Chapter 1

## Chapter Chronology

**Guardian of the Witch** is the first chapter of the Guardian of the Witch manga series.

## Summary

In what appears to be a room inside a tall building, a young Witch, Manasufa Rustasia, is seen writing in her diary. She describes how her life will never be “happy,” but wishes for someone that would at least stand by her side and protect her.

Outside, a fortress guarded by knights is about to be raided by Evils—large monsters known to devour humans—that are quickly advancing towards the walls. The knights’ captain, Fafuna Leorange, gives them instructions to hold their positions as Manasufa prepares a spell. Upon activating the spell, the hordes of Evils are immediately wiped out with a line of fire, receiving Manasufa immense praise from the knights and citizens.

After the battle, Fafuna and Manasufa return to the Witch Tower. The concept of a Witch—a title given to females exhibiting magical prowess—is described, revealing that Witches are the main defendants of human civilization from the Evils. A disgruntled Fafuna is revealed to be Manasufa’s Guardian, much to his irritation as she treats him as an ‘errand boy’ by requesting him to send her meals and deliver her allowance due to her gluttonous habits. Fafuna quarrels with her over the treatment he receives, declaring that he is a proud knight and is not as foolish as she makes him out to be.

Manasufa ignores his words and proceeds to insult him in a friendly manner, mentioning his poor luck with girls, comically angering Fafuna to the point of nearly hitting her. Nata, Manasufa’s maid, interrupts the two and calls Manasufa for her physical examination in which the Witch shows immediate exasperation at the thought, refusing to comply. Fafuner also expresses disapproval for the exam, stating outright that he hoped Manasufa would get sick and become bedridden. Nata forces Manasufa to go, emphasizing the importance of her health and the Witch asks Fafuna to do the dishes and go shopping. Annoyed, Fafuna tells her to do them herself, but Nata cuts him off and mysteriously thanks him for performing his “sacred duty,” the tone of her words confusing the Guardian.

In the Urban Commons of Berne, Fafuna carries a large container of groceries and meets some older adults drinking at a bar. They invite him to join in, but the boy refuses due to being underage. The adults and Fafuna joke and discuss the latter’s new job as the Guardian of the Witch, in which they remind him of the extent of Manasufa’s powers.

After hearing these words, Fafuna thinks back to when he was first recruited into the Guardians, where he preached their movement towards independence and their eventual unnecessary reliance on the Witch. He continues that in order to accomplish this, they must grow as soldiers. The older Guardians laugh at him for his ignorance and naivety, enforcing the fact that the Witch is who defeats the Evils, not the Guardians. One man jokes about beating Fafuna up and the others chime in, however, before he can continue, Fafuna quickly and cleanly slices off part of the man's hair. The older Guardians are immediately surprised at his speed and finesse, while Fafuna comments on how he will decide for himself whether something is nonsense or not.

Internally, Fafuna denies his supposed naivety, thinking back to when an Evil ate both his parents and younger sister right in front of him. The fact that the Guardians' weakness couldn't save his family or other innocent civilians due to their reliance on the Witch became the catalyst for Fafuna's efforts to become a Guardian, compelling him to become strong enough and defend without the need for a Witch's aid. However, the irony behind Fafuna's duty as Manasufa's Guardian becomes a source of discontentment for him.

As he walks through the Urban Commons, Fafuna expresses disdain over the citizens’ carefreeness, thinking to himself that a person must have the capability of defending their loved ones and not have to rely on someone else. He remembers Manasufa’s smug remarks and, irked, continues strolling through the commons.

Back at the Witch Tower, a distressed Manasufa complains about the physical exam she just took and the weight she put on. Nata tries to cheer her up while Fafuna thinks about the correlation between her weight increase and the amount she eats, exasperated as the Witch asks for a larger dinner than usual. Once she finishes eating, Manasufa excitedly reveals to Fafuna that she got permission to go outside the next day, listing off a few activities she planned on doing, one of which was trying out some crepes. Manasufa allows Nata to join her and asks Fafuna if he had any ideas of what he wanted to do outside, in which he replies that he might also try some crepes.

Later that evening, the Rector of Berne summons Fafuna to the Rectory to give updates on Manasufa. During his report, Fafuna expresses his wish to return back to combat as he heavily disliked his duty as a personal bodyguard. The Rector promises he will grant his wish, however, in order to do so, Fafuna must fulfill one last task: kill the Witch Manasufa.

Fafuna is immediately surprised about his final duty, and the Rector reveals a magical artifact disguised as a ring, which provides footage of Manasufa’s physical exam. Horrified, Fafuna sees dark markings all over Manasufa’s body, with an eyeball twitching and growing on her waist. The Rector explains that Manasufa is infected with Evils, going on to describe how Witches are not naturally born, rather, they are artificially created through the injection of Evil Seeds. The seeds effectively allow Witches to receive their magical powers, provided they are able to somehow survive the grueling and agonizing process and aftereffects of the injection. The seeds in Witches would slowly grow, until the Witch is turned completely into an Evil

Appalled, Fafuna listens intently as the Rector then confesses the true duty of the Guardian of the Witch: to monitor the Witch and prevent her from escaping, quickly killing her before she turns into an Evil. He mentions an example of a Witch escaping and turning into an Evil before being disposed of ten years ago, implying the Evil that killed Fafuna’s family was that exact Witch. Fafuna stands in shock as the Rector smiles and labels him as the perfect candidate for the Guardian of the Witch, reassuring him that a replacement Witch was already prepared and Manasufa could be killed without worry.

The next day, Manasufa and Nata happily cruise through the Garden. Nata mentions how Fafuna joining them would’ve been nice, but cuts herself off as she sees Manasufa's scowl. Realizing Manasufa is still upset about Fafuna’s cancellation, Nata resolves not to mention the Guardian again. As the two continue through the Garden, Fafuna communicates with the Rector behind a tree and tells him he is starting his mission, resolving to kill the Witch to prevent further suffering of the people.

Before he attacks, Fafuna hears Nata ask Manasufa why she hid the true role of the Guardian of the Witch from her Guardian. Manasufa replies that she and Fafuna shared the same intense hatred for Witches, describing how her only role was a tool to defeat Evils and the rest of her life was kept cooped up with a collar preventing her from using magic otherwise. However, her interactions with Fafuna made her feel normal and happy, convincing her that her powers were not something to be ashamed of. Fafuna mulls over her words as she continues, saying she wouldn’t mind dying to protect others.

The Rector, agitated with Fafuna’s hesitation and silence, orders an attack on the Witch and a group of weapon-bearing, masked figures surround Manasufa and Nata. However, before they can attack, Fafuna suddenly jumps in and blocks the blades with his sword and scabbard, protecting the Witch. The masked figures look at him in surprise, asking him if he was betraying the Rector. Nata and Manasufa call out to him, confused at his actions and Fafuna states he has no regrets of what he had just done. He proceeds to negate Manasufa’s description of herself as a “normal girl” and instead calls her a “gluttonous tyrant” of a girl, someone he loathed having to protect. However, he had fully decided to kill all Witches outside, declaring himself the Guardian of Manasufa, no longer the Guardian of the Witch.

As Fafuna defends the Witch, Nata tells Manasufa the Rector saw the progression of the Evils in her body and likely ordered her execution. After hearing this, Manasufa begs Fafuna to kill her, but he immediately shuts her down as he blocks the continuous attacks of the masked figures, hitting them with one of his **Guardian Skills: First Skill—Dual Stance.** As her Guardian, Fafuna asks Manasufa for orders and she makes up her mind and commands him to make her the last Witch, in which Fafuna accepts and knocks out the Rector’s soldiers.

After rendering the masked figures unconscious, Fafuna destroys his communication ring linked to the Rector and tells Manasufa that if there was a way to make a Witch, there must be a way to turn one back to a human, stating that he’ll become the greatest Guardian and turn her back into a normal, boring girl. The trio depart on their adventure.

## Characters in order of Appearance

* Manasufa Rustasia
* Fafuna Leorange
* Nata
* Rector of Berne