The Witch

by V. A. Lewis

  "Saintess Lilith, I must ask, who is this unkemptly man and why are you speaking with him in the middle of the night?" The Inquisitor drew his blade, pointing it at the thug.

  "Unkempt— you have a lot of nerve, pretty boy."

  "Guys, guys, calm down. I don’t want to start a fight here, ok? Please?" Saintess Lilith clasped her hands together, and bowed her head apologetically. "I’m sorry for sneaking out, Edith. Let’s just go back. I’m sorry!"

  "Hmph, whatever." The thug whirled around to leave, but Edith did not let that happen.

  "I said, stop. Explain yourself. What were you discussing with the Saintess, tell me now."

  The thug growled. "Why don’t you make me."

  Edith hesitated. He was certain he could take on a thousand men like him without breaking a sweat, but he warily eyed the Saintess. If she turned on him— no, she wouldn’t. Even as much of a troublemaker she was for the Church, she would not attack him. The consequences would have been too severe. She has never done it before, so there was no way she would do it now.

  So Edith took a step forward, and the thug tensed. But Saintess Lilith jumped in between the two of them, wrapping her arms around Edith’s hands.

  "Don’t— I was just bothering him! I wanted to… I wanted to go and have some fun, you know? I was disturbing that man, he didn’t do anything to deserve getting killed for. I’m sorry for causing you trouble, it’s my fault. Let’s go back, please?"

  The Inquisitor lowered his weapon slightly, but the thug was already leaving, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. Edith sighed, sheathing his blade. "Saintess Lilith, if you keep behaving like this—"

  "I know! I’m sorry, Edith," the girl said, slightly downtrodden. They began making their way back as she explained. "It’s just, tiring. Trying to be good all the time. I’m always cooped up and watched over by the Church, I could not stand it. I’m a regular person too, with her own wants and needs."

  "But you can’t just do whatever you want, Saintess. You have your virtues to uphold. Breaking them would be breaking your Sainthood vows. You’ll forego the powers the Goddess has given you. Do you want that?"

  "I don’t, I don’t." Saintess Lilith repeated herself and ducked her head. Her face shadowed over. "Edith, is it wrong to want to enjoy yourself?" She fidgeted with the bracelet— no, the shackles that bound only her right hand, keeping her tracked at all times. She tried to pull it out, but it did not come loose. It was enchanted— crafted by the best tinkerers of the Holy Xan Empire to be incredibly resilient.

  The Inquisitor paused midstep. He looked at the girl who was still clinging on to him, tears forming on her eyes. "I— why are you asking this?"

  "You probably don’t trust me after I already snuck out once. And you’ll probably report this back to the Grand Inquisitor or the Archbishop,right?"

  How did she know— Edith shook his head. "I don’t know what you’re referring to."

  She sighed, letting go of him slightly. "I know you’ll deny it, but please don’t tell anyone. I’ll do anything— but just for tonight, I want to enjoy myself."

  "I’m not letting you out of my sights, Saintess," Edith said simply.

  "I know you won’t." The woman— incredibly beautiful by anyone’s standards— paused, and turned to him. A smile drew across her face, and she leaned over. "And you won’t have to," she whispered.

  Edith gazed upon this sight. Felt her voice touch softly at his ear. And as annoying as he found her— as much trouble as she caused him— he could not help but gulp.

  The next morning, Saintess Lilith was in a much more cheerful mood. Edith looked tired, but not unhappy either. Their companions gave them an odd look when they emerged from the same room, but none of them commented on it.

  "We’ll be heading for Bys soon. It would be a few more days' journey even if we travel at top speed. But from the information we’ve gathered, it is unlikely the situation would change even if we take our time getting there."

  "Yes, and since it’s been months and it hasn’t left the city, this Amalgamation is probably a greedier one. It wants to absorb all the bodies it can, rather than try and grow its horde," Saintess Lilith said nodding in agreement.

  All five Inquisitors stared at the young woman in shock, confused by her more amenable personality. She was their expert in dealing with the Abominations, but up till now, she had been… difficult. She blinked back at them.

  "What? I’m just saying— if the Amalgamation was not being greedy, it would’ve moved on to the next city after three months, rather than incubate in Bys for another six."

  "I— no, it’s nothing." Edith frowned. Was it really that easy? But the Saintess just shrugged as two Bolerian officials passed by.

  "I don’t know what’s gotten into you guys. But I need to use the toilet." She spun around, calling after one of the Bolerian officials— a brown haired woman in her 40’s— and ran after her. "Hey, wait, do you know where the bathrooms—"

  The squad leader just sighed, letting her stop the Boleria officials for a moment. He ignored her conversation with them since they were out of ear shot, and turned to the rest of his companions.

  "Once we reach Bys, our plan is to target the Amalgamation. Carve a path through all the other Abominations to destroy it. Without their leader, the regular Abominations would become mindless Monsters and disperse on their own."

  "But what about the surrounding cities?" Hadi protested. "I know most of them have already been razed to the ground, but there’s still some left— both Free and Chained Cities! And Boleria too— they asked for our support. They’ll be in danger!"

  "Boleria asked us to clear Bys from Abominations because they felt threatened by its presence so close to their city. And that’s exactly what we’re doing," Edith said snappishly. "If they want, they can ask for protection from the Holy Xan Empire, but unlike this extermination mission, we won’t be doing that for free."

  There was a logical approach to this. By answering their call for aid, Boleria and both the Free and Chained Cities, would already be indebted to the Holy Xan Empire. But if they were to once again ask for more support, it sets up the possibility of an alliance of sorts between them. One where the Holy Xan Empire held the leverage over them, of course.

  And if they did not ask for their support to combat the dispersing Abominations— well, it was always a good thing when your enemies were in disarray. Chaos was a good thing to inflict upon those you did not like. It primed the Free Lands for a possible full scale military intervention by the Holy Xan Empire, if the need ever arose.

  Both outcomes were beneficial. Although they were merely possibilities, and nothing was set in stone just yet. Everything was to be done with the best interest of the Holy Xan Empire in mind. And that was all Edith care about— to support his country. To support the Church.

  Because, in the whole entire world, there were no other forces as good as they were. And if they could help save innocent lives while gaining a geopolitical advantage over their enemies, wouldn’t that be a net victory?

  That’s right. He eyed the Saintess, who was still speaking with the Boleria officials. She caught him looking at her and waved cheerfully at him. It’s the same thing, he thought.

  If he could apply that same logic to her— if he could keep Saintess Lilith happy, while keeping her under the control of the Holy Xan Empire— then what was wrong with doing this?

  It made sense to him.

  The group of six arrived in Bys less than a week later. They had been traveling nonstop, and finally arrived in the destroyed Free City the day before. Of course, they did not charge right in. They made camp a few hours away, and scouted out the area to make note of any discrepancies with the information they had and the actual situation.

  To Edith’s relief, there had been no anomalies. Nothing they did not account for even when they were assigned this mission. The Abominations were lurking about in the city. Not just thousands or tens of thousands of them. But hundreds of t
housands. And at the center of the Free City of Slaves— at the ziggurat that was the only grand structure of the city left standing— the Amalgamation awaited them. It was not moving.

  Just... waiting. Incubating. Growing.

  From her seat on Edith’s horse, Lilith whistled. "Well that’s a big one. No wonder it’s taking so long to consolidate itself. It’s almost a quarter the size of the Oligopolis!"

  "Lilith, we’ll support you by covering your flank. But you’ll have to take care of it yourself," Edith said, getting off his horse. He held out a hand, helping the woman down from her seat on the horse.

  "Are you sure about this? Can the Saintess really take that thing down?" Hadi asked, voice uncertain.

  "I’ll be fine," Saintess Lilith said cheerfully. "I’ve taken down even bigger ones that crawled straight out of Hell. Although I did do it with the help of the Holy Knights… more Inquisitors... and a supporting army! Still, this is nothing to me. Especially since it’s currently dormant, it’ll be much easier to take out as it is right now."

  "But—"

  "She said she’ll be fine, Hadi. Just follow your orders," Edith interrupted the Elf with a snap of his fingers. He had been getting tired of her constant questions. Elves, they just can’t listen.

  The Inquisitors readied their weapons. Edith drew his sword, as Hadi pulled out a large longbow. Another Inquisitor drew two small sickles, one had a giant war axe, and another carried Alchemical potions alongside an array of mana tools and weapons.

  "Look out for the Atrocities. They look like regular Abominations, but they’re much stronger than them. You’ll know when you see one because they’re the only ones that actually glow." Saintess Lilith drew her spear, grinning as she did. "Now, let’s do this."

  The six individuals ran for the city, straight at the gates of Bys. They were going against hundreds of thousands of Abominations. They were so terribly outnumbered, even with the first group of Abominations they saw. Dead Monsters and dead Humans turned to face them. The blue bulbs sticking out of different parts of their body, pulsing a dim yellow light that was almost invisible in the day.

  The Abominations reacted quickly. Thousands of chirp-like sounds echoed as they ran almost mindlessly at the incoming targets. At the small group of Humans and one Elf. Dozens of them led the first charge, going straight for the young woman at the front—

  And they vanished.

  In an instant, the first rank of Abominations were vaporized. The Saintess continued running past them, red lines spreading throughout her body. She swung her spear again, and there was a flash of light. Another hundred Abominations disappeared, taken out by the Saintess’ miracle.

  More Abominations came for her, but this time, Saintess Lilith did not engage them. She ran past them as the Inquisitors came up next to her. Supporting her from behind. None of them were stopping.

  "Take out those Abominations," Edith bellowed.

  Hadi began loosing arrows at them. Rapid firing her explosive munitions at the incoming horde. They fell by the dozens with each blast, being torn apart by the volley from the Elf woman. More explosions came from the other Inquisitors aiding her. A beam of energy coming from a mini cannon shredded through the Abominations like it was nothing.

  The Inquisitor with the sickles dashed forward. Drawing his two blades, and he began to slice through them like a whirlwind of blades. The Abominations dropped like flies, dying by the hundreds as the Inquisitors engaged them.

  "Horrors to the left. And a group of Amalgams are coming from the right!"

  From the rooftops, a group of Abominations began hurling what appeared to be yellow liquid at them. They were not like the other Abominations in that the bodies there were inhabiting were more deformed into a single large rotund blue creature. They launched the projectiles out of their body, their core growing smaller with each attack.

  Edith raised a gauntleted hand to block it. The yellow liquid sizzled on his armor, as if it was trying to eat through the metal. Edith was certain that it would have worked if not for the mana crystal enchantments on his platemail.

  The Horrors continued raining down their projectiles at the Inquisitors from a distance. The Inquisitor with the cannon however, had enough and decided to put a stop to it. He grabbed a potion and threw it at them. The vial exploded right in the middle of their cluster, engulfing them in a large green web of sticky liquid.

  The liquid quickly hardened over them, pinning them against the ground. The Horrors tried to move, but they could not break free. As the Horrors struggled to get out, the trap began to contract, pinning them harder and harder against the ground the more they tried to break free. Squeezing them until, eventually, the first Horror went pop, bursting into a puddle of yellow liquid.

  The small explosion from the first began a domino effect, causing the other Horrors to blow up one by one, until they were no more than a yellow stain on the roof of the building. The liquid continued to eat through the tiled bricks, as the Inquisitors engaged the Amalgams.

  An Inquisitor brought his massive war axe down on the ground, smashing the earth, and knocking the Amalgams off balance. One of them— composed of three bodies, held together by the blue bulbs— tried to swing back at the Inquisitor. He easily blocked the strike and cleaved the Amalgam in half.

  The other Amalgams picked themselves up and surrounded the axe Inquisitor. They attacked him from all sides, as he blocked their onslaught. He was being pushed back by the group of them. He took a step back, then tapped the mana crystal.

  The Inquisitor’s axe shone, and its tip flashed blue. He spun around, swinging his war axe all in a single 360 degrees sweep. While previously, it took him all his strength to even cut through a single Amalgam. Now, he tore through them like they were nothing. The Amalgams fell, and the group continued.

  They were ripping through the Abominations. Edith was not sure how long they had been fighting, but they were halfway to the center of Bys now. Lilith still spearheaded their assault, although she ignored any Abomination that was not directly in front of her. She was not using her miracles anymore— or at least, she was not using any miracles that Edith could see.

  And yet, as she ran through the streets of Bys into the hordes of Abominations ahead of her, she never once slowed. It was almost as if she were running unimpeded. She struck down any Abomination that attacked her without any effort. Even the larger ones like the Amalgams were no nuisance to her.

  We’re almost there.

  Edith knew that. He could see the Oligopolis of Bys right there in front of them. But now— this close to the Amalgamation— it finally sensed them too.

  The colossal mass of bodies trembled. Tens of thousands of heads jerked. All of their eyes opening at once, turning to face the threat. Edith saw this, and for a moment, he felt a shiver go down his spine. The sight of a hundred thousand eyes looking at straight at him was bad enough— it would have terrified even the bravest of individuals. But more than that— more than just that fact— they all shone red.

  So Edith paused for a moment. And so did the other Inquisitors. Even amidst their constant battle, they found the time to fear this creature. This Amalgamation. But a voice broke them out of their stupor.

  It was Saintess Lilith.

  "I’ll take that thing out. But I can’t do it if it gets help from those Atrocities over there. Take care of them for me, will you?"

  Her voice was as carefree as ever. She glanced back at the team of Inquisitors, giving them a wink as she did. Then she leapt up one of the buildings next to her. Not the regular three story houses that made up the outer city of Bys, but one of the proper buildings that made up the center of the former Free City of Slaves.

  Dozens of tendrils stretching a hundred feet each came whipping out of the Amalgamation, striking at the Saintess. She blocked the first with her spear. Then she danced between the subsequent attacks, twirling away from a tendril that pierced through a concrete building and collapsing it.

  The Saintess shone.
Her entire body once again covered in the glowing patterns, and she thrusted her spear forward at the Amalgamation. There was a terrible shriek, as a red explosion knocked the Amalgamation back. But it still clung onto the ziggurat. Saintess Lilith continued dodging the whipping tendrils of the Amalgamation, sending a torrent of flames at the mass of bodies.

  Edith only took a second to take this in. Not just because it happened so quickly, but also because the Abominations around him all reacted as its leader was attacked. All at once, thousands of Abominations abandoned what they were doing, and began running for the Amalgamation to protect it.

  The Inquisitors saw this, and tried to stop them from doing so, but there were too many for even them to handle. Edith shouted past all the chitterring and explosions in the background. "Don’t focus on the regular Abominations. Get the Atrocities before it reaches Lilith!"

  Edith ran for the nearest Atrocity. The lumbering creature, which was probably once a Horned Ursa, was running amongst the regular Abominations, trying to help the Amalgamation. The squad leader felt himself activating the effects of his sword, and despite still being a distance away, slashed at the group of creatures.

  His sword flickered, and a horizontal line appeared where he swung. All the Abominations around the Atrocity fell, sliced in half by some invisible blade. Even the wall behind them fell apart, having been in reach of the attack. And yet, the Atrocity only stumbled back from the hit. It’s abdomen was torn open, but it still seemed mostly fine.

  It turned to face its new enemy. At the Inquisitor charging at it. And it struck at him with its claws. Edith managed to dodge the first one, counter with his only swing at where he had injured it. But he lodged his sword inside the wound. He managed to yank it out just in time to block a second strike—

  And Edith found himself flying through the air. The Inquisitor landed on the ground with a crack. His armor— the protective mana crystals on it— took the brunt of the damage.