The Witch's Anatomical Notes

Chapter 112

Doggo

"Where’s Theodosius? If he were here, he should be able to restrain that lunatic Zoe."

"I'm afraid not. Master has run into trouble as well."

Lucy quickly explained to Fenrir the upheaval in the Nurturing Cradle and told him about how she had severed the Styx.

Fenrir’s pupils widened into full circles.

‘You’re saying a ferryman has come ashore!’

‘That’s right. Do you know who he is?’

‘Lord of the Styx—Icarus… That guy’s never gotten along with the boss, and now he’s involved too. This is a total mess.’

Suddenly, it let out a piercing cackle: ‘But the boss—the Sleeper—probably never dreamed that his plan, concocted with Outer Gods and the Three Pillar Gods, would end up being sabotaged by a tiny ant like you.’

‘I can already imagine the look on the boss’s face in the Sea of Eternal Slumber when he saw the Styx cut off… hahaha!’

After laughing for a while, Fenrir seemed to recall something. The laughter in Lucy’s mind abruptly ceased: "But seriously, have you prepared to face the Sleeper?"

The severing of the Styx would likely draw not only Death God, the Sleeper, upstream to investigate, but also Icarus, the Lord of the Styx.

When that happened, more than four true gods of the Realm of Death would converge before the Gate of the Dead and the Path of No Return.

Lucy’s brow twitched.

She knew the consequences would be dire but there was no way she could turn her back on her friends and the lives of tens of millions.

Sensing Lucy’s hesitation, Fenrir's voice rang out again, seizing the moment to suggest, ‘How about a partnership?’

Lucy: ‘What kind of partnership?’

‘You find a way to lure that bastard Zoe away, and I’ll open the Gate of the Dead so you all can return to the living world.’

Lucy sneered.

This guy’s scheming practically bounced off his skull and right into her face.

Lure Zoe away?

Easier said than done. That was a bona fide demigod who wielded the power of divine law.

Even Master Theodosius would tread carefully in front of her.

And even if they really did manage to draw the Chief Arbiter away, whether Fenrir would actually open the gate once he had time to breathe—who could say?

‘No deal.’ She rejected the proposal bluntly and without hesitation.

‘Then name your terms!’

Lucy shook her head.

‘It’s not about me naming terms. It’s about you showing me an offer that can actually move me.’

It wasn’t that she deliberately wanted to make things difficult for the Gatekeeper. In truth, she had never anticipated encountering such events in the Realm of Death, let alone bargaining with a demigod.

Asking her to name a price—she genuinely didn’t know where to begin.

Fenrir flew into a rage. His dog head that lay on the Path of No Return twitched with fury.

‘Don’t forget, you people have tens of millions of souls that need to pass through my Gate of the Dead!’

‘You’re right, we do have… a tiny bit over a billion.’ Lucy shrugged noncommittally, then added, ‘But you’ll probably die before we do.’

Before the Gate of the Dead, Fenrir—now reduced to only one head—had been thoroughly pinned in a corner by the Chief Arbiter.

Her Judgment Sword could strike at any moment to sever the last dog head.

The white-headed Fenrir panicked completely.

Among his three heads, the white one symbolized the soul, the red represented slaughter, and the black stood for divine authority.

Once all three heads fell, Zoe would be able to use her divine artifact, the Judgment Sword, to strip him of his law power.

‘Damn wizards! Aren’t you obsessed with studying the power of laws?’

Fenrir’s voice burst into Lucy’s mind like someone had stepped on his tail, shrieking in a frenzy, ‘I’ll share with you the power of the Soul Law! I swear it by the law of the Gate of the Dead!’

‘Now, get me out of here!’

As soon as he finished speaking, the white dog head on the Path of No Return opened its jaws wide and forcefully squeezed out a miniature white dog, which bounded toward Lucy.

By now, Zoe’s Judgment Swords had already pinned Fenrir’s limbs, and the fifth long sword slowly rose—without hesitation, it cleaved off the third dog head.

But the anticipated stripping of law power didn’t occur upon Fenrir’s death. Instead, it fled into the distance.

Following the direction, she spotted a palm-sized white puppy.

She hadn’t expected him to have such a trick—shedding his divine skin like a cicada.

"Trying to run?!"

One of the floating long swords behind Zoe suddenly turned its blade and shot forth.

"Save me!"

In his moment of desperation, Fenrir couldn’t care less about the dignity of a god. Like a drowning man grabbing at straws, he cried out to Lucy for help.

Which instantly drew Zoe’s attention.

"He betrayed us!"

The high-ranking wizard who had come along paled in shock.

Fenrir’s desperate shout exposed the two hiding by the banks of the Styx. Even if they didn’t intervene, Zoe would now hunt them down.

The high-ranking wizard reached for the witchcraft rune on his belt.

It was a high-grade magical tool he had paid dearly for—his only life-saving method brought into the Realm of Death.

But would something so basic really work against Chief Arbiter Zoe?

"Living people? Looks like you haven’t been upholding your divine authority properly," Zoe said coldly.

She waved her hand, and another sword suddenly shifted direction. The Judgment Sword erupted in a blinding beam of death, slashing straight toward the two humans and one dog!

The high-ranking wizard shut his eyes in despair.

There was no need to even try—he already knew that nothing he had could withstand this strike.

But just then—

"Get down!"

Lucy, who had risen to scoop up the dog, flung out a strand of silver thread.

It was one of the three silver threads Theodosius had left her—a safeguard in case of emergencies.

The moment the thread left her hand, the Star Ring Witchcraft stored within it erupted. Countless silver filaments shot out from the void, weaving into a massive net that ensnared the two incoming Judgment Swords.

"Clang—!"

After shattering three layers of the silver web, the Judgment Swords finally lost momentum. Lucy didn’t look back as she grabbed both the man and the dog and bolted.

"Think you can run? Not so easy!"

Zoe reached for yet another Judgment Sword.

Suddenly, an earsplitting bark echoed along the Path of No Return.

"Awooo!"

The red-headed Fenrir lying on the ground abruptly twitched. With a violent twist of its neck, its gaping maw bit ferociously into Zoe’s waist and abdomen.

"Courting death!"

With a single slash, the red-headed Fenrir was utterly obliterated.

At that moment, the black-headed Fenrir—still nailed to the Gate of the Dead—suddenly widened its eyes. A massive stone gate opened beneath it.

Caught off guard, Zoe instantly fell through the gate, and the black-headed Fenrir also lost all signs of life.

The white Fenrir shouted, "Run! I can’t hold the seal for long."

Even before he finished speaking, a deafening boom erupted from the ground beneath them.

The stone gate was pierced by twelve sword blades.

Lucy didn’t hesitate. Grabbing the man and the dog, she dashed toward the Ark moored at the edge of the Styx.

By the time Zoe broke through the gate, she could only watch as the small wooden boat vanished into the distant end of the Styx.

She slowly approached the riverbank but dared not touch the water.

The Styx belonged to Icarus—it was his domain. Even she had no authority to enter.

After hesitating for a moment, she could only take up her sword and follow the riverbank downstream in pursuit.