The night market in Sternham always sent chills up Lilith's spine. She hated venturing here, but knew that its dealings would service her needs.

It had been a few days since Amity's performance in the local tourney. While Lilith was admittedly distressed by her pupil's lack of self-control, she ultimately was astounded by Amity's sheer power in the final fight. There was no need to punish the child, quite the opposite in fact. Lilith needed to discover what brought that level of sheer strength out of Amity.

But, that wasn't important now. The plan was continuing to come together nicely, as Lilith was finally confident that her and Amity could truly overthrow Belos's reign. There was one snag that Lilith had been putting off for years, however.

The original plan had a massive layout of the castle, and Lilith needed to verify if the secret tunnels were still accurate. It was essential to figuring out the final options for traveling to Belos. Multiple routes were written out, and knowing the practicality of all would be essential if something went wrong.

There were many guards stationed around the castle, however, blocking portions of these supposed paths. Lilith hadn't yet figured out how to cause a mass distraction for the actual execution of the takeover, but knew what she had to do for a test run.

Lilith strode up to a small stand, recognizing the dimly lit interior as belonging to one of the most powerful criminals in town. Lilith did not know their name, as was standard for night market vendors. It was necessary, as they would certainly solve her conundrum.

Lilith knew how things worked in the night market. Snails first, then request. She thumped a giant bag of the currency on the lip of the stand, and saw a hand snap out the darkness to grasp it.

"Yesss, what is your requested serviccce?" Despite hearing their gravely voice numerous times in the past, Lilith could still barely stand their dark tones.

"How much chaos can you cause in town tomorrow, without killing any civilians?" She heard the fabric of the bag ruffle around, with the jangle of the coins gradually coming to a halt.

"With thisss price? Enough to get the entire Islesss attention. I shall make arrangementsss for this mayhem, your payment will not go unreccciprocated."

Lilith jumped back at the sound of the small stand's cover snapping closed, a good sign for the vendor's commitment. She could now only hope that they would be right in getting attention. The Emperor's Coven had to be busy, so she could set the plan alight.

Amity was lightly napping in her bed, mind wandering toward many disconnected thoughts. It kept coming back to Florus, and how she looked on the cold, hard floor of the coliseum. It was so clear in Amity's memory, seeing the witch that almost bested her lie unmoving on the ground.

Knock-knock

Amity flew out of bed, slamming into the ground on her left arm. An intruder. Lilith wouldn't be back for a few more days, and she certainly wouldn't knock on the door if she needed to show up early. Amity readied a fire-beam spell as she approached the door.

As she cracked it open, Amity's arm dropped in shock. It was that girl, the one she couldn't stop thinking of. Amity let out a quick "Eep!" before slamming the door shut.

"Hello?" Amity could hear the muffled sound of the girl's smooth voice beyond the wooden door. Amity drew in a deep breath, sensing that this girl wouldn't leave anytime soon. She opened the door fully this time, and stood motionless.

"Oh, you're back. Hi, uh. I don't know if you remember me but uh, I'm that person, witch, that you saved from the uh, thingy. Drabug! You saved me from the Drabug, uh. Thank you."

Amity stared at the flustered girl, unable to move. What was there to say? Did she even need to say anything, it seemed as though-

"My name is Luz, but you can just call me Luz. Oh! Wait I mean, that's my name. Luz. Sorry, uh, I just wanted to see how you were doing." Amity saw the girl straighten up a bit, gaining more confidence in her words.

"I've never seen a witch our age mix magic like that, and uh. It was really cool! I don't know if you go to Manubrius, but, if so then I didn't see you at all." Amity continued to stare at "Luz", who was now slumping back down. Was she okay?

What was it that the textbook's said about meeting someone new? Hold out your hand, and, something else Amity couldn't remember now. Slowly, she extended her arm forward, jutting out an open hand. Amity was slightly shaking now, and couldn't get a word out.

"Oh!" Luz stuck her hand out, grasping Amity's in a firm shake. "Nice to meet you too, heh." Amity remembered now, move your hand up and down. She continued to oscillate it.

Luz's face was tinted a light red, but Amity didn't notice. Her gaze was now focused directly on their hands. She had to make sure the greeting was perfect.

Luz chirped out a few words. "So, uh, what's your name?" Amity froze again in place, her hand becoming rigid. Her name? Amity couldn't remember the last time she actually spoke her name out loud. It was always Lilith who uttered it.

Amity looked up at the girl, who was now attempting to disconnect their hands. "Uh, sorry. Maybe I should go." Amity gave a quick squeeze to Luz's hand, an involuntary response built from fear.

"A-Amity." She softly stuttered out, terrified of disappointing someone by avoiding a question.

"Well hi Amity, my name's Luz! Oh shoot wait, I already said that." Amity felt her own hand relax, as her nerves finally relaxed. Her hand slipped out of Luz's, back to her side.

"Actually, I really should get going. I just wanted to say thank you!" Amity could see Luz's eyes dart to the ground, a sense of unease filling the air. Amity was now staring directly at Luz.

Luz spoke again, voice wavering with some emotion Amity couldn't sense. "Well, th-that's not all, sorry. I wanted to know if, if you wanted to," Luz's head was now facing directly down.

"Be my friend?"

Luz cautiously looked back up now, searching for any sense of confirmation in Amity, who's mouth was now slightly agape. Amity gave a slight, simple nod, an automatic response. A friend? Amity had never had a friend before. The question made Amity feel something. She didn't know what, but it felt warm.

"Cool! Okay well, I really do have to leave now but, I'll be back soon? I promise I'll visit, uh. Bye, Amity!"

Amity saw her new friend wave goodbye, and reciprocated the motion. She softly closed the door, and went back to her bed.

A friend. Amity had a friend.

"Come on Cami, it's been so long since we went on a date!" Eda had just taken her elixir, and was leaning on the back of her wife's chair. Eda seemed to always have energy after drinking her specially made brew, something that Camila had mixed feelings on. Eda cupped Camila's face, directing it straight forward.

"Just picture it for a second, mkay? Camila and Eda, in the town of Sternham, causing mayhem to anyone who dare cross their path! It was fun causing trouble." Eda looked up, her eyes now glazed over with nostalgia.

"You mean you causing trouble, dear. I just watched your shenanigans." Camila let a soft laugh escape her lips, remembering the time her wife tricked a guard into thinking a pile of bricks was the most wanted criminal on the Isles. It was never a dull day with her.

Eda spun Camila around, switching to a more serious tone of voice. "Well, I don't know if I want to do any of that stuff again, honestly. But, you know how it's been here. I wanna see the town again, and not just for some stupid supplies. And, I think it'd be best to let Luz have the house to herself for the rest of the day."

Camila stood, knowing she had to give in to her wife's request. She was right though, a date wasn't exactly the worst idea. "You have any place in mind?"

"Eh, I was thinking we'd just let the town take us wherever it wanted. More fun that way, y'know? Go with the flow, as they say." Eda emphasized the last part by making a snaking motion toward her wife, snatching her hand in her own.

The two opted not to get ready, as they had to wear disguises anyways. After casting the illusion spell on Camila, the two of them sauntered out the door. Usually, they would've yelled to Luz that they were leaving. But tension was still a bit high, so they opted not to bother her.

Luz, however, was busy strolling around in the Gladiolus forest.

Kikimora was patiently hovering on her staff, high in the sky. She was waiting above the hybrid's house. She saw that the hybrid wasn't home earlier, which greatly irritated the demon. But as she saw Luz's two parent's exit their residence, she knew it was now or never. She had to intercept the hybrid's path.

Belos was growing irritated with Kikimora's lack of action in talking to Luz, not understanding Kikimora's reasoning for the delay. This meeting had been building up for well over a decade, how could Belos not see the importance in this? She rolled her eyes at the thought. Most powerful being on the Isles, but still too ignorant to be patient for just a few days longer.

Kikimora's eyes snapped to one of the few clearings in the trees. The hybrid. Kikimora was familiar with the sight of her, regularly taking notes on how the human-witch went about her day. Luz often went for walks, and Kikimora knew her path well, which was the reason why Kikimora waited above the house in the first place.

She had to be careful in intercepting the hybrid, however. If Kikimora rushed into her, she would draw too much suspicion, potentially scaring the hybrid from joining a coven permanently.

The meeting was now set to happen. Kikimora quietly flew down, and stood between the house and the forest. She had to make it look like her presence was non-intrusive, as though she was just leaving.

She had to stay quite a ways from the house, however. Kikimora shuddered at the thought of that wretched house demon, wishing she had never seen the power it possessed in the first place. Kikimora opted to walk into the forest, intersecting her own life with the hybrid for the first time.

She saw Luz pacing along the forest floor. Her eyes glazed over with an emotion unrecognizable to Kikimora, as she stared at the ground. Kikimora was admittedly intimidated by the prospect of being in front of her, as the following few minutes would either make or break her emperor's plans. She walked up to the hybrid, and put on her fake, welcoming voice.

"Hello! Are you Luz Clawthrone Noceda?" Kikimora saw the human stumble forward a bit, as she let out a loud screech. She quickly got her footing, and stood straight up.

"Yes? Wait, are you-"

Kikimora interrupted the hybrid. She needed to lead this conversation in a very specific way. "I am indeed Kikimora, assistant to the great Emperor Belos." Kikimora closed her eyes and started to pace around, giving off a casual air.

"I have been summoned here to ask you a few questions. Would that be alright with you? This is a common procedure for the best students on the Isles." Kikimora lied, but the hybrid didn't need to know that.

"Uh, s-sure." Kikimora opened an eye, standing behind Luz. The hybrid seemed to be anxious, a common trait that Kikimora had noticed in her. It would be best to start off slow.

"How has Manubrius been?" Luz now turned around, facing opposite her house, to pay attention to the small demon. Kikimora saw her eyes darting around occasionally, perhaps planning an escape route?

"Oh, that school? Well, I don't know. It's fine I guess. The teacher's are all really nice to me, and I love learning things there, but." She let out a breathless sigh. "Sometimes it just feels like I don't belong, and I really don't think I do. And now here you are, assistant to the emperor, talking to me? It's all just, so confusing."

Kikimora saw that Luz was now gazing into the distant forest, almost as though the demon wasn't there at all. This answer wasn't too surprising to Kikimora, she knew that Luz often spoke too much. And trusted too many. A trait Kikimora knew was essential in getting her to Belos.

Kikimora continued to pace about the area, taking time to let the hybrid continue if needed. Luz didn't, however, leading Kikimora to speak some small, truthful, and new affirmations. "Well, you don't belong there. That's exactly why Emperor Belos has a great interest in you. Even if you weren't a human-witch, you have great power. We have sensed it."

Luz snapped her head down to the red demon. "Uh, what? I thought you said you were going around to every witch that was good at school or something. I'm not really that strong, I just pay attention, y'know? I try. And, it kinda comes easy to me. But I know there are much stronger witches out there."

Kikimora knew she couldn't stay on this topic any longer. It was time to bring out a larger question, one that would hopefully distract the hybrid from Kikimora's slip-up. "Which coven have you thought about joining?"

Luz brought her hand up to her face, gently resting it on her chin. "Well, I wanted to join the Potions Coven. But then I realized y'know, sure I love potions but. Do I really want to be doing something like that for the rest of my life? And, now I was thinking of joining the Emperor's Coven, but-"

Kikimora's ears went straight up at this revelation. She had to interject, for the hybrid must not lose this thought. "You would be perfect for the Emperor's Coven, Luz." Kikimora beamed, again declaring a fact which would hopefully swing the hybrid toward Belos's side. Kikimora sensed doubt in her, that the hybrid couldn't determine which path to travel on.

The two stood silent for a while, with Kikimora seeing it as a perfect opportunity to finalize the first step of turning the hybrid permanently. "Are you busy right now, Luz?"

"Me? No uh, not really. But I should probably get home, uh, it was nice chatting with you!" Kikimora saw her start to turn away, yet knew the situation was still fully in her own control. Her next line would surely capture the hybrid's attention.

"How would you like to go on a private tour of the Emperor's Castle? It won't be like the one you and every student of the Isles went on a few years back. Just you, me, and a few private areas exclusive to only the best witches on the Boiling Isles."

Luz slowly turned her head back toward the demon, a questioning look present on her face. "I-I don't know. My parents are probably home, and are worried about me. Plus I don't think I deserve it, I'm just a simple human-witch! Or, witch-human? I don't know, sorry."

"Ah, your parents are not home. I saw them step out, I'm sure they would understand. You know, not many witches get this opportunity." Kikimora was only partially lying there. No witches had ever a private tour before, but Luz was special.

"Oh, they are? Huh. Maybe they didn't even notice I was gone. O-Okay, well. As long as I get back by sunset, right?"

Kikimora didn't say a word, instead summoning her own staff. "Come, Luz. There's much to be seen." Thus, the two flew off toward the Emperor's Castle, far from what the only thing Luz knew as home.

Lilith patiently stood in the main room of the castle, casually chatting with one of the guards. But her mind was full. Today was the day she tested the validity of the plan. Hopefully, that stingy salesperson wasn't lying. As many guards as possible needed to be out of the premises for the test to succeed.

"Good job Steve, you have been fulfilling your duties exceptionally well lately." She patted the guard on the head, keeping up a false attitude of cheeriness. In reality, she only felt pity for the guards. But, if she stayed on their good side, then they would all certainly accept her new rule when the time came.

"Aw yeah, more head pats for Steve! I'm on a roll!" He pranced off gleefully, leaving Lilith alone. Perfect. She had only one route she wanted to test today. It was the most difficult one, but the safest. In execution, all routes would lead her and Amity to the alleged back entrance to Belos's throne room.

But this route would also take a long time to traverse. It would take about an hour, and that's if everything went smoothly. She had to go through a few public rooms for storage, some private rooms she actually had been in, and a few that were only seen in the old plans itself. Lilith had to start now, as she was unsure how long the distraction in town would last when it began.

Lilith first slipped into a small changing room near the entrance of the castle. As always, Lilith had performed her duties for Belos as soon as possible. The rest of the day was free for her, but that didn't give much comfort. Despite memorizing every single theoretical route in the castle, Lilith still doubted its validity. She slipped into a spare guard outfit, and was now fully incognito.

First, she had to travel inside a weapons room. At the end of it was a small corridor, not meant for witches to travel through. Many of these were present throughout the castle, for easy transfer of information. With the invention of smartscrolls however, these pathways were antiquated.

Two guards were sparring in there, to Lilith's dismay. This gave her a small pang of anxiety, how long would it take until the distraction started? And even if it worked now, what would she do for future test runs? Surely she couldn't go back to the same night vendor, they would charge her more for the same deed.

Now was not the time to think of that. Her time was limited. The quicker she did this, the quicker she could get back to safety. Surely, the opportunity would present itself when needed. There was no rush to saving witch-kind, patience was an essential part to the start of a new era.

It was now an odd sight for Lilith to see the two guards dueling, after seeing what Amity was capable of just a few days prior. These guards were barely using any magic, instead focusing on slamming swords and axes into each other. She always wondered if the guards could tell their power was weakening, it certainly seemed like they had at least some awareness.

It was strange seeing the way the Emperor's Coven fought now, compared to when she first became coven leader. It pained her to confirm what was revealed in the manifesto, seeing new guard members quickly become weakened as they conformed to the simpler magic that all members opted to use.

Every time she attended a Covention, too. Seeing some children have their magic sealed away at such a young age, dedicating their life to something they only learned of a few minutes prior. But Lilith couldn't keep thinking of the past, no. She had to achieve the future now.

It wouldn't be hard to get past these guards, it wasn't too suspicious to have a witch go through the small tunnel. It wasn't off-limits, just a bit unorthodox.

As she made her way toward the tunnel, one of the guard's shouted "Hey!"

Lilith was ready to disarm these guard's if she had to, knowing it would be for their own good. She brought a hand behind her back, preparing an amnesia spell.

"I think some of my junk got lost in there. Could you see if there's a uh, short dagger? I know it doesn't seem like much but, it means a lot to me."

Lilith brought her hand back to her side, silently nodding. Maybe she was worried about nothing, the guards had a deep sense of kinship after all. She turned to head into the tight corridor, finally solidifying at least one part of the plan in reality.

Camila and Eda were now seated in a small diner, chatting away about the various sights they saw throughout the date. One thing that stood out through the entire day was that the town seemed slower than usual, but neither opted to mention it.

Camila was chuckling as Eda recounted them seeing a small child carry around a giant, broken TV. Eda managed to convince them that it was a magic mirror. It wasn't out of malicious intent, she simply wanted to teach the kid how to make a quick buck off of unsuspecting witches.

It gave both of them an air of nostalgia, thinking back to when they sold human goods on the market. Eda always loved learning about what they were used for in the Human Realm from Camila, even if they both only cared about making a profit. Camila even said she recognized that TV, and how they probably sold it long ago.

Camila's mood started to grow less playful as she recalled the night they lost the key, making her reflect yet again on why they sent Luz to Manubrius in the first place. If only they had the key, then they could've moved to the Human Realm. Eda was always ready to say goodbye to the Boiling Isles if necessary. Alas, they were forced to take the school's offer of money.

She wiped some food off her mouth, and softly spoke to Eda. "Hey, can we talk about Luz?"

Eda dropped her food onto the plate, a puzzling look growing on her face. "Sure, is this about her grades? Y'know, it astounds me how every teacher loves her, that-"

"It's not really about Luz, actually. It's about what you said to her a week or so back." Camila grew a bit tense, knowing this was still a tender subject in the family. Eda couldn't avoid her wife's statement though, this had to be discussed.

Eda let out a quick sigh. "Yeah, I really shouldn't have told her about the paycheck thing like that. I think she's slowly starting to forgive us though, well. I hope so at least. Maybe we could try talking to her when we get back."

Camila closed her eyes, already growing tired of the conversation yet to come. The thought was bubbling up in her mind again, and she hated bringing it up. But it was something that couldn't go unsaid any longer. "No, it wasn't that. I know we should've told her earlier. You said something else, something that you've been telling her for a long time."

Eda leaned back in her seat, thinking as she stared toward the ceiling. "Oh, you mean the covens, right?"

"Yes."

Eda slammed her chair back down, somewhat shocked by the tone of her wife's one-word answer. Eda quickly continued. "Cami, I told you. She can do whatever she wants, but. You know how they are, I can't support her joining one. And I don't think you should either."

Camila subtly squinted her eyes, carefully choosing her next words. "But that's the thing, I don't know how they are. I didn't grow up here like you. You know, you never really told me why she can't join the Emperor's Coven. If they don't seal off magic, what's the big deal? You heard what she said, and I know you believe it. She could easily change them if she wanted."

Eda stared off to the side, hands fidgeting under the table. "It's, it's more complicated than that. There are some things that you give up, even if you join the Emperor's Coven." Eda wanted to say more, but her mouth wouldn't release anything more.

"Okay, and what are those things? And, how would you know about them? You never even tried to join it. You've barely told me anything about it, yet your sister is the leader! What's so bad about it that our daughter can't-"

An explosion rattled the entire restaurant, sending Eda and Camila's dishes crashing into the floor. Eda tackled Camila, protecting her from the broken glass flying toward them.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Eda ordered, grabbing her wife's hand as they ran outside.

Luz gazed upon the vast expanse that the castle lay dormant in. She remembered the tour from a few years ago clearly now, and that her tour guide was in fact Kikimora. She thought back on it as they landed, recalling that the demon occasionally shifted her one visible eye to the younger girl. No, surely Luz was mistaken. It was just a simple tour then, and it'll be something similar now.

To Luz's surprise, they flew over the drawbridge, instead landing toward the back of the castle. Luz was too intimidated to ask why, as the sharp architecture invited them both inside.

"This part of the castle is off-limits to non-coven members, however, we have made an exception for you." Kikimora walked forward, seemingly ignoring Luz's presence. Inside, the walls were just as brooding as Luz had remembered. It seemed like there was less decor here, however, signifying its closed-off nature.

As the two of them walked by the many closed doors, Luz let her mind wander. Kikimora was known throughout the Isles for being secretive, yet loyal to Emperor Belos. It still didn't make sense why Luz was brought here, had the demon really lied to her about why she was visiting? It seemed so, as Kikimora was emphasizing Luz's individual importance, rather than the value of all witches who performed well in school.

"Ah, here we are. I'm sure you are aware of the library within Sternham, yes?" Luz gave a quick nod as the Kikimora turned around, stopping in front of a large door.

"This is our private library, off-limits to all except the top members of the Emperor's Coven." Kikimora turned back to glance at Luz. "Would you care to take a gander?"

Luz didn't know how to react to the question, staying silent as she took in the shock of the statement just relayed to her. Why would Luz the witch-human be taking a one-person tour around the castle, and why was she now invited into a secret library?

"Uh, are you sure? I don't want to mess anything up, and maybe there's some things that I shouldn't see, right?" Luz brought her hands together, rubbing a thumb against one of her knuckles, anxious about the expectations that the emperor's assistant was now placing upon her.

Kikimora opened the door, walking inside. "Quite the contrary, in fact. Feel free to browse the shelves, you may take one book with you. There are some things we need to discuss."

Luz found a large scroll in the center of the room, with a dozen or so book titles present on its screen. Luz scrolled through the catalogue, searching for books with a focus on potions.

Kikimora started to talk after a few minutes of silence. "Luz, I may have not been entirely truthful to you on the purpose of your visit."

Luz, reluctant to turn around, quietly accepted the demon's invitation to conversation. "I kinda gathered that, to be honest." She turned around, leaning on the pillar that held the large archive list. "I think you might be mistaken, Kikimora. I don't think you got the right person for whatever you need, I'm just a simple human-witch. Witch-human? Whatever, I'm just Luz. Nothing special."

Kikimora sat down on a chair, crossing her legs in the process. "I assure you that you are meant to be here. Tell me, are you aware of Manubrius paying for your attendance?"

Luz almost knocked over the pillar in shock, but was relieved to find it securely bolted to the floor. Her mind was racing, as she stared directly at the demon. "I, yes? Yeah, my Mama told me. The school said it's because of uh, my. Unique nature." Luz's body ached at this thought, she never would feel comfortable stating this fact that was entirely out of her control.

"Where do you think they get the money from, Luz?"

Luz's eyes went wide, as she scrambled to keep a grasp on the column. "Uh, from Grudgby tickets or something? Fundraisers? Whatever things school's do to get their funding, I guess. Weird that they'd spend so much of it on, just me." Luz realized she never even considered this.

Kikimora stood up, starting to stride around the room. "That is true, it would be weird. Except, we give them and many other school's funding, as you know." Kikimora stopped, and stared directly at Luz.

"We have additional funding for Manubrius, however. For a certain hybrid, to allow her to attend school. Even when one of her parent's is one of the most wanted criminals on Isles."

Luz fell to the floor, panic starting to set in. Oh no, was this a trap? Did she just get kidnapped, and her Mama and Mami would have to search the entire Isles for her?

"M-My Mama isn't a criminal, and don't call me that. My name is Luz, wait. Why are, why are you p-paying for me? I thought the school-"

Kikimora kept her distance, not wanting to scare Luz any further. "Ah, please remain calm Luz. My apologies. Yes, it might seem odd to pay the Owl Lady, a wild witch, a livable wage. But, there are more things that go on in the Isles than you know. I assure you, we have nothing but the best intentions."

Kikimora continued to pace around the room, dragging her fingers across the ground-level bookshelves. "Now then, you should continue searching through the index of wonderful books we have here. They provide greater knowledge than anything Manubrius has taught. Please, take your time." Kikimora eventually circled back to her seat, where she again gently set herself down.

Luz turned around to face the catalogue again, but could barely focus. Principal Facet's answer was already confusing enough. But, there was something that either Principal Facet didn't know, or something she didn't want Luz to know. And now, she knew. Luz felt sick to her stomach, for either truth was terrifying.

Luz wanted to escape this room, the walls felt like they were closing in. She decided on a book simply titled, "Potions of the Old", and pressed a button to send it down.

"Ah, an excellent choice." Kikimora commented, as the book was levitated down by a system unfamiliar to Luz. She grasped the thick book, and thought this book could maybe help with potions studies. But more than anything, she just wanted to appease Kikimora, to leave this haunting room.

"Please follow me, Luz. There's more to see." Luz followed the small demon, placing the book under her arm. Despite her wishes to not see the rest of what Kikimora had to offer, she knew there was no escape.

Lilith snuck through around half of the rooms with no issue, as many were unguarded. Either that, or the guard wasn't paying any attention to their surroundings. It was annoying to Lilith, how the castle was set up. Even if every guard was gone from the castle, leaving Belos alone, her and Amity couldn't just walk through the main corridors.

They had to surprise Belos, and attack him from behind. Lilith had tried to study his true power throughout the years, yet still had no idea what he was capable of. Would Amity's unhinged power, combined with Lilith's own magic abilities, be enough to take him out?

And what if there were a few guards left over whenever the large distraction happened, what then? Sure, now it was easy for Lilith to travel throughout the hidden rooms with no suspicions. To all the guards, she was simply one of them. But when Amity was here as well?

The members of the Emperor's Coven might not be the strongest, but they aren't dumb. If Lilith and her protégé were caught seizing control too early, the guard would certainly be called back into the castle. One wrong move, and Belos could easily be alerted to their location. Instantly destroying what Lilith had been working for so long to achieve.

Lilith was traveling through a side hallway, not suspecting any troubles to come toward her. It was a relief that the castle was so massive, the guard's couldn't be everywhere at once. She knew that the guards weren't in Sternham yet, as her own scroll would've been notified as well.

"Oh, hey!"

Lilith ceased her stroll, instantly clenching her fists in a dark frustration. Of course, someone had to be here. And just her luck, they needed something from her. She turned to face the guard, knowing she couldn't speak.

She hadn't disguised her voice earlier, it wouldn't have worked either way. Every guard member seemed to know everyone else, it was almost creepy how close they were.

"Uh, one of my guard buddies got his hand stuck in a door. Would you mind helping out?"

This was a massive relief for Lilith, as she turned back around, ignoring the guard. However, both of their scrolls lit up. Simultaneously, a voice of a coven guard member rang out.

"There is an ongoing attack on the city of Sternham, we need all members of the Emperor's Coven down here immediately!"

Lilith simply stuck the scroll back in her pocket, unconcerned with the short message. Finally, peace and quiet.

"Oh shoot, we gotta go get his hand out right now! Come on, it won't take long, then we can go help the others!" The guard member was now catching up to Lilith, who ignored him.

"Hey, uh, the exit's the other way. Wait, why are you in this hallway anyways? I was just looking for some lubricant to help-"

Too late. Lilith couldn't be questioned, even if she could come up with a satisfactory answer. She turned to face the guard member, and cast a quick gust of wind toward them.

Dragging the now unconscious guard by their feet, Lilith heard rumblings of coven members and clankings of weapons throughout the castle. She simply deposited the guard in a common hallway, and scuttered back to her route. She had no concern for their memory, for they would never find the mysterious guard member that attacked one of their own.

Eda pulled Camila onto Owlbert, ready for them to leave as citizens started to run around the perimeter. Camila rejected this notion, and jumped off.

"Eda, what're you doing?! We can't just leave, these people need our help!" Camila yelled to her wife, seeing many witches lying in the rubble of the restaurant. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be awake and mostly unharmed.

"I'm sure it was just some accident, the town has it under control-"

Another explosion blasted off in the distance, along with the screams of unknown villagers. Eda and Camila now spotted some cloaked figures in the sky, who were casting spells on several of the townspeople, causing mass pandemonium.

Eda jumped off of Owlbert, and quickly summoned a few dozen bottles for her wife. "Okay, here. Some of your healing bottles, and some of your attacking bottles. I can go stop the guy in the air, you go and help wherever you can." Eda trusted her wife to be safe on her own, despite having no magical powers to defend herself with.

After the attack on their home over a decade ago, Eda trained her wife in light combat. Not enough to kill, as Camila refused to learn that much, but enough to stay alive.

"I love you, Camila." Eda rode off into the sky, ready to take out whatever she could. She didn't trust the Emperor's Coven, or any other witches, to do this for her.

There was no time to think about what to do, Eda had to act fast. She saw a dozen or so figures in the sky now, flying around at rapid speeds. Most of their spells seemed non-lethal, beyond the explosions to the buildings. But even then, it seemed like they weren't targeting witches.

Eda's disguise flew off her back, but there was no time for her to fret about it. Besides, the Owl Lady being recognized would only make a potential chase more fun.

She stood up on Owlbert, preparing quick blasts of fire with both hands. These figures were swift, however, and easily swerved out of the way. Frustrated, Eda knew she couldn't outmatch them in the air. She opted instead to save her magic, using her physical strength instead.

It was fairly easy to fly into a few of them, knocking them off their own staffs with some quick slams. Eda looked down, and saw fires starting to engulf some small buildings. She flew out of the way of the cloaked figures, and shot a few massive water streams down toward the ground.

"Hey, look, it's the Owl Lady! Get her!" One of the figures spotted the distracted witch, and knew that the prize for capturing her was far more important than attacking Sternham.

Eda clasped her hands around Owlbert, and flew high up into the sky. Getting spotted wasn't part of her plan, but at least now Camila didn't have to deal with a potential attack from the sky. Eda continued to fly in seemingly random directions, collecting the eight or so remaining attackers in one large target.

"Bingo." Eda stood up again, as the attackers flew toward her at a rapid speed. She looked up toward the deep purple sky, and drew two massive spell circles. She concentrated the surrounding air into one giant vortex, and shot an immense shock wave toward the cloaked figures.

Eda lost her footing on Owlbert as the sonic boom reached her, knocking her far back into the air, but she was able to clutch onto her staff with a single hand. She opened her eyes, and saw one creature remaining in the sky. They were uncloaked, and they appeared to be a man snake.

Eda saw him holding onto his staff with a single hand as well, as he flew up to meet her.

"Very impresssive, Owl Lady. I have to sssay, if you weren't sssuch a high bounty, I would invite you to join me." Eda could notice him panting between breaths, as he drifted ever closer.

"Yeah, no thanksss. Hup!" Eda swung her body upward, kicking the man snake directly in the hand, forcing him to let go of his staff. She landed back on Owlbert with ease, and flew down toward the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a few members of the Emperor's Guard.

"Oh, this should be fun."

Kikimora led Luz down a long stairwell, to a large room filled with complex mechanical workings.

"Luz, you are aware how your human mother came to the Isles, right?" Luz cringed at the mention of her Mami like that, but chose to answer the demon, giving a half-truth.

"They told me that there was some portal that led Mami here, but not really much else." Luz looked further into the room, seeing giant scaffolding, thick wires, and a small staircase leading up to nothing.

"Yes, the portal. By chance, do you know where this portal is?" Luz turned to look at Kikimora, as a perplexed expression grew on the witch-human's face.

"No, they told me that they lost it somewhere. I don't remember anything about the Human Realm, if that's what you're asking." Luz stayed focused on the small demon, determined to show that she wasn't lying.

"Hm, unfortunate. We attempted to, retrieve, the key from your parents long ago. Unfortunately, we don't have access to it either, despite our best efforts." Kikimora walked forward into the room, peering at parts of a white, metal circle that lie on the ground.

Luz pointed her finger up in confusion again, about to question what she meant by "retrieve", when she heard a loud ring from the demon's pocket.

"There is an ongoing attack on the city of Sternham, we need all members of the Emperor's Coven down here immediately!"

Kikimora turned back toward the stairwell, pacing forward quickly. "Come, it appears that the tour has ended prematurely. We may continue this another time, but I need to get you home now."

"But-"

Luz was interrupted by the sounds of coven members chattering and clankings of weapons throughout the castle, and opted to follow Kikimora out to the back exit.

Lilith was now growing nervous as she approached the room her emperor resided in. To her surprise, the routes she explored were entirely accurate to the map. This filled her with more determination to carry out this uprising, as she now had evidence that the manifesto had at least some validity.

It was now only one more tunnel to Belos's throne room, the part where all possible routes converged to.

The tunnel became tighter as Lilith crawled through, not helping her own fear as she approached the most powerful being on the Isles. Casting a light spell, she saw a single loose brick. There was a message engraved on it. Lilith recognized it as the same handwriting on the front of the plans.

"If you are reading this, then my cohorts and I have failed in taking down Emperor Belos. I am not sure how many of us are alive when you are reading this, and I can't risk making any of our names known. If you are here to take him down, all I can say is. Good luck."

Cohorts? Lilith assumed there was only one person that wrote the plans, but there was more? It appeared that the entire end of the wall was removable, but Lilith was not here to fight Belos just yet. Her shaky hand removed the brick from its position, and she peered inside.

There he was. All Lilith could see was the back of his massive throne, and the two pillars of fire she had always grown accustomed to. It was odd to see no coven members standing at attention there, but she could sense Belos's presence.

As her mind froze, unable to think at the pure shock that this plan was now undeniably real, she heard Emperor Belos's voice. But, it was merely a whisper.

"There is another. There is another. There is another."

Lilith couldn't handle the stress any more, and placed the brick back in. There is another? Lilith summoned the plans, and wrote the three words down on the back. She started to shuffle backwards, slowly so as to not make any unnecessary sounds.

There is another

Thankfully, Eda could see her wife safe on the ground, tending to the wounds of a witch.

"Eda!" Camila jumped up to hug her wife. "I saw what you did up there, and… wow. I honestly forgot you could do that."

"Well, you didn't marry me for no reason. How was it down here?" Eda studied the rubble of another building, and saw many witches helping each other get up.

"Thankfully, most of the attackers on the ground were stopped by other witches. But, hurling my stunning potions at them did help quite a bit. I think the townspeople got it handled now, we should probably get going."

"Not so fast, Owl Lady!" Eda and Camila turned around, and saw thirty or so members of the Emperor's Coven.

"Oh, hey guys. Nice job saving the town! Oh wait, you dolts didn't do anything. Well, toodles!" Eda quickly grasped her wife's hand, dragging her onto Owlbert, as they flew off toward home.

Eda knew the guard member's wouldn't follow. Despite their weak magic, none of them were that stupid.

Luz was nervously grabbing some food at home, scared of what happened to her parents. What if someone took them after her and Kikimora left, and the whole tour was just a distraction?

"Luz? Are you still here?" Camila called out, as she opened the door.

"Mami! Mama!" Luz ran up to the front door, and hugged her parents tight.

"Woah, we weren't gone that long kiddo. Nice to see you too." Eda ruffled her daughter's hair, happy to be home.

"Where were you guys?! I heard about the attack in town, and I was so worried!" Luz felt terrible lying to her parents, but they couldn't know the truth about where she truly had been. Besides, it seemed like they really thought Luz was home the entire time.

Camila chirped up, happy to recount her date. "Sorry mija, we didn't want to bother you. Let's talk about it over dinner, okay? Mama did some pretty incredible things today."

Eda rolled her eyes playfully, and reciprocated the flirting from her wife. "Oh please, you're the one who helped the wounded witches directly."

Luz was confused, but ultimately satisfied that everyone was home. But, there was so much that was unknown now. Who exactly gave Manubrius the funds to pay her parents, and who needed the key? Could it be Emperor Belos himself?

Luz was exhausted after the long day, and opted to push these thoughts to the back of her mind. She allowed her parents to tell the story of their date, but her mind drifted to something else. Someone else.

Her new friend, Amity.