Hag of the swamp

'It's been 4 cycles. It's time to add another layer of suppression again.'

Larian's inner self could be seen wrapped in chains. If at the start he looked like he was wearing chain armour, now he was like a chain ball.

'It's time to start from the ground up again.'

Larian grabbed a piece of smoked jerky from prosthetic arm. With the tech that Old Peal had provided him, preserving food was much easier than before.

Scratching a note, the number of scratches numbered 28. This signified the number of days he had been training. Every week he would train and grow, at the end of the week he would suppress himself again and repeat the loop, hence a cycle.

Larian was gaining a man's worth of strength everytime he completed a cycle. Compared to his unreleased state, this was like pouring a bowl of water into a lake.

It was a small difference but Larian understood that if he kept at it eventually the lake might transform into something greater.

Opening his compass to check his directions Larian kept going.

Unknowingly he had wandered into a wetlands.

The mushy puddles rose up to his knees as he traversed the pools. From the trees, Ravens were perched on the branches staring down at Larian

'I don't remember this area in between Orkan Valley to the Forgotten Isles. Have I gotten lost?'

The longer he walked into the mud the more Larian felt tired. Pulling his leg through the mud was exhausting for him who had just completed his cycle.

"How much longer until I'm out of this disgusting place?"

Larian cursed under his breath.

Somehow a wind picked up and the sun shined brighter for a moment. The environment felt warm and comfortable to the eyes.

After a few minutes of struggling, Larian finally got out of the mush. A well preserved wooden house was in the middle of the wetlands.

There were red roses that grew by the wooden gates that surrounded the house and a stone pathway was neatly pathed from its doorway. It looked like a house that would belong to a gardener.

'Someone lives this deep in the middle of nowhere? The nearest city is a 4 week hike away. And I slept half as much as normal people so it's longer for the average person.'

Stepping onto the stone path, the mud from Larian's boot dripped onto the floor. It made a mess of the neat arrangement.

As Larian approached the doorstep he heard the sound of children playing inside.

'6… no 8 children are inside. They sound lively. Is there a family living here? I should check this place out and maybe find where I'm at.'

Knocking on the door Larian heard a mature woman's voice.

"A guest? Hang on deary, I'll be there in but a moment!"

'What a strange way of speaking.'

As Larian waited the door finally opened.

A woman in her 30s opened the door. She had black hair with some greys mixed in and her pupils were white. She wore a dirty single coloured black dress with a white shirt underneath.

"Oh my, what a handsome young boy. Pray tell, why have you come to my humble abode my dear?"

The Woman's eyes glazed at Larian from the ground up, scrutinising every detail. Larian somehow felt disgusted at her gaze.

"You can see? Sorry I thought you were blind."

The woman gave a shallow chuckle.

"Ohhh trust me young man, I have ears and eyes all around. There's not a thing I would miss within my swamp. One mustn't be too quick to judge a book by its cover… right, kids?"

As the woman spoke to the children in her house at the end of her sentence Larian could get a clear view of them.

The children wore mud stained clothes. Their eyes felt hollow and lifeless as they stared past one another while they smiled and played.

"...Yes mother…"

"...Yes Mom…"

Larian instinct was telling him there was something wrong with the kids, but he chose to not speak about it.

"I'm lost. I'm a traveller from Orkan Valley. I was hiking to the Land of the Forgotten Isles and got lost. I don't recall there being a place like this recorded in the map. Where is this place?"

"Oh How unfortunate my dear. To have travelled so far by yourself. Come on in for shelter. A storm is in the brewing."

As Larian looked up he saw the clouds forming densely. From afar he could hear a thunder strike.

'The weather was sunny just a moment ago. Is it a coincidence?"

Larian heart raced. He had always reminded himself that as an author within a story, words like coincidence or chance were things he had to pay intense attention to.

As suspicion gripped his heart Larian asked again.

"Where is this place?"

"This is where I've lived for the past 20 years, deary. Surely none of your human maps would include a wooden hut in it now would they?"

'Makes sense…'

"Aww, don't be such a worrywart. I've got potions galore, just ripe for your traveling needs!"

'An alchemist? Maybe eccentricity runs in the job. The alchemist from Orsen Mountain was quite the weird person to talk to too.'

Larian thought he was thinking too much as he entered the wooden house.

"Kids! Auntie Jenny has something important, go outside to play, alright?"

"...Yes Mommy…"

Larian stared as the kids replied in a monotonous tone, they walked like zombies.

"Who are these kids? What do you want with them?"

"With them? Don't insult me dear. They need me not the other way round, just like how you need me."

Swiping her hair over her shoulders she puckered her lips as she spoke.

"Now deary, tell me what can I do for you…?"

'Is that hypnosis or magic? The kids all call this Jenny their mother, something is wrong with the way she speaks too.'

Larian was reminded of how the world had abandoned him. Recalled how the students he saved from the dragon had simply left him and his master to die in the cave.

'This is not my business. I should just get what I need and get out of here.'

Larian clenched his fist.

'These kids are not my problem.'

Larian walked closer to Jenny now that the kids were gone.

"You mentioned potions? What do you have for sale?"

"Only the best, my deary!"

Jenny snapped her fingers and the shelves and cupboards within the house sprang to life and floated towards Larian.

'I can see her magic more clearly. There are tiny spirits floating around and seem to be under her command. Is this a form of necromancy?'

Looking at the bottles within the shelves. Larian frowned.

Rows upon rows of bottles with different bottles each having unique effects that was quite different from the ones he had seen from the old alchemist in the city of Orsen Mountain.

The problem didn't lay in the effects, but that there were something hidden within every bottle.

'Is that a worm? It's so tiny that I wouldn't have noticed if my normal vision was not enhanced by the Dragon Stone. Is this a trap?'

"What the hell are these worms in your potions? I've never seen them in other alchemist's potions before."

Larian stared intently at Jenny, he was analysing her expression.

"..."

Larian released the Dragon Vision and peered into Jenny as she spoke.

"Oh nothing dear. Nothing would happen at all."

He quickly discovered it was all an illusion.

Under the dark dress and the allure of a beautiful human, a grotesque figure was visible.

'The human form was an illusion? She looks like some form of a hag.'

With black drooping hair that covers her face, her skin was dark green with several fungus growing from her back. Her eyes were entirely white and she had a pointed hook nose and ears. The elegant black dress that he had seen earlier was now made up of dead animals's pelts tied up by ropes.

Peering out the door, he noticed a Symbol on the hypnotised children. The Symbol resembling a full moon was imprinted in their brains.

Behind her innocent smile, the human illusion might look genuine but Jenny's real form was snickering with a wide grin.

'I hate this feeling. The feeling of being taken advantage of.'

Larian started directly at the Hag. Her true body flinched at the gaze.

"I originally came to find directions since I was lost. But from what I've seen, you've deceived and lied to me… So you are an enemy."

'When someone is an enemy, immediately take the first strike.'

In the split second Larian decided to attack. If not for the children then it was for himself. To not revert back to his past and be pushed back any longer

Larian slashed forward in a precise motion. The blade which flew towards the Hag's neck twisted down and cut her limbs instead.

Larian's proficiency in Shinki Style had progressed to the point where he could target 4 parts from one limb to the next.

But with his strength suppressed, Larain's cuts were shallow.

'Is this my strength without the dragon's powers? I'm so weak!'

He knew this was a battle he could focus on. In this place where nothing was at stake is unlike the time in the Orkan Festival when he had to repay Old Peal and Kait. He had to fight while suppressed

This was a part of the reason he decided to stay suppressed. The other reason was…

'Let's release 3 man's worth of strength so my cuts would at least do something.'

Larian acted fast. His blade didn't stop on the first strike and continued to exploit the Hag's surprise.

"ARG! You disgusting human! How dare you walk into my house and cause trouble!"

The hag immediately split into multiple mirages of herself and spread into parts of the house.

From Larian's vision he could see the spirits in the air stir as if in command of the Hag.

'I can see the true body. I'll just target that before she finishes her summons.'

Larain aimed his prosthetic arm forward and the rope shot out onto the hag.

With a pull, he flew towards the hag while she was reeled toward's Larian like a fish on the line.

By now, the spirits had finished their actions and each possessed a tool from the house.

They were either knives, forks or books. Everything in the house turned into a weapon and flew towards Larian.

Larian took advantage of the time the spirits took to fly towards him.

He grabbed the Hag which had been rappled towards him with his prosthetic arm and drove the tip of his katana straight into the hag's chest. It was an aerial blow.

Throwing the body into the floor, the corpse and every mirage immediately disappeared into a burst of feathers.

'That was not the real body?'

The outcome was out of Larian's expectations, but the spirits were homing close to him now and he had to raise his blade to deflect them.

When the furniture struck the spirits attempted to twist and turn to pierce through the gaps between the armour, but the toughness was impossible for basic utensils to cut through.

Once they came close Larian grabbed the spirits. If it was metal it would be squeezed into a ball, if it was breakable it would splinter and be crushed.

Soon the spirits dispersed and a flock of ravens gathered and transformed into the hag.

"Kekeke, you think I'll simply die from having one heart pierced? I'm a witch that has lived for 200 years, I will not die so simply!"

The hag had reappeared on the roof of the house.

"Seeing through my illusions was a surprise but attacking all of a sudden was truly sly. You conniving worm, do you know how long it takes to cultivate a second heart? All those years harvesting children's blood, what a waste!"

Larian wiped some sweat off his head, he wasn't attacking the hag as she spoke because he was lost in thought.

'These spirits are independent. They didn't stop as the hag attacked or got stabbed. What's controlling them?'

By the time the hag had finished speaking she snapped her fingers. Her body turned into a swarm of ravens that flew in multiple directions. The bird flew around the house and occasionally swooped down to peck at Larian's eyes.

Raising his arm guard to shield from the attacks, Larian glanced at the birds and found the mark under all of their wings.

'She's a part of all the ravens! Does this mean I have to kill every single one?'

Larian had little time to counter attack after dodging the array birds and furniture aiming for his eyes. Along the mayhem Larian's armour was constantly showered with attacks

Barely dodging a spirit that controlled a cupboard, Larian slashed with less force. His blade swiveled between targets. With the huge flock of enemies, Larian could kill a few birds in one swing.

As Larian was constantly on high alert to defend and attack he noticed the children who had left had came back by the doorway.

Their eyes were wide open like a ball and their skin had turned pale white. They were constantly mumbling as they stared at Larian.

This caused the spirits to stir in the air once again.

'The annoying things come from them!'

Larian dashed towards the children but a flock of ravens flew to his front. The hag lashed out with his hand and slapped Larian, its strength was akin to full body builder and it sent Larian's neck craning back from the impact.

Larian slashed back instinctively. But before the sword cut anything, the hag in front of him turned back into a flock and dispersed.

Only a few birds were hit and fell to the floor.

'Huff.. I mistook the hag as a witch. Turns out she is strong by herself too. I might have to reevaluate my prejudices.'

The spirits in the air moved along with the children's chants and pranced to the nearest objects they could find.

Rushing to the children, Larian struck them with the pommel of the katana.

This stopped the chanting of the children and the spirits settled.