Witch of the witches

Winifred was shocked to see what was behind her.

It was a small golem made of rock, small enough to resemble a five-year-old child that Winifred could even carry.

"What…?" Winifred exclaimed in shock.

It was that small golem that had been making the loud sound of footsteps.

Winifred was still in shock, not knowing what kind of creature this was.

"Elise sent me to open the door," the golem suddenly spoke in a voice like a child.

"Huh…?" Hearing that Elise had sent this golem to help her, Winifred relaxed and sat on the ground, touching her head and taking a moment to calm down.

After a moment, Winifred stood up again, taking a deep breath.

"Okay, so you can open this door?" Winifred asked.

"Yes, Miss Elise sent me to open this door and told me to help you," the little golem replied.

"Oh, okay," Winifred said, relieved. A smile appeared on her face, knowing Elise had sent this golem to help.

"Please step aside. I'll open the door," the little golem said.

Hearing this, Winifred stepped back. 'He's so small. How is he going to help me anyway?' Winifred thought.

"Boom…"

The door was completely destroyed in one punch from the golem.

Seeing the golem destroy the door with a single punch, Winifred was shocked. She now understood why Elise had sent him.

'Never doubt Elise from now on,' Winifred said to herself.

"Let's go," the little golem said, turning his head towards Winifred after destroying the door.

"Oh… okay," Winifred replied.

Winifred and the golem started walking through the door. 'This cave is deeper than I thought,' Winifred mused.

After walking a bit, they came across another door of similar size.

'Is he going to destroy this door too?' Winifred thought.

"What is your name?" Winifred asked.

"I don't have a name yet," the little golem replied.

"Oh… okay."

Winifred ran toward the door to check if it was open. She pushed it, and surprisingly, it opened.

When Winifred opened the door, she found a large room with no roof. Sunlight was streaming in, revealing what looked like a volcanic crater. The cave seemed to be connected to the volcano. The room was round, and in the shadows along the curved edges, people were sitting, shielding themselves from the sunlight, all staring at Winifred.

Looking at them, Winifred realized they were hostages. There were four people—two females and two males—sitting together.

They all looked sad, and some were injured.

"We're here to help you," Winifred said, addressing them.

Hearing that someone had come to help, smiles appeared on their faces. Suddenly, Winifred's eyes fell on a boy whose arm was missing from the shoulder. Winifred realized he was Leo.

"Come on, let's go," Winifred said.

Hearing her, they all slowly got up. Winifred noticed they were injured and lacked the strength to move quickly.

Winifred started walking toward them to help. Suddenly, the boy with one arm, while trying to stand up, noticed something. His eyes caught sight of a figure standing at the top of the room, where the sunlight streamed in.

"Stop, run!" Leo yelled as he saw Winifred approaching them.

As Leo shouted, something suddenly crashed between the hostages and Winifred.

Winifred stopped, unable to see what had just happened because of the cloud of soil and debris that erupted from the crash.

"What just happened?!" Winifred exclaimed.

She waited for the dust to settle so she could see clearly. Suddenly, a hand with sharp claws darted toward Winifred's neck from within the dust cloud created by the crash.

"Slash… block!" The attack was blocked by the little golem, who had jumped in front of Winifred to protect her.

"Ah… heavy breathing…" The slash was so strong that, despite being blocked by the golem, the shockwave knocked Winifred to the ground.

Slowly, the dust began to settle, and the crash site became clear. The clawed hand belonged to a demon.

"You're fast, little one," the demon said with a smile.

Seeing the demon trying to kill her and the little golem protecting her, Winifred was shocked and terrified.

"Run! You can't defeat him. He's a B-rank demon!" Leo shouted from behind the demon, warning Winifred to flee.

Hearing Leo's words, Winifred realized this was the same demon that had attacked Leo.

'But what is he doing here? Elise is busy fighting goblins in another part of the cave. How are we supposed to escape now?' Winifred thought.

"You are a threat to Miss Winifred, you die." the little golem said. He suddenly propelled himself into the air with incredible speed and kicked the demon. The kick was so strong and fast that the demon didn't even see it coming.

"Boom!" The wall cracked as the demon was flung into it, causing devastating damage.

Seeing the brutal power of the little golem, Winifred understood why Elise had sent him. 'I have to trust Elise from now on.'

"Come on, run! Let's go!" Winifred yelled to Leo and the others.

Seeing the demon embedded in the wall and nowhere to be found, Leo and the others were stunned. They didn't hear Winifred's call as their eyes remained fixed on the golem and the demon.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go before he comes back!" Winifred shouted again.

"Come on, let's go, kids," said the man with Leo and the others.

The man was a warrior. With more experience than the others, he understood the situation.

"Let's go," Leo said, helping the man, whose leg was injured, to walk.

"Everyone, let's move!" the man said, taking Leo's support.

"Where are you going? I told you not to move. Time to die," the demon growled, emerging from the destroyed wall.

Everyone stopped in their tracks as a dark aura began emanating from the demon's body. Seeing the ominous aura, everyone was paralyzed with fear, unable to move—even Winifred.

"I where you see,

You where I see,

Death where you stand,

God where I stand."

Hearing the spell, Winifred and the others looked up to see where the voice was coming from.

It was Elise, floating in the air between the sky and mountain, hovering above Winifred and the others with one hand raised.

"Im… impossible…" the demon stammered, his entire body trembling in fear as he gazed at Elise.

Locking eyes with the demon, Elise cast her spell. Pointing her hand at him, a bolt of dark lightning surged forth and struck the demon, whose focus remained fixed on Elise.

"Boom…"