’t complain.

Right after the carriage stopped, hanging precariously on a thin rod, something huge burst out from the ground right in front of them.

A worm-like body, sharp teeth, and an enormous size overwhelming to behold.

“Sand worm!”

Someone shouted its identity in a mix of admiration and scream.

It was unclear whether it was Dorothea or Franka.

The important thing was that if the carriage had continued, it would have entered that huge cave-like mouth.

The sand worm turned its gaze towards the group as if regretting the failure of its surprise attack.

Its huge body gathered strength as if preparing for the next hunt.

“Hey!”

Although it was an incomprehensible single word, Franka understood exactly what she had to do.

The carriage’s shape collapsed back into metal blocks, and the group trapped inside fell to the ground.

Once again by a hair’s breadth, the sand worm’s maw swept through where the carriage had been.

The Tin Knight, who landed on the ground holding Dorothea, rushed forward the moment he set foot on the ground.

An enormous sword energy rose from his sword.

One horizontal slash and one vertical slash.

The sand worm’s body was split into four pieces in an instant.

It was a pathetic end that belied its imposing appearance at the moment of its entrance.

However, that didn’t mean the threat had disappeared.

Splash!

Green body fluid was scattered.

It was a bizarrely large amount even considering the sand worm’s size.

It felt as if more than 90% of its body had existed just to contain that fluid.

Dorothea’s staff cried out, creating a barrier.

The golden blocks that had formed the carriage took the shape of a shield, enveloping Franka and the monkeys.

The Tin Knight felt satisfaction.

But their precautions were slightly excessive.

The Tin Knight’s shield glowed with mana.

The three jewels flashed intensely.

As the Tin Knight rotated his body greatly in the air, all the mana contained in the shield was released at once.

Boom!

With a shockwave that made the air vibrate, the sand worm’s body fluid scattered.

The witches’ defenses were rendered meaningless—not a single drop even splashing in their general vicinity—only involving the surrounding magic beasts.

The magic beasts touched by the body fluid that could melt even metal screamed and melted.

It was then that something strange caught the Tin Knight’s satisfied senses.

Inside the flabby sand worm skin with its contents drained, a familiar red energy was felt.

Centered on the bones, muscles attached, skin formed, and in an instant, it took the shape of a person.

Seeing the woman with her hair down similar to when they first met instead of her usual tied hair, the Tin Knight greeted the immortal.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ greets a long-unseen companion!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ comments that it seems a bit extreme for a hot spring bath!]

Although the two witches behind looked at him as if he was crazy—for different reasons—the Tin Knight was steadfast.

And the other party was also nonchalant.

“Indeed. It seems the Witch of the West is a bit extreme in her guest treatment.”

“Is this the time for such talk!?”

Dorothea, who shouted, “Bah!” was about to take off her cloak… but then sharply turned her gaze to Franka.

Franka, also understanding what she meant, immediately wove an article of clothing using the grass on the ground as material and handed it to Sophia.

The group looked back.

Although the surrounding magic beasts had been swept away in an instant by the sand worm’s body fluid, there were still many enemies.

It was then that Dorothea was about to raise the sand worm’s corpse.

《Huh, this is ridiculous. You killed that in just a few seconds?》

A voice that seemed to have lost its composure was heard from the sky.

The group’s heads turned sharply.

The Witch of the West, Elphaba.

The master of this world was looking down at them from the sky, just like before.

《Dangerous, dangerous. You’re more dangerous children than I thought. As much as I don’t want to destroy my castle twice with my own hands—》

Space creaked.

The indigo gloves responded to their owner’s will, showing their miracle to the world.

《—Here, this time, I’ll end it for sure.》

An enormous rock appeared in the air.

The oversized blow that had defeated the party in the first decisive battle was recreated.

Truly overwhelming, truly marvelous.

“You think we’ll fall for the same trick twice!?”

“Don’t underestimate us!!”

─And to this attack that was, after all, just something they had seen once before, the two young witches responded.

The ground under Franka’s feet stirred and mixed with golden blocks.

The earth that had been undulating like paper rose high, creating a slope inclined at 60 degrees.

Dorothea took out four pouches of bone powder from her pouch at once.

Mana—poured to the limit—gathered the souls of those who died on the plain, forming the shape of a giant skeletal soldier.

A giant undead with a form mixing human and beast firmly supported the slope with its whole body.

Boom!

The huge rock made contact with the slope.

Its mass and size were so overwhelming that destroying or repelling it was nearly impossible.

However, the principle of the attack was simply to strike down from above, following gravity.

Its appearance was a miracle, but after being summoned, it was just a large rock.

If so, deflecting it sideways was entirely possible.

Maybe not for ordinary mages, but certainly for these two.

Crash!

The rock that slid down the slope obliquely reached the ground.

The slope and giant skeleton that had been pushed to the extreme collapsed after fulfilling their roles.

It was the moment when the trump card attack failed.

***

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