Future Plans

"Do you need to get carried?" asked Zayne.

"No,"said Menma, then explained to him that healing potions were insanely good and could heal many injuries fast—even if someone was near death.

They continued talking and walking until they reached the witches' village.

The witches immediately greeted them by bringing drinks and sweets, as it was a tradition to celebrate a near-death experience.

One of the elderly witches came forward to Annie and hugged her, saying, "Sorry for blaming you with our problems, when we could all have played a role to help it."

Annie smiled softly at her words and replied, "No. I am your queen. I should be the destination you go to when you have problems."

But the elder witch couldn't hear her, already waddling over to Menma and grabbing his cheeks.

"Have you cooled down?" she asked teasingly.

Menma just stood there laughing, unable to say anything.

Annie glanced at the village—it looked brand new. The witches had fixed all the houses and other necessities. She turned to them and said, "Good job, all of you. The place looks amazing!"

One of them smirked and replied, "Of course. We didn't just lay down. We worked our asses off for you to be impressed. After all, you were deep in enemy territory—we couldn't just stay put."

She looked at Zayne, a hint of satisfaction in her voice. "But it seems like you got some allies to avenge Lilith, after all."

Annie's smile faltered slightly. "Yeah, about that… I'll tell you later. But for now, I need to speak with him alone."

Menma, Lunara, and the Guardians began telling everyone the story, while Annie and Zayne started walking to a place where they could talk alone.

They went into the forest, and Annie asked, "What did you mean, there are more mercenaries than the Brothers? How many are there?"

"So outside of me, Garrick, Vex, Dain, and Kael… there are two more. They go by the nickname 'Uncle.' They're stronger than us."

Annie's brow furrowed, concern flickering in her eyes, but she didn't say anything—letting him continue.

"These two Uncles… I've never seen them. I don't even know what creation they use. All I know is that one of them is called Elrick the Binder."

"Shit," Annie muttered under her breath.

"If you knew, that would make it easier to make a plan in case they attack. But unfortunately, that's not gonna work."

"Yeah," said Zayne with a slow nod. "Unfortunately, they're always on missions around the world. They've never come to the Kingdom. But the worst part about all of this… is our Father. He's the strongest out of all of us."

"Tch. I never knew we'd get into so much trouble," Annie said, rubbing her temple.

Zayne gave her a small, hopeful look. "Yes… but sometimes, bad fate may bring along some nice surprises."

Annie glanced at him and smiled. But she quickly looked away and asked, "About this Father… do you know what creation he uses?"

Zayne's voice dropped lower. "The first form of creation the High One gave to us. The Create creation."

Annie's eyes widened. That was a name she hadn't heard in a long time. Her chest tightened. Deep down, she knew this man would be nothing but trouble.

She stood up, her voice rising with anxiety. "These are insanely powerful people—and they will all come for us! And we're not ready… If it was just that, fine, but we also have four Purgatorists—maybe more—waiting for us in Purgatory…"

Her breath caught.

"And Menma… it's like I can't take him anywhere, or he'll go berserk. And every time he does, he gets stronger… harder to control! I just don't know what to do!"

Her voice cracked, and the tears finally spilled. She tried to wipe them away quickly, but the weight of everything—being a queen, being a mother, being strong for everyone—was crashing down.

Zayne stood there, watching her silently for a moment, then stepped forward with a confident glint in his eye.

"What about some training?"

Annie looked up, her vision blurred from the tears.

Zayne continued, "I mean, don't get me wrong—you're insanely powerful. Probably as powerful as Father. But the rest need training. And I believe you could train them very fast. As for your son…"

He placed a hand on his chest.

"I want to train him. Even though I don't understand his demon powers, I'll train him so hard he'll never feel the need to go berserk again."

Annie blinked. The tension in her shoulders started to ease. It felt like someone had lifted a boulder off her back. Without thinking, she threw her arms around Zayne in a tight hug.

But as soon as she realized what she'd done, she pulled back quickly and stammered, "Sorry…" her cheeks turning a deep red.

Zayne scratched the back of his head, a faint blush spreading across his face too. Neither of them said anything for a second, but the silence was warm, not awkward.

Annie was the one to break it, asking, "How long should this training be?"

Zayne hadn't thought that far ahead but quickly responded, "What about one year? It would help them grow—physically and mentally."

Annie was about to agree when something came to mind. She shook her head. "No! The training will last ten months.

Because ten months from now, we have the annual Festival of the Witches—where we celebrate the day we were founded by this amazing forest and accepted by it."

Zayne nodded, accepting her terms.

They began walking back together toward the village, where Menma and the others had explained everything that had happened. The witches were saddened by the tale.

Meanwhile, back in the Kingdom of Lulusia…

Garrick had returned after following the witches for a day. As he approached the gates, he noticed several destroyed buildings.

"What happened here? Did someone attack us?" he asked the guards who were cleaning up the mess.

A voice answered from behind.

He turned around. The man speaking was Elrick. He was still bald, but he looked even older now than during the destruction of the Kingdom of Xygaroth.

Garrick quickly bowed, as Elrick began speaking.

"While you were fighting some witches—which you couldn't even kill—an unexpected attack happened here. Elias took care of it."

Garrick looked up at him. "You said you killed the demons of Xygaroth, right? Well, either you missed one, or it came from somewhere else. I fought against a young boy who could turn into a demon… he couldn't control it yet."

Elrick's face changed, his eyes narrowing. "Was this boy young?"

"Yes. Around 18 years old."

Elrick looked up toward the sky, his expression darkening.

"It couldn't be… is it your son?" he whispered, remembering the thrill of destruction and the joy of killing—especially Aurelius.

He gripped his head with one hand and grinned.

"Ah… if only I could go fight him. But I can't. Elias says we've got other problems. Still… I'm sure someday, we'll meet."

Back in the witches' forest…

Menma and Zayne were getting ready. Annie handed them clothes, food, drinks, and potions for the ten-month training period.

She hugged Menma tightly.

"Eat, drink, and sleep well. And listen to Zayne!"

Menma groaned, clearly annoyed. He just wanted to get it over with.

Then Annie turned to Zayne and said softly, "Come back safely. Both of you."

Zayne nodded. "I'll protect him with my life."

Lunara stepped up beside Menma, smirking. "I guess we'll have to see who ends up stronger. Just kidding—I know it'll be me."

Menma rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah… we'll see. Goodbye, sister. I'll see you after ten months."

And with that, they started walking away.

All the witches stood behind, praying for their safe return. Annie and Lunara hugged each other tightly, both crying.

As they walked, Menma turned to Zayne.

"What kind of training am I getting, anyway?"

Zayne glanced at him with a half-smile.

"You'll see once we get there."