“Are you sure about this?” The boy was still wet behind the ears. Ain’t spent enough time in the salt yet. But I only needed him to swing a pick around for a few hours. Dumb brat had no idea how much money he was about to make me, “They’ll have guards here for sure, I mean, it’s Earth Vein we’re talking about.”

“I’m not worried about a couple guards, boy.” I conjured a ball of flame in my hand to make a point and the boy flinched, “I’ll just burn ‘em down to the bones.”

I spent good coin on this map back at Hangman’s Cove on our way down and we’d been followin’ the tunnels all night. Once we passed a flooded mineshaft, I knew it was just around the corner.

I snuffed out the torch as we approached, and a dim blue light stretched into the tunnel from ahead. I heard they used blue lights to see, but the nest should be off limits to even Earth Vein. “Dammit, that shitbeard lied to me.”

“Wha-what do you mean, boss?” Brats already pissin’ himself…

“We got bad intel, dumbass, get ready to fight. Unless you brought a change of shorts you better look alive.”

He started quibbling so I smacked him over the head and shushed him. We were too close to be making noise. The ol’ skiff floated along real slow until we finally saw the mouth of the tunnel. Open space beyond. The nest… We really found it.

When we emerged there was a blue sun in the middle of the massive cavern that lit the whole place up. I couldn’t tell where it was attached to the ceiling, almost like it was floating. Must have been a new artifact from the port.

You couldn’t pay me to count all the nymphs down here. These masks were genuine, but I couldn’t get our hands on the suits. I could already feel my skin getting stiff. Guess we don’t have as much time as I thought…

Bringing us down slow and easy, I pulled out my spyglass to get a good look. Place looked empty from up here. Everything was all wet so it all just looked shiny and blue like the damn sea. Hurt my eyes to look at.

“H-Hey boss…” The kid sounded like he’d seen a ghost, “You said Earth Vein works with those witches f-f-from Nightwing Isles r-right…?”

“This is no time to be askin’ stupid questions, boy,” I cut him off cold.

“No… L-look…” I followed his hand and there was a spot shimmering on the floor. I thought it was the reflections, but it got brighter as I looked.

Gritting my teeth, I looked into the spyglass. No… There’s a woman down there—no, two! They’re both witches! One of them’s casting somethin’!

“Dammit… Curse you, Captain Brown!” That bastard sent us to our grave!

“I-it’s okay, right boss? You can fight ‘em, right?”

“Two witches? Are you stupid or something?!” Of course, that’s why he’s so cheap.

I turned the wheel and pulled it back as hard as I could. We needed to get out of there. If that witch got her spell off, we were as good as skeletons. The color of the spell… I couldn’t tell what it was. It looked dark, but light… hard to see. My blood ran cold and I froze. Just what the hell are we dealing with…?

“Wh-why aren’t you turning?!” The kid was hysterical, “If you can’t fight ‘em. W-won’t they kill us?”

“I-I can’t! She won’t goddamn move!” Why?! What’s happening? She won’t turn! My wheel ain’t doin’ nothing! “Why?! Why are we still falling?!”

I spun the wheel back and forth ‘til it hit the limit, yanked it to me and slammed it back. Nothing was working. The kid was cryin’. I had to grab on tight as we flew right for the witches uncontrollably. I kept yanking on the wheel and all of a sudden it went stiff. Refused to move.

The she-devil wore blue robes and water poured out of her shining hand, morphing into different shapes that I couldn’t make sense of then floating up above her head. The other witch looked like she was seein’ fireworks for the first time. She had on a bulky orange protective suit with the mask in one hand and a metal staff in the other. I saw the pure, innocent joy in her eyes as she watched her friend clutch our lives in her invisible hand. These… these monsters… They look like little girls but they’re demons.

The witch pulling us in with her demon magic suddenly shouted, “Don’t damage the boat!” Then she looked to see her friend not doing anything at all and shrugged. Th-that bitch! Does she mean to dispose of us on her own and take our belongings as spoils? The boat slowed to a stop just a stone’s throw away from ‘em.

“You damn—” I started to curse them, and a painful, dry cough stopped me. It was much worse down here. “Wait… why are there so many nymphs down here?”

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“Boss, look! Her staff!”

“Impossible!” At the top of her staff was a damn nymph. I looked behind the witch and there were scores more in her wake, floating without aim. Just waiting for orders… “Don’t let your guard down! She controls the nymphs!”

“Sh-she controls the nymphs?!” The boy went pale, “We-we’re gonna die! We have to surrender. I surren—!”

I smacked him again, “Dumbass, there is no surrender with witches! Take this!” A fireball loosed from my hand, then another. “Think you can take me on by yourself? Joke’s on you, witch, I gots magic too!”

The fireball picked up speed and burned brighter than any torch. My fireball burns straight through pirates and beasts alike. I only needed to land one good shot. Come on, I can do this. If I just take care of her before the other one jumps in…

The twin fireballs were each the size of this kid’s head and shot at her like cannonballs. She hadn’t even reacted. Got the jump on you, witch. Hah, I bet you’re always fightin’ weaklings with no magic. You’re done—

The amorphous water wiggled around and then two little streams floated up like airborne rivers before effortlessly intercepting my fireballs. They fizzled out and disappeared. God dammit… What is that water?

“Tch. So that’s not enough for ya’, huh?! Hey, dumbass, why did I buy you that crossbow?,” I had to smack the boy again.

“It won’t shoot!” He cried, uselessly clicking the trigger with a nocked bolt. “I’m trying as hard as I can, boss! It… it hurts down here!”

Usless kid! “Grrrrrah! How about this then?! Hellfire!”

Flames exploded on the woman and furled in place. I don’t care if you’re a witch or not, no human can survive enough heat to melt iron. That was the beauty of this spell. Even her little friend wouldn’t be able to escape the inferno as it whipped them around for ten seconds at a time. And as soon as it ran out…

“Hellfire! Ahahaha!!!! Burn, witches, burn!” I didn’t think I’d catch her, let alone both of them. I overestimated the witches. They speak the name Earth Vein in fear, like a cursed word ever since those damn witches joined ‘em. Turns out they’re all smoke, “Hellfire! Ahahaha! Yes, scream for me as you burn!”

“I-Isn’t that a man screaming?” This brat… Wait. That is a man. What manner of witchcraft is this?!

When the smoke cleared, I saw a very wet and blackened man rolling on the ground in a tattered orange protective suit, burned out and smoking. Where did he come from… Was he hiding behind the witches? Did one of them transform…?

“Gahhh! God damn you! Why was I the only one without a shield?!” The burnt man roared.

“You wanted to wear the suit.” Came the nonchalant voice of the she-devil from within the smoke. I could see them now, completely unscathed. “Tell Pappy to stop making them so flammable.”

“You… you witch! What are you?! Hahhhh!!” My skin cracked as I started charging the biggest, most brilliant flame I’ve ever conjured. I was already almost out of mana and this would clean me out completely. It’d take months to recover. This was it. I should have known I wouldn’t get out of this fight without sacrificing my body. I got an arm to spare. No other choice left. Let’s do this. “HYAHHHHHH!!”

Slap!

The brilliant sun in my palm, the fruit of all my hard work and training… Snuffed out in an instant. My face was left dripping with water and it stung.

“Minus points for recklessness. I was almost impressed. I can tell you’re pretty dumb too, that one must be the brains of the operation,” She looked at the kid and smiled. Wait, what…? “Come now, boy. I accept your surrender!”

The kid gasped like he’d just seen an angel. I could hear him sobbing through his mask as he looked salvation in the face. “Don’t do it, kid! it’s a trap!” Her smile was just a ruse, this much was obvious. Damn kid hadn’t been on the Boreal long enough to know the darkness that lurked in peoples’ hearts.

“I-I’m sorry boss!” He dove from the boat as if a fluffy cloud would catch him, limbs spread out with no regard for the rapidly approaching ground. Then… he stopped. Like he’d just been reborn a nymph, the boy softly floated through the air towards the witch. She knelt there with open arms and a gentle smile on her lips.

“You… You demon! You won’t trick me! I won’t become your puppet!” I started charging another flame. It was all I could do, but it was useless.

Slap!

“And you!” She held the crying boy in her arms, stroking his hair to… comfort him? “What do you think you’re doing bringing a kid his age down here! He doesn’t even have a suit, and you nearly burned him! Tch. There, there… Let’s get you healed up…”

Different colored lights flashed in her hand before the boy’s cracked skin instantly healed and regained its color. A thin bubble of mist appeared around him.

Slap!

“Do you have nothing to say for yourself? Fine then.” I was ripped out of the skiff and thrown at her feet in the blink of an eye. Spitting out blood, I looked up at her terrifying visage full of scorn. The last thing I saw was her reeling back a fist as it exploded with light, “Sorcerer Punch!”

___

“Nanri,” The witch jumped at Cira’s call, “I need a cage for this man. Make it small and lightweight.”

She clenched her fists and put on a stupid grin, “I’m on it!”

Cira was mildly irked at first about having to take the lead on protecting Earth Vein’s property, but it fell under her purview when she saw how young this idiot’s accomplice was. He couldn’t have been older than Cira when she received Aquon for her birthday.

For some reason, Nanri just watched with stars in her eyes. She found it too adorable to get hung up on, thinking that may have been what she looked like following Gazen around while he worked. Never mind the fact this was a grown woman in an orange jumpsuit the size of three men. Much like her father, she found it appropriate to throw her random menial needs at the girl.

A metallic sphere appeared in the air before Nanri and swirled out, wrapping around the smuggler in a lattice.

“This… Is not what I expected.” Cira looked at a man encased in a form-fitted titanium mesh as thick as her arm. From afar you’d think it were a casket pulled from his tomb, “But it will do. Well done.”

“Thanks, Cira!” Her face flushed red, and she scampered off.

The boy looked at his old friend in his titanium maiden and cried out through broken sobs, “I-I’m sorry, Miss Witch! I didn’t want to come, I swear!”

“I know you didn’t, it’s alright…” Cira calmed him down, “Can you walk?”

“Y-yes… I think so.” He got up, legs shaking, and wiped the snot off his face.

Cira looked back at her smiling companion. “Now then…”

“What now?” Nanri asked cluelessly.

“I’m in the mood. Let’s go fight the Mayor.”