“As we get closer to that central lake, there will likely be more happening.”
As Shade spoke, he looked up past the sparse, withered branches toward the night sky, his peripheral vision catching Miss Sylvia's figure.
“The approximate time when the stars reach the correct position is around 1:30 AM on Thursday. We have seven hours to continue moving forward.”
“I didn't expect the trouble this time to be the distance of the journey rather than dangerous enemies,” Miss Galina said with a smile. Shade nodded and continued flipping through the *Secrets of Agelessness* in his hand.
This book originally belonged to the Seksess Higher Medical College, but it had been acquired by the Witches' Council after fragments of poetic verses were discovered within it. Before Shade left home, Luvia's divination result for him was "Book," so before departing for the swamp, Shade specifically borrowed this book from Miss Galina. However, he had yet to find anything particularly special about it.
“This book was written at the end of the Fifth Epoch, recording methods for witches to maintain their skin. If the secrets within are used correctly, one can indeed preserve their beauty for a very long time.”
Shade muttered to himself
“Secrets of agelessness, skin care, eternal beauty...”
He raised an eyebrow.
Miss Galina, who was leaning against Shade, suddenly spoke.
“Shade, I heard from Tifa that you are very good at storytelling. Tell me a story before dinner. Consider it a temporary relaxation before the final battle.”
Miss Sylvia, perched in the tree, curled her lip. She could obviously hear the voices below and even suspected that Galina Cavendish was doing it on purpose for her to hear.
Shade shifted his gaze away from the ancient text in the book.
“What kind of story would you like to hear?”
He certainly didn't want to tell a story about a shipwreck before the final battle; besides, he had already told that one many times.
“Any story will do.”
Shade nodded, then saw Miss Aurora stepping out from the light.
“There is no special news from the Council, but Sister Daphne contacted the Speaker and gave me a note. There is some hidden content on it intended for Shade.”
She handed the note to Shade. He glanced at it; the general meaning was that if Shade reached the lighthouse first and the seal was about to be broken, he could stabilize the power of the "Primal Fire" by touching the flame to prevent the seal from being destroyed.
The fire within Shade had been given to him by the "Fire Keeper," Sister Daphne; therefore, when Shade touched another flicker of the Primal Fire, the Sister would be able to sense his location quickly.
“The Sister has considered the worst-case scenario,” he explained to the witches.
“If such a situation truly occurs, I don't think I will worry about Legins Prishia; I will prioritize stabilizing the seal.”
After all, Legins Prishia becoming the Chosen would not cause an immediate catastrophe, but once an evil entity was unsealed, disaster would strike instantly. Moreover, in the mission Luvia had originally given him, witnessing the Chosen ceremony and confirming the identity of the Chosen was a mandatory requirement, while killing Legins Prishia was a "best effort" goal.
Before the thirteenth Chosen appeared, they had plenty of time to handle this matter.
“You decide that yourself. The mission the Council gave us was merely to witness the Chosen ceremony with our own eyes. Now, what story is Shade going to tell?”
Miss Aurora asked with a smile, lifting her skirt to sit on the heated large rock. Miss Sylvia descended from the tree like a feather, and Miss Avril and Miss Scarlett, who had been setting up rituals on the perimeter, also walked back.
“Let me think... how about a story of ice and snow?”
Shade asked, plunging his hand into the snow beside him and scooping up a handful.
The group sat around the campfire. Only Miss Catherine remained standing by the fire stirring the thick soup, but she also looked at him with a smiling, tilted head.
“It is a story from a long time ago. In a kingdom in the far north, a King and Queen had a secret worry. Their eldest daughter possessed extraordinary magic; the girl with long silver hair could easily freeze any object and create fantastical scenes of ice and snow...”
Deep within the deserted Great Swamp, the light of the campfire could not illuminate a vast area. The sorceresses listened quietly to the only man present as he told a story from his homeland. After preparing dinner, Miss Catherine delivered a bowl of hot soup to everyone.
The undead skeletal horses lacked the instincts of living beings and remained motionless by the trees, but the firelight cast everyone's shadows in various directions across the snow. Faint, warm steam rose from the soup bowls, gently warming their cheeks. Sitting on the rock, Shade continued to tell the story of the princess sisters and the ice and snow amidst the blizzard in this desolate swamp.
The original background of this story was very similar to the current era, so he hardly had to make any adaptations. Only after finishing the story did he take small sips of the meat soup, which had already grown somewhat cold. The Duchess continued to lean against him for warmth. Miss Aurora, who appeared to be the eldest among the ladies present, tilted her head and smiled at Shade.
“A very nice story. I think I will remember tonight. After becoming an adult girl, no one has been able to tell me stories anymore.”
“These kinds of bedtime stories are indeed interesting... did those two sisters get married?”
Miss Sylvia asked curiously, holding her soup bowl and looking at Shade. Shade asked skeptically
“They are sisters. And why would they get married?”
“Weren't they lovers?”
Miss Galina also asked in confusion, wondering if she had misheard the story.
Though the journey was long, the road ahead dangerous, and there was no road back, sitting around a campfire on a snowy night listening to a heartwarming story still made everyone feel as though their mental state had improved significantly.
They chatted in high spirits, exchanging complaints about the terrible terrain inside the Great Swamp. Miss Aurora mentioned again that the other witches of the Council had left the three members of this operation to decide their actions based on the situation.
The original plan was to rest here for forty-five minutes before departing. But as Shade drank his second bowl of hot soup and Miss Galina smiled and asked, “Shade, do you want more soup?”, a thick white mist drifted silently from the central region of the Great Swamp.
Miss Aurora, who had been resting with her eyes closed, was the first to notice the thick mist drifting from the center of the swamp. No one had ever seen this kind of mist during a blizzard.
Not only was the gale unable to disperse the mist, but even the rituals the sorceresses had placed around the perimeter of the camp had no ability to detect or counter it.
As everyone stood up from the campfire, the mysterious fog had already covered their camp and continued to drift further away.
The heavy presence of "whispering" elements indicated that the creation of this strange mist must be related to a Relic. The three witches exchanged quiet words, concluding that there was a high probability it was the Angel-grade Relic [The Unvanishing Miasma]. This Relic had no physical body and could only be brought forth through summoning.
Once it appeared, the great fog would irreversibly spread around the summoning point.
The miasma itself was not only toxic but could also suppress any supernatural power regardless of friend or foe. It was extremely easy to get lost within the miasma, and the appearance of the fog would simultaneously summon some eerie things. Compared to Angel-grade Relics with clear recorded data, information on this particular Relic was scarce.
“No more resting. Depart immediately,” Miss Aurora commanded. After extinguishing the campfire, she checked everyone's status one by one.
“There will be no more breaks. We will head directly to the island in the center of the swamp's central lake. The Pantanal Voodoo Coven itself doesn't have many high-circle sorcerers, but this is their territory; no one can let their guard down.”
As her voice fell, a loud whistle suddenly pierced the sky, which had been obscured by the white fog. Then, a massive dark shadow flew over their heads. However, because the warning ritual was still active, the shadow did not notice them and continued flying into the distance.
“A dragon?”
Miss Sylvia flicked one end of her scarf behind her.
“Unsure what kind of dragon it is. No need to worry about it,” the Twelfth-Circle witch said, sprinkling some crystalline powder on her wrist.
“It is currently Wednesday, 6:30 PM. Let's move. If there are no accidents, we should reach the great lake at the center of the swamp by 11:40 PM.”
Among the group, only Shade was dressed most bulkily; the ladies' attire did not look like clothing for going out on a winter snowy night. High-circle ladies naturally had their own methods for keeping warm and warding off the cold, and they did not need to compromise their beauty to maintain their body temperature.
The subsequent journey was far more dangerous than the afternoon's. Not long after departing from the final resting point, the creature resembling a dragon that had appeared in the blizzard caught up with them again.
Although Shade had the "Higgs Dragon-Head Stone" in his hand, this Relic was somewhat strained when dealing with a healthy, true dragon. Fortunately, the witches were powerful enough. Even though it was best not to fly too high in this area, they still worked together to repel the monster above the fog layer.
The Great Witch of "Balance," Galina Cavendish, used a "Decree" secret art to forcibly pull the dragon down, causing it to crash into the withered forest. The Great Witch of "Light" and the Great Witch of "Space" coordinated, making the light-based magic bombard the unlucky dragon as if reflecting through mirrors within the withered forest.
The light illuminated a small patch of the night sky; further away, others seemed to be fighting as well. The dragon's defense was extremely strong. After realizing this group was not to be trifled with, it escaped through the fog, paying the price of having one claw swept away by chaotic space due to Miss Sylvia's dangerous "Spatial Severance."
Until the end, the group still didn't know what it was, only that it was definitely not a normal dragon.
“It ran away fast.”
Miss Aurora was not satisfied with the battle. She stood on a frost-covered branch, watching the dragon disappear into the mist, her dark red dress swaying backward in the wind and snow. This silhouette was enough for Shade to remember for many years.
*Is he looking at me?* the witch atop the tree asked herself.
*Yes,* the "other me" answered. A smile curled at the witch's lips.