Black Briars

Darn it, why do witches always have to hide in the heaven-forsaken places like a forest!? It’s been several hours since I saved Ezekiel.

“Should’ve brought a Ranger along for this trip.”

I am once again reminded of my old Ranger companion, Kellian, and her invaluable skill.

The air is cold, not the kind on a windy day or low temperature. The kind of unnatural cold that sends a chill down the spine. The instinct of fear.

Several minutes go by and I finally encounter the source of my fear when I bend around the corner.

“What the?”

The vines here were far larger than before. Towering as high as the treetops, dense black briars thick as carriage wheels jutted overhead, thorns like a sea urchin's spines.

With the amount of briars I’m seeing, I should call her the Briar Witch. These plants sure look dangerous, though the powers don’t seem to behave in a hivemind. Perhaps these are simply the side-effects of her powers.

As a rule of thumb, Witches are given titles based on their powers. Such as the previously mentioned Witch of Flames who burned down the capital long ago.

Putting my musings aside, I carefully proceed deeper into the accursed forest now made even more godforsaken with the choking atmosphere of the briars.

Much more space than I expected from the outside.

A canopy of briars shrouds what little sunlight pierces through from the treetops. I marched through the remaining gaps.

Compared to the path I was walking earlier, it’s like comparing a sapling to a grown tree.

Eventually I reached a massive wall of a vine with thorns jutting out from every angle like an oversized sea urchin. Each thorn the length of a dagger, some surpass that of a longsword.

I look side to side, everywhere I look the space is choked with this detestable weed.

‘Ha…’

Nowhere to go but ahead.

I examine the thorns. No barbs or serrations, a perfect spike. I grab one with hesitation. The plant does not respond.

Next, I give it a tug, the thorn holds and the briars don’t respond to my actions. Having confirmed this thing isn’t sentient I grab two thorns and lift my feet onto two others. Thorn by thorn, I climb my way up.

After making it to the top of the wall, I look down to see only even more briars, and an agonizingly long drop.

“Heavens above.”

It ain’t that far down, but my stomach is tying itself into knots. Just the sheer view makes me lightheaded.

If master Vera saw me quivering like a cat from a mere four-stories, she’d laugh her ass off. Come to think of it, it’s because of her I developed such an irrational aversion to predicaments like the one I’m currently in.

Swallowing my fear, I climbed down to the other side at a much, MUCH slower pace than I climbed up.

After several nerve-wracking minutes, my feet touch solid ground and I let out a sigh of relief.

Back on land, I take in the surroundings that eluded me from above.

Surprisingly, everything was… normal.

The briars hang from the trees and wrap around shrubbery, but there is much more room to move without being poked.

So far everything Ezekiel and Master Vera says matches up. My best chance was a clean shot. One moment. That's all I'd get.

With no hostile forces present I use a detection spell. At times like these, it’s better to take a gamble than play by the book. At first, I was reluctant to use mana, but since the briars didn't respond when I grabbed and stepped on them, I figured it was worth the risk.

Closer than I thought, and it’s just one presence. Throwing half my caution to the wind, I move through the forest as stealthily as possible. The closer I got to the epicenter the more dense the briars became. It’s like peeling layers from an onion. As soon as you pull out the outer skin, there’s a second skin underneath to be peeled.

I try my best not to step or touch the briars, but they were everywhere. With how much they’re dragging down my pace, I give up and draw my sabre, using it as an impromptu weedwacker. No doubt this’ll wear down the blade, but I have other weapons to rely on.

Then I felt it. A tremendous pressure beyond the trees.

Quickly traversing through the vegetation, I behold a scene from a painting of a twisted artist’s imagination.

Out in a large clear opening a long ebony-haired girl in a tattered dress curled up in a ball, her body restrained by briars. The whole picture resembles a fairy trapped in a cage.

Without a second thought, I seized the opportunity.

‘Click!’

I pull the trigger six times, each accompanied by a loud blast. The distance was long, but my aim was true. All of my bullets hit home, piercing her in various vital areas, one even went through her head.

And yet… She lifts her head and stares straight into my eyes from several hundred feet away.

Fuck, of course she doesn’t die from a headshot, why wouldn’t she?

“STAY AWAY!” The scream nearly bursts my eardrums, throwing my senses off-balance. Feeling a slight tremble beneath my boots, I instinctively dodge to the right.

A pillar shoots out of the ground. Looking at it closer, it’s a massive pillar of intertwining briars.

Without skipping a beat, another column of death bursts out of the ground. I pivot left as a pillar explodes from the ground. Another bursts inches from my face, I feel the thorns' wind. My sleeve tears. Blood.

Maybe I should’ve taken master Vera’s advice.

So far I’ve yet to be hit, but I can only keep this pace up so far.

‘Thwoosh!’

A giant briar knocks my pilgrim hat to the ground. I roll, snatch it, and jam it back on, but another lashes out from the ground immediately after.

Another one comes at me from behind. I hold out a free hand and shoot a Fireball at it. The briar ignites in a shower of sparks and thrashes like a dying serpent, its screams somehow worse than the silence.

Damnit, I was hoping I could start a forest fire. At least magic works on these plants, even if it’s only a drop of water in a parched man’s throat.

The only thing I have left is my ‘ability.’

Goddamnit, I’m an actual dumbass. How could I have forgotten!? I should’ve used it from the start!

That’s right! A mage’s source of power is their mana. It is absorbed within a core that’s basically a second heart.

Hypothetically, Witches should also have a mana core to store and use magic.

If I can destroy her core, I’ll be able to win.

Though there’s one problem, my ability requires me to expend a lot of energy and concentration to destroy the core.

As I plan my next move, I barely manage to duck as another one of those accursed plants targets my blind spot.

Screw it, it’s do or die at this point.

As a massive briar strikes from above, I launch myself into the air, using the pillar as a springboard. Thorns tear at my jacket, my arms, I'm bleeding but I don't stop. I weave, duck, roll, each movement a calculated gamble. One mistake and I'm shredded. I charge toward the Witch at the center of this mess, barely dodging the briars that rain down on me.

Within thirty meters, I activate my Blessing and pull out my freshly reloaded revolver.

My eyes shine as I activate my Blessing and prepare for a counterattack. But as I aim my revolver, I see something impossible. Something I’ve never seen throughout my career.

Hunh?

Impossible.

This can’t be.