Chapter 97: 93 – If it isn’t a tough choice, is it really a choice at all?

Jamminrabbit

Our apprehension in bringing Abstinence to Lotherain were for naught. She had yet to awaken even as we arrived in Lotherain. Her vitals were stable, but she had remained in a state of unconsciousness for the past two days. 

The one concerning thing, and only we witches could sense it, was the knightess' magical signature. We had no other way to describe it than 'strange'. Any attempts to focus on it was met with a prickling sensation at the back of our heads, like wispy tendrils were tugging us away from learning more. Mira made the longest attempt, but a feedback forced her out similar to hijacking an inert familiar.

We figured it was too dangerous to tackle ourselves and would leave it to Eudora. However, Belle wasn't keen on the idea.

"Noel's been humiliated to the point where he's a thrall, and we don't even know what happened to Aurelias. I don't want another friend being subjected to another cruel experiment," Belle protested.

"Exactly how much did you cozy up to those pesky knights?" Mira asked, raising an eyebrow.

Belle snorted. "I make friends, not enemies. There are better ways to handle this conflict than the gorilla-brained thought process of 'armor people bad,' but 'witches good!'"

"I don't like the idea of Abstinence being treated like an alchemical reagent either," I chimed in. Belle sighed with relief in hearing that, but Mira was indifferent. My thoughts on the matter were simple— save as many people as possible under Edith's influence. "None of this would be happening were it not for Councillor Anora tampering in politics."

It occurred to me that all three of us represented different spectrums of witchkind belief. Mira spat in the face of the Council as our watchers and believed, like Eudora and Edith, that all witches should be freed and magic allowed to flourish. My sentiments were that witches had grown too strong, and did in fact needed oversight. Otherwise, every few centuries or so we'd have someone like Edith come along and run rampant.

Belle fell somewhere in between. She was the only one to have worked with both sides of the coin, understood the animosity each side held for the other, but persevered to make friendships in spite of this. Such was her diligent nature.

"If these were the sacrifices I needed to make to defeat Edith, I would make them again a thousand times over," Mira said in a hushed tone.

It was midday by the time we reached Lotherain. Eudora's tower had moved yet again, this time closer to Ellowyn just outside of Lotherain's western end. It was amusing to think, despite having me expel the settlement out of her tower, she still needed the convenience of my home.

As we got closer, there appeared to be a mob of witches raising their staffs and screaming at the tower.

"Alira, what's going on?" I asked as we rode up to them.

"Ughhh… I just got a disgusting sensation crawling up my spine. Who the hell did you guys bring back?" Alira asked.

"Believe it or not, we've just captured the vice-captain of the Order of Piety, Eleanor Mycasta. Or better known as Abstinence," I answered.

Alira grimaced at the name. If she were in a more foul mood, she might have thrown a spell at the unconscious knightess to finish her off. The other witches looked weary. Weeks under the sun had given them a tanned complexion. Winter couldn't come quick enough.

"Maybe you'll have better luck since you're her favorites. Eudora kicked out every other witch. She's refused to let us in," Alira said. Her patience was growing thin, and so were her colleagues. Understandable, since the tower was essentially their headquarters, and had most of their belongings within the mansion. My old classmate put a hand on my shoulder as I dismounted. "I just want my stuff, and I'll skidaddle. Already raised a new home in your quaint settlement."

"Maybe she has gas," Mira joked.

Ignoring Mira's joke, I went over to help Belle and Abstinence down from their steads.

"I really don't want to hand Elle over," Belle whispered to me. It sounded as though I was her only ally in this. She even entrusted her friend to my arms.

"Whatever's afflicting her, Eudora may be the only one who can help. Don't you want to see her better?" I asked.

Belle bit on her lip. She made no effort to hide the anxiety and unease on her face.

Ceris tapped me on the shoulder and said, "This appears to be a matter best left to your people. I shall return to Ellowyn first. These little girls are in desperate need of grooming."

Io and Mana were scratching their bodies like cats clawing fleas from their fur coat. It seemed even bunyips needed help with maintenance when it came to their bodies. Now that I got a good look at them… maybe it was just me, but their bellies were bulging. Just a little.

No, it must be my imagination. They likely caught some prey while we were out.

Ceris and her bunyips took their leave. All that remained were us witches, chirping at the tower like baby birds wondering where mother went.

"Why do you think she's holed up in there again?" I asked.

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"Beats me," Mira said.

"Want me to blast the tower?" Belle asked.

Both Mira and Belle casted massive fireballs at an elevated point of the tower so as to not catch us in the blast. They were about to shoot again when the teleportation circle lit up, Eudora flew out of it, and entombed my companions in a block of ice.

"What in gods' name is with all the ruckus?" Eudora yelled. Everyone pointed to the tower where a scorch mark stained the stone surface. Her gaze fixed on the two culprits. "For the love of… I ought to shatter the both of you."

The ice melted down to their heads.

"Y-Y-You're the one who wasn't answering the d-door…" Mira said between chattering teeth.

"We brought a surprise. I'm sure you recognize her," I told Eudora.

Her eyes widened seeing Abstinence on my back. But as quickly as she took interest, her expression took a grim turn.

"That woman is a living bomb. Get her inside now," Eudora ordered us. Then she addressed the rest of the witches around us. "That includes everyone."

The next few hours were spent— as Eudora called it— stabilizing Abstinence. We brought her to the top of the mansion, where the entire floor was fashioned into a ritual room. She was placed at the center of five runic circles overlapping each other. A single chandelier set with magic gems dimly illuminated the surroundings in a cold, blue light.

All three dozen witches formed an expanding spiral, magic poured from their staffs and seeped into our bodies. Belle, Mira, and I formed a final triangular shape. We were without our staffs, and instead served as conduits for the flood of magic that then seeped into Abstinence. Our host stood above the knightess, her young body and thin arms swaying like conducting an orchestra. 

Eudora's eyes snapped open. Hey eyes glowed a deep red.

"I see. The demon named Zertos, and whoever his masters are, have turned this woman into a portal. It was beginning to open, but I have closed it. For now," she said.

"Can you remove it?" Belle asked.

"How do you remove a portal? By destroying it," Eudora retorted. There was a pause, like she considered what more or less to tell us. "There is no fix, no removing without killing her— which would be our best option if we wanted to stick a wrench in Edith's plans."

I felt my connection to Belle in the ritual break.

"We are not killing Elle. I will not allow it," she stated loudly.

Then my connection to Mira broke, and I was drowning in the magic of over thirty witches. If it weren't for the soul stone of pride within me doing all the work, I would have been ripped to shreds.

"You would doom us all by letting demons into our world?" Mira grabbed Belle by the collar. They were at each other's throats, neither giving an inch.

"Killing her isn't off the tables. However, that should be our last option. Parabelle is too powerful an asset to piss off when taking the fight to Edith. We will find another way. Until then, the knightess must stay here under constant watch," Eudora said. Her words were final. Mira and Belle let each other go and stormed out of the room taking separate exits. The ritual spell ended with a snap of a finger. Myself and the other witches felt a weight lift from our shoulders, exhausted and spent from expending so much magic. "Leave, all of you. Ellori, you stay."

Alira gave me a hug on the way out, but not before saying, "It's not that I don't understand Belle, we've all lost someone. But our lives are at stake here."

It was just me and Eudora. She sat behind Abstinence's head, eyes closed, brows furrowed, murmuring something unintelligible.

"Can we really find a way to save Belle's friend?" I asked Eudora.

"Uncharted magic is my specialty. Doesn't make it easy, just interesting. I didn't want Belle to hear it but— collapsing a forged world with Abstinence inside is our best option of getting rid of her," Eudora said.

A voidal collapse would certainly do the trick. Hell, if we tricked Edith into one, we could end this brewing war real quick.

"Is there another option?" I asked.

"Theories and hypotheses are the best I've got. Fortunately, we have two adequate test subjects in this room who had previously ingested soul stones." Eudora extended a hand to me, the corners of her lips curved into a wicked grin. It wasn't an expression of malice, but pure scholarly interest. "How would you like to debauch and debase yourself as a sex slave?"

Jamminrabbit

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