Backstab

Crack! Crack!

Dull sounds echoed across the hill.

The figure who shared Snow White's name and appearance was frozen in an offensive posture, encased within thick walls of crystal.

It looked as though she had been frozen solid, unable to break free.

But even with this success, Cinderella was faring no better.

【Crystal Slipper】 was a control spell she had developed herself.

Its primary function was to bind an opponent, rendering them immobile, but that was all.

The reason the skill was named Crystal Slipper was because it was as fragile as crystal itself.

Even the slightest external interference would allow the person controlled within to break free.

Though it seemed like a useless skill, developing it at all was the limit of what Cinderella could achieve at this stage, having never systematically studied subjects like alchemy or magic circles.

Normally, once she had someone restrained, Snow White would step forward to deliver a finishing blow. But Snow White wasn't here.

No... the fact that this person dared to disguise themselves as Snow White was suspicious in itself. Had something happened to her friend?

At that thought, Cinderella's hands trembled with rage.

Although she and Snow White didn't get along and would bicker whenever they met, they were still close friends.

Knowing that Snow White might be in danger filled her with both fury and dread.

And so...

Cinderella drew the dagger from her waist and prepared to move in, intending to land a few blows on the imposter trapped by the Crystal Slipper to weaken them.

This was originally Snow White's job, but now Cinderella had to do it herself.

Most importantly, she desperately wanted to know what had happened to Snow White and whether she was in any danger.

However, before Cinderella's dagger could even touch the crystal, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.

Ugh...!

Cinderella looked down to find a knife buried in her stomach.

Turning her head with great difficulty, she realized it was one of the people who had been surrounding her earlier.

The faces of the others were filled with a bizarre excitement and twisted smiles.

In the next second, they dropped whatever they were holding and lunged at her with clawing hands, tackling Cinderella to the ground.

“Argh—!!!”

Ultimately, Cinderella was swallowed by the crowd.

A shrill, agonizing scream echoed across the small hill.

Flap, flap, flap—

The grey pigeon that had been perched in a tree on the hill took flight as Cinderella's screams gradually faded. It beat its wings rapidly and disappeared into the azure sky.

...

At the same time, in the opposite direction from the hill, a witch dressed in a white robe was stumbling through the woods, clutching a rapier.

Aside from the scratches on her body from grass and moss, there were also stains of blood.

This person was none other than the real Snow White, whom Cinderella had been waiting for.

She was supposed to meet Cinderella today.

But halfway there, she had been ambushed by a group of people.

If her Yeti familiar hadn't blocked a fatal blow for her, she might already be dead.

Some of these people were transmigrators who had run dungeons with her before, while others were strangers. She didn't know why they were attacking her.

But knowing why didn't matter right now.

Escaping and warning Cinderella to be wary of everyone was her only priority.

“Hurry, hurry! Catch her!”

“Don't let that witch get away!”

“Kill these damned witches!”

Behind her, the people who had ambushed her were still in hot pursuit.

Their roars and the words they shouted were enough to make one's blood run cold.

Why was this happening?

Many of them were people who had run dungeons with her and received her protection.

And yet now, they were turning their blades against her?

The irony was that most of the weapons they held were items they had obtained while following her through those dungeons.

She couldn't understand it. She truly couldn't understand what these people were after.

She fled from day until night. It wasn't until Snow White reached the edge of a lake that she finally stopped, gasping for breath, unable to run another step.

“Snow White, you have nowhere left to run.”

Behind her, the pursuers were panting just as hard as she was, looking even more disheveled.

There was no helping it.

Compared to a witch like Snow White, these unevolved transmigrators had no inherent advantage in terms of stats.

They were only able to keep up because the magic items they carried forcibly boosted their abilities.

In a way, Snow White and Cinderella had truly shot themselves in the foot.

If not for their kindness and persistence in helping others, they wouldn't have fallen into this predicament.

Snow White realized this, but now was not the time for such thoughts.

If her path back to her shelter hadn't been cut off, she might have made it back long ago.

If she hadn't been relying on the inferior version life potions Cinderella made to keep herself going despite her heavy injuries, she wouldn't have made it this far.

But now, her potions were almost gone, and she had reached the edge of the lake.

“Why are you doing this?”

After catching her breath slightly, Snow White asked the question she wanted answered most.

“Why? You're actually asking why? Other than the fact that you're a witch, what other reason do you think we need?”

The ringleader looked at Snow White as if she were an idiot.

In his eyes, the two witches living in their region truly were fools.

“A witch? What does me being a witch have to do with your ingratitude?”

Snow White completely failed to understand the logic behind his words.

“Ingratitude? Don't tell me you're talking about the two of you taking us through dungeons. No way! Seriously?”

The ringleader, whom Snow White had called ungrateful, leaned forward and spoke in an exaggerated, mocking tone.

“Is it not true? You were the ones who begged us to help you clear those dungeons, and now you backstab us?”

Snow White questioned the leader through gritted teeth.

“Hahaha! ‘Begged’! Look at this! This damned witch is still using that high-and-mighty voice, as if she was giving us charity.”

“These magic items were ours to begin with!”

“We participated in the dungeons, we fought, and we even took casualties. How does that count as you witches ‘helping’ us?”

“You witches are truly disgusting.”

The ringleader spat out his complaints with extreme disdain, leaving Snow White speechless.

She had never imagined a human could be so shameless.

According to the established dungeon distribution rules that everyone accepted, she and Cinderella were entitled to over eighty percent of the loot.

But because they considered everyone in the region to be neighbors, and because most of the loot wasn't something they needed, they had taken nothing but a few materials.