Witch Queen

The following morning, Asta woke up as usual, brushed his teeth, and went to the main hall.

"Good morning, everyone!" Asta shouted loudly. But the hall was empty. Asta frowned in confusion. "Where did they go?" he asked quietly to himself.

He then went to the kitchen, and as he was pouring the water on the glass, he overheard voices coming from outside. They belonged to Finral and Noelle, who were discussing something. Intrigued, Asta walked closer to the window, trying to listen in to their conversation.

"Who would have thought that the lowest, worst, and crudest would work so hard for one newbie?" Finral asked.

"No kidding, especially for a stupid, reckless, vulgar, no-magic peasant like him," Noelle said.

"But even though he doesn't have any magic, he just refuses to give up."

"Even though he doesn't have any magic, he's the first one into the battle, and he fights harder than anyone else," Noelle said. "And because he's like that, Asta was able to give us the strength to fight. Now, it's our turn to help him fight!" Asta's eyes widened as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I never knew how much my friends believed in me," Asta said, his voice shaking. "I... wasn't blessed with any magic. That always frustrated me. But I sure was blessed with amazing friends!" He cried.

Yami listened to the conversation. A shadow of a smile forming on his face.

Finral clapped his hands together and turned to Noelle. "Ok, Noelle! Let's go look for a promising place together!" he said.

Noelle punched him square in the face, causing Finral to stumble back in surprise. "Ow, hey! What was that for?" he exclaimed. Noelle gave him a stern look. "Sorry, but I already have somewhere I need you to take me," she said.

Finral looked at Noelle in confusion. "Huh!? Where are you going!?" he asked.

Noelle told him where she wanted to go.

Finral looked at Noelle in disbelief. "Why there?" he asked.

****

(Rowan's POV) (Just trying)

I remembered the pain and disappointment that I felt when I realized that I couldn't grow my mana. It was similar to the feeling that I saw in Asta's eyes as he listened to the doctor. I knew he was hurting inside because I had felt the same way.

Even more than that, I was disappointed in myself for not being able to do anything when his arms broke in front of me.

"I'll never let that happen again," I thought to myself as I watched Nero fly in front of me, his wings flapping gracefully in the air.

I had been running for five hours trying to get to my destination as quickly as possible. I couldn't believe I had forgotten to ask Finral to form a portal for me - it would have saved me so much time and effort. But I was in such a hurry that I had - sigh*, whatever I was about to arrive anyway.

After a few more minutes of running, I finally reached my destination - a house.

I walked up to the house and suddenly noticed two familiar people standing in front of the gate - Finral and Noelle.

I walked up to them and asked, "What are you two doing here?"

"Rowan!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Immediately, I understood why they had come here. "You came here to find a cure for Asta's hand?" I asked them.

"Yes," she said, her voice determined. " I thought this might be the place to find a cure for Asta's arms."

I smiled at them, grateful for their friendship and for their commitment to helping Asta.

After a few moments of discussing, Noelle stepped forward to the door and knocked firmly.

A voice called out from inside, "Yes, yes, coming!"

Noelle didn't hesitate.

"Excuse us!"

She pushed the door open and walked right in, Finral and I following close behind. "Hello!" she called out as we entered.

When we entered the house, we were met with a shocking sight - a red-haired naked man standing in the middle of the room.

"Ah. I just got out of the bath, sor--" Suddenly, he was sent flying by Noelle's water magic, and before he could finish his sentence, he was already halfway across the room.

Finral said with a smirk, "Ok, yes, our timing was bad, but that guy's always naked, isn't he?"

A woman then came from inside, her face full of confusion. "What's happening here?" she asked.

Domina's eyes widened in surprise when she saw us. She smiled warmly and said, "My, my! If it isn't, Noelle! And is that Rowan? What's the occasion dear?"

I knew Domina before, as she had been the witch who had told Captain Yami to save Vanessa. I also knew that Fanzell (red-haired man) and Domina had been saved by the Black Bulls, when they had defected from the Diamond Kingdom.

"This house is already falling apart. Would you please not make it worse?" Marilla, a black haired girl, suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking exasperated.

"You're looking well-," Noelle began, but her words were cut off as Domina suddenly lunged forward and punched Fanzell.

***

(3rd Person POV)

Domina sighed as she heard the Blackbulls' story, understanding that the only one who could help was the Witch's Queen. She was hesitant to suggest it, knowing the Witch's Queen's reputation. She glanced over at Rowan, seeing the determination in his eyes, and knew they had no other choice. With a resigned nod, she said, "It is the only way. We must go to the Witches' Forest."

"The Witches' Forest?"

"It's where the witches live, where I lived until I met Fanzell," she explained.

"That's it!" Finral said, snapping his fingers. "So that's where Vanessa must have gone!"

"What?" Rowan asked, his eyes widening in surprise. "Vanessa is in the Witches' Forest?"

"Vanessa Enoteca went back to the Witches' Forest?" Dominante asked, her face suddenly pale. Finral and Noelle nodded grimly. "That isn't good. The Witch Queen always had a special interest in Vanessa's magic," Dominante continued, her voice trembling. "I'm afraid that if she enters the forest, the Witch Queen will not let her leave!"

Rowan's heart sank as he heard Dominante's words. "We have to go to the Witches' Forest and find her!"

***

When the Blackbulls arrived at headquarters with Franzell, Domina, and Marilla, they saw Asta doing squats with a determined look on his face.

"M-Mister Zell?" Asta asked, his eyes widening in surprise. He stopped mid-squat and stared at the group in disbelief. "What are you all doing here?"

"Let's go," Rowan said, his voice urgent.

"What's going on?" Asta yelled as everyone flew away on their broom.

***

"That is the Witches' Forest," Noelle said, her voice full of dread.

"Why are we here again?" Asta's question hung heavy in the air.

As they flew above the Witches' Forest, the group could see a dark fog rolling over the trees, and an eerie feeling seemed to hang in the air.

"That's creepy," Rowan said, his voice full of dread as he remembered the last time he had been here.

"Welcome to the Witches' Forest," Domina said, her voice grim.

"We need to be extra careful from now on," Domina warned. "The Witch's Queen rules the entire forest with her Overwhelming Magic, and she will immediately know we are here."

"What will happen when she finds us?" Noelle asked.

"You'll be Swiss cheese," Domina replied.

Everyone gasped.

"And for avoiding that situation," Domina grabbed a small bag from her pocket and pulled out a shimmering cloak. "We have to wear this invisible cloak. It can conceal our presence as well as mana. It is currently on sale just for $300."

"But looking at the current situation, the price has dropped to $100."

Rowan gasped."That's a bargain!"

Domina chuckled. "Just kidding. I know a secret passage that will lead us straight to the Witch Queen's resistance. Let's get going!"

***

The Blackbulls flew above the Witches' houses, which were filled with laughter and merriment. The colorful gardens were in full bloom, and the Witches were enjoying the day, chatting with each other and laughing.

"Can you stay away a little?" Rowan said as the four of them, Finral, Franzell, and Asta, were crammed into the same cloak. Rowan's back was against them as they were almost kissing each other.

"Sorry for being so crammed, but we only have two of these," Fanzell said apologetically.

"Damn, why am I stuck here? A whole army of hot girls is within my reach!" Finral said, sandwiched between Asta and Fanzell.

Asta raised his voice again, "Hey, did you hear me? What kind of mission are we on?" But no one answered him.

"Hey, what's that?" Noelle asked, pointing at a cute golem floating in the air.

"It's a security golem, it's small, but when found intruders arrive, it'll call its friends and attack them. It's really a pain to deal with, so make sure to stay under the cloak."

During the passage of another tree, the cloak that Rowan's group was wearing accidentally caught in the tree, causing Fanzell's clothes along with the cloak to fall out. That alerted the golem, which sent a signal to call his other buddies.

(Image)

"SERIOUSLY!!!" They all shouted in unison.

"A MAN! THE INTRUDERS ARE HERE!" Witches began to scream, and a number of golems began to chase the group, firing lasers at them.

"DAMN YOU FANZELL!"

"With things as they are, we'll force our way in!" Domina shouted. "Don't stop everyone!"

"YUCK! A TOPLESS OLD MAN IS HUGGING ME!" Finral shouted with tears forming in his eyes.

"It's not on purpose, you damn fool!"

"I'm warning you! Get off me right now, or I will turn you into an ice statue. I mean it! Don't test me!"

Finral then created multiple portals that helped the group avoid the lasers.

"There!" Domina yelled, pointing at an entryway between a humongous tree.

Everybody flew toward the door at maximum speed and crashed on the floor.

"Ahhhh... I broke my leg, too. "

"That's my leg, idiot!"

"Oh, ok."

"My head is spinning," Rowan said as he got off of the ground and looked at his surroundings. His eyes widened as he saw, just a few feet away from him, a woman wearing a green outfit and a hat on her head. She had her feet pressed on unconscious Vanessa.

"Vanessa!!" Both Asta and Noelle called out as Rowan grew silent.

"Hey, I don't know who you are, but you better move that damn foot of yours," Asta shouted, his voice filled with fury.

"A lowly intruder dare to talk to me like that? I am the queen of this forest, mother of all witches, and that girl that you came with and Vanessa are all my progeny, my children. Children who don't obey their parents need a little discipline; it's a family matter, so I'd like you, an outsider, to stay out of it. What happens to these girls is totally up to me."

A shadow appeared on Asta's and Finral's faces, but suddenly, the room's temperature started to decrease rapidly. "Oh yeah?" Rowan cracked his knuckles as his grimoire floated beside him. His eyes were glowing with dark blue light, and a cold wind started to blow through his body.

Rowan smirked, as he said, "Elders say that one should not go to someone's house empty-handed. So I bought a small gift. Let's see if you can take what I'm about to give you."