402. Her

The instant I returned to my Wyvern form, Novis, Bellum, and Oriur came waddling through the air back to me. They hugged me tightly, looking up at me in awe as they broke into an excited gibbering of voices.

“Mama! You won so quickly!”

“I want to do that too!”

“Did you eat that bad guy?”

Sighing, I offered them a kind smile and ran a wing-arm over their bodies in a hug.

“I won, of course. Because I’m great. But I didn’t eat him. That’d be gross.”

Oriur visibly sagged as I said that. I looked up at Willy. The [Will O’ Wisp] floated over to my side, peering inquisitively into me.

“What now?”

I glanced down at the Beastmen gathered below. A few of them were staring up at me, confused as to what I was doing just floating up here. I spoke simply.

“We find the [Witch] threatening the Grave Hill Tribe, then we deal with the corruption.”

I helped the baby Wyverns onto my back. They clung on tight as I secured them with [Faux Limbs] so they wouldn’t fall off. With that, I nodded at Willy and took off.

“Let’s go.”

—--

We found the [Witch]’s hideout not long after leaving behind the caravan. It was about fifty miles ahead, a cave right at the side of a mountain. I was fortunate in that I had been given directions to this place, else I’d have scoured the land for days and would’ve still been lost.

I landed right outside of the cave entrance, setting down Willy and the three baby Wyverns. I once again turned to the [Will O’ Wisp], gesturing at Novis, Bellum, and Oriur.

“Look after them. I’ll be back in a quick minute.”

I grinned. Willy just snorted.

“Whatever.”

But before I could enter the cavern, a small voice cried out. Novis ran up to my leg, holding me back.

“No!”

I blinked as I turned to face him. Both of his siblings looked at him in confusion as well. They didn’t know what he was doing, and neither did I. I gently picked up Novis and set him a few feet back.

“I’ll be fine, Novis. This [Witch] won’t be a match for me!”

I tried to reassure him. But he refused. He clung on to my arm insistently, protesting.

“I want to follow!”

And that made me pause. I looked down at the baby Wyvern. He gave me a round-eyed stare— a pleading look.

“But it’s dangerous—”

I started, only for his siblings to join him. Oriur and Bellum ran up to his side, nodding eagerly.

“We want to watch you, mama!”

They chorused. I shrank back, hounded from all sides by the baby Wyverns. I turned to Willy for his help, but he just stared at me.

“I-I…”

I hesitated, before finally acquiescing.

“Fine. But you guys have to stay next to Willy, alright?”

“Yay!”

They cheered as I led the way. We entered the cave entrance together, descending down a dark tunnel as a group. I made sure they were always a hundred feet behind me. After all, I didn’t want anything bad to happen to them.

“Good. They have arrived.”

Grimfang smiled toothily as she watched the Demon enter her little lair through her cauldron. Not only that, the baby Wyverns had followed after as well. Everything was proceeding according to plan. It wasn’t something she simply bet on. A slight bit of magical influence played a part there.

A [Witch]’s specialty was in emotions and desires. All she did was exacerbate the baby Wyverns’ desires to be with their so-called ‘mother’. It worked. Now, all the [Rat Beastman] had to do was separate them.

A smile spread across her face as she watched the Demon reach the first fork in the tunnel.

“Huh. Where should I go? I guess right should always be right, right?”

The Demon shrugged and pressed on without much thought. Grimfang could hear its words through her scrying spell, of course. She smirked as the runes inscribed around the ceiling glinted.

“Fool.”

The [Witch] cackled as the trap spell activated. A crimson barrier shot up, trapping the Demon in a dome. The baby Wyverns cried out in fear.

“Mama!”

“What is this?”

The Demon cocked its head as Grimfang watched on in glee.

“Only an idiot would charge straight into enemy territory without any preparation. I have spent years refining my defenses. It will not be easy to break through that [Cage of the—”

“[Draconic Fury]!”

Grimfang blinked as the Demon swiped down once. A red aura engulfed its claw as it tore straight through the barrier keeping it inside. The [Witch]’s jaw dropped.

“What…?”

“Ouch. That was kind of painful to break through.”

The Demon brought its claws back, caressing it. It didn’t take long for the Demon to shrug it off and usher the baby Wyverns forward with the [Will O’ Wisp].

“Come on, be careful you guys. Stay on guard, Willy!”

“Yes, yes.”

The [Witch] stared, still processing what just happened. That had been one of her stronger snares. She’d caught Level 130 Humans and Beastmen in it alike, and none have been able to break free. Gritting her teeth, Grimfang grabbed a handful of black powder and tossed it into the cauldron.

“Try this, Demon—”

“Huh. What’s that?”

I blinked as I looked around at the dark gas leaking from the ceiling. Novis, Bellum, and Oriur backed up as Willy eyed it warily.

“Dangerous.”

“Oh, alright.”

I brought a claw up and focused on the source of the pouring air. The dark gas halted in place as I traced a clawed finger over it. A distortion ran through the area as everything in that zone held still. I grinned and drew back.

“And there we go. A Cube of Isolation. It shouldn’t bother us for now.”

Novis, Bellum, and Oriur stared in awe as I nodded at them. I waved them over and continued.

“Come on guys!”

They hurriedly scrambled after me as Willy followed, sighing.

“What?”

Grimfang gawked as the Demon pressed on with little trouble. She clenched a fist, reaching for a Bag of Holding. The [Witch] produced a handful of needles.

“That is not the last of my traps—”

And she promptly watched as all her traps failed against the Demon. Her needle storm was easily burned away by an inferno. Her Mud Dolls were defeated without putting up much of a fight. None of her snares or hexes slowed the Demon’s approach.

Every step it took brought it closer and closer to the main chamber where Grimfang waited.

“I’m a Level 145 [Witch]. A Level 113 [Rattus Overlady]. Why is this Demon so much stronger than me?”

The [Witch] bit her lower lip. Sure, a [Witch] wasn’t exactly known for being specialized in combat, but still. This gulf in their power was far more wide than it should’ve been. Grimfang steeled herself, trying to regain control of the situation.

“I did not live up to half a millennia to die to some Demon.”

There was only one solution here, and that was to escape. Grimfang knew when a battle was lost. She drew back, gathering her belongings as she murmured to herself.

“I still have a month before the ritual needs to be done. Otherwise…”

She clutched at her chest, feeling her age already catching up to her. [Rat Beastmen] didn’t normally live to this age. She had already lived up to ten times the lifespan of her Species. And if she didn’t want to keel over and die, she had to maintain it.

That meant stealing the life from a thousand young souls. It was an odd ritual she discovered by accident— a spellbook from ages past. Shaking her head, Grimfang started for the secret exit out of the other side of the mountain.

“It can be done in a separate location. For now, I’ll have to—”

And the [Witch] froze. She stood before the exit, wide-eyed and in shock. A massive maw breathed down on her, huffing out a blast of smoke.

“Now, where exactly are you going, [Witch]?”

“W-w-w-what…?

Grimfang stumbled back as a false Wyvern loomed over her. The Demon somehow appeared in the room, standing just before the [Rat Beastman].

“How—”

She spun around, looking towards her cauldron. But the Demon just laughed.

“Oh, have you been watching me this whole time? I guess I’ve been watching you too.”

The Demon snorted as it straightened, standing tall in the cave chamber, nearly reaching the ceiling. Grimfang sputtered.

“B-but my wards should’ve protected me from any scrying spells…”

“Scrying? Please, I have no idea how to do that.”

The [Witch] hesitated. Then she unleashed a blast of purple flames from a wand. The Demon just raised a scaled arm, blocking the attack. The black scales at the false Wyvern’s forearms caught the attack as an Aura of Greater Protection shimmered.

The Demon flicked a finger, sending the wand flying. Grimfang flinched as she backed up in terror. She stared up at the Demon in terror.

“Just… what are you?”

She asked in a trembling voice. The Demon smiled.

“Me? I’m Salvos, and the only reason why I haven’t killed you is because Novis, Bellum, and Oriur would get upset if they weren’t around to watch me kill you.”

Grimfang paused. Her eyes darted back to the cauldron. She could see the faint reflection of the baby Wyverns and the [Will O’ Wisp] continuing down the tunnel. And the [Witch]’s lips twitched.

Grimfang slowly raised its head as she hid a hand behind her back. She began carving into the dirt as she tried to stall.

“They’re coming here?”

She asked hesitantly. The Demon— Salvos— nodded casually, still in its Wyvern disguise.

“Yep! That’s why I brought them here. It sucks that I can’t just teleport them around with me. I mean, I could if they were in my [Fragmented Pocket Dimension]. But… that’d have taken too much time. You were just about to escape in your stupid little getaway tunnel, after all.”

Salvos pointed a clawed thumb towards the exit. The [Witch] tilted her head before sneering.

“I see. Well, perhaps you should’ve let me flee. But now—”

Grimfang slammed the palm of her hand into the hastily prepared hex, pouring mana into it. The ground glowed as she laughed.

“I guess you’ll live to regret it!”

“Wait, what—”

The ground beneath me flashed as the [Witch] completed her spell, whatever it was. A large spell circle spread out, and I tried to back away. Unfortunately, I found each of my steps covering less and less distance as I came to the edge of the circle. I paused and looked down at myself— at my regular form.

“What is this?”

I blinked. I was no longer in my Wyvern form. I had transformed back unwillingly. My eyes narrowed as I tried to shapeshift— only to fail. This was… some kind of hex.

The [Witch] continued her cackling as she spread her arms wide.

“Yes, yes! Reveal its secrets! Show me the truth of this Demon!”

Her eyes flashed with various colors as she stood there, completely defenseless. I clicked my tongue.

“Alright, you’re getting annoying. I’ll just kill you now—”

But before I could move, I heard a cry.

“Mama!”

I glanced over to the side. Novis, Bellum, and Oriur had finally arrived. They took a quick look around, confused. The latter two immediately ran back as they caught sight of me.

“Monster!”

But Novis paused. He eyed me warily as the spell circle continued glinting, showing brief flashes of images. Scenes. The [Witch] turned its head towards him, laughing. I readied myself to jump in the way for any attack, but nothing came. Only words and visions.

“That’s right. You see it, don’t you? That is not your mama. This Demon has been disguising itself as your mama this whole time!”

And my eyes widened as I realized what was going on.

“What?”

Novis’ eyes shimmered with the same light as the [Witch]. I looked on as they stared into each other, unmoving.

“Ma…ma?”

“Your parents are dead, child. And the one responsible for killing them— for slaughtering your kin— was…”

Her gaze turned towards me. Novis followed it. He stared at me as I shifted back, and the [Witch] finished.

“Her.”