We eventually caught up to the witch. It was a clearing in the middle of the forest that surrounded an entrance to a cave. She was caught drawing a circle on the dirt surrounding the cave, a faint hum could be heard on that ritual circle as it slowly began to glow with her signature purple hue.
"HANA! I FINALLY FOUND YOU!" The boy immediately jumped into the fray, daggers out like massive claws. His dash was like the wind, the foliage was knocked up around him. The dagger in his hand began gathering wind around it, like a galestorm that's about to crash on the witch.
She didn't move an inch, she simply raised her hand up and the cat paused mid air, as though held up by a string. I could see the rabid look in his eyes, the killing intent and bloodlust, but all of that was simply washed away with a single swipe of her hand, "Is that my dearest Lilus? I didn't expect you to greet me so soon!"
There was that smile the witch had that always terrified me, as though she knew more than she was letting on at all times. This much was obvious, I didn't even know that there was this process of ridding monster nests. The sword in my hand felt heavy, the pressure around the ritual sigils felt just as strong as the blast she used against the boar. In fact, it could even be stronger, judging by what she's planning to do.
Their conversation continued, "I'm gonna have your head! You damned brat!" Lilus yelled, but no matter how hard he tried, his wind dagger couldn't get through the invisible field that the witch put up around herself.
"I would really prefer it if you don't, lovely boy." She pushed him away, launching him across the field.
He didn't let up, the moment he landed he was out towards her again. Except this time, he had a change of strategy. The rocks around him were picked up by the wind he commanded, it began to surround and orbit him as he fired them at the witch.
The witch, in return, spun towards the rocks as a cutting energy manifested from the wand she summoned. The impact caused a massive debris of multiple rocks and dust to explode out. Lilus continued his attack, using the wind to gather up the clouds of dust and rocks in an attempt to overwhelm her defenses.
I can't see Hana beyond the smoke, and I can't get closer to them either. The pressure of the ritual circles was overwhelming to someone like me. All I can do is watch helplessly, but it didn't seem like the witch was going to lose regardless. As Lilus used everything in his power to get to her blind side, he repeatedly gets hit by numerous shards of rock in return.
Some grazed his face, some his hands as thin red lines of blood emerged from the wound, "Would you mind being quiet, Lilus? I have something important I need to do here," in the brief glimpses I saw of her behind the smoke, I saw how she used her wand. She waved it around like a conductor of an orchestra, almost far too wildly. With each point that her wand stopped on, a new spell would emerge.
Lilus growled, his feline instincts taking over as he took one final lunge towards Hana. It was beyond the smoke, so I couldn't particularly see the details, but I saw the shot that knocked him out. A brilliant flash of light emerged beyond the smoke, showing their shadows. Lilus was hit mid air, and that caused him to get launched across the field towards the trees.
The impact caused the tree to waver. I rushed over to him, keeping my eyes on the witch as she continued on what she was doing to the camp, entirely unfazed. It seemed that Lilus was breathing, at least. But he was wounded all over, his breathing ragged. If he wasn't treated these wounds could be fatal, but.
"Don't mind him, he's just excited to see me," Hana said, not even turning to us, "What's your name, kid?"
"I'm… Soren," I said, "Soren Laur."
"Cute name, very fascinating. What's a girl like you doing in a forest like this?" I remembered asking a similar question to this earlier. But compared to her, I didn't have the energy or the bravery to laugh.
"I was… I wanted to take down that boar for my village."
"Your village, right." She was drawing sigils around the circle now, with each one done, the glowing became more intense, "What's its name? Astraea? Calidonica? Nir…"
"Soleil, its name is Soleil."
"Soleil! When did they rename it?" Her eyes were drenched with curiosity for the first time since I saw her.
"Rename? It's been like that for as long as I remember."
"I see, and you…" She turned to me, her purple eyes analyzing. Her right hand lazily gripped on her wand, her head tilted. I was so scared of her that I momentarily forgot how to breathe, "You look like you're from the eastern kingdoms, perhaps the Xiao Empire, but your name isn't, and above all, I don't recall this place being under the influence of the Xiao,"
She hummed then closed her eyes as if deep in thought, "I knew I should've tasked those birds to get me more recent news first," she sighed and turned back to her circle, "Well. I'll handle this one first. Please, step back with Lilus."
Who was I to defy her? I grabbed Lilus and dragged him away from the ritual circle. The heat from which was beginning to burn the foliage surrounding it. Whatever spell she was about to cast was something truly extraordinary, and worst of all. She didn't seem like she was affected by it.
I watched her peer down the boar's cave, a satisfied smirk appeared on her face. Then, she raised her wand. Massive clouds began to surround the skies around us, their movements were uncanny, as though they were being dragged towards the center. Their swirling mass was beginning to charge lightning inside it.
Then she yelled,
[HEAVENLY THUNDER BLAST]
The entire Earth shook as a massive beam of white light emerged from the ritual circle reaching to the heavens. The blast was so powerful that the surrounding air caught on fire. If I hadn't hid behind a tree I would've been caught by the flames.
All around I saw the animals trying desperately to escape, the elks and the bears running away, the birds flying until all that was left was silence in its aftermath. When I opened my eyes, this part of the forest had been scorched.
I reluctantly looked over to the witch, perhaps she had killed herself in that attack, but no. She stood in the middle of the crater where the boar's cave was. Surrounding her, the souls of the other boars flew up like horrible black smoke, "I counted two hundred and fifty. They really would've trampled my plans if I didn't do this," She giggled.
The forest around her was nothing more than mounds of ash, a faint blackness that showed her true power to all of us, "You can come out now, we're going back to Soleil. And carry Lilus for me, will you? He's a light kit."
True to what she said, Lilus was rather light. I followed her as she walked east towards the village. Behind us, the souls continued to fly. It was the most violent form of exorcism I had ever seen. Though, I haven't really seen plenty, "So is… my village going to be safe?" I asked once I finally caught up beside her.
She grinned, "Of course it is."
After a while, we were out of the forest. The walk back seemed faster than the walk in, as though the forest itself had shifted around us. When we saw my village, it was, to put it mildly. A mess. Houses ruined, crops soiled, a general miasma of death and torment where only a few can truly find themselves living. Just as I left it.
I looked over to Hana. I expected the witch to have the characteristic face of disappointment of someone seeing what happened to Soleil. Instead, it seemed as though her grin had become wider. As if everything had gone exactly to plan. She went ahead of me, and I struggled to keep up with her. She had plans for my village, plans that I didn't know where it would take us.