Chapter 43: White Devil
The Queen's face twisted with panic.
Those colors—the cursed hues of the Rainbow Seal—spilled across the Citadel of Roots, bathing the wood in unholy light. To her, they meant one thing:
The seal was broken.
And with it, their greatest fear had come true.
The White Witch had her powers back.
Once, she had loved that daughter. Once, she had feared her. And now… she hated her with every splinter of her rotting soul.
They had called her White Devil—the witch who swallowed libraries whole, who devoured entire planes of knowledge for answers no mortal should seek.
Why white?
Because white was emptiness. A color that was nothing—and everything. That was what she had been. A girl filled with nothing, devouring the world to feel something. In time, that hunger tore their world apart.
And now she stood before her again—reborn through light, through knowledge, and unwounded.
The Queen trembled. "You're still alone. You can't fight all of us."
The White Witch raised her chin slightly. "I'm enough to handle the weed."
Beside her, puddles of black water formed and bubbled with intestines.
---
Underground – Just Moments Before
"Damn, it's hot!" Noah shouted, stumbling as he dropped the Rainbow Hammer. The heat it pulsed with was unnatural, the kind that made your bones ache.
The ground beneath him rumbled—roots cracking stone as dozens of Kin warriors burst up through the earth. Their eyes locked on him.
"You cursed brat! I'll rip you apart!" snarled the humanoid Kin.
Noah took a deep breath and raised a shaky finger—pointing upward.
The Kin froze.
Above them, hundreds of pink-glowing eyes stared back.
The Guardians.
A split-second later, the tunnel ceiling collapsed, and Pink's kin army dropped into the room like a flood of fury.
Noah didn't wait.
He sprinted to the unconscious Pink—now in her small human form—scooped her up, grabbed the hammer, and let Neverwhere Scaff carry them both away in a dark leap.
"Nice job…" Pink mumbled faintly, barely conscious.
Noah grinned. "Let's get out before they ask for more."
---
Above – The Citadel Plaza
Ezra blinked.
One moment, she had been in a cage. The next—standing in the middle of the raging battlefield, free, untouched.
She didn't even know how she got out.
Unexpectedly, a vine root shot towards her, trying to get hold of her, however, something black and eerie severed it, pushing the vine to shriek and back away in fear.
"Hi."
Ezra spun around to find her—the White Witch, pristine and glowing with the aftermath of spellcraft too advanced to name.
"Your classmates are safe, back at camp," the witch said.
Ezra stared. "Teleportation?"
"It seems your friend, Noah, pulled it off," the witch said casually. Ezra cursed internally.
Where the hell did you find this woman? He's way past the mirror tier...
The White Witch chuckled. "Stay here. I need a word with my dear mother."
She stepped forward and vanished into the fog and rainbow light.
---
In the Plaza
BAM. BAM. BAM.
The Queen raged, hurling roots like spears and lashes, but none touched the White Witch. She floated effortlessly through them—untouched, smiling.
"Aren't you tired?" the witch asked softly.
She lifted one pale finger—a black orb blinked into existence.
The Queen's bark cracked audibly. She stumbled back.
"How many of us… did you devour to gain this much knowledge and power?" she demanded.
The witch didn't answer. Only looked at her… with pity.
"ANSWER ME!" the Queen roared, signaling her army.
The Kin rushed forward. Shadows. Roots. Creatures of bark and fury.
"Come."
The White Witch's whisper split the air.
Everything froze.
Even sound.
A horrible shadow unfurled from the witch's silhouette like a cloak of despair and spread towards the kin like a hungry devil, darkness swallowed the whole assailant in a flash.
One word followed:
"Fall."
The entire plaza shattered.
When time resumed, every Kin monster had collapsed. Their bodies limp. Their souls—glowing orbs of starlight—hovered above them, trembling.
The Queen was silent.
The White Witch lowered her hand. "It's over."
---
A figure ran through the smoke—Pink, back in beast-form, her fur vibrant again. She carried Noah, limp and panting.
"This is so embarrassing," he muttered.
Pink scoffed. "The Neverwhere Scaff doesn't function well without nearby mana. Get used to it. Even the hammer's gone cold."
"Noah!" Ezra rushed forward.
Noah's eyes lit up. "You're safe…"
Ezra glanced past him toward the witch, then back at him. "Where did you even find these people?"
The White Witch strolled toward them, expression unreadable.
"I'd love to explain," she said, "but it's time to say goodbye… for now."
She waved her hand.
"Keep the hammer. Keep the Scaff. But your memories of this place? They stay with me."
Noah and Ezra opened their mouths to protest—
And collapsed, fast asleep.
"Take them out," the witch instructed Pink. "The sun is rising… and don't forget the other girl."
Pink nodded and vanished with both into shadow.
---
Alone at Last
The White Witch turned back to the lingering souls of her mother and sisters.
They hovered—weak, fading. Terrified.
"I will keep eating," she said coldly. "Until I find a way to kill them—the High Ones. The Sovereigns. The Bringers. Even if I must become worse than them."
Her hand reached up.
Her face tore open, revealing a gaping beast maw lined with jagged, celestial teeth.
She devoured them.
First the Queen.
Then the rest—one by one.
Only the sound of shredding spirit remained.
When silence fell again, she wiped her mouth.
"…Elena was right," she muttered. "No witches are good."
She looked up.
And for the first time, her true face was visible—her ruby-silver eyes glowing like dying stars.
The White Devil had fed.
what was frozen in time has started back ticking, disaster is on his way.