The Wizard of Fairy Tale World

Chapter 139: Rhine Returns! The Storm at Sea

Aurora’s final strike never landed.

Clang!

Her sword slipped from her trembling, weakened hands and clattered onto the deck.

She collapsed onto the ground, propping herself up with both hands as blood poured from her eyes. Her entire body throbbed with unbearable pain.

In her dragon form, Maleficent erupted into laughter.

The Queen, the Sea Hag, and the soldiers aboard the ship all turned pale.

If Maleficent emerged victorious, none of them would survive!

The Sea Hag furrowed her brows, a decisive glint flashing in her eyes.

"Maleficent, we may not be able to defeat you, but we can perish together."

"Let’s drag each other into eternal damnation!"

A deep blue glow filled the Sea Hag’s eyes as her seaweed-green hair unraveled in the wind, forming a swirling storm around her.

Maleficent scoffed.

"A meaningless struggle."

In the next moment, the entire sea surrounding the ship turned pitch-black, a dark shadow engulfing the waters for hundreds of meters.

"We shall all be buried beneath the waves!"

The Sea Hag had transformed the ocean into "The Waters of No Return."

She intended to sink the ship with everyone aboard, sacrificing her life to summon an unparalleled surge of magic—dragging Maleficent into the depths and suffocating her to death.

Yet Maleficent, still in her dragon form, merely watched with cold amusement.

Nothing happened.

The massive flower ship remained afloat.

"The ship… it’s not sinking? Why?"

A chill ran down the Sea Hag’s spine.

"Surprised?" Maleficent sneered. "Didn’t you notice? Ever since I boarded, this ship has been as steady as solid ground, barely swaying on the waves."

Beneath the ship, monstrous brambles and other unnatural plants had sprouted from the ocean floor, rising toward the surface and holding the vessel aloft.

This ship wasn’t floating—it was suspended in the air by a forest of Maleficent’s cursed plants.

Realizing this, the Sea Hag felt a cold dread sink into her bones.

Even their last desperate chance at mutual destruction had been stripped away.

"Maleficent, stop wasting time and just kill them already!" the Eastern Witch urged. "Two traitors to the Coven, that brat Aurora, and everyone else on this ship—they all deserve to burn in hell!"

Somehow, the Eastern Witch had already stood up. The soldiers who had been guarding her now lay unconscious, completely unresponsive.

Hovering beside her was a spectral figure—the vengeful spirit of the Old Witch from Enderland. The Eastern Witch had freed her.

So she had been faking her injuries all along!

With a grin, the Eastern Witch walked over to Aurora and plucked the Silver Shoe from her pocket, slipping it back onto her foot.

"Hey, hey, where’s the other Silver Shoe? With that magician Rhine?"

She barked at the fallen Aurora, but Aurora only let out a muffled groan in defiance.

"Damn it, I’m talking to you! You’re still acting tough at death’s door?"

"Whatever. Your precious teacher is probably dead by now, his body dissolved into nothing. I’ll just search his remains later."

With a sneer, she kicked Aurora hard—only to immediately double over, clutching her foot in pain.

"Argh! Damn it! I forgot—her skin is immune to blades and attacks!"

"Idiot," Maleficent scoffed, exhaling green sparks from her dragon nostrils.

The Black Dragon scanned the ship, taking in the sight of trembling, weapon-clutching soldiers; the Queen, pale and despairing; the Sea Hag, frozen in horror; and Aurora, exhausted and collapsed, but still glaring at her with murderous intent.

"That girl… Even now, she isn’t afraid?"

"Does she still think she can turn the tide?"

A flicker of doubt crossed Maleficent’s mind.

"Well then… Farewell, everyone!"

She opened her massive jaws, preparing to unleash the final spell that would end them all.

Then—

Plink.

A single drop of cold rain landed on Maleficent’s head.

She instinctively looked up.

The sky had darkened.

Somehow, thick storm clouds had gathered, blocking out the sun. Silver lightning crackled between the swirling masses.

Whoosh.

A piercing wind howled through the air, whipping across the sea. The waters churned violently, waves rising like mountains and crashing against the ship.

A storm was coming.

The soldiers and the Queen assumed it was just a natural phenomenon.

But the Sea Hag, attuned to the ocean’s moods, sensed something was very, very wrong.

"Wait… This storm came out of nowhere. This isn’t natural."

"And this sea hasn’t had a storm this massive in over a decade."

"No way…"

Her eyes widened as she stared at the sky, at the colossal storm stretching across the horizon.

Then—

Whoosh!

A bitterly cold rain began to pour.

BOOM!

A deafening clap of thunder roared.

And the Sea Hag understood.

"Someone is using magic… to summon an unprecedented storm over the sea!"

A silver-haired boy, his face serene, stepped onto the deck.

In his right hand, he held a magnificent blue scepter.

The raging wind twisted around him, snapping at his silver cloak, which billowed like a banner.

Rain swirled away before touching him, and lightning crackled through the air around him, as if he alone commanded the storm.

At this moment, he did not appear small or delicate—he looked like the true king of this tempest.

——The Scepter of the Ocean.

"Eleven years…"

He lifted his head, revealing an ethereal face straight out of a fairy tale, silver hair rippling in the storm’s winds. His eyes gleamed with an icy light.

"It’s been a long time, Maleficent."

Maleficent and the Eastern Witch froze in shock.

"Rhine?!"

"Why are you here?! You were supposed to be captured by Magrito—your body should have been dissolved into blood and bones!" the Eastern Witch shrieked.

Rhine’s voice was calm.

"Someone took my place."

"To be precise… A dead person."

He sighed.

"I hope she chooses to be a good person in her next life."

Near the outskirts of the White Kingdom, deep in a lush green forest…

Magrito listened to the eerie sounds of chewing coming from the gourd in his hands.

Then, a faint, bloodcurdling scream.

The Chief Magician of Enderland, a strange figure from the Middle Eastern Nations, threw his head back and laughed.

"Hahaha! That annoying brat is finally dead!"

Ever since Rhine had defeated him at the Divination Tournament with the help of a mermaid, Magrito had held a bitter grudge.

"The plan was a success. According to our agreement, once the Eastern Witch returns to Oz, she will help me overthrow the Emerald City’s ruler."

"I only lost a few worthless soldiers, and in return, I got rid of that brat and secured the support of Oz’s strongest witch. A very profitable deal!"

Still reveling in his victory, Magrito suddenly winced in pain—

The vengeful spirit of the Old Witch, which he had tamed and controlled, had been destroyed!

"What the hell?! What is the Eastern Witch doing? That wretched spirit was hard to acquire!"

Fuming, he muttered curses under his breath.

Inside the gourd, a sealed, pitch-black space…

As Rhine’s form vanished, taking his place was the Old Witch’s vengeful spirit.

Twisted in agony, bleeding red tears, the spirit had no time to react.

A dark, monstrous presence emerged from the abyss.

The last thing the spirit heard was a sickening crunch.

In an instant, she was consumed.

Her grievances erased.

Her immortal soul… finally free to reincarnate.