Chapter 102 - 26. Undead Witch

Chapter 102: 26. Undead WitchFisher dragged the unconscious, corpulent Witch out of the tavern. Behind him, the thin sword in Alagina’s hand that exuded cold air had at some point disappeared from sight, which made Fisher very curious as to where she had hidden that relic.

Following them, the pirate first mate, rubbing his shoulder while looking ahead at Fisher, blinked a few times, his gaze shifting between Fisher and Alagina. He seemed to suddenly understand something and subtly stepped back some distance.

Although he still followed them, he and the other crew members, who had a meaningful smile, fell into two separate groups: Fisher and Alagina were close together upfront, and the chuckling first mate and other crewmen were farther behind.

"Chirp chirp!"

The streets near the tavern were slightly elevated, offering a view of the distant street lit by street lamps where a group of people could be seen hastily approaching. Fisher glanced at the huge pipes that extended from the main road up to the cave’s stone walls, crowded with numerous rats gesturing and chattering at them, clearly guiding the way.

Without hesitation, Fisher leapt toward the pipe, calling out to Alagina without looking back,

"Go this way."

Alagina nodded and turned back to signal the crew to follow, only to find them all mischievously blinking and waving at her, gesturing for her to go ahead.

She opened her mouth, momentarily at a loss, then hastened to catch up with Fisher. Ahead of him, a large group of rats ran ahead, looking back and leading the way into the complicated sewer system inside the cave.

"Wait, are those rats? Are rats leading the way? Could it be the Captain’s sweetheart is a Wizard, like the one from the fairy tales..."

"I don’t think so... that guy seemed a bit violent, the Captain can’t control him, I don’t see this marriage working out."

"You don’t have to approve. Don’t you like the gentle types? Maybe the Captain fancies this sort."

The distant murmurs of a few crew members faded away as their figures quickly disappeared into the darkness of the cave, leaving the rapidly approaching gang members baffled as they stared at the empty, disheveled tavern.

The huge pipe was part of the city’s sewer system, where wastewater was discharged into Nali’s rivers and then into the dark river before flowing into the ocean. Going through this pipe should be an entrance to Snake Head Street, but it’s said that Saint Nali’s pipe system was so intricate, not even maintenance workers knew the exact routes. Yet here were Fisher and his party, still being led by a group of rats.

"Chirp chirp~"

"Hey, is that dripping water or something else?"

"I bet it’s not anything pleasant."

"Damn, a drop got in my mouth, it’s salty!"

Approaching the darkest part of the midway pipe, fearful of losing sight of Fisher and the Captain, the crewmen quickened their pace to keep up, accompanied only by the plop of liquid and the chirping of rats in the darkness.

After not too long, they reached the circular underground entrance tunnel of the pipe, where the government had installed lights, and visibility became clear. Seeing that there were no people around, Fisher threw the Witch he had been dragging to the ground, deciding to interrogate her for the information he wanted.

Fisher used the Spinner to suspend her upside down on the pipe, her limbs still in the shape of a chrysalis, but as she had wounds on her body, blood flowed down to her face, washing away the foundation and lipstick completely. Seeing that she remained unconscious, Fisher struck her with his Handcane, physically forcing her to reboot.

"Thump!"

"Wait, stop! Don’t hit her anymore!"

The sound of water in the pipes was not as grating as his duck-like voice. As soon as he spoke, he sounded like a roasted duck hanging in the Saint Nali Restaurant, prompting Fisher to press his Handcane against his throat, silencing him.

"I’ll ask, and you’ll answer.."

"Sir, sir! Don’t hit me, I’m sorry... wait, you had your eye on me from the start, you came to the tavern just for me! Damn, I was wondering why someone in your attire would be here..."

Now, with the pain having completely driven the alcohol from his system, Bart realized while hanging upside down that Fisher, dressed in a suit, had come to Snake Head Street specifically for him. In the previous fight, Bart had thought that it was his endeavor to receive the Mother Goddess’s blessing that had brought this Devil upon him.

"I want to know about the Witch Research Association and, for example... the ’Undead Witch’ you are searching for."

Ignoring Bart’s belated realization, Fisher continued to question while pulling out a small bottle filled with green shimmering sand from his chest. He smeared the sand at the tip of his Handcane and began to etch deep, magical emblems into the ground.

"Undead Witch? How do you know about her? You’re with the police, aren’t you! You damned Nali cops, you have no pure faith, you desecrated the Mother Goddess, corroded her expectations of you with a mire of desire... wuwuwu!"

Fisher remained silent. After finishing the emblems, he snapped his fingers, and the ground emblems instantly lit up, transforming into worm-like Flames that ascended along the Air and spread over Bart’s face, entering through any visible orifice.

And the moment the Flames entered his body, he thrashed about as though enduring immense torture.

Double Ring Magic - "Bone-attaching Maggot."

This magic had been used by the Nali police for interrogating criminals; Fisher had been involved in the revision of the Nali standard interrogation magic. After the New Party took power, such punitive magic was abolished, and Fisher was now using extrajudicial punishment on the Bart Witch.

This magic would multiply the sense of pain experienced by a creature, and if not canceled, the degree of pain would intensify over time. Eventually, even breathing could inflict agony for half a day, and many entertainment venues would secretly employ this magic to increase enjoyment.

But at this moment, Bart’s body was already covered with wounds from the previous battle. Once the magic of the Bone-attaching Maggot entered him, his eyes instantly rolled white from the pain, and he screamed in madness,

"Stop! Stop it! It’s too painful! You devil!"

The crew behind looked at the Nali Gentleman clutching the hand cane, regarding him as one might a demon, silently preparing to keep their distance. Only Alagina’s gaze remained fixed on Fisher, her normally calm face flushing slightly, her breaths becoming short and quick as if she was contemplating something.

That magic... it looked...

"Don’t... too painful! I’ll talk! My mission is already done! The Undead Witch is protected inside the ’Pink Hall’. I couldn’t enter, was just about to leave Saint Nali to report back to the association!"

In the midst of excruciating pain, the Witch Bart’s Magic Circuit suddenly began to light up uncontrollably. Fisher furrowed his brow, thinking Bart was about to resist; however, Bart himself was taken aback, then said with great excitement,

"No.. not right... She’s here! She’s nearby! The ’Undead Witch’ you’re looking for is nearby, look at my..."

"Bang!"

Just as Bart spoke, a spark suddenly flared in the darkness of the tunnel’s overhead pipes, the sound of a musket echoing down the tunnel. Fisher hadn’t expected someone to appear there so suddenly.

Bart’s head exploded on cue, thankfully, its contents did not splatter on Fisher.

Fisher’s expression turned icy in an instant. Lifting the hand cane, he leaped up like a Dragon-type creature, landing swiftly on the pipes above the tunnel where a cloaked figure holding a gun had paused, seemingly surprised by Fisher’s impressive jump.

She raised her gun to shoot, but before she could move, Fisher had lunged at her, smashing a fierce punch to her face and sending her flying.

The figure took a brutal hit from Fisher but did not pause; she grunted and spun in midair, landing on the pipes behind her, then immediately attempted to flee without looking back.

"Think you can run?"

Fisher grabbed his hand cane, preparing to detain her first. Magic Emblems lit along his hands as threads from the Spinner wrapped around her at incredible speed, catching one of her legs.

In midair, her leap hiccuped briefly, forced to land back on the original pipe. As the pirates below took aim at her, she did something even Fisher did not anticipate.

The figure swiftly drew a knife from her bosom and slashed at her own left leg, severing the entangled limb and leaving it behind. Blood spurted profusely, but in the next second, as if time was rewound, the blood surged back into the void where her limb had been severed, and flesh sprouted anew, quickly regrowing an entire left leg.

In just one second, she performed an act of regeneration before Fisher’s eyes.

Her bare foot, now exposed beneath the cloak, she turned back to glance at Fisher, then sped away unimpeded upwards.

Fisher sent several slicing Bee Dances her way with a wave of his hand, but she, agile in her movements, dodged them all in midair, soon disappearing from Fisher’s sight. He could only regretfully pull back the severed limb with the Spinner, the leg still wrapped in white stocking and boot, warm to the touch.

That astonishing scene replayed in Fisher’s mind, matching step for step with the prophecy of the ’Undying’ from the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual...

"Undead Witch, eh?"

Fisher frowned, planning to keep the severed leg for potential tracking later on. But just as this thought surfaced, the limb slowly turned into a stinking puddle of blood and water, forcing him to hastily dispose of it.

He opened his mouth, momentarily lost for words.

At the entrance of Snake Head Street, a cloaked woman with bare feet gasped for breath as she ran onto the bustling street, but still not feeling secure, she ducked into a nearby alley until she was sure no one was following. Only then did she frantically remove the cloak over her head.

Beneath the cloak, a head of beautiful brown hair fell in disarray, revealing a pretty, innocent face to the air. Her complexion was normal, but her expression bore immense pain, with fine sweat constantly appearing on her forehead and her muscles tensing.

She bit down hard on the falling cloak, staring fixedly at her newly regrown left leg.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

There, a pain many times more intense than that of losing a limb fiercely stabbed into her heart, nearly shattering the teeth that gripped the cloak.

Fortunately, after a few minutes, the pain slowly receded until it completely vanished, and she gradually relaxed.

"I... I am the ’Undead Witch’... this pain... this little pain... uh..."

She wiped the fine sweat from her brow, speaking to herself, yet teardrops glided down her cheeks, causing her to frantically wipe her face.

Then, after ensuring no one was around, she rose and limped away, disappearing into the alleyways off the street.