Chapter 15

  ANCIENT ENEMIES

  The world was being consumed by an ancient, profound pain, deliberately ignored by humanity. In the shadows, a war was growing in silence—patient, waiting for the inevitable moment when it would reach them. And they—those women persecuted and hunted for centuries—continued to cling to the idea of protecting a world that had never accepted them.

  While our heroes regrouped in a new refuge, far from there, miles away, old enemies advanced with steady steps, determined to twist the course of everything once again.

  A man of about forty-five sat in a gray office, as sterile as it was oppressive. In front of him, a massive television displayed a map covered in red dots, blinking like open wounds. He typed an email with mechanical detachment until the door burst open. A woman entered with a military bearing, rigid as an order.

  —Commander Lee, we have reports of an unusual attack at a private girls’ school, near the sighting of a practicing witch —she reported, her voice firm and unwavering.

  —I understand. Prepare a reconnaissance squad —Lee replied as he closed his laptop—. Take the new equipment. This time, God is on our side.

  The woman nodded curtly and left the office without another word.

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  —You can come out now… —Lee murmured, addressing the darkness itself.

  —Kotaro, it was about time you decided to use the toys —the voice emerged from the shadows before the figure did. Sabine stepped forward with a slow, provocative stride, sat on the desk, and crossed her legs—. I was starting to think I had bet on the wrong man —a soft, venomous laugh slipped from her lips.

  —Don’t call me by my name. What do you want? —he watched her with distrust; every muscle in his body was on alert.

  —I bring news. I confirmed that the warlock has awakened —she straightened slightly and turned her gaze to the map on the screen—. Your little group is going to have problems. Though, to be honest, it always has. Their only golden age was Salem, in the seventeenth century —she mocked them without the slightest restraint.

  —Evil is not easy to destroy… and this time we know how to face it.

  —Thanks to a witch. Pathetic —she spat—. But I didn’t come here just to laugh —Sabine slowly turned, fixing him with a razor-sharp stare—. It’s time to pay, Kotaro.

  —You said I would have more time… she still doesn’t know… —fear crept into his voice, cracking his fa?ade of authority.

  —The warlock has awakened, and the vessel is already in play. You know better than anyone that your daughter was the only one compatible with the scepter. But if you don’t want to… that’s fine —she smiled cruelly—. I’ll take all the artifacts and let them return to the useless scum they were before me.

  —No… I will comply —he whispered—. Just let me speak to her.

  —Tell her the same lies you tell everyone else. Tell her how that scepter will help her noble mission to eradicate evil from this world —Sabine began to laugh, savoring every second.

  —They aren’t lies…

  —Of course not, Kotaro —she replied with a mocking smile, heavy with disdain.

  Sabine slowly faded back into the shadows, leaving behind an unspoken promise: time was running out, and she would return.

  Kotaro was left alone in the office, crushed by unbearable anguish. He knew what he had to do—and the price he would have to pay. But to him, the mission to eradicate witches was greater than any bond of blood. In war, there are always sacrifices.

  —May holiness protect the souls of the Salic Order —he prayed softly, seeking a forgiveness he knew would never come.