000x000x000x000x000x000x000x000x000x000

Scarlet Witch

000x000x000x000x000x000x000x000x000x000

Chapter 1 – Tears of God

The sun was shining, and not a cloud was in sight, yet a strange energy was in the air. Ashleen, having finished tending to her garden, could tell that a change was coming soon as she walked the main road to the village with Fenrir by her side. She going to sell tea to an elderly woman, one of few regular customers she had, who had requested a specific blend that soothed the pain in her joints. It was one of the few times Ashleen went to the village, as her customers usually came to her, not wanting to be seen, but the old woman obviously couldn't make the trip, and her son, who usually got the tea for his mother, was out of town. Therefore, Ashleen and Fenrir were making the trip themselves.

"Is this dangerous?" Ashleen asked, being unfamiliar with the phenomena they were sensing.

§It could be.§ Fenrir answered. §There is death in the air, but the lack of blood is strange. Something is about to happen, the energy is building up for it, but right now it's too early to tell what the outcome will be.§

"Do you think it has something to do with the 'Tears of God'?" Ashleen asked wanting his opinion on the rumors that had been swimming around for a while.

§Perhaps.§ Fenrir said. §Many people will fall for the temptation, and those people could cause a lot of trouble.§

"I see." Ashleen said looking up at the sky for a moment.

As she returned her eyes to the road, she pulled her hood a bit further up, shielding her eyes from the sun as she walked. She wasn't entirely sure when the story of the Tears of God started circulating, but, if she remembered correctly, the tears were shed by God for humanity as he came down to Earth. The tears were rumored to either grant you divine power, or offered eternal life, depending on who you asked. The tears were said to be located on the mountain of fire, and many claimed to have seen the artifact. There were even rumors that a human who should've died had obtained remarkable powers and returned from the dead. She could easily understand why someone would cause a lot of trouble to get a hold of that kind of power.

"Halt! Who goes there!?" A man's voice called, followed by an audible smack.

"Are you stupid?" Another man's voice said as a group of vigilante guards from the village approached her. "Everyone knows who that is."

"Oi, take it easy, man; the rookie's just following protocol." A third man said laughing at the scene.

Said rookie rubbed the back of his head and looked embarrassed as he looked up at Ashleen, only to blush furiously and look away. The other guards snickered at him; Ashleen had grown into a beautiful woman, and often caught the eyes of young men in the village, though not many would approach a witch out of fear that their God, Kurmark, would punish them.

"What's going on here?"

The guards snapped out of their carefree demeanor as their leader, a blond haired man named Keit (AN 1), approached along with his much younger sister (AN 2), Yuni.

One of the guards cleared his throat. "Just having a laugh at the rookie's expense, Sir." He said sheepishly.

"You can save the laughs for your free time." Keit scolds slightly with a frown. "Don't forget that we're dealing with a serious situation."

"Yes, Sir." The guards chorused, embarrassed.

Ashleen turned to Keit. "Did something happen?" She asked.

Keit sighs. "We found a group of corpses in the area." He explained. "We're still investigating. Don't suppose you've heard anything?"

Despite her reputation as a witch, Keit seemed to trust her, so she was usually honest with him. "A lot of supernatural energy is congregating in the area." She said, watching as Yuni approached Fenrir, who sat and licked her as she petted him, making her giggle. "I don't know what's causing it. It could be natural, but it could also be caused by a person."

Keit nodded and looked at his sister; Yuni had an ability to tell if a person was dangerous by looking at them, and it was obvious she felt no danger from the so-called witch and her wolf. He looked back at Ashleen. "Do you think it could be connected to the corpses?" He asked.

"It's possible, but I can only speculate." Ashleen said.

Keit nodded again. "Are you heading into town?" He asked. "We'll escort you."

"Yes." Ashleen said and started walking. "I'm visiting a customer."

"Sir, are you sure about this?" One of the guards asked as Yuni climbed onto Fenrir and rode on his back. "Karr will be extremely upset if you bring a heretic into town without his permission, and he's been looking for any excuse to scold you lately…"

Keit gave the guard a pat on the shoulder. "It's alright; I'll deal with him myself." He said reassuringly.

"Yes, Sir."

"Besides, even if we didn't take her into town, Karr still wouldn't like me anyway, right?" Keit joked, getting awkward laughs from the guards.

They walk for a bit mostly in silence, except for Yuni making small talk with Ashleen, who suddenly stopped, looking up a head as Fenrir arched his back in a silent snarl. Yuni didn't have time to ask what was wrong before Ashleen yelled.

"KEIT, INCOMMING, UP AHEAD!"

Just then, something big came crashing through the trees onto the road in front of them.

"EVERYONE, GET BACK!" Keit yelled drawing his sword as the beast skidded to a halt and growled them.

It was a Minotaur; big and with a large muscled upper body that was hunched forward as it stood on all fours. Its eyes were like that of a raging bull as it stood to its full height and roared before charging at the guards in front on its hind legs, and with its arms ready to strike. Keit intercepted the blow with his sword, pushing the beast back.

"I'll handle the monster!" He yelled at the guards. "You protect the civilians!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Keit fought the monster, getting in a few good stabs, but was ultimately knocked back, and even thrown into a tree, but continued fighting with great skill. Yuni whimpered and hugged Fenrir tightly, hiding her face into his fur, as the beast ripped a tree, roots and all, out of the ground and threw it at her brother. Then, using that distraction, the beast charged at their group instead. The guards held their shields up, holding their formation to protect Yuni and Ashleen. Fenrir snarled as ferociously as he could manage, but the beast kept coming. Keit would never reach them in time, and Yuni clung to Fenrir for dear life.

The beast looked at them as it came closer, looking for the weakest prey. It's eyes lingering on Yuni, then travelled to meet Ashleen's glare. The beast froze; this was not prey. The slit eyes of a predator had stopped the beast in its tracks, then a fatal stab of Keit's sword brought the beast down for good. The guards cheered as Keit stood over the beast, panting, and seemed to be in deep thought. The guards praised him; they'd thought they were gonners, but Keit seemed to know they praise was misplaced, though he did not know where it belonged.

"Sir, do you think those bodies we found was killed by this thing?" One of the guards asked. "I've never seen it before."

"Since it showed up not too far from the village… This thing could've easily done some damage back home." Another guard said.

"You're right." The third said. "It's a good thing the Gods are on our side!"

"It's because we have Keit!" One of the guards boosted. "And, besides, what do we have to worry about when our God Kurmark is watching over our village?"

As the group started walking towards the village again, Keit spared a glance in Ashleen's direction. She was talking to Yuni, who was still riding the wolf. He had a funny feeling; he had never quite believed that she was a witch; that she was just a woman who held different beliefs than the rest of the village, and was treated as a heretic for it, but, now, he was no longer sure what to think. He was certain the beast had stopped just before reaching the group, so someone had to have stopped it. He knew it couldn't have been his guards, and it certainly wasn't Yuni, which left only one option, but how had she done it, and without anyone noticing? He shook the thought out of his head with a sigh; he and Yuni have known Ashleen for a while, and he trusted the woman because he trusted Yuni's intuition. She wasn't a threat, and, if she could stop a beast like that in its tracks, she would be a valuable ally, so he'd leave her be.

000x000x000x000x000x000x000x000x000x000

Author's Notes

1) The webtoon doesn't seem to translate names that well, so I'm using the Wiki versions instead.

2) It is never stated what Yuni's relationship with Keit/Kate is, but given how she calls him by his name, I'm assuming she's a sibling or close relative, though she appears young enough to be his daughter.