Release That Witch

The newcomers were all witches. Theo did not lie. Ashes could feel the magic power coursing in them and could even roughly differentiate the strong ones from the weaker ones—particularly the leader in front of her. Her magic power was like a sharp knife cutting into Ashes' suffer when she tried to feel it keenly.     

"I'm Ashes. Nice to meet you, sisters from the Witch Cooperation Association." She put her great sword on one side and went forward to hug the four witches… No, she knew there were five of them. Ashes looked up at the dark spot circling in the sky. "Is she not joining us?"     

"She's showing us the way," the leader smiled. "I'm Nightingale." She then pointed at the three other witches. "Scroll, Leaf, and Echo." She nudged her lips at the sky and said, "That little girl is Lightning."     

When Ashes stared at Scroll, she was stunned. The magic power in Scroll was fairly weak, like a cloud scattered all over her body. It surprised her and she asked, "Are you an extraordinary witch?"     

Nightingale also looked surprised. "You can see magic power?"     

"No, but I can feel it," Ashes explained. "An extraordinary witch can sense the form and flow of magic power because all parts of her body have been altered. I think this sister here has the same feelings as I do."     

Scroll smiled and nodded. "You're right. This ability has helped me find a number of companions in the sea of people."     

"Is an extraordinary witch that rare?" asked Nightingale.     

Nightingale's focus was on the numbers instead of the meaning of an extraordinary witch... Ashes wondered if they had never heard of the term in the Witch Cooperation Association. This was a heavily-guarded secret of the church. That was because that an extraordinary witch used her power directly on herself and therefore was not limited by God's Stone of Retaliation. Any known extraordinary witch would make herself the top enemy of the church.     

"In a thousand witches, perhaps there's only one." Despite her thoughts, Ashes remained calm when she answered, "I've only met three extraordinary witches including Scroll in my life." Ashes momentarily paused. "Right. I remember that Cara is the leader of Witch Cooperation Association. How is she?"     

"She died." Nightingale shook her head. "She died on her way to find Holy Mountain."     

"... That's such a pity," said Ashes, her voice lowered. What concerned her was the lack of sadness in Nightingale's expression when she spoke. "Who's your new leader?"     

"Let's talk about that when we go back to Border Town." Nightingale smiled. "You'll be able to meet him very soon."     

…     

When they entered the town, Ashes sensed that something was off. The witches actually dared to walk boldly on the streets while holding torches. Besides, the town was not tranquil even though it was already dark. She could see dim flames from the paper windows of many homes and hear the sound of children reading.     

Though candles were not expensive things, commoners would probably not light them until it was necessary due to their limited savings. But there were many households in Border Town that could afford candles. It was incredible. In addition, children were reading word by word. Were their parents teaching them to read?     

But they did not explain and she was also unwilling to ask. After all, this was not a permanent residency for them. What she needed to do was to take them away as soon as possible.     

Walking through criss-cross streets, they got closer to the castle. Ashes could see the dark walls and guards in the darkness. "Where are we going?" she asked.     

"The castle of Border Town. We're almost there," replied Nightingale.     

"Wait." Ashes slowed down. "That's where the lord lives."     

"Yes. But it's also home to the witches."     

"Have you reached agreements with the lord?" Ashes frowned. Even though Witch Cooperation Association had huge influence among the locals, it would boldly go against the church and the lords possessing God's Stone of Retaliation. The association was forced to work with them. That was a choice some witches took. Most lords, however, were reluctant to discuss conditions and endlessly oppressed and exploited the disadvantaged witches. Such collaboration was quickly put to an end.     

"Kind of." Nightingale did not sound oppressed, but rather joyful. "We've all at least signed an agreement with His Highness."     

Ashes could not feel happy for them. Agreements written in ink and paper had little binding force. Once the lord was sick of protecting witches or wanted to terminate their equal relationship, he only needed to scrunch the agreement and throw it into a fireplace. No one would feel indignant in the witches' place. They were like lonesome boats in the vast sea, and they risk being capsized at any time.     

Fortunately, here she was. She wanted to lead them away to the other side of the sea. There was a habitat there built by witches. They can stay away from the threats of the church and the secular world.     

After through the gate of the castle, guards were really used to the presence of the witches. They even exchanged greetings.     

Compared with the palace of the king's city, the lord's castle was not as spacious. Only several torches were hung on the walls along the hallway and the swaying lights were unable to light up the entire place. Walking through the gloomy hallway made one felt rather depressed. It only got brighter when they entered the guest room.     

In the hall, Ashes saw more witches who seemed to have waited for a long time. The moment they saw her, they all applauded to welcome her. Just as Nightingale stepped forward to briefly introduce her, a witch rushed over.     

"Wendy!" someone shouted.     

Ashes noticed the witch's behavior and did not take any defensive measures. She could feel the other girl's pleasant surprise, but there were no traces of hostility. She was quickly enveloped in a warm hug.     

"You actually survived." The girl's voice was full of excitement. "Thank you for saving me back then."     

Ashes was stunned. "You're..."     

"I'm Wendy." She loosened her hold and looked straight at Ashes. "I'm the little choir girl. Do you remember me?"     

…     

In the bedroom on the second floor, only Ashes and Wendy remained.     

Ashes never thought that she would meet a companion from the cloister here.     

To be precise, calling her a companion was a stretch. If not for their encounter that night, they would not have known each other. Honestly, she did not realize there was another unfortunate person like her who was dragged and forced into that underground cell. Most of all, she did not expect that person would become a witch.     

"After escaping from the cloister, I settled down in Seawindshire," Wendy said after a long silence, "I later heard that there was a huge fire in the cloister that day and all children there disappeared."     

"A fire?" Ashes shook her head. "The church did that to cover up the scandal. I killed some managers and Judgement Army soldiers who tried to stop me until… the God's Punishment Army arrived. This scar on my eyes was left by them. Had I not made up my mind to run away immediately, I'd have died there when the rest arrived."     

"God's Punishment army..." Wendy repeated those words with wide eyes. "What's that?"