The next day came in the blink of an eye and just as Xavier had said, the soldiers from other lands had arrived even before the sun had risen. He had gone to address them and Hazel had been with him. She wanted to talk to him and had to wait till he was done.
"Is your injury okay now?" She asked as she directed her gaze towards his injury spot
"You worry too much rabbit, and don't think I didn't notice you were trying to purify my blood last night when you thought I was asleep" he stated
"Well, I hope it helped a bit"
"It went a long way" he said as he brought her closer by her waist and positioned his head between her neck inhaling her scent
"I need to be close to the portal before any of the spells will work on it..." Hazel spoke up after sometime "... And sellers will be the one I'll be up against, if I want to reach there"
"I could help you out, we could beat her together"
"No, I want to defeat her on my own, she killed my dad and my face will be the last thing she world see. Moreover, you've helped me a lot"
"Okay then, but I'll be there if you ever need any help"
"I know"
"Good"
They both spent the day trying to prepare for the evening battle. It was decided that they would go in he evening with the reason that they could ambush the witches at that time.
Soon, night time was come and the approached the witches lair. They made sure to surround the lair waiting for Xavier's sign to attack. Hazel was at a corner trying to observe how to get to the portal which was situated at the middle of the lair, it was at an open place and it won't be just Selles she would be up against, she would have to fight against some witches too.
Speaking of witches, more were seen at this lair which isn't considered normal since they don't particularly stay in large groups. The portal is drawing them and it was dangerous, she had to close it soon.
She was able to sight where Xavier was, and she noticed he was already staring at her. Seeing that, she gave him a little nod to which he understood and gave the signal.
And just like that, a war cry was heard from the soldiers as they emerged from the bushes where they had hidden, ambushing the witches around. Because they weren't aware or ready, the soldiers had the upper hand at first, succeeding in killing the witches who were thereat that time, but as more witches heard the commotion and came forward, it wasn't so easy any longer.
The dark portal made the witches stronger and powerful, they grew shadow tendrils and used it to ensnare the soldiers
Xavier was among the soldiers, fighting the witches also. It wasn't such a hard job for him. His eyes however, was searching the crowd for Hazel, but he couldn't see her. He then decided to head towards the direction of the portal to see if he could find her there. As he fought his way through, suddenly he felt a sharp pain at his back, turning around to see what it was, he felt another at his thigh. He noticed that they were arrows that had been shot at him, he immediately proceeds to pull them out, but stopped when he noticed what was happening. He was bleeding.
He. Was. Bleeding.
He looked surprised by it, he isn't supposed to bleed unless...
"Its good to see you again, demon" a voice was heard from behind him, coming toward his direction to face him
"I wish I could say the same, Edith" Xavier responded as he straightened up which he couldn't since he was beginning to get dizzy "what did you do to me, witch" he growled
"I have a name, demon and I simply poisoned you with that arrow"
"That's not possible, only Hazel can do me any harm"
"Well, that curse had been lifted when she stabbed you, so you are just another vulnerable person like every other around"
"You think um dumb" he whispered to himself
"I'm kind of guessing what was your plan on coming here, because, from the looks of things, it isn't going to work out. What we're you thinking? You could stop us?" She scoffed "we've successfully opened the portal, although we got a little help from your lover, may her soul rest in peace..." she mocked "... But this portal stays open forever"
"That's where you're wrong. I guess you guys aren't that smart"
"Watch your words demon" she snarled "I could finish what I didn't do the last time we saw, and that was killing you"
"The truth sucks huh" he smirked "to think that I came here alone to stop you. Of course I have no way to close the portal, but, I'm with someone who can"
"And who might that be? Connor and Hazel are gone. Who else can try?"
"You sure about that"
Just then, the air around them became thick as Hazel's magic charged into the atmosphere, causing a short pause in the battle. Hazel emerged from the bushes where she was all along and charger into the fray, towards the portal
"How is that possible, we killed her" Edith roared seeing this
"As I said, you guys aren't that smart" Xavier chucked causing her attention to be back at him
"Tell me, what did you do?"
"I can't possibly let out me secret, can I?" He said getting amused by everything.
Seeing that he wasn't going to say anything, she decided to charge against Hazel so she hurriedly turned around to stop her. But, instead, she was pushed back by a force and landed on the ground
"Do you think, I'll let you go after her? How dumb can you be" Xavier said as he stood, showing no signs of weakness
"You're supposed to be weak" she hissed
"Yeah, you're right, but remember, I'm a demon. You'll have to get passed me to meet Hazel"
"Then let's get this over with"
Hazel who was on her way towards the portal, dodged and weaved between the shadow tendrils and spells of the witches around. Her brown hair flowed behind her and her eyes gleamed with determination as she fought her way through the dark witch lair, her ultimate goal being the dark portal that threatened to unleash untold destruction upon the lands
Hazel used her elemental abilities to slice through the shadows as she struck down witch after witch, her movement were fluid and deadly. The witches were no match but they refused to yield.
Pelles saw this as she stood in her witch form, her body filled with scales and black like coal. She raised her hands and hurled a bolt of dark energy at Hazel. Hazel quickly saw it approaching, saying some spells, she also raised her hands and a shield of light burst forth, deflecting the attack. She then countered by caging her using her earth's elemental ability. Stones rose from the ground and covered Pellets, and she sealed the stones with some spells, preventing her from trying to escape.
Xavier and Edith were still engaged in their fight, sword against sword and it was tense.
"You would never win against us, we've come this far already" Edith said, breathing heavily
"It seems to me that you are trying to motivate yourself with that statement" he replied
"You are ever so full of yourself, I've never liked you one bit since the time Selles had agreed to let you work with us. I always knew you were going to betray us"
"And I've said this before, it isn't betrayal if you are trying to save yourself. You don't expect me to hand myself over to you like some dummy" he scoffed "and moreover, its all spilled milk now, we don't need to go over it again"
"You'll die by my hands, demon. That's a promise" she hissed getting annoyed by his words
"We'll see" and they went on with their duel.
Finally, Hazel reached the dark portal, its twisted maw yawning open like a mouth of darkness, but as she raised her hands to start saying the spells, a swirling vortex of darkness pushed her away. A figure emerged from the shadows, Selles. Her eyes burned red like stars in the night sky and she gazed at Hazel with contempt.
"You think you can just waltz in here to close the portal?" Selles sneered at Hazel who was picking herself up "you think you can defeat me, although I don't know how the fuck you are back to life, but, that doesn't give you any power"
Hazel smiled, her eyes flashing with determination "I've come too far to turn back now, and, I'm going to avenge my dad" she said, her voice steady
Selles laughed at this, her voice like the tinkling of ice crystals "Poor Morgan gone and little Hazel wants to avenge him. Let's get this over with then"
The two witches clashed, their spells and vortex of light meeting in a shower of sparks. Selles magic with the help of the dark portal was formidable, but, Hazel's skills and determination prover to be a match. Before now, Hazel had found out the weak points of Tue dark witches, and with that, all her strikes were aimed at Selles weak points.
Xavier had been able to put Edith down. She had series of slits on her body caused by Xavier's sword and she was covered in blood.
"You aren't keeping to your promise, Edith" Xavier reminded
"You must be pleased huh, swing that you have the upper hand here"
"Of course I am"
"But note this, even if you are to win now, we'll be back again, more stronger that now"
"But that will take at least, hundreds of years" he pretended to think "I'm okay with that" he said and Edith scoffed once again "Any last words?" He asked raising his sword
"You'll hear from me again, demon" and with that Xavier sliced her head off her body "that was for Lucas" he said. He quickly turned towards the direction of the dark portal to see that Hazel was fighting with Selles, both of their energies clashing against each other.
At some point, Selles stumbled back, her eyes widening in surprise and Hazel took advantage of the momentary lapse, striking the final blow that sent Selles crashing to the ground. The dark witches seeing this fled in disarray and Hazel turned to the portal, starting to recite the spells and watches as the dark energy began to collapse, its twisted maw shrinking, as darkness was forcer back.
With one final burst of magic, Hazel sealed the portal, she stood panting and her chest heaving with exertion. She looked around to see something interesting, the witches around, both dead and alive, began to dissipate into nothingness, but she noticed that Selles lingered.
Her eyes were fixed on Hazel with rage and a little bit of admiration.
"You win this time" she said, her voice just above a whisper "but I shall return again and you may not be so lucky"
Hazel turned to her and smiled "I've avenged my dad and every other innocent soul you have taken. And don't worry, we'll be ready when you come" she said, her voice firm
With that, Selles also vanished, leaving Hazel to survey the aftermath of the battle and gaze out upon the dawn of the new day at a distance. She felt black dots clouding her vision and someone running towards her direction, shouting her name, before the darkness took over.
The next time Hazel woke up, she found herself back at their bedroom with Xavier laying by her side and his arms around her. Her thoughts went back to the battle and how they had finally defeated the witches. It had been long overdue and they were now over it.
She felt Xavier stir behind her before hearing his voice
"How are you feeling rabbit" he asked proceeding to peck her hair "you scared me earlier"
"I'm sorry, I was just exhausted, I used much of my powers"
"I knew you could do it" he grinned "remember when I said you would be one of the most powerful white witches in existence" he said to which she blushed
"But you know, they'll be back. Selles said so" she said, unsure
Xavier then turned her to face him and he kissed her slowly "that will take a very long time and we'll be prepared by then. Instead of worrying about the future, I would suggest, we celebrate our victory" he smirked as he delved back for another kiss, with it quickly escalating to other things.
Morgan, who was in his switcher form and invincible, left to give the couple space. He was proud of his daughter and he was sure, Vivian would be also. He had been hanging around since he was taken away from Lionel's body and hadn't returned to his realm yet, but he could happily do so now, knowing that his daughter was in great hands.