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Chapter 16: Kissed Frog
In fact, when Vivienne launched all of her attacks, Joanna was fully prepared, making the mad woman"s spells seem like they were hitting solid rock; it was quite a ridiculous scene.
However, Joanna didn"t dare to underestimate her enemy, having suffered a loss from her hands before. Instead she used her most powerful spells to respond to all of Vivienne"s attacks. Joanna had received her mother"s witch inheritance since the age of five and had trained in the arts for more than decade afterwards. Although she was still young at this time, Joanna was absolutely qualified to be considered a senior in her field. Vivienne, on the other hand, had only begun to practice black magic two years ago; she could only fumble on her own. Because she had no guidance from a master, her strength was further compromised. Only a short moment had pa.s.sed before Vivienne overpowered and stepped on by the dragon.
"Impossible…..this is just impossible….
…Why is this happening!?"
Vivienne refused to believe that she could be beaten by the low cla.s.s woman in front of her. Nothing seemed to be special about Joanna at all. "I clearly have the strongest Night Demons, how could I lose to such a vulgar woman?!"
"Your foundation is not stable—even if you had immense power, if your foundation isn"t solid, then all your strength is in vain." Joanna didn"t want to kill her as punishment. Although many people believe that witches are evil beings who love to murder, the truth is that witches treat their work the same as other professions; they provide services to customers based on their needs, while seeing if the request is within their criteria. In that way the Witch can choose to take on a job based on their own magical ability or mentality.
And Joanna was the kind of witch that didn"t like to kill.
Unfortunately, the reputation of witches have long been destroyed by a small number of evil witches who were proactive in seeking out a lot of guests. These matters caused Joanna to feel disappointment.
"Actually, I"ve always been curious….."Joanna thought about whether she should use up the mad woman"s personal magical reserve before letting her off. After all, a witch whose magic was stripped away would immediately falter. Their shame would cause them to hide in a corner. However, this mad woman was so crazy that she might just bite around and throw a wild fit, even if she lost her magic. So Joanna had to stall for time as she contemplated how to deal with her. While she pondered, she needed to distract Vivienne with a topic. "Whenever you demand for my frog, you always say to hand "him" over, instead of "it" over…..Why is that?"
Joanna noticed that the mad woman seemed to start feeling panic…
as if….she was about to be caught.
"Is this frog….a key to opening a treasure? No this isn"t it." Joanna continued to observe the mad witch"s expression, and this didn"t seem to be the answer. "Or is it a clue to a secret?" But the mad woman"s face still remained ambiguous. Just what was this woman"s reason for being so persistent, especially with just a little frog?
Meanwhile, Ian, who rested on Joanna"s palms, had once again felt as if his heart was so full, that it overflowed with emotion. It turned out that she really didn"t know he was cursed! In the beginning, she had always been such a kind person, such that she even treated pitiful creatures kindly.
But isn"t she a very powerful witch? Why couldn"t she recognize my state?
"It can"t be……..did you curse a person into a beast?!" As Joanna thought of this possibility, she felt intense anger.
No wonder the little frog was so attached to her! No wonder he would feel so lonely whenever she left! He must have been tortured so cruelly by this crazy woman in the past, that he dare not remain alone again! That d**n crazy woman!
When Vivienne heard Joanna"s remarks, her expression turned complicated; she felt fear and embarra.s.sment when her secret was caught. However now that it"s out in the open, she also couldn"t help but sigh in relief. Suddenly she burst out in mad laughter, "Hahahaha—you can"t break my curse! That"s the curse that I created with my life; no one can undo it except for me!"
"I"m afraid not." Joanna held back her anger, although her hands continued to tremble in rage. Ian, who was wrapped in her palms, clearly felt her struggle. If the frog didn"t have the chance to escape to her side, or if she had never come to rescue him, who knows, she almost would have lost a human life!
Joanna slowly exhaled, stabilizing her magic. "Because of your lack of skill, you could only curse people into animals to remove their ability to speak…The original intention of this curse is to cause the victim pain from being deprived of their voice. After all, the human language is as important as food to live. Because you have used such a vicious way to control him, you as the caster will have to pay the corresponding price! If the curse does not naturally fade, but rather, is forcibly broken, then your magic will backlash."
Joanna continued, "Your curse is powerful, but you"ve only casted it halfway. I"m going to get rid of it since it"s a simple matter. But you will suffer the biggest blow." At this point Joanna had completely given up on the crazy woman. "I would have wanted to let you go, but it seems that you will only harm other people if freed. It"s best to leave you for dead. May you feel satisfied and content when you fall into the abyss, daughter of the Duke."
Vivienne stared at the scene in horror as Joanna"s lips kissed the small, ordinary frog in her hand.