Chapter 62: Witch Trial II

On one side, holding on to shields and weapons made of silver, on the other, people clad in dark blue robes and lightly dressed with no weapons in hand. Yet, with a flick of a finger and few spells, the rage of earth, water, fire, wind, spirits, and other absurd spells came flying at them. However, all those became useless under the strength of impure silver used for their weaponry. I was standing in a daze at the drastic change of scenery, I was then pushed aside and was late to realize an attack coming from behind me.           
             "Count yourself lucky that the plan still went well this time!" Merinda scolded me briefly, before she went off to fend off a pair of guards. "Thanks" I said on reflex. I looked around the chaos, somehow feeling exasperated knowing that we probably have all the church and government forces of the town mobilized here. We're attracting way too much attention.
            That was when I realized what the 'critical part' of this plan Merlin had mentioned before was.
            Could it be, we're here as a distraction while the other group tried freeing the sorcerers imprisoned here?
            As if on cue, a massive bang took our attention away, as an explosion had cleared half the building away. Just what happened, how much mana does someone need to get that much destructive power? The owl who watched over from afar before began to fly down toward us, it made a loud hoot before it changed into a human, before my very eyes,. "I think you look cuter as an owl." I said to Merlin. He laughed at my sarcasm, "I'm glad you like my other form, though it still reminds me to get angry at you, once this is finished for acting out on your own at that time."
            "Hey, I still haven't decided to join you, so technically I'm not obliged to follow your orders."
             "Yet that is." he said. Merlin then faced toward the archbishop, he had been on his butt, looking pale from disbelief at the riot caused by so many witches appearing in town. Merlin walked leisurely toward him, everyone was so preoccupied with their own fight that even as they fought chaotically, Merlin was able to walk through them as if they never existed on his path. The Archbishop began to tremble and couldn't properly get up as he dragged himself off the stage. He could have run away sooner, but he was too afraid to look away from Merlin. He felt if he did, he would be dead without himself noticing.
            "Guards, anyone, seize that man!" his words went unnoticed, the fight between the town's people and the witches had taken their attention, unable to look away for anything else. As the Archbishop spat a few curse words, Merlin had stood just an inch away from him. The Archbishop began to empathize the feeling of a frog being trapped by the gaze of a snake preying on him. "You...you Demons! How dare you enter this city and cause havoc here, God will pay you back for your sin!"
            Merlin couldn't help but chuckle at his words knowing his life was on a thin line, "You know, funny thing is, and even as you announce us heretics who denounce God, most sorcerers are actually more religious than you think. They may have a different belief, but just like you, they believe in the existence of beings more powerful than any other and that they are watching over all of us."
            "However, I for one, do not believe in God. If you, an Archbishop, thinks that God is all righteous and loves his followers, then don't you think you wouldn't need to worry if you die? Because I'm sure God will place you close to Him" Merlin bit his finger and as he outstretched his hand, his blood sword began to form. The Archbishop screamed but his voice died in the cry of fights around him.
             "Goodbye, Archbishop Kronberg"
               As Merlin was about to deal the fatal blow, someone jumped to his side and pulled him away from the spot. He acted instinctively and changed the direction of his blow to his side.  The blow was dodged, leaving his sword struck through the wooden stage. "What are you getting in my way for Claudia?"
             Merlin looks at me, unpleased with my actions.
            "You should be thanking me instead." I pointed at the arrow that was stuck between the Archbishop's feet. Cold sweat dropped from all three of us. I glared at the spot where I sensed the sniper was and use a spell that threw the pebbles used by the angry mob before, in a speed comparable to a bullet. Just as I suspected, he was hiding in one of the tower like building next to the court building. I aimed just above him so he would back off as the window collapsed. "You should be more wary, he is the archbishop, and do you think he would go completely unguarded even with your friends keeping the other soldiers busy."
           The Archbishop stood up in daze, but then put up a smug look knowing he had someone to protect him. He began to laugh even more when a man in armor came up to his side. He was wearing a full body armor, he had the shield with Mainz insignia on one hand and a spear at the other. Worst thing about him was, it's all made of silver.
            Not pure silver though, that would be a waste, they're mixed with other metals so even though it may have sounded unimpressive. It was actually harder to deal with materials made of mixed metals that included silver in it. Silver itself could become a great strength for sorcerers because of the high amount of mana it contained, but impure silver actually makes it harder for sorcerers to use and instead disturbed the mana flow around it.
            "Don't let your guard down, I'm sure he has other comrades, but seeing how he isn't worried despite only having one bodyguard coming for him means he has the strength to back up his confidence."
             "So it seems, isn't that interesting?" Merlin brandished his sword, the red blade gave him an ominous feeling as he backed it up with a penetrating look from his eyes that observed every muscle of his opponent. The guard must have felt the pressure as he changed his stance, ready to strike with his spear. "Listen Claudia," whispered Merlin, "on my signal, you will do as I say."
            Seeing the seriousness of the situation, I gulped down nervously and nodded at his words. "Good, then get ready" I channeled my mana throughout my body, ready to utter any spell as fast as I could to support him. "Get set" me and Merlin began to have a staring contest with the armored man, our time felt slower as the tension rose from each other’s slight movements which could trigger one of us to act. I prepared my heart for the signal as I waited, time felt so long that my finger started to itch. Finally, Merlin call out his signal in a voice that everyone could hear.
            "RETREAT!"
            The mana I prepared flowed uncontrollably, that a messed up spell came out, exploding the whole stage along and pushing me and Merlin away from it. I looked at him with disbelief, he raised all that tension and his making us retreat! Can't you try making the mood right for that?
            In the end, each of us triggered the bracelet that took us to each our escape point. I did the same. I did the same but I looked back at the woman being tied to the stake with her husband at his side, wiping away her tears and untying the ropes. Then, that same armor guard came toward them, he went up from the side and just when I was strike by a bad feeling, he lifted his spear aiming at the woman.
            "Claudia, what are you-" Merlin couldn't finish his words because just as he activates his bracelet and saw me running back as he was teleported. I wasn't thinking straight when I ran toward their side. I knew I wouldn't make it just by running so with the hopes of making it in time, I took whatever tools I had with me, put some mana into it, and threw it as hard as I can.
             The 'tool' I threw turned out to be my broom, it was enlarged because of the mana it had absorbed and it hit the side of the sword, and had accidentally cut away the rope that tied the woman's hand. I felt it was a stupid thing to do that I threw one of my escaping tools away but I couldn't think much at the moment. "What are you doing? You should know by now she's not a witch, she's just brainwash so she's innocent!" exclaimed the mayor as he put the woman in his arm, comforting her. Behind his armor mask, the man spoke to him, "Her mind has been contaminated with the witch's spell, who knows what she might do in the future and there's no telling that the spell has wear off. For the crime of getting tangled with witchcraft she will be executed." Again he tried lifting his spear at her. The sight of the spear about to take an innocent life in front of me drew out memories, the past yet painful memories that I didn't want to happen again.
             "I WON'T LET YOU!"I screamed out, and succumbed to my own emotion, I didn't care what I had to do. A few of the guards took action knowing I was the only witch left in this place, I started to put a wall between me and the couple. Rather than stopping me, I stole one of the guard's sword and jumped high and far enough for me to go between them and parry the guard's attack. "....impressive, not only could you parry my attacks, but you have the skill as well." he softly said under his breath. We back away for a few steps, our weapons still pointed at each other. "She's not a witch, nor is she being brainwash, she's just force to lie so she could escape from being tortured by that man!" I pointed toward the Archbishop with a blatant disgust when I did. The guard was silent, she thought he had made him hesitate, but instead he responded, "Why are you stating the obvious?"
            "Huh, you knew...she's not a witch?"
            "If she was then she would be chained rather than being tied up."
            I was unsure what to say, he knew...they all knew...yet they kept torturing the innocent until they confessed to being a witch, making them up as monsters as you people laugh and trample on us! My sword was clenched tighter, while things became worse, as I was surrounded from near and far by the guards. I have no intention of backing away, not when my blood boils for them. "You think you could play with other people's lives, I'll make you suffer how they have!"
             "Try it if you can little girl, your powers are useless against us, and you're outnumbered!"
             A smirk came across my face as he said that, you don't know what I'm capable of.

Chapter 61: Witch Trial

"Hold up!" I caught up with the masked man, who I found out was named Merlin. "You dragged me here, but I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing here?"
            "Your job is simple really, you'll be working with Merinda disguised as one of the townsfolk, creating a riot at the appointed time and while making an escape. Simple is it not?" He pointed his hand behind me toward the woman I just talked with, she made a bewitching smile and waved her hand toward me, I waved back without thinking. "If that's all my job is then it wouldn't make a difference if I was here or not."
             "Not quite so, your job is actually a critical part of our plan, so as easy as it sounds, if you mess up then the whole plan will go down by your hand."
           "Thanks, you just gave me an unnecessary pressure."
            "You’re welcome" he said with a smile, "besides, our second main objective today is for you to understand how we work, that way it will save a lot of words to explain."
            "Boss, the portal is ready!" We turned toward the wall that acted as a barrier circling the town and a magic circle was drawn on it. The next thing happened after it began to light up, the wall distorted and what came into view was the other side of the wall. "Those who will disguise themselves as townsfolk should get in from here. The others will sneak in as planned. If we're lucky, we might save an extra life before the day starts." so he said as more than half of the others along with himself spread out into the darkness.
            "Come on let's go" Merinda locked her hands with mine and together, we went passed the distorted wall. There were others who came in pairs through it, but after getting passed they all disappeared from our side. "The portal connects to various spots in town, since the one who made it is a local here, making it isn't hard." she explained when she saw me looking dumbfounded. "I know of similar spells but I have never experienced this kind of spell before."
              Merinda smiled at me, her smile became more childish this time as she said "The people here are all unique so try not to be surprised too much with all the magic you've never imagined being able to see" She then touched the hem of my brown robe, she uttered a spell which then had the strings that make up the robe unstitch all at once, then the string began to entwine with one another, making up something that held on to my shoulders and down to my waist, it was after it was finished that I realized I was tugging a shoulder bag on my side. My robe that had been a knee length was cut off into chest length, but still it didn't make me look conspicuous. "Take it as a gift" she said with a wink.
             I blinked a few times with eyes beaming in awe, the spell itself was simple yet seeing a spell I had never seen before with such unique originality, really put a kick   to the 'geek' side inside me. "We should go now, looks like we're in time for the fireworks." her words sounded cheerful but her expression said otherwise. Her eyes turned sharp with anger, silently bringing fire to them. Her lips curled down, and she had the look of distaste. She held my hand and pulled me toward the middle of the town.
            What kind of fireworks did she mean I wonder?
             The answer came right after the scene changed before her, at first she was already dubious that the streets had people wandering toward the same direction at a time when the sun is still far from coming out. When she saw the large crowd gathering in a circle with torches in hand, if one had looked over the town from above, anyone would surely be able to see one part of the town giving off a bright light. Seeing such a thing, they would think the town's people were having a gathering, a festival, or some sort of ritual. However, in the 1600s, if one saw such a light, only one thought would come up to them.
            "KILL THE WITCH!"
            "BRING HER OUT!"
            "DEATH TO HERESY!"
            The scene she was witnessing was the rise of an angry mob. The night that had been so quiet before became ear wrenching. When me and Merinda began to smuggle ourselves into the midst of them. The circling hate and anger swirled in the atmosphere and I felt it on my back, I felt it oppressing me. I've known my whole life about this, but it was the first time I witnessed a witch’s execution.
           "I thought we could witness the trial, but it looks like the situation has long past from that." she said with clear distaste. Two heavy armored men came out from the building just ahead. They were dragging a woman up toward a stage, which led to a stake about twice my height that had wood and hay covering the ground below it. My attention switched toward the woman who was being called a witch. Her curled brown hair was in disorder, her face blacken from dirt and bruises that she looked barely recognizable. Her hands and feet had signs of being heavily burned and I might have been mistaken, but she seemed to have lost a finger or two. My eyes widened more when I realized that woman was far from being a witch, she was a normal person.
               "Didn't they say they were have a trial, they should have cleared the doubts of her identity, then?"
               Merinda laughed her hat off. She clutched her stomach and her eyes began to tear up just a little, if it weren't for the fact that the mob's angry voice covered her laughter, they would have started looking at her with strange gazes. "Honey, don't ever say that in front of the others or you'd be the laughing stock of the group, so let me tell you the fact about the witch trial is that they're just formality and a way for the church to show case their power. It doesn't matter if you're not a witch, once you're caught, you become one."
              The mob began to raise their voices further at the same time my insides were boiling up from anger knowing the unjust system that roamed this country. The woman had been tied to the stake. I began to wonder why she would let herself be treated this way, when she's not who others claim her to be. Rather, her eyes seemed to be dead and she looked like she had no strength left to live.
            "THEA!"
            The crowd's voice subsided, in the midst of all those angry people. A man, middle aged came running through the mobs, he was desperately trying to get in front. When I turned my gaze toward the woman, the life in her eyes came back and she had a disbelieving look on her as her mouth started gaping. That man is most likely her husband, he looked like he would have climbed up and embraced her, if the soldiers didn't halt him in his tracks. "Thea, what are you doing here, they should have made it clear, you're not a witch!" he said, ignoring the soldiers that held him back. The man began to point his finger at the church people, his expression was way past being outraged. "You people, aren't you supposed to clear up normal people from the witches! Why the hell are you trying to burn my wife?!"
            "With all due respect Sir, but your wife has already confessed herself as a witch including her crimes as one."
            "No, no way, I've known her since I was a child, we've been together for almost most of our lives and I've never witnessed her touching or doing anything related with witches, you're making this up, it's a conspiracy I tell you! Give us proof if she is what she is you claim or I'll announce that the trial is a hoax!" his voice had already begun to rise so that all of the crowd, was able to hear him and they began whispering with each other. The man must have been a man with influence if his words held weight toward the people. The woman in question began to tear up as her mouth was moving, probably calling out his name. Had she used up most of her voice? No sound came from it, which made me pity her, that she couldn't call up to the man she loved most.
            "SILENCE!"
             A heavy voice quieted down the mob, everyone turned towards the source of the voice. A man slowly came up to the stage, he was wearing a gold embroidered black linen shirt with an artichoke pattern and with deep cuffs. He had a wide lace collar, and an orange waistline along with black pants. He had a fine beard that fully hid his chin and had the same white color along with his curled shoulder length. His face was chubby and he was as fat as a bear that you could not see his neck at all. What I immediately hated about him was the look of his bright brown eyes that looked down on all the people that met his sight and the arrogant bearings he had just helped in putting him in a negative place within my eyes.
            "The Archbishop Kronberg is here!" said one person. My eyes might have bobbled out when I realized, he had the title that added reasons for me to hate him even more. "This is getting interesting, the man leading the trial himself came out." whispered Merinda. The Archbishop whispered to the guards and they let the man get up on the stage alongside him. "What seems to be a problem Mr. Mayor? You seem to have a complaint with our decision."
            "Are you taking me for a fool? What kind of husband will sit and wait like a sitting duck for his wife to get burned to death!"
            The Archbishop’s expression changed to a more sympathetic and sad look, "I'm so sorry to inform you, but as you know witchcraft is a blasphemy toward God, punishable by death. We may not have proof she is a witch because we've taken her according to an anonymous tip but you don't have proof that she is not either, besides, she has already confessed who she is and her crimes."
           The Mayor gritted his teeth as he clenched his fist tight, he had eyes that targeted the Archbishop with animosity, but it quickly subsided with the Archbishop next words. "However, God is merciful, if you are so sure that she is innocent, that she may be under the pretense of being forced to confess as a witch, then we will re-investigate this matter " seeing a light of hope in his words, the mayor's expression brightened and he began to tear up. However, there was an eerie feeling creeping in my heart, as if I knew instinctively things wouldn't end so smoothly.
           The Archbishop then headed toward the woman chained to the stake, her body shuddered and her face was horrified seeing him. "What do you want to do miss?" he said with his most soothing voice, "If you take back your confession, then we will have to continue our 'interrogation'"
            I noticed he put an emphasis on the word 'interrogation' and I noticed her face began to sink further as she shook her head. "Thea?" called out the mayor. With the last of her strength, the woman named Thea finally talked, "There's no need for that, I AM A WITCH!" the crowd that had been whispering was silent once more. It wasn't everyday someone would confess being a witch in front of so many people even when death crept near. It didn't escape my sight that the Archbishop smiled but then turned it into a grave look on his face. "Would you mind confessing what you told us in trial?"
            Thea nodded readily, "My witch name is Ravynne and I killed that man's wife and impersonated her so I could live in this town. You might not know, but I've been putting illusion on you so you wouldn't notice me as any different with your old wife. Since arriving in town I've been summoning demons in the name of the Great Satan and would regularly make sacrifices, usually with a goat's entrails."
            People were shocked at her bold statement and soon began to raise slander to her. Some even started to pick up pebbles and stones. The mayor looked dumbfounded and didn't even know what to say as his knees sank down to the ground. "You heard her, we will now begin the persecution, START THE FIRE!"
            My mind that had been frozen from the bold statement that was obviously a lie to me was brought back, when they began to make preparation for her death. Her confession was even ludicrous, since we don't worship demons or make sacrifices in our spare time. "This is outrageous, she's not even a witch so why would she lie like that?"
            "All I have is speculation, from what I know when someone enters the witch prison, they will be interrogated until they confess that they're a witch. But what I mean by interrogation is torture. Most people end up confessing to being a witch even if they're not, so that they wouldn't have to go through with the suffering anymore. They made up the worst lie of their life, their bond, even their faith to be free from their suffering." said Merinda with a clear hint of sadness and pity in her voice. Her eyes looked distant as she watch the event on the stage.
            One of the soldiers began to come over here with a torch in hand, the mob began to raise their voice in excitement, chanting for her to die. It made me sick to the stomach. "When are we going over with the plan?"
            "You'll know the signal when you see it, it should be a few more minutes"
            "What was our job again, creating a ruckus was it?"
            "Yes but....Claudia what are you planning?"
            Without paying heed to her, I raised my voice as loud as I could until it might have echoed the whole town (of course that's not possible without using my mana). "DID YOU FIND THE MARK OF THE WITCH?!" everyone took heed of my words, the crowds, the soldiers, and the Archbishop himself. While everyone was silent, he was the one to ask me. "What do you mean the Mark of the Witch?"
             Great, he took the bait.
             "When one decided to take upon themselves with witchcraft, a mark will start to appear in one part of their body. A mark of heresy you might say that God himself put to those who denounce Him. Yes, something like this." I raised my hand and tuck in my sleeve, revealing a magic circle place just below my wrist. Everyone started to back off from me, knowing that admitting I have the Mark of the Witch concludes I am a witch. In reality, all that was made up, but it's not like they know that.
            I began to chuckle and soon started a loud laughter that gave goose bumps to all around me. "I must say, thank you so much for providing great entertainment. It's getting hard to get good entertainment these days." Merinda decided to come up behind me and whispers in a very worried tone, "What are you doing?"
            I wanted to ask that to myself as well, but this is the only way to save her right now. "What do you mean by that?" asked the Mayor after he got a hold of himself. "Exactly as I say, to think I only brainwash her a little to make her think she's a witch and look what it made you all do. It's been a while since I'm doing it and none of you even stop to realize, it was very comical having you burn all those innocent people with your own hand." I could feel the crowd was mixed with various emotion. Most were anger and confusion. I didn't like how their eyes were glued to me, I lived my life out in the sticks half of my life, you couldn't blame for having a little stage fright.
            "Are you claiming you brainwashed people as your so called entertainment?" the Archbishop affirming my words.
            "YOU WITCH!" the mayor roared in fury as he ran toward me, ready to choke me to death I bet. I made an obvious sigh and made a spell that had him float in the sky. Everyone was taken aback and ran when one of them thinks I was going to kill them all. Well for starters, I decided to play around with the mayor a little and have him twirl around in the sky, my mind was then caught off guard by the sudden owl passing by my side, causing the mayor to fall down to stage with a loud thud.
            Sorry Mayor, that was an accident, really.
            I turned my sight toward the owl, while nothing looked unusual other than the hazel eyes it had. A pair of human eyes. Is this the sign that Merinda talked about?
            Not to my surprise, the soldiers began to line up and the circle around the plaza. Right after, people in blue robes appeared and began to attack the soldiers from behind, one started blasting a catchy spell, similar to fireworks as if trying to get all their attention to this place. More soldier came, more spell were used, and one word could describe the plaza right now.
             Chaos.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Btw, the same fan made another fan work, this time of Claudia with her two sisters. If you're curious you could check it out on http://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/witch-life-fan-art.845/

Chapter 60: The Owl Strikes

Hello readers, this week was another horrible week of test and getting sick (again) 

 

However, good news is I found an editor! I'm sure some know the person from the comment board if you like reading it. Also with this, I won't have to worry much about grammar and typos anymore, so that my good fellow readers won’t have to point out every mistake I make and can whole heartily enjoy the novel.  Even if there's still a mistake, now I can have someone to blame HaHaHaHaHa. 

So before the story, how about a few words of greeting Aria?

 

*** 

Hi everyone, it’s me, Aria here. It’s such an honor to be helping Marisa-senpai. I’ll try my best to edit to my utmost limit. Though I’m confident in my English skills, in truth I’m not a native speaker so I’m bound to make a mistake or two so please be patient when that happens (I believe even natives make mistake). I can see that Marisa-senpai is having fun making me the scapegoat.

I actually run a wordpress blog on my own it’s lasciviousimouto.wordpress.com a translation website, and some original web novels. Please visit if you don’t mind.

Aside from that, I’ll be working with you all so, yoroshiku onegaishimasu~  (^_^)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 60: The Owl Strikes

"Lisse, you can't give you up! Not when I need you most right now"

            "I'm sorry Claudia, but you know I won't last long so you have to move on without me, I---oh no, Claudia you have to get out of there, he's tracking you from our connection, he's---"

            The connection was cut inside my head, I cursed helplessly and ran from my hiding place, jumping from tree to tree, covering myself beneath their shade. Just when I felt it was safe enough, I felt the unnatural flow of mana from the trees around me. It annoyed me how every single time I could never sense him until it was too late. The roots and branches around me wiggled their way toward me, binding my arms and legs into place. From the shadows, he strolled out sensing that the game was over. 

            I didn’t want it to end like this, not like the last time. I hesitate to use my fire magic since it might spread, but if I don't show him my control in magic then all this would be for naught. I breathed out, releasing the tension which had piled up inside me. 

              [Fire Blast]

             He noticed me chanting and backed off immediately, avoiding the cascade of combustion spreading in a linear motion throughout the roots attached to me. Smoke covered me and I used it to my advantage, [Wind Chase] and in response to my chant, the smoke coiled around my hand and shot out at a frightening speed. 

            I spotted my opponent running through the forest with the thick gray smoke following behind him, he was no match for its speed and the smoke coiled around him while trying to shove itself down his throat. That kind of spell wouldn't hold him for long so while his sight is removed. I used one of my best spells to put him down for good. 

            I took out 6 of my Magic Stones and threw it toward him with precision, the stone reacted with my mana and formed together as a prison as it shot out spikes of ice. "This time the deed is done, [Earth Barricade]"

            The earth shot up and made a 5 foot tall wall surrounding it. I pumped my fist, thinking it was over. "What's wrong with you today?" My back jolted and when I turned towards his voice, his hand stretched out to me and with one word, he cast a spell on me, I could have blocked it with my mana, but after depleting it, I was vulnerable, and so I lost consciousness.

#

"Can you tell me what you did wrong today?"

          Today, Master wore an angry rather than a dissatisfied face. He was never satisfied with me always getting caught by him, but today it seems my performance was worse than any other day. 

          "I was quick to judge the state of my opponent and I got worked up in the end, I am still not good at sensing your presence, my mana was depleted when I should've always reserved a fair amount for emergencies." explaining my own shortcomings felt like making myself eat a sour plum, it makes me feel a lot more miserable than having pointed out by others. 

          "Moreover you're slow" Master further pointed out, "haven't I told you many times that your goal is to escape not to fight, and you were eager at it too, did something happen?" I gripped my hand tighter and the thought of the Strix, floated in my mind. What in the world was wrong with me? It's obvious I should stay away but I can't get them out of my mind. "I was thinking of some things"

          "Things you couldn't even share with me." I looked up to see instead of him standing while looking down on the me that sat on my thighs, he then crouched so that he was at the same eye level with me. The expression in his eyes changed to that of worry, a dreadful guilt weighed against my heart seeing it and I hesitated not to tell him anything. "I'm just out of it today, you know---since it's that time of the month for me today." 

           My Master raised an eyebrow at me, but I succeed in putting off the topic. He then turned the subject to my punishment. "You know the usual I'm sure." 

           I sigh as I gave in to it. "One week of potion making, what potion will it be this time?" 

           "I'm still thinking on it, though personally I'd like you to make a Regrowth Potion"

           "ANYTHING BUT THAT!" I exclaimed. My eyes were begging and moistened just hearing it. If you're wondering why, then it's because one of the ingredients is a headless cockroach. If you ask me to jump off a cliff, done. Fighting an army of soldiers, no problem. 

            Handling a cockroach? Rotting in prison sounds more charming to me. 

            "Though I was sure Lisse would be where you were, but I guess I was wrong"

            ".....what are you talking about? Didn't you track me from her Link Spell that extended to me?" 

           "If I did that, it'd be much faster to get to her before you, in fact I tracked you faster because you were spreading your mana more than usual" 

             "That can't be right, you taught me to reuse my mana as much as I can, so there would be less traces of me left behind." comprehending each other’s own words, the two of us then had the same astound expression, realizing what Lisse did. "She tricked me! She used me as bait to get away!" 

            "She had always been capable of tricking you but to think she could outwit me as well, obviously she has a better head than you"

            "What's that supposed to mean?"

            "I'm saying, rather than always think your way with your spells, you should think with your head instead. I'm quite worried since a simple minded person like you would easily get swayed with sweet words and caught in the momentum of things. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd get trick into joining a shady group." 

            My whole body froze for just a second and then I laugh because of what my Master had said. Certainly it won't be as he said, but I couldn't say it out loud confidently. We got back to our home, there I saw Adelle, putting out plates, the smell of barbecued deer meat sent a tingling rumble to my stomach. Not just her, Lisse was there, helping her out by putting out glasses and other tableware alongside with another person helping alongside them. Her blond hair was braided, she was wearing a grey skirt and a casual brown shirt. Her flat shoes looked worn, it was obvious looking at them that it wasn't made to walk around the thick forest, her slender arms looked white and clean as if she had never met any hardship with them. 

            "Astrid you came!" I ran over to her side and hug her, I cuddled my best friend tightly and she respond with a laugh. 

“What brings you here today?" I asked. 

"Did you forget?" she leaned on closer to my ear with a small voice, "didn't you send me a message saying you wanted to talk, just the three of us"

            When she told me that, my memory jolted that I did send her a message, but I didn't think she would come here so soon since I sent it at dawn today. I nodded at her and then called out to Lisse, saying we need to talk. "Master, we'll be going for a walk for a moment, don't eat the meat by yourself, you're getting fat these days" I said that but I was too late, Master had already stuffed himself with two sticks of the deer meat that had just finished grilling, Miss Adelle seemed to look flustered since he ate it while it was still piping hot. "What I eat is none of your business, if you want to go, hurry and go!" he said after gulping down the meat. I sigh at his disgraceful behavior and went out, just the three of us.

#

Once we were out of sight from Master's view, I turned toward Lisse who was on my left and shot a quick spell toward her. [Wind Choke], the wind followed the movement of my gaze and aimed at her neck. Lisse was surprised but responded quickly with a chant, her spell was much faster than mine and suddenly water shot out from below and aimed at my face. The attack was to disrupt my concentration and my spell was stopped in the middle, but the pressure had struck her chest, causing her to staggerdown. I forced myself to continue chanting underwater, or more like inside the water and a burst of flame evaporated the spell.

           I stroll my way to her, held out my hand for her to grab and help her get up. "That's for making me a bait!" 

           "Hey, niether of us want to spend our week making potions, so no hard feelings here." Lisse winced in pain as she got up and held her chest. Did I overdo it? Usually she's fine with this much power. "Seriously, can you not resolve everything with magic, it's like nothing is inside your head except for spells."

             "Shut up." I said while giving her a hard slap on her back. To think not only Master but even Lisse would say the same thing. Am I that simple minded? Somehow the fact is hard to swallow. 

             As we bicker, Astrid laughed at the back. At the start she would look at us with worry whenever either of us might get hurt, now she's already used to it. If an outsider see this, it might look like we have corrupted or brainwashed the mind of an innocent woman as she was dragged away by two dreadful witches. 

            "So, isn't it about time you tell us why we're here?" 

            I nodded at her remark. I took the paper from my pocket and gave them a look of what's written as I tell them a story of that meeting.

            "Claudia--this...you have to throw it away!" 

          "Obviously, groups that invite you and not me are 100% suspicious" rolling my eyes away from Lisse’s stupid remark. My face turned slightly guilty after seeing their worried looks. "I would but...I don't know of what my own feelings are telling me, I thought there was nothing wrong in scouting them first"

           "Don't be silly Claudia, do you realize what you have been caught in?"

            "If I did then I wouldn't be so torn right now. As shady as they are...I can't judge them without knowing them myself. Besides, coming into my own convenient conclusion without knowing the person is something I will not do." I affirmed myself to her. Astrid didn't look satisfied with my answer, her pretty face had wrinkles between her eyebrows, and her bright blue eyes flash with anger. I cowered at her rarely shown expression, "Looks like you would rather listen to a group you know nothing about rather than us, and sorry that I came, I ended up pointlessly taking your time." She said that as she gave me back the paper and all alone she rushed back. 

            I didn't want to leave her at this time where, it'll get dark by the time she goes back to her village. Lisse held my hand that was about to reach out to her, "I'll make sure to take her back to the village, you should think hard on this case yourself for what's best for you. Honestly, I'm disappointed that you take their side over ours"

            "I'm not taking anyone's side, I am on my own side"

            Lisse smiled wryly, she let go of my hand and followed Astrid. I heaved a sigh and brush my hair back. When I felt my hair was getting longer and thought how I wanted to cut it. "Choosing what's best for me by myself, is it?"

            I look at the paper in my hand, written on it was the time and place, complete with a map. I crushed the paper in my hand and decided that I would not become a part of them. 

            My correct decision at that time, should've been not to go at all.

# 

"How's the potion making progressing, my Dear Claudia?"

            "You Jerk, not only did you have me skip dinner for this, but you're forcing me to stay up all night and that's the first thing you ask?" just when me and Lisse had returned, ready to eat dinner. Master had to give me my punishment on the spot, yanking me away from my plate. The potion he assigned to me, was the Beast Potion, it is a really hard potion with lots of rare ingredients, what's more since you need the moonlight as one of the ingredients, I had to pull an all nighter for this. 

            "Don't forget to dilute it, we don't want anyone to accidentally turn into something like a wolf permanently. I'll be going to sleep now so work hard." He turned his back and left for his room and I secretly stuck out my tongue from behind.

            After an hour or two, when I was sure Master was fast asleep. I stopped working on the potion and put on my robe along with my bag. I took out the folded paper in my pocket, on one side there was the time and place he wrote, and on the other side there was a teleportation magic circle. I took a deep breath after resolving my mind once more, I channeled my mana to it and the paper started to distort and spread to my entire surroundings.  I unintentionally closed my eyes as I lost my senses caused by the distortion and felt myself forced into another place.

            "Glad you could make it."

            When I open my eyes, I was standing on top of a hill, the moon light shone on top, revealing the people surrounding me. Their attire were different and they weren't wearing mask, but I could tell some were the same people I saw last time along with that guy. There were twenty people present, all were circling largely around the leader of this group. 

            "Are all these people member of Strix?"

            "We have a lot more members than this, but yes they are a part of my group." that man looked intensely at me through his mask. I look back at him without losing to his gaze, "I'm here to give you my answer straight to you" 

            "Save your answer for later," he threw something at me and I instinctively caught it with my hand. It was a bracelet. I observed it carefully and found there was a similar magic circle on the paper etched on it as well. "This isn't just drawn, it's enchanted as well, but what's the meaning of giving this to me?"

            The one who answered wasn't him, but the blond boy I saw the other day. "Well, it'd be bad if we get captured so instead we need an escape route just in case." I knit my eyebrows and it took me a moment before I understood why they were all here. They drag me along as we went down the hill, and on the way I could see the silhouette of a town. "Where are we donig and what are we here for?" 

              The next one who answered me was a woman, she looked like she was in her late 20s. She wore a playful smile with her red lips, her cleavage was shown from the gap in her robe, you could say she has the perfect image of a mature yet sexy lady. "Didn't Merlin tell you? We are in Mainz, home of one of the notorious witch trials, and we're here to put an end to it." she said it with a playful tone as she wet her lips. 

           It didn't take long for me to understand what was going to happen, and before I could say anything, I was swept by the group as all of us rushed toward the town. It was a night I could never forget, not after seeing the horrible reality that day.