Chapter 90: Proof of the Witch
Selka gulped, her throat suddenly dry. Kael’s eyes narrowed, flashing with a sharp, offended glare at the implication that his mate was being tested.
But before he could growl, Selka firmly grabbed his wrist, her grip tight and warning, pinning him to the spot to keep him calm.
"Yes, of course. Please see the Witch yourself and come to your own conclusion," Selka said smoothly, forcing her voice to remain steady.
Externally, she looked unshakable, but internally, her mind was racing. I spoke so confidently back there that Nuan is the legendary Witch, but now we actually have to prove it. If they think I lied, the whole pack is destined for doom.
Kael gestured rigidly toward his alpha den, his voice low. "Nuan is inside my den. She has been sleeping for days."
Zuri and Amara looked at each other, their massive amber eyes scanning the sixty wolves standing tense and silent around the clearing. With a mutual, heavy nod, they decided to comply.
BOOM!
Two massive, explosive puffs of grey smoke, heavy with thick moisture droplets, erupted in the center of the clearing. When the smoke cleared, the two sisters stood in their human forms.
But despite shifting, they were still a staggering eight feet tall! Their bodies were incredibly bulky, thick-skinned, and heavy-set. To make the appearance even more intimidating, their heads still retained their long, prehensile elephant trunks, swaying slowly as they adjusted to their bipedal stance.
Ugh... Selka looked at their colossal human frames, then glanced over at the relatively narrow mouth of the alpha den.
"Uhm... sorry, I don’t mean to offend you two, but..." Selka cleared her throat, trying her absolute best not to sound rude. "I don’t think you can physically fit inside the den, even in this form."
Amara flicked her trunk in pure annoyance. "Tsk... that is exactly why I never transform into this shape! It is so incredibly embarrassing," she grumbled through the link. With another poof of heavy smoke and water droplets, she instantly shifted back into her grand elephant form.
"Hn? There is absolutely nothing embarrassing about it, Sister," Zuri communicated calmly, remaining completely comfortable in her massive, eight-foot human form. She looked down at Selka, her voice booming slightly. "It seems you will have to bring the woman out of the den."
Selka nodded and glanced sharply at Kael.
Understanding the gravity of the moment, Kael gave a firm nod and signaled a few of the strongest hunter wolves to follow him.
Moving with extreme gentleness, they stepped into the shadows and carefully carried Nuan’s fragile body out into the moonlight.
Selka and Koda scrambled ahead, quickly laying down a pristine, thick bed of massive green leaves onto the dirt so Nuan wouldn’t touch the bare ground.
The moment the hunters laid her down safely in front of the two giants, Kael’s protective instincts flared.
He bared his fangs and let out a vicious, guttural growl at the wolves who had helped him. "Wash your hands! Right now! No one is allowed to smell like Nuan! Wash them, wash them!"
The hunters jolted at the Alpha’s growl, nodding frantically as they sprinted to scrub their hands.
With the space cleared, Zuri and Amara focused their intense gazes downward.
They stared at the smooth-skinned, furless, featherless, and scaleless creature.
To them, she looked like a completely pure skin-and-bone being, lying entirely helpless and unconscious on the leaves.
Kael immediately sat cross-legged right beside Nuan’s head, his frame tense and radiating a protective, warning aura.
Amara lowered her massive elephant snout, bringing her long trunk just inches away from Nuan’s face, inhaling deeply to read her.
"She doesn’t smell like any creature I have ever encountered in the jungle," Amara noted, her cold eyes softening a fraction. "She smells entirely unique. Her body is unique... just as you claimed, Selka."
Selka let out a long, heavily relieved sigh, her shoulders dropping.
"But that alone is not enough for us to blindly believe she is the Witch Aestra," Amara countered, her voice dropping into a stern rumble. "Is there anything else present that can definitively prove her witchcraft?"
"Ah! Well... her tools!" Selka said quickly.
Koda didn’t need to be told twice. He sprinted back to his den and carefully emerged with Nuan’s sun-dried clay pottery.
Kael likewise stepped into his den, bringing out her steel knife, the smoothly carved wooden bowl, and tongs.
Both of them carefully placed the items on the leaves in front of the two giants.
Amara extended her heavy trunk, about to scoop up one of the clay pots to inspect it, but Koda boldly stepped into her path, blocking her trunk with his arm.
He let out a sharp, defensive growl. "Too fragile! It will break!" he warned, his eyes fierce.
Zuri let out a soft rumble of amusement. "Oh, little one... then can you place it in my hand instead?" She lowered her giant, human-like hand onto the dirt, turning her massive palm wide open.
"Be very careful," Koda muttered strictly, picking up the pots one by one and gently setting them onto her palm.
Zuri raised her massive hand near her face, analyzing the pottery. In her giant grasp, the bowls looked like tiny nutshells.
"Hmm... what weird, intricate things. I haven’t seen any beast craft anything like this," Zuri said, tilting her hand so Amara could get a closer look.
"Yes... it is true. That craft is indeed very strange and precise," Amara admitted, her ears twitching.
Zuri gently set her palm back down on the ground, allowing a protective Koda to quickly snatch his precious pottery back.
"Put that other thing on my hand," Zuri said, her eyes shifting to the steel blade.
Kael picked up the knife and placed it on her palm. Zuri ran her thick finger carefully over the edge, observing the impossible sharpness of the metal before handing it right back to Kael.
Amara looked back down at Nuan’s unmoving face, her voice remaining strict. "This craft is legendary, yes... but it is still not enough to prove she is the Witch who can command the elements. If only she could prove it herself..."
A flash of anger sparked in Selka’s chest, but she forcefully swallowed it down, her voice tight. "How is she supposed to prove anything when she can’t even open her eyes?!"
Kael, completely ignoring the giants, leaned down and pressed a soft, desperate kiss against Nuan’s pale cheek.
His voice was a broken whisper. "Nuan... please. Can you show them your other tools?"
Deep within Nuan’s dark, locked subconscious mind, the blue system grid flickered violently as it monitored the escalating tension in the real world. The interface logged the elephants’ doubts and Kael’s desperate plea.
[ Sigh... Host, you seriously better collect a harem of the most handsome, devoted mates after this. You owe me a colossally big one. ]
[ Initiating Emergency System Overwrite... ]
[ Emptying Inventory Slot: Weapons. ]
BZZZZZ-BZZZZZZ!
Right beside Nuan’s resting body, the air suddenly fractured. A brilliant, blinding cluster of neon-blue pixels erupted out of thin air, spinning in a mini digital cyclone.
With a soft, wooden clatter, a dozen finely crafted, sharp-tipped arrows and two beautifully carved composite bows materialized out of absolutely nothing, resting perfectly on the green leaves.
Seeing objects literally manifested out of the empty air, Amara’s and Zuri’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.
Amara stepped back, her massive frame trembling slightly as she stared at the weapons in absolute awe.
"Witchcraft...!" Amara murmured, her trunk freezing in mid-air. "It is truly her..."