The Divine Hunter

The castle's garden used to be the temple's property, but it had been expanded by the late kings of Kerack. Stone pillars and chambers were erected, and pavilions sat under the shade of trees, providing shelter from the sun for the nobility.

Viraxas was standing right in the garden's center. He was wearing a black shirt embroidered with golden and silver strings, and a trooper hat hung on his head. His hair and eyes were black, his nose was aquiline, and his skin was tanned. He looked more like a Zerrikanian than the king of a kingdom that neighbored the sea.

The slim, gorgeous blonde beside him was wearing a simple white dress with some bedazzling diamonds on it. A mink cape hung from her shoulders, and when she looked at the man beside her, there was love in her eyes.

But when she turned her eyes to the other woman in the garden, they were filled with hostility and disdain.

Lytta was wearing a green crepe dress with a unique butterfly embroidered on the chest area with some glitter on it.

There was a circle of frills at the end of her dress. The dress might be in vogue ten years ago, but it fitted Lytta perfectly, making her look even more charming. There was an emerald necklace hanging from her neck, each emerald the size of an almond. One of them was so big it could attract anyone's attention. And her hair was as blazing red as fire.

"Lytta, I've told you we don't need any more consultants for magic," the man said. "If you want to stay, then you'll have to purchase a license, and then I'll generously let you stay as a doctor. But you'll be paying ten percent more taxes than your non-magic counterpart. And you're not allowed to interfere with the kingdom's politics. Directly or indirectly." He then caressed his queen's hair, his eyes filled with love.

The woman was happy about her husband's decision, and she held his arm tightly.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, please give me some time. I need to sell the villa, and there are a few matters I need to settle here," Lytta answered.

"How long is it going to take? Give us an exact time!" Ildiko raised her voice, her eyes glinting smugly, and her face lit up. "His Majesty's patience is running thin. Don't even think about stalling for time!"

So what if you're an Aretuza graduate? I still win in the end. I'm a queen, and you have to listen to me!

"One week," Lytta answered. "One week, and I'll leave Kerack and never come back." She then smiled as if she felt something.

"If you have nothing to report, you should leave now." Viraxas played with his wife's hair and waved Lytta down without turning back.

***

The light from a magical lamp shone on the pair of statuettes on the table. The lady statuette was made of jade, while the statuette of the man was made out of basalt. They seemed almost lifelike, almost indistinguishable from real people. Even their freckles were sculpted out.

Lytta held the jade statuette up and gave it a close look. Dimples formed on her cheeks, and her face reddened with excitement.

"This is it! Ildiko's treasure! They hide her most important secret!" She put the statuettes down and, for the first time, hugged the witcher in excitement. "You never disappoint me, you little heartbreaker." And then she kissed his cheek.

"Give me a few days. Once I get back at that bitch and make her pay the price, I'll go to Novigrad and start improving the Trial recipe."

Roy stared at the statuettes and saw mana and some weak life force coming from them. "They're no simple statuettes, are they?"

"So you've felt it as well. Yes, you're smart, and you have a lot of incredible powers. Of course you've heard of this." She pursed her lips and answered, "It's Artefact Compression, aka Human Compression." A smile curled her lips. "It's a special spell that can compress the target into a shell made out of jade or stone until they fit in your palms."

Roy realized what she was talking about. He had heard of this spell before. Coral knew this spell as well, and she loved pulling pranks on anyone who crossed her with this. The statuette of a nobleman and a soldier were formed. If the timeline of this world wasn't altered, Triss and Yennefer would also be compressed eventually. "So these are breathing, living people? Ildiko just compressed them?"

"They can still breathe right now, yes."

Roy nodded. No wonder I couldn't chuck them into my inventory space on my way back. "Do they have to eat when they're compressed?

Coral answered patiently, "The victims are in a state of suspended animation. Their need for food is minimal, and they have no idea what's happening around them. Some of them can live for years in this state. But the longer they're compressed, the higher the chances for side effects to manifest once they're decompressed. Organ damage and memory loss, for example. I've figured out Ildiko's spell frequency, so I need to unravel this spell and grill them for secrets."

***

A pentagram was drawn on the floor of a spacious room on the second floor. Eight magical runes decorated the pentagram. Three of them were the symbols of Belleteyn, Lammas, and Saovine. Lytta lit three black candles and placed three candelabras equipped with reflectors on these magical runes.

She checked a few times to confirm there were no errors, while Roy stood at the doorstep with his arms crossed. He was looking out for Lytta.

A moment later, she took a deep breath and placed the statuettes in the middle of the pentagram. And then she raised her hands and chanted an incantation in a hurry.

The candles started shining as bright as little suns, and the reflectors started lighting up, reflecting the lights to the statuettes in the center of the pentagram. The green and grey hues of the statuettes started turning golden, and then they became invisible.

Colorful mana burst in the air, and Roy held his trembling pendant down as he waited for the results of this spell.

Lyta's incantation was coming to an end. One of the candelabras' shadows covered the ground, and the three runes started wriggling like they were alive.

The statuettes were slowly shivering and trembling as they grew in size and changed forme. They looked like wisps of smoke expanding on the ground only to disappear a moment later.

Mana stopped flying through the air, and two humans were seen in the center of the circle. One was a lady with yellow hair, while the other was a man with grey hair. Both of them were lying on the ground, clutching their chests and coughing violently.

***

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