Today was the day. We would finally put our plan into action. Operation: Save Rein and the witches from Helen, the evil Head Witch.
It was still early, but the crowd had already gathered in the center of the village, buzzing with excitement about the supposed ritual. Little did they know that something horrible was about to unfold.
Hours passed quickly, and Helen finally stood at the center of the stage, with Rein standing calmly beside her.
Even though this was the day she was meant to lose herself, Rein looked perfectly composed. She was entrusting me with her life, and I would not let her down. Komraad, on the other hand, was following my instructions in the Head Witch's room, searching for the other witches' magic staff.
"Everyone, welcome! The day of the ritual has finally come! Finally, our curse will be lifted by this little witch!" Helen announced, bathing in the applause.
While the event was ongoing, I was hiding in a decorative pot on the corner of the stage, looking for the right opportunity to reveal the truth to everyone.
How do I stop the ritual? If I just attack the Head Witch, I'll look like the bad guy. I need to expose her true nature. How? Wait, the witches cannot perform magic without a magic staff, right? Then does that mean if I take the Head Witch's wand, she won't be able to use magic anymore? Why didn't I think about that sooner?!?
I remembered the Head Witch being highly sensitive about her looks. If I could damage her face, perhaps she would snap and show her true colors to everyone.
Minutes crawled by, and the ritual was finally about to begin. The festive atmosphere changed and the crowd went silent.
"It's time, Rein. You've been a good daughter. You have no idea how long I waited for this day to come. I have nurtured you to perfection, and now, that perfection will be mine," Helen whispered to Rein, her eyes gleaming with malice.
The Head Witch assumed Rein would be consumed by fear and confusion, but instead, Rein to her with a brimming smile and a face full of hope.
"Oh, Mother. I knew from the start," she revealed, her voice steady.
Helen was frozen in place, utterly shocked by Rein's defiance. "What did you just say?" She hissed.
Rein maintained her smile, showing her that she was not scared at all.
The Head Witch is confused. This is my chance!
While Helen was momentarily stunned, I leaped from my hiding spot, flew right in front of her face, and used my sharp claws to scratch violently across her cheek. In the same motion, I grabbed the large, decorative magic staff in her hand.
Panic and confusion overcame Helen, and before she knew it, her carefully crafted facade had finally fallen apart. "W-what is this? What is happening? What did you do to my face?!?" She shrieked, touching the blood on her ruined skin.
She had finally snapped, showing her true colors to everyone.
I sighed in relief, thinking everything was finally over. I had managed to take away her only way of using magic. I thought she was done for good, that it was that easy, but I had made a critical miscalculation.
Why didn't I think of it? The Head Witch having a spare magic staff? I watched in horror as Helen, consumed by rage, grabbed the sharp, stick-like accessory that was holding her hair in place.
This is bad, I thought in panic.
"You insolent, ungrateful brat! You only have one purpose, and you can't even fulfill that! Was all of this your plan? You said you already know about the ritual, right? That means you planned on disobeying me from the start!" Helen screamed at Rein, her voice cracking with fury.
Rein was scared, defenseless, and had no way to fight back.
Helen pointed her spare magic staff directly at Rein and cast a ball of fire. "I don't care anymore! I have to teach you a lesson!"
[Flame Magic: Pyro Sphere]
I had thought she wouldn't hurt Rein because she didn't want to damage her "new body," but I was wrong. She wasn't thinking straight anymore. All she could feel was blinding anger.
No, it's about to hit Rein! Please, body, don't let me down!
I flew as fast as I could toward Rein to block Helen's attack. In that moment of absolute desperation, my powers came through. I finally transformed into my human form once again and stopped the ball of fire from reaching Rein. The intense heat of the spell burned my arm slightly, but it was nothing compared to the lifetime of pain Rein had gone through.
"You've done enough, Head Witch. Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!" I taunted, standing between them.
I tried to sound cool, but deep inside, I was scared. But there were people depending on me, so I had to be strong, inside and out.
"W-who are you?!?" the Head Witch demanded, her voice shaking with rage.
"Oh, I'm just a cat who doesn't want her kitten to get hurt," I responded with a smirk.
I glanced at Rein and gave her a reassuring smile, letting her know that everything would be alright.
"Rein, get out of here. Leave everything to me," I assured her.
"Ms. Ina? I-is that you?" Rein asked, stunned to see me transform into a human.
"Yeah, it's me. I told you, right? I'll come and save you. Now go! I can't protect you while fighting her!" I said firmly, pushing her towards the edge of the stage.
Helen became even more furious because of my appearance and prepared another, bigger, stronger attack.
The crowd was stunned after seeing everything that unfolded. The magical battle, the transformation, and the realization that the Head Witch had lied to them and could use magic all along.
Because of Helen's sudden burst of negative emotions, her magic spells were becoming unstable and reckless, causing fire orbs to hit randomly.
Oh no, the spell will hit the crowd.
"Everyone, please evacuate immediately! This is not part of the play!" Fae shouted from afar, using her voice to cut through the panic.
Fae's urgency helped the crowd regain composure. She began leading everyone to safety, with the other witches quickly realizing their peril and helping her. Rein got off the stage and evacuated with the others, too.
"Hey, I'm the one who damaged your face. It's me you want," I shouted at Helen, trying to draw her focus back to our fight.
Helen was full of rage, which was painted all over her scratched face. "You! You appear out of nowhere, damage my face, and now you're trying to stop something that I've worked so hard for for many years! I'll kill you!" she declared, casting a direct spell at me.
I knew I could dodge it, but the crowd hadn't fully evacuated yet.
Shit, how do I even fight back? My beam of dark energy requires time to release, and looking back at the village, my full power destroyed a mountain. If I use that here, I might end up disintegrating the whole village.
My understanding is that the longer I prepare my beam, the stronger and more condensed it gets, and the more energy it consumes. But what if I release it as soon as I cast it? Will it even work? I'll never know until I try.
Ah, stop overthinking. Here comes the attack.
I quickly summoned and released my beam of dark energy to counter the Head Witch's spell. Thankfully, it worked just as I'd hoped.
I-it worked! It's not that powerful, but it's enough to stop her attack. I can minimize the damage to this place that way, and it doesn't exhaust me that much. This will work! I'll just fight her until Komraad comes back with the witches' magic staff.
Even if the Head Witch is powerful, she can't fight many at once. I'm not confident I can defeat her alone. For now, let's just buy as much time as possible.
"I'll burn you to a crisp! I'll teach you how to mind your own business!" Helen shouted in rage and frustration. She then released a barrage of pyro spheres at me.
Shit! I'm too slow at casting my beam! I can't block all of it.
I wasn't able to stop all of her spells. Several spheres ended up burning and destroying some of the structures around us. I didn't know if everyone had evacuated already, but I hoped no one got hurt.
(Back to Fae and Rein)
Crowds murmuring, running
"Has everyone evacuated already?" Fae asked, scanning the perimeter.
She was checking if anyone was injured when she saw Rein in the crowd and approached her.
"Big sis Rein, you're okay! Thank goodness," Fae said genuinely, hugging her tightly.
"Oh, I remember you. You're the girl from the alley," Rein said, returning the hug.
Nod Nod
"Sorry, we lied to you before," Fae said, full of genuine apology.
Rein smiled and responded. "It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm actually glad I met both you and Ms. Ina. I'm worried about her, though. I know how powerful the Head Witch is. I don't know if she can handle it on her own," she said worriedly, looking back at the battle.
"Don't worry, Ms. Ina is very strong. She defeated an enormous demon before and saved my life and my village," Fae assured her confidently.
Rein still couldn't help but worry. "But still. I know I'm powerless, and that I'll only hold her back, but I wish I could help in some way."
"Yeah, you're right. You'll only hold her back. That's why you have to stay here so that her efforts won't go to waste. If you get hurt, then all of this would be pointless," Komraad chimed in from a distance as he slowly approached Rein and Fae.
"Mr. Komraad, you're back," Fae said happily.
"W-who is he?" Rein asked in curiosity.
"Don't worry, big sis, he's our companion," Fae assured. "Mr. Komraad, how was it? Did you find what you're looking for?" She followed up urgently.
"About that. I did find where it was hidden and retrieved it, but all of it was already destroyed," Komraad revealed, dropping a bundle of splintered wood and broken crystals.
"Oh no," Fae worriedly responded.
"It's useless now. How are you supposed to fight back with a broken magic staff? Aah, forget it. Fae, stay here. I'll go join the cat in the fight," Komraad said, tossing the useless fragments aside.
"Okay, please be careful and please come back with Ms. Ina no matter what," Fae responded.
Komraad rushed towards the fight. After he left, Rein felt guilty about letting us handle her problem, but she was determined to help.
"Big sis, what are you doing? Those magic staff are already destroyed," Fae asked in confusion as Rein picked up the fragments.
"There must be at least one working! I want to help them out. This is my problem, but I can't even do anything. I want to be useful too," Rein said, tears of frustration starting to fall.
Fae was about to cheer her up when someone suddenly shouted in the crowd, crying for help. It was the nobleman we encountered on our first day here.
"Please, someone, help my daughter, she's injured," the noble cried in agony after seeing his daughter writhing in pain.
Fae heard him loud and clear and decided to help them without a second thought.
"Big sis, I'm going to stay here and help them. I know the feeling of helplessness, the feeling of not being able to do anything, but in the end, it will still be our choice to stand up and do something about it as long as our heart is on the right path," Fae said, boosting Rein's confidence one last time.
Rein stood up, clutching the pieces of broken staff, and finally had the courage to fight back against her powerlessness.
"You're right, Fae, I shouldn't be giving up here. I think I know what I have to do now. I'm going to go back and help Ms. Ina," Rein said with firm resolve.
"Go, big sis. Follow what your heart is telling you." Fae then proceeded to help the nobleman's daughter while Rein ran back toward the center of the village.
The Head Witch's wand, the one Ms. Ina took earlier, I think it's still on the stage. I'm going to look for it, Rein resolved to herself, running as fast as possible.
(Back to the Present)
Huff Huff
I'm getting exhausted. We've been exchanging blows for quite a while now. This turned out to be a battle of whose stamina runs out first.
This was going nowhere. I was able to counter all of her spells except for one. It was about to hit me when Komraad suddenly appeared and carried me to safety, allowing me to dodge the spell.
"Were you waiting for me, Cat? I'm here to rescue you," he said, trying to look cool despite the chaos.
"Thank goodness you're back! What took you so long? Did you find the magic staff?" I asked, leaning on him.
"Yeah, but all of them were already destroyed. Don't worry, though, the two of us are enough to defeat her," Komraad responded with confidence.
"Do you think you have the leverage to talk while fighting me?!" Helen interrupted us and used another spell.
[Flame Magic: Veil of Inferno]
She created a towering wall of flame that separated me from Komraad.
"Komraad, look out!" I pushed him out of the way so he wouldn't get caught in the flame.
"Gah! Hot, hot, hot... Hey, cat, are you okay?" Komraad asked me from the other side of the inferno.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but it looks like you can't come in here," I responded, coughing slightly from the heat.
"Grrr! I just joined the fight and now I'm out already!?! I'll find a way to get in and help you, just survive until then, cat," Komraad assured me.
"You don't have to tell me what to do, but hurry. I think I'm reaching my limit," I relayed.
"You really are a thorn in my side!" Helen shouted. The atmosphere around her suddenly changed. The flames intensified, and she was preparing herself to end everything.
"It's time to finish this once and for all!" Helen declared. She was determined to kill me, and she didn't care what would happen to the village anymore.
She gathered all the mana she could get from her surroundings and channeled it into her final, desperate spell.
[Flame Magic: Infernal Descent]
She called multiple, massive flaming meteorites from the sky to fall on the village.
Oh no! If those fell, it would be devastating! I have to think of something fast or every single life in this village will perish! I thought in panic.
I had to give it my all, too. I used all my remaining power to create multiple, concentrated beams of dark energy to stop all the meteorites from falling, but it wasn't enough.
Poof
I turned back into my cat form, falling to the ground after exhausting every bit of my energy.
Oh no. I used all my energy already. I haven't destroyed all the meteorites yet. They're about to fall, what should I do?!? I thought in despair.
All hope seemed lost, and everything was about to be destroyed when Rein suddenly appeared on the stage, holding something.
"I found it! I knew it was still here," Rein said in joy, holding up the large, beautiful magic staff I had taken from the Head Witch earlier.
"Rein?!? What are you doing here? It's dangerous, get out of here!" I shouted in worry, trying to muster some strength.
Instead of fear, Rein smiled, full of newfound hope and resolve. "Ms. Ina, thank you. You've already done enough to help me. I'll take it from here," she assured.
Out of nowhere, a burst of incredible, pure energy suddenly gathered around Rein. She then cast a spell for the first time in her life, even though she was just touching a magic staff moments ago.
[Water Magic: Aqua Aegis]
With the magic staff, she cast a powerful spell, creating a huge dome of shimmering water that enveloped the entire village. The dome acted as an impenetrable barrier, stopping the fiery meteorites from reaching the surface.
Helen was shocked that her strongest spell was stopped. "No! M-my final magic!"
Amazing, I can't believe my eyes. It's the first time Rein has ever held a magic staff, but it's like she's been casting magic ever since she was a baby. Her mastery of magic is unbelievable.
"How dare you disobey me over and over again! You useless brat! Do you think you can win against me? You, who were never allowed to use magic?!? You're not even my real daughter, and you had the audacity to fight against me?!? You're just a vessel, you're not allowed to think for yourself, so just accept your fate already!" Helen screamed in a final, hateful fit of rage, revealing her darkest secret.
Instead of feeling fear and despair, Rein was even more determined than ever. "It doesn't matter if we're not related by blood. You didn't allow me to learn magic because you're scared that one day I might end up becoming your downfall, but you see, that was your greatest mistake. That only made me work harder. For many years, I read and read and read a book about magic until I memorized all of it. It's all in my head. All I needed was a magic staff to make it work, and now I have it. I waited for the day when I could finally fight back against my fate, and that day is today!"
"All my life I pretended, but Mother… no, Head Witch. This is my one final act and my farewell to you. May you never cause harm to anybody ever again," Rein said with firm resolve.
The atmosphere around Rein changed completely. So much energy from the surroundings was gathering around her, it was overwhelming yet beautiful. Rein's mastery of magic was phenomenal, a prodigy was truly born.
She was determined to end everything with her final spell, the highest form of water magic she had memorized. After gathering enough energy, she chanted:
[Ultimate Water Magic: Aqua Phoenix]
With her final spell, she summoned an enormous, majestic bird made of pure water that engulfed the Head Witch whole, causing her to suffocate and pass out instantly.
Rein had finally defeated not only the Head Witch but also her predetermined fate. Everything was over. The facade of the evil Head Witch had ended. Finally, everyone was free from her grasp, not only Rein, not only the witches, but also the village itself.
"You did it, Rein! You finally did it!" I cheered, my voice weak. My body then gave up on me due to exhaustion. "Ugh, I don't have any energy left. I think I'm going to rest first."
Rein ran toward me and scooped me up, hugging me while crying tears of sheer joy.
"I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help, without everyone's help. Ms. Ina, everyone, thank you. Finally, I'm free. I don't have to keep pretending anymore. All because you came into my life. I thought this was the day I'd finally lose myself, but it's actually the day I'll finally be free," Rein said genuinely.
"Teehee, I'm happy for you, Rein. I want to celebrate, but I'm really tired right now. Can I take a nap first?" I asked softly.
"Take your time, Ms. Ina." Rein sat down on the stage, placing me gently on her lap.
"Oh, before I forget. Rein, Happy thirteenth birthday," I greeted before finally passing out.
"Thank you, Ms. Ina. I'll cherish this life you fought for me," Rein said genuinely, her smile one of pure, unburdened happiness.
After the fight finally concluded and the fire that Helen caused finally subsided, everyone gathered back at the center of the village, including Fae and Komraad. Everyone was cheering and happy that a disaster had been prevented. The witches who were once slaves to the Head Witch finally tasted freedom. They tied and put the unconscious Head Witch in jail so that she would never cause harm ever again.