Chapter 3

Unity is strength, the first witch hunt.

July 7, 2010

It was another ordinary day in Stockholm and it was sunny… And it was another day of Diana's psychological torture. The boys promised that the minor would not hurt Aleyn or try to destroy the girl's Soul Gem, which caused the redhead annoyance... However, the girl was not mentioned at any time about psychological torture, so Diana took advantage of a gap in that promise to try to get Aleyn out of the house… And Diana was full of surprises at this point. Since her mom and dad were chefs with 4-star restaurants aiming for 5, Diana had extensive cooking knowledge to prepare, but she chose what most disgusted the girls who tried to live in the house, preparing meals that had viscera of animals. An example of this was the Pölsa, one of the typical dishes of Sweden and Nordic cuisine. Or the girl also made French fillings whose unpleasant surprise was more viscera. Several girls left the house for not tolerating even 5 days with those foods, but seeing that Aleyn, although she had a disgusted face when she ate, but did not complain once to look good, frustrated Diana. The girl was going to continue using her long repertoire of food, however Victor had to stop her saying that "Enough of gastronomic torture for Liten flicka", so she had to resort to other strategies...

"God morgon, Diana…" Aleyn greeted ready to start the day, but she realized something was out of place. She thought the place was upside down and it was an illusion since she just woke up, but in reality... "Oh no... Nej igen"

The girl was hanging upside down, she noticed that her waist and her legs were wrapped in resistant vines, where the ceiling was the place of origin of the plant that kept her imprisoned...

"Sh…!" The chestnut of her shakes her head, since she was instilled in her that a young lady could not curse, despite the fact that she had that intention. "Stupid vines!" Aleyn answered and using her soul gem she transforms, showing the upper part of the suit up to her hip, the rest of the suit was caught in the vines.

"Food wasn't enough for you, Diana… White Night Snowflake" with difficulty he summons her wand "White Night Dust!" the girl casts the spell, causing the vines she was trapped to freeze and destroy.

The young woman started to walk, when the vines sprout, they wrap around Aleyn's hip again and she picks her up again, leaving her face down. The young woman tried to use the basic spell that freed her, but the vines became more resistant to such a degree that the basic spells no longer worked. Now, the vines reached the part of the girl's shoulders and, due to her exhaustion, she dropped her magic wand to the ground. Before making sure to call any of her teammates, she made sure that the skirt of her snow-white outfit doesn't show anything above the knees, which would involve seeing her thighs or her most intimate clothes. Once she made sure that the skirt was well wrapped so that the male companions did not see such things, she finally made the request for help.

"Victor! Dante! Diana tied me up again with her vines! Help me, snälla?!"

The previous times it was only enough to use the "White Night Dust" to eliminate the vines and not bother them again, but apparently Diana knew the trick, so in those days she managed to make the vines sprout every time they were cut and they had more resistance. The one who answered the call for help was Victor, who saw his companion face down and greeted him somewhat shyly. Before claiming his mate, he saw Aleyn's White Night Snowflake on the ground and her mate's heavy breathing, which he understood that Liten flicka did his best to free herself, but to not avail. With a frown, he calls Diana

"Diana, come here! Liten Flicka needs your help!" Victor yelled. The red-haired girl, with her wand in hand, red glasses and a smile on her face appears.

"Tsk, that's annoying. Release Liten Flicka, now," Victor raged.

"Of course I'll free her… But in return, je veux un rendez-vous" Diana proposed excitedly.

"Better another proposal. Release Liten Flicka or I'll lock you up with her" answered Victor.

"You wouldn't dare… You obviously can't live without moi" Diana guessed with a smile.

"You want to bet?…" Victor goes to his room and returns with a bunch of keys, which he puts the key corresponding to the girls' bedroom in the lock and puts his hand on the door handle. "Do you free Liten Flicka or I lock them both up so they can get along"

"Huh?! And why are you going to lock me up too?" Aleyn asked for her integrity.

"That depends on Diana's behavior and her decision that she makes… If she accepts the proposal for good, you won't have to tolerate each other"

Diana looked at the boy defiantly and confidently, she didn't want to be locked up with her new partner whom she psychologically tortured countless times, but she didn't want to disobey the boy in the white coat either.

"No? Well. 1… 2… And…" the redhead already resigned to the orders of the most serious of the group, she finally decides to give her arm to twist

"Well! I'm going to free her… But I don't want to be with her much longer than necessary" Diana reluctantly relented.

From her bag, the redhead takes out a potion called "Scarlet Rose Wilt" and puts it on the vines that kept Aleyn trapped and on the ceiling where the root of these was and the girl pronounces the name of the spell that was in the bottle of the potion, a few seconds passed when the vines wither and turn to dust, the girl is held by Victor and the boy helps her to sit up, unleashing a slight blush in the brunette novice.

''Both of you, go to breakfast. Now… And at the slightest incitement to fight from the two of them, I will lock them up together'', Victor threatened and leaves, leaving the 2 girls alone.

"Wow… It seems that Prince Charming came to help you" Diana drawled.

Aleyn ended up feeling a bit uncomfortable about the situation. She did not want to cause problems with Diana, but Diana was the one who caused the problem of the vines, so, under that logic, Aleyn thought that she was not approaching Victor, but that Diana was the one who was causing those encounters and that clarification made the girl remove that burden she was dealing with.

''Aleyn, how are you this first week?'' Victor asked.

Aleyn knew she had to play by Diana's rules to stay, so she had to keep the theater going…at least until she bonds with the boys.

''She is fine. The welcome was nice'' replied Diana.

"She was asking the Liten Flicka, not you, Diana," Victor commented.

Diana looks at Aleyn with a fake smile and Aleyn reciprocates with another smile, so she decides to join a lie with a truth.

''Well... I get along with Diana. The concern is for… Money reasons. And also from my Identitetskort, födelsebevis och mitt bankkort. You know that I am… Non-existent for the government and the rest of the people…'', Aleyn commented. And in one part she wasn't lying, since the part about the bank card, the birth certificate and the identity card were true.

''If you say so… I will solve your Identity problem. Now, Liten Flicka, I need your ID number and check if the number is Nonexistent to put it in the database. If it exists… You will have to invent another new ID'' Victor answered.

''Okay'' the girl hands him a piece of paper with certain data written down such as the name, surname, date of birth and the personal number that is given to a Swedish born for the ID, added the names of the parents and the exact date and time for the Birth Certificate.

''Thank you, Liten Flicka. Then you'll get your identity back...'' Victor said, he goes to the room and turns on his computer to hack the Swedish database and puts the girl's data ''What a fortune... The ID number is easy to recover'' the boy makes a few taps and managed to get Aleyn's Identity into the database. He did the same with the Birth Certificate.

After that, he goes out into the hall and sees Aleyn coming out of her room, where the girl did her hair a little better and was wearing her casual outfit.

"Well, that's it now. You will be able to claim your documents within… 3 days''

''Three days? Why?'' Aleyn asked somewhat uneasily. She wanted to get her identity back as soon as possible.

''Because we have to wait for the database to update. If you go now, the documentation department will reject the request, förstår du?'' replied Victor.

''Ha, jag förstår. Tack så mycket, Victor '' Aleyn thanked and without thinking, she hugged him as a token of her thanks.

Victor is surprised by the hug, but he doesn't reciprocate or moves away from the girl. He just stands still until Aleyn pulls away from her. For him it wasn't a big deal, he just did computer stuff. For her, it was the recovery of her identity.

''Jag är ledsen för det…'' Aleyn commented somewhat embarrassed by that, but Victor didn't comment - I'd better go - the girl leaves the corridor sadly and goes to the main room, where Dante was already ready for another common day, at least common to the eyes of the rest.

''Aleyn, we have to show you the rest of the city. The previous glimpse we gave you of Stockholm was very… rushed. I propose that we show you the best free university. Stockholm University'' Dante said.

''Wow… I didn't expect that the best university for you would be Stockholm. All the rankings mention Uppsala'' commented Aleyn.

''Perhaps Uppsala University leads the top in Sweden and private institutes overtake us in the rankings, but the fact that Stockholm University does not lead the ranking does not mean that it is bad. It is one of the best universities in the area of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology and it won more competitions than Uppsala… But obviously they ignore that and everyone goes to the place that has more recognition'' explained Dante.

''Also, if you want to be less of a hindrance... Try to get the best grade in the admission exam. They give the first 10 places certain privileges'' commented Victor ''They provide you with school supplies throughout your career and if you excel, your diploma will have the same value as the blessed Uppsala. Of course, you have to maintain grades at least of B in your school year''

''Understood!. I'll get into his college and get into that top 10, jag lovar'' Aleyn said.

After a few minutes, the boys were ready to leave.

''Why do I have to go too? Diana asked.

''If you want, you can stay, anyway it doesn't affect one person less'' commented Victor with a certain disinterest.

''Si Victor s'en va, j'irai aussi'' said Diana trying to hug Victor, but the boy moves away, making Diana hug Aleyn instead, Diana feels a slight discomfort when hugging Aleyn, but at the end she releases a mischievous look, it seemed that the young cat wanted to play more with her toy before breaking it more.

''If we would get along, I would like the hug… But I have to warn you that you are playing with fire. Be careful not to get hot and burn yourself, ma fleur de lys chérie '' Diana whispers in Aleyn's ear in a flirtatious and at the same time threatening way, twirling a strand of her hair in her fingers. On the other hand, Aleyn had a slight red blush on her cheeks at her last flirtatious comment.

It was no secret that Diana made those passive aggressive threats, and it was even less a secret that Diana made those racy comments. If things had been different, she might have flirted and played the dominance battle with Aleyn. She being the one who would try to embarrass her opponent with mischievous comments unless of course, the brown-haired one took something out of her sleeve to make the redhead fall at her feet.

''Well, guys, let's go… to Stockholm University'' said Dante very animated.

Everyone leaves the house directly to the bus station. Where fortunately it took them all over the city. After part of the journey, Dante speaks to Aleyn.

''Look Aleyn, this is the Eastern train station. If you take the train, it will drop you off near the university'' You can only use that in an emergency'' explained Dante.

The bus took them to a street, the boys got off and walked near a lake, passing a small bridge that joined it. At first there was nothing, until they went a little deeper and Aleyn saw a somewhat impressive sight for her. There were several signs near paths that were divided by decorative plants. When they went to the bottom, several buildings with the 3 faculties could be seen. The one of physics, chemistry, mathematics and botany with its subdivisions. You could also see the huge green grass campus where many university students were resting studying. Upon entering the general offices, there was a notice board, where the procedures to be carried out were listed, such as changes of careers, career withdrawal, changes to other sister faculties of the University of Stockholm and most importantly, the date of exams of admission. The date until the 11th was for career changes and from the 12th to the 15th of July was the registration for the admission exam, which would be on July 20. Aleyn breathed a sigh of relief as by then she would have her ID and her birth certificate. A young lady offered Aleyn a pamphlet with career offers and the girl was happy… Until she darkened her gaze.

''Miss… Isn't there a Civil Engineering career?'' asked Aleyn.

''I'm sorry miss, but we don't have that faculty available… Stockholm University only has subjects related to pure sciences. But if you want, you can try the subjects listed'' the lady with the pamphlet left to help another applicant.

''Agh… Wow… I had to study that career'' Aleyn said in a frustrated tone.

''I'm sorry, Aleyn, but they only offer hard science. We are studying Mathematics and Diana will study Botany. You have to choose between these options" Dante said ''Also, because of your frustrated tone, Jag tror att du inte vill studera den karriären… Serious question… Why does he want to study civil engineering?"

''I want to study that because… because… because…'' the girl sighed. "My parents forced me... And because... The degree I really want is not part of the Uppsala curriculum."

''Quelle chose stupide. You are so immature that you let others choose for you. Well she doesn't have that career so she will leave home while she looks for another institute that teaches civil engineering and get you a job on the way '' Diana commented with a cheeky smile.

''Aleyn… Diana is right'' Aleyn lowers her gaze, saddened since Dante thought, like Victor and Diana, that it was useless''… At least in the first part'' Aleyn changed her look from sadness to one of surprise ''If your parents force you to study that career, you won't be happy. You have to be strong and stand by your decisions and about the degree that they don't offer in Uppsala, maybe they offer a study plan in Stockholm. Just give it a look''

Aleyn glanced at the pamphlet, searching for the alternative her parents had forced her to give up, and finally her gaze fell on a run.

''Astronomy… Wow… I didn't know that… This course would be here in Stockholm…'' Aleyn commented.

"You can boast that this career is at the University of Stockholm and not in the blessed Uppsala" River Dante.

''When I was a child, my parents told me that I should leave that career, since I would not earn anything and I would lose so much money that I would focus on another worthy subject,'' explained Aleyn.

''Aleyn… Dreams are meant to come true. What your parents have said is a mistake… If you manage to have a quiet life with something that you are passionate about, you will be happy'' Dante supported her. Victor just nods his head quietly.

''So they're not... upset... with me?'' asked Aleyn.

''No way. As long as you're happy, that's enough'' answered Dante.

''Alla... tack så mycket'' Aleyn hugs Dante and after the hug, nods to Victor.

Once the race was decided, the boys walked to some train tracks, where Aleyn felt her middle finger tingling, where the Soul Gem was housed. Likewise, everyone felt that same tingling.

''Shit... We're close to a witch'' said Victor.

''Well, Aleyn, I didn't expect this… But welcome to your first häxjakt'' Dante said.

''Häxjakt?" Aleyn asked.

''Oui, these witches are the misfortune of the people, they cause accidents and collective suicides and nobody, except us, can detect them'' said Diana.

''Then what do we do?. We have to prevent anyone from getting hurt'' Aleyn asked.

''Give me your hand, Aleyn. And you too, Diana'' said the leader of the group.

The young Aleyn gives the palm of her hand to Dante, thinking that this action was to calm the nerves of the girls... But she was the opposite when she felt a sharp pain in her hands. Aleyn saw her bloody hand and, in Dante's hand, a knife with both girls' blood on it.

''What did you do?!'' asked Aleyn annoyed and hurt, but someone approaches them.

"A blood sacrifice to the Æsir, Miss Linder Aleyn," said a voice. The only person… No, the only magical being who addressed himself in a polite manner by first saying Mr., Mrs. or Miss, then saying the last name and finally saying the name was the little animal that left after the battle against the Uwasa of the Hotel. California.

"K-Kyubey… W-Why is that blood sacrifice necessary? And where have you been these last few days? You disappeared out of nowhere'' Aleyn asked, futilely trying to stop the bleeding with her hands.

"Miss Linder Aleyn, my mission is for potential Puella Magi and Puer Magi applicants to sign contracts, so I can't be in one place even if I want to. And regarding the cut, according to Nordic mythology, it is established that each Puer Magi and Puella Magi who signed the contract in Nordic lands, have to make a blood sacrifice and spill their blood in their Soul Gems before entering an Uwasa or a a Witch's labyrinth and say a prayer to one of the Æsir for their protection. It can also be used in the middle of battle to reduce the corruption of soul gems by only 10%, unlike Grief Seeds'' Kyubey explained as he hands Aleyn a paper ''Aleyn, you and Diana are going to pray the prayer to Freya, since she is the goddess who has the most favoritism for women. Dante and Victor, you will say the prayer to Odin for being the most important in Norse mythology''

Aleyn and Diana begin to spill their blood into their soul gems while reciting the prayer to the goddess.

Freya, goddess of gold

Inspire me today

Teach me to walk in my day to day

With pride in my being

With confidence,

With power.

Goddess of fiery passion,

Bless me with the vision,

To the marrow of my bones,

That I am a person of value in the eyes of the gods,

The eyes of my ancestors and of myself.

I can radiate and transform everything I encounter.

This is my prayer for the day, oh great and mighty goddess.

That I can reflect your presence throughout my day.

In exchange for your help, I will always praise you.

Praise be to Freya, shining goddess of gold.

I will always praise you.

Both soul gems ended up stained with the girls' blood, where the spilled blood disappears and the soul gem starts to glow a bit.

''That is the protection of the goddess Freya. Freya has a preference for women, so I asked them to do the blood sacrifice for the goddess Freyja. On the other hand, for boys, you can pray for other Æsir, but preferably Odin for being the most important god in Norse mythology'' Kyubey explained.

Meanwhile whispers are heard that were almost inaudible, but Kyubey heard well the enchantment that the boys were doing for the god Odin.

Odin, guide my steps, with your wisdom

Odin, guide my hands with your spear

Odin, guide my eyes with your ravens

Odin, guide my instincts with your wolves

Odin, guide my strength with your ring

Odin, guide my soul with your divine eye

Great Odin, may my will be done.

The blood they spilled on their soul gems also disappeared, explaining the support the god Odin gave them. Hemorrhages dried from each other's cuts and closed as if no blood sacrifice had been performed. The team walked a bit until the stage was no longer the train tracks.

The witch's labyrinth was pastel colors, with crazy images. Inside the place were some black beings, with large heads that approached our protagonists threateningly.

''It's time for action. Alla, förvandla!" said Dante.

The others nodded and took their soul gems firmly.

Dante grabbed his Soul Gem, which was red in color and began to glow. The boy spread his arms and is wrapped in a red sphere. A tech ring encircles him and once he touched his feet, he was given a gray alternate costume with yellow and blue details that went up to his torso. Then, another ring is put on his head, appearing pixels covering his hair. Once they disappear, he is given a hairstyle that went backwards. A pistol that appeared digitized became a reality with the simple contact of the user's hand. Finally, bright red glasses appear, indicating that this was the soul gem. The boy ends with a pose.

Diana grabs the soul gem and with some graceful and beautiful movements, she makes her green soul gem shine. The girl was surrounded by several rose petals, which turned into her red dress, then her petals turned white and other white clothes were added. With a little foot tapping, vines wrapped around her bare feet, revealing red boots and a red bag slung over her left shoulder. On the ground, a pink rose sprouted, which she plucked slightly, and with a blow playing with some petals in her hand, the petals originated the pink and green wand. Her soul gem was a green necklace. The girl ends with a final pose.

It was Victor's turn. The boy had his purple soul gem in his hand, which the object gave off a glow. Around the boy's body black darkness gathered around him. Once he was enveloped in darkness, his black and yellow colored armor appeared in full. The darkness clings to his back and he transforms into a red cloak. The boy took out from the sheath of him, a sword shining like silver. His soul gem which was a purple diamond was located on his belt. He makes a few sword moves and ends with a serious pose.

The last to transform was Aleyn, who, imitating her companions, her clothes transform into that white and light blue suit and is equipped with her wand.

"The glory of the Æsir…" Dante said.

''Guides us to victory'' said the rest of the boys.

''Sverige Quartet! ''they all finished together.

''Now… On the hunt for witches. Kill all the relatives present'' ordered Dante.

The boys split up on their own. Dante pulls out a laser tag-like gun, but when the boy started to pull the trigger, some kind of energy was generated at the tip of the gun.

''Antinomy Ray Shock! '' yelled Dante and let go of the trigger. From the gun, some rays come out that stun the relatives. 1 familiar, then 2, and so on until he can electrocute the entire line of familiars attacking him. Once the electricity subsides and the weapon stops glowing, the familiars disappear.

''Wow… This is going to be a bit long… But my potions are always parfait'' Diana said grabbing a potion, throwing it at the familiars and taking out her wand.

"Scarlet Rose Thorns!" Diana yelled. A small glow comes out of his wand, from the spilled potion, various vines with thorns sprout around the familiars, once they end up wrapped, the green thorns turn red, indicating the death of those familiars and the vines, together with the bodies they disappear

On Victor's side, the boy is only in charge of using his sword and ends up cutting down all the enemies that come in front of him. Although the advantage would be reduced by the gathering of several familiars, this did not seem like a problem for the black armored boy.

'' Tsk, they're a nuisance… '' the boy only used his sword to swing at the enemy, leaving enemies split in half or with the sword embedded in their stomachs for a long time to disappear. Apparently the boy did not have or did not need a special technique that required magic like the rest of his classmates, presumably because his specialty was hand-to-hand combat.

On Aleyn's side, things were very complicated as she was a novice, even more so without having a plan or someone to tell her what to do. Aleyn was the type of person who was only in charge of following orders, since she did not feel so comfortable giving orders. No matter what she did, her spells like "White Night Snow" and "White Night Ice Link" only slowed down the enemies... And harmed her at the same time, since the girl started slipping on the ice rink. improvised. Little by little, the familiars crowded to where she was, but it was thanks to Dante and her laser pistol that the girl was saved from her. Fortunately, Victor and Diana were more busy getting rid of the relatives who paid no attention to their two companions. Once they eliminated each of the relatives, they reached a door, below was a mass of blue and yellow, trapped with a wooden trap that immobilized his arms and head. On the sides of the stocks it said "traitor" and "Russian bootlicker", indicating that the existence of this witch was during the "Great Northern War". The exhaustion and the increase in temperature made the girl's weapon begin to heat up.

''Well… This is a witch'' said Dante'' On the count of three, we jump. One two three.

The whole team jumps into the void, where the witch was.

"White Night Snow! '' said Aleyn and the place was filled with snow.

''Aleyn we don't have time to play! Diana yelled.

''Vänta en stund!'' The girl concentrated and imagined that the ice rink appeared ''White Night Ice Link! ''

Although the White Night Snowflake radiated a glow, it did not activate. The girl tried the spell again, but it was useless, the least she could do was put on a very imperceptible layer of ice that quickly melted into the ground.

"Guys, my wand overheated, I can't make my plan! You guys do something!" Aleyn warned.

''When you're facing a witch or an Uwasa, please make sure you have a backup plan, Liten Flicka…'' Victor commented.

Victor did his best to attack, but the witch managed to defend herself against the thrusts that Victor gave her. Aleyn thought of the backup plan to help her friends and she saw the snow that she created in the first place thanks to "White Night Snow", so she just made snowballs and attacked the Witch. . Fortunately, the witch was left hesitant as to which person to attack, distracting the evil being long enough for Dante and Diana to attack.

''Antinomy Ray Shock!'' Dante yelled, firing the ray that managed to immobilize the Witch. Victor managed to land a few stabs at the Witch, causing her to spill her "blood" from her while Aleyn just watched the team work.

''And now, the crème de la crème. Take this'' Diana takes a white rose out of her bag and with her wand energizes it ''Scarlet Bloody Rose!'' The girl throws the rose and ends up embedded in the witch ''Très Bien!'' Saying this, the rose explodes, the poison spreads and once when the rose changes color to red, the witch disappears.

''Parfait! Nous avons gagné'' said Diana waiting for some pats with Victor, but the boy passed by, making Diana sad.

The site's barrier disappeared, revealing the train tracks. It was already sunset and the boys had to return to the house. Once night fell, everyone came home and Diana made French egg omelettes.

''Thanks for the food Diana, it's delicious'' Aleyn said and Diana just ignored her.

''Thanks for the food…'' Victor said.

''Je suis content que tu l'aimes! I did it with a lot of love and thinking of you! Diane replied.

'' I didn't say I liked it… Nu går jag i pension '' Victor walked away, making Diana sad, because she expected another good compliment, however her smile didn't disappear. On the contrary, she widened.

''Anyway, food is the best conquest for a man, according to mon père et ma mère. It's a little late, I'll go to my room, bonne nuit'' answered Diana and left, leaving Aleyn and Dante alone.

''Dante… Tack så mycket for supporting me with my career choice'' thanked Aleyn

''Varsågod… I want to see you happy and I hope you'll be a great astronomer'' replied Dante ''Now you have to rest, you're going to go to pre-faculty and…''

''Dante, wait… Tack så mycket because of the pre-faculty's suggestion, but… I want to do something risky…'' Aleyn said.