The little witch had fast reflexes and safely landed on her feet. Greta also rose to her full height and immediately drew her sword. She hacked at the monsters wildly, killing and maiming at ransom. However, the Elf was quickly overwhelmed, just like the other soldiers.

As Greta's screams of agony rang out, Beatrix rolled into a ball, hoping nobody would notice her. Orcs were enormous creatures, and a midget like her could escape detection.

Beatrix was wrong because one of the monsters picked her up like a child. He opened his mouth and tried to swallow her feet.

The little witch screamed like a banshee and shot a ball of fire into the Orc's mouth. The latter choked on his burned tongue and dropped her.

Beatrix landed on her feet again, her mind racing. Her gaze fell on an escaping horse. It probably belonged to one of the Elves.

Being light and athletic, Beatrix quickly jumped on the steed and took its reins. Her feet barely reached the stirrups, but she managed somehow. However, the problem still remained unresolved—the witch was in the middle of an Orc horde.

"Sorry, horsey," Beatrix whispered into the horse's ear. "I need to do this to survive."

The Orc Shaman's nullification was already down, considering the battle was already won. Beatrix used the rest of her magical power and cast an invisibility spell on the steed. She disappeared from view in a blip.

The Orc chasing Beatrix stopped in his tracks and scratched his head in confusion. He shrugged and joined a crowd that was defiling an Elf soldier.

Beatrix steered her horse in Athena's direction. The blonde warrior had already lost her helm and part of her breastplate. However, she was holding her own against the Orcs.

Hack! Slice! Splurge! Athena's massive sword cut through her enemies like butter. A mound of corpses had already formed under her feet.

However, even a giant like Athena couldn't conquer a hundred Orcs. They surrounded her, raining blows with clubs and axes from all directions. It was a matter of minutes before she was overwhelmed.

"Never seen such a big human before," one of the Orcs screamed. "Big melons. Big conch."

"Roast thigh for dinner!" another said. "Yummy!"

"Go to hell!" Athena hollered, hacking them both with her massive blade. Four more hungry and horny Orcs replaced the two.

Crack! One of them pulled apart her breastplate, and another landed a heavy club beside her neck.

Athena was driven to her knees, realizing she had a dislocated shoulder. She had lost the battle of strength.

"I'm coming for you!" Beatrix screamed from somewhere nearby. With a mighty grunt, the blonde warrior jumped to her feet and swung her sword in an arc. Orc blood pooled before her, opening up a path.

Beatrix and Athena had carried out the same sequence in battles before. Invisibility magic was the little witch's unique card trick.

"Get on!" Beatrix called again, only a yard away from her friend. Athena extended her hand in her voice's direction and reached out to grab thin air.

Clutch! Luckily, the female warrior's fingers landed on the horse's saddle. Now that she had something to hold on to, she marched a few steps and heaved herself onto the invisible horse. The animal whinnied madly, suppressed under the double weight, but it kept galloping on.

Within a minute, Athena and Beatrix were out of harm's way, ascending uphill, away from the Orcs.

"Phew! That was horrible, Bea!"

"Yeah, I know…"

"What about the others?"

"Forget about them. They are dead, captured, or being eaten alive as we speak."

"Shit, Bea! We really fucked up, didn't we?"

Beatrix shook her head. "You did well. It's my fault I underestimated the Orcs. We should have escaped with the Cromwell heir from the beginning."

"Hmm. Do you think Ethan is still alive? I can't see him from up here through divine vision."

The little witch pursed her lips. "He's probably already dead."

The duo rode for ten minutes, after which their spelled horse began asphyxiating. They stopped and dismounted near a stream. Their ride whinnied its last breath and died shortly after.

"Dark magic has its drawbacks, doesn't it?" Athena muttered with a sigh. "I hate it every time you do this."

"I had no other choice… You know that… I wouldn't take the life of another for—"

"I know!"

Beatrix and her friend rested for some time before having a drink of water in the gurgling stream. The witch healed her friend's dislocated shoulder and her own bruises.

"Bea…" Athena said, sulking. "We promised the Countess we'll get their son alive…"

"No, don't you guilt me into—"

"We promised! Don't you feel responsible now that we failed our mission? What if Ethan is still alive, and we have a chance to save him? I can't walk away, Bea…"

Beatrix sighed. "The best I can do is a locator spell. But if nothing comes up, we will go on our path. Is that agreed?"

Athena smiled deliriously. "Agreed."

"Alright! Make me a fire."

The blonde warrior gathered a few dry twigs from the forest. Beatrix started a fire with elemental magic. Mumbling nonverbal spells, she plucked a silver hair from her head and threw it into the flames.

The witch focused her mind on Ethan and stared into the magical fire. "I see something…"

Athena sat up straighter. "Really? That means Ethan is still alive! Where is he? Somewhere close?"

Beatrix bit her lip, trying to recognize the location. "He's downstream, most likely, but there's something odd about him."

"What, Bea? You know I don't like your mysterious voice."

"He's… He's different."

***

Ethan sat up with a start and gasped for breath. His head reeled as memories came flooding through. From the Orc attack to plummeting down the gorge. From being manipulated by Michael to being rescued by the Grimorium Lustra.

Ethan was alive—there was no doubt about it. The question arose—how was his destroyed body restored?

The last thing he remembered was being impaled by a branch with his entrails out. Every organ had been punctured, and every inch of his constitution had been broken or crushed.

Regardless, Ethan was completely healed. It was pitch dark, but he could tell all his injuries were gone. There was no pain. It was like getting reincarnated or leveling up. Yes! Perhaps the boy leveled up, and his body was reset!

Ethan got to his feet, now realizing he was not wearing clothes. Did they get torn off while he was falling down the gorge? Yeah, that was likely.

The boy staggered for a few moments. Something was wrong. His body's balance was off. It wasn't physiological since he felt as healthy as ever. Then what changed?

Ethan raised his hands and touched himself all over. Within seconds, the realization hit him. It couldn't be!

The boy grabbed his chest and found handfuls of spongy flesh. Fumbling in panic, he slipped a hand between his legs. The critical organ was missing!

"What the fuck!" Ethan exclaimed in a shockingly feminine voice. He had turned into a girl!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.