Witch of the witches

"Don't worry, we are going to save your leader Leo if he is still there," Elise said, looking at Ray.

Hearing that Elise was going to save Leo, a big smile appeared on Ray and the others' faces. Winifred also became happy but a bit confused by what Elise had said.

"What do you mean by 'if he is still there?'" Luna asked with worry.

"I don't want you guys to raise your hopes because there's only a fifty-fifty chance that Leo will be alive," Elise said with seriousness.

Hearing Elise's words, Ray and Luke's expressions suddenly changed to sadness and worry. Luna already knew the possibility, but still, hearing it shocked her too.

"But there is a chance, right? That he'll be alright? So, let's think positively. He'll be fine, right?" Luna said, placing her hands on Ray and Luke with confidence and a smile.

"Yes, he'll be alright. I'm just saying not to get your hopes too high because it might hurt in the end," Elise said with a different smile on her face.

Listening to Luna and Elise, Ray and Luke understood what they meant. On the side, Winifred noticed some change in Elise's behavior.

"Okay, we understand," Ray said with seriousness.

"So, are you going now? Do you think they are still there?" Luke asked.

"Yes! I think the sooner we go, the better," Elise replied.

"So, who is going with you? I'm confused. Are we coming with you?" Luna asked.

"I have some good connections with a strong party in the guild. I can ask them. You guys meet me when the sun is close to the eastern mountains before sunset," Elise said.

"Oh…okay then. We will meet you when the sun is closest to setting in the eastern mountains," Luna said with hope.

"Okay then. We're going to the guild to meet them. Let's meet again at the time we decided today, alright?" Elise said.

"Okay," Ray and his companions replied.

Elise offered her hand to Winifred, who understood that Elise was asking her to grab it for something.

After grabbing Elise's hand, Elise and Winifred headed toward the east gate to enter the city, where soldiers were checking everyone.

After being checked by the soldiers, Elise and Winifred entered the city.

Entering the city, Winifred was shocked to see the different kinds of buildings, people wearing unique clothes, weapons with them, and other things like carriages drawn not by horses but by big lizards. After the entry gate, there was a road leading into the city.

The city had circular roads that allowed you to circle the city to enter different sections. The city had buildings of various sizes. Winifred felt as if she had entered a small city where only buildings existed, with no small houses in sight.

"This is the hotel section. Anyone entering the city can buy a room here to stay. This is the first circle; we need to go to the second circle, where the guild is," Elise said, looking at Winifred.

"Okay," Winifred replied, looking at Elise.

"This way," Elise said.

Not entering the hotel section in front of them, Elise took the circular road heading toward the south gate.

While walking on the circular road, Winifred's eyes caught sight of new things—people with different clothes, carriages, and many soldiers. Some were in groups, while others were alone. Winifred also noticed some women walking on the road wearing hats similar to Elise's.

"Are they witches too?" Winifred asked, looking at Elise.

"Yes, they are. It's not compulsory to wear hats, but the majority wear them for their own purposes," Elise replied with a smile.

Suddenly, Winifred noticed people on the road who had dog-like ears and tails but were walking like humans. She was shocked to see this. Although she knew Luke was different from humans, this was something entirely different. Then she saw a large creature with a half-human and half-snake body pass near her. Winifred, filled with fear, tightly grabbed Elise's hand.

"Ha…ha," Elise laughed. "I see, so they also don't exist in your world?" Elise asked.

"Yes, there are only humans in my world, not humans that look like animals," Winifred replied with a scared face.

"Don't worry. They're just like us. They are beast-humans, with animal parts along with human parts in their bodies. They're proud of that. Some of them even think we humans are incomplete beings," Elise said.

"Oh…do they hate humans who don't look like them?" Winifred asked.

"Not many, but there's always someone who hates others because they look different. There are some humans too who hate them for the same reason," Elise replied.

Hearing what Elise said, Winifred's expression returned to normal.

"We're here," Elise said, her eyes looking at the south gate.

Elise stopped with Winifred near the south gate and started walking back outside the city. Winifred didn't understand.

"We're going to the second circle, right? Where the guild is. So why are we going outside the city?" Winifred asked.

"Well, that was a lie. Like I said, I didn't want to grab attention by telling them we're going alone to save their leader," Elise said.

Winifred smiled. "So, you're going alone to save him, right?" she asked, looking at Elise with a smile.

"No! I have my student with me," Elise said, looking back at Winifred with a smile.

Knowing Elise meant her, and that she would be accompanying Elise on this mission, Winifred's heart started beating faster. But knowing Elise's power, she calmed herself.

"Okay! I'm ready," Winifred replied.

"This is actually a good opportunity for you to learn. You'll understand how to fight monsters, what they look like, and how dangerous they are," Elise said with confidence.

There was a spark in her eyes that Winifred had never seen before.

Elise and Winifred walked outside the south city gate. As Winifred had already seen from high ground, there was a big and deep valley outside the south side of the city. There was a big passage near the valley, large enough for 30 to 50 people to stand. A bridge connected the eastern city to the southern grassland, stretching over the valley.

Elise and Winifred started heading toward the bridge to cross the valley and go to the southern grassland, where the southern crystal dungeon was.