The Devil's Cursed Witch

Some time later, the two witches appeared in front of the wooden cottage located in the most isolated part of the coven's territory. It was at the outskirts of the city where no one often went, and from what Silvia noticed, there was an isolation spell casted on the periphery such that unwelcome visitors would unconsciously turn away.

That two-storey cottage was surrounded by a wooden fence, and although the building looked old it was well maintained as witches didn't like to live in shabby places. The only source of light was a single old-fashioned oil lamp hanging from the ceiling of the entrance porch.

Cornelia and Silvia reached the door of the cottage, and after getting permission from her master, Silvia lifted the bronze door knocker in the shape of the moon to announce their arrival. The sound of metal striking metal gloomily echoed in the silence of the night.

The door of the cottage opened on its own, but there was no person behind it. The two witches were not startled as it was to be expected, given psychic powers were rather common for high-level witches. The moment they entered the door, they were welcomed by an old but melodious voice amidst the darkness.

"Cornelia, my dear. We were expecting you but…."

"...didn't expect this young witch to be our guest as well," another voice continued, referring to Silvia.

"Apologies for disturbing you at this hour, seniors," Cornelia said, and the next moment, the lamps inside lit up one by one, making that huge drawing room visible to their eyes. Three old women wearing simple long dresses were sitting on the long couch, staring at the two young women in front of them as if they had long been waiting for their arrival.

"As you have already disturbed us, there is no need for formality," the thin woman in the center said, who had similar red hair like Cornelia, though she appeared to be already in her late seventies. Meanwhile, the other two next to her both had silvery blond hair and had similar plump figures, looking to be around in their sixties. However, one was missing a leg, while the other, an arm, but from their facial similarities, it was obvious they were blood-related siblings.

Glinda Mortem, Glinda of the Meteor.

Maria Grimsbane, Maria the Great Mage.

Thala Grimsbane, the Witch of Destruction.

These three old witches were war veterans, survivors who were highly respected not only by the witches belonging to Honeyharbor Coven, but also by the entire Kingdom of Agartha for being in the frontlines to go against the worst of the enemy black magic practitioners, the Black Witches, in that tragic war a hundred years ago.

After the war, numerous casualties were incurred by the witches, some losing their powers, some succumbing to depression and losing their sanity, while others had permanent injuries that made them disabled for life. Those who remained sensible formed the Spirit Circle and chose to retire from their positions, vanishing from the public's eye.

Of those mighty and glorious figures who fought alongside Her Eminence Evanthe, these three were the only ones who survived up to the present times.

Cornelia gave a gracious bow to the thin woman.

"Thank you, Senior Glinda."

"Have a seat," said the one sitting left of Glinda, the woman with a missing arm.

"Thank you, Senior Maria." Cornelia walked to sit on the chair opposite to them. "Seems like seniors are already aware of my coming."

"You think that because we have lost most of our powers during that war, we can't even detect the arrival of a little girl like you?" said the third old woman with a little frown.

Cornelia immediately corrected herself, "I didn't mean to offend you, Senior Thala. I should have known you three can sense the agitation of my powers and expect me to come since something troubles me."

"You don't need to feel apologetic, Cornelia. Old age is getting to Thala so she is acting nasty these days," Maria spoke.

Thala's frown turned into a scowl. "Nasty?" She glared at the two next to her. "Living with you two old hags, seeing your faces day in and day out, sure makes anyone nasty."

"So at this age, do you wish to live with your warlock and review that old romance which you never had?" Maria commented to which Thala felt enraged.

"As if you ever had any in your life. Not a single Warlock ever looked at you due to how arrogant you were because of your powers."

"Yeah, and you have a queue of warlocks in front of your door as you are so sweet and down to earth."

Maria and Thala arguing like this was nothing new for both Glinda and Cornelia;  taking any of their sides was asking for trouble. Given her careful character, Silvia chose to keep her surprise to herself and kept her face stoic, mimicking Cornelia's composure.

"Are you two done?" Glinda, who was pressing her temple with a wrinkled finger, finally interfered. "I do not know about you, but my old bones do not wish to spend an entire night on a couch. Why don't we listen to why Cornelia has come?"

The two old women stopped arguing. With Glinda being the most senior and responsible among them, they always listened to her.

Glinda smiled at Cornelia. "Dear, the protection and isolation spell around Spirit Circle is your masterwork. We sensed something had happened as we felt the intense fluctuation of your magic power from the spell. Something serious seemed to have happened to make your magic this agitated."

"I had a vision, Senior Glinda," Cornelia said with a worried tone.

"An ominous one, I presume?"

Cornelia nodded. "It is a vision of Death. I had a dream that showed someone is going to die."

"Are you sure it is a vision, my dear?" Glinda asked while the other witches beside her looked at each other.

"Yes, senior. I only had one such vivid vision during that war, and at that time, Her Eminence was with me. She said that kind of vision was me catching a glimpse of the future, that was why my soul was shaken. It was meant to happen."

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