Chapter 47: The Witch's Nest
The fog clung to the ground like a living shroud as the team stepped deeper into the courtyard. The silence was heavy, broken only by the rhythmic thud of their boots on the rotted wood.
Suddenly, Lira stopped. Her eyes narrowed as she looked toward the second-story window of the decaying mansion. A figure was hanging there, swaying slightly in the unnatural breeze. It was a Black Witch, her tattered robes blending into the shadows, her eyes glowing with a faint, sickly light.
Without a word, Lira reached for the long knife strapped to her thigh and hurled it with lethal precision. As the blade flew through the air, it glowed with Vane energy and split into 50 small, needle-like daggers. The "Thousand Fragment Strike" shattered the window into a million pieces, shredding the Witch's silhouette.
But the creature didn't fall. It dissolved into black smoke.
"Look out!" Ren shouted, but it was too late.
The smoke materialized directly behind Adam. The Witch reappeared, her clawed hand reaching for his neck. Without even turning around, Adam swung his arm back. His dagger found its mark, sinking deep into the Witch's open mouth with a sickening squelch.
BANG! BANG!
Kimo and Mika fired simultaneously. The bullets tore through the Witch's skull, and she slumped to the ground, seemingly dead.
"Stay alert," Kimo commanded, his eyes darting around. "I'm going to check the main entrance. Don't move from this spot."
Kimo stepped toward the massive oak doors. As he reached the threshold, the heavy doors groaned and swung open on their own, revealing a hallway filled with absolute darkness. Kimo felt a sudden chill—a shift in the air. He spun around, sensing a presence he had missed.
"LIRA! MOVE!"
It was too late. The same Witch—or a twin—had appeared out of thin air behind Lira. A jagged blade made of shadow plunged into Lira's back. She let out a choked gasp, the light fading from her eyes as she began to fall.
Kimo roared in fury, firing his revolver at the creature, but the bullets passed through its body as if it were made of mist. Adam didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, his twin daggers glowing with a fierce white light. In one surgical movement, he sliced through the Witch's arm, severing the hand that held the shadow blade.
Lira collapsed to the ground, blood staining her uniform. Kimo jumped over her, delivering a powerful Vane-reinforced kick to the Witch's chest that sent her flying back into the darkness of the house, where she vanished again.
The team scrambled to Lira's side. She was breathing heavily, her face pale from the cursed wound.
"She's hurt bad," Mika whispered, her hands shaking as she tried to apply pressure to the wound.
Suddenly, the air in the doorway began to ripple. One... two... three... four... five Witches stepped out of the shadows. They stood in a perfect line, their hollow eyes fixed on the group. The pressure of their combined Vane energy was suffocating.
"Ren, take this!" Kimo barked, tossing a small vial of glowing blue liquid to him. "Drink it or use it if things get worse. Adam, with me! We need to clear a path before they surround us!"
Adam stood up, his daggers dripping with the Witch's black blood. He and Kimo exchanged a grim look—the real fight was only just beginning. With a roar of defiance, the Mentor and the Shadow-Specialist charged toward the line of Witches, leaving Ren and Mika to protect their fallen comrade.