I’m free! Finally released from that stupid prison!
The clouds flashed by below me as I was flying on my staff. I hadn’t set a destination yet but anywhere would be fine. My first instinct was to get as far from Boshi Town as I could but I had returned to talk to Paula and Paul. They… they will stay behind. There is no barrier so they can leave whenever they want now. They only wanted to lift the barrier to set me free and have my mind at ease.
I’m such a bad friend… I didn’t even notice that they were doing this for me or that they had become content in living there. At least Paul isn’t in danger anymore. He won’t suddenly turn into dust because of age.
A hawk tried to steal my dear hat.
“I’m sorry but I’ve had it! Nobody touches my hat!” I sped up and left the hawk behind. I took off my hat and looked at it. Did my taste change while I was locked up in that barrier? While my hat isn’t ugly it could use some pink!
I created an [Ice Mirror] and admired myself. I had undergone some changes. I’m not just blue anymore. I had taken up pink in my color scheme after absorbing that pink clone.
The recent memory of the 4 youngsters that had helped me came to my mind. It all started 5 years ago when Agnis left that silver coin behind. I took it out and played with it. I had thought of returning it but it had become a part of me just as my hat is. I am no longer Ayaru Mistflower but Azurra Mist or Azu. And this coin marked the beginning.
Several magic skills were cast on the coin to prevent it from getting lost. Various protection spells also covered it and I attached it to my hat.
I had Agnis, Gregory, Raishin, and Ted to thank for my freedom. They were young but managed to lift the seven points of the barrier somehow. I feel that I got lucky as it seemed that the specific combo of their races made this possible. The presence of Agnis, a nine-tailed spirit fox made it so that time and space-related anomalies are ineffective.
As I remember the nine-tailed spirit foxes have close ties to spatiotemporal magic. It countered that effect that that stupid bitch had placed on the barriers and only made it less effective. The 4 did get sent back in time from before they started to attack the root, but because of Agnis’ presence, the root stayed destroyed and didn’t come back.
The presence of Gregory, a three-tailed shadowcat, made any curses and seals less effective. The roots seemed to have a nasty effect. Whenever they got destroyed for good, they would afflict the ones responsible with a myriad of curses. Most races would instantly die but the presence of Gregory seemed to have countered that. The three-tailed shadow cats specialize in shadow magic, seals, and curses. He also was a great help against the final adversity in lifting this barrier; a pink clone of that Biian bitch.
It felt so good to beat her up, even though it was just a clone. Gregory’s shadow magic was extremely strong against it. If I ever meet the real bitch again, I might have to consider asking Gregory for help.
I am unsure if Raishin’s presence had any effect like the other two but he seemed to deal the most damage out of the group. They are so young and are already this strong. I can’t wait to find out what they will be like when they grow up! I had promised them to join back up together after 10 years, after they grow up. I still have some things to take care of and my sense of time is terrible so I hope 10 years is enough.
But back to Raishin! He is a six-tailed lightning tiger and they are good at eh… blasting things and dealing damage. I think they could also create infinite or near-infinite energy.
The last one was Ted. He was the team's moral compass. I have known these 4 for 5 years and Ted seems to be the most… human. Even though he is a brown Warbear. None of the others seemed to know how to behave like a human. They also tended to blast anything apart that stood in their way and it’s thanks to Ted that most of the Boshi Town citizens are still alive. It was quite funny. They probably thought that they could fool an almost 3000-year-old Misha, thinking they were convincing humans.
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3000 year… Nooo! I’m super old! I don’t look like an 80-year-old dried-up human grandma anymore but I’m old enough to become a boring council member now…
The [Ice Mirror] appeared again and I admired my youthful look. Agnis had been so kind to braid my hair before I left. My hair was now a mix of pink and blue. My blue and pink tops were revealing my prized assets and I was wearing a blue and pink mini skirt. Quite risqué but I need to stay up to date with what is in nowadays! Not that I would know. The young women in Boshi town wore something similar to this. It shows a bit much skin but I have no problem with that.
It is a bit chilly flying up so high in this clothing though…
What to do now? There is no way I will go back to Witchaven but maybe I should fly by and drop a [Meteor] to tell them that I’m back!
Tempting but Remi and Bea might still live there. Remi… does she even remember me?
There were so many thoughts going through my head. How those 4 boys had risked their lives to lift the barrier, what Remi and Bea are up to, the possible state of Witchaven and my race. The possibility that that bitch goddess might come back to seal me up again. At least that one is unlikely. Agnis had been a sweetie and used one of his race’s specialties; illusions, to make it seem as if the barrier was still in effect. For how long that works is unclear but any second counts. Not sure if it can fool a goddess but that bitch is stupid so it might hold up for a year or so.
Which means I have a year to flee. I had learned my lesson. Fighting her will end up in misery. I had enough of that to last a lifetime. It's time to mess around, enjoy my life, and get out of here before the year is up!
Now I did promise to meet up with those 4 and I do have to hunt that Misha killer down.
This was something I was unsure about. Should I even do that? It doesn’t sit me well that she kills her kin. Who knows how strong she is by now? Then again. Maybe she is already dead. I had been sealed up for so long. What’s even normal nowadays? Boshi town was anything but normal.
I sank through the clouds as I descended, most of the landscape looked quite similar. The light of the settlements was decorating the landscape as night had replaced the day. There were way more settlements than I remembered. What would be the best way to catch up after being sealed for over 2.5 millennia? A library! Boshi town had no library. Agnis and Gregory used to complain about that a lot.
This might be my fault. I used to be the leader of Boshi town in its early days and might have forgotten to put importance on knowledge, something Misha take very seriously. I was still in a difficult spot back then but making excuses won’t get me anywhere. Soo… where do I find a library?
Swooping down into a random village and appearing like this might startle some humans. It’s not every day that a total hottie like me falls out of the sky. It’s time for my human impersonation! I surely hope mine is better than those 4 kids that saved me.
I landed in some shrubbery and went through my bag that I had turned into a dimensional pocket. I had never expected to learn anything from 4 12-year-old kids but Agnis’ dimensional pocket seemed quite efficient. It wasn’t easy to steal that magic skill. Mine is still sloppy but it works better than expanding the inside of my bag.
“Hmm, I can’t wear this, shows too much skin. How about this? It’s cute but I’m here to ask for directions not to seduce.” Finding modest clothing was quite hard. I might not have owned any now that I think about it. I only have these clothes that grandmothers wear. “So unsexy…”
I had no choice. I had to go into this village in this grandma clothing. This felt worse than exposing my skin. I’m not turning into a weirdo, am I?
A villager on lookout duty spotted me and ran at me.
“What happened? Did you get robbed?” He inspected me
“Huh? Why would you think that?” I cocked my head.
“You don’t have to say anything! I get it you had to wear those rags to stay presentable! At least they didn't take your fancy hat!” I spotted a tear in his eye. How rude! I’m not wearing rags…
I gave myself another inspection. He’s right… they do look like rags. And it looks odd as my hat looks extravagant. How could I mess up like this? I’ve lost my touch.
“Nooo! I can’t show myself like this to others! Not for the first time in so long!” I tried to get away but the villager grabbed me and dragged me back.
“No need to be embarrassed! These things happen! Come join our village! You might want to warm yourself up and get some hot soup. The February nights can be cold.”
“No! wait you don’t understand! I will die of shame if people see me like this!” Other villagers ran over to see what was going on. This guy, whose name seemed to be Nelson, told his friends the ridiculous story that I got robbed and that I appeared crawling in rags and badly needed a bed, clothing, and food.
The men abducted me and brought me to their village. My kicking and screaming didn’t help. The thought of blasting them with magic came up to me but I would then lose my opportunity to ask around. I also don’t want to make enemies this soon after my escape. What a blunder. I already knew how hard life can be and I had forgotten because I got drunk on my freedom. What a blunder.
“Come! The village will be happy to meet you!”
“Noo!”
And that’s how I got captured again.