Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Wind Magic
Once again, Siderius entered the Rottin Woods. The woods were the same as before, with dead spiky pine trees all over and the ground as dark as coal.
According to Joyce, the Black Witch lived to the west of Scalize, at a place of nowhere inside the Rottin Woods. There’s a small path leading to it that mortals dared not to cross.
When Siderius came to the path, there was a dangling sign that said ’Keep Out’.
"The witch seems to hate visitors." Siderius mumbled and kept on going.
Red walked slowly and its eyes darted everywhere. It was trained to be braver than before but still, this part of the woods gave its creeps.
Siderius pulled out his map and looked it over. With its guidance, he soon found his way to a lonely wooden house in the woods.
Siderius jumped off the horse when the house was visible. He patted Red to calm it.
"Don’t venture too far. If there’s danger, run back to Scalize."
Red let out a soft neigh in response. Lycan was still standing on his shoulders and had no intention of leaving.
Siderius approached the house. He observed the area closely.
It was a small house with probably only one room inside it. Outside the house, two cairns stood at either side of the path leading into the door.
The cairns were piles of stacked vertical rocks that travelers used to make for the purpose of marking a location or direction. However, these two rock piles were unordinary.
Siderius looked down at the ground surrounding the house. He squatted down once more and blew away the dirt. A white line was revealed, running around the area of the house.
"Magic circle seems to be a common practice for witches in this area." Siderius mumbled.
However, unlike Nora, this black witch didn’t try to mask her magic circle. She was bluntly communicating to any wanderer to get the hell away from her house.
Siderius grabbed a handful of Sulfur and dropped it onto the white line. His hands turned into a blur.
"Separate!"
As Siderius finished his hand signs, a portion of the line disappeared, giving just enough space for a man to cross over.
Siderius entered the circle. The white line reappeared behind him. He approached the house leisurely.
The door of the house shot wide open. Cold black winds rushed out from inside the door, a space filled with darkness and nothingness.
A voice echoed through the area, haunting and unsettling. "Leave. Me. Alone."
Siderius lowered the center point of his body. His knees slightly bent, fighting the force of the wind that was trying to sweep him away. The black scarf was blowing violently.
"Caterina Fataliya?" Siderius said.
But no one answered him. The only thing screaming was the wind. It became stronger and more relentless. The wind was determined to blow him away.
"Hmm..."
Siderius didn’t want to play some game. He grabbed the bow on his back and drew an arrow.
In a strong wind, especially when you were in the opposite direction, bow and arrow would become useless. But this wind was not natural. This was a magical wind with a concentration point and many weak points.
Siderius squinted his eyes and followed the paths of the wind. He had seen that it focused mainly on him, but on the surrounding, the wind was only a light breeze.
Dark Aether could bend the rules of the world. But once it did, the remaining rules still apply. So if the wind was created and pushed, the air from above must circulate and draw itself toward the witch, creating a second wind with the same amount of force.
Siderius pulled the bowstring.
This time, the voice echoed. "Idiotic! No arrow can fly in this wind!"
Siderius didn’t answer. The corner of his mouth only raised up slightly. He loved the feeling of playing with his enemy, especially when they didn’t know danger was imminent.
Still, Caterina was not his actual enemy so Siderius used a blunted arrow head, not an obsidian one.
He aimed the bow at the sky and released. The arrow shot upward but was immediately blown into the back.
Inside the house, the Black Witch shook her head. She could feel a faint amount of magic inside Siderius. But that mana was insignificant in front of her. And, he had committed a stupid and hopeless act.
As the Black Witch was thinking that, the arrow reached the tailwind and curved upward, turning its head back to the house.
"What?"
Before the Black Witch knew what was going on, the arrow followed the upstream wind and flew directly into the door. Caterina stopped her magic but it was already too late, the arrow gained its momentum.
It screeched through the air and landed right on the chest of Caterina. She fell on the ground, groaning because of the pain spreading on her upper body.
Her magic was interrupted. The darkness inside the house retreated, revealing a cramped room with wooden shelfs, uncountable materials with different shapes and sizes.
The ceiling was low and the interior was dirty. Cobwebs filled the corners of the room and black dust formed a second layer on the furniture.
Siderius entered the house. His hand waving off the dust dancing in the air.
Caterina was an old witch with a full head of gray hair. Her hair blossomed like a thick bouquet of flowers. She wore a tattered black robe to hide the wrinkled skin underneath.
Siderius squatted down beside Caterina. His left hand pressed down on her chest, supporting her lungs.
"It’s alright. Calm down. Breathe..."
The arrow wasn’t fatal but it left a bruise on Caterina’s chest. Its damage caused her to gasp at the air. Her lungs felt like they were collapsing. But the pressure from Siderius’ hand calmed everything down and forced the lungs to return to their usual performance.
Caterina’s breathing slowly returned to normal.
"You’re good?" Siderius said.
Caterina observed the stranger in her house. His face was young and angelic. But those eyes weren’t young. It was clouded by months and years of struggling in this god forsaken world.
Caterina nodded without actually answering. Her face was that of an old woman, at least sixty years old.
She should look much younger or even have the face of a young girl. After all, she was a witch.
Golden light flashed in Siderius’ eyes. He saw the mana core inside of Caterina. It wasn’t dormant like Jude but it wasn’t completed.
A part of the mana core was missing and it looked like it was bitten away.
Siderius helped Caterina get up.
"Who ate your mana core?"
The Black Witch widened her eyes at the sentence.