At some point, gurgling sounds began to rise from beneath the lake, which had originally been frozen solid. Along with the sound, Whisper Element rapidly spread across the ice toward the entire lake.
The two Witches ignored the "little joke" from earlier and stepped directly in front of Shade. Dark clouds drifted in from nowhere, obscuring the Three Moons. As darkness fell all around them, the ice shattered, revealing black water beneath. Then, from within that lake water that seemed to have turned into ink, a short figure emerged onto the surface, merged with the shadows and impossible to make out clearly:
"Very interesting."
Though the voice was hoarse, it was clearly that of an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy. Yet despite sounding like a child, it radiated intense malice from head to toe. Even its voice caused instinctive discomfort:
"I never expected that in this modern age, long after the Fifth Epoch, I would see two Great Witches at once."
It gave a disdainful snort:
"I know what you want from me. You women are always like this. You take whatever you want and never care what anyone else thinks."
It seemed to harbor deep resentment toward Witches:
"However, I am interested in malicious jokes from Witches. Since you found me and pleased me, I shall naturally give you a trial. Right now, there is something full of malice hiding in this city. Yes, an Evil Spirit Demon from the Third Epoch. Don't tell me you don't even know that."
None of the three spoke.
"Find it and defeat it. Any method of defeating it is allowed, even playing cards. Once you complete the trial, any one of you may tell a joke to a glass of water, and I will appear."
After saying that, it plunged directly into the