Way of the Knights

---

*Boom!!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

"Stop this you damn Hag!!"

"Release my sister!!!!" 

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

"You've gone insane you Old Hag!"

"Oh you want to me go insane!? I'll show you true insanity if you don't release my sister!!" 

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

The swamp is in chaos. Explosions set off here and there, trees fell, the murky waters of the swamp were splattering everywhere, the foul stench all around the place was wafting in much wider coverage as well. 

Wendy was relentless. She consistently sent out a string of curses and hexes towards the Forest Witch without any care in the world. Of course she was being careful to not hit the body of her sister in the great tree so most of her attacks were targeted at the crown of the tree where the Forest Witch had her hands full in trying to deflect her attacks and protect the great tree as well. 

The bad relationship they had just turned worst due to a single human who had been hiding in the comfort of his own protective dome, watching everything unfold with amusement.

Well, who else could it be other than Vendrick? Of course, if there's anyone who's shrewd enough to pit these two against each other in order to make things easier for himself, it would be him. Indeed, Maria was still useful so there's no need to kill her just yet, and this scenario right here is just the start of it all. 

"STOP! YOU DAMN HAG!!" The Forest Witch was in full blown panic. Wendy was ruthless with her attacks, the Forest Witch knows wasn't expecting this much from her. It seems that she still underestimated the prowess of Hag since she could feel the threat of death looming over her. 

"RELEASE MY SISTER, FOREST WITCH!!!" Wendy shrieked in a piercing voice that shook the entire swamp. 

The Forest Witch was sweating coldly, she's finding it more and more difficult to handle Wendy's attacks. She could feel the hexes gnawing at her serpent body, trying to burrow their way to her soul. The moment the hex touched even a strand of her soul's hair, it'll be over for her since it'll just spread faster from then on, and she doesn't have any way to defend her soul. 

"Think carefully, Hag!! The Human was suspicious!! He's clearly goading you!! He has no proof that he could see souls!!" The Forest Witch, backed on a corner, tried to reason out with the Hag. 

"Yes, your words might be true. But you know what I think?" Wendy scoffed, it was clear that she didn't want to listen to the Forest Witch. "I'd rather trust an unknown young man rather than you." 

"Why!? That doesn't make sense!!" 

"It doesn't need to make sense!" Wendy shrieked. "We were once human too. And my gut tells me that he wasn't lying when he said that he met the Spirit of my sister so release her!! Now!!"

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

"Argh!!" The Forest Witch was overwhelmed. Blood speed from the corners of her lips, her body was now covered in wounds which easily heal despite her strong body. She could feel that gnawing hexes becoming more and more agitated. All she could do is try her best to defend herself. 

"HAG!! I SWEAR THAT I WILL CRUSH YOUR SISTER'S BODY IF YOU DON'T STOP THIS NOW!!!"

"HA! GO ON THEN! KILL MY SISTER! I TOO SWEAR THAT IF YOU DON'T RELEASE MY SISTER AT THIS INSTANT, I WILL SUMMON 'HIM' AND ASK HIM TO KILL HIMSELF IN FRONT OF YOU! TRY ME!! I DARE YOU!!!"

"Haha. This is fun." Vendrick chuckled as he watched. Beside him, a small cage holding a plume of blue fire which took on the form of a lady, sighed and commented...

"You're a terrible person." 

"Oh, I know." Vendrick replied to her. 

Maria was speechless. Vendrick didn't even deny that at all. Of course he knows! Does he care? Nope. Why would he?

The pitiful Maria sighed once more as she watched how her sister raged for her sake. She felt broken hearted. 

"I've never seen her that angry." She whispered. 

This was indeed the case. Maria never seen Wendy this angry. She had never been so angry even back when they suffered tremendously under the hands of humans. She just broke back then. When she turned into a Hag, her temper became shorter but that was offset by her slyness. 

It's the first time that Maria witnessed what Wendy can do when she's truly angry. 

"Why do you want us dead so much?" Maria asked Vendrick. 

This was something that she never understood all this time. Why is this human so hell bent on killing her sister and forest witch? Well, she's also included in that list now too.

"Oh, that? Well, it's nothing too grand I suppose. It's simply because your kind are a huge threat to my kind, that's all." 

"And I'm supposed to accept that reason of yours then? As far as I know, we've never interfered with human matters before!" 

"Okay first foremost, I'm not really asking you or your kind to accept my reasoning. Truthfully, I couldn't care less about your opinion even if you say that you were once human too. Feel free to resent me, I don't care either way. You may even go against me, but of course expect me to retaliate if you do." 

"You said that you've never interfered with human matters before? Really? Are you certain that you can utter those words with much confidence as if you had a clear conscience?" Vendrick raised his eyebrows. "From what I can remember, weren't you the one who rudely intruded my privacy in attempts of trying to use me for the sake of you and your sister's benefit?"

"..."

"The same can be said with your kind too." Vendrick stated, "You saw how your sister took on the appearance of a kind looking old woman without hesitation when she sensed my presence right? You also heard how she tried to lure me into the swamp, saying that there is another tribe of humans out there where in fact, there's only her and Forest Witch in there."

"Humans and Demonic Beasts' history is much longer than you know. We're at each other's throats the moment our races met. Demonic Beasts eats humans and in turn we eat them too. When Humanity is thriving, the Demonic Beasts are in dire straits. When Demonic Beasts are thriving, Humanity in is peril. Heck, they even pushed us to the brink of extinction."

Vendrick turned around and faced Maria. 

"This is just how the world works, woman." He shrugged, "I'm just acting as a mere cog in the entire scheme of things. I'm powerless to change this. So do you, your sister, the forest witch and neither the God at the Central Plains can do anything about it."

"I'd say that 'Don't blame this to me' but meh. I really don't care anyway." 

Saying that, Vendrick no longer paid attention to Maria - who's thoroughly speechless at this point. 

Throughout Vendrick's monologue, she didn't sense any strong emotions from him. Only clarity and indifference. She could tell that Vendrick truly doesn't care whether his actions were justified or not. It's very likely that justice isn't even in his vocabulary. 

Just like he stated, this is just how the world works and he's just moving according to the current trend of the cycle. Whether he fulfils his role as the cog, only time can tell. His purpose is clear, and that is to move forward.

Time passed in silence between these two. The complete opposite of what's happening outside. 

The Forest Witch went all out. She controlled the Great Tree to help her against the Hag's ferocious attacks. She understood that she can't hold back. However despite releasing all of her power, Wendy was unstoppable. 

Each attack she threw were filled with rage, sorrow and despair. She's not on the right mind right now. Her only focus is her sister. She needs to see her, to hear her voice, to feel her presence. Wendy longs for her, Maria's the only reason why she's still alive. Wendy's tired. She wants to rest. But the thought of letting Maria suffer injustice won't give her peace. She couldn't bear it. 

The Forest Witch knows what she has to do for this madness to stop. She just needed to show Wendy where Maria is. Its that simple. However, in order for this to work, she needs Maria, not just her body, her spirit. And that's exactly what she's missing. 

She already tried explaining this to the Hag. That she doesn't have Maria's soul. She even pointed out that the human might know where she is. Did Wendy listen? Of course not. 

She's consumed with her anger and longing that she didn't even hear any of the words she said. The Forest Witch is powerless to bring her sanity back so she could only sit back and defend. Unfortunately...

"...krgh...y-you damned...hag! W-why...why won't you just...listen..."

"...m-my dear husband...I-I'm sorry...I couldn't do as I...promised..."

And just like that....the terror and ruler of the West, the Forest Witch, drew her last breath.