Black Sabbath

Seeing Leo collapse to the ground and scream caught us off guard and we didn't know what to do with him.

"No, I need to help her! I have to go now! They are killing her!" Leo suddenly stood up, his form blurring as he attempted to run out of the room.

Reacting quickly, I rushed forward and grabbed his wrist, stopping his transformation. "Stop! What the hell just happened?"

Leo struggled to break free from my grip, tears streaming down his face. "She's dying, and I have to go there! Let go of me!"

I firmly held onto his wrist, refusing to release him. "And how do you plan to help her? By barging in and getting yourself killed by the witch?"

"I don't care! Let me go!" Leo screamed in panic, still trying to break free.

Bobby approached him and delivered a slap across his face, causing Leo to fall to the ground. "Stop crying like a child and think about it! Why go alone and die when you have one and a half hunters here who can help you?"

Did he just insult me while trying to convince Leo?

However, Leo seemed unfazed by the insult towards me and appeared slightly calmer as he spoke, tears still staining his face. "Why should you? Now that you know she's a witch, shouldn't you be happy she's dying?"

"It's not about whether she's a witch or not dumbass; it's about whether she's evil or not. And this kid hasn't done anything wrong, at least not until now," Bobby calmly explained, grabbing his shotgun and opening the door.

Well, not everything is black and white... I smiled at this and helped Leo to his feet. "You heard what the wise man said. Let's go."

Leo looked at us, nodding in agreement, and we walked out of the room, heading towards the car.

This is strange…

"Wait! Don't touch the car!" When Bobby reached for the car door, I stopped him.

"What's wrong? We need to hurry!" Leo said, his voice filled with urgency, as Bobby stepped away from the car.

"I know, but someone tampered with my car," I said, walking towards the back tire and feeling around it. I pulled out a black pouch that had been taped above it.

I showed it to both of them, saying, "It seems someone wanted to stop us. What's strange is that I should have sensed it if someone was so close..."

Bobby remained silent, squinting at me, while Leo stepped forward and sniffed the pouch. "Concealing magic... whoever created this placed a hiding spell on it. That's why you probably couldn't sense it or the witch who made it."

Well that makes sense, but it was the first time that someone could stop me from sensing someone…

Then I dropped the pouch to the ground and Bobby set it ablaze before saying, "You sensed it? I think you have some explaining to do..."

I opened the car trunk, took out a knife, and handed it to Leo. "Sure... let's talk while we drive."

---

"Where are we going, anyway?" asked Bobby as we started driving, while a restless Leo sat in the backseat.

"No idea. I sensed her somewhere in the north, and now I'm trying to get there by following the road," I replied, shrugging.

"So will you tell me, what you are? Something like a telepath?" Bobby asked after listening to me and thinking for a bit how to ask me.

"Not really... I can't read minds or anything like that. I simply have such a high perception that I can sense beings around me, or more specifically, their auras."

"Hmm, that would explain a few things... but the question is, what did you have to do to get these powers?"

"Nothing... simply living, I guess," I said to Bobby without looking away from the road. I could feel that Bobby wanted to ask something else but kept it to himself and remained quiet for some reason.

Yes, keep on living for nearly ten millennia…

Not wanting to fall down this rabbit hole, I took a deep breath and said to Leo, who remained quiet and didn't really care about me or my powers,

"When we arrive there, use your powers to scout the place. We don't know how many there are, and they can also hide themselves from me, so I don't want to give them the chance to attack first."

Leo nodded, and we continued our drive in silence until we arrived at some warehouses where I had felt the aura before.

The warehouses were built in a circle and were surrounded by a fence, so we had to stop at the closed gate.

We got out of the car, and Leo placed the knife I gave him on the trunk before shifting into his raven form and flying away.

Meanwhile, I checked my equipment.

Since witches were normally not immortal, I didn't need anything special to take them down. Because of that I simply checked my pistol and knife to ensure everything was secure and easily accessible from my belt.

We basically needed to surprise them before they could cast their spells, assuming they were still here…

"Nervous?" Bobby asked as he checked his shotgun.

"No. But I'm kinda curious to see how we will fare against the witches. Is that strange?"

"Yes... but I think it's better than someone who pees his pants just thinking about what the witches could do to him."

"True. And you? Are you nervous?"

This made him laugh. "Me? No. If you've survived as long as me in this world, then there isn't much that can make you nervous... and a witch or a few won't change that."

He then took out his flask, took a sip, and offered it to me as well.

I learned in my short lifespan that no one is truly fearless. Being afraid of something doesn't make you weak or strong... what makes a difference is how you deal with that fear.

And Bobby seems to have his fears in check…

"Well, then I'm lucky to have you on my team," I said, taking a sip from the flask too. Shortly after I felt our flying friend coming back.

He landed and transformed back, saying, "I found them. They're in warehouse number 3, and there are at least four witches there including the guard who stands outside.

But since the windows were closed, I sadly couldn't see more but I'm sure Cassidy is inside there."

"Guard? Did they notice us?" I asked him.

"No, I don't think so. But you destroyed their hex bag, maybe that's why," Leo replied, taking the knife again.

"Well, as long as they don't notice us, everything should be fine."

---

Afterward, Bobby takes a bolt cutter out of his bag and cuts open the chain of the gate so we can enter and start walking towards warehouse number 3.

As we got closer, I barely started to sense the presence of the witch outside. It seems they are really using some magic to hide themselves. This is interesting...

We arrived at warehouse number two, and I could see a guy with long black hair wearing a black robe standing at the entrance of our goal warehouse.

If this doesn't scream "witch," I don't know what does...

I stop Bobby and Leo and say, "I will distract him, and you guys go around the building and surprise him from the side. But be quiet; we don't want others to hear us."

"I don't think that's a good idea. Do you remember what they did to the parents?" asked Bobby.

Well, I never had my head exploded, but decapitation should be the same, right?

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself. Just catch him off guard," I say, starting to walk directly toward the strangely dressed witch. Bobby initially tries to grab me but then starts to go around the warehouse to reach him from the side.

When the witch notices me, he first appears shocked, but then stretches out his hand towards me and says, "Stop! Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Then starts to walk towards me.

I raise my hands as if surrendering and say, "I'm sorry, I came here because someone told me there's a black-robed cult meeting here somewhere, and I wanted to participate."

"Don't bullshit me! You don't even have a robe!" he says after stopping a bit away from me.

So I put the hood of my hoodie on my head and say with a smile, "Is this not enough?"

"You...! Vade et elevatio! Vade et elevatio!" (Go and elevate), chants the long-haired witch, while his eyes start to faintly glow purple.

I feel the same force pushing against me as in Stanford, but once again, I manage to hold my ground without being affected by it.

"What? Vade et elevatio! Vade et elevatio! Vade et elevatio!" screams the witch, walking a bit closer.

But I point behind him and say, "Don't worry, it happens to everyone. It's just stress."

When he turns around, Bobby is already there and stabs him in the heart while holding his hand over his mouth.

After a while the witch falls to the ground dead, and Bobby sighs in relief, then says, "What was that? Are you immune to spells too?"

"No idea, I've never met a witch before to test it out. Maybe he simply said the words wrong, and it means 'ele-vatio' instead of 'elevatio,'" I say, remembering a ginger witch.

Bobby rolls his eyes and starts walking to the entrance door of the warehouse, where Leo is already waiting. So I follow him, while grinning.

As we approach the door, I sense someone coming and stop Bobby while signaling to Leo to be prepared. He nods and readies his knife.

"This stupid robe... Nathan, you can go and relax. I'll take your spot!" says a dark-haired woman as she opens the door, before seeing us.

"Vade et ele-vatio!"

Before Leo can stab her, she screams the chant and sends Leo flying without even looking at him, as if sensing the danger.

But Leo transforms into a raven midair and stops himself from crashing, surprising her. Using her confusion, I take out my knife and throw it at her.

It hits her in the chest, and she stumbles back in shock, leaning against the warehouse and sliding down.

I approach her, kneel down, and as she appears to suffocate, I twist the knife, bringing an end to her life.

As a result, her soul begins to depart from her body, unveiling her true nature… her soul's name to me.

"Gheit... I will remember that," I say, removing the knife and standing up again.

Leo returns to his human form, and I say, "Let's go inside... There are still three witches inside and a very weak aura that's on the brink of vanishing..."

Hearing this, Leo storms inside, and we follow him suit and enter the warehouse, which has several small storage rooms inside.

But before we can walk forward, the surroundings start to blur, and the others start to disappear, leaving me alone in a big empty hall.

Well, that was like déjà vu…