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Chapter Text

Cover art update #1!

— A Witch Under the Moonlight —

(This chapter was last updated on March 17th, 2026)

Coastal Town of Eimare (Ruins), Derkarr, on the 40th morning of autumn

The town was ravaged by the combined toll of the rebellion and the Vavelian invasion. It had been less than a month since the town was handed back over to the Kingdom of Shubeth, and people were hard at work trying to make their lives back to the way it once was. 

People who worked with the rebels were quickly put to a show trial and executed in the town square, where everyone cheered for every time the guillotine fell on each rebel who had made their lives difficult. Adrian ordered the executions, but curiously he was nowhere to be found during the actual executions. 

After the gates were opened, most of the wealthier merchants — those who weren’t prosecuted for being part of the conspiracy, at least — left for Ürphea and Vavelia, seeking renewed opportunities. Meanwhile, those who didn’t have the means either stayed in the town to rebuild, or moved elsewhere to the city, villages, and hamlets all over Derkarr.

However, it did not mean that everyone could simply move on with their lives. Some lives were permanently ruined, serving as the ultimate price of war.

“Mommy!” A little boy in ragged clothes wandered near the wood-and-brick rubble of the ruined buildings near the pier. “Where are you?!”

The crowds along the damaged pier looked away from the little boy in shame. They knew the tragic reality, but they themselves were already occupied with their own problems, and wished not to break the news to him. 

“Have you seen my mommy? How about my daddy?” The little boy called out to an old man working on a broken house. He tugged on the man’s shirt. “They told me to wait for them to come back, but I can’t wait anymore!” 

“Sorry, kid. This isn’t something I can help you with.” The old man coughed repeatedly as he dismissed the little boy by pushing a large piece of broken wood between them. “Good luck in your search!” The man wheezed as his voice faded away. 

The boy was still determined and so continued to ask the crowd throughout the morning. 

“Have you seen my mommy?” The little boy asked a man fishing on the docks, an empty basket beside him. “She’s very nice and pretty in the central district!” 

“Aha… no kid, I’m afraid not.” The man replied in a gruff voice, before he picked up his tools and walked away. 

“Have you seen my daddy?” The little boy asked an older-looking lady haggling with a merchant for food. “He’s very strong and handsome!” 

“Oh, you poor thing!” The lady shook her head. “I really have to apologize, I don’t know where they went.” 

“Have you seen my mommy or daddy?” The little boy yelled at a young-looking girl who wore a cloth over her face, sweeping the floor inside of a broken shop.

Piled up on the street in front of the shop were several items, most of them destroyed or damaged in some way. A few remained intact, but they were dwarfed by the number of broken wares. The front wall of the shop was shattered inwards, and there were still a lot of tiny, sharp pieces of wood and nails all across the floor inside, along with plenty of dust. 

“Huh? Who are you?” The young girl paused her work as she spotted him through the broken wall. “I can’t help you, sorry.”

“But you own a shop! You should have seen mommy or daddy!” The boy demanded.

The young girl, clearly frustrated, dropped her broom and carefully yet swiftly navigated across the ruined floor as she emerged from the ruined shop. 

Other children ran around the street to play tag around the rubble, but they all avoided the little boy whom they thought was strange. Their screams of joy and laughter filled the air, in great contrast to the little boy who showed only anxiety. 

“Look, kid,” the young girl put her hands on her hips. “I really don’t know where they are. Just go away.” 

“Mommy and daddy said last week that they will just buy food for us, and you have a shop!” The little boy shrieked, tears slowly forming in his eyes. 

“I… really can’t help you. Just leave, go over there.” The young girl pointed him to go further into the town, her voice cracking. “Maybe you will find your parents there.”

“No! I already looked in the town! I’m hungry, and our neighbors stopped giving me food!” The little boy screamed, “I don’t know where to go, mommy and daddy told me they will be back, but they didn’t come back!”

“Well I don’t know where to go either!” The young girl screamed back at him, “I lost my family in the witch hunts! I stay in Eimare because there’s also nowhere else for me to go!” Tears also fell from the girl’s eyes. 

“Waaaah!” The little boy broke down into sobs, collapsing onto his feet as he rubbed his eyes. 

“Oh…” The young girl choked on her own tears as she realized her mistake. She put her hand to her mouth as she mumbled, “I… I’m sorry.”

The young girl pulled down her mask as she crouched to the little boy’s level, allowing him to see her properly for the first time.

“Hey…” The young girl soothed him as she rubbed his back. “It’s okay.”

“No, no, no!” The little boy shrieked in between sobs. “Mommy and daddy will be back, they have to come back!” He took a deep breath before he cried, “what do I do without mommy and daddy?!”

The little boy only continued to cry as the young girl soothed him.

“What’s your name?” The young girl asked him. “ I can help you look for your parents if I know your name.”

“J-Jani.” The little boy replied, slowly ceasing to cry. “Can you help me look for my parents?”

“Jani.” The young girl repeated the name on her tongue. “Okay, let’s go find your parents. What happened before they… disappeared?” The young girl briefly paused as she said the last part.

“When the gates closed and the bad men came, we hid in our house and my mommy cooked whatever was in our house.” The little boy spoke as if he were telling a tale, “daddy told me that we couldn’t go out because he was the tax collector. He said that the bad men hated us, and they will catch us if we go out.”

“My mommy said that because daddy is a tax collector, they will also catch her. We went silent whenever the bad men tried to come to our house.” The little boy used a piece of wood to draw crude figures of his mom and dad on the soil. “And then we hid in our basement after the bad men learned how to come into our house without mommy opening the door.”

“One day, my mommy couldn’t cook any more food and I was so hungry. My daddy told us that he will bring food, and daddy said that he will be back in the evening.” The little boy stared into the young girl’s eyes. “But daddy didn’t come back. Tomorrow, my mommy said that she will look for daddy and she told me to wait for her and never come out. But mommy also didn’t come back… so I asked our neighbors for food.”

“Really now…” the young girl sighed, green eyes looking into the little boy’s teary brown eyes. She whispered to herself, “Eirudy… what should I do?”

…

Coastal Town of Eimare (Ruins), Derkarr, later in the day

Filia found herself walking and holding the hand of a little boy whom she quite literally picked up from the street. Filia’s left hand held onto her staff, while her right hand held Juni’s tiny hands. The boy, called Juni, was apparently the child of the town’s tax collectors who were now nowhere to be seen. 

In contrast to just over a week ago, the streets were now lined with destruction. Collapsed rubble occupied the streets, yet people still managed to find enjoyment in their lives as men drank their ale using blunt pieces of scrap wood as tables and chairs, while women hung clothes out to dry on the half-broken walls of several houses as they talked amongst themselves.

Eimare was, oddly enough, awash with color and laughter despite its damage.

“Hello, Filia.” A woman standing by a market stall waved them over as they passed through the Central District. She wore a green dress with a white cloth tied around her hair. “You may not remember, but my daughter was the one who often came to your shop.” She carried a basket filled with a few freshly-caught fishes, but the rest of the basket was occupied by candles.

“Good afternoon!” Filia smiled. “How is she doing?”

“Doing great, Filia. You have my utmost thanks for treating my daughter well.” The woman nodded. “She and my husband are currently out for the harvest. I must leave soon to assist with them, too.”

Autumn was now in full swing, and so was the harvest. Golden wheat lined the docks as the town’s harvest slowly trickled in day-by-day. Most of the harvest was to be exported to Vavelia, while a smaller portion was to be consumed by the town itself or traded further with the rest of Derkarr.

“Huh,” Filia glanced around her and noticed the development for the first time. “I didn’t realize that it was already the harvest.”

“Indeed,” the woman smiled. “We shall have fish and bread later for dinner to celebrate. It’s important to never forget all the little things even in the face of hardship, hmm?”

“Yeah.” Filia smiled. Her eyes glittered as she reminisced over her time in the forest. 

“Wheat bread!” Juni yelled and jumped in excitement. “My mommy cooks those! They’re very delicious!”

“Oh? Who’s this?” The woman looked down at the little boy. “Is that your brother, Filia?”

“He isn’t.” Filia sighed in melancholy, looking down at the little boy’s hair. “He… lost his parents in the rebellion, I think he doesn’t understand.”

“Are you taking care of the boy?” The woman tilted her head. “Does he really not have any other family?”

“That’s why we’re looking.” Filia squeezed Juni’s hand slightly as she spoke. “I know how it feels to lose your family, too.”

“Hmm,” the woman stared at the boy. “My daughter aside, would you say that you are particularly good at talking to children, Filia?”

“Not really.” Filia grinned as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, remembering her own outburst earlier. “I really don’t know what to do either.”

“Let me take care of this, then.” The woman sighed as she crouched to the little boy’s level. “Have your parents ever taken you to stay somewhere else, Juni?”

“Yeah! Sometimes I come with mommy and daddy when they visit granny.” Juni cheered. 

“Oh my.” The woman’s eyes lit up. “Where does your granny live?”

“Ummmm…” the little boy paused for a minute as he tried to remember. “Ziv! I hear my mommy say it sometimes.”

“Would you like to go to your granny, then?” The woman asked the little boy. “It’ll just be one day of travel, hmm?” 

“Okay…” the little boy looked sad all of a sudden. “What about mommy and daddy?”

“We shall look for them once you’re with granny, okay?” The woman rose to her feet as she pat the little boy’s head. “It won’t take a long time.”

“Is this really okay?” Filia asked the woman. She whispered, “I don’t know if we should be lying to him.” 

“Well, it certainly isn’t the best way to go about it.” The woman acquiesced. “But it seems this ‘granny’ is the only family he has left.” 

“It’s not like I could have thought of anything better anyway,” Filia looked downcast as she said that. “I think I can just pay the merchants to take us to Ziv with their caravan tomorrow.”

“It sounds like a perfectly suitable plan, Filia.” The woman nodded in approval. “Unfortunately, I must now return to our home. You must take care of this boy for one night only, do you understand?”

“I got it.” Filia’s eyes glistened with newfound determination. “For one night only. I can handle that.”

“Farewell, Filia.” The woman waved at them as she walked away, her basket in her arms.

“Let’s go home, Juni.” Filia sighed as she looked around the town. The kids were going home as the adults were beginning to close up shop, and the merchants were leaving their stalls. “We’ll go to Ziv tomorrow.”

‘Just one night, you can take care of a child for one night,’ Filia thought.

On the way to Ellard Village, Vavelia, on the 52nd morning of Autumn

Pieberry, together with Justice and Black Joe, needed to wake up early to prepare for their mission. Like always, it was Justice who woke her up at the first light of day.

“Pieberry, wake up.” Justice nudged her even as she was comfortably snuggled under her blanket. “Duty calls for us.”

“Five more minutes…” Pieberry mumbled as she moved deeper under the covers.

“Okay. See you in five minutes, Pieberry.” Justice patted her head through the blanket. “I will be outside.”

Five minutes later, exactly to the second, Justice climbed back upstairs to Pieberry’s bed.

“298… 299… 300.” Justice finished whispering to himself before he nudged Pieberry again. “Pieberry, wake up.”

“Five more minutes…” Pieberry tossed around from under her blanket. “It’s so cold…”

“Okay.” Justice stated matter-of-factly. “I’ll wake you up again in five minutes.”

This time, Justice didn’t wait outside. Instead, he only waited another minute before he shook her awake again.

“Time to go, Pieberry.” Justice suddenly pulled the covers off Pieberry. “We have to be early.”

“Eeeek!” Pieberry shrieked as she was suddenly exposed to the cold, harsh reality of the world, no longer able to hide in the safety of her bed. She curled up and looked up at Justice in horror. “It hasn’t even been five minutes yet!”

“Well, we have to be early.” Justice smiled at her. “It should be warmer later. Let’s go, Pieberry.”

“Nooo…” Pieberry whined, before she relented and finally sat up in bed. She rubbed her eyes before saying, “I’m so tired.”

“I know what will warm you up, Pieberry.” Justice offered his hand to help her get up. “You should wear armor, too. It will be warmer and keep you safe.”

Justice decided to irritate her out of bed by knocking on his own armor, causing the shrill sound of metal striking metal to echo throughout the room. 

“Stop it!” Pieberry covered her ears. “It’s so loud!” 

“But it worked. Now you’re awake.” Justice only chuckled at his own tactic. “But I was serious about my suggestion. I do not know why you walk around without armor, it’s dangerous.”

“It’s heavy and it makes me slower.” Pieberry sighed as she took his hand, finally getting up from bed. “Metals also make it harder to cast magic.”

“Is that why rare metal armor is so strong against magic?” Justice wondered, realizing that he didn’t ever seem to question why it was like that. 

“Yeah.” Pieberry smiled, playfully punching him in his armored shoulder. “But metal itself also makes it harder for flame magic to work.”

Pieberry demonstrated this fact by casting a tiny amount of flame magic from her fingertip. It wasn’t enough to hurt even without armor, but it was enough to show her point.

The flame dissipated upon contact with Justice’s armor, without even a mark left behind. It was as if it was never there. 

“Are you going to burn my clothes away too?” Justice playfully grinned at her. “It should be fine, no one else can see me.”

“Of course not!” Pieberry blushed as she looked away from him in panic. “Dumb Justice! I was just showing you what I mean!”

“Bwaka!” Black Joe, who finally woke up, flew up between the two of them. “I’m also here, you know!” 

“Dumb Black Joe!”

“Well,” Justice scratched his head. “It looks like I may have been too much.” 

“Master, shall we go now?” Black Joe brought her staff over to her. 

“Okay!” Pieberry gratefully took her staff as she pat Black Joe’s head in thanks. “Should I bring anything else? Hmm…”

“Potions, master?” Black Joe suggested.

“Right!” Pieberry’s eyes sparkled as she remembered what she wanted to bring last night. “Shieldstones, agility stimulants, strength stimulants, red potions, mind cleansers… and strawberry pie!”

Pieberry once again knelt down as she dumped everything into their bag on the ground, which Justice always carried whenever they were out on an expedition together. 

“Are you bringing these again?” Justice stared incredulously at the various objects being shoved into their bag. “They didn’t help us last time.”

“That’s because you dropped our stuff!” Pieberry grinned at Justice as she looked up at him while she still knelt beside their bag, to his embarrassment. “This time, I’ll be more careful so we don’t get in trouble again.”

“At least you know to be more careful now.” Justice shook his head in disbelief. “Remember that this is a stealth and reconnaissance mission. We aren’t supposed to fight the witches alone.” 

“Don’t worry, I’m not reckless anymore.” Pieberry took a deep breath as she stood up. “Okay, now we have everything!”

“You should have packed these last night, master.” Black Joe flew all around their bag as he inspected it for anything unusual. “It smells fine.”

“Dumb Black Joe~ why are you smelling our bag?” Pieberry teased.

“No reason.” Black Joe cawed in laughter. 

Justice slid down Pieberry’s ladder once they were finally ready to depart. Pieberry simply teleported herself and their bag downstairs, however. 

“Pieberry’s new adventure!” She opened the thickened leaf door in a dramatic fashion with a cheer. She took in the autumn early morning air, which instantly invigorated her with energy. 

Their target today was the Village of Ellard, far into the eastern edges of the swamp where it meets the southeast Vavelian Coast. The village was practically left untouched during the witch hunts due to its remoteness, where warriors found themselves either having to cross the swamp and through the monsters that lurked within, or to sail halfway around the entire continent by ship. 

Needless to say, warriors considered Ellard a form of exile if they were assigned to that region.

Even more strange was when the palace warriors did come to the village, they never found any ‘witches’ — making the presence of actual witches now even more unusual. It was why Pieberry received the mission in the first place.

They reached the swamp about half an hour later. 

“Let’s go, Boar Junior!” WIth a twirl of her staff, Pieberry summoned the first pet she had ever gotten. She rode the boar before she tilted her head back to look at Justice behind her and said, “sorry, you’ll have to walk through the swamp.”

“I expected this.” Justice squinted his eyes as he stared at the strangely ominous water. He had no doubt that it would do something strange such as sucking out his soul or something even worse. “Don’t you have something bigger? What happened to the lion that you always rode on?”

“You mean Aslan?” Pieberry looked disappointed all of a sudden. “The guardian animals are too weak now. Black Joe is the only one who’s still with me, because he’s amazing!”

“Indeed, indeed!” Black Joe yelled in agreement. “Now you have no reason but to show your appreciation, master!”

“Dumb Black Joe!”

“I guess I have no choice.” Justice sighed as he started stripping off his armored shoes. “Don’t worry, I prepared for this.”

Soon, Justice replaced his armored shoes with long boots that he somehow kept in their bag.

“I have one for you too, Pieberry.” Justice smiled as he walked beside her. “Just let me know if you need it.”

“Whoa! You’re always so prepared!” Pieberry’s eyes sparkled. Even she hadn’t thought of packing boots for the swamp — she was too used to riding her pets.

It took only a few minutes to cross the entrance to the swamp. Pieberry and Justice slowly walked through the viscous swampy water, taking care not to let it touch any of their clothes. Neither of them complained — they were both used to a harsh life by now, and Pieberry knew that her mission always came first before anything else.

Once they made it back on solid ground, everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Now, they had to contend with the monsters that grew in the swamp.

Thankfully, Pieberry was strong enough at this point to eliminate the monsters with merely a swing of her staff. Dense fireballs flew straight into the frogs and poisonous wampleafs that littered the swamp, while she sang as they exploded one by one.

“How terrifying, master…” Black Joe groaned. He knew how it was like to be on the receiving end of Pieberry’s attacks.

“Hey Pieberry, look at this!” Justice waved to Pieberry as he stared down at the smoking corpse of a giant frog with its stomach torn open. He noticed something strange. “I think this looks like dark magic.”

At the mere mention of dark magic, Pieberry immediately ran towards Justice and joined him in staring down at the dead frog.

“Yuck, it smells really bad!” Pieberry pinched her nose at the smell in disgust. “Black Joe, this is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this.”

The disgusting aroma reached Justice only a moment later, causing him to uncontrollably step backward in revulsion. 

Black Joe, for his part, resisted the putrid odor better than Pieberry. He even flew closer to get a closer look at the giant frog’s stomach. 

“This is… a dark magic stone!” Black Joe exclaimed in shock. “How is it possible for dark magic stones to be found in the swamp?!”

The frog had somehow eaten a dark magic stone. The dark magic rotted its insides as it slowly consumed its body. It was the reason for the foul smell, and the frog must have eaten it recently as it was still alive until now. However, its insides splattered on the ground after Pieberry attacked it, leading to the horrible stench.  

“Could it be,” Justice wheezed as he spoke, “could it be from Ellard?”

“It can’t be!” Black Joe shook his beak in denial. “Dark magic stones only form when dark magic is highly concentrated. They don’t form out in the open!”

“Oh no,” Pieberry had a concerned look on her face, still pinching her noise. “Ellard might be worse off than we thought.”

“We’ll see when we get there. Pieberry, let’s go.” Justice quickly tried to pull her back from the rotting corpse. “We have to move quickly.”

“Wait!” Pieberry flinched away from Justice. “We can’t leave the dark magic stone here.”

“Master, there’s nowhere else to leave it behind!” Black Joe protested by moving himself between Pieberry and the stone. “Just forget it and focus on Ellard!”

“We can bring it with us.” She ignored him by grabbing the dark magic stone anyway. “Yuck.”

She used her flame magic to burn away the parts of the frog still attached to the eerily glowing dark magic stone. After it was cleaned up, she walked behind Justice and put the dark magic stone into their bag that he carried behind him.

“Are you sure this is safe?” He worried that it would turn him into a dark warrior if he was around it for too long. “Strange, I don’t seem to be affected.”

“That’s because you have my magic, remember?” Pieberry grinned as she spun around him. “You can hold dark magic stones now!”

“I see, that will be useful in my other missions.” 

It took them an hour before they encountered their first real obstacle. The giant water balloon frog occupied the eastern part of the swamp, preventing them from going any further. Pieberry had never really gone this way before as she didn’t have a reason to, and warriors never actually entered Ellard by land — the isolated fishing village was always traveled to by sea. 

However, they couldn’t land a ship anywhere near the village without announcing their presence and losing the element of stealth. 

“Oh frooog~!” Pieberry taunted the giant frog that stood a fair distance away. 

It was currently having a standoff with them. It stood still, blocking their way and making threatening noises. The message was clear: it didn’t want them to come any closer. Unfortunately, they needed to pass through. Either one of them would have to be crushed, and Pieberry definitely didn’t want it to be her.

“What are the chances that the frog will let us through if we ask nicely?” Justice spoke as he knelt down, dropped their bag on the damp swampy soil, and started rummaging for their potions and stimulants. He pulled out two agility stimulants and handed one over to Pieberry. “Here, Pieberry. Do you need more?”

“How about a mind cleanser?”

“Here you go.” Justice handed a flask containing dark blue liquid to her.

“Thank you!”

Pieberry clipped the mind cleanser to her belt where she could reach for it easily during combat. It was second nature for her by this point to reach down with her left hand and grab whatever potions she had prepared with her as she fought. Unfortunately, there were always certain times where she gets forced into fighting unprepared — in those cases, she simply had to ration her strength until Black Joe can bring her something.

“I’m ready, Justice!” Pieberry stood beside Justice as she faced the water balloon frog. She could see Justice also facing their enemy from the corner of her eye, his hands clenched in tension. In response, she held her hand out to her side — a moment passed before she felt Justice’s hand clasp around hers, squeezing it lightly. 

“Let’s begin.” Justice didn’t let go as they both drank agility stimulants at the same time. “Ugh.”

The thick, slimy liquid stung as it traveled down Pieberry’s throat, forcing her to grip Justice’s hand tighter and tried her best to bear with it. She didn’t like using stimulants for this reason — they always tasted and felt horrible. 

Very soon, the world shifted around Pieberry as the full effect of the stimulant began to manifest. Black Joe and the frog now moved strangely slowly, yet Justice still moved normally in her eyes. 

With a nod, they both released each other from their grasps as Justice immediately surged forwards, his sword glowing with raging fire!

He jumped, leaped, and sprinted towards the giant frog as if his body was made of feathers. It barely had time to react — only managing to open its mouth — before he buried his sword deep into its body. Barely a moment passed as Justice then discharged his own magic into the sword, using it as a makeshift needle to deliver the explosive force deep into the beast. 

An enormous explosion of steam knocked Justice away and forced him to pull his sword out of the frog. The pressure generated by the vaporized steam inside the frog’s body rapidly expanded from the fire magic, making it open its huge mouth wide in agony. 

Pieberry, who stood a relatively safe distance away, summoned four fireballs of equal sizes which all rushed towards the frog — all this happened in less than a few breaths. More and more explosions engulfed the water balloon frog from both the inside and the outside, thoroughly beating it into a pulp. 

Justice danced around the frog and delivered swift yet brutal strikes as he repeatedly pieced it with his sword over and over. While Pieberry was beating the beast with sheer blunt force, his strikes were precise and surgical: as the supreme warrior, he knew exactly where he needed to strike for maximum lethality. He did not leave charred and burnt surfaces on its flesh as evidence of his work; instead, he would kill it by a thousand cuts if he had to!

The frog, in desperation, quickly released a strong jet of water from its mouth. It couldn’t target the tiny human jumping rapidly in front, beside, and then behind it, but it could certainly hit the other enemy who was standing still.

“Wha-” Pieberry’s eyes went wide as she was interrupted as a thick stream of water emerged from the frog and rushed towards her! Thankfully, the water moved slowly enough for her that she was able to jump away and sidestep the attack just in time. Other than a few wet spots on her clothes, she was completely unscathed. “I’m okay!”

Justice paused for a moment to assess Pieberry’s situation and assure himself that she was fine. In anger, he once again pushed his sword deep into the frog and started charging his magic.

“Pieberry, now!” 

“Okay!” Pieberry now surged forwards and reached Justice’s position in less than a second. She fiercely swung her staff, glowing brightly with the magical traces of her previous attack, and quickly impacted the body of the water balloon frog. A huge explosion made of pure magic — not dissimilar to the most elementary form of magic expressed by lesser magic circles — tore into the beast’s flesh. 

At the same time, Justice finally discharged the magic that he had been holding within him. Although it took only a little more than a second, it was a long, long time for someone who was using agility stimulants. It was his fury that had been held back for what felt like an entire hour!

Simultaneous explosions obliterated the frog as it simply dissolved into swampwater, before turning into nothing more than a cloud of smoke and steam, which quickly rose into the air. Light drizzle started to fall all around them, being the only evidence left behind of the monster that they just killed. 

Both Pieberry and Justice fell to the ground as they panted heavily, the effects of the stimulant wearing off and causing their bodies to immediately feel heavy and sluggish. They leaned on each other’s backs as they simply sat on the open soil, the swamp all around them as the drizzle began to thin out before ceasing entirely. 

“I’m so tired…” Pieberry whined as her shoulders slumped in exhaustion. She mustered the last of her strength cheer, “but we did it!”

“We have.” Justice wasn’t as tired. He was feeling the side effects of the stimulant more than actual exhaustion, as he had no reason to use them until recently when he obtained Pieberry’s magic and wasn’t accustomed to it. That was when they realized that stimulants now work on him, too. 

Pieberry unclipped the bottle of mind cleanser from her belt and drank half of the bottle, instantly restoring most of her energy. She made a deep sigh of relief, before she gave the bottle to Justice. “Here, drink this!”

He gladly took the potion from her and greedily drank the rest of the bottle. Like Pieberry, his strength was instantly restored and he breathed a sigh of relief. 

“What a miracle. If only normal humans can restore their strength just as easily like this.” Justice thought that if the rest of the warriors could keep fighting just by drinking a potion, Vavelia would be safe from any harm. 

Unfortunately, turning a human into a sort-of ‘mixed blood’ deity only happened once — and it led to Pieberry dying. They couldn’t risk it now, since there wasn’t enough magic left in the entire continent to bring a pure-blooded deity back to life. 

“Humans becoming that strong would be terrible.” Black Joe flew over and looked at Justice skeptically. “Who knows if they start a second witch hunt, especially since they know we’re weak!”

“Dumb Black Joe~” Pieberry stood up to grab him with both of her hands, grinning at him like she disagreed with what he said. 

He only reacted with a “KYAK!” at being grabbed. 

Pieberry teased, “but aren’t we the witch hunters today?”

“Hmm…” Black Joe blinked at her in confusion. “You might be correct, master.” 

“Aha!” Pieberry giggled as she released him. “That’s why we should keep going.” 

Justice stood up and wiped away the bits of damp swamp grass that stuck to his armor. He flicked away the same pieces of grass that he noticed sticking to Pieberry’s skirt. He still didn’t think her clothes were all that practical for combat, but he had given up convincing her at this point. 

“Is something wrong?” Pieberry felt him patting down her clothes. Pieberry blushed as she asked, “oh no, are my clothes dirty?!”

“Not anymore.” Justice finished patting her down as he gave her one final look. “Everything looks good. 

They were both soon on their way again to Ellard. The swamp became drier and drier as the air became more and more humid as they left the swamp and approached the southeastern Vavelian coast. However, the air was still as cold as it was during mid-autumn — cold enough to be felt during the day, but not cold enough to be a problem, yet. The trees, from the Calzvero Forest, to the swamp, and now approaching Ellard, were still keeping them constant company. 

“Ow!” 

Pieberry screamed as her foot tripped on something on the ground. She unceremoniously fell down onto the ground, but she was thankfully able to break her fall with her arms. The golden leaves on the ground rustled as she nearly fell face-first into them. 

“Master, are you all right?” Black Joe was about to approach her when he noticed a curious wooden board sticking out of the layer of leaves. It was about half a meter wide from the top, but he couldn’t tell how long it actually was since it was buried in the ground. “Hmm.”

“What is it, Black Joe?” She crouched to look at the thing she just tripped on. It was well and truly stuck deeply on the damp soil, but her curiosity was piqued. It didn’t look natural — its straight and deliberate shapes made it obvious that it was made by someone, and not something that could form from the the leaves and branches trees alone. “It looks like humans made this, but what for?”

Pieberry rubbed her hands together before she used all of her strength to pull it out of the ground!

Her grip wasn’t strong enough, and she stumbled backwards a few steps as her hand slipped off the board’s damp surface. She was always very quick to use brute strength to solve her problems, but it wasn’t going to help in this case. Pieberry was afraid that using her magic to blow up the ground might also ruin whatever the thing was. 

Justice shook his head when he realized what she was trying to do. Rather than follow her lead, he instead grabbed a fallen branch nearby. 

Pieberry copied Justice as they spent the next hour trying to dig it out and only making little progress. The leaves made it difficult to tell how much progress they were making, and moving them away didn’t work as the leaves simply fell back into the hole as they dug. Pieberry got impatient at the beginning of the second hour, however.

“Wait, Pieberry.” Justice stopped her as she was about to violently ‘excavate’ the ground!

“Okay.” She simply whined in defeat. “I hope it was worth it spending so much time here.”

Justice, who was also impatient by this point, gave up digging and took another approach. They still weren’t sure how deep it was buried, but at least now they had a better chance. 

He started kicking the top of the wooden board furiously using all his strength, his armored foot enhancing his strength even more.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Each kick delivered a ferocious blow as the board shook violently and the ground slowly rose from beneath. While he was afraid that it would break, it wouldn’t be that difficult to put two pieces of wood back together.

When Justice felt that it was loose enough, it was his turn to use all of his strength to pull!

This time, the board easily dislodged and went flying backwards. 

“Pieberry, watch out!” Justice yelled as he realized that she was going to get hit!

Pieberry wasn’t able to react fast enough, but it fortunately flew only mere centimeters above her head and crashed into a tree before it finally fell down to the ground. 

“Looks like being short is actually helpful.” Black Joe took the opportunity to make fun of Pieberry again as soon as he realized that she wasn’t actually in any danger.

“Dumb Black Joe!”

“Justice, Black Joe, look!” Apparently, the board had something written on it. Letters were carved into the wooden board and drawn on with ink made from trees in the forest. Pieberry was the first to notice and so read it out loud for everyone else. 

“TURN WITCHES AROUND BEYOND”

“Huh?” Pieberry tilted her head in confusion as she read it again. “Turn witches around beyond? What does that mean?”

“Kyehehehe, you’re reading it wrong.” Black Joe cawed in laughter. It was an easy misunderstanding to make, but it didn’t make it any less hilarious coming from her. 

“Dumb Black Joe!” Pieberry stomped her feet in frustration. 

In response, a rabbit emerged from beneath the layer of fallen leaves, startled by her stomp. It made eye contact with Pieberry for a split-second before it thumped on the ground and hopped away, followed by two other rabbits emerging all around Pieberry from various burrows concealed on the ground.

Pieberry’s own ears twitched in frustration.

“Ahen,” Justice coughed to get their attention. “It says, ‘turn around witches beyond.’” 

“Whoa Justice!” Pieberry’s eyes sparkled in enlightenment. “I understand now! Oops, I read it wrong…”

“It’s a reminder to be more careful from here on, Pieberry. But I think this one is actually talking about you inside the Black Witch Forest.” Justice laughed as he teased her by running his fingers down her right ear. “Am I allowed to do this now? Last time I did this, you nearly screamed in front of Miss Livya.”

“Yup! I think I can handle it now.” She blushed, but she can’t deny anymore that it felt nice. Also comforting. “Let’s go.”

“Not yet.” Justice shook his head. “This is a good place to rest and eat. Usually, I order my warriors to set up camp during midday and we start marching again in the afternoon.” Justice unfurled from their bag a mat large enough to fit both him and Pieberry and spread it on the grass as he told more stories of his campaigns. 

“One time, we had a young boy join us for the… witch hunt.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead as he realized he accidentally brought up this topic, again. “Sorry, Pieberry. We did not end up catching anyone, fortunately.”

“It’s fine, Justice.” She patted and smoothed the mat over as she invited him to sit down with her on the mat he set down. “I don’t care anymore. All that matters is we’re now the witch and warrior together~.”

“Okay,” Justice took a deep breath before he continued. “Everyone called him the ‘foolish cadet’. His real name was Lucas, but the warriors all made fun of him because he always wanted to prove himself. I kept telling him that he would become his own victim and not the witches.” 

Pieberry listened to his story with equally-wide eyes as she slowly but surely inched closer to him. Soon, her face was right up against his. 

“Um… he insisted on doing everything for the warriors. If I stopped them, it would have hurt my authority in my platoon, so I could only watch him as the rest of the warriors made him fetch them water, polish their swords, and wash their clothes.” Justice narrated his memories as he spread out a selection of fruits and berries they picked along the way. 

“Eventually, things got very difficult for Lucas. One day, while we were taking a break from marching, I ordered everyone to gather their own food.” Justice emphasized his story by picking out a strawberry from their pile and putting it on Pieberry’s lips. “But some of the warriors asked him to gather food from the forest so they could eat without having to work. They knew he would do it to prove himself to them, to us.”

Pieberry opened her mouth and graciously accepted the strawberry and started eating it as she listened. In return, she held up an apple for Justice to take a bite out of.

“Well, he did it without complaining at all. At first, he searched the nearby bushes for any edible herbs and berries. When that ran out, he started climbing the trees for fruits and chasing down the few rabbits that appeared. Finally, when even those ran out, he started looking inside strange holes and burrows for food.” 

Justice gestured by extending his index finger and inserting it into a circular hole formed with his other hand’s thumb and fingers, before suddenly constricting it and trapping his index finger inside. 

“I was busy eating at that time, too, so I couldn’t see what he was doing. I only knew because I heard him start screaming and some of the warriors started laughing very loudly around him.” Justice sighed before he continued, “I ran over immediately, but when I saw what happened I knew that he wouldn’t have been able to ever escape his title of ‘foolish cadet’.” 

“He wanted to prove himself as a warrior so much, but instead of being another Alfredo he was even worse. Alfredo was afraid to do anything and everyone knew that, but Lucas was desperate to prove himself and it made his failure even worse. Also, I didn’t discipline my warriors enough.” Justice made a self-deprecating chuckle at himself. “The boy somehow got his head stuck inside a hole in a tree looking for nuts, and the warriors were literally kicking his butt while they laughed.”

“What happened to him next? Did you help him escape?” Pieberry asked, her own eyes squinted in barely-disguised amusement. 

“Of course. Me and two other warriors pulled him out, but he became the joke of Vavelia for a while. I don’t know what happened to him after that. The Pope assigned me somewhere else, and when I came back after a year I started to get humiliated by a white witch.” Justice smiled at her as he joked. 

Pieberry only blinked innocently several times in response. 

“Lunch break finished.” Justice waved his hand in front of her eyes, interrupting her silly antics. “We should reach the river in a few hours, and then we’ll cross it and reach the other side of the river near Ellard by sunset. Let’s camp, then we can start scouting Ellard after another half-day of walking.”

“That’s okay, I’m not tired yet.” Pieberry flicked her right ear in agreement. “Let’s go, Black Joe!”

The rest of their walk towards the river continued in silence only interrupted by Justice’s occasional call to be careful of an upcoming stream, rock, or any other obstacle ahead. In return, Pieberry also let him know whenever she spotted a low-hanging fruit, berries, and anything edible they could grab along the way. Weak winds from the shore that reached inland into the forest sometimes interrupted their otherwise-quiet routine of heading towards the river. Soon, the wind shifted as it too began coming from the east. Weak at first, before the winds no longer came from the south. 

Pieberry knew that the most difficult part of their journey was certainly how they would cross the river. It was very deep, that much she knew. She read in the books how sailors used to take the river to reach Ellard, but the strong, unpredictable currents had a tendency to slam the ships into the shore. Numerous ships and not a few sailors were lost before the kingdom simply decided to start going around the entire continent to reach Ellard by sea, instead of the perilous river. 

“We’re here.” Justice stopped walking as he parted the branches in front of them, revealing the glittering, crystal blue river that stood between Ellard and the eastern border of the Calzvero forest. 

The river extended for nearly two whole kilometers across as water rushed from one side of the Vavelian coast and down to the other. Ellard’s unique geography of being nestled in between the shore, the huge Lalaque cliff, and an extremely wide river made it a natural fortress. It was this fortress that they had to break into — a daunting task, no doubt. 

The calm, smooth appearance of the river was death’s deception. All it meant was that the clean water made it harder to tell apart the currents. A raft was out of the question — if ships only barely made it through the river downstream, then a raft going across the current is pure folly. 

“How about my ice magic? Couldn’t we freeze the water?” Pieberry tried it out by pushing a small amount of magic into her staff, before pointing it at the water and discharging her magic.

A blue-tinted stream of light emerged from her staff and struck the surface, causing a meter-wide diameter of water to freeze up and turn solid. However, right before she could celebrate, first the ice was dragged downstream by the currents, before it turned over and capsized, sinking down to the bottom. The only evidence left of Pieberry’s work was her disappointment. 

“Nooo…” her whine echoed throughout the trees behind them. “Luna could definitely do better than me… Justice, what do we do?”

Justice tried to suppress his own chuckle at her reaction, but couldn’t hold it in and accidentally snorted in laughter. 

“Hey!” 

“Sorry. Well, there’s a reason no one ever goes this way.” Justice still chuckled as he sighed. “Can your magic help us fly?”

“Aha!” Pieberry’s eyes sparkled as she got an idea. “Oh Black Joe~!”

“Master… are you asking me to carry you across the river?” Black Joe stared at both of them with a neutral expression. He didn’t really feel strong feelings either way, since he was used to it after almost an entire year of travelling with her. “Kyehehe, I will do it only after you say the magic word.”

“Hmph! Fine, Black Joe, pleaaaase!” Pieberry grinned at him in delight. “Carry me first! I want to see what’s on the other side.”

“Good grief, even your ‘please’ has strings attached.” Black Joe still positioned himself above her so she could grab on, anyways. “Kiyahooooo!”

Black Joe carried Pieberry as they flew over the river, arriving at the other side in only a little under half an hour. Black Joe did two return trips for Justice and their supplies, and in the meantime Pieberry explored around the shore as she waited for them to arrive. 

“Huh, the forest here doesn’t look very different,” she said outloud, talking more to herself than anything. “I thought it would be more… different!”

The Ellard Forest, distinct from the Calzvero Forest, looked very similar. If she didn’t know where she was, then she would have very easily confused it for the Calzvero Forest. However, the one thing that she did notice was the subtlest taste of dark magic in the air. 

It meant they were getting close. Not quite there yet — she knew they were still half a day away, but it would be difficult to turn back from hereon. 

Out of nowhere, she heard a little ‘snap’ at the edge of the forest ahead, as if it were a twig being stepped on. She focused her ears towards where she thought she heard something.

“Hello? Is anyone there? I don’t wanna fight, but I’m gonna fight if you force me to!” Pieberry called out into thin air. A few tense moments passed before she relaxed, hearing nothing more coming from the forest. “Maybe it was just a rabbit.”

“Pieberry? I’m here!” Pieberry heard Justice’s voice coming from where Black Joe dropped her off. “Where are you?”

“Here! Sorry, I was just looking around!” She quickly rushed over to Justice before giving him a quick hug. She buried her head in his arms, and in return he also gave her head a quick rub. She felt her mind turn to mush in delight at his touch as she whispered a relaxed “mmm.”

Her separation from Justice, no matter how brief it was, still made her feel insecure, He was always her comfort, every time, no matter what. She didn’t want to think of what could have happened if he didn’t arrive at that moment — she had a feeling that it was not just a rabbit, but she didn’t want to find out unless she had him beside her. 

“Where’s Black Joe?” Pieberry asked as she pulled away, turning her attention back on their mission. “Is he bringing our supplies?”

“Yes, he should be back soon.” Justice rubbed her ear one last time before he also stepped back. “I hope so.”

Fortunately, Black Joe came back after almost another hour carrying their supplies. He looked absolutely winded, and the first thing he did after arriving was to perch on Pieberry’s head again, panting and groaning in exhaustion. If birds could sweat, he would definitely be soaked right now.

“Master… let’s not do that again.” He flattened himself on top of her head as if he was turning into a liquid, before he started rumbling in relief. “Good grief… ahhhh…”

“Black Joe, that tickles!” Pieberry felt her head vibrate, effectively getting a ‘free massage’ from the bird on her head. She reached her hand up to him and gave him a comforting pat. “It’s getting late, too. I understand why you’re tired.”

“Fortunately for you,” Justice grunted as he lowered himself to start pulling supplies out of their bag. “Resting here for the night was the plan.”

Pieberry helped organize their stuff, and soon Justice had sleeping bags, tents, and a campfire set up — just in time, too. The shadows were getting longer, and daylight was turning a deeper orange, then red by the minute. As for her, she was the one who cooked up a quick broth made from the ingredients they picked along the way. 

They only packed one tent and sleeping bag, as they needed to travel swift and light for a reconnaissance mission. Had they brought more, it was likely they would have needed to take another day to reach Ellard and back.

Therefore, she would have to share the sleeping bag with Justice tonight.

“Hehe…”  The thought made her blush. 

“What are you laughing at?” Justice raised his eyebrow as he sat beside her while he sipped on the soup. “Are you liking our mission?”

“Master is thinking of something else, surely…” Black Joe chuckled in laughter. He was also sipping on his own meal. 

“Dumb Black Joe!”

“You should think of how you can get close enough to see the village without getting seen yourself.” Black Joe spoke after he finished his meal.  “The witches might have traps around Ellard.”

“You will both see.” Justice pointed to their bag. “Alfredo made something that helps us see from a long distance.”

It looked as if it were a short, conical, hollow tube of thin metal that had two holes on both sides covered by some sort of fragile-looking transparent curved glass. It wasn’t even painted, giving it a very ‘unfinished’ appearance. She wasn’t sure how he made it, but it looked more like an intricate work of art than something that was expected to survive the battlefield. Pieberry had no doubt — this would break in the first minute of a fight.

“That’s-” she started to speak, but Justice moved faster and put it in her hand before she could complain any further. “Oh.”

Pieberry looked down at her hand in confusion.

“That’s what Alfredo is doing now…?” She sighed. “I know he became a blacksmith instead, but I’m not sure about this.”

“Look through it with your eye and point it at the stars.” Justice’s soothing voice taught her exactly what to do. “Just one eye, not both. This is Alfredo’s best work yet.”

Pieberry did so as she was told, while Black Joe watched in rising interest.

She looked up at the moon just rising over the eastern horizon surrounded by an ocean of stars and closed her right eye, before moving the mysterious tool over her left eye.

Instantly, her peripheral vision turned black, but what remained directly ahead of her… simply took her breath away. Pieberry gasped, so loud as for all of them to hear, as she simply froze in pure awe at the sight before her.

Never had she seen the moon in such great detail before. It looked nearly three times larger now than it normally did with just her eyes — and she thought she even noticed a few dark spots on its surface! The moon, which previously looked just like another star that didn’t twinkle, now had a clearly-defined shape and structure. Finally, unlike other stars, which didn’t really become any larger when viewed through the tool, the moon felt so much closer, so much clearer, and so much more real. 

She put the tool down beside her, having seen enough of the moon and stars.

“Kyekkkk!” Black Joe shrieked after he looked through the tool as well, seeing the same view that Pieberry had seen. 

“Justice…” Meanwhile, Pieberry spoke in a voice that betrayed her overwhelming emotions. “This is… by the deities…”

The irony of that sentence wasn’t lost on her, but she wasn’t in the mood to care. She carefully put the tool down as she continued staring at the moon with her naked eye, an indescribable mix of emotions going through her: joy, melancholy, and uncertainty. She didn’t exactly understand why — all she knew was that she couldn’t ever see the night sky the same way ever again. She thought, as a deity, that she already knew all there was to be known about the world, but humans had once again overcome the impossible and began to peer into the very essence of nature itself. She was glad that she bore witness to this new discovery, yet she was now filled with melancholy over the thought that the world was no longer as simple as she once assumed. 

Most of all, Pieberry was uncertain about what would come next, and what would happen to her and Justice. She knew that this was only the start — the Era of Elysion was, as Aramute predicted, going to be the era where humans would grow to no longer need the guidance of the deities. Would she eventually be no longer needed, unable to go on any more adventures with Justice? She loved helping people, and she loved doing so even more together with Justice. And yet, the day that she had feared the most seemed to be coming closer and closer, one step at a time. 

“I also felt the same way as you, at first.” Justice pulled her into a hug after he noticed how she reacted. He said, as directly as possible, “Don’t worry. The humans are actually thinking the opposite of what you assume.”

“Huh?” 

“Humans are not going to just turn their back on you all of a sudden. In fact, a lot of them are wondering if you could use your powers to help them build even better technology.” Justice chuckled as he recalled his conversation with Alfredo. “Alfredo even said that he wanted you to help in his blacksmithing, because he knew that you had mastery over the control of fire.”

“Alfredo… does he really think of me that way?” Pieberry felt some relief, at least. “But that’s just Alfredo. What about other humans… what about you? What if you no longer need my help?”

Pieberry watched as Justice chose his next words carefully, a calculating look in his eyes. He spoke slowly, after a few moments:

“Only the pope and his followers were so obsessed with power. Most humans aren’t like that, and do you not remember how many of them turned out to become good friends with you in the end?” Justice forced her to make eye contact with him. “You are more than just a deity to them, just like I’m more than just another human to you.”

“You are their dear Lady Lucia… and you are my one and only Pieberry.”

Justice didn’t let her respond. The next thing she knew was that his lips were suddenly on hers. Her brain froze: what was happening? Justice was kissing her. Really? He had never made the first move before. Why? Is this his way of comforting her? Ah, but it felt nice…

Her mind was practically fried. She had never been kissed by Justice before like this, especially not when she was so vulnerable. It was normally the opposite: she would kiss him to take advantage whenever he was distracted or in deep thought. Having it happen now… she completely forgot all her former worries. All she could feel was his warmth on her lips, his arms around her body, and the feeling of shock that was spreading from her stomach and all throughout her body…

Her heart raced as her entire body flushed in a combination of thrill, exhilaration, and excitement. It was her first time truly ever feeling like this, and she loved the feeling. She kissed him back, if it were even possible, as she also wrapped her arms around him and pulled him tighter. She didn’t know how long they were like this, and she didn’t care. Each time she kissed, she made her way closer to his heart and so too did he do the same to hers. 

Their hearts were intertwined as one as the rest of the world faded away under the stillness of moonlight. All that mattered was they were inseparable, no matter what the world brought against them. Pieberry would never let him go, and Justice also never planned on letting her go. They were each other’s most precious catch: a body seized from the rest of the crowd, a soul ensnared into the depths of their own heart, and a life forever spent together.

It made the inevitable separation all the more painful. 

“Dumb Justice…” Pieberry was left gasping for air after they separated from each other. She was still panting as she said, “that felt good, thank you.”

“Anytime, Pieberry.” Justice rubbed her ears again. “And sorry for the sight, Black Joe.”

“I didn’t see anything.” Black Joe called out, his back still turned towards them. “Good night, master!”

“Dumb Black Joe!” Pieberry giggled in both embarrassment and amusement at his antics. “I am a little tired too, I guess.”

Pieberry got inside their sleeping bag in their tent as she looked up at the night sky above her, Justice joining her and lying down beside her soon afterwards. She breathed in the air around them — it smelled of the forest, of strawberries, and of the life she knew. She listened to the sounds of ravens, crows, and owls, the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the rushing current of the river. She felt the texture of the soft yet fibrous mat beneath them, forming a layer of cushion between her body and the grassy soil beneath. Finally, her mouth still tasted of… Justice.

“Good night, Justice.” Pieberry mumbled as she slowly fell asleep, her worries all fading away knowing that Justice would always keep her safe, and that he would always be by her side. Nothing would ever worry her as long as she was with him.

Black Joe stared at them both for a minute, before he looked around them to make sure everything was safe before he perched atop Pieberry’s stomach and he too, fell asleep. He too wouldn’t worry — for as long as he knew that his master was safe.

???, ???, ???

Pieberry opened her eyes, yet she couldn’t see anything. Wait… my eyes are open, it’s just dark, she thought. She didn’t know how long she had slept, but her body didn’t feel tired. The first thing she felt was that their tent and mat was gone. She was laying down on the bare grass. 

“Justice? Black Joe?” Pieberry sat up and looked around. The sky above her, where she expected the starlit skies of midnight, was instead ablaze in resplendent reddish-orange twilight, and she could see only the darkened silhouettes of the trees all around her. The sounds of the birds were gone, and the air was eerily still. The river, where she expected it to be, was nowhere to be seen as well. What replaced them all was a never-ending forest as far as her eyes could see.

It reminded her of what she had dreamed of back in the ship.

“Am I… dreaming again?” She asked herself, more to fill the silence than anything else. She already knew the answer, after all. “Of course I am. I’m not scared anymore, time to see what’s in these dreams!”

Her excitement stood in total opposition to the complete stillness of the forest all around her. 

Pieberry walked towards the sunset, or where she thought the sunset was, as she followed where the orange glow of the sky was the thickest, and away from the encroaching darkness at the other side of the horizon. 

“If I see anything, I know it’s not real.” 

She had her staff with her. She knew it was a dream, so even if Justice wasn’t there, she still felt safe as long as she had her staff with her. It meant that she wasn’t defenseless against whatever might be in this dream.

Pieberry estimated that she had been walking for half an hour, but she still wasn’t able to see or hear any change in the forest around her. She still could only hear the rustling of the leaves as she stepped over them. Strangely, she didn’t notice the sky get any darker at all. It was as if time itself was frozen. 

“Is anyone there~?” Pieberry called out into the darkness. She wasn’t afraid, it was just a dream.

There was no response.

“I’m not surprised,” she sighed. 

It was what felt like a little while later before she eventually came across what looked to be a road cutting across the forest. Whether she looked left or right, she couldn’t see the end of it — only that the forest continued on the other side, yet the road extended through both sides of the horizon. 

“I haven’t read about any road like this in the books.” Pieberry sat down beside the road at her side of the forest, and decided to wait. Maybe something interesting would happen, she thought.

Although she tried to fight it, she eventually dozed off as she didn’t know how long she had waited or how long she had even been in the dream. Time had stopped making sense.

…

Pieberry was suddenly jolted awake by a presence in front of her. 

Her heart leaped into her throat as she instinctively reached for her staff, until she noticed that it was just a human. A young woman crouched holding a torch beside her, to be exact, and she didn’t exactly look threatening.

“Hello.” The woman spoke to her. Pieberry saw a horse and a carriage behind the woman, which meant that she probably came across her sleeping by the side of the road. “Young miss, are you all right?”

“Oh, hi!” Pieberry gave a strained smile as she tried to calm her heart. “Sorry, I fell asleep. I guess I was tired after all. Um… do you know where we are?”

“Phabelya, where else?” The woman’s face was tinted with skepticism at her as she stood up straight. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

Pieberry felt that the way the woman said it was strange, and that was when she noticed the archaic clothes that the woman was wearing. She wore a long, baggy robe that extended down to her  ankles whereas most women in Vavelia today wore clothes that were more fitting at the top before tapering off either into pants, or a looser, shorter skirt at the bottom with a hemline just below the knees. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Pieberry dusted herself off and stood up. To her annoyance, she was still slightly shorter than even this seemingly-historical woman. “Sorry, I think I forgot a lot of things. What year is it now?”

She didn’t mind lying a little, sometimes.

“Really now?” The woman’s skepticism intensified even further. “It is the year 960 of the great deity Rahmuel, of course. Now that I think of it, your clothes, young miss… they do look strange.”

Pieberry’s eyes turned into saucers as she realized that she wasn’t the only one silently judging the other person’s clothes.

“And your skirt…!” The woman continued seemingly without heeding any regard to her obvious discomfort. “Are you not cold? And look how short they are; how scandalous must you be in the village!”

“Hey…!” Pieberry turned red in embarrassment. Her skirt wasn't too remarkable — but she had to admit that it was eye-catching compared to the clothes of this era. “Please mind your own business!”

“Ah! You’re right, I really apologize.” The woman, seemingly flustered, stepped back as she realized that she had overstepped. “Shall I leave you alone then, miss?”

“No, wait!” Pieberry held her hand out and reached out for the woman in desperation. “Can I go with you? I don’t know where you’re going, but I want to get out of this forest.” 

“Miss, if you were lost you should have said so.” The woman sighed. “I’m obviously going to Ayllarþ, but I guess you do not know where that is either. Feel free to sit in the carriage behind. I will simply be driving the horse in front.”

“Thank you!” Pieberry quickly got on the carriage and sat beside the woman’s various possessions. “Why are you going there? Isn’t it quite far from everywhere else?”

“Ah, I guess you do know where Ayllarþ is after all.” The woman spoke as she whipped the horse forward. She held a torch in her one hand and held the reins in her other hand as she talked, “yes, indeed. That village is isolated, but isolation is what I most desire. I… something has happened between me and my husband, and I wish not to talk about it more. Sorry, miss.”

The woman’s voice was tinged with sadness. 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Pieberry stared down at the passing ground beneath. “I understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Thank you, young miss. I’m afraid I haven’t gotten your name yet, so please humor me. As for me, you may call me Julia.”

“Julia is a very pretty name!” Pieberry smiled at her, even if she couldn’t see it as she was too focused on the road ahead. “I’m Lucia!”

Pieberry decided to use her name as a deity, as she felt that ‘Pieberry’ would only be even more anachronistic in this era. 

“Lucia. I guess I can’t call you young miss anymore.” The woman chuckled at her own joke. “Well, young Lucia doesn’t sound too bad doesn’t it?”

“I don’t mind!”

Their conversation died down soon after. Pieberry allowed her mind to wander as she still thought that this was just another dream as the sky was still the same dim, orange twilight — but everything else was starting to make less and less sense. It felt much too vivid, and much too real. 

Pieberry didn’t know when exactly it happened, but her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she suddenly realized that the air, if it were even possible, had suddenly shifted. The previously still and stale air now felt… broken. 

A gut-wrenching feeling of primal, instinctual fear consumed her entire being as every strand of hair on her body stood up straight. She could hear only her quickening heartbeat as all her senses went into overdrive: there, the forest, which had already been dark earlier, now somehow seemed as if it were even darker now. The inescapable feeling of danger gave her no escape, no relief, and no respite. The endless, creeping feeling of wrongness felt as if it wanted to swallow her completely whole. The road, which previously felt like a welcome reprieve from the endless forest, now seemed as if it were a path that led to horrors beyond. Worst of all, the closer they traveled to Ellard, the worse all her feelings became. 

She wanted to return to Justice. Everything felt wrong. So. Very. Wrong. 

“Hey… Julia?” Pieberry, trying to keep her voice steady, still clung onto hope that it was still just a dream. “What’s going on?”

“You aren’t supposed to be here.” Her voice, which used to be just like another woman, now sounded disembodied as if it were a dozen different voices speaking from all around them. Her voice came from the left and right, the front and back, and from above and below all at the same time. “I’m sorry, Lucia. I should have known.”

Pieberry felt the carriage suddenly stop. 

She was drenched in cold sweat. Everything was wrong — nothing was making sense! She wanted to wake up from this dream!

“Lucia.” Julia turned back towards her. Her eyes were completely white and they were sunken into her skull. Her face, which previously glowed with the brilliance of youth, now looked ashen gray as if she were nothing but a walking corpse, devoid of life.

Pieberry stumbled back and fell down from the carriage when she saw the face that stared back at her. Her heart felt like it was about to explode. It was beating so quickly, and her legs were screaming at her to run.

“Run. Lucia. You have to leave this forest. Please.” Tears fell from Julia’s pure white eyes, down to her ashen gray face. It looked like Pieberry’s own deity markings yet made of human tears. “Go back to where you first awoke. GO! IMMEDIATELY! BEFORE THE SUN SETS!”

Julia said the last part out loud in a SCREECH that echoed throughout the dark forest.

Pieberry didn’t need to be told twice. She turned and ran — away from Ellard, away from the road, and away from Julia. She ran, and ran, and ran for what felt like an indeterminate amount of time. Despite not knowing how far the carriage had taken her, she somehow knew exactly where she needed to go. She had to follow the feeling of Justice’s soul — that was where she needed to go.

The blazing orange twilight, which was previously frozen in time, now started to move. Slowly, unnoticeably at first, the darkness in the east creeped into what was left of the setting sun’s glow in the west. 

Pieberry felt herself sweat from sheer exhaustion, but she couldn’t stop running even if it felt as if it were hours already. She had to go back to the clearing where she woke up — she had to! She couldn’t stay here! Everything was feeling more and more wrong!

Soon, she couldn’t even make out the silhouette of the trees anymore. Only the barest hint of red remained in the west — most of the sky was already dark. 

Pieberry felt nothing but pure terror as the forest slowly came alive around her. Quiet whispering at first, then black eyes — darker than even the darkness itself — opened all around the forest as they began whispering of broken, boundless, and incomprehensible horrors. She couldn’t understand anything of their whispers, yet they tore into her soul all the same. 

Her mind frayed as her very essence began to unravel from the unfathomable phenomena. Yet she refused to give in — using all of her strength, Pieberry barely held onto herself as she looked up at the sky one last time: there was only darkness. She stared into a starless, moonless abyss, and the abyss stared back. 

Her vision started to spin as everything began to melt all around her. The forest, the trees, and the grass lost all definition as the whispers all merged into an unintelligible mix of deafening voices. She stopped feeling any sensation from her feet, but she knew that she was still running and that was all that mattered. She ran and ran towards the only thing she still knew. She was so close, she could make it.

She had to make it. Back to Justice.

She felt as if she were running on thin air. The ground was gone, and so was her body, mind, and soul. She didn’t even know what her name was anymore, and she didn’t know what she was running for anymore, but she knew she had someone very, very important to return to and so she ran and ran. 

The dark forest consumed her.

On the outskirts of Ellard Village, Vavelia, on the 53rd midnight of Autumn

“Ahhhhhhh!!” Pieberry suddenly sat up with a scream of pure terror. She was soaked in cold sweat as her entire body trembled from impossible exhaustion. The moon blinded her eyes that were somehow acclimated to darkness deeper than midnight itself. Finally, her mind was a jumbled, unexplainable mess yet she remembered everything down to the most uncomfortably-vivid detail.

She couldn’t forget what she just experienced. That wasn’t a dream — there was no way. That was definitely real, and that thought chilled her down to her very soul.

“Pieberry?” Justice was instantly awoken by her scream. His trained instinct immediately made him put himself between her and whatever may be lurking in front of them, holding his sword out looking for a threat that didn’t exist. 

“Hahh…” Pieberry gasped as her heart raced. “I… haah… how long has it been?”

“Pieberry? What’s wrong?!” Justice spoke as he immediately dropped his sword after he and Black Joe both finally noticed her looking like a mess. “It’s only been two hours. What happened?!”

“I had a dream…” Pieberry forced herself to calm. Her dream felt like it took half a day, not two hours! “It was about Ellard.” 

She told both of them everything that she saw. She spared not a single detail: she made them feel as if they too were trapped in the dark forest, unable to escape. Every word she said caused everyone else’s expression to darken more and more, and soon their faces were nearly rivaling the dark forest in its darkness.

“Hmm… it seems as if the past is reaching out to you, master.” Black Joe coughed. “First in Derkarr, now in Vavelia too. I wonder if they’re trying to tell you something.”

“Dumb Black Joe!”

“In that case,” Justice sighed. “We have to be even more careful. We have to assume that we are about to fight very strong witches in the village, and we don’t even know how many there are.”

The last point made the well-trained and experienced warrior in his mind scream in alarm. Heading into an unknown danger is the worst thing that one could do, but they had no choice. They would have to survive this with their wits alone. 

“I don’t know if I can go back to sleep…” Pieberry sighed. She was afraid of going back to that forest again. “I’m really tired of all these nightmares.”

However, she knew just as everyone else that she needed to sleep so she could be at her strongest for tomorrow. 

“I’m sorry, Pieberry. I don’t know what to do,” Justice admitted. “Would it help if we hug each other white we sleep?”

Justice winced at his own frankly ridiculous suggestion, but he couldn’t think of anything else that could help.

“I think so… yeah.” Pieberry decided. “I feel safer with you, so it might help.”

True to her words, the rest of the evening passed her by in a dreamless, restful sleep. There were no more nightmares, and no more discomfort. She truly did feel at peace while he held her in his arms…

…

“Pieberry, wake up.” Justice nudged her even as she was comfortably snuggled under her sleeping bag. “Duty calls for us again.”

“Five more minutes…” Pieberry mumbled as she shifted in the sleeping bag.

“Okay. See you in five minutes, Pieberry.” Justice patted her exposed head. “I will be outside.”

Five minutes later, exactly to the second, Justice went back inside their tent.

“298… 299… 300.” Justice finished whispering to himself before he nudged Pieberry again. “Pieberry, wake up.”

“Five more minutes…” Pieberry tossed around and turned over. “It’s so cold…”

“Okay.” Justice stated matter-of-factly. “I’ll wake you up again in five minutes.”

This time, Justice didn’t wait outside. Instead, he only waited another minute before he shook her awake again.

“Time to go, Pieberry.” Justice suddenly pulled the sleeping bag off Pieberry. “Today is the day.”

“Eeeek!” Pieberry shrieked as she was suddenly exposed to the cold, harsh environment of the open forest once again. She curled up and looked up at Justice in horror. “Not again!”

“Well, we have to go.” Justice chuckled. “Rise and shine, Pieberry.”

They were soon on their way again to Ellard. This time, it only took until noon for them to reach what should have been the village. However, when they got close, all three of them felt as if they just crossed a ‘barrier’ — a slight bump in the world around them — that reeked of dark magic.

“Illusion magic, master.” Black Joe commented. “We should be able to see the village properly now.”

True to his words, they quickly found a small hill that let them have a good position to look down at the village. However, before they could start scouting properly, they were interrupted by a presence. 

“Someone’s coming.” Pieberry’s ears twitched as it picked up a noise similar to the one she heard when she first landed on the Ellard Forest edge yesterday. “I think it’s a human.”

Justice quickly pulled all of them aside as they hid behind a tree. Pieberry, unable to contain her curiosity, peeked an eye out to look despite Black Joe’s silent protests.

Not even a minute later, they saw a man dressed in tattered and dirty Ellard warrior clothes emerge from the forest in front of them, barely even a few meters away. However, he acted strangely: it was more appropriate to call him ‘stumbling’ rather than ‘walking’, as his movements were far too stiff and unnatural. Furthermore, he looked emaciated, as if he hadn’t had a single good meal in months. His eyes, too, were completely glazed over as if they belonged to a dead man.

Pieberry wanted to say something so bad, but she covered her mouth to avoid talking accidentally. 

However, it seemed that keeping silent didn’t help much. The warrior, as if he sensed something, immediately turned his head towards Pieberry!

“GRAAAAAH!”

“Eeek!” Pieberry screamed on instinct as the warrior quickly rushed her with inhuman speed!

Before anyone else could react, the warrior swung his sword sideways in an inwards curving motion, using it as if it were a hook, completely bypassing the tree that Pieberry used for cover as she was hit without any time to defend herself.

BANG!

It was all too sudden. The warrior’s sword tore into her waist with superhuman strength as if it were paper, causing her to uncontrollably cry out in agony. It was very likely to have split her in half entirely, but fortunately the warrior attacked from a disadvantageous angle, and the tree prevented it from moving any further into her. 

The warrior pulled out his sword just as quickly, ripping into her flesh even further and causing her even greater injuries.

“MASTER!!”

“NO! Pieberry!!” Justice reacted quickly, but not fast enough to save Pieberry against the strange warrior they were fighting.

Justice put himself in front of her and adopted a defensive position as the warrior finally moved around the tree enough to face them without it getting in the way. He wanted to help Pieberry rather than fight, but he knew that they would both get killed if he didn’t eliminate the enemy right here and now! She had collapsed to the ground, but she was still alive and breathing, that much he could tell.

“Hang in there, Pieberry! Please!”

While the sounds of swords clashing continued, Pieberry felt as if everything was distant. Sounds felt muffled which told her that she was going into shock, and it hurt so, so much. She grit her teeth and tried her best to ignore everything around her: Black Joe flying all around her in panic, Justice fighting against the warrior, and the blood pouring out of the unimaginable pain that she was feeling in her right side. 

She knew that only she only had minutes left, so she used a trembling arm to reach for the red potion that she had clipped onto her belt. There, soaked in her own blood, was her lifeline. She was losing more and more control of her body every second that she wasted trying to get the potion off her belt, and she felt her own heartbeat slow down as her vision started to go dark. 

Pieberry fidgeted in desperation as she tried to get the potion, but her fingers kept slipping because of the blood. She was nearly about to give up when she felt a presence bite down on the clip, shattering it, finally allowing her to get the red potion that would save her life. She mustered the last of her strength to bite down hard on the cork securing the contents of the bottle, exerting one final effort in her arm as she pulled. The ‘pop!’ that sounded out as the potion was opened was all that she needed to hear.

Her arm trembled even more as her consciousness finally started to leave her, but she forced herself and her body one last time to move the opening of the bottle to her mouth as she finally took the first tentative gulps of the lifesaving red potion. The extremely sour taste burned her tongue, yet it was also the sweetest drink that she had ever tasted. The moment she swallowed the first mouthful of the potion, her senses instantly came back as the world became clear once more.

“Master! Master! Please, you have to hold on. You can do it!” She saw that Black Joe was nearly in tears, if birds could even cry, and he looked completely panicked as he watched her drink the potion. 

“Arrgh!” She saw the warrior yell in agony as Justice started to gain the advantage in the fight. 

“Pieberry! I’m coming, please don’t give up!” She never heard Justice sound so desperate before. 

She tuned out the voices of Black Joe, Justice, and the warrior he was fighting. She closed her eyes as she continued to greedily drink the potion, but rather than drink it all, she only drank about a quarter of it. It was enough to keep her alive and give her more time to act, and she knew what she needed to do next, no matter how much she hated it. Her arm trembled again, not because of shock, but this time because of the fear of what she was about to do.

She allowed herself to hesitate only for a moment, before she poured the potion on the wide, bleeding, open wound on her waist. The pain hit her instantly, even worse than the worst pain she could even imagine. 

Her screams of agony filled the air once more, but she couldn’t hear herself from the pain and so she kept going and going. Drop by drop, the bright red liquid was poured onto crimson red blood as the magical potion interacted with her own magical body to seal the wound and regenerate her flesh, but the pain in using the potion like this was unimaginable. She had read of this technique in a book, and even then it warned her that it was only to be done in the direst of circumstances: drinking the potion, even if it worked slower, was the far better alternative. 

She didn’t know how long it took. Her vision turned completely white and her hearing stopped from the moment the first drop of the potion hit her wound. Her mind was completely focused on doing what she had to do — the survival instinct that was drilled into her as she tried to survive the witch hunts — and nothing else mattered. She didn’t care if it hurt, she didn’t care about the agony, nor did she care about what Justice and Black Joe would think seeing her like this. 

Just as suddenly as it began, the pain stopped. 

“S-shit…” Pieberry heard herself swear, something she rarely ever did. She looked straight at the empty potion bottle, down at her now fully-healed waist, and up at Black Joe whose eyes were nearly bulging out of his sockets. “Hehe… sorry, Black Joe.”

“Master!!!!!!” Black Joe crashed into her chest as he cried out in relief. “Dumb Pieberry! Dumb Pieberry!” 

Pieberry could only smile and shake her head in amusement. Her whole body was drenched in sweat, and now she felt thirsty, but it would have to wait until later. She picked up her staff that she dropped when she got attacked and walked towards Justice to finish off the warrior once and for all. 

She didn’t feel any sympathy for attacking warriors who hurt her — even though she knew that deep down the warrior wasn’t acting like himself, he still hurt her and thus it was only fair for her to fight back.

“Justice, I’ll help you!” Pieberry, to his great surprise, somehow recovered already. “Take this!”

She discharged a quick burst of magic aimed directly at the warrior’s head. It was impossible to dodge as he was already distracted from trying to parry and strike back at Justice, so it hit him directly in the head. 

The fight, which had been giving Justice so much trouble, instantly ended as the warrior was instantly knocked out and crumbled to the ground. It wasn’t an insult against Justice’s abilities as it was indeed more of a testament to his skill: being able to hold his own ground, and even take the initiative, against a warrior as strong as several knights at once was nothing to scoff at.

Justice knew he only had several seconds at most before the warrior got back up, but he resisted the urge to execute the warrior right then and there for hurting Pieberry. Instead, he quickly ran back to the tree they were hiding behind earlier and carried their supplies over to the unconscious warrior. He quickly pulled out a thick rope and tied the warrior up, starting with his arms. The warrior regained consciousness while Justice was restraining him just as predicted, but Justice was prepared and simply delivered a strong punch to his head, knocking him out for a few more seconds each time.

Justice had the warrior completely tied up in under a minute, leaving him fidgeting and turning around hopelessly on the grass beneath them. 

“A rope? Why did we bring that?” Pieberry commented after she saw Justice finish. “Thank you, by the way.”

“Anything for you, Pieberry.” Justice stared at her up and down as he inspected her injuries. Miraculously enough, other than her blood-stained clothes and the tear in her blouse that showed off portions of her waist, she was entirely unscathed. “And how did you heal yourself so quickly?”

“I poured a red potion on the wound, hehe.” Pieberry tried to play it off, but even she could tell that she flinched on instinct. “It hurts a lot, so you shouldn’t do it too often.”

“You…” Justice wanted to say something, but he decided against it. What’s done is done. “Never mind.”

“Hehe!”

The warrior grunted and shifted as they talked, but even with his strength, he was helpless against Justice’s restraints. 

“This warrior is strange, master.” Black Joe spoke up as he stared at the warrior tied with multiple layers of knots and ropes. “We should check how the rest of the village is.”

“You think?” Justice replied in sarcasm. “That was what we were here for.”

Black Joe brushed off the sarcasm. He too knew how stressful it could be seeing Pieberry get injured.

“Sorry.” Justice apologized a few seconds later.

Justice took out Alfredo’s sightseeing tool, which was thankfully undamaged, and finally used it to look at the village downhill above the trees.

“Pieberry, look.” Justice called her over as he passed the tool to her. “We have a big problem.” 

Pieberry laid down on her stomach beside Justice as she took the tool and peered through it once again. She saw nearly a hundred warriors, all with the same strange movement, wandering in the areas around the village. What was worse was that it wasn’t just the warriors moving unnaturally: every single villager was the same. They fished, they cooked, and they ate like normal, yet none of them talked to each other and they did so all with the same glazed over look in their eyes. 

“Oh no…” she couldn’t help but feel bad for them. “Wait, what’s that?”

Pieberry adjusted her grip on the tool to give her a better look at the figure standing in the middle of the village square. It looked like… a witch!

“Justice, look.” Pieberry passed it back to Justice. She pointed at the village square. “I think that’s a witch.”

Justice took another look and came to the same conclusion as her. However, a bright flash of sunlight occupied his vision for an entire moment, and he felt his blood run cold. He knew what it meant: the sunlight reflected off their tool, and no doubt the witch must have seen it!

When his vision cleared, the witch, along with every single person in the village, were all staring in their direction. Some even had their necks twisted strangely to look at them, not even having had enough time to turn their bodies around. 

“Pieberry, we have to go! We have to teleport back home!” Justice yelled decisively. “Take our supplies and the warrior with us!”

“The warrior?!” Pieberry shrieked in both startle and confusion. “Why are we bringing him?”

“I’ll explain later, Pieberry! We have to go now!”

“O-okay!” Pieberry gathered them all in one place as Justice held the warrior down to prevent him from squirming his way out. Right before her magic was fully charged, she screamed in warning. “Something’s coming! A lot of them!”

“Pieberry!” Justice yelled in panic. They could barely handle a single warrior!

Pieberry redoubled her effort in desperation as she channeled one final burst of magic into her staff. She saw the witch emerge from the treeline, flying straight at her like an enormous arrow. She thought that this was the end…

And then they were gone. 

She, along with Justice, Black Joe, and the captured warrior, were all back in her house at the nick of time. Had she been a second slower, the witch would have killed her in one strike once and for all…

Her heart felt like it was going to explode for the umpteenth time today, but she did it. She got them out just in time. 

“Too close, master…” Black Joe was also shaking in fear. “Too close.”

“Dammit.” Justice swore. “At least, now we have more intelligence against these witches.”

Everyone stared at the still-squirming warrior on the floor, making a mess of Pieberry’s floor and furniture. 

“Now what do we do?” Pieberry looked to Justice for guidance. “Do we just leave him here? You asked to bring him, and I still don’t know why…”

“We ask the temple lords what happened to him, and we tell Livya what we found out.” Justice said as he took off his armor and sat down on one of her chairs, finally getting some rest. “Hopefully, they have a plan.”

“I see! Then… next time, I hope we come back with an army!” Pieberry was so ready for that day. 

She sat down on another chair beside Justice, and leaned on him as she finally let herself fall asleep from exhaustion. Even though her wounds were healed, the potion couldn’t restore her energy. 

“Pieberry, you’re still bloody… ah, it’s fine.” Justice mumbled, before he too leaned on her and fell asleep.

It was their brief moment of rest before duty called for them again.

— Chapter End: A Witch Under the Moonlight —