Multiverse's Ghost Rider

All the slime monsters the creature had summoned were consumed by Hellfire. She tried to conjure more, but Jon gave her no chance. With a swift flick of his wrist, the hellfire chains split into four and wrapped tightly around her limbs.

"Chain play, huh? Not quite as thrilling as tentacle play, but not bad either," Jon muttered with his usual wicked grin.

Then, he drew the Elder Wand and aimed it directly at the creature's chest.

Just then, she spoke. Her voice was hoarse and filled with pain, yet unmistakably female. "Please... grant me release."

"Not yet. You still have a role to play," Jon replied coldly.

With that, he pointed the Elder Wand at her chest and chanted, "Magestone, come forth!"

A spurt of black, viscous fluid burst from her chest, followed by a small hole opening up from which a pitch-black stone shot into the air. Jon reached out and caught it midair. Strange runes were etched across its surface.

The creature let out a scream of agony. Slowly, the black ooze began to peel away from her body. Her form shrank as the mass receded, gradually reverting to that of a human.

Soon, standing before Jon was a strikingly beautiful young woman. As the dark substance completely slid off her body, she collapsed to the ground—completely naked. Her eyes remained closed, and the chains gently lowered her down like a sleeping beauty.

***

Moments later, she stirred and opened her eyes, blinking at her surroundings in disbelief. When her gaze met Jon's, she asked softly, "Was the curse broken just now?"

"Yes. That stone was the cause of your torment," Jon said, holding up the cursed object. Realizing she was unclothed, he quickly rummaged through his system inventory—but came up empty-handed. With a shrug, he yanked off his coat and tossed it to her.

The young woman, now aware of her nakedness, showed no signs of panic or shame. She didn't even blush. She simply nodded in thanks and began dressing herself.

Jon remembered something Gaston had told him—witches in this world lacked a portion of human emotion. That emotional deficit often made them seem aloof and detached, contributing to the fear and prejudice they endured. The girl before him was a textbook case. She knew she had to dress in front of others but didn't possess the typical sense of embarrassment.

Apparently, she was the witch of the forest, the very same one Gaston had mentioned.

But she was also someone even more infamous. In this twisted fairytale realm, she was the one who cursed the prince into a beast, yes, the witch from Beauty and the Beast.

Jon had pieced together much of the story from the clock-monster's memories, though the details deviated significantly from the tale he knew.

In this darker version, the prince, named Adam, wasn't just vain and selfish. He was cruel, bloodthirsty, and obsessed with power. He not only oppressed his people but also indulged in carnal and violent pleasures.

One day, while hunting in the forest, Prince Adam encountered the young witch. Smitten by her beauty, he attempted to force her into submission. She resisted, injuring one of his eyes with her magic.

Enraged, Adam hurled a cursed stone into the hollow tree where she lived. The black magic embedded in the stone corrupted her sanctuary into a swamp of decay and twisted her own form into a monster.

Where did the prince get such a dark artifact? The clock monster had no idea. It only remembered the prince acquiring it from a mysterious, oddly dressed merchant. The stone had been sealed until Adam deliberately unleashed its power as vengeance.

Before losing herself entirely, the witch retaliated. She cursed the prince to become a savage, bloodthirsty beast doomed to devour the one he loved most.

"What have I done..." the witch whispered, her voice trembling.

Then, she turned, not toward the castle, but toward the distant village.

"Though I lost my mind while cursed, I remember every crime I committed. The dying forest... the starvation... all of it was my doing."

The black stone's influence had slowly eroded her sanity. Though she resisted at first, in time the pain and darkness consumed her. Hatred overpowered her, and she began destroying everything around her—both forest and village alike.

"Yes," Jon said calmly. "But now, you're also the only one who can save them."

The witch nodded. "I'll devote my life to atoning. With the curse lifted, I'll use my magic to restore life to this forest. The hunger will end."

Jon's eyes narrowed as he looked toward the castle. "One more thing. I'm going to break into that place and kill the monster prince. You coming with me?"

She shook her head. "I've already had my revenge. And besides... I no longer have the right to seek vengeance."

Jon tilted his head slightly. "I was going to say that this was all the prince's fault anyway. He tossed that cursed stone into your home, he's the one who started this. But I guess that wouldn't mean much to you now. Still... do you know where that stone originally came from?"

He was fascinated by cursed items like this. They often traced back to deeply evil individuals—prime prey for an evil hunter like him.

The witch only shook her head. "People always say witches use dark magic... but they have no idea what real black magic looks like."

She looked at the stone. "This was true black magic. It hasn't appeared for a very long time. I don't know where the prince got it, but if I did, I'd do whatever I could to destroy it at its source."

She turned away and raised her hand. A strange surge of magic rippled outward. In an instant, trees sprouted from the swampy ground, life blooming across the dead landscape.

Jon blinked in astonishment. Even he would have needed significant time and energy to reverse such widespread decay. She'd done it with a simple wave.

"That power... I want it," Jon murmured to himself. If only an evil witch had it, then I could harvest it for myself.