A/N: And now, we begin the Covention. This will be a different take from the chapter of the same name in Coven of Shadows, though some of the context will be similar. The main thing is, you can expect a major development to take place, and I won't say anything else until the end. …Except that there will be a few references here and there that you'll certainly recognize. :) Let's see where this chapter will take us next, shall we?
Omen was now standing before the door to the training hall. And he wasn't alone. Ben and Judy were behind him, too. It had only been a couple of days since Ben blew open the door with his power. Both sides still tried to comprehend how it could've happened.
In any case, Lawrence gave him greater clarity a moment prior to it. It was the first time he'd ever raised his tone to him. He supposed it went to show how ruthless any Clawthorne can be when they're agitated. But where could he begin to change, he wondered.
Accepting to train the boy is one thing, but getting the boy to accept him is another, not that he should. But even so, one thing still bothered him. It was obvious to him by now why he was never worthy. But what he really wanted to know… was how he could begin to be worthy. Facing the Demon Lord shouldn't have to be that boy's responsibility…!
"Uh, Omen, are you okay?"
Omen heard Ben's question and turned back to the children.
"You seem… worried about something."
Omen sighed to himself before he answered them.
"I'm fine. I've just got a lot on my mind…"
He could've just told them right then and there, but he would only end up putting a tremendous amount of undue pressure on him. He'd already put enough on him as is… Omen turned to the duo and spoke to them.
"I'm sure you two noticed the last time you were here how… empty it was."
As Ben and Judy thought back to when Omen put Ben through the most grueling training, he wasn't afraid to remind him of it.
"You mean when you almost got me killed?"
Omen knew he was just trying to push his buttons on purpose. But he understood the gist, responding with a flat look.
"Yes, that."
As for Judy, she acknowledged the lack of other students thereof back then. But she assumed it was for a more… harsh outcome.
"Was that because they weren't… cut out for this?"
Omen shook his head as he replied.
"No. I gave them the week off from their training to put into practice what they've learned."
Ben lowered his eyes. He had a hard time believing that from him at all after what he went through.
"Somehow, I seriously doubt that…"
Omen was unfazed by his comment.
"Believe what you want. In any case, those four students under my tutelage are the people you're going to be working with from here on out. They come from different circumstances than the two of you have, so keep that in mind. I'll tell them the same as well."
Ben and Judy both nodded to him affirmatively before he placed his hands on the door. He pushed them open gently, letting it stretch out wide. The aforementioned students were in the shadows as Omen walked up with Ben and Judy behind him. He stepped aside so that they could see the new recruits for themselves.
Speaking of, they made hushed whispers of surprise to see Lawrence in the mix.
"Is that him…?"
"What's he doing here?"
Ben and Judy looked at the silhouettes in wonder before Omen spoke up.
"I'm sure you're all very much surprised. But you'll be pleased to know we've recently acquired two more students to undertake this training alongside you. Judith Clawthorne."
Judy waved to them with a smile as Ben stepped up next with Lawrence signaling him.
"And Benjamin Kingston."
"Hey. My friends call me Ben."
In the silhouette, a girl gasped before she made a light squeal in wonder, puzzling him before Omen cut to the chase.
"Ben, Judith, allow me to introduce you to my students."
The first one to step up was a girl with blue eyes, long white hair that went down to her back and a light tan skin color. She was dressed in the same cloaks as Ben and Judy, but she had a small stripe of yellow on her left sleeve and a white one on her right. Despite it, however, she seemed to have a cold look on her face.
"This is Sunday. She specializes in potion making, but her main forte is the ice element."
Ben reached his hand out to shake her hand.
"Uh, hey. It's nice to meet you."
But when Sunday reached out and grasped his hand, she could feel her chilling him to the bone…!
"Sure. Nice to meet you, too."
The moment Sunday let go of his hand, Ben tried to blow on his hand to warm it up. Once it was warm enough, he sighed in relief.
"Geez…"
Then came the next student. He had a darker shade of brown skin with green eyes, as well as purple abomination-like hair styled in small dreadlocks, and he had a light pink stripe on his left sleeve while he had an orange one on the right.
"Up next, we have Daniel Deamonne. Like his father, he specializes in Abomination magic. But he adds a personal touch to them now and again."
Judy reached his hand out to shake his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
Dan reached his hand out, covering it in abomination-goo before he shook Judy's hand as he replied.
"Same here. It's good to see a Clawthorne on the team."
Judy smiled at his comment. For the third recruit, she had long violet hair in two ponytails that went down to her back. Her skin was a bit lighter than Daniel's, and she also had green eyes to boot. To go with her standard cloak, she had a light brown stripe along her left sleeve; her right sleeve didn't have any stripes as opposed to the others.
"This one is Astrid Fawnclaw. She happens to be a bit of an expert on Beast-Keeping Magic."
Ben's eyes widened in surprise. He was hoping to find somebody who was an expert at Beast-Keeping, but he didn't count on it being a fellow student.
"Really? She does Beast-Keeping?"
Astrid walked up to Ben, having a look of pleasant surprise. She moved up to him so quickly, he didn't have enough time to react. She began looking all over him in wonder.
"Are you really a human?! I heard there were a couple of them here, but I never thought I'd see one with my own eyes!"
Ben blinked his eyes nervously toward her odd approach, not sure what to make of this. On the other hand, though, her energy seemed to rival even Luz's.
"Uh, thanks…?"
Astrid grinned excitedly before Omen cleared his throat, making her ease up on her eagerness.
"Right! Sorry…"
As Astrid laughed nervously, Omen got down to business.
"Anyway, for my last student, I'm sure you'd know him very well. Both of you have met before."
In a moment, Omen's fourth student went up. He had a dark purple stripe on his left sleeve, making the duo gasp in awe before he spoke with an easygoing expression on his face. It was Aliud.
"Hey, guys. Long time no see."
Ben and Judy were completely dumbfounded by his presence.
"Al…!"
"You're part of the Shadow Coven?!"
Aliud picked up a strand of his white hair and brushed it back with a smirk.
"What can I say? I've got a thing for the dark."
Aliud made a small wink towards Daniel, hoping he'd get the hint.
"Hint, hint…"
Daniel only gave him a flat look before he replied.
"For the last time, I don't want to be your boyfriend."
Aliud staggered back and fell to the floor comically as Ben crossed his arms.
"You know, I'm kinda shocked he didn't see that one coming."
Judy giggled from his quip. Thanks to Judy, he was already aware of what he could do as someone in the Oracle track. Of course, Omen quickly got their attention back with the clear of his throat.
"Now that you've all been introduced, it's time to move on the most important matter for today."
The group of six all looked at Omen inquisitively. Ben had an idea about where it was headed.
"It's gonna be about us training, isn't it?"
Omen gave Ben a stern look. Ben felt the pressure coming off from him as Omen answered back to him.
"Not today, Benjamin. Today, all of you… are going to the Annual Covention."
Judy, Daniel, Aliud, and Astrid grew very excited to hear this while Sunday kept her bland look. As for Ben, he was puzzled.
"We're going to the Covention?!"
"I'm going to a Covention?"
Play Ludwig Göransson Music: "Hey Mando!" (1:43)
The Owl House: Shadows Upon Blood
Chapter 4: Covention
End Ludwig Göransson Music: "Hey Mando!"
An hour later, Ben was now standing in front of what looked like a giant auditorium with the other students. Out in the open, they had to wear different clothes to blend in. For Daniel, he wore a loose, ripped-up sleeveless brown shirt with a black tank top underneath it, a pair of worn-looking white pants with a black leather belt with a silver buckle, and black steel-on-the-toe boots. For Aliud, he was wearing a light blue tunic with dark gray leggings and black slip-on shoes. Sunday's outfit was a big black sun hat, a dark purple long sleeve shirt, two shiny dark gray leather gloves, baggy dark brown overalls, black shades, and dark brown leather boots. And finally, Astrid wore a simple gray t-shirt with a brown belt, black pants, brown boots, and a dark blue scarf around her neck. Most of them were excited as Aliud showed his elation to Astrid, who showed that in eagerness in return.
"I can't believe it! After all this time, we finally get to go to a Covention!"
"I know! I might be able to see other Beast-Keepers who can help me with my journal! I'm just so excited!"
Of course, Daniel acknowledged someone who wasn't as eager.
"We all are, Astrid. Well, except maybe Sunday."
Sunday turned back to the others, lowering her shades to show her blue eyes.
"I am. This is just my excited face."
Meanwhile, the hype that is the Covention was still lost on Ben.
"I don't get it. What is a Covention?"
Judy filled in the blanks for him.
"It's where all the student witches get to see all the types of covens before they're placed in one. Rumor has it, there's even a couple of mystery guests showing up this year!"
Omen nodded to Judy as he chimed in and went over to Ben.
"Which is why we're going, especially you. Normally, I would've gone against it, but Lawrence told me this mystery guest is in need of some protection against a few certain undesirables. Besides, Lawrence told me you haven't figured out which Coven track you chose yet."
Ben had a sheepish look come over his face as he rubbed the back of his head. In all of the excitement that happened in the past couple of days, he'd forgotten all about it.
"Yeah, that slipped my mind…"
All the same, Omen continued to make his point.
"So, in lieu of that, we're paying a visit to the Covention to help you blend in more easily with the Emperor's Coven standards."
Ben was at a loss for words. He had no idea that such a thing like that existed. But if it was so vital, why would Omen be against it in the first place, he wondered.
"Really?"
Before Ben could contemplate it, Omen spoke up, urging more seriousness to the matter.
"However, because you're all going out to the Covention publicly, it's important for me to remind you of these three simple rules. They're the same as when you're out normally."
Omen held up three fingers to show those rules as he spoke up.
"Rule one of the Shadow Coven: you don't talk about the Shadow Coven. Rule two of the Shadow Coven: you deny knowing anything about the Shadow Coven. And rule three of the Shadow Coven…"
As Omen discussed the rules, Ben whispered under his breath to Judy. He felt that if they're out in the open, it would defeat the purpose entirely.
"Why is it called the Shadow Coven again…?"
Unfortunately for him, Omen overheard and shouted straight in his ear.
"YOU DON'T ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SHADOW COVEN!"
As his eardrums shattered from such an abrasive shout, Ben stood with a shocked look on his face, hearing nothing but ringing in his ears.
"I think my eardrums just popped…"
Omen stood firm as he crossed his arms.
"As long as you're out in the open, it's imperative that you don't give away any mention of it to anyone. It's extremely important that we keep this coven in particular under wraps. Understood?"
Everyone nodded to Omen as they replied simultaneously.
"Right!"
"Good. Now go out there…"
Omen paused for a moment to make a big smirk.
"…and have fun."
No sooner had Omen announced this that Aliud, Astrid, and Daniel took off and made a break for the Covention, apart from Sunday, who just walked away briskly. As for Ben, he was giving himself a Wet Willy to stop the ringing in his ears as Judy checked on him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just give it a sec…"
After a few seconds, he was able to stop the ringing in his ears, sighing in relief.
"Okay. I'm good now."
Once that was done, Ben turned over to Omen, who was about to follow his students in.
"You know, telling us the rules was fine, but maybe don't shout it to the rest of the world, especially in my FUCKING EAR!"
Omen didn't think it was of any concern.
"I've already analyzed this whole area. Everyone else was already in the Covention, so I don't think you need to worry about—"
Before he could finish, however, he saw a few people behind Ben and Judy. He ended up putting his fingers on the bridge of his nose as he cursed himself.
"Oh, Titan damn it…"
Ben and Judy turned around to see Luz, King, Willow, Gus, and Eda. Luz, Willow, and Gus had the biggest smiles on their faces. As for Eda, she was in the same predicament Omen was, but for her own reason.
"Oh, Titan damn it…"
Ben's eyes rolled over to Omen, having a smirk on his face as he knew his point was made.
"You were saying?"
"Shut up…!"
It didn't take long for Eda to catch wind of them, especially the one person she recognized immediately.
"Hello, Omen."
"Hello, Edalyn."
The two of them were having a staredown for a long enough while to let Luz know what it meant.
"Mysterious past…"
A second later, Eda spoke up to Omen first.
"So, what do you want?"
"Yeah, first thing you can do is go sober and save me the trouble."
Eda laughed sarcastically as she smirked, starting the back and forth argument as Ben, Judy, and Luz watched.
"Oh, wait! Is this happening right now? Because I really hope it is."
"Oh, trust me, Owl Lady. You don't want any of what I am right now."
"Then go ahead and put your snails where your mouth is, or should I say your dead eye?"
"Pretty big talk coming from a petty pickpocket."
"Big talk coming from an aggro asshole."
"Oh-ho-ho! Oh, I gotta admit, you're the best challenge I've gotten out of anyone yet. Then again, I'll have to compare you to all those beasts I've hunted."
"Pfft. Big deal. I can hunt a hundred times that much."
"...Without magic."
Eda took immediate offense to that as she stood up, a bit of feathers popping from her arm.
"Oh, you're asking for it, buster!"
Once Eda saw it, she drew her arm back and just in time, because Ben spoke up.
"Alright! Look, before this gets out of control, just drop it, okay?
When Ben stepped in-between those two, Luz noticed him and Judy up ahead. She would've noticed him sooner were it not fit the fascination of Eda'd mysterious past with Omen.
"Ben! Judy!"
Luz quickly ran over to them and wrapped her arms around them. The two were caught off-guard for a moment, but they were able to hug her back, especially Ben. Meanwhile, Omen stood there puzzled while Eda looked disgusted.
"What is that? Some kind of parallel arm thing?"
"Don't even get me started."
All the same, Ben was relieved to see Luz smile again despite the last time they saw each other.
"Hey, Luz. How are you doing?"
"Well, things were slow-going. Except for the one night we were trapped inside the house with—"
Before she could finish, Eda cleared her throat. Luz noticed a stressed look on her face and finished it with a hesitant look on her part.
"With the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles!"
Luz added a nervous laugh, hoping it would throw them off the subject. Eda gave her a wink and a smile before Luz changed the subject.
"What about you guys? What have you been through?"
Ben was already aware of the three rules, especially the third one that was screamed into his ear.
"Well, Lawrence managed to find someone else who can teach me how to use my magic. I managed to learn a light spell so far."
Luz squealed excitedly to hear the good news from Ben.
"Oh, my gosh! I did, too!"
Ben and Judy blinked their eyes with surprise. They never thought it would be possible after the disaster at Hexside. Ben and Judy asked her simultaneously.
"Wait, you did? How?"
Luz got out a piece of paper and her pen to demonstrate.
"Just watch and learn…"
Before Luz could even draw what she had planned, Omen coughed his throat behind them. The longer they interacted with them, the more anxious he got.
"Shouldn't you two get going?"
Ben grumbled a bit before he talked to Luz.
"Sorry, Luz. I gotta get going. Between you and me, Omen's a bit of a jackass…"
Omen shouted behind him, making Ben tense up in worry.
"I heard that!"
But Luz wasn't as bothered by it. She knew what that was like.
"I know what you mean. Eda can be a bit crabby, herself."
It was Luz's turn to get worried next as Eda shouted behind her.
"I heard that, too!"
Despite it, they smiled at each other.
"But maybe I can show you guys later."
"Sure. Can't wait to see it, Luz."
Ben reached his hand out to shake her hand, only for Luz to hug him. He ended up smiling a bit to himself before he hugged her back. Seeing her be so happy after what happened made him reassured that she'd be okay. Then, the hug reminded him about someone else once he finished it.
"Oh. That reminds me. Where's Raine? Weren't they staying at your place?"
Eda blushed at the mention before she cleared her throat.
"It was, uh… more of a favor. I asked for their help when Luz went missing. I owe them a lot by now."
Ben was still perplexed before Judy explained.
"Auncle Raine doesn't really stay with Eda. They visit her now and then, but they're not… 'together' together."
"Oh…"
Then, Ben had an idea.
"Was that because she's a petty thief?"
Eda overheard that and went all up in his face.
"You can't prove anything!"
Judy tapped her hand on her head to get her attention.
"Hey. Easy. He was just asking. But, come to think of it, why aren't you together? I thought you were really sweet with each other."
Eda paused for a moment before he drew her breath.
"Uh… I'm sure they're in the Covention by now. You can ask them when we get there. They are in the Bard Coven, after all. So, let's not waste any more time. Chop-chop!"
With that, the groups hurried over to the Covention entrance. When they got there, Eda was grunting as she struggled to pull her hood on with King hanging off of it. It was bad enough her hair was too big, but him being on top of it wasn't exactly helping her.
"Gotta keep a low profile."
Judy and Omen tried to shove Eda's hair in her cowl, but it came with much difficulty.
"Is this really necessary, Aunt Eda?"
"And why am I wrapped up in this?"
"Do you think all my wanted posters are for petty theft?"
Suddenly, a great number of small objects fell out of her hair. Judy and Ben looked at her in disapproval before her niece answered and Eda explained herself.
"At this point, it's not that hard to believe."
"Partly."
She scooped her things back into her cowl and her hair.
"But the big whammy is, I disobeyed the law and refused to join a coven. If I'm seen, I could go to jail. Again."
Willow came up to Eda with the pamphlet.
"Maybe this informative event will inspire you to join a coven."
Eda only responded by tracing a spell circle, followed by Willow's cowl being pulled over her face. Judy glared at Eda as she undid it with her own spell circle.
"Aunt Eda! She was just trying to be nice!"
"What? Glasses was asking for it."
Judy was willing to put up with a lot of things over the years. Really, she had a long list of them that spanned years. But Eda calling her friends names was not one of them. She tensed her fists and snapped with a distorted voice.
"Her name is WILLOW!"
Judy said it much louder than she intended. Her outburst took everyone by surprise, especially herself. Judt covered her mouth in shock as shame came upon her face. After seeing such a sudden swing in her mood, Eda changed her caustic tone as Willow looked at her in confusion and worry.
"Whoa. Geez, okay. I'm sorry. I'll, uh… try to keep that in mind."
Willow walked up to Judy as Eda walked in first.
"Judy, are you sure you're okay?"
Judy tried to keep it together as she spoke to her in a tone of fear, like she'd rather not focus on it.
"I'm fine. But I'd rather not talk about that, okay?"
Judy quickly stormed into the building as Willow continued to show worry on her face.
"Okay. I understand…"
Willow walked inside the building as she followed Judy, unable to help but feel worried for her. Ben was the same, too.
He'd never heard her snap like that. The only time she was close to being this angry was when she talked down to Amity. And what did she really mean by being attacked? Was it really that bad between them?
"What was that…?"
Either way, he wasn't the only one who noticed. Omen had his eye on her, too. And he knew what was going on, though it was more than Ben could say. For a moment, Omen seemed… concerned. He walked cautiously into the Covention, determined to keep a particularly close eye on the girl.
When they entered the building, the ceiling was covered in Coven banners. There were also stands here and there with other smaller covens. Even a couple of student witches were flying by on broomsticks. Luz was right. It was like a job fair for witches. Even Ben was taken by surprise.
"Whoa. Was I even alive before now?"
"If we were, I think we'd have gone to Heaven."
However, with the spectacle being overblown, Omen interpreted it differently as he muttered under his breath.
"More like Hell…"
Gus showed the group around as he explained.
"Those are the main nine covens, but there are hundreds of other ones you can join."
As they were walking, Willow pointed out so many others not as well-known as the others.
"There's Flower Coven, Artist Coven, Big Dog Coven, Small Cat Coven, Tiniest Cat Coven–"
Every description was making Eda groan in irritation. Willow leaned closer to Luz, Ben, and Judy, whispering into their ears.
"Also the Grumpy Coven."
When Judy snickered, Eda immediately took offense to that, raising her fist into the air.
"What was that?"
Ben turned to Eda and replied.
"You have to admit, you two would kinda fit right in."
Omen glared viciously towards Ben in particular.
"Say another word and I'll snap your neck."
Ben and Willow yipped as the kids and King all ran, but not without Ben speaking one last time.
"Point proven!"
The only one who stayed with Eda was Omen. He could understand being in her position.
"Honestly, Eda, I know you don't approve of covens, but would it kill you to hold it in for once? For Judith's sake?"
Eda made a small frown of regret for a moment before she crossed her arms.
"I'll try, but I'll probably end up dying while trying."
Omen grumbled at her remark before he walked away.
"Forget it. You never seemed to care about your family, anyway."
Eda widened her eyes with shock and disbelief.
"Wha—?! And what exactly makes you think that?"
Omen didn't bother turning around to her. She simply wasn't worth the effort.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't get it. You never will."
Eda gritted her teeth, ready to bite into something. She didn't know if it was because of their rivalry or their past, but his words were driving her nuts.
"Oh, I'll get it, alright. How about I get a fireball and smack it upside your—!"
Before Eda could curse, another man showed up just in front of her. He was carrying a wanted poster.
"Uh, excuse me, ma'am, but you look rather familiar."
Eda grew nervous very quickly as the man looked back and forth from the poster to herself.
"Uh… No, I don't."
Eda reached into her cowl and got a bag of hex mix. Without a thought, she chucked it at the man's face.
"Distraction spell!"
Despite making contact, it didn't have any effect. But Eda ran off anyway. When the man bent down to grab it, however, she dragged his own hood over his face and got her bag back before taking off again.
As for Omen, he was walking through the Covention building, looking left and right out of caution. Part of being in the Shadow Coven was keeping a low-profile. It was difficult to do that when you're in a crowd full of people. Of course, Omen knew of only one possible space to go about business. And sure enough, he'd found it.
Omen took notice of Lawrence in the corner. Surrounding him were sandbags and crates. And for good measure, he had his cowl over his head. Omen walked over to Lawrence and spoke to him.
"Guess I didn't need to speak of the devil, after all."
Lawrence rolled his eyes at Omen's quip.
"Not necessarily. I've been waiting for a while, actually."
Omen leaned his back against the opposing wall, using the vantage point to face Lawrence.
"You know that's not what I'm talking about."
Lawrence's face immediately showed concern and fear. He knew where it was headed.
"It's about my daughter, isn't it?"
Omen's face fell down heavy next. He knew it was a touchy subject for him to handle. But he's nothing if not honest.
"You of all people know how worse it's getting. She even snapped at the Owl Lady before we came in here."
Lawrence had a startled look. He hasn't counted on the Owl Lady to actually be at Covention; she usually hated these things.
"Edalyn's here, too?"
"Apparently, she's only here because the human girl wanted to be here. Ben called her Luz."
Lawrence sighed, as if he was getting exhausted.
"Oh, Titan… If I'd known two humans would be in the same place…"
"We can't keep this up, Lawrence. That demon can't stay locked up forever. And if it ever got out now of all times—"
Lawrence cut him off sharply. He was not in the mood to picture it.
"It won't. We've managed this for 15 years. Judith managed it."
Even so, Omen had his doubts. Especially when Judy was moving ahead of everyone else. And speaking of, Omen saw her walking off to the stall just in their view. Nobody else was in that area. So, it gave Judy some time to be alone. She curled up her legs and knelt down in the corner, digging into her cowl pocket and getting a red vial from it.
No sooner had Judy done it than she opened it up and swallowed it. After swallowing it, Judy panted heavily for a few seconds. But afterwards, she started to cry to herself, sobbing into her arms, much to the despair of Lawrence. Even Omen had a worried look.
"Even if she does… she shouldn't have to."
Lawrence clutched onto his cloak roughly, trying to muster the strength not to break down like she was.
"I know… but at present, it's the best hope we've got."
Omen sighed heavily, knowing what could come out of it.
"That's what bothers me the most. What if the best hope we have… isn't enough?"
Lawrence cut off the topic sharply seconds after.
"Let me worry about that."
With the topic dropped, Lawrence got to the matter at hand.
"So, I take it you're aware of who we're supposed to protect?"
"The mystery guests for Covention. I know."
Omen held into his hands, slightly gripping them together as he voiced his thoughts.
"Still… I can't understand why she needs protection. This is your wife we're talking about."
Lawrence sighed to himself for a moment as he looked at Judy, who was now wiping the tears off of her face before standing up again, once again cutting herself off from sadness. Then, she headed off to the stall, going into the women's room.
"I know. That's exactly why we're protecting her. Whether she wants it or not."
Meanwhile, Luz took notice of something up ahead, stopping and pointing over to it. There was a bearded witch in a hard hat and a small humanoid nose-like girl standing next to a pallet of wood and a pallet of bricks. The witch grabbed both pallets from the bottom and tossed them into the air, falling down to perfectly construct a small house.
"Ooh, what's that?"
Willow caught wind of her fascination and explained.
"That's the Construction Coven. One of the main nine. They use power glyphs to increase their strength."
The witch removed his hard hat to pull off a power glyph from a stack atop his head. He peeled the adhesive off the back of another one and put it on the girl's nose. Her pupils instantly shrunk, and she yelled out with a light brown aura around her. It reminded Ben of a certain someone being a Super Saiyan from one of the animes he used to watch. To add to his surprise, the girl picked up the witch and threw him in the air!
"Ha-a-a! I'm the destroyer of worlds!"
The girl then grabbed the Construction Coven sign and tossed it. To break up the situation, two other members went over to her and tried to restrain her before she could use the hammer.
"Hey, that's the opposite of construction!"
Luz looked flabbergasted at such power that the Construction Coven had.
"Yowza-wowza!"
At that moment, a light blue double of Luz ducked out from behind her and Ben, catching the two of them by surprise.
"Yowza-wowza!"
"Yowza-wha-a-a?"
Her illusion double walked over to someone quite odd. He had a fairly tall and thin build with light skin, pointed ears, cornflower eyes, thick eyebrows, and curled, dark turquoise hair. He also had a long, prehensile dark teal tail with a tan fur tuft at the end.
For his clothes, he wore a light blue, tan furred vest over a teal jumpsuit with gold details and light blue shoes. He also had a small mirror in the center of his vest, and a sky-blue bead at the end of his tail. Additionally, he wore a set of dark teal fingerless gloves. His illusion waved at the original Luz before it disappeared.
"I take it you're illuminated? Well, what am I saying? Of course you are."
Ben looked at the witch in curiosity, though a part of him was suspicious.
"And who are you?"
Gus ran over to him as he gave out the introductions.
"Ah! You've been taken in by the allure of the Illusionist Coven. We like to magic with a hint…"
Gus suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke, making Ben puzzled before he reappeared just a few feet to the right.
"...of showmanship. And this is the Coven Head, Adrien Graye Vernworth."
Adrien walked up to Gus before letting him on the head.
"Ah, yes. And I've got quite the illusionist on my hands it seems. It almost makes me eager to see you in my Coven right now. Almost."
Eda frowned at the Coven head. It was bad enough that the place was surrounded by Covens, but Coven Heads? It's almost like the Boiling Isles was trying to get on her nerves. At that moment, Adrien took notice of Eda's disguise and became enamored.
"Oh, well, well, well. Who do we have here?"
Eda was perplexed by Adrien's advance as he held her hand up to him.
"And might I ask who this lovely lady is?"
Before he could kiss Eda's hand, she wrestled it away with a glare.
"None of your beeswax."
Adrien was a bit appalled to hear that, but he was nonetheless impressed by Eda's new beauty.
"I see. But if you happen to have some free time, come and find me at the Illusionist Coven stand sometime."
Adrien gave her a click of his tongue with his fingers as guns as Eda grumbled. Apart from the odd interaction, Luz was confused about her standing against covens in general.
"Acceptance? Comradery? A sense of belonging? Covens sound incredible! Eda, why haven't you ever joined one?"
Eda took their faces in her hands and pointed them to the stand.
"Watch closely."
Another Illusion track Witch was now standing with Adrien as he held his finger over his arm.
"When you join a coven, all your other magic is sealed away."
The track witch was incredulously nervous as he spoke up.
"Uh, are you sure it's safe?"
"Don't worry. It's quite painless."
Adrien placed the seal on top of his wrist. The seal itself was in the shape of a mirror. Then, light blue lines ran from it up to his arms and face. He went pale a bit slightly as the lines faded before Adrien patted him on the shoulder.
"There, see? Nothing to it."
All the same, Eda continued her explanation.
"From now on, that kid will only be able to make illusions. Since I never joined a coven, I can do every kind of magic."
To prove it, she created a fireball in one hand and a ball of water in the other, then made both disappear
"That's why I'm the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles."
Luz, Willow, and Gus followed closely to Eda, fascinated by her powers. Of course, Luz and Willow couldn't help but wonder about someone else.
"Speaking of powerful witches, what's going on with Judy?"
"I've seen her angry. But not that angry…"
Luz looked back to the crowd in worry for her friend.
"I hope she's doing okay..."
Luz was right to worry. At this moment, Judy was washing her hands anxiously. Then, she put that water on her face and took a deep breath. She'd just recovered from what could've been a frightening change. It almost happened at Hexside, too. But even she had to wonder how long she would be able to keep it up. It never stopped her from trying. Sadly, things were bound to get worse before they get better.
Judy felt something clenching her insides, forcing her to cough vehemently, as if she contracted a whooping cough. When she finally coughed out at the sink, Judy saw something troubling. She was spitting out black bile from her mouth!
The tar-like substance petrified her like she'd seen her worst nightmare, urging her to use the sink water full blast to wash it away. Trying not to let panic overtake her, Judy closed her eyes and recited her mantra, desperate to keep herself in control.
"Keep my wits about me… keep myself in check… and keep the focus… on who I am…"
Just when she thought she was ready to go out, however, someone spoke to her with a dark tone in his voice.
"And who are you?"
Judy gasped heavily, looking in the mirror to see a rather sinister figure. Nothing could be seen of the reflection but his glowing, cat-slit, red eyes. Judy backed away, holding in her squeal of fear with her hands over her mouth, her tears coming out of her eyes. What's worse, the whole room had gotten so dark, his red eyes were the only light in the whole stall.
"Aw, don't be so scared. I won't hurt you. Yet…"
Most of Judy's fear immediately turned into rage just from looking at him. However, some of it lingered enough to keep her from getting any closer.
"Why are you doing this to me, Lucifer?!"
The demon scoffed at the girl with a sneer.
"You think I want to be here? I didn't ask to be tethered to you."
"Well, neither did I! How do you think I feel?!"
Despite her defiant attitude, the demon only chuckled with a smug grin.
"You're angry. Good. That's one thing we have in common."
"You mean the only thing."
"Oh, no. We're more alike than you'd think."
Judy clenched her hands angrily. How could she have anything else in common with an abomination?
"How am I anything like you?!"
Before either side could add to it, a knock on the door was made. Along with it came a voice. Ben's voice.
"Judy? Are you alright in there?"
Judy gasped fearfully to herself as she tried to cut it short.
"Uh, j-just give me a sec! I just needed to powder my nose."
Lucifer leaned closer to her with a chilling rasp.
"You can't keep this up forever. Sooner or later, you'll run out. And when you do, I will get out."
Judy spoke to him in a hushed whisper, keeping herself loud enough to make her point clear to the demon.
"That's not going to happen, Lucifer. I'll make sure of it… like I've always done."
"Wrong. You can't hide yourself."
Lucifer's image faded away with a chilling laugh before Judy's own image returned to the mirror. She let out a heavy sigh before she walked out of the room to see Ben. He had an anxious look on his face.
"Hey, Judy. Are you alright?"
Judy held her head down, holding onto her arm. She answered back to him with a dismal appearance.
"I'm fine, Ben."
Ben didn't buy it for a second.
"You just blew up at Eda, the self-proclaimed most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, and she backed off. That can't be fine."
Judy walked past Ben, not willing to discuss it.
"I don't want to talk about it, Ben. Can you just drop it for now? Please?"
Judy was irritated, but she was also… afraid. Ben picked up on it straight away.
"I can't do that. Not if it's making you act this way."
Having had enough of the conversation, Judy turned and was about to snap at him. But she kept herself calm.
"Look, just—! I-I can't tell you around… everyone else. We'll talk later. Just not now, okay?"
Ben sighed to himself. She was as stubborn as he was. But she did have a point. In a place like this, there must not be anyone here to give her the space.
"Okay. But I'm holding you to that. In the meantime, I might need your help."
Judy's look of fear faded and was replaced with curiosity.
"Help with what?"
"Well… talking with everyone else."
Judy raised an eyebrow, stupefied by his response.
"You could just ask Aliud how to do that."
There was, of course, one problem.
"About that. He's preoccupied."
Ben pointed to Aliud talking to Daniel as Sunday and Astrid watched. He was rather… desperate.
"I'm sorry I made a bad joke, man! I wasn't trying to upset you!"
Daniel seemed like he didn't want to be here at the moment.
"It's fine, man. Just let it go."
However, Aliud wouldn't give up.
"But I can't let it go! I gotta do something meaningful!"
"Have you ever heard of 'simple, but effective'?"
Judy giggled a bit to herself before she spoke with a smile.
"I do like hopeless romantics… Okay. I'll see what I can do."
Ben smiled gently at Judy, relieved to see her smiling again.
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."
Judy nodded to Ben for a moment. But then, a sad look went back on her face. A second later, she ditched the sadness. No matter how long it would take, she has to keep up the charade. For their sake… When they came over, the group noticed them right away, especially Astrid, who was a little sheepish with how quickly went inside.
"Oh, there you guys are! Sorry we took off so quickly on you. I just wanted to look at the Beast-Keeping Coven."
Sunday added to it with her ever-morbid take.
"But then, Aliud decided to fight the futility of the future where Daniel would never date him."
That was the last thing Aliud wanted to hear.
"Just because he didn't say he'd date me today, that doesn't mean he never will."
That perplexed Ben. It was his understanding that he could see the future. It was how he was able to talk to Amity back then, after all.
"Wait. If you could see the future, why would you have to worry about it at all? Aren't you in the Oracle Coven?"
Aliud rubbed the back of his head.
"I am, but I'm still working on getting my own crystal ball. It's like Palisman. Before you get a crystal ball, you have to prove you're worthy enough on your own without it. And it takes a lot of mental strength to even begin to do it. At least, that's what the All-Seer told me."
This caught the two of them by surprise.
"The All-Seer?"
"Yeah. Did Omen never tell you guys about him?"
Ben raised one of his eyebrows as he answered, clearly baffled.
"No. He didn't…"
Aliud could tell that he was pretty miffed.
"Oh… Well, anyway, trying to force yourself to see the future like, say 20 years without a crystal ball isn't good for you."
Ben was a bit nervous to ask about the after-effects.
"Well, what happens, exactly?"
Judy knew about the effects herself. It wasn't a pretty sight for her.
"Have you heard about Class 419? Well, someone dared them to see as deep into the future as 20 years without their crystal balls. And…"
In a flashback, Hexside had one door marked 419 with a noisy crowd acting a bit dumb despite their prophetic visions.
"I can see the future!"
"A pixie horde infests the school!"
"The Collector is a child!"
"Boscha has an identity crisis!"
"Vee's living with Sue in the Human Realm!"
"The corporate business has the budget to renew our show, but still doesn't do crap!"
"I'M ON FIRE!"
Back in the present, Ben winced at the thought.
"Yeah, not sure I want to know that much."
Judy gave him the good news.
"Luckily, Principal Bump erased their memories and their brains got back to normal."
Ben felt a bit of relief hearing this. He had to admit, he felt a bit worried for them.
"Oh. That's a relief."
Just then, a feminine voice spoke up behind the group.
"Thank Titan I was there to see to it, or Bump would have been sued for decades."
When the others turned around, they saw the librarian walking up to them. Ben recognized her all too well. She'd helped him before…
"I think you'll find that book to be of interest."
"You… I remember you! You're that librarian who gave me that book about portals!"
The librarian smirked at him as she crossed her arms together, tilting her head a few inches to the side.
"You can call me Kaisa. I do have a name, you know."
Ben became embarrassed, momentarily pausing as he scratched his head. Then, he tried to introduce himself, only for Kaisa to beat him to it.
"Yeah… sorry. I'm—"
"You're Benjamin Kingston. I know."
Ben paused for a moment, confused by how she knew.
"Wait… how did you—?"
Kaisa smiled as she put her fingers on her necklace. The centerpiece was a small Pearl which glowed bright purple.
"What, you didn't think your friend was the only Oracle here, did you?"
When Kaisa tapped on the pearl, a bright pink ghost came out of it, wrapped in spectral bandages with two purple eyes peeking out of the covers over its face. Ben was a bit nervous to see it hovering in front of him.
"Uh, is that ghost real?"
"As real as you believe it is. But don't worry. It won't hurt you. Well, depending on your future, that is."
As if to test it, Kaisa's specter went up close to Ben and spoke to him in an eerie voice.
"You will be in trouble soon."
That prophecy was a bit unnerving for him, as far as the future goes.
"Uh… should I be worried?"
Judy tried to cheer him up.
"Look on the bright side. At least it's not big trouble."
Kaisa's specter retreated into her crystal ball before she spoke to him.
"It's how I recognized what you were. And it's also how I knew you meant no harm to begin with."
That made Ben rather curious. Knowing the future is one thing, but testing its clairvoyance is another.
"Well… did you know about Luz, too?"
Kaisa scoffed at his question like it was child's play.
"Not only did I know about her; I also know she's headed for the Emperor's Coven booth."
Ben and Judy spun around to see exactly what Kaisa told them. At the same time, Aliud turned to the others.
"As long as we're at it, how about we join in, too?"
Daniel smirked at his suggestion.
"Finally. Something we agree on."
Of course, Astrid was a bit dismayed as the boys headed for the stand.
"But what about the Beast-Keeping Panel?"
Sunday only shrugged her shoulders as she reminded her of something.
"You know it'll still be here when we get back, right?"
Sunday walked over nonchalantly as Astrid took them to account.
"Uh… I guess."
The students went over to the stand as Ben and Judy checked on her.
"Are you coming with us, Kaisa?"
Kaisa answered Ben with the shake of her head.
"No. I've got my own tasks ahead of me today. You'll both be fine."
Judy gave her a sincere smile. It was nice to know that much. Given Judy's personal situation, it was much-needed for the girl.
"Thanks, Kaisa. See you again soon."
Judy headed off to the stand with Ben running after her.
"Hey! Wait up!"
As the two ran off, Kaisa smiled sincerely at the two of them. A few seconds later, however, her smile disappeared.
"Poor things. You shouldn't have to suffer this…"
By the time Ben and Judy caught up, Luz was staring at the guard in awe.
"Hey, Luz!"
She turned around just in time to notice Ben and Judy running up to the gang. When they caught up, Luz waved to them with an ever-friendly grin.
"Hey, guys! What are you doing here?"
Ben caught his breath first. After which, he explained himself preceding Judy.
"We heard you were at the Emperor's Coven stand."
"So we thought we could come and join you."
Luz blinked her eyes in surprise while Ben became nervous. It brought an unpleasant memory to her mind. It was only a couple of days ago when Crimson tried to have Willow dissect her.
"Isn't that the Coven that tried to dissect us?"
"No offense, Luz, but I'm calling it. That Crimson Crow guy's a total ass."
One of the guards looked down at her, making her tense up. But a few seconds later, the guard burst out laughing.
"Yeah, I know, right? He's a real pain."
Luz sighed in relief from knowing that this guard was on the same page.
Willow gave out her own personal feelings to it.
"Well, we don't like Crimson personally, but that doesn't mean it's all bad. The Platinum Princess did speak up for you guys, right?"
Ben recalled the event back then. She always did seem more grounded and rational than Crimson ever was.
"Oh, yeah. She did."
Gus gasped in astonishment as he recognized the very Coven every witch seemed to care about. He turned to Willow in excitement as he had an idea pop up in his head.
"Do you think they'll sign my forehead?"
"Only one way to find out!"
Willow and Gus ran inside, eager to get that autograph. Ben, Judy, and Luz were starting to follow them, but they stopped when she realized Eda had not budged. As usual, she had a sneer on her face.
"Aren't you coming, Aunt Eda?"
"No way. Of all the covens, they're the worst. I'll wait out here."
Luz only shrugged her shoulders. While she could understand how much she hated the Coven system, Luz still wanted to know all the covens there are that the Boiling Isles had to offer.
"I get it, Eda. Covens: bad. Individualism: good. But I'm still figuring this world out, so I'm going to go in there and make up my own mind, okay?"
Luz began to walk inside before Ben was about to join. However, he suddenly felt something resisting him. He turned back to see that Judy didn't move, either. She had to wonder if there's something wrong with her.
"Judy? What is it?"
She gently moved her arm away as she replied solemnly.
"You can go on ahead. I'm just gonna be out here for a bit with Aunt Eda."
Ben began to get more worried for her than before. He knew exactly what it meant. So once, again, he tried to lend a helping hand.
"Judy, if there's anything you need to tell me—"
Before Ben could continue, Judy snapped at him, her emerald green eyes distorted to red cat-slit eyes over an otherwise empty void in her eyes.
"SHUT UP! I don't want to talk about it, okay?!"
Ben staggered back in surprise. Even Eda was stunned. That burst of anger just came so out of nowhere. Eda covered her mouth to keep herself from swearing in front of Judy. Judy did the same, feeling more ashamed than before. For a moment, Judy said nothing. So Ben continued.
"I was going to say if there's anything you need to tell me, just let me know."
Judy began to feel more guilty for her outburst. She just blew up at him for no good reason.
"I can tell that you must've been going through… a lot of things. If you need some space, I can give you that. I'm sorry for making you so angry."
Ben tried to head over to the stand, leaving her be. Judy sighed heavily before Eda whistled.
"Wow, Judy. I don't think I've seen you like this before. You sure you don't want to talk?"
Judy looked away as her hand clenched into a fist.
"I'm sure…"
Eda's look became worse before she replied.
"Listen, Judy. I don't know what's going on with you, and I know this is the last thing you want to hear, especially from me. But if you don't tell him what you're going through… you're gonna regret it for the rest of your life. Trust me."
Judy simply held onto her arms tight, not moving an inch.
"I'll keep that in mind. But thank you…"
Eda couldn't argue. She knew that there's no changing her mind for now. She walked past her and entered the booth, leaving her niece alone. However, up ahead, she noticed an Emperor's Coven guard walking up. He wore a light gray mask with large eyeholes, similar to the masks worn by plague doctors. Over his mask, he had a white cowl with a pointed hood and a golden triangle at the neck. His outfit consisted of a dark gray long-sleeved shirt with brown gloves and a brown belt with a gold buckle, followed by black harem pants and pointed brown boots. He noticed the girl up ahead and checked on him.
"Hey, little girl. How are you doing?"
Judy only turned away, holding her sour expression on her face. The guard went up in front of him again.
"You know, I was trying to start a conversation here."
Judy wasn't in the mood for it today. If anything, she felt more anxious than before. She crossed her arms as she replied with a dismal tone in her voice.
"Don't touch me, please."
The guard read into her mood and had an idea to fix that.
"Oof. You must've had a bad day, huh? I know! How about a big hug from Steve?"
"Don't even think about—"
Before she could finish, Steve hugged Judy, wrapping her in his arms with a tight grip.
"There you go! Now you feel all good inside!"
When Steve dropped her, however, Judy snapped again. Her eyes turned crimson red once again before she slapped him right on the mask, turning it backwards and blinding him.
"BEAT IT, MAGGOT!"
With how loud her volume was, it put the Coven Guards on alert.
"Who said that?!"
The Coven Guards all started to look for her, making Judy realize she made the worst mistake she could've made.
"Oh, my Titan…! I'm so, so sorry about that… was it Steve?"
"It's okay. Just go on ahead."
"Right. Thank you."
Judy quickly ran to the theater, hoping no one noticed her as Steve put his mask back on forward and looked to where she took off.
"That kid needs some serious therapy."
Inside the theater, there was a large stadium with a chattering audience. Eda was sitting next to the mystified Luz while Ben sat beside her. In a moment, Judy came in and sat down next to Ben. He became quite relieved to see that she came inside.
"There you are. I was worried you wouldn't make it."
Judy tried to play off his mood as she took a deep breath. However, it didn't necessarily work out like she'd hoped.
"Judy, are you sure you're okay?"
"Uh, yeah. Just got to relax for a bit. It's a… lot to take in."
Before Ben could speak any further to try to help her, Eda interjected.
"All right, let's see this mess."
When the show began, the lights dimmed. Suddenly, Principal Bump rose up from the floor with spirals of green magic, a spotlight illuminating him. The audience applauded and cheered as he summoned a mic via spell circle. Lawrence gave him a smile. Aside from his love of students, another thing he's famous for is showmanship.
"Hello, Bonesborough! Students ask me all the time, 'Principal Bump, what's the height of magical achievement?'"
One of the students responded with a question of his own. He had beige skin, dark brown eyes, and straight brown hair which is shaved at the sides.
"Is it this?"
The boy increased the size of his head greatly, only to end up crushing the student next to him. Judy tried her hardest to hold on to her laugh, only letting out a few giggles. The principal was speechless, and not in a good way.
"Wow. I failed you as a principal."
Despite the absurd display, Bump grabbed the mic with some feedback. Following which, three Coven guards rose up from the bottom of the floor.
"It's being selected to join the best of the best. And there are none better than the jewel of the coven system and the enforcers of His will, the Emperor's Coven."
Luz looked on in awe. As for Ben, he had a look of fascination.
"Whoa."
"You can say that again."
She had a feeling that Willow and Gus would be eager to see them up close. When she looked to the side, she found out she was right. They were pointing to Gus' forehead, showing that it was signed.
"Luz!"
Just saw this and let out a sweet giggle, happy to see Willow and Gus enjoying themselves. Principal Bump continued on with the introductions as each Coven guard traced a white spell circle above their head. One produced a jet of flame, another of water, and the third lightning. The three elements came together into a firework that turned to confetti. Luz was impressed by their feats of power while Ben looked on in intrigue.
"Feast your eyes on this elite force, each member handpicked to help usher in a new age of controlled magic."
However, Eda was far from impressed.
"What's with all that 'controlled magic' bull? When does that 'elite force' get here?"
Eda slapped her own knee and laughed as the Demon next to her looked quite disgusted and moved away. The Coven guards are now holding the same elements in balls between their hands as Bump continued.
"Members of the Emperor's Coven have access to all- yes, all forms of magic. Ooh. Aah."
"Ooh. Aah."
"But, only the best can ascend these ranks. Some day that could be one of you!"
Bump pointed directly at Amity, who brightened up and squealed. Ben and Judy put on looks of shock from seeing her just up in front of her. He didn't even notice her.
"What the—?! Amity…?"
But where Ben displayed surprise, Judy began to get angry, flashing her green slit eye as she spoke in a dark voice.
"You…!"
Eda saw that and quickly tried to stop her from going berserk as they spoke softly.
"Calm down, Judy. It's not worth it."
For the moment, she was barely able to get her to listen as she took deep breaths, however monstrous they were. Meanwhile, the three guards grabbed their capes and disappeared in flashes of white light before Bump continued.
"And now, I'm pleased to introduce the esteemed leader of this coven and this year's mystery guest. You know her, you love her! Lilith!"
From hearing her name, the audience gasped and Judy stopped focusing on Amity before looking up above. A bright flash of light came on near the ceiling and turned into a blue raven sitting on a branch. It flew off the branch and flew around the stage, blowing past Ben, Eda, and Judy to the stage and landing to reveal Lilith with her pointed mask on. It disappeared with a screech as she lifted her arms and sent her mask flying. The audience applauded and cheered, while Ben, Judy, and Eda looked at her speechless.
"Thank you all. It wasn't easy for me to rise to the top. I also started from humble beginnings."
The boy with a big head smiled with blushes on his cheeks.
"Like me…?"
Aliud only scoffed under his breath.
"Narcissist…"
"Now, I have the highest honor of enforcing the Emperor's will. So be more! The Emperor's Coven awaits you!"
Lillith then cast magic around herself, forging a giant white raven that spread its wings before it disappeared as they applauded. But it wasn't over yet.
Play Nicholas Hooper Music: "Dumbledore's Foreboding"
"And I'm also happy to announce a new face as another of our Mystery Guests. But she's not a face that many of you have ever seen before."
The audience gasped and murmured amongst themselves in wonder as Amity became surprised before Bump continued.
"Huh?"
"A long time ago, during the Savage Ages, all of witchkind was attacked by users of wild magic. The head of this attack was none other… than Demon Lord Vanitas."
As if on cue, a dark and shadowy aura of Vanitas, the silhouette with pointed horns for the helmet, materialized above the theater, engaging in a dark and sinister laughter that terrified the audience. As for Judy, she began to breathe heavily in fear, worried that she was seeing the demon again. Ben saw her panic and tried to reassure her. He didn't know what was going on, but he had to do something.
"Calm down, Judy. You're okay."
Little did Ben realize that as he comforted her, Lawrence and Omen, who were sitting in the opposite end of the stage, were observing the whole situation from afar in addition to the spectacle above. Neither one could blame the audience for their terror. Omen himself had chills just thinking about it.
Lawrence looked back down at the stage with a glare on his face as Bump continued. While he went on, the imagery above showed a clash between the silhouette of Belos and Vanitas, sending sparks flying from the visual display with Belos and Vanitas finishing with blasts of red magic before the clash exploded, turning off all the lights at once.
"The attack was thwarted of course. And Demon Lord Vanitas was trapped in the Conformatorium for 50 years, ending the Savage Ages once and for all. But since then, Emperor Belos has been forced to keep himself and his family within the castle's walls. Until today."
On that cue, red and black lightning struck the ground. And from its flash, the torches lit themselves up, revealing none other than a familiar face. Ben gasped in wonder as Bump introduced her.
"Introducing the Platinum Princess of the Boiling Isles, Heather!"
The audience let out a loud round of applause as Eda and Luz showed surprise with the latter looking at her.
"Did you know Belos had a Princess?"
"Nope. I just thought she was another one of his goons."
It was just as much a surprise for the students as it was for Eda and Luz. Even Aliud was surprised. He'd heard of the Platinum Princess before, but the words didn't do her justice.
"Whoa. She looks even more amazing than in my visions…"
Astrid and Daniel were speechless. Sunday, on the other hand, was staring in awe, her eyes all sparkly at the sight. As for Ben, he was greatly perplexed. The last time he saw her, she stood up on his behalf when Crimson could've killed him and Luz right then and there back at Hexside. What could she be doing here? Heather raised her hand up, causing the audience to stop their applause before she spoke out to them.
"Thank you, Boiling Isles, for your reception. But I have news to tell. I'm certain that some of you already noticed. But two humans have already found their way to the Boiling Isles and are living amongst you."
The audience gasped and murmured, each one becoming worried. But Heather's speech wasn't over.
"However, this is nothing for you to fear. These humans are not the savages they once were over 300 years ago. We've watched them through word and deed since their arrival. And due to ample justification of said words and deeds, these two humans will have a place here in the Boiling Isles as if they are one of our own."
The crowd murmured in disbelief, some more louder than others. As for Amity, she was completely flabbergasted.
"However. There are certain laws that they must take into account. If they try anything in any way to disobey these rules, they will be met with severe punishments fitting for their kind. And naturally, the same will go for those who aid and abet them in those fiendish endeavors."
The audience murmured in astonishment and concern as Ben kept a close eye on her. Then, he and Luz looked at each other in worry. At the same time, Bump looked at Lilith with a look that wondered if she knew what she was doing while she herself showed the same worry.
"So, I should hope I've made myself clear enough on these matters. And I understand you all must be weary. But I ask you, don't be frightened. For these are glad tidings the Emperor gives us. And should any of you have doubts, always remember, the Titan has big plans, especially for them. And the Titan always keeps his promises."
Having closed her announcements, Heather received another round of applause as Lawrence and Omen looked at her with a slight glare. As for Ben, he had a puzzled look. He'd asked this question before.
"Big plans? For what…?"
End Nicholas Hooper Music: "Dumbledore's Foreboding"
After the spectacle put on by Heather, Eda was the first to exit with Luz trying to catch up to her.
"Eda! Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna head home and wash the con funk off my skin."
Luz held up a small pamphlet as she gestured to it.
"But we haven't even taken a quiz to determine our coven type!"
Eda was not in the mood for it. She simply made a small spell circle before blasting a hole right through it before she walked away. But before she got out of sight, she noticed that Ben was slowly walking Judy out of the auditorium, like she'd seen a horror show. Not that he'd blame her. Whoever Vanitas was, he seemed to terrify her. "You okay, Judy?"
Judy drew out a shaky breath before she answered.
"I think so… I just need to pace myself, that's all…"
Aliud, Daniel, Astrid, and Sunday were checking on her, too. Though, Astrid and Aliud spoke up to her.
"What do you want us to do?"
"We could just take you home."
Judy shook her head, trying to deny her emotions for their sake.
"No, guys. It's fine. You don't have to. I'm fine, really. I just… need some space."
With that, Judy began to walk away sadly from the group. Ben's face saddened even worse as he looked on. He couldn't just let her go, not when she's acting like this. He ended up following behind her just a few feet away, giving her space like she wanted. As for Eda, she felt something nagging in her. Something was telling her that perhaps she shouldn't leave just yet after all. Not when her own niece is suffering…
"Actually, Luz, I'm gonna stay a while, see if I can find Raine in this place. Can you promise to keep an eye on Judy until I get back?"
Luz saw the worried expression on her face. Something must've been eating her up. No wonder Eda was worried.
"Sure thing, Eda. I'll see what I can do."
Eda nodded to her before she went off to look for Raine. Luz took notice of Judy's saddened look on her face and tried to get to the bottom of it. She went up to Judy and checked for herself.
"Hey, Judy. Are you sure you're okay?"
Judy was starting to get annoyed really quickly. But she kept in mind that she was coming from a place of caring.
"I told you, I'm fine. I just need—"
Suddenly, Luz bumped into someone, catching him and Judy by surprise. It got even worse when they realized who they bumped into. It was Amity.
"Watch where you're—!"
But before she could finish, Amity was caught by surprise to see Ben on the floor. Of all the people to bump into her, it had to be them. Her face turned to disgust, unable to get over the fact that she ended up getting her into trouble. She wasn't sure how to feel about Ben after what happened. She was likely on the fence. But her disgust towards Luz was obvious.
"Oh. It's you. Willow's Abomination thing."
Luz was rather nervous. It was a rather embarrassing predicament for her to finally bump into her, not to mention at the worst possible time.
"Uh, hey, Amity. So, funny story, not an Abomination. Sorry for the confusion."
Ben cleared his throat. He could tell from her tone that her wounds were still fresh. And the last thing they needed was to get on her bad side. Of course, it was already too late. So, he tried to go for the next best thing.
"Uh… hey. Nice to see you again, Amity."
Ben held his hand out, hoping that he didn't get off on the wrong foot. But Amity smacked it away.
"Put that away. You're the ones who got me into trouble with Principal Bump, and I never get in trouble."
Judy crossed her arms with a glare.
"Well, it's about time you started."
Amity stopped dead in her tracks. She was clearly not in the mood to hear that.
"What?"
Luz, being the peacemaker, tried to help Amity see her point of view, especially when she was at the receiving end of it.
"Well, you have to admit, you were okay with letting the Emperor's Coven dissect me, so…"
Not willing to hear another word, Amity snapped and turned around.
"You two can't be here! This Covention is for witches only!"
Ben scoffed at her attempt to shut down the Covention.
"Well, I don't see any rules that say so. Besides…"
Ben formed a light blue spell circle, creating his own version of a light spell. Amity and Luz looked at the spell in awe, especially on Luz's part.
"I'm not your average human."
"Oh. My. Gosh! You just made a light spell! Without drawing! And it's blue!"
Of course, Amity was hardly impressed.
"That's nothing. A child could do a light spell."
Ben made a small scowl as he made the orb disappear.
"So I've heard… But Heather said that we'd have a place in here, like we're one of you."
Amity snapped back, clearly not willing to listen to his double-talk.
"That doesn't mean that you are!"
As Ben crossed his arms, Luz continued to try to reason with Amity.
"Well, Ben technically kinda is. But I'm learning how to be a witch. I'm receiving magic lessons from a powerful witch and a ferocious demon."
Amity peeked behind Luz, seeing that said ferocious demon was enjoying himself too much.
"Is that your ferocious demon there?"
The trio turned around, seeing King dressed up in a green shirt that was a little big for someone his size. He also wore a blue scarf, a badge, and a hat. He was singing to himself as he ate a cupcake.
"Cupcakes in my tummy-tum makes the King say 'yummy-yum!'"
One of the bakers that followed behind him looked very eager for him.
"So, will you join the Bakers Coven?"
King looked at them with a blank stare before opening his mouth wide and devouring the cake so rudely before swiping another.
"Hmm. Nope."
Ben made a slight scowl.
"Well, he's definitely not mine…"
Presently, King noticed the trio in front of him and spoke up.
"Hey, Luz! Ben! Judy! Look at all these offerings!"
When King took another step, he put his foot upon the scarf that dangled underneath him, upsetting his balance and causing him to trip, dropping the cupcake to the floor. Luz went to check on him and Ben was about to pick it up, but Amity planted her boot on top of it! King gasped as the trio's eyes went wide. Amity gave them a mockingly innocent smile.
"Oops. That was an accident."
Judy was becoming red-hot with rage by this point.
"There's about to be an accident when I'm done with you—!"
Judy gritted her teeth as Ben held her back. Of course, he knew she had a right to be angry. That was uncalled for on her part.
"Judy, take it easy. And Amity, what the hell's wrong with you?! You weren't like this the last time we talked!"
Amity crossed her arms and gave them her own scowl.
"Don't be so surprised, human. You, your friend, and your pet are giving Witches-in-training a bad name."
Judy gritted her teeth like she's eating iron. But in her anger, her hand grew sharp claws and shifted its bones. Yet her rage inhibited her from realizing what was going on.
"The only one giving witches-in-training a bad name is YOU!"
Judy's outburst caught everyone by surprise, even Amity. She'd never heard Judy act like this. The poor girl caught her tone and gasped, seeing her hand shifting beyond control. Panic immediately began to overtake her as she tried to calm herself down. But Ben knew better.
Whatever was going on with Judy, she had a feeling it was going to be worse if he didn't do something. Besides, someone had to get her off her high horse.
"You know what? Judy's right about you! You're nothing but an arrogant, selfish, snobby, undeserving bully!"
Judy, King, and Luz gasped in awe. And it wasn't long before he got everyone else's attention. Of course, Ben was too focused on talking sense into her to notice.
"I was trying to figure you out when we first met. And I thought you were decent. But with what she told me about you, and how you've treated us today, I'm surprised you haven't been expelled!"
Judy gasped in wonder. It was a pretty good burn. But it didn't seem to faze the Blight one bit.
"Well, what exactly are you going to do about it?"
Ben scowled hard at her, having had more than enough of her attitude.
"I think you know what I'm going to do… I challenge you to a duel!"
The crowd gasped once again, especially Luz.
"This is just like Azura said when facing down her rival, Hecate at the Bog of Immediate Regret…!"
Ben overheard Luz's words and was puzzled. As for Amity, she had a blush over her cheeks.
"Okay… I'm gonna pretend I know what it means and just go with yes. So, Blight, you game? Or are you a coward, too?"
Amity only walked closer to Ben, getting up in his face before grinning.
"I accept."
Ben kept his glare as he put his arm back down on its side.
"Good. I'll set the terms from my end. If I win, 1. you apologize to King and give him a new cupcake…"
King was picking up the remains of his cupcake sadly as Judy and Luz tended to him.
"Good night, sweet child…"
"2. You admit that humans, especially hybrids, can be witches, too. And 3. You have to tell me why you really decided to abandon Willow and Ember!"
Amity raised her eyesin surprise at the mention of their names. She regained her composure a second later before she asked him.
"That's it?"
Ben showed her a dead serious look as he answered.
"That should be."
Amity thought it over a brief moment before she agreed.
"Fine by me. But when I win, not only do you have to tell the whole Covention you're not a witch, you have to tell me how you're able to do magic."
Ben didn't see it as a big deal. He simply scoffed.
"Pfft. That's it?"
"And you have to stop training, forever."
Ben widened his eyes, realizing he may have made a mistake.
"Me and my damned mouth…"
He was about to refuse, but King shouted at him, clenching his paws on the remains of his cupcake.
"Do it, Ben! For my honor! And Judy's honor!"
Judy had a worried look on her face. It was the kind of look he couldn't stand to see. It wasn't like he could walk away. If he failed, he'd never learn magic again. And any chance he'd have of having a life here would be as good as dead. But if it meant Judy won't lash out at her for the time being, he had to agree.
"You know what? Fine. Just make sure you keep your word."
When Ben held his hand out to Amity, her smirk grew bigger.
"Oh, I plan to."
Amity traces her spell circle over his hand, making it glow brightly. Then, she shook hands with him.
"The Everlasting Oath is sealed."
After Amity removed her hand, the circle went away, and the glow with it.
"Okay… where should we meet?"
Amity turned away from him as she answered him.
"Meet back inside the theater in one hour. Let's see what kind of witch you are."
Ben scowled back at her as he answered under his breath.
"Whatever I turn out to be, I'm still leagues better than you…"
With Amity gone, Ben sighed before turning to Judy
"Hey, Judy. You okay?"
Judy drew in heavy breaths as she got herself under control.
"Yeah. I think so… but, you didn't have to do that, Ben."
"Yes, I did. She was obviously getting you worked up. I couldn't just let you… attack her again. It would've made things worse."
"Worse than not learning magic ever again?"
Ben held onto her hands as he tried to reassure her.
"Judy. You helped me in that cave. I wanted to do the same for you. Besides, how hard can it be? I've got a good chance."
A couple of seconds later, Ben's confidence dwindled as he turned to Luz.
"Right?"
"Oh, yeah! You'd definitely win, Ben. What about you, King?"
King was too busy eating the remains of his cupcake to answer. He took a moment to pause before he answered.
"Oh, yeah, no."
King continued to eat before Ben grunted.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence…"
Meanwhile, Heather and Lilith were taking their leave from the auditorium. They looked all around the Covention, seeing much of their adoring public surrounding them. However, they were not the focus of these two. In fact, Lilith felt something… off.
"It doesn't look like we're alone, Princess."
Despite the crowd, Heather knew she wasn't talking about the obvious.
"I think we can agree."
They both felt someone watching them. They didn't quite like the tension at all. Heather and Lilith looked behind themselves, swinging their staves at whoever was sneaking up on them. To their surprise, both of their weapons were caught by a large scythe with a crow Palisman acting as the blade. Lilith's eyes opened up with surprise upon seeing a familiar face.
"Lawrence…?"
Lawrence gave her a gentle smile as he set aside his scythe.
"Lilith."
Lilith's face turned sour a second later, all while he made a suave look.
"Lawrence…"
"Lilith."
Suddenly, Lilith slapped him on the face, making him exclaim in shock. Lawrence's cheek turned red from the slap as Lilith turned away.
"You shouldn't have snuck up on me, Lawrence. I'm the Head of the Emperor's Coven, after all."
Omen smiled at the conversation. He'd told her before that it was Lilith they were talking about. And as it happened, she can take care of herself just fine. That being the case, Lawrence rubbed his cheek and got down to business.
"I'm aware. But you know it's our job to keep an eye on the Mystery Guests every Covention. Especially with what happened lately at the Conformatorium."
Heather found it hard to believe given that nothing bad had ever happened in the past years.
"We managed to recover the criminals despite the Owl Lady's first escape. Your concern is touching, but it's hardly necessary."
Omen had no faith in it whatsoever. He recalled the vision the All-Seer told him about, and it got him pretty on edge.
"And what about Vanitas? What if he escapes?"
Heather quickly went to Omen and shushed him, urging the Lieutenant to keep his voice down around people when it came to that matter.
"Vanitas has been in our deepest cell for 50 years. If he was going to escape, he should've done it by now."
Lilith chimed in to add their effectiveness.
"And even if he did, me and the Princess are capable of handling ourselves."
Lawrence crossed his arms as he made a counterpoint in the argument.
"Yes, true. But Vanitas isn't our only concern. Since the break-out earlier this week, the criminals still out there have become emboldened. More so than 15 years ago. So whether you want it or not, our protection is warranted as mandatory."
Lilith was having quite enough of that. She immediately retorted at him, determined to put an end to the tangent.
"Will you please stop saying that? I'm not the weak little damsel in distress that I was in Hexside, Larry."
Lilith got him blushing beet red to say that. Omen snickered at the name he gave her. Even he knew what a hood burn looked like. Lawrence paused himself for a moment before he spoke softly.
"My Raven… with all due respect, even the best of us need to be protected."
Lilith simply turned herself away, not willing to hear one more thing about it. As for Heather, she noticed how sad Lilith was getting and spoke up.
"Perhaps. But not today. Even if they were rallying, no wild witch would be dumb enough to come after me and Lilith in the midst of a Covention."
Omen scoffed at her way of thinking.
"Something we agree on, I'm sure. But regardless, we still need to finish the mission."
Heather went up close to Omen and spoke as sternly as she did softly.
"Whose mission, Omen? Our mission, or your mission?"
"Trust me. They're one and the same."
The Princess had her doubts, but seeing as they're adamant in their decision, she supposed they had no choice but to at least tolerate it. It was a bitter pill to swallow for Lilith, though.
"Well, seeing as we can't change your mind, I… suppose we could allow you to accompany us. At least until after Covention."
Lawrence sighed, relieved that she was willing to compromise. Then, Omen and Lawrence took notice of the other students. Aliud, Daniel, Astrid, and even Sunday had looks of worry on their faces. Daniel asked the million-dollar question before Astrid answered.
"Man, was she always like this?"
"Maybe she's just shy?"
Sunday quickly disproved this with a cold tone.
"I know what shyness looks like, Astrid. And that's not it. I think she's hiding something."
Aliud crossed his arms, unable to believe that.
"Come on. You always think someone's hiding something."
"And your point is?"
"There's no way Judy would hide something from us. Right?"
Omen and Lawrence held their heads down. It seemed like their secret was getting very close to being unraveled. He recalled how much Judy struggled a few minutes ago. He couldn't ignore it. There was no point in drawing it out any longer. But before he could speak, Lilith spoke up in surprise.
"Sister?"
To everyone's surprise, apart from Omen's, they found none other than the Owl Lady just in front of them. Even through that baggy cowl, Lilith could see through her disguise.
"It's been so long since I've seen you last. What are you wearing? You look like some sort of trash collector. Oh, wait. You are."
Other days, Eda would've embarrassed her right back. She did have a penchant for it. But with Judy being forced to overcome whatever was troubling her by herself, she wasn't going to waste any time.
"Can it, Lily. Can't you see I've got better things to worry about?"
Eda was about to walk past them, but Lilith cut her off.
"Like the Coven guards? You shouldn't even be here. You're a wanted criminal. Unless…"
It didn't take long for Lilith to come to a conclusion. Though it was wishful thinking at best.
"I don't believe it. You're here to join the Emperor's Coven!"
Eda snorted at the prospect before she started laughing at the very idea. This angered Lilith to no end as she retorted her blunt refusal.
"In your dreams…"
Lawrence saw her disgruntled look and tried to help her move on.
"Lilith, let's just move on."
Of course, Lilith's temper got the better of her.
"You think that being Covenless makes you so much smarter than everyone else. But while you run from the law like a degenerate, I'm mentoring the next generation of powerful witch students into the world."
Eda wasn't one to back down from a challenge. So, naturally, she wasn't one to miss a chance to push back.
"Well, I have a student. And I bet she could wipe the floor with any of your prissy little bluebloods."
Heather tried to delegate the situation next.
"Lilith, we mustn't waste time with such—!"
Lilith got up to Eda's face, sticking her nose right up to hers.
"Is that a challenge?"
"Oh-ho, it's a promise."
Before the tension could heat up any more, Omen got in-between them and broke up the rivalry.
"Enough! Both of you! This isn't a competition!"
Eda and Lilith grumbled in defeat. Then, Omen chimed on.
"But if it was, Benjamin would beat your apprentice in no time flat."
Lilith gasped dramatically at such a claim while Eda snickered at his comeback. Just then, Ben got their attention.
"Uh, what's going on here?"
Eda, Heather, Lawrence, and Omen took notice of Luz, Ben, and Judy. Placed in a rather awkward situation, Eda and Omen answered him.
"Apparently, we're betting."
"In any case, I could ask you the same thing."
Luz started answering in a hyperactive panic, hoping he could help Ben out.
"Mr. Omen, we need your help! Judy was getting mad at Amity, so Ben decided to challenge Amity to a Witch's Duel, and I think she's going to kill him all the way dead!"
Ben got upset over her lack of confidence.
"Wow. That's not demoralizing at all."
Luz blushed with an embarrassed look on her face.
"Sorry. I'm just so worried."
Lilith formed a smirk on her face. She saw this as an opportunity. And she wasn't going to waste it.
"And she has every right to be. You may have as-of-yet-unknown powerful magic at your disposal, Benjamin, but Amity's magic will give yours a run for their money."
Lawrence was shocked. He'd rarely seen Lilith like this. And he was no fan of it at all.
"Lilith, are you seriously condoning this?!"
"Why not? Omen said himself that he's capable of beating her in no time flat."
That gave Ben an odd mixture of pride and terror, glancing up at his mentor.
"You really said that?"
"How was I supposed to know you challenged her?"
Judy added the worst part of it with a livid expression.
"And not just that; Amity made an everlasting oath with him that if he loses, he'd never learn magic again! Ever!"
Lilith saw that her daughter was getting worked up a lot more quickly. She had to wonder why.
"And why should that be any of your concern?"
"Because he did it to stand up for me!"
Lilith was caught completely off-guard. She never heard Judy speak like that. It made her surprised and worried. A few seconds later, Judy explained the situation.
"I just wanted to be alone… but Amity wouldn't leave me be. She had to act like she had something to prove… I would've snapped again if Ben didn't challenge her in the first place…! He doesn't deserve to suffer for that!"
Judy panted her breath, having made her point clear. For his part, Ben was having a sympathetic look on his face.
"Judy…"
Lilith held her face down, ashamed that she'd acted the way she did. She could only think of one possible scenario.
"Judith… I had no idea. M-Maybe if Ben calls off the witch's duel, Amity could be persuaded to undo the Everlasting Oath."
Luz made a sigh of relief.
"Phew! Thank goodness. Now, we can all get back to the rest of the day."
However, something about it didn't sit right with Ben. Sure he'd live another day, but he couldn't get Amity's cold words out of his head.
"You two can't be here! This Covention is for witches only."
"You give witches-in-training a bad name."
Ben clenched his hands in quiet anger. A few seconds later, he made his voice known.
"I'm not calling it off. I'm going to settle things with her like I should."
Lilith and Judy showed immediate worry, mainly from the latter, from Ben's decision.
"But Ben! What if you lose? What if you—?"
Before she could say another word, Ben answered her with a hand on her shoulder.
"I didn't just do this for you, Judy. I was doing it for me, too. In the past few days since Hexside, all anybody ever did was see me as a weak, defenseless human who shouldn't even be here. And I may not know what I'm supposed to be yet, but I'm tired of people seeing me that way. That's why I'm still going to duel Amity. To show her I'm more than what everyone else sees."
Judy gasped softly. She never knew Ben was that determined to prove everybody wrong.
"Ben…"
Ben moved his head to Lilith just behind her daughter.
"And that goes for you, too."
Lilith took a deep breath before she conceded.
"Very well, then. If you're that determined to confront my protege, I won't stop you."
With that, Lilith walked away with her hands folded neatly in front of her with Heather following close by.
"If you're really more than just a human, I hope you'll show us what kind of witch you truly are."
Once they were out of earshot, Heather turned to Lilith.
"Lilith, are you sure that was wise? We still don't know where his magic came from."
The head of the Emperor's Coven read into her concerned tone and made a small glance.
"The fact that we don't know is why we're allowing it. With any luck, this witch's fuel could give us a glimpse of that human's true power. Then we'll see if it's anything for Lord Belos to be concerned about…"
Meanwhile, Omen turned to Ben, giving him a scowl at first.
"So, you're really that determined to prove yourself?"
Ben nodded to him with adamant proof of it.
"I am."
Omen couldn't help but grin from this. He previously saw him as a nuisance until Lawrence opened up his mind. From then on, he only tolerated him. But now, Omen was actually enjoying this.
"You got guts, kid, I'll give you that. In that case… time to prepare for bloodshed."
This made Luz very anxious.
"Whose blood?"
Eda gave her a pay in the back as she answered excitedly.
"Anyone's guess."
Omen cleared his throat, glaring at Eda.
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?"
That's when Eda remembered what she was doing before Lilith found him in the first place.
"Oh, right. I was looking for Raine."
Lawrence stepped up beside Eda.
"I'll come along with you, Edalyn. They need to know what's going on."
Lawrence turned back to Omen, giving him a serious look. Where he's going with Eda, it wasn't meant for Judy to know just yet. So he's putting his trust in him. And it must not be defiled.
"Omen, I'm counting on you to make sure Benjamin is still standing. Can you do that?"
Omen nodded to him as he answered.
"Of course. You have my word."
With his assurance, Lawrence and Eda walked away from Omen, Ben, Judy, and Luz. The human gave Eda a passing nod, letting her know that she hadn't forgotten what was asked of her. From there, he looked back at the young man bold enough to challenge Amity Blight.
"Well, kid, like the Owl Lady said, we need to prepare for bloodshed. But we're going to make sure it isn't yours."
Some time later, Omen, Ben, Judy, and Luz were at the corner near the auditorium. The trainer wasn't expecting to have to teach at all today. But with the situation of the Everlasting Oath that came with his challenge, he didn't have much choice.
"Alright. You know the light spell so far. But against Amity, it's going to take a lot more than that. Which means we're going to have to learn more of your own untapped magic."
It was sound logic on his part. But the trouble was, how could he pull it off?
"Yeah, but how do we even start?"
Omen put his finger under his chin as he thought back to a certain incident that came from his own misconduct.
"Hmm… you did manage to bust down a wall before. How did you manage that?"
Ben was reminded of it, too. But he didn't quite like it.
"I don't know. It happened a little after I was running away. Judy was following me, I snapped at her with my hand on it, and then… it just exploded."
It made Omen rather puzzled that the whole situation happened just like that. He needed more references.
"I see. Did that kind of thing happen before?"
Ben went in his head, thinking about the previous instances where he lost it and numbered them with his finger on top of the other to make a list. None of them made him feel very good, especially not the part where he literally tore Ember's arm off.
"Well, there was the one time I went berserk on the Emperor's Coven. And before that, I… Well, let's just say I made them short-handed. And the first time I remember even using it was…"
Ben trailed off when he was forced to relive why he ran away in the first place. He stood in front of his so-called father in defense of Sue before his eyes turned bright blue and punched him straight in the gut with a sudden burst, launching him right into the wall! The last thing he saw was her terrified look before he ran off.
"…when I ran away…"
Judy saw the despairing look on his face. The last time she saw him that guilty was back in the cave a couple of days prior. She'd seen it beforehand, too. She still remembered how scared he was back at the Owl House.
"I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want to be a monster..."
Judy softened her gaze as those words faded in her head. Omen could take a wild guess about his powers given what happened.
"Hmm… from the sound of it, it sounds like your magic is tied to your emotions. Your anger is practically commonplace for it."
Ben didn't want to believe that it happened because of anything cliché as that.
"You gotta be kidding me."
Omen gave Ben his famous scowl in return.
"Does it look like I'm kidding?"
Ben scoffed at the idea at first.
"Yeah, right."
But looking back, he realized he may have a point.
"Wait. You are serious."
"Exactly. That's the kind of magic you'll need to win against Amity."
That got Ben very worried. Amity may have been a Grade-A jerk this morning, but even she didn't deserve to be pulverized.
"Are you sure there isn't another way? Can't I just learn another spell?"
Omen crossed his arms, making his position clear.
"It's either that, or you never learn magic again."
Faced with such an ultimatum, even if he did indirectly cause it in the first place, he threw his hands up.
"If it's gonna come to that, then maybe I don't want to learn magic."
Judy and Luz gasped, very anxious about his decisions.
"Ben…"
"But you wanted to learn magic more than anything."
Ben turned to Luz to explain.
"Yeah, so I can control myself better. But if it gets someone hurt in the process, or worse, then what's the point? I meant what I said before. I don't want to be a monster."
Omen scowled at his decision, marking it as cowardice.
"Then you're a fool!"
Ben snapped back at Omen.
"Maybe I am! But at least I'm not a murderer!"
The moment Ben said that, however, he stopped himself with a gasp. For all he knew, it might as well be too late to say that, especially after the sight he left Sue to deal with. He never saw any blood, but with how sudden that burst came when it did, all he could do was think of a worst-case scenario. Judy and Ben looked at him in worry as his face showed guilt. Omen saw it, too. Even he was a bit cautious with that. And after the display he made on the Shadow Coven base's wall, he couldn't blame him.
"You don't sound too convinced."
The more Omen looked upon his shameful face, the more he began to realize that Ben must not have wanted it to happen again, if that was indeed the case. He decided to approach it differently.
"But nobody's asking you to slaughter a student in a fight. All I'm asking you to do is use your full potential."
Ben turned away, still wracked with guilt.
"But I can't figure out how to just turn it on. And even if I did, what if it only got worse…?"
Omen sighed, not sure what else to tell him.
"I'm sorry, but short of friendly advice, it's the best bet you've got. Unless you've got a better idea with your light spell."
Then it occured to Judy. He was able to make a light spell when he focused on making one. And she saw what Ben was capable of through his power alone. A couple of instances where he made a wall explode and when he tore off Ember's arm reminded her of that. If he could apply it differently…
"Actually… I think I might have an idea."
Meanwhile, Eda and Lawrence were walking all around the Covention. They were trying to find Raine amidst the crowd. And their best bet was the Bard-Keeping Coven Stand. But it was already proving hard to find amongst a crowd of people, especially when you're the most wanted witch in the Isles.
"Come on… where are you, Rainestorm?"
Lawrence kept his eyes open for them, too. Although, given their stage fright, he had his doubts.
"Are you certain they're here, Edalyn? You know they can't stand crowds."
Eda turned to him with a hopeful look.
"They'd better be. Because I don't know what I'm gonna do if they aren't."
Lawrence had a couple of ideas about what it was that made her so determined to find them. With Judy being so stressed, he couldn't think of any other two.
"Edalyn, if it's about potions, Judith just finished one mere minutes ago."
Eda turned and snapped at him.
"Fuck your potions! They obviously can't do a damn thing to make up for her being so desperate to suffer in silence!"
Lawrence glared at her, knowing her anger was misplaced.
"And how can Raine possibly help, then?"
Eda blushed when Lawrence got straight to the point. For once, the Owl Lady was speechless. The words were practically choked at her throat. Lawrence was getting rather impatient. After all, Judith was his daughter.
"Well? Answer me, Owl Lady! You obviously seem to know my daughter more than I do!"
Fed up with his pestering, Eda yelled at him with a hot temper.
"I don't know what to say to her, okay?! Is that what you wanted to hear, Larry?!"
Eda panted from the tension, her eyes close to the point of crying.
"Judy's so desperate to make herself miserable just to keep everyone else happy, and I don't know what to say to talk her out of it! I don't… I don't even know if I can…!"
Lawrence's face softened from seeing her like this. He'd seen her break down before. And it wasn't a pretty sight then, either. She had been living alone for almost 30 years until Judy, King, and Luz came along. Even back then, he tried to be there for her, but she kept avoiding him. But now, here she is, worried for Judy's future… he reached his hand to her shoulder and tried to encourage and reassure her.
"I know you can. You're the one she looks up to the most. I may keep a roof over her head, and I may have done everything I could to keep her safe. But you're the one she respects the most. Of all the Boiling Isles, Judith looks up to you."
Despite his words, Eda's worry was still present.
"But… but she doesn't know about the Owl Beast! And Raine's usually good at this stuff, not me. Without them, I can't help her…"
"Yes, you can. You two are more alike than you think."
Lawrence walked away from Eda, leaving her by herself amidst the crowd. She held her hand over her chest as she considered it for a while. Then, she shook her head.
"No… it can't be that easy. Can it…?"
Eda was torn. Of course she wanted to help Judy, but she doubted her words would work, even if she did idolize the Owl Lady. Still, she had to try to reach her without Raine. Somehow…
As for her sister, Lilith was training Amity for the Witch's Duel that was soon to take place. Amity was drawing a purple spell circle before she made a command.
"Abomination, rise."
Out of the circle on the ground came a small abomination small enough that the top of its head reached up to her neck. The abomination picked up its own head and tossed it as a projectile. It landed right on a baker's face before he fell down, knocking a bowl of his mixture along with him. Then, he was chucked by the Tiny-Nosed demon before she powered up again. Lilith gave her a small smile for a moment.
"That's a good strategy, Amity. But I'm afraid it's not going to be enough against his magic."
Amity was very shocked to hear this.
"What? But he's a human."
Lilith crossed her arms as she warned her of what she witnessed from him.
"And yet, that human managed to turn an abomination twice that size into a puddle at Hexside. And that's without any proper control. We have to do better."
Amity was flummoxed. How was she supposed to beat a human with a kind of magic she knew nothing about? For that matter, nobody seemed to know about it any more than Lilith did.
"But how? We don't know the first thing about his magic."
Lilith pondered over it as she held her fingers under her chin. She looked back at when Crimson was under siege by the boy after his abomination collapsed. He was convinced that he'd won up until Crimson landed a pinch on him. As she recalled, Belos was still very sore over how he disregarded the mission. Nevertheless, it did give her an idea. Part of how she got into the Emperor's Coven was her intelligence. And she needed to use every ounce of it if her protege was to stand a chance against him.
"I do know one thing. Powerful as he is, he's prone to let his guard down. That will be your moment to strike."
Amity nodded to Lilith. Then, she looked out to the human by the corner. Ben had a weary look on his face. Almost as though he seemed hesitant. She couldn't understand why he'd look that way. It made her remember when he first talked with her in that hallway.
"I don't want us to be fighting each other like it's Survival of the Fittest all the time."
Amity looked back at her own hands. She started to wonder why he'd go to the trouble of challenging her in the first place. She could also hear him calling her out like he did earlier.
"I thought you were decent. But with what she told me about you, and how you've treated us today, I'm surprised you haven't been expelled!"
Amity clutched her hands in anger. She wasn't in the mood to hear him talk down to her like he knew her. It infuriated her more than anything. Lilith was right. She needed to do better. Better than to let her own guard down herself…
"Abomination, rise!"
After summoning her abomination, Amity clenched her right hand, turning it into an axe. She wasn't going to hold back. Not if it meant giving that human a piece of her mind… She then lurched her hand to the ground, making her abomination do the same as it slammed the blade to the ground. Amity didn't notice it, but she was beginning to shed tears. However, Lilith saw that for herself.
Startled as she was, Lilith knew that Amity must be pushing herself to the limit and beyond. Who knew that a human with magic would be a powerful motivator, she thought. Then again, she was only trying to win, not to kill anyone.
"That's a little extreme. But it could work in our favor. Just try not to strike anywhere vital. It is a demonstration, after all."
Amity and her abomination bowed their heads to Lilith before she spoke.
"I won't let you down, Lilith. I've worked too hard for that."
As Amity bowed her head, she felt Lilith's hand touching it, making her open her eyes and look up.
"I know. I believe in you, my star student."
Amity didn't know what to say. The praise of the Head of the Emperor's Coven practically had her heart skip a beat. Suddenly, she gave Lilith a hug, catching her off-guard. The young Blight spoke softly to her, sounding as though she might cry.
"Thank you…"
Lilith gave her a gentle hug back, wrapping her arms around her body before looking to where Ben was. Judy seemed to whisper into his ear. Lilith began to frown as she held her head down, remembering what she told her.
"I just wanted to be alone… but Amity wouldn't leave me be. She had to act like she had something to prove…"
It was no secret she hated Amity with a vengeance ever since she dumped Willow as a friend. And she hasn't forgotten what she almost did to Amity. She didn't know what to do about it, but she couldn't let Amity feel alone…
Someday, you'll get through to her, Amity. I know you will…
An hour later, at the auditorium, Luz, Judy, and Omen were behind Ben at the stage while Lilith, Heather, and Amity stood on the podium. As for Lawrence and Eda, they were watching on the stands, surveying the whole thing. Lilith spoke out to the crowd as she gestured to her apprentice.
"Beloved citizens, the Emperor's Coven proudly presents an impromptu demonstration of the sort of witch we seek every year. Introducing Amity Blight."
Amity made a determined grin as everyone all cheered for her. One of them even had a foam finger that said #1 Amity on it to prove it.
"Go, Amity!"
Then, Lilith gestured to her opponent.
"Versus Benjamin Kingston. One of the very humans that Emperor Belos was gracious enough to allow to remain here with us today."
Everyone all gasped and whispered amongst themselves.
"A human…? That's him?"
"Humans can't do magic."
"He's not Amity."
Eda overheard that comment and spoke to Lawrence.
"Is it just me, or is that guy a total simp…?"
Just then, at that moment, they heard Aliud's voice behind them. Aliud, Daniel, Astrid, and Sunday were just walking in the entrance to see the spectacle for themselves.
"There they are. Just like my future vision said they'd be. What'd I tell you?"
Daniel looked down at the scene, puzzled by the event.
"Maybe. But did you see that coming?"
Aliud looked down to see Ben and Omen at the stand, befuddled greatly by this appearance.
"Wait, what happened to 'keep a low profile?'"
Sunday gave him her own take of the matter.
"Maybe he's just repairing his bruised ego."
Aliud was about to argue, but he had to admit, she did have a point. He was always competitive. Besides, he's way too smart to give something like the Shadow Coven away.
"Fair."
With all the attention on him, Ben gulped a bit nervously.
"Judy, are you sure this is going to work?"
Judy nodded to him as she answered.
"Yeah. It's like what you did before. But this time, try to focus it into the light spell. That way, it'll help you control it better."
Ben had a flat look.
"Again, are you sure?"
She didn't blame him for being skeptical, but Judy was getting tired of it, especially when it was getting nowhere.
"Do you have any better ideas?"
Ben shook his head before she made her point clear.
"I thought so."
"But what if it's not enough?"
Omen stepped up next to him to aid him differently.
"Ben, listen to me. This is something I tell all my students whenever we train. The key to victory is to look for your opponent's weakness and make them suffer for it. To take their strengths and use it against them. What you really need to do is focus on surviving long enough to find that weakness and exploit it until they fall. Or quit."
Ben looked back to his mentor, still full of worry.
"And if they don't quit?"
Omen made another stern gaze as he reminded him.
"Don't worry about that. Just make sure you're not the one who falls. Understood?"
Ben nodded to him, knowing that he wouldn't have any other choice either way. Besides, he meant every word. He's not going to let himself be underestimated anymore. Suddenly, the bell screamed as its eye banged against the metal. Ben and Amity went up to each other as they prepared to fight.
Amity cracked her knuckles with a smirk while Ben continued to scowl at her. She drew a spell circle, tracing it on the floor as she prepared to summon. Ben saw the sparks around the circle. He could tell something was off.
"Abomination, rise!"
Out of her spell circle rose a gigantic abomination. It towered above him, roughly the same height as Crimson's super abomination from the Hexside incident. Ben was overcome with surprise. For that matter, even Amity was surprised.
"Whoa…"
Surprised as she was, though, Amity went back to the duel at hand.
"Show me what you got, human!"
Ben glared daggers at her as he retorted.
"Only because you asked for it!"
Ben traced his own spell circle, creating his own ball of light and holding it in his hand. Amity saw this and scoffed at it.
"That's cute. Abomination, throw!"
On cue, her abomination took off its head and prepared to chuck itself at him. Ben had an unsure look on his face, but he wasn't lying when he told her he had no better ideas.
"Well, here goes… everything."
Then, just as the Abomination hurled its head, Ben threw his ball of light, colliding into the abomination! The abomination head exploded into a pile of goop, sending a shockwave of air throughout the arena that blew both Amity and Ben back. The abomination itself was blown back beside her, but it regained its footing and reformed its head, which moaned in surprise itself.
The audience stared in shock and awe from what Ben was able to pull off with a light spell. Ben opened his eyes and looked all over his body to see if anything got on him.
"I'm alive… I'm alive!"
Amity, on the other hand, was as greatly outraged as she was perplexed. No light spell could ever have done that kind of power at all. This can't be normal.
"How did you do that?!"
Ben blinked his eyes before he blurted out the first thought that came to his mind.
"I have no fucking idea."
Then, a smile came across his face once he realized what he could do.
"But I think I can work with this."
He turned to Judy, who gave him two thumbs-up. In turn, he smiled back at her. Somehow, surviving won't be a problem for him anymore. Although, he kept in mind that he was still dealing with a giant. It could still swat at him if he's not careful. To prepare himself, he formed another spell circle, creating another ball of light in his hand as he called Amity out.
"You can still back out of this, Amity. We don't have to fight."
However, Amity wasn't going to give up. She'd come too far for that.
"You think you're the only one with new tricks?"
Amity clenched her right hand, turning her giant abomination's right hand into an anvil. Shapeshifting was something he'd seen from Crimson's super abomination before, but it still worried him. His odds have gone a bit lower on his end now.
"I'm not going to surrender, human!"
Despite the tenacity Blight was showing, Ben still stood his ground, albeit a bit nervously.
"Honestly, I was kinda hoping you'd say that…"
At the same time, King was enjoying his King of Demons fantasy again. His little head had hats stacked on top of him like a tower, wearing scarves, bracelets and stacks of ponchos on him. It was safe to say he overpacked on his "offerings". But it didn't stop him from going on his merry way to Willow and Gus.
"Up-bup-bup-ba-da-ba! Things that are free, people are giving offerings to me! I love offerings! What did I miss?"
Willow had a look of nervousness all over her face while Gus showed enthusiasm.
"Ben is in a Witch's Duel!"
"Yeah, and he could win it all! Yeah-ah!"
King looked down at the battle, looking on in surprise.
"Weh?"
Amity lurched her hand forward, urging it to crush him. Ben leapt away just before it could hit him. Looking back, he saw that the anvil hand left a dent in the sand. If he hadn't gotten out of there, he would've been hurt very badly.
"You're seriously trying to crush me?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Amity growled as she sneered.
"Don't give me any of that!"
Amity swiped her hand to her left, commanding her abomination to swing its anvil right at him! Ben couldn't possibly jump high enough to avoid it. He looked at the light orb in his hand and had an idea.
He rushed right at the anvil and jumped right at it, slamming the ball of light right onto the weapon and bursting it into pieces as he came out of the hole he'd made. Of course, that move only angered Blight even more so. As the fight progressed, Eda blinked her eyes in surprise.
"Woof. Now that is some good magic."
Lawrence looked at the Owl Lady, surprised by how well she's taking it.
"Well, you don't seem too upset about it."
"Eh, I'm still pretty powerful. But this? This is definitely new."
Lawrence kept a close eye on the scene as he leaned a bit forward.
On the stands, Aliud and Daniel were watching with wide eyes.
"Did Ben just make a light spell?"
"I'll do you one better, Al: how can his light spell do that?!"
Astrid gasped in awe as she watched Ben hold his own.
"Is that why Omen invited Ben?! He looks so cool!"
Even Sunday was amazed at the development. She even lifted her eyebrows up.
"I'm sufficiently impressed."
King tried to get down safely to get a closer look.
"This I gotta see!"
When he got down, however, Amity's #1 fan cheered her on.
"Go, Amity!"
King, of course, wasn't going to stand for it. Not after what she did to his cupcake.
"Hey, you root for Ben or nobody!"
King might have given him a piece of his mind if he hadn't unfortunately stepped on his scarf and fell down the next flight of stands.
Meanwhile, the increasingly frustrated Amity began to question him.
"How are you doing that?!"
Ben glared back at her, not too happy with how far she's going just to win a bet.
"I told you! I'm not your normal human! I'm a witch, too! Will you just accept that already?!"
Just then, King fell off of the last stand and right in-between Amity and Ben. Thanks to the offerings he collected, the ponchos cushioned the landing.
"Huh? I'm okay!"
But it wasn't going to be for long. Amity saw an opportunity to strike.
"Powerful as he is, he's prone to let his guard down. That will be your moment to strike."
She saw her chance. And she wasn't going to waste it. Amity noticed the leftover goop beside King and tried to command it. Under her command, the goo suddenly swamped King, pinning him down by the ponchos!
"WEH!"
Ben was caught off-guard by Amity's tactic. And he wasn't the only one. Luz and Judy gasped in fear for their friend.
"King!"
"No!"
Amity felt a thrill of retribution flowing through her as she took command of her abomination.
"Abomination, crush!"
Ben became wracked with fear. Had Amity gone completely insane?! Was she that bitter towards him that she'd squash an innocent bystander over her pride?! Ben looked to see the giant lifting its massive foot to squash King! King closed his eyes and prepared for the worst. But just when all seemed lost, Ben stood over him.
Thinking quickly, Ben formed a bigger spell circle than usual, big enough to fit onto both hands and used it to suspend the foot from crashing on him. Ben struggled to hold it in place as he gritted his teeth. Once Amity saw this, she used a wave of her free hand to move King out of the foot's path.
"Weh?"
Ben was too busy holding the foot at bay to notice right away. But in any case, he was forced to give it his all. Or it could mean his life. With King out of the way, Amity redirected the abomination goo that held him captive away from him and onto her giant.
"You think it's so easy to be a witch, don't you?!"
Amity clenched her fists together, causing the giant's foot to grow bigger, and pushed it down harder on Ben. With the giant beginning to overpower him, Ben was pushed onto the floor, his back against it as he struggled to keep it from crushing him. He could swear he was feeling his bones beginning to break, and his muscles were bound to give out.
"I have been working my whole life to get to the top! And I didn't go this far just so you can take it from me!"
Amity gave it one more push, pushing Ben deeper into the ground and making cracks on the floor where the sand fell into. Amity was pushing down on him with so much resentment she even started to let out tears from her eyes.
"You're not a witch! You don't belong here! And you never will! SAY IT!"
Those words echoed around in Ben's head just as he was about to give out. Then, he opened his eyes, showing a glowing bright blue color. But it wasn't the only thing to happen. Ben started to feel something bubbling up inside him. This was more intense than before. Amity and Omen started to notice it, too, but the Blight was speechless compared to him.
"What the…?"
Ben started to growl into a roar as he started to lift himself up, and the foot with him. When he stood on his own two feet again, he glanced up at the giant, his blue eyes fixed on it before he shot himself up straight, roaring at the top of his lungs as a bright blue pillar shot up into the ceiling, engulfing the abomination in its light.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Everyone stood in awe and terror at the beam of light that illuminated the whole arena. When the light died down, the crowd lowered their eyes to see a shocking sight. The giant had turned completely into a pile of goo, the creator of which looked on in fear. Nobody had ever seen a human do that, ever, especially not Luz.
"Oh, dios mío… What is that…?"
Omen stood there with his mouth hung open. He couldn't form any words to describe what he'd witnessed. Judy stood there, her worry getting worse as she held her hands over her mouth. She was not counting on seeing this change at all.
Come to think of it, nobody did. Not even Lilith and Heather could understand how this could possibly come to be.
"That magic again…!"
"How is a human capable of this?"
Ben was now standing on his own two feet, his clothes in tatters, and his eyes glowing bright blue like before. But now, his hair was partially standing on end, especially the one bang over his face that seemed like it was floating. He glared in Amity's direction with an incomparable mix of rage and sadness in his eyes.
Play God of War III Music: "Rage of Sparta"
Ben's blank, angry stare sent chills right down to her very soul. Amity didn't know what was going on, but she had to stop him somehow, or she's done for…
Meanwhile, Eda and Lawrence saw the whole thing, utterly astonished at his appearance.
"Oh, mama. That is one hell of a glow-up."
Lawrence had never seen such a sight before. He could practically feel the heat of his magic from where he sat.
"Your words would be an understatement, Edalyn."
Aliud, Daniel, and Astrid were completely shaken by the event.
"What the Tartarus?!"
"How is that kid doing that?!"
"I don't know! Maybe it's a human thing!"
Contrary to Astrid's belief, Sunday knew better. She saw Ben's ruthless glare mirroring that of a demon's. The way Amity trembled told her enough.
"This is not a human thing."
After a moment of silence, Ben gritted his teeth and shouted at her, angered deeply by her words.
"You think you know me, Blight?! DO YOU?!"
Terrified of his fury, Amity took advantage of the abomination goo beneath him and formed her spell circles. After which, she slammed her hands on the ground and formed multiple abominations by the dozens. Ben looked all around him, seeing the abominations swarming him.
"Abominations, seize!"
On her command, the abominations went after Ben, aiming to pin him down. However, they were too slow for him. Much too slow… In just a blink of an eye, Ben was just behind them, his one arm stretched out with his other laid down just along his body.
Seconds later, bright blue gashes appeared over several of them, causing them to turn into blue solid crystal-like statues before they suddenly exploded in a bright blue glow. Amity gasped hoarsely from the sight as Ben stared her down.
"You don't know the first thing about me!"
Amity felt desperation come over her as she twisted her hands on the ground and dragged her nails over it, merging the mass into two abominations. One of them had an anvil for a hand while the other had an axe. Ben scowled with impending wrath as he made his move.
The abominations lunged at him, aiming to put him down. But Ben vanished in a flash. Amity was becoming more frightened than before as her abominations searched for their quarry. But suddenly, he reappeared in front of one of them and threw a hard punch right into its gooey mass, leaving a burning, crystallized hole in its chest!
It wasn't a clean cut, but it left its mark nonetheless. But Ben wasn't through with it.
"You think it's any easier being a human?!"
Ben threw another punch, then another, and another, picking up speed with every blow. With each strike he made, the abomination was not only turning completely into a crystal, but he was lifting it up in the air to do it!
"While you got to play as the star student, I had to struggle just to belong! AND FOR WHAT?!"
With the emphasis on the last word, Ben threw one more punch, propelling it to the ceiling where it shattered to a zillion pieces as a blue ethereal mist poofed from the collision. The whole arena shook as the crowd gasped. But nobody was in as much fear as Amity was right now.
She tried to command the other abomination to strike him with its blade. The moment it tried, though, Ben caught it and turned it into crystals before snapping it off. Then he made a large slash overhead, turning the rest of it into crystals before it exploded into a burst. Amity was at an utter loss for words as Ben approached her.
"I grew up without a family who cared about me, I lost my brother, and worse? The only friend I did have threw her life away because of scum like you!"
Ben stomped his foot on the ground, causing the ground to crackle like an earthquake as Amity scrambled to run. But the cracks glowed bright blue, and the light erupted from the cracked ground, trapping Amity in the divide while Ben walked past his personal cage to glare down at her.
"I didn't come to this forsaken hell just so you could decide whether I'm worth anything or not! I'M NEVER LETTING ANYONE DICTATE MY WORTH EVER AGAIN! DO YOU HEAR ME?! NEVER!"
Ben held his hand up, creating a lethal version of his light spell. Unlike before, it was pitch black with blue outlines and sparking electricity all around it. Lilith and Heather saw this and grew much alarmed, the Head of the Emperor's Coven especially.
"Don't you dare!"
Lilith tried to jump in, but Heather held out her arm.
"Wait! We can't interfere in a Witch's duel! Those are the rules!"
Lilith grunted, realizing she had a point. But she couldn't contain her worry for her protege. But she wasn't the only one worried. Judy saw what he was about to do. And the thought scared her to death. Just like her, Ben was about to do something he would never take back. And if she didn't do something, she just knew it would haunt him for the rest of his life. Judy ran right to the crater, making her mentor shout to her.
"Judith, no! Get back!"
Lilith saw this and became even more frightened.
"JUDITH! DON'T YOU GO IN THERE!"
Judith turned back to her mother and shouted back to her.
"I have to help him, mother! He needs me!"
With that, Judith continued to run toward Ben, determined to stop the worst from happening. Amity trembled as she awaited the inevitable. All the while, Ben was still glaring down at her, unable to let go of his anger for putting him down.
"I'm ending this, NOW!"
Ben pulled his hand back and aimed to strike her with his corroded light spell. But before he could hit her, Judy stepped up and stood in front of Amity.
End God of War III Music: "Rage of Sparta"
Ben stopped himself, his spell just in front of her. He was surprised that she would do that for Amity of all people.
"Ben, stop! This isn't who you are!"
Ben glared at Judy, angered that she would defend Amity after what she put her through.
"You don't know who I am!"
Judy snapped back, tired of the one-sided argument.
"I know you're a good person, Ben! I know that you're hurting because someone decided you were worth nothing at all! How do you think I felt when I attacked Amity before?! It didn't fix anything for me, and it won't do it for you, either!"
Ben went as close to Judy as to get in her face as he shouted.
"I'M TRYING TO DO YOU A FAVOR! WHY WON'T YOU LET ME?!"
Judy's mood didn't change. She merely shed a few tears as she answered.
"Because I know deep down… you don't want to."
Ben's face softened as she spoke those words. But she wasn't finished.
"Because as much as I hate her for what she did to me and Willow, as much as I'd rather not see her again, I still want her to realize we're not weak like she thinks! And because if you do this…! I-If you do it…! I'll lose the first person who understood me in 8 years! I'll lose my friend…!"
Judy was unable to speak for a moment, but she gave Ben a hug, crying on his shoulder before she was able to speak again.
"I'll lose my brother!"
Ben gasped to himself the moment she called him that. The only other person who called him that… was Kyle. Ben's own eyes started to leak out tears, his memories of his brother flooding inside his head. How could he have forgotten all about the man who tried to be there for him? And how would he be able to face him if he became a murderer? A monster…?
The spell in his hand faded away until there was nothing left. And his hair fell back down to normal, the glow in his eyes all but faded away. The young man wrapped his arms around Judy and hugged her tightly, feeling ashamed for how he'd acted.
"I… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"
Judy nestled against him as she replied back.
"It's okay. I've been there…"
As Judith comforted Ben, Lilith and Heather stood in awe. She'd managed to get through to him. Just what had that human been through to get to this point? In any case, Judy had interfered with the duel. It was probably for the best in the long run, but Heather knew it meant one thing.
"We have received interference in the duel. As a result, Benjamin is hereby disqualified, and the victory goes to Amity Blight."
The crowd all cheered and clapped for Amity, who was recovering from what could've been her last moments, looking at Ben and Judy. As the crowd cheered, Judy began to feel guilty. She had just interfered with Ben's duel. And by extension, she made it worse for him.
"Ben… your duel."
Before Judy could utter one more word, Ben softly rubbed her hair back.
"It's alright, Judy. I said it before. If it's coming down to this over killing her… I'd rather not learn magic at all."
Judy still had a sad look. But she couldn't change his mind about that even if she wanted to. Amity didn't know how to feel about what Ben said. He was still as much a mystery to her as ever. At that moment, Eda and Lawrence came down the stands to join the others in the arena. Lawrence especially was concerned about his daughter after what had happened.
"Judith! Are you alright?"
Judy nodded to her father while Eda gave her two cents.
"I gotta tell you, that took real guts jumping into the fire like that. That said…"
At first, she seemed proud, but then her face mirrored fear, and she quickly hugged Judy.
"Please don't do that again! You nearly gave me a sac attack!"
Judy chuckled warmly before she answered.
"Don't worry, Aunt Eda. I won't."
Omen checked up on Ben, still startled by his frightening potential.
"Ben. You okay?"
Ben nodded to him gently. He barely had any strength left after what could've been a disaster.
"Not exactly. I feel so much worse than before."
Ben wasn't just talking about how he felt. He could feel himself being… weaker than the other times he unleashed his power. In fact, he could barely stand without Judy's support. For her part, Amity was so confused. Why would Judy stick her neck out for someone she hated? And more to the point, why would he try to kill her if he never wanted to fight in the first place? None of it made sense. So apologies won't cut it for Amity.
"Well, maybe you should! You nearly killed me!"
Ben glared at Amity. It was getting more annoying to put up with her, but he had to admit, she was right to be upset.
"It's not like I wanted to. I told you we didn't have to fight, but you wouldn't—!"
"Who could believe anything you say after what you did? You're…"
Amity was about to call him a freak. But she recalled what Judy told him a minute earlier when he would've killed her. He'd already proven that he wasn't when he let go of his anger for her sake. But she still couldn't let it go.
"I can't just trust that."
Amity turned away from the two and walked away. But the moment she did, Omen took notice of something on the back of her neck and grew suspicious.
"Hold on a second, Blight."
Omen walked up to Amity and lifted up the back of her hair.
"Hey! What are you—?!"
No sooner had Amity started to ask what was going on than Omen had peeled off something from her neck.
"Just as I thought. A power glyph from the Construction Coven!"
Everyone at the stands gasped in shock from the revelation. Daniel, Astrid, and even Sunday gasped at this. Although Aliud was the only exception.
"I would say I should've seen this coming, but that would be ironic."
As for Eda, she just had a sudden realization about what it meant.
"Wait. Lilith cheated? S-She actually cheated?"
Lawrence, who was quite surprised by his wife's tactics himself, confirmed it.
"It would appear so."
Eda began to grin as wide as a Cheshire Cat before she popped up near her.
"Ah-ha! Yes, yes, yes-yes-yes! You cheated! Perfect, prissy, little Lilith cheated! Hot damn, I love Coventions!"
Lawrence frowned at her as he tried to shut down her mockery.
"You do realize it would've been worse if she hadn't done that, don't you?"
"Still cheated! Welcome down to my level!"
Of course, it didn't make Amity's situation any better.
Amity was completely flabbergasted. How could she have had something like this on the back of her head? Ben saw the shame on her face. That's when he remembered what she told him before.
"You think it's so easy being a witch, don't you?! I've worked my whole life to get to the top!"
"Amity…"
Even Luz was struck with disbelief.
"Amity, you were cheating?"
"No…! I-I didn't know!"
Ben spoke up to her, not willing to see her like this. He knew she looked just as surprised as he was for a good reason.
"I believe you."
Amity looked at the human in surprise.
"I know what a lie looks like. And that's not it."
That only raised further questions for Luz.
"But if you didn't use it, then who put it on you?"
Omen spoke up beside her, having already solved the mystery.
"I have one theory. The only person who could've been close enough to place one on her… is Lilith."
Omen turned his glance over to Lilith, making everyone gasp louder. It was a bigger shock than the fact that Amity cheated. As a Head of the Emperor's Coven, she's seen as a symbol of order. For her to do something so contrary as to cheat… it was unthinkable. She had a look of disbelief come over her face as she confronted her mentor.
"Is it true?"
Lilith tried to speak to her, but she was quickly losing the will.
"Amity—"
Amity was not in any mood for her excuses.
"Is it true?"
Amity's tone cut deep into Lilith. She couldn't keep the pretense up anymore.
"…Yes. It is, but you don't understand—!"
"Why?! Why did you do that?!"
Lilith tried to explain, but it made Amity suspicious.
"I… it was just in case."
"In case of what?"
It was already obvious. If Lilith hadn't given Amity the power glyph, it would've been disastrous, not that it made much difference. Amity's face turned sour once the realization sunk in.
"You don't even think I'm strong, do you?"
Lilith saw the look on her face. It was that of a young and promising student who felt betrayed.
"Amity…"
"You said you believed in me…"
Amity paused for a moment, letting her tear fall down from her face before she glared at her, her sadness turned into rage.
"But that was just a lie! Wasn't it?!"
Seeing the state she was in, Lilith tried to alleviate her.
"Amity, you are strong! You can get better and better—!"
"I'M AS GOOD AS YOU! I'M AS GOOD AS ANYONE!"
"I was just trying to help!"
"No! You just wanted to help yourself!"
"Well, what was I supposed to do?! Let a human kill you just because you couldn't match him?!"
Amity was struck. She had such a look on her face that showed her trust was further smashed to pieces. By the time Lilith realized what she'd said, the damage was already done.
Lilith hoped to mend the fresh wound before it got worse, reaching her hand out to her. But Amity was too upset to accept it.
"Don't! Don't touch me!"
Amity started to shed small tears from her eyes as she glared at Lilith, turning red as a tomato.
"We're done…!"
With that, Amity took off from Lilith in a dash, filled with disgrace. Ben, Luz, and even Judy felt sorry for her as she ran away. As for King, he mourned something else. Apparently, his offerings were absconded along with Amity's abomination goo. And sadly, they didn't survive the fight.
"My offerings!"
Luz knelt down to comfort King.
"You'll get more offerings, King."
Of course, they had bigger problems to deal with than a falling out between a mentor and a pupil. Much of the crowd was still terrified that Ben had managed to pull off magic. Not only that, he'd managed to learn a kind of magic that nobody had ever seen. It basically confirmed their worst fears.
"How did he do that?"
"Did he sell his soul to Vanitas?"
"Is he a wild witch?!"
Heather saw the discontent and grew uneasy. The truth was, even she was worried. But she knew her father had granted them asylum in the Boiling Isles for a reason. And she knew better than to question his judgment. She stepped onto the podium and shouted.
"Everyone, calm yourselves!"
The crowd stopped their chatter once they heard the Princess speak aloud to them.
"I understand your concerns. I admit, it's the first I've seen magic as powerful as his. That was the point of the impromptu demonstration we've exhibited."
The crowd murmured in questioning, growing more curious.
"We've heard rumors that one human in particular had the ability to wield magic like us. And now, we've confirmed that these rumors are true."
Ben felt like he was being called out once again. It was something that made him anxious, especially since he'd been given a warning of what would happen if he meant any harm to one of their own.
"Regardless, these conditions which Emperor Belos had granted him will remain. Watching closely, I've noted that he didn't want to fight Blight, but rather he was forced to it. And as we've seen today, he still lacks control. But he cannot get better if he was executed for it."
The crowd murmured to themselves louder in alarm and worry.
"As I said, calm yourselves, everyone. Surely, the Titan had foreseen this. It's not a curse that he bears, but a blessing."
Given the results, Ben spoke to himself in disbelief.
"Sometimes I wonder…"
"And Emperor Belos has heard the Titan's will and wholeheartedly agreed to follow it. So I ask you: Will you not do the same for the Isles?"
Nobody answered for a moment, sitting in silence, a moment they spent contemplating it. Their Emperor hadn't steered them wrong thus far. After much thought, they all nodded and a few of them made sounds of agreement.
"Thank you for your acknowledgement and understanding. The Titan keeps his promises."
Having settled the unrest, Heather stepped down from the podium. She then turned to see Lilith's saddened look. She wasn't sure what to do about her situation with Amity. Crowd control was one thing. Relationships were something else.
"I'm sorry, Lilith. It must've been difficult trying to protect her."
Lilith turned to the Platinum Princess, giving her a sad smile. It was the first she'd ever heard a compliment from the Platinum Princess, but she'd take anything that could alleviate her.
"Thank you, your highness."
Heather turned to Omen next. He had a look on his face that showed he was still stupefied by what had happened. All the same, he was still hearing determination through it. She was well-acquainted with that look on previous missions.
"And Omen. I trust you'll keep a closer eye on Benjamin from now on."
He didn't much like her attitude, but she did have a point. He had grossly underestimated Ben's potential. If he were to push his buttons like that again, who knows what he could do? He gave her a subtle nod before the Princess turned her head to the human boy.
"Be sure to give my condolences to young Blight, Benjamin. She was, and still is, a promising candidate for the Emperor's Coven. It should not have had to come to that."
Heather and Lilith began to walk out of the auditorium. But Ben called out to her. He felt as though he had to say something to her for sticking up for him.
"Wait!"
Heather stopped for a brief moment and turned to him.
"Thanks. For helping me out."
The Platinum Princess didn't budge for a few seconds before she replied.
"The Titan keeps his promises."
With that, the duo walked out of the auditorium, once again leaving Ben confused.
"Again with the cryptic stuff…?"
Suddenly, Luz remembered someone else who walked out the door.
"Wait, what about Amity?"
Speaking of Amity, she had gone to retreat to the corner near the auditorium. She wanted to be alone ever since she ran off. It seemed to work because nobody else seemed to bother her.
Still, it couldn't erase the horrible things she'd done. Her hands trembled from what everybody had told her. It's almost as though they were subconsciously controlling her body. She heard Judy and Ben scolding her while Scab's voice cut deep into her heart.
"Did it ever occur to you that after everything you did to us, you never deserved that badge in the first place? Because if not, I fail to see how we ever became friends."
"Judy's right about you! You're nothing but an arrogant, selfish, snobby, undeserving bully!"
"All you are is a Blight of the Boiling Isles! And it would be better off if you never existed!"
Unable to take it any more, Amity broke down and sobbed into her arms. She just couldn't take it any more. She was used to them before, but after today, they carried more weight than they should have.
But she didn't know that Ben, Judy, and Luz heard her sad sobs and followed them to the source. It occured to Ben at that moment then that she had her own struggle. She told him she worked her whole life to get to the top. But now, thanks to him, it's all come crashing down.
And as if that weren't bad enough, Lilith went and blew it with Amity. How was she supposed to bounce back from that? For a moment, nobody said anything. But in that moment, once her sobs died down, Amity lifted her head up. She saw three shadows in front of her and turned away from them, knowing exactly who they were. Luz tried to cheer her up first.
"Amity… we're sorry."
She only held her head down and spoke bitterly.
"Seriously? Just leave me alone…!"
Ben stepped up in front of her, miffed that Amity would lash out at her when she didn't do anything.
"Give her a break, Amity. It's not like any of us wanted to humiliate you."
"That's all you ever do! First at school, and now this!"
Ben tried to correct her on that one.
"For the record, the abomination thing wasn't my idea."
But it did nothing to make Amity feel better.
"That doesn't matter! You still made me look like a fool in front of the Emperor's Coven! My future! What is it with you?! Why are you so determined to ruin my life?!"
Ben was caught by surprise. Why would she think that after everything she'd done to them?
"Why are we—?! You've got the wrong idea! We're not trying to ruin anything!"
"Then say it!"
"What?!"
"You lost! You cheated! Say it! Say you're not a witch!"
Ben was willing to do anything to make it up to her, but even after what he'd gone through, he couldn't do that. By all accounts, Amity didn't win the duel, either, even if she hadn't known that she was cheating.
"I can't!"
"Why not?!"
"Because I don't even know what I'm supposed to be in the first place!"
Play Final Fantasy Origin Music: "Astos' Theme"
Amity was once again startled by his anger as his shout echoed in the corner near the restrooms. He took a moment to catch a deep breath before he continued.
"For my whole life, I always thought I was human. Just like everyone else. But then, the day I ran away, I found out I had magic powers. You'd think I'd be excited, thrilled that I'd finally stand out from everyone. But no. Between you and me, I wish I never found out at all…"
Amity noticed a small tear dropping down Ben's cheek. She began to remember what Ben said to her back at the arena when he was still berserk.
"I grew up without a family who cared about me, I lost my brother, and worse? The only friend I did have threw her life away because of scum like you!"
She began to feel more ashamed than before for assuming he had it easy compared to her. No wonder he lashed out the way he did. He didn't want her to call him worthless.
"I… I'm sorry, Ben. I shouldn't have assumed."
Ben wouldn't go as far as to say it was okay when it really wasn't. But he could tell she meant it.
"You still never told me. If you were friends with Willow, why would you abandon her?"
For that matter, Judy wanted to know just as badly, though she's more angry than curious.
"Yeah. Why would you?"
Amity held her head down, realizing she'd almost forgotten about her side of the bet: she had to tell him why she gave up on Willow. But how could she? For a moment, her purple necklace glowed brightly, which she looked down on before she went on as it turned off.
"I… Willow, Judy, and Ember were my friends growing up. I wanted us to stay that way. But when Judy and I got our powers, the only ones who didn't… were Ember and Willow. It made me realize, even if I could cover for them, how long could that last? What if I wasn't enough…? So I had to end things then and there. For their sake…"
As Amity held onto her hands, a tone of sadness flooding in her voice, Ben began to feel guilty, holding his head down. But Judy, on the other hand, felt upset. She replied to her with a tone of resentment.
"Okay… so you did it to protect us? A lot of good that did, didn't it?"
Amity turned her head away in shame before she finished, just wanting to get it over with.
"I don't expect you to forgive me or understand it, but that's the answer I have to give."
Judy wasn't entirely satisfied with the answer, but it was better than nothing.
"Fine…"
Luz looked at Amity, still wanting to do something to help her feel better.
"Can I say something?"
Amity moved her eyes to the human girl and back, maintaining her sullen expression.
"Not like I could refuse, anyway…"
Luz knelt down in front of Amity and got out a notepad and a pen.
"I don't know what your whole deal is exactly, but you're right about one thing. I'm not a witch."
She drew a small glyph on the pad before she tapped on it, forging a light spell. The trio's eyes widened in awe and wonder as Luz held it.
"But I'm training to be one."
Luz held it up as she scooched a bit closer to Amity. She didn't feel as comfortable with her being so close, but she could tolerate it. It's a better feeling than what she went through.
"I've… never seen it cast like that…"
Judy held Luz's orb in her hand and marveled at it.
"You know… neither have I."
"Magic doesn't come naturally for me like it did for you guys and Ben. So I had to improvise."
Ben chuckled softly with pride in her skills. He wasn't expecting her to draw a glyph just like that to make a light spell. It was a bit complicated, but she got the gist of it in what seemed like no time at all. He envied her, if anything.
"That's really cool, Luz. Honestly, I'm a bit jealous."
Luz blushed at Ben's comment and smiled bashfully.
"Oh, stop you…"
Ben turned to Amity, seeing that she was still in a sour mood. She did smile a bit at the scene, however. It was enough for him to know she'd bounce back after all.
"We'll leave you be. But I gotta tell you one thing first. Princess Heather wanted me to say that she's sorry about the duel. You can still work towards the Emperor's Coven, if you want. It shouldn't have happened the way it did."
Amity's eyes moved closer to Ben. But when he tried to move, she grabbed him by his hand.
"Huh? What the—?"
Amity drew a spell circle and placed her hand and his in-between it, causing them to glow brightly before the circle and the glow went away together.
"The oath is unbound."
With that, Amity stood up and walked away from the group as Ben looked at her.
"What does that mean? Where are we going from here?"
Of course, Luz asked the obvious question.
"Can Ben still learn magic?"
Amity stopped and turned back to Ben to answer him.
"Humans have no magical ability. But I doubt that'll stop you."
Ben smiled softly as he replied.
"You're right. It wouldn't. Just promise me one thing. The next time we bump into each other, can you try not starting a fight?"
Amity gave him a soft smile back in return.
"I won't. I promise."
Amity turned her head away from Ben and walked away, holding a sad smile on her face. As she walked down the hall, Luz had a puzzled look on her face.
"So… I'm confused. Are you guys friends now?"
Ben looked at her as she went down her own way.
"I don't know. But it looks like we'll get along a little better from now on. And I think it's okay for now."
End Final Fantasy Origins Music: "Astos' Theme"
Just then, King ran right up to Luz's leg and grabbed onto it.
"Luz! You left me!"
"Yeah, sorry. Your legs are just so tiny…"
With everything settled for now, Ben looked at King and smiled.
"So, should we get you some more offerings?"
"Nah, that stuff just weighed me down. But I have something for you, Luz. And it's the best thing, because it's free, comes from my heart, and I always have more than I need."
Luz had a childlike theory, gasping at the thought.
"Is it love?"
"Ugh, no!"
King pulled out something from behind his back, showing a large tote bag with "I Covention" with a rat next to the word "I".
"Tote bags!"
Luz put on the tote bag and wrapped it around her arm before King hopped into it like a handbag.
"And they have so many uses! Away, fair chariot! Away!"
Judy giggled a bit from King's antics. But her giggle couldn't last as long. She started to feel somber again. This time, Ben was checking up on her.
"What's wrong?"
Judy held onto her arm and spoke meekly to him.
"Nothing. I'm just… this whole day's been tiring for me."
Judy felt Ben's arm around the back of her neck, making her look up to him.
"Sounds like you could use a map, Sis."
Judy started blushing immediately.
"What?"
"I'm your brother, aren't I? That means I gotta look after you."
Judy leaned against him, humming to herself as she let herself relax.
"Yeah… that sounds good."
The two started to walk as he looked at her.
"Hey, uh… thanks for what you said back there. If you didn't snap me out of it, I would have… you know."
Judy smiled fondly as she replied.
"Amazing what personal experience can do for a person, huh?"
"Yeah."
But he wasn't done thanking her yet.
"Oh. And thanks for the advice you gave me about my powers. I would've lost, too, if you hadn't told me."
"Hey, if you're gonna blow something up, might as well do it with style, right?"
Ben laughed a bit with her. Looking at her now that she was smiling and laughing, he couldn't help but smile.
"You know… you're a lot like her."
Judy became confused.
"What? Like who?"
Ben started to stammer a bit, realizing he let slip a personal business that he didn't want to give out.
"Uh… we'll talk later."
Just then, the group was visited upon by Aliud, Daniel, Astrid, and Sunday.
"Okay, why did you hold out on us, Ben?!"
"What kind of power even was that?!"
"Never mind that! What kind of human are you?!"
"What's your secret?"
Ben grumbled to himself. Questions were the last thing he wanted to deal with.
"Guys, I know you have questions, but I gotta get Judy back home."
However, Judy put her hand on Ben's arm, gently lifting it off of her.
"It's okay, Ben. I can handle waiting until the questions are done."
Ben looked at her, still concerned for her well-being after what she'd gone through.
"Are you sure?"
Judy nodded to her brother with a grateful smile, which he returned. Then, he turned to the other students.
"Okay. Let's start with one question at a time."
But as Ben got down to the questions, Eda and Lawrence saw Judy smiling again beside him.
"Oh, thank Titan, she's okay. No surprise Lilith's left her out again."
"We can't blame her entirely. Belos is very strict with her duties. You know that."
Eda nodded to him before she looked at her little niece.
"Yeah. That's one more reason I can't join a coven. Who knows what could happen to her if I'm not around?"
Lawrence turned to her with a stern expression.
"Then perhaps you should consider taking this far more seriously. You might be the most powerful witch. But you of all people should know what happens when the powerful drop their guard."
Sadly, she did. She could still hear the demon's chilling laugh echoing in the night. Amidst brief flashes, she also heard a feminine scream of fear before the cries of an infant followed. One flash showed said demon holding a bloodied dagger, and the next flash showed the shadow of a feminine body falling to the floor. The final flash showed Lilith holding onto the crying child as she shouted.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!"
Eda started to have a tear fall from her face just remembering that tragedy.
"Please don't bring that up, Larry. You know I can't stand it."
"But we can't just ignore it, Edalyn. Sooner or later, Blackburn will return. And the entire Isles will be in terrible danger if he does. She knows that. And I worry for what she'd try to do. You must be there for her. No matter what. Please…"
Lawrence wasn't asking her anymore. He was telling her. Eda could see it in his face. It didn't help that he was right about these things. She gave him a look of determination, her answer yet to be given.
Omen saw Eda and Lawrence talking with each other before the Owl Lady hugged him. Then, he turned to Ben and Judy, who were getting along just fine with the class. In fact, Astrid was looking at him.
"Are there more humans like you who could do magic? What are your beasts like?"
Ben could tell she was hyper over these things. She was in the Beast-Keeping Coven, after all.
"Well, no. And my beasts are… kinda small and feathery? But they're big and furry, too. But they can eat people."
Astrid gasped in awe.
"Just like our beasts!"
Judy giggled at her reaction. They could've stayed and talked more but Omen cleared his throat and got their attention.
"Alright. We've all had a trying day. Let's all get home before anything else happens."
Everyone sounded off to agree with him.
"Right!"
But as everyone started to leave, Omen placed his hand on Ben's shoulder.
"Hold on."
Ben turned to his mentor and became puzzled.
"Hmm? What's up?"
Omen took in a deep breath as he tried to talk to him.
"I have two things to tell you. First off, how did you do that? What was that power?"
Ben looked at his hands, which trembled as he got flashes of how brutally he attacked Amity's abominations. How close he was to ending her…
"I… I got angry. Just like before. All my life I've grown up getting used to people thinking I was worthless. So I stopped caring altogether what everyone else thought. It was easy to do when you had two people who cared about you."
This perplexed Omen.
"Hold on. You mentioned a brother, didn't you? Was he one of them?"
Ben nodded before he went on.
"Yeah. His name was Kyle. I had a friend, too. Melissa. But… they're both gone. I mean, Kyle's not dead, but… I didn't know how long I could last without him. If Judy hadn't stepped in… it would've been murder."
Omen closed his eyes and sighed with resignation.
"I see. You're more easily provoked without someone backing you up. I'm sorry about that."
Ben looked up to him and gave him a sad glance.
"A lot of good that does, huh? I never asked to be that way. I just am…"
Omen crossed his arms as he looked upon him with a bit of concern for him. He and the boy must be more alike than he thought.
"I know. But the fact that you went out of your way to check on Amity after the fight proves you're more than who you are. More than I could ever be, in fact. Which brings me to the 2nd thing."
Ben blinked his eyes, staring at him with a confused glance.
"I wasn't certain if you should, but after today… I think it's time you knew about it."
"Knew about what?"
"The Sword of Xanatos."
Meanwhile, outside Covention, Lilith was in pain, saddened by Amity cutting herself off the way she had with Heather comforting her.
"Thanks for walking me back to the castle, Heather. I just don't know what to do anymore…"
Heather gently stroked her long raven hair as she reassured her.
"Perhaps some rest will help you—"
Just then, Heather felt something vibrating in her pocket. She reached into it and got out a mirror from the pocket. It had golden rims with four crow's feet, and it even had the symbol of the Emperor's Coven on it. Opening it up, she saw a frankly disreputable sight.
It was a red-skinned demon of diminutive stature and childish proportions who stood several heads shorter than her subordinates, with three-toed, talon-clad arms and legs similar to those of a bird's. Her talons were colored dark brown, and her left eye had yellow sclera and a brownish red iris. And her most defining feature were the conjoined hands which make up her hair: one with fingers that form a fringe which hides her right eye from view while the other was clenched behind her head to form a bun/fist combo.
"Kikimora."
"Lilith, Princess. I see you've managed to quell the unrest concerning the human's presence."
Heather nodded to her before Lilith gave her report.
"There's more. The Owl Lady was present, too. But she put up a better fight than she let on."
However, Kikimora didn't look too upset.
"If that were Crimson you were talking to, he'd be cursing your failures. But since you've completed your main mission, that can be forgiven. Just remember what Emperor Belos has promised you."
Lilith held her head down and spoke softly.
"I will capture her, ma'am. You have my word."
"Very good."
Before anything else, Heather spoke up.
"One more thing, Kikimora. Benjamin has displayed a vast level of magic at the Covention compared to Hexside. I'd venture to say he'd become quite an asset someday."
Kikimora seemed flummoxed. She hadn't counted on any human displaying powerful magic.
"What?! A-Are you certain?"
"Affirmative. Lilith and I have seen it with our own eyes."
Kikimora took it in consideration for a moment before she finished.
"Thank you for your report, Princess. I'll be certain to let Emperor Belos know of his progress."
With that, the transmission ended and the pendent went back down. Heather turned to Lilith and showed concern.
"What now? You can't keep protecting your sister anymore. You know what has to be done."
Lilith sighed softly. She knew how well her daughter looked up to Edalyn. It wasn't as though she could arrest her for that. But she had her own duties. And like it or not, she had to follow them.
"I'm deeply sorry it's come to this, Judith. But Edalyn's days are numbered."
A/N: Phew! And I've finally finished my next chapter. Boy, was that one a doozy. I'm sure you've noticed several references here and there. If you got a laugh out of a few of them, I'm glad for it. There's even a surprising one, too. In fact, I made it back in World of Witchcraft. That's right, you guessed it. Kaisa is in the Boiling Isles! Before you ask, this is my personal headcanon for Kaisa as a witch. And she will have a notably larger role as the story goes on, so be sure to read on if you want to see more of her. ;)
Also, I looked back at the pairing for Ben in particular. And I'm sure you're wondering why Judy would call Ben her brother. Well, I know I've said before that he'd be paired with Judy, but I took one more look at the pairing options for Ben, and have decided to make a final, FINAL decision on who Ben should be with. And like it or not, it's Boscha.
To be honest, a pairing with her was something I never considered because of how much of a bitch she is. I even ranted here and there about how much I despised her. But after For the Future, I did some more thinking on who Boscha is as a character, hence the identity crisis part in my 419 reference. Taking that in context, I aim to give Boscha better character development in my own story.
Anyhoo, we'll get to the real heavy hitter: Ben's magic powers! I based his scene not only on Naruto's Nine Tail mode, but also from when Steven got angry in Steven Universe: Future against Jasper. I also added a touch of God of War for music, and the capabilities of Jack Garland, the Main character you play as in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.
In case you're thinking, "Oh, Ben's so overpowered now!", let me be clear that he wasn't. It seemed that way, but the truth was if Amity didn't have a Power Glyph, it would've been over much faster. And even then, he's still learning how to control it. And with what Omen has to tell him, the pressure's gonna keep piling.
Finally, I hope you liked the intro change I've made. As you can probably tell, it was similar to The Mandalorian. It actually gave me inspiration for my OC, the Platinum Princess, Heather. She's diplomatic and wide like the Armorer, but when she needs to be, she can be badass like Din Djarin. So far, she didn't need to be, but rest assured, her time will come. And the Mandalorian may have an influence on the Shadow Coven itself, too. ;)
As for the students who were just introduced aside from Aliud, I'll provide the cast for them, and a reminder for who voiced Aliud.
Ben Diskin - Aliud
Michael B. Jordan - Daniel
Erica Mendez - Astrid
Zendaya - Sunday
And, last but not least, we get to the Sword of Xanatos! Dun-dun-duuuuuuun! It was one of the highlights of my previous story, Coven of Shadows. But I didn't want it to be handed out so quickly this time around. I wanted it to be something that Ben must work toward. That said, it won't take much prominence in my next chapter. Before you ask why, it's because Judy still has her demons left to face. And this time, she can't do it alone…
I hope you can all look forward to my next chapter. I plan to post it sometime next month, but for now, I have to work on one more of my current stories and then my new RWBY story. Hope you all have a good morning and a good night. :)
