Thanks to our expeditions through the portals in Gerês’ abandoned camp, we have already found the lair of four of the Witches of the Night. Unfortunately, that didn’t take us closer to stopping them or even understanding what their goals were. The only thing we knew was that they didn’t want to involve us or for us to involve ourselves.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Mpk8c8dit
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnK7C2xOMV
However, we still needed to find the fifth witch, so there was still a chance of getting the answers we were searching for, even though we were getting to the last portals in the abandoned camp.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLX17QVewsr
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Eventually, we got lucky, if that word can be used to describe what happened next.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaTghVSFVN
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZC7SuZfyR
Like many other times before, we crossed one of the portals and, in an instant, found ourselves in a completely different place. We were among the ruins of what looked like a castle, on top of a small plateau. A low wall, which had clearly been reduced over the years, surrounded the large space where we were standing, which was littered with what was left of the foundations of long-vanished buildings. I immediately recognized that that was Castro Laboreiro’s castle, as I had already visited it several times.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8A3WC81gh
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbxbxTc4xl
As always, we immediately began to investigate the site, looking for any sign of the Witches of the Night or their servants.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tbUdum56i
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLJ1FHZEha
About five minutes after our arrival, suddenly, we heard a thunder-like crash at a distance. However, the sky was clear, so we immediately ruled out the possibility of a thunderstorm.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkPaYtb8dZ
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27sOa7xxXq
Then, a shout from one of the soldiers who had accompanied us alerted us to an approaching point in the sky. This quickly transformed into five black hooded figures.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5FlbGXPBO
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZ25ydJ3vQ
At an order from Almeida, the soldiers pointed their rifles at them, but that didn’t make much difference. Before they came within gun range, each Witch of the Night launched a high-speed ball of flame at us. We barely had time to crouch behind the crumbling ramparts and walls before they reached the plateau.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrk9Hm8wYz
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oZAMhhb7l
Explosions erupted around us, spewing flames and hurling dirt and rocks in all directions. Some soldiers fell, either consumed by fire or hit by shrapnel. And the bombardment continued, with the Witches of the Night unleashing an overwhelming torrent of explosive spells, giving the soldiers no chance to respond. There was only one thing Almeida could do:392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMlu5idbDn
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTUlwMmLoL
“Retreat!” he shouted.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1ai2L6FkX
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Doing our best to avoid the explosions around us, Almeida, I, and the surviving soldiers ran towards the portal, hoping it was still there. Such was the intensity of the bombardment, that we had no chance of retrieving the wounded, and whoever tried immediately fell.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqIlPV2exs
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUAzg8rTUs
With great relief, I managed to reach the portal unharmed and instantly found myself in the abandoned camp, far from what had clearly been a trap from the Witches of the Night. Almeida appeared soon after, limping, probably hit by shrapnel.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5nR7mXRtP
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuomlcZwziD
Of the fifteen soldiers who had accompanied us, only two returned. Unfortunately, they didn’t cross the portal alone. On their heels, one by one, appeared the Witches of the Night.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SQ7jUicRj
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0X3C6O3WhN
They immediately rose above the Organization’s men guarding and studying the abandoned camp and began shooting their fireballs again. The soldiers responded with their automatic rifles, but the creatures were flying too high and too fast for any bullet to hit them.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOpcWN7dnf
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGNkuPUL0j
Men and equipment were engulfed and destroyed by flaming explosions.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttdWNeOueS
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Unable to do anything else, I took cover behind the tree with the widest trunk I could find and desperately hoped I wouldn’t get hit.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNY8GOAlyme
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEU8d6b6Tx
Although it seemed longer, my watch showed that the attack didn’t even last ten minutes. When it was over, all of the Organization’s infrastructure — tents, computers, vehicles, etc. — had been destroyed, and more than two-thirds of its troops lay dead.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6nzGaJRSK
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPYoyqkCrx
Almeida had survived, although one of his arms was severely burned. Only me and two other people were lucky enough to escape unscathed.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7qtdH0ppb
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After their intensive raid, the Witches of the Night had disappeared through the portal, and no one had dared to pursue them. It was obvious that this attack had been a response to our meddling in their affairs.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgjkcHHcdQ
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnsp3EBzW2
Almeida, despite his injuries, immediately began to restore order. He called in helicopters to evacuate the wounded and then one to take me back to Braga.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdAdoMyO07
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgmio5SRVC
I spent the trip thinking about what that attack meant for the Organization’s investigation of the Witches of the Night. Almeida didn’t comment on the matter and, given the situation, I didn’t ask him. I also doubt he had an answer for me then and there. Only time would bring it.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrokGqaPen
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