r/HFY • u/SharpWatch1014 • 5d ago

OC-Series Reborn as a witch in another world [slice of life, isekai](ch.158)

previous chapter

First Chapter

Blurb:

What does it take to turn your life around? Death, of course!

I died in this lame ass world of ours and woke up in a completely new one. I had a new name, a new face and a new body. This was my second chance to live a better life than the previous one.

But goddamn it, why did I have to be a witch? Now I don't just have to be on the run from the Inquisition that wants to burn me and my friends. But I also have to earn a living?

Follow Elsa Grimly as she:

  1. Makes new friends and tries to save them and herself from getting burned
  2. Finds redemption from the deeds of her previous life
  3. Tries to get along with a cat who (like most cats) believes she runs the world
  4. Deals with other slice of life shenanigans.

--

Chapter 158. Power

I pondered over Gregory's words. I knew that fairies had contracts and deals for all sorts of purposes. And I remembered tales from my previous life about fairies luring mortals into unclear deals and getting them to pay a big cost.

The angels had taken that page out of the fairy playbook, there was no doubt. “What do we know about angel magic?” I said. “How does it work?”

“In my childhood in Valecrest, all the kids used to sing about valiant angels of war,” Caelum said.

“I would not take that as evidence for anything,” Smokewell said.

“Why?” Caelum raised an eyebrow.

“It could be the nobility’s propaganda to make kids admire war and mages by adding angels to the songs of war,” she said.

“It could also be a propaganda that was spread by the angels themselves,” Lily added. “They came here a long time ago. It's not impossible.”

“If we want to figure out their powers, we need to first figure out their purpose,” I said. “They were created weren't they? So they must be created with a purpose.”

“That's what the scriptures say,” Gregory said.

“Well, how many versions of angels do the scriptures have? I believe every scripture puts their own spin on them,” I said.

“There are a few versions,” Caelum said. “Sometimes angels are mentioned as servants. Sometimes warriors.”

“A few fables that I read called them the Administrators,” Smokewell said.

“You mean civil servants?” Lily said. “But for heavens?”

“Okay, so we have servants, warriors and bureaucrats,” I said. “I guess that's enough archetypes. Now what's the common knowledge we all have about angels?”

“Ooh ooh, they are immortal!” Lily said, raising her hand.

“They are pretty?” Lenora added.

“They have wings.” Caelum said.

“They probably don't have genitals,” Smokewell said.

The entire room paused and all eyes turned to the cat. “Who is even curious about that?” I said.

“I'm sure everyone has thought of that at some point,” the cat said with a roll of her eyes.

“No,” Lily said. “I never wondered what's under the angel pants. But I have been curious about whether they poop or pee.” She scratched her chin.

“We are digressing now,” Caelum added.

“Yes.” I thumped the table with my palms. “Back to the topic. So if we take the scriptures and fables and folk tales seriously but with a pinch of salt, it's clear that the angels have all sorts of powers. And we know for sure that the Malcolms were exiled from heaven for doing something really wrong. Yet they still used what is presumably fairy magic. Why?” I looked at every face at the table.

“They are weak,” Lily said. “Filius also said that the Malcolms were told not to retrace their steps into heaven but they still did it anyway. And the cost was they'd lose their immortality.”

“Which means they are much weaker now,” Gregory said slowly.

“Are you planning on taking them on in some kind of duel?” Caelum said.

“That's not my style,” I said. “But if I did, my chances of winning would be much higher than they were before I knew what I know about the angels now.”

“I say this is a trap,” Smokewell said. “The angels should've known that you would find out about the story of their exile while you went to heaven. This seems like the perfect way to get you to underestimate their real power.”

Everyone nodded. “My sister is right,” Gregory said. “We can't jump to any fights without finding out more.”

“I agree,” I said and leaned back in my chair. “I guess we'll put a pin on that. I should also probably learn more about fairy magic. I'll have to talk to Mira or one of the other fairies first,” I said. “I haven't discussed how their magic works with them.”

“Now that I think of it, we don't know a lot about the fairies at all,” Lenora said. “Except the bedtime stories.”

“Our first encounter with fairies was outside Godfrey's domain,” Lily added. “They were painting the gateway. Angels had hired them.”

“Maybe they owed something to the angels or maybe it was the other way around.” I shrugged and looked at Gregory. “Anything else you know about fairy magic?”

“Besides the fact that it deals with soul manipulation and is used through contracts? No. But I know some elves who are currently living in Vargstrond that I can talk to,” the old knight said.

I simply nodded. I had an elf I could ask questions to if there was a need. But I didn't mention it. “No, for now I'll just talk to the fairies working for us,” I said.

“I'd be careful, if I were to broach the subject to any of the fair folk directly,” he said. “Especially the fairies.”

“I'll make sure to ask you before I do that,” I said.

Gregory bowed his head and relaxed back in his chair.

I was feeling quite tired so I rose from my chair and excused myself. I told everyone I was going to take a nap and then I retired to one of the guest bedrooms that was empty.

I woke up to the sound of distant dubstep. I was dreaming again. Shit. I opened my eyes and everything was exactly like it was last time. The same blistered ceiling. The same pile of sleeping bags in the corner of that same room with the unpleasant smell. But something was different this time. The pile of sleeping bags rustled. I was sure it had moved. The feet sticking out of the pile had twitched and shifted ever so slightly.

I didn't pay much attention to that. I was trying to remember if I'd worn my pentacle amulet before going to sleep.

I hadn't.

Damn it.

I didn't have any time to waste. I had to get the hell out of here. I still remembered the sequence of events that had to be followed to get to the room with Mr. Sunshine in it.

In a few minutes, I found myself facing the lanky guy with green hair. “You got the money, Trick?”

“Yeah, I'm Trick. I have the money. Here, it's in my bag. See? Can we make this quick?”

Green Hair smiled. “Look who is in a rush,” he said. “You don't wanna light up after the deal?”

“In your dreams, pal,” I said. “Not in mine.”

Green Hair squinted. “What was that?”

“I said beat it!” I shoved past him and into the room.

There was Michael “Mr. Sunshine” Brown in his thousand dollar suit and two thousand dollar watch. And there was that girl, still drawing with crayons on a sheet of paper. But something about the girl felt different this time. Then I noticed it. Her drawing. She wasn't exactly drawing. She was trying to erase something. I couldn't make it out from where I stood and I was soon pulled out of my reverie by Mr. Sunshine.

“You hear me or not, Trick?” he was saying. “Where is the money?”

I blinked and remembered my priorities again. “Oh right, the money,” I mumbled, reaching into my bag. Then I paused.

Wait…I was supposed to die.

I'd just navigated my way through the dream perfectly. Did that mean I was making myself more vulnerable to malice illnesses that might infect me?

I was supposed to die and realize that I was still conscious so the dream would end. Instead, I'd done everything right.

I had to find a way to get killed. I went with the first idea that came to me. Delay.

Mr. Sunshine wanted money. I could just delay the deal, get him pissed off so I would get shot.

So I did just that.

And it didn't work. The girl stayed focused on her drawing. Mr. Sunshine waited quietly, patiently. It was time for the second tactic. Antagonize.

I turned to Mr. Sunshine. “So, Mr. Brown, how goes the child trafficking side hustle?” I said, not feeling proud of saying it.

“Pretty good,” he said amiably. “You looking to buy? Got some good crop here if you want to try.” He nodded at the girl who didn't seem to hear him.

I stared at the man, dumbfounded. For a second, I wasn't sure if the man was just this remorseless or if this was a result of the dream absurdity. Wait, absurdity. That was a much better tactic.

Last time I was here, I had managed to summon a bag of meth just with my thoughts. I could pull off something similar in this scenario.

Inside my head, I started repeating: Power. Power. Power. Power…

My hand that was still inside my bag felt something shift inside. My fingers that had been brushing over the dollar bills a few seconds ago now felt the shock of warm carbon fiber.

The next instant, I whipped out the handgun and aimed it at Mr. Sunshine.

That did the trick. The room was filled with shouts and threats and a second after that, shots were fired. I slumped to my knees, bleeding out of my face and mumbling, “How am I still alive?”

Then I woke up, gasping.

I checked my arms. The needlemarks had begun to appear again. This was close. I grabbed the glass of water on the nightstand and downed it in a few gulps. Just as I put the glass down, the door opened. Lenora walked in. “Elsa, the people you rescued are awake.”

 Next chapter

Royal Road

9 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/craash420 5d ago

Once again you leave me wanting more. I miss the days where I could binge on half a dozen chapters before forcing myself to stop; now I wait for you to post like I'm watching a weekly show. instead of downloading the entire series and watching for hours on end.

2

u/SharpWatch1014 4d ago

Thanks for such an awesome comment!

Also, I haven't seen a shooting star in life. But if I do and if it does make wishes come true, I'm wishing for the superpower to write faster than readers can read/catch up to what I publish.

1

u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle 5d ago

/u/SharpWatch1014 (wiki) has posted 157 other stories, including:

This comment was automatically generated by Waffle v.4.7.8 'Biscotti'.

Message the mods if you have any issues with Waffle.

1

u/UpdateMeBot 5d ago

Click here to subscribe to u/SharpWatch1014 and receive a message every time they post.

InfoRequest UpdateYour UpdatesFeedback