The sword painted a curve of orange flame and dark smoke in the air. Its thick blade slashed through the wooden dummy like butter, slashing it in two. The force of the blade hurled the upper half of the dummy away.
It flew off in the distance, landing near the location of Jude and the soldiers. The soldiers instinctively backed off. Jude and Caterina stood still as they knew Siderius would never make a mistake like that.
The dummy caught on fire and burned. Its fire waved in the wind like a dance.
"Fire..." Jude mumbled. Everyone knew that the most destructive and powerful witches in the realm were Fire Witches.
Because of the nature of the witches and their desire, fire was a very rare magic to be obtained. Almost all of the Fire witches became powerful players in the kingdom. The exceptions were those that were murdered before they could mature.
Siderius spun the sword in the air then slid it back into the black scabbard. The scabbard was designed to be air-tight so when he clamped the blade in, the fire was extinguished.
George and Finn clapped their hands aggressively. Other people didn’t know the actual prowess behind the blade but the two blacksmiths did. The blade was dull but it cut through the dummy because of sheer force. And that fire. It wasn’t an ordinary fire.
A flaming sword shouldn’t set the dummy on fire. But for some reason, the Blazing Soul transferred its Fire energy to the dummy and set it on fire. Everyone could feel the heat emanating from the upper half of the dummy from yards away.
What was surprising was the strike itself. No blade in Eldoria could slice the dummy in two. It was a solid piece of thick wood. Slashing it in two did not only require strength, it needed a good blade that could withstand the force of the strike also. George and Finn stepped closer to examine the burning dummy.
They could see that the cut wasn’t smooth. But the extreme heat from the blade made way for it. The cut was burned first, making the wood much softer, then the blade went in for the kill.
"Incredible design. The blade was able to produce enough heat to make up for the weakness of the Dull Steel." Finn mumbled.
George nodded his head.
Jude finally clapped. "Impressive, white witch."
Caterina shared a gentle smile and clapped also. The soldiers shouted and cheered.
"Such a fine strike, High Lord!"
"It was a sublime slash, High Lord!"
"Did you see his stance? He doesn’t simply know how to use a sword. He is very good with it. The White Witch is a swordman!"
Siderius bowed to the audience. An action that he didn’t realize he was doing until he completed it. The feeling he had was very similar to how Snow was still on the stage.
The attention. The cheerings. And the clappings. Snow missed it. No, Siderius also missed it. They were one.
Siderius approached the Baron.
"Greetings, Baron of Scalize."
"Please, spare me the formals. You don’t need to act like that." Jude shook with his hands.
"Maybe. But formality is there for a reason. And I come to you for something important as well."
Jude’s expression darkened immediately when he heard that name.
"That bastard is very hard headed. I can’t learn anything from him." Jude said.
"As I expected." Siderius said. "I can be of use actually."
"You can read his mind?" Jude raised an eyebrow.
"Something like that. But that will cost you." Siderius said.
Jude rubbed his chin, carefully thinking about the offer for a few minutes.
"I can give you another gold coin if you can help me."
Siderius nodded. "The price is right. Here’s what you need to do."
Siderius obviously couldn’t read minds. But he could infiltrate the mind the same way he had done to Caterina. In there, he could read his memory and thoughts, an even better version of mind reading.
Siderius could also bring Jude and Caterina with him, showing them what actually happened and let them witness with their own eyes.
Jude quickly ordered his men to prepare the ’ritual’. All of the guards inside the prison were ordered to stand outside, only Siderius, Jude and Caterina were inside.
Jeffrey was chained to the floor, naked and with nothing to cover himself. On his body were lines of injury made by a whip. Jude obviously tried to torture the man but it didn’t prove much success.
Jeffrey lifted his head up and grinned when he saw Siderius.
"White witch... Come to laugh at me, aren’t you?"
"I hate that nickname." Siderius shook his head.
He shoved the witch onto the floor and forcefully drew a seal on his forehead. The witch quickly fell into a deep coma.
He then drew seals on Jude’s and Caterina’s forehead.
"You need me to go in with you?" Siderius said.
"That won’t be necessary. We will be fine on our own." Jude said. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
Siderius was very understanding and nodded. Jeffrey’s memory might hold something that the Baron of Scalize did not want outsiders to know. That was why Siderius asked first.
"I will guard on the outside. Take your time in there."
Siderius put the Red Candy leaves into his pipe then passed it to Jude. "Take a few puffs. When you feel like you want to sleep. Just lie down."
Jude nodded. He grabbed the pipe and drew a few puffs. When his vision blurred, Jude passed it to Caterina.
Soon, the Baron and his Lady lie down in the prison, infiltrating into the mind of Jeffrey the Schizomancer.
Siderius sat on his knees and watched everything.
"I have hunted witches all my life. In this life, I help witches deal with their personal issues. What a fate." Siderius thought.
He still had his previous motto. There was no good witch. The only good witch was a dead witch. But this world was different. This kingdom was ruled and operated by witches.
Killing Jude wouldn’t change anything. The society would stay the same and witches’ rule wouldn’t be affected. If Siderius wanted to get rid of the witches, he needed to do much more than that.
"One step at a time then." Siderius mumbled. He closed his eyes also, walking the path of the Truth-Seeker.
His Silver I was reaching its final destination, soon another path would be opened up for him.