A day had passed since Eda's capture, Luz hadn't been to school and despite the crystal ball ringing, she never answered it. She even asked Hooty to politely make sure that Gus and Willow would stay away for now. Partly because she was still coming to grips with the situation, and because she didn't want to take the risk that Belos may send the Coven Scouts to come after her. At the very least, she didn't want her friends getting caught up in this mess.
After getting a decent night's sleep and consuming the cake and various other sugary treats, Luz had managed to get her mana reserves back to full. Now, now she just had to figure out what her next move was. King would often come by and check on her, but all Luz would do was pet King's head for a bit and then go back to staring out the window.
"What do you want to do, Niña?"
What can I do?
"¿Me estás tomando el pelo (Are you kidding me)? Since when do you sound so beat? Where's that obnoxious sense of hopefulness and cheeriness?"
It's…It's there…but…I don't know what to do.
"I think it's obvious what you want to do, the question is, do you think you can pull it off?"
Can I?
"We weren't at full power when all of this happened, had that been the case, I guarantee you, the outcome would've been completely different. We could've used the Connect ring to portal our way out of the castle before Lilith ever knew we were there, and Eda's curse would've been lifted. Belos…!" La Lechuza paused upon mentioning his name. "Him, he's different. I barely sensed him at all, and that power…it's stronger than I anticipated from a mortal."
We don't know much about him, do we? The books all talk about how he rose to power, but nothing beyond that. Nothing about where he lived, who his family was, or anything. It's as if he suddenly appeared and took over.
A knock came at the door.
"Come in."
King entered the room and asked, "Hey, Luz, do you need anything?"
"King, what do you know about Emperor Belos?" Luz asked.
King hummed for a moment and then left the room. A minute later the little demon returned with a book that was titled "The Unauthorized Boiling Isles History." "Listen closely, Luz, there's not much that is known."
"The Boiling Isles, named after the hot water of the Boiling Sea, are composed of the bones and flesh of a fallen Titan. Throughout the ages, other monumental bones have been sighted in the Boiling Seas, raising the possibility that many such creatures walked the Demon Realm in eons past. Yet, the Titan of the Boiling Isles remains the only complete skeleton known. The magic of every demon and witch comes from the Titan, this original magic was so potent all life on the isle evolved to wield this magic, too.
For years we explored those powers freely, until a mysterious witch appeared and declared that he, and he alone, could speak to the island.
He said that we were using magic all wrong, his teachings took hold, his strength grew, and soon he became, Emperor Belos.
Belos said that mixing magic was wrong, that only he had that right. So, he created the Coven System, and there our knowledge was restricted, and our potential sealed away. Those who resist are called Wild Witches, and they face harsh punishment. Emperor Belos has since retreated into his castle."
"…There are whispers that say he's planning something big. I wonder if capturing Eda was part of his big plan? What do you think, Luz?" King asked.
It was just as La Lechuza had suspected, Emperor Belos was controlling the citizens through the Coven System, but now it was confirmed for her. And whatever Belos had planned, it might have something to do with why he was so desperate to capture Eda, and it explains the cryptic warning from the Phantom, Pan.
Luz looked down at the tag that was on the gift that Eda made for her that read "To a young witch, from her proud mentor." The gift that Eda made for her was a cape made from Witch's Wool, the very same material that Eda was going to use to make a cloak for herself but felt that it would better serve Luz.
"Eda believes in you, Niña. Prove that her hope in you is not misplaced."
…That sounds oddly supportive of you, La Lechuza.
"Tch, don't be mistaken! I want us to fight Belos again, we were weak before, but now we're back to full power. He will not get the drop on us again! It's a matter of pride for a Phantom!"
Luz chuckled inwardly, but those words did light a fire within Luz, or rather, managed to reignite her fighting spirit. The Latina stood up and unfurled the cape. "I don't care what his plans are, not right now." Luz threw on the cloak and proclaimed for all to hear, "Because today, I'm saving Eda!"
"WEH?! Luz what are you thinking?! You can't be serious!"
"Oh, I'm serious as a heart attack King!" Luz said as she began to walk past the little demon. "Eda used her powers to save me and ended up getting caught by Lilith. Now she's the Owl Beast and has been taken before the Emperor! I don't know what he's planning on doing with Eda, but I'm going to rescue her!"
King ran to catch up to Luz and tugged on her new cloak. "Luz, haven't you been listening to me?! He's the Emperor, he's the most powerful witch alive!"
"Oh, I'll be happy to put that arrogant mortal in his place."
Luz turned around and knelt before King. "King, please try to understand. Eda is in this situation because of me, because of my stupid choice. I have to make things right."
"But…she's in her Owl Beast form, how will she even recognize you?" King asked.
Luz thought about that for a moment and said, "Eda might not, but I think the Owl Beast trusts me, a little anyway. If that's the case, then I might be able to get it to follow me or something. Whatever the case may be, I still have to try."
King looked down for a moment before making his decision. "In that case, I'm coming too."
"King…"
"Me and Eda don't always see eye to eye, but I do consider her family, the same as you, and I want her back just as much as you do," said King.
Luz smiled and hugged the little demon, she then stood to her full height and said, "Then we've got no more time to lose, let's go!"
Meanwhile, back at the Emperor's Castle, Eda was busy tearing up the throne room while Lilith tried to wrangle her in.
"Eda, stop that this instant!" Lilith warned.
Eda ignored her sister and began eating the tapestry that hung from the walls. Lilith had had enough of this, drawing a large spell circle, and casting her spell. That same circle appeared under Eda and formed a magical bubble that imprisoned her and stopped the cursed witch from rampaging in the throne room. Eda screeched and hissed, showing her displeasure from being put in a cage. Lilith walked up to the bubble and Eda glared at her.
"Don't look at me like that, this is for your own good," said Lilith. "Emperor Belos will heal you, and we'll be in his Coven together. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
Eda's response was to blow a raspberry at her older sister.
Lilith huffed as she said, "I will not fall prey to your childish taunts…Blah!" Lilith fell prey as she made a face back at Eda.
Just then, the doors to the throne room opened as six Coven Scouts entered and fell in line on either side of the door. Kikimora entered next and announced, "All kneel before Emperor Belos."
The ruler of the Boiling Isles emerged from the shadows of the doorway, his eyes glowing bright blue as he fixed them on Eda and Lilith. The eldest Clawthorne sister immediately dropped to one knee, while the younger screeched and roared. Through sheer force of will and strength, Eda broke the bubble that kept her prisoner and lunged for Belos directly.
"EDA, NO!" Lilith shouted.
Belos was less than fearful of this attack as he became completely intangible and disappeared just as Eda attacked, passing right through him. The Emperor reappeared behind Eda and with a flick of his index finger, tossed Eda like a ragdoll across the room and against the wall. Once she fell to the floor, construct ropes made of his scarlet-colored magic restrained Eda to the floor, preventing her from causing anymore disruptions.
Lilith quickly rushed to her sister's side and said, "My lord, I apologize for my sister's rash behavior, as you can see, she is still in her cursed form! But once you have healed her, as promised, I'm sure she will become a useful assist to the Coven."
Emperor Belos summoned his staff and from the red crystal orb he fired a beam of magical energy straight at Eda's forehead. The cursed Witch screeched and struggled for a few seconds before Belos ceased his work.
Eda's eyes were no longer black as night but had now returned to normal. The cursed witch looked around as she said, "W-Where am I?! What is this?!" Then it hit her. "Ah, farts, I got captured."
Belos slowly walked towards Eda as he said, "Edalyn Clawthorne, the infamous Owl Lady. Wild Witch of Bones Borough. Mentor to Luz the human, who also happens to be the hero, Kamen Rider Witch. How fascinating."
Eda growled. "You stay away from her or so help me Titan I will rip you apart with my bare hands!"
Belos chuckled a little at Eda's assumption. "You've got it all wrong. The human is safe for now, as she does serve somewhat of a purpose in ridding us of the Phantoms, again, for now. Although that all depends on you, because right now, all I want is just the portal that brought her here."
"Tough, 'cause I ain't telling you nothing!" Eda retorted.
Belos sighed as he stepped back and said, "A pity, so I guess that means I'll have to ask the child directly." Belos snapped his fingers, an unspoken order for the Scouts to take Eda away.
"Wait! Don't touch her! Lilith don't let him hurt her! Lilith!"
Those were the last words Lilith heard before Eda was dragged away. Lilith turned towards the Emperor and asked, "Oh, are they taking her to the healing ceremony?"
"I'll not be healing her."
Lilith's eyes widened in disbelief. "But…you promised me…"
"Don't be so naïve, Lilith, this is the Titan's will. All Wild Witches must be dealt with before the Day of Unity." The ruler of the isles bent down and looked her in the eyes as he asked, "You do understand, don't you?"
"Of course," Lilith answered.
"Good. Oh, and one more thing." Belos snapped his fingers again, and before Lilith appeared Eda's staff and her Palisman, Owlbert. "Destroy the Owl Lady's staff, she won't be needing it anymore."
Luz and King skulked around Bones Borough, La Lechuza had managed to convince Luz to save their magic until they were close. The human's first plan was to transform and bust into Emperor Belos' castle, but La Lechuza advised against that as they weren't sure if Eda was still even at the castle, so it'd just be wasting magic to go into the palace and find out that she wasn't there.
"I kinda agree with the monster owl on this one, we need to know where Eda is before we do anything big, Luz," said King.
Luz sighed in frustration as she said, "I know, I know, I'm just antsy about this whole thing."
As the demon and human continued making their way through town, they stopped by the local crystal ball shop where a news broadcast was being played. On the crystal balls was the image of Perry Porter, Augustus Porter's father.
{This is Perry Porter, coming to you live from outside the Emperor's Castle. Edalyn Clawthorne, known commonly as Eda, the Owl Lady, has been captured and has been brought before the Emperor.}
Luz and King saw a gathering crowd watching the report, Luz kept her hood up as she approached the crowd and listened in on the report. The image of Perry Porter was then shifted to Kikimora as she elaborated further.
{For the crimes of attacking a Coven leader, and refusing to join a Coven, Edalyn Clawthorne's body shall be petrified in stone. Today, at sundown, at the Conformatorium.}
The visual switched back to Perry Porter who had a grim look on his face as he reported this troubling news.
{Today, is a grim day for Bones Borough.}
Luz stared at the crystal balls in dismay and asked, "Please tell me that's not as bad as it sounds…?"
King furrowed his brow as he spoke, "Petrification is only done to the worst criminals, and once the spell is complete there's no changing them back."
As if to add further despair to this situation, the crystal balls shifted to the images of a past witches who were petrified. Luz looked upon them and shook her head, so many people turned to stone, so many. How many of them were like Reven Darwick and Lightning Lucille? Criminals that deserved to be punished for their crimes. And how many of them were just witches who didn't want to conform to Emperor Belos' Coven System, for just wanting to be different from others? The crystal ball shifted to a new image, one of Lilith Clawthorne, and it was this image that made Luz's blood boil.
"Lilith…She cursed Eda! She captured her own sister! She is the WORST!" Luz stated as she hit the windowsill. "If I ever see her again – AAAUGH!" Luz grabbed one of the crystal balls and shattered it upon the ground.
The young witch-in-training growled and huffed from her pent-up anger, and King quickly tried to calm her down. "Luz, calm down, we have to concentrate on saving Eda first."
"As much as I like seeing you this angry, the demon is right. Calm yourself or you're more likely to get yourself killed before you even get the chance to save her."
Luz took a few calming breathes, in and out, in and out. Her anger subsided to the point that she wasn't gritting her teeth anymore, she then said to King, "You're right, both of you. But how are we going to get into the Conformatorium in time and save enough magic to get her out of there?"
The sound of someone whistling drew their attention, that's when Luz and King spotted one of the Conformatorium guards walking from around the corner, and a plan began to hatch in their heads.
"We'll have to do something so diabolical, so criminally insane, that they'll have to send us to the Conformatorium," said King.
The proclaimed diabolical, criminally insane plan was for the two of them to step on a patch of grass next to a sign that literally said, "Do Not Step On Grass." If La Lechuza had a hand this was where she would facepalm herself.
"I can think of dozens of things we could do to get ourselves taken to the Conformatorium, and you choose to step on grass in defiance of a sign? This will never–!"
In less than a minute, the Conformatorium guard called in backup, and a prison carriage. In the next minute, both King and Luz were thrown into the back, with the doors slamming shut, and the carriage trotting off towards the Conformatorium.
"You were saying?" Luz asked.
"I have no words for how utterly dumb that was…Truly, I don't know which is worse! The fact that you came up with such a plan, that your plan actually worked, or that these pitiful excuses for public law enforcement actually cared enough about such a thing?!"
What's that saying that some people use? "You gotta enforce the small laws if you want people to obey the big ones?"
"I give up."
"Yep, perfect plan."
The day was growing later, and the sun was nearly down, the ceremony to petrify Eda would begin soon. Thankfully, the carriage arrived at the Conformatorium, as they entered through the gates, they rolled by statues of previously petrified witches, each one frozen in various states of terror. Luz and King watched as two of the guards brought a new pedestal to add to a vacant spot between to other statues, and on that pedestal was a name plate that read "Edalyn Clawthorne."
"There's not going to be a new statue going up today, right Luz!" King asked with confidence. "Luz?"
The Latina did not reply, she was mostly silent when they made it through the gates, her visage frozen in a state of fierce anger and determination. Her eyes locked onto a poster of Lilith, and all that anger came boiling to the top again, but there was a time and place for that. The carriage pulled into the main building where the driver pulled up next to the other carriages that were parked nearby.
"Sir, the Owl Lady's human student has been apprehended," said the driver.
Warden Wrath walked in and said, "Very good. Ah, Luz the human, how I've waited to see you again. Now I'll have my revenge and you'll have front row seats to Eda's demise."
[Light, Please.]
[HI~KA~RI!]
"What was that?" he asked.
The moment that Warden Wrath opened the doors he was blinded by a bright flash of yellow light, and a moment after, he was kicked in the face and sent flying to the other side of the room. The Coven Scouts were stunned from what they witnessed; they did not think a human had that kind of strength. However, when they turned to look at the person inside the wagon, they found that it was not the human girl, but the hero of Bones Borough, Kamen Rider Witch.
Two of the guards readied their weapons, but Witch swiftly leaped from the carriage and palm struck one guard in the chest, before sweeping his legs and punt kicking him across the floor. The guard hit the wall hard, knocking him out cold. The second Scout fired off energy beams from his spear, but Witch was quicker as she closed in on the poor Scout.
[Connect, Please.]
Witch swiftly drew her WizarSwordGun, switched it into sword mode, and slashed upwards, cutting the spearhead off. The Scout was shocked again but did not have time to process it as Witch performed a spinning roundhouse that threw the guard into a tailspin before he landed on the ground in an unconscious heap like his partner. The driver had run away, leaving Warden Wrath as the last one standing. Warden Wrath managed to get back on his feet, his head was still in a daze from the blow, but he managed to extend his arms and readied them to attack.
[Bind, Please.]
Suddenly, several light construct chains appeared out of nowhere and wrapped up Warden Wrath, completely immobilizing him. Before Wrath could do anything, he suddenly found himself staring down the blade of Witch's sword.
"Where's Edalyn Clawthorne," Witch demanded.
"W-Why is Witch concerned about a Wild Witch?! She's not a Phantom, this matter doesn't concern–!"
Witch switched WizarSwordGun into gun mode and fired a shot into the air, scaring the warden. "I'm here to right wrongs the of Phantoms and those with evil intentions. Now I will not ask again. Where! Is! Edalyn Clawthorne!"
Warden Wrath gulped as he said, "S-She's in the holding cell, in the dungeon!"
[Connect, Please.]
Witch reached into her magic circle and pulled out a pencil and paper. "Draw me a map!"
Luz wasn't normally one to resort to threats and intimidation, but there was too much at stake right now, Eda's life hung in the balance, if she wanted to save her, she'd have to skirt the line of anti-hero to do it. Once Wrath drew the map, Witch and King followed the directions through the Conformatorium. Every Coven Scout and guard that they met along the way was swiftly dealt with, Luz switched through her various Styles, Ice, Plant, Fire, and then back to Light, while also using her Coven magic rings to take down others.
The guards and Scouts were no match for the hero, and despite all this, Witch didn't kill a single one. She may be skirting the line of hero and anti-hero, but she wasn't about to cross that line. At least, she was hoping she wouldn't have to. Her trail of destruction led them to a pair of large double doors, Witch looked down at King and said, "King, watch the door."
"Weh!" King replied.
Witch raised her WizarSwordGun and slashed the lock in half. She pushed the door open and slowly entered the room, after closing the door, Witch took off her Connect ring and replaced it with the Flash ring. She walked slowly into the room, being mindful of any potential magic traps to keep prisoners from escaping. The room was filled with various cages and medieval torture devices, Witch feared the worst until she spotted Eda standing in the middle of the room, still in her Owl Beast form, and chained to the floor.
"EDA!" Witch cried out.
The Owl Beast heard the noise, turned around and screeched as it reared up on its hind legs and prepared to attack. However, Witch quickly activated her ring, anticipating this moment.
[Flash, Please.]
The Flash ring released a purifying light that blinded Eda for a moment.
"Eda, wait, it's me! It's me…!"
Eda blinked her eyes a few times, and after the third time her black eyes shifted back to normal. "Luz!" Witch deactivated her ring as she approached her mentor. "Oh no, oh nononono, what are you doing here?!"
"It's alright, Eda, I'm here to save you," said Witch.
Witch raised her WizarSwordGun and slashed at the chain. However, to her surprise, nothing happened, the chain was still intact. Although finding it odd, Witch switched the WizarSwordGun to gun mode and fired off three rounds at the chain, but it still didn't break.
"What's going on here?! Alright, then, how about this!"
[Fire, Please.]
[Hi~HI~HIIII~!]
A flash of red went off, transforming Witch into her Fire Style.
[Flare, Please.]
Witch coated her right hand in flames and blasted the chain with a stream of magical fire. She concentrated as hard as she could, but after a moment, the chain glowed bright blue and dispelled Witch's flames.
"That…That's not possible!"
"Luz, your magic isn't strong enough for this, you need to leave, now!" Eda urged.
"But I can't! It's my fault you needed to save me! It's my fault you got captured! I need to make this right and get you out of here!" Witch declared as she switched the WizarSwordGun into sword mode and opened the Hand Author on her weapon.
[C'mon slashing, shake hands! C'mon slashing, shake hands!]
} FIRE, SLASH STRIKE {
The blade of the WizarSwordGun ignited with raging flames as Witch raised her weapon and gave a loud battle cry as she slashed the chain. The chain reacted by glowing blue again, but Witch wasn't giving up as she poured more of her power into the attack, determined to cut Eda free from her bonds. The enchanted chain wasn't impressed as it released a burst of magical energy that threw Witch onto her rear and cancelled her attack as if it was nothing.
Witch walked back towards Eda and got down on her knees in defeat. "Why I am not strong enough…?! I need to save you; I need to fix this!"
Eda reached out and grabbed Witch by the shoulders with both of her large hands. "No, you don't need to fix anything. It's not your fault, kid. I'm here because of my own actions, I went against Belos' law and…for a while I was able to get away with it. But, well, without magic I can't do much. I don't regret anything, I lived freely, and I got to meet you."
Witch felt her heart grow heavier by the second as she listened to Eda's words. "Eda…but still…"
Eda gently cupped the side of Witch's helmet and said, "Listen, kid, Belos will do something to you. He knows your Witch, and for some reason he wants to keep you around as some Phantom exterminator. At least until he finds a way to get rid of them himself. I'm not sure how close he is to actually figuring that out, but the day will come when he does, and when he does, I won't be around to protect you. Which…Which is why you need to leave."
"I won't leave!"
"No, Luz, I don't mean leave the Conformatorium."
Eda reached into her mane and pulled out the key, she pressed on the slit eye crystal that was at the top of it and instantly summoned the doorway that connected both the Demon Realm and the Human Realm. Witch looked at the portal and then back to Eda, understanding what she really meant when she said to leave.
"No…Eda I-I can't – I-I still –!"
"LUZ!" Eda shouted, cutting off the young teen. "Will this world have it rough without you? Yes, there's no getting around that, but Belos wants this key and the portal, which seems to be the whole reason why he even bothered to capture me. I don't know what he's planning on doing with these, but we can't take any chances."
Eda handed the key over to Witch, who gingerly took it into her hand before storing it in the same pocket dimension she kept her weapon in.
Witch took that same hand that gave her the key brought it back to her. "No, we're a family! L-Like you said, 'We weirdos have to stick together,' remember?!"
"Ah, Luz, you have a family, and it's waiting for you on the other side, go back to them. And when you do get there, use your powers to destroy that key and the door. Belos may win the battle, but he won't win the war, at least we can stick it to him in the end, huh?"
Eda couldn't see it due to the helmet, but Luz's eyes were crying tears of sadness. Witch rushed towards her mentor and gave her a hug, prompting the Owl Lady to return that hug in kind.
"I love you, Eda."
Eda's heart felt like it was breaking, but she had to remain strong at least for Luz, she couldn't let these last moments with her be tainted by her breaking down into a mess. "I love you, too, kiddo."
Suddenly an alarm went off, and a light bathed the entire room in red. "Luz, move!" Eda ordered as pushed Witch back.
The chain that refused to break suddenly glowed and morphed into a giant cage around Eda. The cage began to rise as Eda was taken to where the ceremony was to be held. Witch looked up in dismay as she cried out, "NO, NOT YET!"
With a sorrowful look in her eyes, Eda said, "I'm sorry…Goodbye, Luz."
"EEEEEEDDAAAAAAA!"
With those final words spoken, the lift had risen all the way up, leaving Witch as the sole occupant of the room. Witch fell to her knees as she began to sob, her mentor, the person she regarded as a second mother, was taken away from her, and she could do nothing to stop it.
Suddenly the doors to the holding cell opened and Lilith came walking in, holding King by the scruff as he struggled to get free.
"Drat!" Lilith cursed. "I'm too late."
"Hey, let me go!" King demanded.
Lilith looked down at the transformed human, it was still a strange thing to see, knowing that the adult looking woman before her was really a teenage girl underneath. "Well, at least, I found you, human."
"…You…" Witch rose to her feet as her aura began to flare, oddly enough the flames around her body glowed a dark crimson color. "YOU hurt Eda! YOU put her in chains! And now…I WILL TAKE YOU DOWN!"
[Flash, P–P–P–Now.]
Witch spun on her heel as she turned around and raised her right hand, releasing a blinding flash of light that made Lilith wince in pain. With that distraction, Witch swiftly closed in and struck Lilith's forearm. The surge of pain made the eldest Clawthorne sister release King immediately, allowing the little demon to get out of the line of fire.
[Flare, Now.]
Dark crimson flames erupted around Witch's hands as she shot forth a torrent of those flames at Lilith. Lilith quickly raised a shield to block the attack, but it was quickly getting chipped away. Witch punched forward, blasting the shield with one crimson flame blast after the other.
"You did this to her! You hurt your sister! You brought her nothing but pain!"
"Wait, I just want to talk," said Lilith.
"I don't want to hear it!"
[Connect, Now.]
A magic circle appeared under Witch allowing her drop through it. The portal reappeared behind Lilith, forcing her to quickly bring up another shield. She did so just in time as another torrent of crimson flames bellowed forth from the portal and slammed against her barrier. The attack was strong enough to shatter the barrier and throw Lilith some feet back. Witch wasn't about to give Lilith the time to breathe as exited the portal can continued her barrage.
"This won't end like it did back at the castle! I barely had any mana left, but I'm back at full power today! C'mon, show me the magical power that allowed you to become the leader of the Emperor's Coven! LILITH CLAWTHORNE!"
With took out her WizarSwordGun and pressed her left hand against the Hand Author.
} FIRE, SHOOTING STRIKE {
Witch aimed the WizarSwordGun at Lilith and pulled the trigger, unleashing a plasmatic blast of magical crimson flames that roared towards her, melting the floor in its wake as it traveled to her. Lilith stared wide eyed at the incoming attack; all she could do was fortify the barrier around herself and conjure multiple shield layers in front of her. The Shooting Strike smashed through one layer after another, the sound of breaking glass accompanied each layer's destruction, which was fitting, as Lilith might as well have just put panes of glass in front of her.
When the attack reached her primary barrier, Lilith poured more of her magic into it, trying to prevent it from shattering, but she found that that was going to be impossible, as the barrier was quickly melting like ice-scream on a scorching summer day. Thinking quickly, Lilith charged up her staff with magic and released a blast of her own at the attack. Her quick thinking paid off as her attack made Witch's attack prematurely explode, however, the resulting explosion threw Lilith through the portal.
"You're not getting away that easily!" Witch declared as she ran towards the portal and disappeared on the other side.
"LUUUUUZ!" King cried as he chased after her.
Lilith flew out of the portal, which had appeared in the doorway of the dilapidated old house in the back of the Noceda property. Her clothes were smoking from the life ending attack she just barely managed to escape from. To say she was surprised was an understatement, the human girl didn't have nearly that much power when they fought back at the castle. The horrible realization of the human's words finally struck her, the human, as Witch was even stronger than her, it was sheer dumb luck that she happened to be weak that day, otherwise she'd be in the same position as her sister.
A moment after coming to terms with that realization, Lilith witnessed as Witch came flying out of the portal and tackled her to the ground. Both women rolled around in the dirt for a few seconds before Lilith managed to push Witch off of her and put some distance between them. Another moment later, King came tumbling out of the portal as well, a little dazed from the trans-dimensional warp.
Witch had gotten up and was prepared to fight, but she became distracted when she realized that she was no longer in the Demon Realm, she was home. The surrealness of this moment, allowed Lilith to ready a spell to subdue Witch.
"LUZ, WATCH OUT!" King warned right before Lilith conjured some vines to hold him down.
"Don't think I've–!"
Without warning, Luz's transformation ended, returning her to her original form. "W-What?! No, no, nononono! Why did I change back?! I can't be out of mana!"
"No, we are not out mana, but I…I cannot connect to the magic anymore. I don't understand this myself?!"
"UGH! Whatever, I still have this!" Luz took out a Fire Glyph and pointed it towards Lilith. "FIRE!"
A second surprise came when the piece of paper completely disintegrated without the spell ever being cast.
"My Rider powers and my Glyphs?! AAAH!"
Lilith lunged forward and tackled Luz to the ground, pinning the Latina to the ground. Luz struggled against Lilith, even without her powers or her Glyphs, she wasn't about to go down easy. She was going to make this as hard for Lilith as possible, and if she managed to gouge out an eye or scar her pretty face, then she'd count that as a win.
"Would you please just stop! I just need you to listen to me," said Lilith.
"NO WAY! YOU deserve to be Petrified, not Eda!"
"…You're right."
When Luz heard those words her rage subsided, and she stopped her struggling. Lilith released Luz and sat back on her knees as she hugged herself, looking very remorseful.
"I deserve to be in Edalyn's place…"
Luz looked upon the older Clawthorne sister, and despite her anger towards Lilith, Luz just had to ask, "Why did you do that to her? She's your sister, your familia! You don't curse the people you love! So, WHY?!"
Lilith sighed heavily as she finally revealed the truth of Eda's curse. "When Eda and I were younger, we were the best of friends. We did everything together, we played together, learned magic together, and at that same time, we were each other's rivals, pushing the other to become better and stronger." Lilith looked up into the blue sky and recalled those memories fondly. "Being in the Emperor's Coven was my dream, I wanted to work alongside the most powerful witches on the Boiling Isles and make our world a better place. And Edalyn, she wanted to be right there beside me, together, I believed there was nothing we couldn't do."
The happy expression on Lilith's face turned to sadness as she continued.
"But…there was a problem."
Luz raised an eyebrow and asked, "What kind of problem."
"When we went to sign up to join the Emperor's Coven, the organizer told us that there was only one spot open, and in order for one of us to get the spot, we had to duel each other on the following day…"
Luz gasped a little, Eda never told her about that, although, considering that it had to do with the Owl Beast, she was sure that there was some things Eda didn't want to mention.
"And…Let's just face it, she was right, Edalyn is stronger than me. I may be smarter and craftier, but Edalyn was creative, unpredictable, and due to her young age, she trained twice as hard as I did. In a head-to-head duel, I knew that she would easily defeat me…"
Lilith looked at her right hand as she remembered the phantom feeling of holding that cursed scroll.
"Emperor Belos always said, 'To be great, you have to make sacrifices,' I started to think, 'What would he do in my situation'? So, I snuck out of the house and entered the Night Market. I rummaged through a barrel filled with scrolls until I found one that would – at least I thought it would –take away Eda's powers. I thought it would just be for a day."
Lilith's right hand balled into a fist as she slammed it against the ground.
"I was a fool…I on the day we were to duel, Eda forfeited, proclaiming that she refused to fight her own family. She was a better witch than I will ever be…And, not long after that, she transformed into the Owl Beast in front of everyone in the stands. I made my sacrifice for the Emperor, and it was time to receive my reward. I've been pursuing Edalyn to make her join the Coven because Emperor Belos said he would cure her…but a fool then is a fool now, he lied to me."
Lilith stood up and so did Luz, for a minute the two witches stared into each other's eyes, trying to find any hint lies or mistrust.
"I know how to save Edalyn, but I can't do it alone. I need magic that's stronger than mine, I need you, Witch," said Lilith.
Luz glared at Lilith suspiciously and asked, "How do I even know I can trust you? After everything you've done?"
Lilith drew a spell circle and from it she summoned a staff and Owlbert. She presented both to Luz who looked upon them in shock.
Luz took both the staff and Owlbert from Lilith and held the little Palisman close to her. "Owlbert, you're okay." Owlbert trilled in happiness now that he was returned to someone he knew. Once Owlbert was safely perched on her shoulder, she looked back up at Lilith and said, "Alright, Lilith, I don't like your whole…deal…but we need your help to save Eda. So, for now, a truce."
Lilith nodded in acceptance of the truce; with a wave of her hand, she dismissed the vines that were keeping King pinned. Once that was done, she said, "Now, let's head back, we don't have much time before the ceremony starts."
Luz was about to walk but paused as she looked down the path that would take her right back home. For more than a month she had been in the Demon Realm, lying to her mother about her whereabouts, and now, she was back, and not too far away was her home.
"Second thoughts?"
No, just taking in this moment. Depending on what happens, I might not get to see my world again. And there's a high chance that we'll…
"I consider all mortals to be weak, but you aren't one of them. It takes more than just boundless hope to keep me from emerging, Niña. I don't work with weak hosts."
Luz smiled at the tsundere way that La Lechuza was trying to encourage her.
"Hey, Luz, do you need a minute?" King asked.
Luz shook her head. "No, I'm coming."
Luz, King, and Lilith all entered the doorway, once they had, the portal to the human world disappeared in a flash of light.