A sharp, low-pitched hiss tore through the air.

The next thing Iris knew, Steinar had swung his sword. The loud, metallic clang of steel clashing against steel sung a tune of mayhem as countless sparks flew about. It all had happened too fast for her untrained eyes to follow, far too suddenly for one so inexperienced to take notice… A flickering figure had approached, its body coated in a shroud of majestic gale.

“Steinar…!” Iris shouted, her lips quivering as color quickly drained away from her face.

The mysterious figure reveled itself to be a woman, wearing jet-black robes that fluttered in the wind— their fabric so thin that the outline of her luscious body was fully revealed to any who dared look. Her eyes were blindfolded by a strip of black cloth, and from beneath the hood of her robes poured forth smooth locks of pure-white hair, glistening as if they were made out of starlight. Her naked feet, pale like the rest of her body, were not touching the ground, but instead floating a dozen or so centimeters above it. In her hands she held a menacing double-bladed glaive with hundreds of runes carved along its length.

“How interesting…” Her melodic voice resounded, as a gust of wind brushed her white locks. “To think that you would be able to parry my blow… I underestimated your mastery of the sword.”

“Who are you?” Steinar inquired, wielding his sword in an inside-left guard, both his feet planted firmly into the ground.

The woman shook her head, maintaining her flawless posture— glaive in hand and ready to attack once more. “I am no one of notice.” She smiled, then advanced— her body fluttering like a feather in the wind.

She unleashed eighteen blows in a single breath’s time, though all of them were successfully parried by Steinar. Her fighting style was gracious and serene, it seemed more like a dance than an actual martial art, though you could call it a precise mixture of both. Her body spun around like a hurricane, her glaive aiming for her target with absolute precision.

The clanging of steel went on unabated as Steinar kept parrying blow after blow, even daring to dodge a few of them here and there, however… He found no opportunity to counterattack, as the flow of that woman’s attacks was just far too perfect. She had no openings whatsoever, no weaknesses to take note.

“For someone so young to have achieved such a level of swordsmanship...” The woman muttered, not giving pause to her offensive. “I am truly impressed.”

She was extremely skilled, no doubts about that. But the same could by said of Steinar, who was parrying every single one of her blows without letting so much as a scratch graze his skin. Truly, he deserved being called a grand-master swordsman.

“You’re not bad yourself.” Steinar remarked, parrying her many blows; not taking even a single step back. “Are you the one responsible for those demons?”

“I am not the one who brought them here...” The mysterious woman answered, still pressing on with her attack. “Though I am, in a way, responsible for them.”

“What is your aim, then?” Steinar questioned her, his body already fully covered in sweat as he kept parrying her unending storm of blows. “I feel no killing intent behind any of your attacks.”

Their blades clashed again, sending off sparks and a loud shockwave that resounded across their surroundings. The both of them did not move afterwads, though the mysterious woman lowered her weapon first.

“You’re not an enemy...” She argued, hanging her head sideways, a slight smile from her pinkish lips showing through her hooded visage. “I’m not trying to kill you.”

“I see...” Following her example, Steinar also lowered his sword, though he moved to stand inbetween her and the twins, expressing both his distrust of her words and his will to protect the twins.

##

Meanwhile...

Iris had already recovered, somewhat, even though her face was still a bit paler than usual. She had already grabbed Alice’s unconscious body and was trying to ascertain her current situation. ‘Shit... He messed her up real good.’ Upon noticing how utterly battered her sister was after sharing a passionate night with Steinar, she couldn’t help but click her tongue in annoyance. Alice’s naked body was completely covered in hickeys, bite marks and even slap marks— particularly on her buttcheeks. Around her neck there were some reddish marks as well... Perhaps they had engaged in some choking-play? ‘Well... She seems pretty satisfied, at least.’

Reaching for her belt pouch, Iris grabbed a vial filled with vivid emerald-green liquid, one of the potions that Bruna had prepared for their adventure. With some luck, it should be enough to make her sister wake up so that the both of them could provide Steinar with some support on his fight against that woman. Uncorking the vial, she proceeded to try and make Alice drink its contents, but was met with unexpected resistance from the unconscious girl.

“No... Dun wannah~!” Alice muttered while still asleep, much like a child when struggling to remain in bed for a while longer. It seems that she was not that exhausted, after all. Or perhaps, it could be that the fast regeneration trait had played its role.

“Oh, really?” Iris taunted her sleeping sister, while pressing her cheeks with an index finger in one side and a thumb on the oher— forcing her mouth open. “Well, too bad... You’re drinking it!”

The liquid poured in and immediately Alice opened her eyes. At first she didn’t seem to understand what was going on, panicking and trying to free herself from Iris’ grasp, but soon she settled down and accepted her fate.

“Ugh...” Alice grimaced, sitting up while covering her mouth with one hand. For a minute it seemed like she would vomit, but her composure returned shortly afterwards. “It tastes worse than mashed up boldo leaves...”

“We have no time for that, Alice!” Standing up, Iris offered her sister a hand. “Right now there is—”

But once Iris was about to explain the situation, about how that mysterious woman had ambushed them and how a fight had started, she noticed that the sounds of batle had completely ceased. Both Steinar and the hooded woman had lowered their weapons and were now talking to eachother, though Steinar had moved to the perfect position to protect them in case she decided to attack again.

##

“Then what is it that you want?” Steinar asked, his eyes intently gazing at the hooded figure before him.

A few moments of deafening silence followed while they faced one another, then, suddenly, the woman chuckled. “Huhuhu...” Her voice was so delicate and soft that one could even mistake it for the sound of windchimes in the distance. “You have killed our demons, silly, it wouldn’t do for me to just let you go.”

“Then how can you say that we are not enemies?” Steinar pressed her for further answers, his stance shifting; his right hand resting atop the hilt of his sword— ready to attack at any moment.

“Because I know you— the three of you...” She answered, a smile on her lips. “You are no enemies of mine, at least not this time.”

“I take it that you will let us go, then?” It was Iris who asked, while she approached the two of them with Alice in toe, though she was hiding behind Steinar’s imposing figure.

“In time...” The woman replied, nodding to acknowledge that the twins had joined the conversation. “The purpose of the demons was to keep away any interlopers while we finish excavating the swamp, but since you went ahead and killed them... I will now have to keep you company instead.”

“That’s unreasonable!” Iris argued, raising her fists in anger. “We only came here to train! Whatever it is that you are doing is no concern of ours!”

In response the woman just shook her head, with all the patience that one would expect a mother to have when dealing with her child. “Unfortunately, even the slightest disturbance could cause us great harm... Such is the matter that we are dealing with.”

“Uhm...” Alice shyly poked her head from behind Steinar. “So... for how long do you have to... uh... entertain us?”

“One thousand and ninety five hours, approximately.” The woman asnwered, as if it were the simplest of matters and nothing out of the ordinary for her. “Originally we only needed around one third of that time to accomplish our goal, but your fighting disturbed the leylines as well as the ambient mana, further complicating our mission.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Iris howled, her face already red with anger. “This is a month and a half! Do you expect us to remain here for a month and half just because you can’t bother to be disturbed!?”

“Well... I’m not really asking...” In an instant, the woman disappeared before their eyes, only to show up behind Iris— the blade of her glaive pressed against her thin, pale neck. “You are limited to a one square kilometer area with that big pyramid at its center. Step anywhere beyond that point and I will have to hurt you.”

Steinar promptly attacked the hooded woman, but as soon as his sword was about to make contact her form just vanished and reappeared where she had previously stood.

“Didn’t you say that you came here to train?” The woman asked, clearly mocking the twins. “I am a very good training partner, you know? And besides... I’m really interest in the three of you.” She chuckled once more, spinning her glaive around with the grace of both a dancer and a martial artist. “This generation’s Garm and the Twin Reapers... I’m curious to see what you’re capable of, since your predecessors were really strong.”

“What is that crazy woman even talking about!?” Iris asked, fully hiding behind Steinar. She had just woken up after overusing her mana, so she would surely pass out if she were to fight again right now.

“Wah! I should have stayed asleep!” Alice did the same as her sister. Thankfully, Steinar’s body was large enough for the two of them to comfortably hide behind him.

“I don’t know but...” Steinar unsheathed his sword and assumed a middle guard. “Her martial arts are as good as mine, and that’s on top of her freely controling the wind element without using any spells, runes or catalysts.”

“That means...” Alice chimmed in, her tone a little hesitant. “She’s a witch, right? Only a witch’s soul brand can allow someone to control magic in such a way.”

“Yeah... She’s a witch.” Steinar nodded, poising himself for battle. “And a very ancient one at that.”

End of Chapter 21 – The Hooded Witch.