Whose youth romance story begins with a witch's trial?!

A questioning voice came from the Great Witch; she didn't even realize what she was seeing at first.

"Ahhh... Ahh ...

The next moment, when reason finally recognized what the thing her eyes had seen was, the Great Witch let out an indescribable scream.

"Rong...Rong—Rong...!! Yes, that's right, Meruru's magic...Meruru!"

The Great Witch instinctively looked at Meruru on the ice, but the 'Witch of Restoration Magic' was still unconscious and unable to move, and her shattered head had only been restored to less than half its original state.

"Ughhhh... I need to stop the bleeding... How do I stop the bleeding... I, my magic—"

The Great Witch immediately thought of at least 15 kinds of magic that could save the boy in front of her, but all of those magics... had been spread by her own hands a long, long time ago.

In order to kill the sinners called humanity, the Great Witch unleashed almost all of her magic, except for a very few spells used to conceal her own existence. And all she did was to accelerate the spread of the [Witch Factor].

Once the last human in the world is infected with the witch factor, the Great Witch can use the [Witch Slayer] magic to slaughter all humans carrying the witch factor.

however……

"Aaaaaah...why, why...Rong...Aaaaaahh ...

The only person without the 'witch factor' fell before him, and in order to spread the witch factor and kill all humans, he had personally given up all ways to save him.

"No, no...no—you, you wake up...ahhhhh...Meruru, help me, Meruru...please save him—"

The only boy who didn't have to bear all the sins became the victim of his own revenge, the reasons for which he had long forgotten.

The Great Witch slumped down beside the broken boy, futilely trying to stop the liquid and debris gushing from his body. But her actions only served to stain her pure white, snowflake-like clothes red.

"You...you abandoned me! You completely loathe me! Why...why...ahhhhhh!!"

The Great Witch's guess was correct; the boy did indeed choose to smile and stroke her head and hair, accepting her original sin.

When the Great Witch voluntarily chose to be judged by Kurobe Nanoha, it was the white-haired boy who forcibly tackled the witch off the execution platform, even though the price was that he himself was judged in her place.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have let you bear those burdens! I shouldn't have entrusted you with decisions I didn't understand—I was wrong, Rong. I really know I was wrong, ahhhhhh... Please, please stop scaring me...! Please, please—!!"

Why can't I just accept his love honestly? Why am I so fixated on my sins? Didn't I already know that all along? He would love me unconditionally, accept me no matter how many times, no matter what I've done—don't I know that better than anyone else?!

"Yes, right, the witch factor...! And the witch factor... just like Meruru did back then... Wake up, you idiot, you idiot... Wake up... Please, Rong... Wake up...!"

Suddenly, the Great Witch had an idea. She poured all her witch genes into the mangled corpse, attempting to repair the boy in this way.

But no matter how hard she tried, even using the strength that almost made her faint to transfer the witch factor to him, the mangled corpse remained motionless.

"Ahhhhhh...no, no...don't do this...Rong..."

The self-proclaimed omnipotent great witch could only watch helplessly as the boy's corpse cooled down, unable even to gather his body back together.

Just as pure white snowflakes melt and dissipate into scarlet blood, the Great Witch could only watch as the boy's life completely faded away.

"As long as you can come back to life, as long as you can be happy, I don't care what happens... You are the only one who deserves happiness..."

The Great Witch lay slumped on the boy's mutilated body, having completely lost even the strength to sob. She could only repeat her apologies over and over again in almost hollow words, even though no one would ever hear them again.

"..."

After a moment of silence, the Great Witch picked up a shard of glass shattered by the explosion and held it to her neck.

“I’ve come to be with you, Rong. If we can meet over there… no, please let me meet him, even if it means my soul is tormented forever, no matter the cost… If, if I can see Rong again and apologize to him in person…”

"If, if death could lead me to you... wait, death..."

Just before the glass pierced her flesh completely, the Great Witch suddenly remembered something.

There is one last way to fix everything... although the chances are slim, it is indeed an 'opportunity'.

"Rong...do you still stand by what you said back then? Even if I'm such a sinner...you, you would still accept everything about me with a smile, right?"

For no apparent reason, the Great Witch was quite certain that if Chang Rong woke up at this moment, he would gently stroke her hair and slowly explain why he had done all this.

Because... Rong is just too gentle, so gentle that even he himself feels helpless.

The Great Witch took the bell out of her pocket and placed it tightly in the palm of the Flawless Man's hand.

She swayed as she got up, walked to Meruru's mutilated body on the ice, and took the photograph that bore her mark. Then she made a gesture with her fingers, casting the [Oblivion] spell one last time.

I... am really happy. The time I spent with you was even happier and more blissful than my daily life on Witch Island.

So... that's enough. I've experienced this happiness, so it's time to return it to you... Rong.

If I could truly correct all of this, if I could 'start all over again'... this time, I would choose to quietly watch you pursue your own happiness.

"I'm willing, but I'm sorry, I can't keep my promise."

After clumsily editing and sending the message to the boy, the Great Witch quietly disappeared.

After passing Jiulinli Temple Liuqiba <児+捌|阅-漪一会——

"Ugh... Waaaaah? What, what's going on...?"

Meru on the ice finally woke up from her unconsciousness after being shot in the head, and was immediately shocked by the scene in front of her.

"This...is this wreckage? Is it the wreckage of Ms. Nanoha Kaori...?"

Meru blinked. The witch's remains knelt motionless on the ground, her twisted hand clutching a broken phone. The screen displayed the following message: "I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry. I wanted to see that child so badly. I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry. I can't keep my promise. I'm so sorry, so sorry."

"Such docile remains... That's great, perhaps they can be used as supplementary guards! But, this is... Hmm... Huh?"

Following the direction of the wreckage, Meru saw the broken corpse on the ice.

Although she had no memory of the corpse, Meruru on the ice felt an overwhelming sadness for no apparent reason.

"Um... I'm sorry, although I don't know who you are, but, but I'm really sorry... I think I messed something up, I'm so sorry..."

On the ice, Meruru activated the [Restore] spell to piece the white-haired boy's body back together, then gently embraced him and whispered something.

"I'm sorry... Hmm, is it because I've been performing witch trials for so long and I'm so tired? I feel... really uncomfortable..."

"But I have to find the Great Witch. If I can find the Great Witch, everyone, everyone will surely be saved... Yes, surely..."

With the remains on the ice, Meruru picked up the white-haired boy's body and carefully placed it in the ice of the underground freezer for preservation.

After a brief rest, Meru on Ice put aside her inexplicable sadness and began to compile a list of prospective witches for the next witch trial.

Inside the underground cryogenic chamber, the high concentration of witch factors, forcibly injected, lingered in the boy's body with nowhere to go, and eventually had to be gradually integrated with him at an extremely slow pace.

Finally, after another witch trial, in the next witch trial—the boy opened his eyes from the ice.

Volume 1: Thanks to Doubi686 for the two silver treasure chests

I am truly grateful for your generous donation. Because the amount is so substantial, I'm dedicating another chapter to express my gratitude...

I am so grateful, I'm so touched...

In short, although it's not during the bounty period, I'll still add an extra chapter as usual, which is [10 chapters].

Thank you again for the generous donation! I'm so happy, touched, and blessed.

Book 1: Chapter 121. Hero: My natural enemies will appear on their own.

"Ugh...!!!"

When he came to his senses, Chang Rong's back was soaked with sweat. Even in the extreme environment of the underground freezer, large beads of cold sweat continued to drip from the white-haired boy's forehead.

He held the group photo in his hand, which seemed to be missing one person. His mind was like ice on the eve of summer, constantly breaking and crumbling into various fragments.

Among those fragments, Chang Rong recalled remnants of a memory. Although they were just 'fragments,' by piecing them together, Chang Rong could still barely glimpse a part of his past memories.

Indeed, this prison was not unfamiliar to him. He had been here before, before this witch trial, and—had lived with other prospective witches.

As the faces of the girls with different attributes gradually became clearer, traces of his life with them on the prison island also gradually emerged.

However, among these fragments... Chang Rong still couldn't remember the person who should have been her 'closest'.

He had come to this prison island with her, he had lived in the same cell with her, and he had made a vow with her that should never be forgotten—but why, why couldn't he remember?

It's as if all the fragments about 'her' have been gathered together and tucked away in the deepest corner of my brain, and I don't even have the 'key' to them...

Moreover, in the final stage of all the fragments, he arrived at a room that had been temporarily converted into a darkroom for developing photos, which seemed to be the abandoned study where he was currently living.

My memories of what happened after entering that room abruptly disappeared and ended abruptly.

Chang Rong could only recall fragments of her life with the girls, the terrifying and nauseating moments when the girls turned into 'witches', but she could not recall her own final 'ending' no matter what. She only vaguely knew that she had indeed 'died' in that witch trial.

If only we could get a little more information...

Chang Rong hastily wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and shifted his gaze to the girl's corpse lying on the ground not far away—the mastermind behind it all, Ice Meluru.

—Why do I... instinctively feel disgust just by seeing her? No, "disgust" isn't quite right; it's more like a kind of resistance. Am I resisting her because Meruru on Ice is part of a conspiracy?

Chang Rong looked at the 'Black Curtain Witch' who had already lost her life, feeling a mix of emotions. He couldn't quite understand his feelings at that moment.

To say it's disgust seems a bit too extreme, while to say it's anger isn't quite so straightforward; it's more like a kind of confusion and... discomfort.

Chang Rong couldn't understand this emotion, only attributing it to the shock his brain experienced after finding the fragments of memory. He walked to Merulu on the ice, suppressing his discomfort as he tried to gather any more information or clues about Yilin's father, the "disappeared person."

There should be another person... There should be someone who always follows me and is always by my side... Who is she?

I feel that as long as I can recall things about 'her', I can find a way out of many things... But perhaps this is just wishful thinking on my part, and even my own brain is probably resisting this.

...No, there's only this one photo on Melu on Ice, nothing else.

Isn't she supposed to be part of the conspiracy? A conspiracy should act like one, carrying a notebook full of evil plans and committing all sorts of outrageous acts! Why is this person acting like a nun, completely pure and clean, without any unnecessary items or traces of her own existence?

It seems that Meluru Ice is not the type like Heero Nikaido who would carry around criminal plans and XYY fantasy notebooks, which is a real shame.

"Waaah...!"

The brain throbbed again as it forcibly pieced together the fragments. Chang Rong's desperate attempts to recall the 'disappeared person' were not only ineffective, but had the opposite effect, uncovering the 'end' of those former aspiring witches within the fragments.

A girl who was beheaded, a girl who was shot, a girl who was twisted and executed, a girl who was dismantled and absorbed, a girl who was hacked to death, a girl who escaped as remains, a girl pierced by remains—

"Ahhh... Alice, Futter, Nana, Miss—Ughhhhhh...!!"

The clearer image overwhelmed Chang Rong, and he immediately got up from beside Meruru and walked straight toward the ice block that had been marked earlier.

"Alice... Alice...! Damn it, where are the others...? There should be others—no, that's not right. At least we need to rescue Alice first—"

Boom boom boom!

Chang Rong kept banging on the frozen tombstone of the blonde girl in the Lolita dress, whispering frantically as if she were going mad.

What should I do? Smash Alice out? Where are the others? Where is everyone…? No, that's not right. Even if I 'rescue' them from the ice, what good will it do? That would only rob them of even their final rest… But should I just let them sleep forever in this dark, frozen underground freezer? I… what should I do—