Chapter 37: Funeral on the Other Side

Augustus descended into full-blown madness.

Corrupted, he’d lost nearly all reason, his eyes fixed solely on Pride, that dmn woman.

Sacrificing all his magic to the polluted dragon, they merged, their combined power nearing calamity level.

Feeling this immense surge of magic, Augustus forgot who he faced.

“Power rivaling calamity level!”

“Hahaha!”

Standing atop the dragon’s back, he laughed wildly, his face warped and hideous from corruption.

“Pride, you’ve only been born seven days, with infinite magic you haven’t fully mastered, right?”

“But I, a Tarot Society member, am battle-hardened!”

“I clawed my way out of piles of corpses!”

“When it comes to magic control, you can’t surpass me!”

Augustus gathered his magic, a pitch-black baton forming in his right hand.

He thrust it toward Pride, unleashing an invisible force.

“Magic control?”

Pride smirked. Someone dared challenge her control!

She wasn’t yet accustomed to her infinite magic’s scale, but in control, she wouldn’t lose to a filthy, corrupted cur!

Pride lightly waved her right hand, pointing her Higanbana baton at Augustus.

Unlike his forceful gesture, hers was delicate, almost dismissive.

Her faint, scornful smile enraged him further.

The polluted dragon was his life’s masterpiece, meant to propel him to Arcana status!

He wouldn’t lose!

Their forces collided midair, an invisible shockwave rippling outward.

Surrounding skyscrapers shattered instantly.

Augustus’s manic expression froze, his right hand trembling.

Pride’s power was greater!

No, I was foolish to compare raw magic. How could I match a witch’s reserves?

Change tactics!

Control!

Yes!

Records say newborn witches struggle to master their magic.

If I outcontrol her, I’ll win!

Defeat Pride, and I, Augustus, will rise to fame!

From now on, the Tarot Society will bow to me!

I am Arcana!

His frozen face twisted back into madness. He directed the dragon to move at high speed.

He tried manipulating Pride’s body with his baton, but it was useless.

Switching targets, he controlled shattered buildings to hurl at her.

But such childish physical attacks couldn’t breach Pride’s defenses.

Her overflowing magic effortlessly blocked the debris.

The longer the fight dragged on, the more shocked Augustus became.

The witch’s power was far beyond his imagination.

Retreat began to creep into his mind.

What did it matter if his control surpassed hers?

He couldn’t even scratch her defenses. Continuing meant certain death!

But…

“Pride, you’ll pay for your arrogance!”

Augustus swung his baton, uprooting surrounding buildings to crash toward her.

Under cover of the debris, he poured all his magic into the dragon’s core.

A black-purple dragon breath, reeking of death, erupted from its mouth.

It stained half the sky, as if tearing it apart.

The shockwave blew Venus back, and she struggled to stabilize herself.

Each magic level was a chasm; the higher always crushed the lower.

Overcoming a superior required overwhelming numbers.

Solo fights were futile.

This was why Jasmine, Rose, and Iris formed a trio.

All transcendent-level, yet they faced calamity-level entities.

Venus watched the city-center battle, a deep sense of powerlessness rising within.

She could hold her own against calamity-level entities, yet in this fight, she felt insignificant.

The massive dragon breath struck the piled buildings, unleashing unstoppable force.

The city center began to disintegrate.

“Pride, die!”

“Your death will forge my glory!”

“From now on, I…”

“Noisy.”

Augustus’s frenzied, triumphant voice cut off.

A blood-red Higanbana bud enveloped Pride, her voice emerging from within.

As the bud bloomed, each petal unfurling weakened the dragon breath.

“Impossible! A calamity-level strike, blocked so easily!”

“Even a witch shouldn’t come out unscathed!”

Augustus was stunned.

The bud fully opened, Pride standing in the blood-red stamen’s center.

“Your attack’s done. My turn.”

Her eyes glowed scarlet, her magic condensing at the Higanbana baton’s tip.

A blood-red magic cannon, matching the dragon breath’s size, fired.

Boom!*

The force whipped Pride’s white hair, exposing her pale back.

“No… no!”

Augustus screamed, urging the dragon to flee.

But Pride’s attack was too fast for him to react.

The cannon’s wind pressure nearly tore his face from his skull.

He didn’t die!

The massive cannon split at the last moment, perfectly bypassing him.

Finger-sized beams shot through the air, curving to form a radiant flower.

A Higanbana.

Augustus stared, dazed, at the shifting beams’ paths.

He was wrong—horribly wrong.

Pride’s magic control crushed his.

“Haha… hahaha, what kind of monster is this… hahaha!”

“This is a witch! This is ‘Pride’!”

Augustus clutched his face, laughing, unable to distinguish fear from madness.

His last shred of sanity was fading under Pride’s absolute dominance.

“Higanbana blooms, Yellow Spring falls.”

The shifting beams spread out, then converged, striking Augustus.

In the moment before his annihilation, Pride appeared beside him.

“I forgot to mention, before ‘Pride,’ I had a well-known codename I loved, symbolizing purity and elegance: ‘Iris.’”

“What…” Augustus’s eyes widened in disbelief, but he had no time to question why a magical girl became a witch.

“Rest in peace.”

Higanbana requiem!