53 Wisps

It was not always the best idea to publicly point out people for doing wrong when there was no evidence to support those claims especially when those people already had a clean image.

It would lead to people defending them and getting in the way of any kind of possible investigation that could take place.

In a worst case scenario, it could turn to a public protest or a violent one that could an uprising.

Many innocents would be caught up in their act of defending someone and venting their anger towards her or Visa City that they would fail to realise how far they had taken things.

Things said and done could not be so easily taken back once it happened and those they supported may have not have been worthy enough of their trust and support.

Mallory had it easy the first time due to her exposing the problems within the village and providing some eye witness accounts that led to the capture of the criminals and the collecting of evidence within their homes in the form of a curse booklet or the daughter of the family that had been behind the curses.

Others would be more careful and would use any given opportunity to turn the situation back onto her to allow them to cause chaos within the village so they could cause further damage to the relations between the village and the city or to escape when everyone was distracted.

Mallory could not leave the village alone completely when there was a potential danger within but she was able to see that many of the dangers that had appeared were linked to certain areas where there was a water source.

It meant that those behind the harm and death that would follow after she left would not be done by them personally.

Ever since the bonfire dance, Mallory seemed to have gained a better understanding of her own abilities and about the auras so she was able to distinguish some of their connections better.

When a murderous or bad karma type of aura was becoming more visible then it meant that they were closer to taking action and when they did do so, the aura was absorbed by their present one to become much thicker from the sins they had accumulated.

It was the same for the water sources and the deathly auras that were becoming more visible on everyone within the village as time passed.

When a person committed evil acts or harm to another or many then it would be heavier if more cruel or violent acts were done and when they did it personally so the aura would be far heavier.

It would be far heavier if they revelled in the cruelty they inflicted and if they stopped to watch the suffering take place but their auras were less heavy as if they would act in a way that did not harm others themselves but through the result of their interference with something before they left.

It did not take anything away from their sins if they acted that way but they had not done the act personally and left things for fate to decide if people would survive or not.

The aura was less heavy the less involvement they had with the connected harm they did so there were some people that had been indirectly involved that would accumulate some bad aura once something happened.

An example would be if they sold something or provided something to someone that could harm others even if they did not know of the details or if they knew what they were going to be used for.

The aura closest to their bodies was the result of their current actions while the outer layer that had yet to integrate with it was the result of the actions they would take or had a possibility to take unless a change or intervention took place to stop it.

The death had yet to envelop everyone and the sins of the actions had yet to fully integrate with the evil doers.

The people behind it did take action so they did gain a heavier aura that integrated with them but the result would never take place so the outer layer scattered from around them then that invisible aura flew towards Mallory in the form of the Excelia she gained.

The same happened to the aura that lingered around the outer parts of those that were about to die in the future after the talismans had activated.

The same happened whenever there was a strong aura of death, curse, poison or disease on someone then it had been removed before it completely integrated with their aura and caused permanent harm or even death.

Each of the dark auras flew towards her direction and once they made contact with her body, they seemed to have been purified and became very pure sources of energy that was referred to as Excelia.

If there were potential events that would happen further into the future after they escaped but Mallory caught them then the harm prevented would fly towards her too.

The more Excelia that she gathered, the closer she would be to fully unlocking her own potential and the better she could understand about her own powers or limitations.

Her tale as an Apotropaic was just beginning and so was the initial journey of the 'Little Witch' Mallory who was still just a level two.

There were so many adventures to be had and it all started from where she had made her new home and family that had come to accept her.

Her bad luck made it difficult to keep relationships whether they were friends or lovers and the only person that ever stuck around for long enough was her master during her previous life so Mallory was very happy and grateful to her familia and goddess for taking her in.

She was not certain how long those relationships would last but Mallory had started to dream a little bigger than before.

Even if it was a wish to live a normal life like everyone else then that was very difficult in her previous life.

She had yet to find true friends and a lover even when she reached an old age so she was very lonely once she had reached an older age.

Mallory was on her own with little support again and her misfortune caused her more problems the older and frailer she became.

Her reputation was never good but when her master was gone, it became worse and she was more well known for being the crazy superstition lady or the unlucky lady.

As Mallory was running towards the direction that the compass had pointed towards, she could see the tiny and dark see through wisps that rushed towards her before turning being cleansed. 'Is this what it is like for just me when actions are taken to gain Excelia or does this apply to others who have done heroic deeds or protected others? What about evil people then? Does their Excelia look as clear as mine or the heroes? Or is it heavily tainted?'

She could not view the Excelia that was stored within a person's body and her own so she could not tell the difference between her own power and others.

It was like the Falna of the gods had protected them from being pried into by others.

The only way Mallory would be able to see those things was if her own powers were equal to or surpassed a god.

Those blessed by the gods with a status were far more difficult to judge based on their combat abilities when their overall physique did not change that much so Mallory could not afford to hold back or underestimate anyone that could potentially be a hidden threat.

It was the same for her who had a smaller and slightly thinner body than others within her tribe that was the result of her poor upbringing so when she had become thirteen years old, she had not developed as well as other girls within her tribe.

There had been some improvements to her after she had joined the Seshat Familia but those improvements were not that large so it would lead to many underestimating her just like she could underestimate them.

Luckily Mallory had done her best to forage for food and she trained hard so she could survive the bullying or exclusion she received within her tribe so her situation was not as bad as it could have been.

The muscle on her body was enough to be considered as a slightly athletic or an active build but the height and shape of her body was still quite dainty or vulnerable so it let others not take her as seriously or to see her as a child so the 'little' in her current nickname 'Little Witch' was very suitable.

All those characteristics made Mallory look very cute to others while her style of dress added off more of a spiritual feeling that added to her cuteness.

The clothing on her body was well suited to the role of a shrine maiden or priestess while her long golden blonde hair had cheek-length sidelocks and frontal fringe that was cut so that her face was well framed and so that her sight was not that obstructed.

The back was left long and went down past her shoulders a little so it was not left too long to be grabbed or obstruct her as she was moving around or in combat but there were times when she did tie it up at the back.

Her hair was not completely straight and still had a little added wildness left within it so it did not turn out completely like she intended it to which was closed to a hime or shrine maiden style that was far more neat and clean looking but it had given her some similarity in hairstyle to a fanfiction character named Bowsette from Super Mario or Frederica Baumann from Re:Zero from her previous life's knowledge of different manga, games or anime.

The leopard printed ears and tail further added to her overall appeal along with her green eyes and her sharp teeth that completed the overall package.

She looked very neat and pretty compared to how unclean, underfed or wild looking she had looked in the past before she joined the Seshat Familia and lived within her tribe.

Mallory kept running until she finally reached one person that had been fleeing and wasted no time as she pedalled on her bike closer then threw out some kunai towards their legs.

"Argh."

Before they could overcome the pain inflicted to them and remove the kunai to apply a healing potion, Mallory leapt up from her bike and twirled Valis around until the back end came crashing down onto the back of them.

They were knocked out in one strike so Mallory went through her bag and started to pull them towards a tree before tying them up.

Their clothing and belongings were checked to remove anything before Mallory jumped back onto her bike and headed to another direction.

———

[Author Note: for some clarification, I have either forgot previous statements of her age and other features about her character description or those things have started to be changed for various reasons. E.g. developing the timeline, character designs and other things further but her personality, powers and relationships etc will remain the same. This was more of a chapter that went into those details more and further into the auras, Excelia and Falna. The current age of Mallory is thirteen and you will all find out which part of the timeline this story is at currently once certain events begin to reach her city but I do want to give her enough room to develop before the main timeline begins.]

[Additional note: Mallory had party members and followers now but there is room for future close friends and possibly a lover so suggestions about who they could be is always welcome or your suggestions can help contribute to an original character. E.g. race, gender, personality, affiliation, who they may look like when compared with another anime character.]