Visit to the Witch Forest

"Are you sure I should be meeting the Witch Queen ?" Fanzell asked.

From what he has heard about the Witch Queen, he would be boiled alive if he steps foot in the Witch Forest.

"Now-now don't be so scared, you will be entering with the Queen's permission.

Even if you don't get permission, in the worst case you will be attacked by hundreds of golems and witches.

Not so bad right ? " Julian said, freaking Fanzell even more.

Code didn't say anything and enjoyed her husband freaking out from the corner.

"Just joking, nothing will happen to you"

With Fanzell somehow agreeing to leave, Code packed things for both of them.

Mariella wasn't interested in going so she decided to stay back and protect their house.

With all preparations done, it was time to leave for the Witch forest in the Grand Magic zone.

***********

"Just ....give…us... a minute " Noelle and Asta covered their mouths as they were about to throw up.

Julian used Light Magic to travel so they traveled hundreds of Kilometers under a very short period of time.

With his mana zone Julian adjusted the mana around Noelle and the others since they were in the Grand magic zone.

Giving Asta and Noelle time to rest, Julian,Secre and Vanessa moved forward towards the forest entrance and stopped.

Instantly hundreds of Golems appear and aimed their mana beams at the three of them.

Julian turned his head towards a crow on one of the branches.

"I have some people who want to meet you ".

The Crow blinked and released a cry as Witches holding wands revealed themselves from behind the trees.

One of them was the same witch who escorted Julian last time.

"Didn't expect you to come back Vanessa"she said.

For a Witch to leave the Witch forest, she has to get permission from the Witch Queen and prove that she can take care of herself.

Since Vanessa was the only witch who didn't get the Witch Queen's permission, some witches despised her.

"I have my reasons...." Vanessa replied.

"Fine…..mother has asked me to escort you all to her palace….Follow me"

*********

The Witch Forest was a wonderful place.

Greenery,pure mana and fresh air all around.

It was an entire city built on trees.

From markets to schools, everything was present here.

The most significant detail about this place was that it only had women as its population.

Due to the Witch Queen's ability, every woman as long as they stayed in the Witch Forest could give birth without involvement of any man but the child would only be a daughter.

This ability is lost once a Witch leaves the forest.

Ultimately the Witch Forest was a safe place for women who wished to stay away from the outside world.

Since there were no males here, the Witches watched Fanzell, Asta and Julian with amusement as if they were zoo animals.

Some were even hostile stares since this place was only for women but since Julian and the others had permission from the Witch Queen, they couldn't do anything.

Vanessa stopped in front of the gate and took some deep breaths to calm her nerves.

She slowly pushed the gate to the Queen's castle.

It was still the same creepy mansion that Julian saw last time.

Statues of mana beast all around with nests of crows.

[This place looks creepy as hell, are you sure someone lives here ?] Kirin asked.

'The Witch Queen…what to say has some weird taste'

Finally everyone stepped into the second floor where the Witch Queen sat at the opposite end.

A woman with large hair and creepy black makeup.

'Her entire body and dress is covered in Seals' Secre thought seeing the Witch Queen.

A chill ran down Asta, Noelle and Fanzell's spines as soon as they saw the Witch Queen.

If her creepy makeup was removed and dress was changed, she would look like the grown up version of Vanessa.

"It's been a while Julian,Dominante and Vanessa" Witch queen's voice reverberated throughout the floor.

"Is this your husband Dominante ?" The Witch Queen said releasing her mana pressure on Fanzell.

Fanzell felt as if his entire body was being eaten by crows but he gritted his teeth and held on since he knew it was a test.

The Witch Queen withdrew her mana pressure letting Fanzell breathe properly.

"Fanzell Kruger, ex-army instructor of the Diamond, I approve of you having Dominante " Witch Queen said, making Dominante sigh of relief.

"Ahem! " Julian drew the Witch Queen's attention and pointed at Vanessa..

"I have returned home...mother….."Vanessa said with her voice shaking.

"Are you happy with your current life Vanessa ?"

"Yes...I am more than happy.." Vanessa replied.

"Then why did you return here !" The Witch queen said, making Julian facepalm.

"Sigh….Come on !

Your daughter has come to visit you after so long and you can't express yourself properly. " Julian said.

"Fine…." The Witch Queen's expression softened a bit.

"Glad to see you again Vanessa..."Witch Queen said to Vanessa after coming down from her throne.

Dominante and Fanzell were shocked to see Julian talk casually with the Witch Queen.

"If you are wondering why I can talk to the Witch Queen so casually, long story short, we are cousins, " Julian said softly, making Dominante and Fanzell even more shocked.

"I heard about you from Julian but I wish to hear from you…..why did you trap me in a cage ?" Vanessa asked.

"I have been a terrible mother to you....I owe you a proper explanation.

You are my biological daughter Vanessa...

Only a few Witches know about his information, " The Witch Queen said looking at Dominante who looked away to avoid her gaze.

She was one of Vanessa's childhood friends and commissioned Yami to rescue Vanessa.

"Living for five hundred years, I have the ability to predict someone's fate with my magic.

And you Vanessa ..... had the magic to change fate itself.

While growing up, your mana grew at an astounding rate making you unable to control it anymore.

That is why I placed seals in your body and let you live in a cage I developed with Elven Magic.

I am almost at the end of my life and wanted to groom you to be a leader and someday become the Witch Queen.

Obsessing over having your magic under control, I ignored your feelings….

I am not asking you to forgive me but I want you to know that I did everything because I wanted the best for you.

And sometimes….the best thing parents want for their children…..ends up doing the opposite for their children…"The Witch Queen spoke with some pain in her voice.

"You are right…..I can't forgive you for stealing my childhood but now that I have heard the truth…..I feel free" Vanessa said.

"I shall release the seals I placed on you since you are now ready" the Witch Queen pointed her fingers towards as Vanessa felt as if a huge weight was lifted from her body.

Her mana rapidly started rising and reached the level of Noelle.

Vanessa's magic activated on her own as a red cat appeared on her shoulder.

The threat of fate that helped the Witch Queen snapped as soon as the Cat appeared on Vanessa's shoulders.

"From now on, I shall control my own fate!" Vanessa said out loud.

************

Night time :

Witch Queen, Julian,Secre and Kirin sat together around a table full of food.

"How did the talk with Vanessa go ?" Julian asked.

"It was difficult…..I never thought Vanessa would talk to me but….I am glad she is talking to me.

We have a lot to catch up...." The Witch Queen replied.

"You are Secre Swallowtail right ? The First Wizard King's assistance.

When my mother was the Witch Queen, I heard a lot about you and the Prince's exploits.

Please take care of Julian...he is the only blood relative I have aside from Vanessa." The Witch Queen said.

"Rest assured…..I will take care of him" Secre said smiling at Julian who ate awkwardly.

While eating Julian told the Witch Queen about Atlante Ragnvindr.

"From the stories my mother used to tell me, the last student of Atlante was our Grandfather.

And he only survived his training for a month before giving up.

You survived his training for four months, no wonder your strength increased so much. " Witch Queen said to Julian.

Julian told her about the experiment Alric did on him and asked to check if something was wrong with his body but The Witch Queen said that his body was perfectly fine, it's just that he was no longer a human.

His blood, his bones and even his muscles were different from humans.

Every living being had a limiter placed on their bodies stopping them from overexerting themselves and causing death but that limiter was already gone from Julian's body due to Alric's experiment.

"I want you to help me with something….

Please remove Asta's limiter.

it's time for him to confront the demon in his Grimoire"