Erin only had two friends. When she was young, it was Vera. Now, it was Tang Qiu.

She was angry about Vera’s betrayal, but that bit of hatred couldn’t erase the bond between them.

Blood sacrifice wasn’t a pleasant way to die, but compared to the humans they had dismembered and offered to the Dark God, the Garcia witches at least got to keep their bodies intact.

Erin, pale-faced, straightened the white robe on Vera’s body. The large, dried, dark-red bloodstains stung her eyes, making her hand tremble involuntarily. In silence, she took off her own cloak and covered Vera’s corpse with it.

A cold wind blew past, turning Erin’s face and hands red, but she seemed oblivious to the biting chill. She pressed her lips together, carefully and meticulously arranging Vera’s final appearance.

After wiping the bloodstains from her face and tidying her slightly messy hair, Erin gazed at the familiar face and let out a long sigh.

Footsteps approached from behind. Erin snapped out of her daze. She covered Vera with a white cloth, then turned, wanting to smile at Tang Qiu, but ultimately couldn’t manage it.

Tang Qiu took out a cloak and handed it to Erin, then summoned a Light Ball to warm her. She looked down at Vera’s body and said in a low voice, “The blood of the Garcia clan contains a contract left by the Blood Demon. The Dark God they believed in was just a deception orchestrated by the Blood Demon.”

Erin hugged the Light Ball and was silent for a moment before asking in a low voice, “…The Blood Demon has been resealed. Has the Garcia contract been broken?”

Tang Qiu shook her head.

Erin’s brow furrowed tightly. She looked down at Vera’s body, lost in thought.

Tang Qiu had returned from a trip to the Dark World and then accompanied Erin to Witch City. As the newly appointed Pope, it wasn’t good for her to be “playing truant” like this. Tang Qiu glanced up at the sky and asked Erin, “What are your plans for the future?”

After the relationship between Mark’s Grocery Store and Wolf Fang was exposed, Erin once again had no “home” to return to.

“I want to stay in Witch City.” Erin pressed her frozen hands against the Light Ball, her tone serious. “The young witches left behind by the Anderson and Garcia families have been entrusted to Elder Winnie’s care. I want to go help her.”

Tang Qiu frowned slightly. “The contract left by the Blood Demon can’t be broken. The Garcia will never escape this fate.”

Erin staying in Witch City wouldn’t change anything.

“I know.” Erin sighed. “But I want to try.”

Fate had returned to its starting point. The next round of tragedy hadn’t happened yet, right? What if… she and Elder Winnie could find a way to break the contract?

Seeing her mind was made up, Tang Qiu said no more. She simply reached out and stroked Erin’s hair, saying softly, “Regarding the Blood Demon’s contract, perhaps Wolf Fang has a way. If you want to catch her, come find me at the Holy See. Lucille and I will help you.”

After speaking, she took out two scrolls and pressed them into Erin’s hands.

Erin hugged the scrolls, moved. “Thank you, Grace.”

Tang Qiu smiled, reminded her to be careful, and then turned to leave.

Erin watched until her figure disappeared from view before looking away. She gazed down at the scrolls and muttered to herself, “Does Wolf Fang really have a way…”

If she had known, she wouldn’t have spoken so harshly in the temple. Erin anxiously ran a hand through her hair.

The Morgan Family had fewer witches than the Garcia and Anderson families to begin with. The older witches were more interested in researching witchcraft, so the task of caring for the young witches left by the Anderson and Garcia families fell to the younger witches of the clan.

The young Anderson and Garcia witches were very lively. Having grown up watching the witches of their clans use dark magic, they were naturally more interested in it than in witchcraft.

But this put the Morgan Family witches in a difficult position, as they were more skilled in witchcraft. When faced with the little witches’ questions, they often couldn’t provide answers. Although Erin didn’t know much dark magic either, she had been tricked by Glanna into learning a lot about it as a child, so the little witches were very happy to see her.

By the time Erin returned to the Morgan Family’s territory, the sky had completely darkened. A little witch ran out from the gate to greet her. Erin bent down and picked her up, walking inside while asking in a gentle voice, “Do you know where Elder Winnie is?”

The little witch hugged Erin’s neck and replied in a childish voice, “I know. She’s in the ‘Playground’ playing games with us.”

The ‘Playground’ was a place Elder Winnie had built specifically for the little witches to play in.

Erin carried the little witch toward the Playground. The little witch was a bit tired from playing. She rubbed her eyes and said, “Elder Winnie caught a dragon today. It’s really ugly, but it can fly.”

Erin froze for a second, surprised. “A dragon?”

The little witch nodded. She was still very interested in this little dragon, and her words came out faster. “Elder Winnie said it’s a dragon, but I think it looks like a big worm. But it can fly, and it can talk. I think its name is… Little Screw?”

“…Eros?”

The little witch blinked blankly. “I think that’s the name.”

Erin: “…”

How did Eros end up here?

Worried that something had happened in the Dark World that might affect the Statu Continent, Erin quickened her pace, carrying the little witch to the Playground. At a glance, she saw Eros, tied to a wooden board, surrounded by a dozen little witches, an expression of utter despair on her face.

…She never expected that this demonic dragon, whose power was only slightly less than Wolf Fang’s, would be treated like this here.

As soon as Erin appeared, the little witches surrounding Eros all scattered and ran toward her. Erin reached out and stroked the hair of the little witches who had run to her legs, then gestured for them to go play. She herself walked over to Eros, looked down for a moment, and called out tentatively, “Eros?”

Eros shot her a sideways glance and silently turned her head away.

The image of a great demonic dragon was ruined just like that. Humans weren’t cute at all.

“What are you doing here?” Seeing Eros’s reaction confirmed her identity, and Erin asked in shock.

Eros refused to communicate with her, hanging her head in silence.

Just as Erin was wondering what to do, Elder Winnie’s voice came from behind. “This demonic dragon has a seal on it. I don’t know who left it at our gate.”

She had been startled when she first saw Eros, too. Only after a closer look did she realize that nearly ninety percent of her power had been sealed.

Hearing that ninety percent of Eros’s power was sealed, Erin silently reached out and freed her from the board. Once free, Eros shrank into a small ball and jumped into Erin’s hood.

Facing Elder Winnie, who was giving her a peculiar look, Erin introduced Eros and briefly recounted what had happened in the Dark World.

Elder Winnie wasn’t particularly curious about the Dark World, but when she heard Erin mention Wolf Fang, she interrupted, “The Wolf Fang you speak of… do you mean the Dark God’s general?”

“Ah, yes, that’s her.” Erin subconsciously glanced toward the little witches and asked hesitantly, “Does Wolf Fang have a way to break the Garcia clan’s contract?”

Elder Winnie nodded and said gravely, “Like the Blood Demon, she is a general of the Dark God. If anyone has a way, it would have to be her.”

Elder Winnie herself had tried many methods without success. Then she thought, if even Elder Chelsea, who had known about it for a long time, couldn’t solve the contract, then she wouldn’t waste any more effort.

But she hadn’t given up. Wolf Fang… was the only hope of breaking the contract.

Erin scratched her head awkwardly. “Is that so…” She hesitated for a moment, hiding the fact that she and Wolf Fang had fallen out, and said quietly, “I’ll try to find her.”

Elder Winnie stared at Erin for a while, then sighed. “Don’t force yourself to do something difficult, Erin.”

Erin turned to look at the little witches playing together, the hesitation in her eyes replaced by gentleness. “I won’t, Elder Winnie.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find Wolf Fang.”

Elder Winnie watched her and shook her head slightly. After a moment, she suddenly asked, “Have you seen Glanna?”

Erin’s expression changed slightly. She shook her head in silence. She had only gone to see Vera.

“I buried Glanna and Noah together.” Elder Winnie’s tone was heavy as she mentioned them. “I think the two of them would be satisfied with this resting place.”

Erin lowered her gaze and said softly, “Glanna would definitely be very happy.” After all, compared to her disobedient daughter, Glanna had always valued her childhood friend, Noah, more.

When Erin heard the news of Glanna’s death from Tang Qiu, she was a little surprised. But when she later learned that Glanna had done it to hold back the Holy See for the Garcia clan, she became indifferent.

She wouldn’t be surprised by anything her mother did for Noah.

Erin had made her promise to Elder Winnie readily enough, but after leaving the Playground, her whole face scrunched up in distress.

…Where was she supposed to find Wolf Fang? The temple in the Dark World?

She had just told Wolf Fang not to come looking for her. And, for the sake of the Garcia clan’s contract, was she supposed to help Wolf Fang break her seal?

Otherwise, Erin couldn’t think of anything she had that would convince Wolf Fang to help the Garcia break the Blood Demon’s contract.

But what if Wolf Fang tried to invade the Statu Continent after the seal was broken?

Erin dragged her heavy feet, her head aching at the thought of these problems. She patted her hood and asked listlessly, “Eros, how did you get out of the Dark World?”

Eros crawled out of Erin’s hood and replied indignantly, “Wolf Fang must have ambushed me! I was sleeping in my territory, hugging a Dark Stone, and when I woke up, I was in this godforsaken place.”

Although all the monsters in the Dark World dreamed of one day leaving it, being thrown out with her dark power sealed was an absolute nightmare.

Hearing her mention Wolf Fang, Erin’s heart skipped a beat. She looked down and fiddled with her collar, pretending to be nonchalant as she asked, “Why would Wolf Fang throw you here?”

Eros said angrily, “How should I know.”

She wanted to ask the reason, too.

Erin rubbed her nose and comforted her, “Actually, the Statu Continent is pretty nice. As long as you don’t cause trouble, no one will catch you. If you want to go back to the Dark World, I’ll send you back when I get the chance.”

Eros snorted coldly. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly stopped. She stuck her head out and sniffed the air, her green eyes flashing. Her body tensed and shot out like an arrow.

Erin was startled, not knowing what was wrong with her, and hurried after her.

They were in a rather remote area with no witches living nearby. Seeing Eros about to disappear into the darkness, Erin quickly summoned a skeleton to carry her in pursuit.

The skeleton carried her through several bushes before finding Eros. Eros was using her tail to curl around stones on the ground and hurl them fiercely at a spot in the darkness. Hearing the noise, she looked back and complained to Erin, “Wolf Fang is hiding nearby! She’s skulking around, up to no good.”

Erin froze, surprised. “Wolf Fang is here?”

Eros dropped the stone and jumped onto Erin’s head, saying angrily, “Of course she is! Who else would have thrown me here.”

Erin: “…”

Although Eros kept saying Wolf Fang had thrown her here, Erin hadn’t actually believed it.

How could Wolf Fang do something so pointless? Besides, back in the Moon Beast’s stomach, she could tell Wolf Fang didn’t care for Eros.

“How could she be here…” Erin muttered to herself, but still waved her bone staff. Specks of green light fell from the sky, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

Erin scanned the area with the faint light but saw nothing. She shook her head and was about to leave with Eros when she caught a glimpse of a figure emerging from the darkness, causing her to instantly halt the skeleton’s movements.

Perched on Erin’s head, Eros’s eyes widened, and she shrieked, “Wolf Fang!”

Wolf Fang emerged from the darkness, her hood obscuring half her face, making her expression unreadable. A gray light flashed, and Eros found she couldn’t make a sound. Furious, she jumped down and continued to pick up stones to throw at Wolf Fang, but she only dared to stay close to Erin, not straying too far.

Eros knew that as long as she stayed by Erin’s side, Wolf Fang wouldn’t dare do anything to her.

Erin hadn’t expected Wolf Fang to actually be here. Seeing her appear, she froze completely. “You…”

Wolf Fang looked up, her gray eyes fixed on Erin. Perhaps it was the dim light that made her gaze seem dark. Erin met her eyes for a moment, then stammered, “Wh-why did you s-send Eros here?”

Wolf Fang glanced at Eros and said flatly, “Don’t you like her?”

She thought bringing Eros to Erin would make Erin a little happier.

Erin was stunned for a moment. She looked down at Eros, completely baffled by Wolf Fang’s words. “I don’t like her.”

To her, this was just a demonic dragon she had encountered a few times. If her dark power hadn’t been sealed, Erin’s first reaction upon seeing her wouldn’t have been surprise, but worry.

Wolf Fang’s eyes flickered. She silently raised her hand, and a black vortex appeared beside Eros. Before Eros could react, it swallowed her whole and vanished.

Wolf Fang lowered her hand and said softly, “I sent her back.”

Erin: “…”

She felt a little sorry for Eros now.

The night wind was biting. Erin tightened her cloak and broke the silence. “What are you doing here?”

Wolf Fang pressed her lips together, averted her gaze to a nearby tree, and said in a low voice, “You threatened me, so I had no choice but to come find you.”

“Huh?” Erin blinked. “I threatened you?”

“…Only you can break the seal, but you’re unwilling to help me, so I had to come find you.”

“That’s a threat?”

“Yes.”

Erin thought about it seriously, then shook her head. “I didn’t threaten you. On the contrary, you’re so powerful, if you wanted to break the seal, you could have just kidnapped me.”

After saying this, her gaze on Wolf Fang became wary. “You didn’t come here with that intention this time, did you?” Erin took out the scrolls Tang Qiu had given her and clutched them in her hand.

Wolf Fang: “…”

She raised a hand to rub her brow, her tone carrying a hint of imperceptible frustration. “I won’t capture you.”

If she had really wanted to capture Erin, she would have done it long ago.

Although Wolf Fang said that, Erin didn’t let go of the scrolls. Recalling her conversation with Elder Winnie, Erin hesitated for a moment before asking, “Can you break the contract the Blood Demon left on the Garcia clan?”

Wolf Fang’s hand, which was pressing on her brow, paused. She looked up at Erin. “I can.”

Erin’s eyes lit up. “Really? Then can you help me…”

Before she could finish, Wolf Fang nodded in agreement. She lowered her eyes and said softly, “…It might take some time.”

“That’s fine, as long as it can be broken.” Erin gave Wolf Fang her first smile of the day, but it quickly vanished as she asked suspiciously, “Why would you…”

“You have leverage over me. I have no choice but to help you.” Fearing Erin would catch on, Wolf Fang quickly changed the subject. “Can you let me see the Garcia clan members?”

“Ah, yes.” Erin gestured for Wolf Fang to follow her. She looked at Wolf Fang’s calm demeanor, which didn’t at all resemble someone being blackmailed into helping, and frowned.

Wolf Fang’s words sounded plausible, but upon closer thought, they didn’t hold up at all.

With Wolf Fang’s power, would she willingly be threatened? Erin observed Wolf Fang suspiciously for a long time but still couldn’t figure out what she was getting at.

Wolf Fang noticed Erin’s gaze and simply took off her hood, letting Erin scrutinize her. Her expression was as usual, but the tips of her ears, hidden by her hair, were slightly red.

It was the first time she had ever been so shameless as to cling to someone’s side.

Wolf Fang glanced at Erin from the corner of her eye, still finding it surreal that this little witch beside her could occupy her entire mind.

But it was indeed happening.

In the temple, when she heard Erin tell her not to look for her again, she had felt a very real sense of panic.

She had followed Erin back to the Statu Continent. Seeing her sad and upset, Wolf Fang had been flustered and helpless. In the end, she ran to the Dark World and kidnapped Eros, all just in the hope that seeing the little demonic dragon would make Erin a bit happier.

The foolish things Wolf Fang had done since waking up seemed to outnumber the years of her ten-thousand-year life.

She was clearly only interested in battle.

Erin directed the skeleton to carry her through the bushes. Wolf Fang watched the small figure sitting on the skeleton and suddenly called out, “Erin.”

Erin turned her head on the skeleton, looking at her quizzically.

“The reason the Dark Stones in the temple took on your appearance…” Wolf Fang took a deep breath and said softly, “is because of me.”

“My soul form at the time wasn’t strong enough to last for five thousand years, so I went to the Dark World and gathered Dark Stones to use the residual power of the Dark God within them to sustain my soul form for longer.”

“The Dark Stones were with me for too long. They sensed my longing, and so they took on that form.”

Saying these words felt harder to Wolf Fang than fighting a god, but she still earnestly emphasized, “It was my longing.”

That’s right, her longing, not Little Fur Ball’s longing, even though Little Fur Ball was her.

After receiving Little Fur Ball’s memories, everything about Erin seemed to be engraved in her mind. Whenever she closed her eyes, she would think of Erin.

Those memories appeared before her eyes, one after another, repeating tirelessly. At some point, Erin’s joys and sorrows began to pull at her heartstrings.

At first, she only saw Erin as a little witch who could break her seal in the future. But somewhere along the way, her thinking began to change. She reviewed Little Fur Ball’s memories over and over, and she began to envy that non-sentient version of herself.

Little Fur Ball just ate and slept by Erin’s side, but Wolf Fang found those days so interesting that she wanted to experience them herself.

For five thousand years in the Dark World, she had only two things on her mind: one matter and one person. The matter was invading the Statu Continent after breaking her seal, and the person was Erin.

But when she awoke from her slumber, when she truly saw Erin standing before her, Wolf Fang realized that this person was so much more important to her than that matter.

So important that when she was by Erin’s side, she couldn’t even remember that she was supposed to invade the Statu Continent.

Wolf Fang’s gaze was deep. Erin looked down, uncomfortable, her heart suddenly pounding violently because of her words. She unconsciously pressed a hand to her chest and blinked. “What do you mean by all this?”

Wolf Fang patted the skeleton. The skeleton continued forward with Erin. Walking alongside, Wolf Fang’s face returned to its usual impassiveness. “Nothing. I was just answering the question you asked me before.”

Her tone was flat, but Erin felt it was somehow different from before.

“You said you weren’t Little Fur Ball…”

Wolf Fang thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Actually, I am.” Little Fur Ball was her soul form, so it wasn’t wrong to say that.

Erin looked at her suspiciously, but her eyes were bright, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. “Even if you say that, I won’t help you break the seal.”

“I won’t invade the Statu Continent.” Wolf Fang glanced at Erin, the corner of her mouth twitching into a slight smile before she quickly suppressed it. “If you don’t believe me, you can wait until my soul form is about to dissipate before you decide whether to break the seal.”

“Your soul form will dissipate?” Erin’s eyes widened, and she asked with some concern, “When?”

Wolf Fang thought for a moment and replied, “In five thousand years, I suppose.”

Erin: “…”

She wouldn’t even live for five thousand years.

“Then how long will it take to break the Garcia clan’s contract?”

“Five thousand years.”

Erin glared. “Are you messing with me?”

Wolf Fang’s lips curved, and a faint smile colored her gray eyes. “No.”

She just wanted to stay by this person’s side for five thousand years… Wolf Fang looked at Erin’s fuming expression, her gaze deepening. She needed to ease the longing of the past five thousand years.

As for everything else… she had plenty of time to take things slow.