Chapter 385: The Witch of Envy Sealed in Ice!

At this moment in the sky, a strange scene was unfolding. A man and a woman, both with resplendent silver hair, were tightly locked in an embrace mid-air.

However, upon closer inspection, it was evident they weren't sharing a tender moment but were instead locked in a fierce struggle, a real battle of life and death. This could be clearly seen from the bursts of magical energy erupting from them.

Wood's intentions were quickly understood by the Witch of Envy. Although Emilia had lost her role as the "key" after the seal was broken, she was still important as the "vessel." If the vessel were to be lost, Satella's power would weaken to some extent, so she wasn't going to let Wood have his way so easily.

A massive amount of life force was converted into magical energy through the "Heart of the Gods," and Wood used this immense power to combat the Witch of Envy. Though Emilia had awakened as planned, forcing Satella out of her body proved challenging.

In theory, enough magic power could indeed drive the Witch of Envy out, but there was one crucial detail—the nature of Satella's power itself. It was the power of "devouring"—a force that had devoured six of the Great Witches and half the world. It could be described as an insatiable beast, swallowing all in its path.

At first, Wood's magical energy seemed able to compete with Satella's power. But as the battle continued, the Witch of Envy gradually began devouring his power, and the situation began to turn in her favor.

"The supposedly wisest witch, yet she came up with this stupid idea! Did Echidna even consider this outcome when she suggested it?"

Even with the power of the "Heart of the Gods," Wood was paying a hefty price—his own life force. He knew he couldn't keep up this deadlock indefinitely. Even if he could, Satella would gain an advantage as she continued to devour his magic.

Just as Wood felt that persisting this way might not only fail to save Emilia but also cost him his own life, something unexpected happened.

Wood could sense that the devouring force within Satella was disappearing, and it seemed as though the power itself was retreating. Initially, he assumed it was a trick by the Witch of Envy, but then he realized the being in his arms had begun to speak.

Despite having the same face, the voice and tone were completely different from before.

"Emilia's knight, I am Satella, not the Witch of Envy. While I can still control this body, please drive me out of this child's body as soon as possible."

Hearing these words, Wood finally understood what was happening.

The Witch of Envy had two personalities—the cruel, destructive Witch of Envy and the gentle Satella. Previously, the Envy personality had been in control, but when Wood had been clashing with her, it gave the Satella personality an opportunity to take over.

With Satella's cooperation, Wood finally managed to force the Witch of Envy out of Emilia's body. As dark purple magic energy surged out of her, Emilia's gaze gradually regained clarity.

Seeing Wood, who was covered in silver hair, Emilia looked ashamed. She tried to say something, but before she could, Wood violently threw her away.

Echidna and Puck, who had been waiting outside, immediately flew forward to catch Emilia as she was thrown from the magical vortex.

"Puck, we have to help Wood. He can't defeat the Witch of Envy on his own."

Emilia, who had just been caught by Puck, wanted to rush back in to help Wood. However, before she could take action, she felt a stinging pain across her cheek as someone slapped her—a slap that left her face red and swollen.

It was none other than the Witch of Greed, Echidna, and her usually calm expression was now filled with anger.

"He put in so much effort to save you, and now you want to throw yourself back into danger?

In a battle of this level, you're just a small fry. Even I can't interfere. If you go back, you won't be helping—you'll just be a burden!"

If anyone else had slapped Emilia, Puck, who regarded her as his daughter, or Subaru, who viewed her as a goddess, would have already attacked. But since it was Echidna, neither dared to speak up. Puck owed his very existence to her, and Subaru was intimidated by the sheer force of her presence.

"Maybe... maybe we could try my power. I can't tell you about it, but if I die or you kill me, it might work..."

Subaru's power of "Return by Death" was unexplainable, but that was the only option he could think of. Despite having the ability, Subaru hated dying—immortality didn't mean he enjoyed dying over and over again.

After hearing about Wood's sacrifice, Subaru felt that dying a few times was a small price to pay to save his friend.

However, before Subaru could take action, Echidna stopped him, her expression mocking.

"Your so-called power is just 'Return by Death.' But do you even know who granted you that power?

No, it's not some god as you might have thought. It was the Witch of Envy herself, Satella.

Do you really think you could use the power she gave you against her?"

Subaru was left speechless. Echidna was the first person who had ever managed to articulate his ability. Not even Wood could do that. This revelation made Subaru realize she might be right—his "Return by Death" power had come from the Witch of Envy herself.

Using someone's own gift to fight them... it was obviously futile.

"No matter what, we have to save Wood. He's my knight, and he saved me so many times already. I can't just stand by and watch him take it all upon himself. I can't..."

Emilia remembered everything—the possession of her body, her childhood, and the tragic outburst of magic. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was just a burden, a calamity for those around her, unworthy of being saved.

Slap!

Another sharp sound echoed in the air—Echidna had slapped Emilia again.

"He is your knight? Well, he is also my contract partner. Compared to that, a knight and a witch are nothing. I never liked you, but since this is his wish, I suppose there's no choice!"

After saying this, Echidna delivered a karate chop that rendered Emilia unconscious. She tossed her over to Subaru and Puck and began preparing her teleportation spell.

With powerful magical energy swirling everywhere, it wasn't easy to find a stable spatial node to open a gate.

"Are we really just going to abandon Wood? It feels like the complete opposite of what I should be doing," Subaru protested, looking at the vortex of magical energy.

According to the usual protagonist script, Subaru thought he, as the chosen one, should be stepping up to save the day.

"This is Wood's resolve. If you want to stay and die with him, I won't stop you.

After all, he's Emilia's knight, not yours. This time, saving you was just a bonus."

After some struggle, Echidna managed to open a "portal" amidst the swirling magic and urged Puck and Subaru to move quickly.

To Puck, Emilia was everything. Though he felt guilty, he didn't hesitate long—he wanted her to live. Subaru, realizing there was nothing more he could do, reluctantly stepped through the portal.

Echidna was the last to enter, and before stepping through, she took one last, lingering look at the swirling mass of magic above.

"I hope what you said was true—that your death is not true death.

If I just completed a contract and then my partner died, they might mock me as an ill-omened witch."

Not long after Echidna and the others departed, the Witch of Envy's more violent personality regained control in the vortex.

Infuriated by Satella's choice to release Emilia and by Wood for embracing her, the Witch of Envy decided to consume him before swallowing the Satella personality herself.

"If you like devouring so much, then let me give you everything—let's see if you can truly devour it all.

Pseudo-Divine Ice Magic—Absolute Freeze!"

Previously, when Wood fought against Dragon God Orsted in the "Mushoku Tensei" world, he had managed to reach the "Pseudo-Sword God" level through the power of the "Heart of the Gods."

Now, Wood once again pushed himself beyond his limits using the Heart, elevating his ice magic to a "pseudo-divine" level.

An overwhelming chill spread throughout the area, and the rune representing the "Heart of the Gods" on Wood's chest shone with an intense silver light. A layer of frost began to form on his skin, spreading outwards.

Sensing the danger from the cold, the Witch of Envy grew anxious. She tried to escape but found herself tightly held by Wood.

When it came to raw physical strength, the Witch of Envy was no match for him. As she attempted to use her devouring power on the frost covering her, she discovered, to her horror, that it was immune to her powers.

"Don't bother. This frost is different. Even your Authority can't devour it.

Absolute Freeze is the most powerful ice magic I can use. And the price for using it is my own life.

The ice covering you is made of my life and body. Even a Sword Saint would be powerless before it.

Normally, I wouldn't use a magic that comes at such a cost, but after pushing the 'Heart of the Gods' beyond its limit, I was already doomed. So I might as well go all in.

If I can't kill you, then I'll just seal you forever in this frozen land!"

As Wood's words echoed, his body began to turn into ice, freezing the Witch of Envy along with him.

She realized how dire the situation was, but she was powerless. Her devouring power was ineffective, and she could do nothing but watch herself slowly get encased in ice.

Watching Wood gradually shatter into ice, the Witch of Envy memorized his name—Wood Huxin—the second man she would never forget, after Subaru Natsuki, whom she loved dearly.

As dark-purple magic was replaced by ice-blue, an immense cold wave centered on Wood and the Witch of Envy swept across the land, freezing everything in a radius of nearly ten thousand miles.

Under the absolute cold, all life within that range was frozen, forever trapped in that moment.

At the very center of the frozen landscape, a massive lotus of ice bloomed. Within the transparent ice was the silhouette of a woman—the infamous Witch of Envy, Satella.

One could see her figure clearly through the ice, but her face remained obscured, as if covered by an impenetrable shadow.

The news of the Witch of Envy's resurrection had spread for barely half a day, and many kingdoms hadn't even had time to react before they received word that she had already been sealed again!