86 Witch Gathering

[Author Note: The witches have been given more of a description update, names and some have had some slight changes in other areas like the witch named Pandora being renamed as Willow.]

The half demon siblings belonging to Blush were not the only ones to begin settling in to their new lives and routine.

There were some places within the capital that old man Arbor had been making his own moves so that he could help keep a steady supply of materials and books coming to Blush while working on his own business and research.

The witches had settled on the same land as Blush so they kept themselves busy with studying.

It was just another day of them working on some things set by Blush or working on their own projects but they had gathered together for a meeting.

Around the table were a total of six people which were Blush, Maple, Elm, Holly, Willow and Grimwood.

Elm was the oldest among them and had wrinkled skin, grey hair and brown eyes.

She was the witch who had been helping to work on some potions and helped with any other areas of research related to herbs or magic.

Maple was thirteen years old and had a light tan, wild medium length red hair and blue eyes.

She was the eldest disciple of Elm and had been taking over a lot of the duties as a potion researcher for Elm.

Holly was seven years old and had pale skin, grey eyes and had her long purple hair in a side ponytail on the left while her long hair was left to cover her right eye.

She was the youngest disciple of Elm and had been absorbing the fundamentals of magic very quickly.

Willow was in her mid twenties and had brown eyes with long green hair that had been tied up loosely and was tied up near the end too.

She was the witch that had the highest magic power among those that Blush had recruited among them and specialised in inheritance magic and magic manipulation.

Grimwood was in her thirties and had black eyes with long blue hair that was pulled up into a bronze crown then flowed down her back from there.

She was the witch in charge of artefact, ley line, supernatural and formation based research.

Each of them either had names of trees or plants which could also he their witch name or alias but Blush had known them by those names since she had met them so she had not asked if they had any other names previously.

Grimwood was the more reserved and quiet one of the group, her aura and choice of clothing that were robes had been similar to taoist robes helped to add to her overall mood.

Maple and Holly were the youngest and had a more innocent look about them but Maple had a slightly wilder look while Holly was more child-like.

Willow had more of an exotic aura and feel about her that was further added to once her choice of clothing and hairstyle was put together, rather than looking similar to a witch, she looked more like a female djinn or dressed in a similar way.

Elm was dressed simply with a pointed witch hat but her appearance looked weaker and paler than before.

Elm coughed and got the attention of everyone. "I know that this may be a little of a shock to you all but I have to let you all know this. I think that I have done enough now to be able to leave my students behind without worrying about their future.

I have made the preparations needed and have come to a decision to pass on. I know that Blush had mentioned the option of extending my lifespan but it is not really all that much worth it.

If you do extend my life then there will not be as many years gained and I am already not in the best condition already. I was never really interested in living beyond my years anyways and this environment has only helped me make my preparations."

Maple silently clenched her fists under the table and cried out. "Master, can you not reconsider?"

Holly had tears in her eyes and begged. "Please master, please do not leave us!"

Blush was silent for a while and then spoke up. "I cannot convince you huh?"

Elm shook her head. "It is enough to see my students flourish and to be in a safe environment."

Blush had been keeping tabs on them and had come to notice the strangeness of Elm early on but could not interfere with her decision.

Elm was already in her later years and many in her age range would have already died.

Even if she was given many more years to live, that did not remove the deterioration her body had undergone as she had aged.

Any health problems that had been gained or potential problems that could arise would not be removed and could cause her death unexpectedly one day.

If there was around one to fifteen years left in her life then that could only be increased based on how long that was in the life of a demon or other races.

The serums and pills produced by Blush could not grant an extra one hundred or more years to every person when they were given a demon or devil lifespan.

The older the person that took it, the less years that could be gained but if someone young had taken them then they could gain a very long lifespan that would allow them to outlive most humans so long as they did not die of other causes.

If a humans lifespan was five and it could be increased to twenty five at most then taking it at the age of two would miss out on around ten years while fifteen years of life would remain.

Blush may have been able to make a serum like that which could extend others lifespans but it could not improve how their bodies had aged already or could not make them live forever without dying from natural causes.

The only resource that could be used to allow Elm to live longer had not been found yet and it was unknown how long she would live before it was discovered.

They had only made it to the capital to settle down for a little while until they found a way to move elsewhere but that needed a way to transport people.

Preparations needed to be made for that so Elm would not be able to wait that long unless she chose to gamble on Blush's serum.

Willow knit her brows and said. "So that is why you were studying those magics so enthusiastically."

Elm nodded in response to the question. "Un. I have made every preparation so can I leave my two students to you all to look after? I promise they will not be a burden to you. Maple will definitely be a help to you Blush and Holly is very talented so she will make a great witch."

Grimwood sighed. "It is a shame that neither of them have taken any interest in what I do. I might have taken them in."

Blush stood up from her seat and led the way towards the door. "Follow me and I will prepare a closed off and quiet room."

Elm turned to Holly. "You come with me."

Holly followed quietly as Maple watched them leaving but quickly rushed up to hug Elm while crying.

It gave everyone a chance to say their heartfelt goodbyes and anything that they wished to say.

Elm gave one final farewell as she entered a room filled with candles that were placed all around. "Take good care of my disciples. I prefer to go this way anyways since it is on my own terms so no need to be sad about it."

Once the door to the room was closed behind her and Holly, Holly was made to sit down in the middle of the room. "Master?"

Elm started gathering her magic power in preparation for the spell. "Do not be frightened child. This is my gift to you."

Seeing that Holly was remaining silent, Elm was able to concentrate and placed her hand on the back of Holly's head then released her spell.

Her magic power surrounded both of their bodies then gradually closed in around them until it condensed near her palm.

Elm slowly became paler as the magic power started to disappear like her own life force was fading too. "Teaching you two was the greatest joy of my life… farewell."

One final release of bright light had shone around their bodies until her body had become weak then fell down lifeless on the ground.

Holly could feel the more powerful magic power within her that had been passed onto her by Elm by the inheritance magic spell but she did not have the time to pay attention to that.

She turned around and held her master close. "Waaah. Master! No.. why…"

The lifeless body lay there quietly and did not answer her cries but it had a satisfied smile left on its lips which showed no regrets in the last moments of life.

Once the cries were heard from within the room, Blush and the other witches entered the room to see the dead body of Elm.

A funeral was prepared for Elm shortly after so that the two disciples could mourn their loss and the others that knew her for a shorter time could say their farewells.

The first official Alchemi witch gathering had ended on a sad note and had reduced their numbers from six to five but it had given Holly the gift of Elm's magic power through the inheritance magic.

Her magic power had grown and she was still very young so her talents would help towards growing that power further.