The Wizard of Fairy Tale World-Chapter 160: The Curse of the Four-Colored Fish

Chapter 160: The Curse of the Four-Colored Fish

The crystal ball glowed with a brilliant blue light, and lines of text appeared within:

“A powerful magic has cursed the Land of Oz. The four different-colored fish were once the people of this nation, transformed by the spell.

The Munchkins of the East, who favor blue, became blue fish.

The Winkies of the West, who favor yellow, became yellow fish.

The Quadlings of the South, who favor red, became red fish…”

Rhine’s expression grew solemn as he turned to Oz.

“A powerful mage cast a spell over your kingdom, transforming your land into this barren wilderness, these mountains, and this lake. And all of your citizens… have become fish.”

Oz’s face turned pale as a sheet.

“The entire Land of Oz?”

He had thought only Emerald City was affected, but Rhine was telling him that the entire kingdom had been cursed!

“But… but Oz is vast! How could it all fit into this small wilderness? The people were scattered across the entire country—how did they all end up in this single lake?” Oz’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Rhine sighed.

“This is magic. It can shrink the grand into the minuscule. Even an entire kingdom can be reshaped.

“What once took days, even months, to travel across… now fits within this single stretch of land and this single lake.”

Rhine narrowed his eyes as he took in the scene before him. The fish in the lake gazed at him and Oz with pleading eyes, as if silently begging for salvation.

A story played through his mind.

The Tale of the Four-Colored Fish from One Thousand and One Nights.

—In this ancient Arabian tale, the villainous sorceress had once been the young king’s wife. After being caught in an affair with a black slave, she took her revenge. With dark magic, she turned her husband’s lower half into stone and transformed all the citizens of his kingdom into fish!

After the spell took effect, even the geography of the land was distorted—what once took a full year to travel between the two capitals was reduced to mere days.

Aurora stood dumbfounded in the middle of the barren expanse, glancing around in disbelief.

“Was this Maleficent’s doing?”

Rhine shook his head.

“No. Maleficent isn’t skilled in this kind of transformation magic.

“I suspect another witch from the Witches’ Circle assisted her.”

He thought of a certain member of the coven.

The Middle Eastern Witch.

The Eastern Witch’s transformation magic had likely been learned from her.

Now, he was certain.

The true identity of the Middle Eastern Witch was none other than the villainous sorceress from The Tale of the Four-Colored Fish!

—

“Teacher, please… Save my kingdom!” Oz pleaded, on the verge of tears.

Rhine quickly ran through potential solutions in his mind.

“If our enemy truly is that sorceress, then there is a way to break the spell…”

According to the original story, despite her immense power—enough to transform an entire nation and warp vast distances—the witch was still mortal.

Caught off guard, even an ordinary warrior could slay her with a sword.

On this continent, there were many mages with overwhelming magical prowess but weak defenses.

Not every sorcerer had Rhine’s danger sense and teleportation reflexes.

Not every witch had Maleficent’s ability to transform into a dragon.

Not every hag had the Germanic Witch’s ability to resurrect after death.

“The only problems are:

Did the Middle Eastern Witch learn any defensive spells from the Witches’ Circle?Where is she now?”

Rhine was just about to begin divining her whereabouts when—

A deafening roar split the air.

The wind howled, scattering the clouds.

A massive shadow loomed over the land as a colossal black dragon streaked across the sky.

Maleficent.

Oz shrank behind Rhine, trembling.

With a crisp metallic ring, Aurora drew her sword, stepping protectively beside her teacher.

The terrifying black dragon circled above, then spoke in a woman’s voice:

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

“It seems… you’re in more trouble than ever.”

Rhine remained calm as he raised his chin.

“And what was the point of turning Oz into this?”

He was no longer afraid of Maleficent.

Spreading his arms wide, he unleashed an overwhelming surge of magic.

The barren land came to life.

Trees ripped their roots from the ground, transforming into loyal guardians.

The mountains awoke, their peaks forming grim faces, their stone bodies shifting and raising enormous rocky hands.

Above them, millions of birds materialized from nowhere, darkening the sky in a vast, undulating wave. Their collective cries shook the heavens and the earth.

Maleficent’s dragon eyes narrowed, clearly unprepared for such a display. A sinister, venomous undertone crept into her voice.

“So… you’ve grown even stronger in such a short time.

“That night, ten years ago, I should have killed you.”

Then, with a voice that boomed across the wasteland, she declared:

“I used a mirror as a conduit, allowing the Middle Eastern Witch to cast this spell from afar.

“Unless she lifts the curse willingly, it cannot be undone. Even if you kill her, the spell will remain!”

Aurora and Rhine exchanged brief looks of surprise.

Maleficent gracefully shifted back into her human form, floating in the air. She reached into her sleeve and pulled out—

A strand of jet-black hair.

“If you refuse my next request…” she said with a chilling smile, “I will kill the Middle Eastern Witch from afar.

“And with her dead, the Land of Oz will be cursed forever.”

Aurora’s breath hitched. Even Rhine’s usual calm expression flickered slightly.

She’s truly ruthless.

To threaten her own ally’s life just to manipulate them?

Aurora gritted her teeth. “What do you want from us?”

Maleficent laughed melodiously, her tone honeyed yet cruel.

“My beautiful little princess…

“Why call it a ‘threat’? I’m offering you a chance.”

“You want to kill me, don’t you?”

“Well then—here’s your opportunity.

“Take up your sword, and duel me. One on one.”

Maleficent cast a sidelong glance at Rhine.

“That bothersome mage must not interfere.”

So that’s it.

Maleficent was holding an entire nation hostage just to force a one-on-one fight.

She was confident that, in a fair duel, she wouldn’t lose.

Aurora hesitated.

The dragon let out a wild laugh.

“What’s the matter?

“This is your chance—to strike me down yourself, to break the curse on Rose Kingdom!

“Will you let this opportunity slip away?

“Or… do you only dare to swing your sword when your teacher is by your side?”

Aurora scoffed.

She knew Maleficent was provoking her—yet she struggled to think of a sharp retort.

Oz, seeing her hesitation, frantically pleaded, “No! She’s lying! Don’t agree to her terms!”

Aurora hesitated once more, then turned to Rhine.

She waited for him to say:

"Aurora, don’t be reckless. Don’t trust Maleficent. Refuse the duel."

But instead—

“Aurora,” Rhine said, “I think you should consider her offer.”

Aurora’s eyes widened in shock.

Teacher… what?!

Shouldn’t you be stopping me?!

Rhine continued, his tone indifferent, as if this was all completely natural:

“This is a rare opportunity—your chance to personally slay Maleficent.

“When I nearly defeated her in the sea between White Kingdom and the Western Kingdom… I had only one regret.”

“The one who should kill her… was always you.”

Aurora faltered.

She wasn’t confident she could win alone.

But if her teacher believed in her—

Then… he must have a reason.