"You're just letting them leave?"
"That doesn't seem like your style."
A barefoot "Little Witch" in a slightly oversized robe stood on the branch of a Soul-Returning Poplar, watching a hunting team in Danhaag uniform robes slowly withdraw with the Mutated Huo Dou. She couldn't help glancing at the banshee beside her.
Nikita toyed with the bracelet on her wrist, which the Three-headed Black Flood Dragon had transformed into. She sat reclining at the end of the branch, her long legs dangling loosely, her eyes fixed somewhat absently on the distant surface of the Silent River. There was no telling what she was thinking.
Farther away, at the limit of the two banshees' vision, an army of monsters pouring out of the Silent Forest and the Dreamlands surged endlessly toward the town across the river.
Ghost Chariot Birds, gale birds, Shadhavar Birds, and Chimeras circled low overhead, while Winged Tigers, Qiong Qi, Gu Eagles, and Dang Kang raced through the woods. There were powerful Mountain Giants, Two-headed Ogres, trolls, and Green Dragons, as well as weak kappas and Water Monkeys. Demon Ghosts, ghouls, Cold Spiders, and Gog Giants had come by way of the Dreamlands; Flying Hydras, Colours Out of Space, and even Hounds of Tindalos had descended from the starry sky, among many others.
They came in all shapes and sizes, in a bewildering variety.
Many of these magical creatures had undergone more than one mutation. The Mutated Huo Dou captured by that Danhaag enforcement hunting team, for instance, had three tails and two heads. Its eyes were not the deep red of an ordinary Huodou, but almost silvery white, and as it roared, it spat streams of freezing ice flame.
Had Nikita still been the witch studying at First University, the sight of so many exotic magical creatures