The cat blinked before meowing loudly in Veronica''s face. Then it hissed at the masked man, its fur standing on edge.


    It seemed like an ordinary cat, but she refused to be tricked. There was no way it was a plain old cat, even if nothing about the cat screamed that it was magical. A normal cat wouldn''t be running around. It had to be someone''s familiar.


    The masked man raised a hand in their direction. Veronica tensed, curling in on the cat. However, before he could do anything, something swooped down from the ceiling. An owl lashed out with its talon, trying to claw at his masked face. More animals made their appearance, rushing at the masked man like a tidal wave. She watched stunned at the numerous animals dogpiling him.


    Where were all of them coming from?


    Veronica hadn''t seen any familiars beside her own since she got there. She assumed that the other witches hadn''t brought them, leaving her the only one who did. There wasn''t a rule saying that familiars had to always trail after their witches. It was just more convenient to have them around instead of letting them lounge around back home.


    "What are you standing around for?" Veronica jolted and spun around to see one of the witches back on her feet. "Hit him with a spell already."


    She adjusted her grip on the cat so as not to drop it and aim her broomstick at the masked man. The witch who had shouted at her summoned vines to wrap around the man''s feet. In the back of Veronica''s head, she wondered how it was possible as she struggled to come up with a spell that wouldn''t harm the familiars.


    "What are you waiting for?" the witch barked.


    "I''ll hit them," Veronica snapped back as she jerked her head in the witch''s direction.


    "Y-Here he comes!"


    Veronica looked back in time to see all the familiars being flung back by a large gust of wind. She covered her face with the arm holding her broomstick. Her long hair whipped around as her clothes flapped and her hat flew away. Several of the animals landed near her feet.


    Fortunately, they didn''t look hurt. Familiars were made of sterner stuff than regular animals.


    When she removed her arm, her eyes widened at the sight of the masked man charging towards her. Even though she knew she wouldn''t be able to cast a spell fast enough—a wand wouldn''t have made a difference—she pointed her broomstick at him. His hand caught her by the throat. The cat and her broomstick fell to the floor as she grasped at the masked man''s arm. He still didn''t say a word, choosing to stare at her through his mask.


    I...I can''t breathe.


    Her legs kicked back and forth as she gasped desperately. Her vision swam as it became harder to breathe. Just as she felt her strength leave her arms, a fireball slammed into his mask. He immediately let go, dropping Veronica to the floor. She coughed and wheezed as she was finally able to breathe. Veronica glanced up at him and watched him defend himself against further fireballs.


    "You stay away from her!" a familiar voice shrieked.


    She turned her head to see Leta rushing at them with a furious expression on her face. Veronica had never seen her so angry before and flinched when Leta created a massive fireball and lobbed it at them. She somehow found the strength to scramble away and out of the blast radius. However, she was still blown off her feet and rolled across the ground.


    "Veronica!" Leta called out.


    Veronica groaned before shouting back, "I''m fine."


    Leta looked relieved, but she was immediately distracted by the masked man rushing at her. Seeing her friend being attacked, Veronica frantically scanned the place for her broomstick. Her eyes spotted it in the same place where she had been grabbed by the masked man. She ran over to pick up and turned around in time to see Leta get blasted into one of the walls.


    "Leta!" she screamed as she pointed her broomstick at the masked man.


    The masked man didn''t even flinch as he calmly looked her way. He lazily raised a hand, and Veronica was hit by a blast of wind. She flew through the air before her back crashed into the ground, knocking the air out of her. In a daze, she stared up at the ceiling. When she regained enough strength, she pushed herself up to see him grabbing a pair of witches. Without looking back, he ran back through the hole he had come from.


    "Hold it!" one of the witches shouted. "Get back here!"


    However, it was too late. He was already gone, taking two witches with him.


    Why had he taken those two witches? Did he know them somehow, or did it not matter which witches he grabbed as long as he grabbed two witches?


    She was ashamed to admit that she was glad that he hadn''t taken her or Leta. Even though they were her fellow witches, she would rather it be them than her or her friend.


    Stolen story; please report.


    The same witch who had been screaming was being held back from giving chase by the other witches. Veronica grimaced as she forced herself to her feet and pressed a hand on her aching stomach. A quiet meow drew her attention, and she glanced down at the black cat who had tried to attack the masked man. It meowed again before walking away. She reached out as if to call it back but stopped in midmotion.


    How was she supposed to get its attention? Say hey you?


    I don''t know its name. I wonder whose familiar it belongs to.


    After staring at the cat''s retreating form a little longer, Veronica focused her attention on the other witches. She hobbled over towards them, aiming for Leta, who had also gotten back on her feet. Everyone converged on one spot, still reeling from what just happened.


    <hr>


    "You need to calm down," the oldest witch started, only to be cut off by a scream of outrage.


    Bernardette—Veronica hadn''t realized it was her screaming this whole time—threw off the other witches as she shouted, "That man just kidnapped them! We have to save them!"


    "I know that, but you need to calm down. Chasing after them without a plan won''t help anyone."


    "No! The longer we wait, the farther they will get!"


    "Enough!" No one dared to speak a word as the witch continued, "I understand you''re upset and worried. We all are, but I''m responsible for all of you. We''ve all just seen a man capable of using magic that has never been heard of. We have no idea what else he can do."


    The only sounds after her impassioned speech were her heavy breathing and the familiars who had regained their wits making animal noises.


    A man capable of magic. It was completely outrageous. There had never been a case where a man could use magic in known history. It had always been women who could use magic.


    Whoever heard of a male witch?


    However, they had seen the proof right in front of their eyes. Even though he didn''t use a wand or show visible signs of casting magic, they couldn''t ignore how he could control the wind when attacking them. What was worse was that they had lost to him and lost two of their own to him.


    "Then what do we do?" one of the witches asked in a small voice.


    The oldest witch grimaced. "I''m sorry to say this, but we need to meet up with the other witches and figure out how to handle this development."


    Bernardette looked ready to argue, but Leta quickly stepped in and said, "I agree. I was lucky to escape the man who attacked my own group."


    This caught everyone''s attention as all eyes fell onto her, shock painting their expressions except for Veronica, who had suspected this was the case.


    The first to recover was the oldest witch, who asked, "What did you say?"


    "My group was fighting monsters when we suddenly attacked from behind. It was a man capable of using magic," Leta explained.


    "Why are you only mentioning it just now?" Bernardette demanded as she took a threatening step towards her.


    "I didn''t exactly have the time to. I arrived just as that horrible man was choking Veronica."


    Instantly, all eyes shifted to Veronica at the mention of her name. At the sudden attention she was receiving, she fidgeted while avoiding their looks.


    Fortunately, the oldest witch intervened and said, "Alright. This isn''t the time to be fighting. We need to work together, not fight against each other." Satisfied with what she saw, she focused her attention on Leta and asked, "Can you tell us anything about the man you encountered? Anything you can tell us might help us figure out what they want and how to deal with them."


    Leta shook her head as she said, "I don''t really know much. I was lucky to get away thanks to Deville." At the mention of Deville, everyone''s expression turned grim. "She was able to protect me from the crazy man. He seemed obsessed with kidnapping young witches."


    "Wait. Weren''t the ones they snatched the youngest?" someone whispered.


    Veronica''s eyes bulged out of their sockets.


    Hold on. If they target the youngest witches, wouldn''t that mean I''m a prime target? I''m the only twelve-year-old here.


    She couldn''t believe her luck. Of course everything had to go horribly wrong at her first witching hour party. Nothing of this sort had ever happened at other witching hour parties. At least not that she had heard of. It was almost like her presence had caused all of this to happen, but that was ridiculous.


    How could it be her fault?


    It wasn''t like she purposely brought them there or anything. However, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself it had nothing to do with her, a part of her had doubts. After all, this was the first time the witches ever had an incident in who knew how long. Veronica had also been targeted earlier, and if it weren''t for a certain magical talking cat, she would have been dragged away never to be seen again.


    A warm tugged on her sleeve, pulling Veronica out of her dark thoughts.


    Leta''s worried expression greeted her as she asked, "Are you alright, Veronica?" Without waiting for Veronica to respond, Leta continued, "I was so worried when I couldn''t find you anywhere. I thought that the crazy man had taken you."


    "O-oh, I''m okay. I got lucky," Veronica said.


    "Hold it," one of the witches said. "Don''t you find it suspicious that she was able to get away safely?"


    As Leta turned away from Veronica, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "What are you saying?"


    "I''m saying something is off here. You said you got separated and were nearly kidnapped by a man. Where was she in all this?" Veronica''s heart dropped at the sight of the finger pointed in her direction. "Did she leave all of you behind to save herself?"


    Veronica stiffened. "That''s—"


    "Not to mention we found her completely unharmed. How did she avoid all the monsters without a single scratch on her?"


    Even though no one else was saying a single word, Veronica could see and feel them judging her.


    It was suspicious that she had ended up there looking no worse for wear. If she had encountered monsters, she should have looked scuffed up or at least appear worn out from fighting off the monsters. However, she really did have a good explanation for it. The problem was Veronica wasn''t sure they would believe her. There was a reason she had brought it up sooner, but she might not have a choice.


    She opened her mouth, ready to defend herself, when Leta stepped in front of her and said, "Don''t you dare blame her for running away."