One of the witches pulled a gray vial from her leather bag, its edges tightly bound with rope. She quickly hurled it directly toward the spot where little Jevan and the others stood. Valeric raised his palm in their direction, and at that instant, the spectral form of a massive armored knight appeared before them. The knight lifted his arm, a wooden shield strapped to it. That shield grew larger in an instant, blocking them just as the vial exploded in the air, scattering the gray liquid everywhere. The shield prevented it from hitting little Jevan and the others, then vanished immediately afterward.

little Jevan shuddered and glanced at Marco, who stood with his mouth agape in awe. Vensen and Jax had stumbled backward, their expressions stiff and full of shock.

The second witch gave them no time to process what had happened. She raised her staff again, the one entwined with green vines. The violet crystal at its tip glowed even brighter. She chanted a string of words in an ancient tongue. Her voice was strange less human and more a blend of whistling wind, crow caws, and fractured human speech. When she finished, a wide violet circle formed beneath her feet, expanding rapidly until it covered nearly thirty meters. From it rose a violet barrier that shot upward into the sky until it pierced the gray clouds.

little Jevan and the others snapped back to their senses quickly. They tried to run away from the battlefield, but the moment they touched the circle's edge, they slammed into the violet wall. Vensen struck the barrier with his fist, but of course it left not even a scratch. Instead, his hand split open, and he cried out in pain.

Meanwhile, at the rear, Valeric was clashing with the witches. The first hurled vials one after another red like blood, yellow like sulfurous smoke, black like a starless night. The second focused only on keeping the barrier in place.

Jevan, observing the scene, noticed something strange. Valeric wasn't fighting with his full strength, nor were the witches. It was as if they were all restraining themselves.

At the barrier, things weren't much better. Jax picked up a rock and hurled it at full force. It struck the barrier and rebounded at a terrifying speed, nearly caving his skull in, if not for little Jevan grabbing him by the collar and yanking him out of the way. The rock smashed into a building wall behind them, leaving a small crater.

Vensen turned to little Jevan, clutching his injured hand.

"Do you know what's happening here?"

little Jevan shook his head.

"How would I know?"

Jax was on the edge of losing it entirely. He screamed, pounding the barrier with a stick he'd picked up.

"We have to escape now! Before those witches catch us!"

little Jevan retorted,

"First of all, do you have a way to break this strange colored wall? And second… how exactly do you even know they're witches?"

Jax ignored the first question completely, snapping back with frustration as he jabbed his stick at the barrier.

"Can't you see? One's casting spells with her staff, the other's throwing demonic potions! If they're not witches, then what else could they be?"

"Is that what witches do? Throw colored bottles and shout weird words?"

Panting from his futile attempts to break the wall, Jax insisted,

"Yes! I read it in a story. Witches always use potions and spells it matches perfectly!"

little Jevan pointed toward Valeric, locked in battle behind them.

"And what about Valeric then?"

"Maybe he's a knight one of those who fight witches and rescue princesses."

Vensen let out a laugh, pulling his fist from his mouth.

"Knights? I don't think knights summon those kinds of monsters. What even was that black thing?"

"I saw him summon a phantom knight to protect us from that potion."

"Then maybe he's a sorcerer?"

little Jevan pointed first at the fight behind them, then at the barrier in front.

"Doesn't matter. Knight, sorcerer, or even a witch in disguise."

At that moment, Valeric dodged another vial hurled by the potion wielding witch. With a flick of his hand, the shadow beast surged from his back, its long arms writhing as though made of smoke. It lunged at the witch maintaining the barrier, but she traced a circle beneath her feet, raising a violet shield around herself that absorbed the strike. She lifted her staff again, the violet crystal blazing brighter, her chant making the barrier swell even further.

The first witch smirked smugly, pulling out a dark crimson vial. She flung it straight toward Valeric's chest. But before it struck him, the phantom knight reappeared, stepping forward and shielding its master. The vial exploded against its body, and the phantom dissolved into mist.

The witch jeered, her brown hair whipping around her face.

"What is a Spirit Whisperer doing here?!"

Despite the intensity of the battle, Valeric's lazy expression never left his face. He sidestepped another vial effortlessly, replying,

"I should be the one asking. What are Forest Witches doing here?"

"This has nothing to do with you. It's an internal matter."

Valeric lifted a finger, and the shadow beast lunged again. The witch dodged aside just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike.

The dark phantom returned to Valeric's side, and he said,

"I'm afraid it became my business the moment you targeted my leader."

The other witch gasped, as though hearing blasphemy, and spat with contempt.

"A Spirit Whisperer serving under a witch?!"

"I'm not your typical Spirit Whisperer. And tell me, what makes you so sure she's a witch? I thought Forest Witches weren't allowed to leave the woods. By the way, I know her father well and I'd wager she wasn't even born there."

The potion wielding witch faltered, nervously brushing her disheveled hair aside before blurting,

"That's true… but Milda escaped the forest. And that girl… is her daughter."

Valeric's lips curved in a faint smirk.

"Interesting. What's even more interesting is how sure you sound. Are you certain or just parroting what you were told?"

She gritted her teeth.

"You underestimate us far too much, Spirit Whisperer."

***

[Jevan Perspective]

I drifted away from little Jevan and his little group. They wouldn't stop bickering, even now. Jax insisting Valeric was some noble knight, Vensen swearing he was a sorcerer, and little Jevan trying ridiculous ways to crack the barrier. The only one who looked even remotely sane or more accurately, miserable was Marco, sitting in a corner against the wall, silent.

I decided to move toward Valeric's side. Why? Because I could literally feel his annoying urge for me to help him. Even though his face didn't look remotely strained. Since when did he have high expectations of me? I've barely interacted with him. On top of that, I hardly know how to handle this cursed Authority.

Sure, theoretically, I could try disrupting the violet barrier. But I didn't. Two obvious reasons. First: this barrier was born from a far stronger Authority than mine. If the gap were smaller, maybe I'd have a slim chance.

Second: I was almost certain that using my power again would drag me back to the present. My body was already nearly transparent.

Still, I moved closer, convinced the witches couldn't see me. Nobody else had noticed me so far except that red haired inspector, the boy Kiran, and Valeric. Well, if I think about it okay, there were more than a few people who had seen me. But anyway, I didn't think these two would.

As usual, I was wrong.

The moment I drew near, everyone froze. The witches stopped moving, Valeric turned his head toward me with his hand still raised in midair, and even the shadow phantom behind him went still.

I muttered aloud without meaning to,

"Oh… so you can all see me?"

I stepped closer, adjusting my coat collar out of sheer discomfort an old habit.

The witch maintaining the barrier trembled the instant I neared. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed, dropping her staff. The moment it hit the ground, the violet barrier encasing the area dissolved instantly.

I strolled toward Valeric, waving cheerfully.

"How are you doing?"

He didn't reply his full attention fixed on the witches. One of them struggled back to her feet, while the potion wielder yanked out another batch of dark red vials and hurled them all at me at once.

I had no time to dodge, but it seemed there was no need. The vials exploded in my face, yet… nothing. I felt absolutely nothing.

As they failed to harm me, I could sense something spilling from her partner: fear, panic, a desperate will to survive. She trembled, crawling toward her staff. She seized it, raised it, and traced a circle in the air, runes forming around its edge. And those runes looked disturbingly familiar.

Valeric raised his hand, trying to summon his shadow phantom, but this time it didn't respond. The creature just stood motionless behind him. Seeing that, genuine panic flickered across his lazy features.

The circle expanded, the air quivering. Watching, I had the strongest gut feeling: if I let her finish, the result would be catastrophic.

So I muttered,

"I wish the staff she's holding would split in two."

The words had barely left my mouth when the staff snapped in half and clattered to the ground. Her eyes went wide with shock. She immediately grabbed her companion and chanted a short incantation. Both vanished in a whirl of violet wind.

I whistled and clapped my hands together.

"Well, that was easier than I expected."

But my body was already beginning to fade. I turned to Valeric with a sly smile.

"Take care of little Jevan."

For some reason, Valeric looked like he was about to wet himself.

He barely managed to string words together.

"As… as you command… I will."

"What's with the sudden formality?"

By then, my body was nearly gone. In the distance, I saw little Jevan running toward me, Marco right behind him. I lifted my hand and gave them a small wave before vanishing completely into the air.

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