CHAPTER 44: HUNT OF THE WHITE 2

(Third Person POV)

The sound of the alarm began to echo through the place, alerting both the witch and the marquis, who looked around cautiously.

Suddenly, the ground became unstable and began shaking from side to side.

"Don’t tell me this is... that bastard."

"Witch, this castle is collapsing. We need to get out of here now!"

The witch bit her lip as she glanced to the other side, then finally turned to the marquis.

"Go, Marquis. I’ll follow the White One."

"Are you insane?! We need to escape now and think about the White One later!"

"Thank you, Marquis, but our cooperation ends here. Farewell."

The witch quickly ran off before the marquis could respond, leaving him speechless and alone.

"Damn it! This is why I hate lunatics."

The marquis rubbed his head in frustration and headed in a different direction, leaving the castle behind.

Meanwhile, the witch was running as fast as she could, searching everywhere for any trace of the White One.

"Where did that bastard go?"

She punched the wall in frustration and glanced out a nearby window.

Below, several parachutes could be seen descending from the sky.

The witch focused her gaze on them, and her eyes lit up.

"You’re not escaping me, not ever."

She shattered the window, letting in a rush of air, but didn’t care. She jumped swiftly toward the parachutes.

A dark shadow appeared behind her, causing her to descend rapidly until she finally reached the same level as the parachuting figures.

"Where do you think you’re going, White One?!"

She shouted at a man with white hair wearing a mask adorned with two white horns.

"Ugly witch, why are you in such a hurry to die?"

"You’re the one who’s going to die today."

A black sword formed in the witch’s hand, and she swung it powerfully at the white-haired man, creating a dark slash that struck the parachutes.

The parachutes were torn apart, causing most of the people to lose control and plummet toward the ground.

But the white-haired man remained calm, watching the woman before him.

The witch raised her sword again to strike, but he suddenly vanished, and she couldn’t see him anywhere.

She hurriedly raised her sword toward her neck, just in time to block an attack from behind, but—

Stab!

"Booogh!"

The witch vomited blood as she was stabbed near her lung.

While she was blocking the attack to her neck, the White One used another dagger in his free hand and quickly plunged it into her lung.

"How...? Agh..."

Her eyes widened as she turned her head to look at the white-haired man who had suddenly appeared behind her.

"Did you really think you were the only one with unique abilities?"

The White One sneered as he twisted the dagger embedded in her lung, increasing her pain and the flow of blood.

"Urghhh..."

"If we faced off in a fair fight, I’d never be able to beat you. But your recklessness brought you to this end. Goodbye."

He pulled the dagger out swiftly and kicked the witch, sending her plummeting toward the ground at incredible speed.

"No, no... Kuugh..."

She reached out her hand, trying to reach the White One who was now far above her.

’Am I going to die after finally getting this far? Why? Why have I fought all this time if I can’t even get my revenge in the end?’

Tears began to flow behind her mask as memories of her life and everything that led to this moment flashed before her.

’Maybe this is for the best. I’m tired... I can’t bear it anymore. Maybe... it’s finally time for me to rest.’

She closed her eyes, falling through the sky as if bidding farewell to life itself.

She hit the ground with great force, creating a shockwave that left a large crater in the earth.

BOOM!

A cloud of dust engulfed the area, making it impossible to tell what became of the witch.

Suddenly, a bloodied hand emerged from the dust, followed by a figure crawling on the ground.

"What nonsense are you spouting? There’s no rest for you until that bastard is dead! Get up now! So what if you failed this time? You’ve failed dozens of times before!"

The witch’s figure began to appear, her body completely covered in blood and visible wounds.

"White One... live while you can. Next time I see you, you’ll wish you weren’t alive."

She crawled toward a tree, leaned against it, and began catching her breath.

As she rested, shadows emerged from her body and entered her wounds, healing them at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Even this damn ability doesn’t want me to die."

After recovering for a while, she struggled to her feet and finally stood up.

"Now... where am I?"

The surroundings were a forest with extremely tall trees, some over twenty meters high.

"This forest is massive... It’s the first time I’ve seen trees this tall."

She looked at her hand, where a ring was located, and focused on it.

A white phone appeared in her hand out of nowhere, and she began to use it.

"Hmm... I’m currently in the Eastern Empire. The Tirshtain Empire isn’t far from here, but I won’t return there for now."

She located the nearest city relative to her position and set off toward it.

"The White One is hiding somewhere in this empire. I will find him."

After walking for several continuous hours, the witch stopped and prepared to rest.

She pulled a small tent from her ring, entered it, and slept for several hours before continuing her journey.

After traveling through the forest for three days like this, she finally arrived at her destination.

’It’s just a small baronial city... I doubt I’ll find anything useful here. But I’ll recover my supplies and energy, then keep looking for any traces.’

To avoid being captured for entering the Eastern Empire illegally, she snuck in using her shadows and moved carefully to avoid detection.

She wandered the city hidden in darkness, unseen by anyone, as though she didn’t exist.

She approached several food shops and took various items, placing them into her ring.

’This isn’t really stealing... I’ll pay them back once I’m rich.’

She justified it to herself, feeling slightly embarrassed about her financial state.

She continued like this for a while, taking everything she needed.

That day, rumors spread of an angry ghost stealing from citizens—no one knew what had really happened.

The witch left the city fully stocked and continued on her path, still searching for any trace of the White One’s descent.

After hours of searching, suddenly,she stopped.

Slowly raising her head, she saw birds frozen in the sky—motionless, unmoving, as if time itself had stopped.

"What... is this?"

She reached out cautiously and touched a nearby branch. It crumbled into black dust before it could hit the ground.

She took a step back—then the earth suddenly split beneath her, and she fell into a cold, endless darkness. She didn’t scream, only tried to control her descent until she crashed onto a smooth surface.

Gasping for breath, she stood up and looked around. She was in a strange place—an ancient temple, covered in symbols she had never seen before.

In the center of the hall, a stone floated in midair, pulsing with a power that felt all too familiar.

She stepped closer, and just before she could touch it, a voice whispered in her mind:

"If you want to reach him... you must first know who you are."

"Who I am?"

For the first time, she realized—answering that question might be more dangerous than chasing the White One himself.