The Release That Witch
Chapters 4's

“In the end, what happens when mine collapses, can you repeat it for me step by step?” Roland asked.

Anna nodded and began to describe it.

Roland was a little surprised, he expected her to remain silent or angrily curse him, but instead she simply replied with, "ask whatever you want," and obediently tell the story.

It's not a complicated story, but it's still sad. Anna's father was a miner and when the mine collapsed, she was at work. As soon as they get news of the collapse, Anna and the rest of the miner's family go to help save their loved ones. The Northern Mine was previously rumored to be a nest of underground monsters with many branches on the way, stretching in all directions. Since the rescue team was not under joint command, the volunteers split up after reaching the mine entrance so when Anna found her father, only her neighbors Susan and Ansgar were by her side.

Anna has discovered that her father's leg was crushed under a full ore cart and she can't move, but next to him is another miner who pats him, looking for his father's money. When the looters saw them arrive, he picked up the pick and rushed to Ansgar and dropped it to the ground, but by the time he was about to attack her, Anna killed him first.

Anna's neighbors swear that they will never say anything about the matter, and with their help Anna saves her father. But before dawn, the next day, Anna's father came out with his crutches and reported to the patrol guards that his daughter was a witch.

"Why?" Roland, when he heard up to this point, could not help but ask.

Barov sighed and replied, “Maybe so that he can receive a golden gift. The discovery and reporting of witches, could give you 25 gold royals. For a man with crippled legs, these 25 gold royals were equivalent to what he could earn for half a lifetime's work. "

After a moment of silence, Roland asked, "Your opponent is a strong and mature man, how can you kill him?"

Hearing this Anna laughed, and the torch flame trembled, like a high wave on the surface of a previously calm lake.

“Persis as you think, I used the power of the devil.” Said Anna.

"Shut up! Vile witch! " The warden shouted, but everyone could hear his voice trembling.

"really that? I want to see it." the fourth prince was not moved by their antics as he said calmly.

Your Majesty, this is not a laughing stock! The Knight Commander interrupted as he furrowed his brows.

Roland stepped out from behind the protection of his knights, step by step moving closer to the cell as he said, "Everyone who is too afraid of him can leave, I don't ask you to stay here."

“Don't panic, she has a 'God's Retaliation Pendant' on her neck!” barov shouted loudly to comfort everyone, but it was also possible to convince himself, "no matter how strong the devil is, he cannot break the blessing of God."

Standing in front of the prison bars, Roland and Anna were within close range and he could clearly see her dusty and bruised cheeks. Her gentle face indicated that she was still a minor, but her expression did not show childishness. More than that, even anger is hard to find. It was a disharmonious thing that only Roland saw on TV.

It was the face of a wandering orphan who suffered from poverty, hunger, cold, etc, usually in front of the camera missing children always stand with their bodies bowed and beaten, their heads bowed.

From the beginning until now, he still tried to stand up straight with a slightly raised gaze, calmly looking into the prince's eyes. He was not afraid of death, Roland realized. Instead, he awaits death.

“Is this your first time seeing a witch, My Lord? Your curiosity may get you killed. ” Says Anna.

“If it really is a demon power, you absolutely will not be in the current situation,” Roland replied, “If it is true, not I should be afraid of death, but your father.”

Roland's heart rate accelerated and he felt himself at an unusual turning point. On the one hand is a world of common sense, which according to the laws and constants he knows, not a single thread comes loose, he said, And on the other hand is an extraordinary new world, one filled with mysteries and the unknown. And now he stood before this world.

Hanged on his neck was actually the 'God's Retaliation Pendant'? It really is a simple and crude pendant, Roland thought. A red iron chain with a glittering and translucent pendant, if both of his hands were not handcuffed behind the witch's back, couldn't he use a quick pull to destroy this kind of thing?

Roland glanced at the crowd behind him, who was still saying a prayer in panic. He quickly grabbed into the cell, grabbed the pendant, and with a slight pull of the chain the necklace broke and then fell off, the move even shocked Anna.

"Come on." Roland whispered.

Are you ultimately a liar, some kind of alchemist, or are you really a witch? If you now take out the bottles and jars and start concocting the acid, I will be disappointed, Roland thought.

Roland then heard a crackling sound, which was the sound of thermal expansion of water vapor. Thanks to the dramatic rise in temperature, the water in the ground below them has turned into steam.

Roland saw the burning flames directly from Anna's feet, and then the ground where she stood was burning. The torches behind them exploded simultaneously, as if receiving pure oxygen, in a brilliant burst of light. For a short time, the entire cell seemed to be in daylight, and all this was accompanied by the terrified screams of the spectators.

As the witch moved forward, the flames surrounding her moved with her. The moment he reached the edge of his cell, the dozens of iron rods composing the walls became pillars of fire.

Roland was forced to retreat, the hot air bit his skin, making him feel pain. In just a few moments, he had escaped from the late autumn summer, no, this was a different kind of heat, no, it is produced only by high temperature fire and not the full ambient summer heat. One side of his body was facing the heat of the flame, and on the opposite side Roland felt a chill. He could even feel cold sweat pouring down his back.

... He was not afraid of fire. Roland thought.

Roland recalled the words of the Assistant Minister. Only now could he truly understand the meaning of that sentence.

He was his own fire, and how could one be afraid of oneself?

Immediately, the iron bars changed from deep red to light yellow, and it began to melt. This meant that they had been heated to over one thousand five hundred degrees centigrade, and achieved this in a condition without any measure of isolation, which was far beyond Roland's imagination. Like everything else, he had moved away from the cell, firmly attaching himself to the wall furthest from the cell.

If he did not do this, the heat that the molten iron generated was enough to kill him even without direct contact, but it was also enough for the burning clothes, such as Anna's, to have, his prisoner's outer clothes had been burnt to ashes and his body was now surrounded by blazing flames.

Roland did not know how long it had lasted, but in the end, the fire had completely faded.

The torches quietly lit up on the part of the wall next to it, seemingly nothing ever happened. But Anna's burning clothes, hot air, and prison bars that look like they're being burned by a demon accomplice, all of this, tells everyone that this isn't an illusion.

Other than Roland, only the Knight Commander was still standing. The others collapsed to the ground, the warden was so afraid that his pants smelled of a pug. Anna was now standing naked outside the cell, the shackles of her arms had disappeared. She did not block the view on her naked body, her hands hung naturally beside her and her eyes that were as blue as the sea were restored to the calmness from before.

“Now I have satisfied your curiosity, Sir,” said, “Will you kill me now?”

“No,” Roland stepped forward and wrapped his body in his coat and said in the lightest possible tone, “Nona Anna, I want to hire you.”