Witch Hunt Chapter 4 part1

Luka as Lucca, the cannonball witch
Miku as Michelle, the PG Hellsing character
Rin and Len as Lean and Lane, the requisite creepy twins
Meiko as Meyrin, the witch that thinks selling potions is a great way to hide

and of course.., Gackpo/Gakupo as Cougar Kings, the prince with a luchador name

Now, let's head into Chapter 4...

(Part 1)

“Michelle, where are you going?” It was before midday. I was trying to sneak out of the church, when the twins Lean and Lane, called out to me in unison.

“Ah, um, since the weather is so good, I thought I’d go eat outside…” When it looks like you’re doing something bad, it’s better to say outright your plans without getting bogged down with excuses. It was a lesson of my childhood, but it was especially true when dealing with the boy priest Lane.

“Today isn’t the first time you do this. Is there a problem with the food served here in the church? Your portion is being wasted, what do you think about that?”

As Lane said, lately I had been sneaking out often to eat outside. After being abroad for a year, the church’s frugal meals were too insipid for me.  It made me reflect on my own ignorance, when I recalled how I had eaten that same simple food each day since the day I was born, and it had tasted good to me until a year prior.

“It doesn’t really matter. Michelle’s portion will go to someone else, after all,” Lean shot back.

“You shouldn’t say that; this is a church. We are discussing her attitude regarding God’s grace.”

 “This may be a church, but aren’t we using it as a front for our Society of Witch Hunters?”

“There’s a saying ‘When in Rome, do as Romans do.’”

“There’s a saying…so what?”

As usual, they kept arguing without seeing eye to eye. As for me, I couldn’t do anything besides watch them argue.

But that day the fight seemed to be extending even longer than usual. They even began to insult each other’s appearance. To be honest, to me they look almost identical, but…

I wondered if their verbal warfare was going to keep going endlessly piercing the silence; finally, I attempted to reluctantly interrupt the twin’s fight saying, “Err, excuse me. It’s alright…I’ll just go back to my room. “

In response to my words, the twins looked at each other and fell silent for several seconds. Their expressions gave me no clear indication of what they were thinking, but suddenly they turned towards me and asked in perfect unison, “Michelle, what is the most important thing to you?”

“U-um, putting down witches.” Surprised by the sudden question, I blurted out my personal mission.

When they heard my answer, the twins seemed to reach a conclusion of some sort. Four eyes stared straight at me.

“It’s been half a year since your returned to the country, but as we expected your performance is outstanding. You’ve already located three witches, that’s one every two months.”

“You aren’t called the Society’s ultimate weapon for nothing, after all. Even though the other witch hunters try their best…Nobody compares to you.”

“Ahm,” I couldn’t answer anything else to that.

Oftentimes, the things the twins said made little sense to me; however, now hunger made my thoughts slower than usual, making their words even more cryptic. Even so, hearing that half a year had passed since I returned to Kings made a big impression in me.

It’s been six months since I first met Lucca. And…

“Archwitch Meyrin has been in hiding for half a year,” Lane grumbled as if in pain, rubbing his jaw.

Six months had passed since the moment I was given the wanted poster; six months since I began gathering intel from the people of the city and I found her potions shop. That store had a spell placed on it, so that only the people that truly wanted her concoctions could find it. Therefore, even though the shop faced a main road of the city, she had managed to operate unnoticed by the Society until then.

To think she had powers strong enough to evade the eyes of the regular witch hunters…

She was powerful enough that even I completely failed to notice her until I took a closer look. I guess that’s what can be expected from a so-called archwitch. So when I finally found the entrance to the store and I tried to step inside, the place was an empty shell. Clever Meyrin had escaped just before we found the store, and so we failed to capture her.

“I don’t care how you do it. You better catch the witch.”

“Yes…”

It wasn’t like I alone was responsible for letting her get away, despite the way the twins were scolding me. But when I recalled that I had been trying to slip out of the church when they spoke to me and stopped me, I couldn’t help but answer in a guilty tone.

“Fortunately, Meyrin hasn’t left the country yet. If a witch of her caliber had left, the balance of magical energies would be greatly altered. But it remains stable.”

“She seems pretty smart, maybe she’s waiting for something, like the right moment to escape?”

As a matter of fact, in the past I caught many witches that panicked when their true identity was discovered and tried to leave Kings. Surrounded as it was by the palatial walls, this country was a harder place to escape from than those witches expected.

“So…then, you want me to find and kill Meyrin before she escapes, right?” I asked to confirm the intentions of the twins.

“That’s half-correct,” Lane said.

“That’s half-incorrect,” Lean contradicted him in a sing-song voice.

Incorrect? And ‘half’, to boot? Their answers left me puzzled.

As if to beat me to it, before I tried asking in more detail what they meant, their lips began flapping in unison like two puppets with moving mouths.

“Do your best to capture Meyrin alive; that’s the decision of the Society.”

“Capture her alive…? When was that decided?” I asked.

“This morning,” the twins said, and wouldn’t explain anything further.

Our primary goal is to kill witches. However, there were a few times when witches had to be captured alive. For a mere witch hunter like myself, it was hard to understand what determined the fate of a witch, but as I gave the matter more thought, I realized that gifted witches with useful powers are often targeted with the intent to be captured alive.

“Michelle, the Society is getting impatient.”

“Michelle, don’t disappoint us.”

The twins spoke in placid voices, but there was a demand clearly implied in their words.

“Capture Meyrin alive, we don’t care what method you use.”

“…I’ll go get a pastry for lunch.”

Maybe my reply satisfied them somehow. In any case, they turned around with their usual synchrony. “Good luck, Michelle.”

Outside of the church, the weather was warm.

The season has changed since I returned, spring is here.

The trees were sprouting verdant new leaves, and my nostrils were filled with the aroma of various flowers, carried by the breeze. My feet naturally turned towards Lucca’s bakery. It was a little after noon, so the flow of consumers had probably diminished by then.

I had to make up my mind. The purpose of my life is to capture witches; there is nothing else. And I have to make use of whatever tools I have to fulfill my task…

Yes, even if it meant, for instance, using my very first friend.

()

Chapter end