The Blue Witch finally caught up with Bertin.

  The witch, who always floated high in the sky, desded close enough to blot out the entire sky with her enormous form.

  Her blue skin stretched across a bloated face with half-lidded eyes and a mouth that split from ear to ear. The way she dangled, her grotesquely elongated fingers – lohan her face – sent chills down Rumi's spine.

  To think that something this terrifying had been pursuiin all this time...

  "Ahaha, looks like I've been caught after all that running,"

  Bertin said with forced cheerfulness from where she y trapped uhe colpsed roof.

  "Quick, at least you two should escape to the vilge.“

  "What are you talking about?" Rumi couldn't believe Bertin was still trying to hide her fear even now.

  "You said we were almost at the safe pce. You told us the Blue Witch couldn't follow once we got there!“

  "Ah, that... that was a lie. You two will be safe, but I was always meant to keep running. Maybe this is for the best. I think I'm tired of running anyway, haha.“

  "Stop talking nonsense a out of there right now!" Rumi shouted, tugging at Bertin's arm.

  "Rumi, you've always been like this," Bertin said softly. "You're not a bad person at all. You act cold blooded oside, but you have the ki heart of anyone I know.“

  "Are you still going on about that? I really am cold blooded, you know! Should I prove it by leaving you behind?“

  "Please, I'm begging you. Run away quickly. There's no time left – the witch will awaken soon. Ahem, I would have liked to uhe secrets of Saint angelicus' School together with you myself... but you must discover the secrets in my pd save this world.“

  "Huuuuuung! Bertin... I'm so sorry..." Niel buried her fa Bertin's chest where she y in the rubble, sobbing helplessly.

  "Niel, st and go with Rumi.“

  Rumi kept looking around desperately for some way out, but when she saw the Blue Witch's fingers h directly above Bertin, she realized there truly was no hope.

  "Oh hell...“

  With no other choice, Rumi pulled the weeping Niel away from Bertin.

  "Hey, st a up. Holy, this all happened because of you!“

  Just the spider-like fingers plunged deep into Bertin's spine.

  "Ugh...!“

  "NO!!“

  Niel screamed helplessly as she watched Bertin being impaled.

  "God, this is awful...“

  Rumi wi Bertin's suffering.

  In that moment, Bertin's monocle flew through the air toward Rumi.

  Using the st of her strength, Bertin had thrown her magical eyepiei.

  "Ah... Rumi... take my gsses. Use them to find me again someday!“

  "...!“

  "You all... o get away from here... and gather all my magical items...“

  "Niel, don't be too sad. And don't bme yourself... Thank you for always being by my side.“

  "Bertin...“

  "And Rumi, remember this. You're kihan anyone... Goodbye...“

  Bertin's eyes grew dim even as she forced one final smile.

  "Hey! Bertin, don't worry about a thing. I'll solve the school's mysteries in a day and kill every st witch!“

  Rumi said her final farewell to Bertin, then gred up at the Blue Witch's revolting skull-like face.

  "You'd better get ready to lose that head to me!“

  The Blue Witch didn't even spare Rumi a gnce.

  CRACK

  Instead, the Blue Witch's long fingers pierced through Bertin's back, spreading her spine apart.

  Thehrust her building-sized face toward Bertin's impossibly small body, as if trying to possess it.

  Rumi couldn't bear to watch Bertin being subjected to such a grotesque viotion.

  Bertin had truly been... one of the most precious people Rumi had ever met in her life...

  "AAAAHHHH! BERTIN!" Niel wailed as if her whole world had colpsed.

  Rumi dragged oward the door and gathered their belongings. With one final look at Bertin's now lifeless form, she left the mansion.

  Outside, the shadow ghost stood waiting as it always had, seeming to guide their way forward.

  "Hnngh..." Niel sobbed.

  "St and carry your things!" Rumi forced a bag onto Niel's shoulders and thrust the luggage into her hands, practically dragging her along.

  "Eeeeeeeeek... eeeeeeeeek..." As Rumi and Niel ran across the desote field, they heard an otherworldly sound behind them and stopped to look back.

  The cursed Blue Witch was stretg Bertin's skin, trying to cover her entire body with it.

  "That crazy piece of trash...!“

  "Huuung... Bertin...!" Niel burst into tears again at the sight.

  "KUUUUUEEEEEEK!" The Blue Witch, ehat the skin was too small, suddenly began opening her mouth as if to swallow the sky itself.

  Then the Blue Witch's massive body began to shrink. W if this might be the witch's awakening, Rumi quickly put oin's magical monocle.

  Through it, she saw tless blue ghosts p out from the Witch's mouth like a swarm of locusts. As they emerged, the witch's body grew smaller and smaller.

  The blue ghosts, invisible to the naked eye and each about the size of a forearm, were the same entities that had always tormented Bertin.

  Within moments, they had covered the entire sky in an eerie blue light. It was clear they would soon spread their blue curse in every dire, everywhere.

  This was exactly what Bertin had been running from all this time...

  Rumi felt sick to her stomach.

  She wondered what kind of exorcism teiques they taught at that school that could possibly defeat such a monstrous witch. Part of her was terrified to find out.

  A single blue ghost drifted down from the sky aled gently on Niel's shoulder.

  Niel, still hanging her head and sobbing, didn't notice the spirit ging to her at all.

  "Damn it..." Rumi tried to brush away the blue ghost without Niel notig, but she knew all too well it was futile.

  After all, these blue ghosts were entities that could never be shaken off, no matter what anyone did.

  Finally, Rumi just took off the monocle and tinued pulling Niel along.

  After walking for quite some time, they realized their year-long journey was finally ing to an end.

  'Wele to the Vilge of Angelicus. Spirits Begone!‘

  They could see the vilge sign aran the distance.

  At some point, the shadow ghost that had been leading them had vanished.

  Perhaps it was because they'd finally reached their destination, but its absence left an ued emptiness in Rumi's heart after having guided them for aire year.

  At the vilge entrance, about a dozen people stood waiting for Rumi and Niel, all wearing grave expressions.

  They were the first living people they'd seen in what felt like ay.

  This was it – the human vilge where the exorcism school was located.

  Rumi was determio uncover every secret this vilge held, to find out what mysteries had forced Bertin to endure such hardship only to die right at its doorstep.

  And she would have her revenge, destroying every st witch to avenge Bertin's death.