The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis-Chapter 8: Tell The Devil I Said Hi

The scout’s breath came in short, panicked bursts, but I waited until the fear settled in fully before I leaned down beside him. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Making sure that he was looking at me, I slowly brought my eyes over to the severed head staring straight at us. "He can’t take his eyes off you," I purred, my voice soft as silk. "Do you think he blames you for his death? Do you think his soul is waiting for you on the road to Hell to get his revenge? I mean, the possibilities are endless."

Did I believe in any of the shit coming out of my mouth? Not even a little. But based on the wide-eyed fear pouring off the man in front of me, he did.

And at the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

He couldn’t move his legs, not with his spine severed, but he could still talk. Still think. Still scream—if he wanted to. But no matter how afraid he was, he still kept his mouth shut.

I was almost impressed.

"What’s your name?" I asked, cocking my head to the side as I casually wiping my blade clean against the ground.

His lips opened just a fraction, enough for him to suck in air as he panted. But he still refused to speak.

I sighed. "Fine. We’ll skip introductions. Tell me where I am. The name of the country."

Silence.

I clicked my tongue and looked over at Shadow. "That friend of yours... he screamed. You think that scream was loud enough to be heard?" I crouched, twirling the knife between my fingers. "Because I don’t. Which means... no one’s coming."

The scout’s jaw clenched. "Yelan," he spat. "You’re in Yelan, mountain rat. And soon, your people will be nothing more than ash."

Yelan. The name etched itself into my mind even as the foreign taste stayed on my tongue. I had never heard of a country like that... but it sounded something more eastern, in Hades’ territory.

"And the country on the other side of this mountain?" I asked, needed to get as much information out of the man as possible before I had to go and deal with the rest of his cohorts.

His eyes burned. "Daiyu. Rich in idiots, poor in defense. A ripe fruit ready to fall."

Daiyu. So that’s where I’d landed.

"And your army?" I asked, keeping my voice light. "How many more like you are out there?"

He bared his teeth. "You’re dead either way. The general will burn your forest to the ground. You’re nothing but a child playing war. You’ll be just another corpse for the crows by sundown after my friends have their way with you. Maybe, if you’re lucky, they’ll leave you with an intact corpse. If not... well, I’m sure your wolf is hungry."

Spewing out a lot of shit for a man struggling to breathe, I couldn’t help but shake my head and chuckle. "Is that so?" I smiled at him.

"You’ll scream," he sneered. "You’ll beg. And they’ll still keep going."

The smile on my face got bigger the more he spoke. "I don’t beg," I assured him. "Now, when is it? What year, what day?"

The man looked at me like I was crazy before closing his eyes and giving me an answer. "It’s the tenth year of King Xuandi’s reign, during the Guanghe era of the Jinlong Dynasty," he said, as if that was supposed to mean something to me.

The only problem was that I had no idea what he was talking about.

"I guess its no longer 2375," I sighed, so softly that even the man in front of me couldn’t understand what was I was saying. "Oh well... no point in crying over spilled milk."

Turning my attention back to the man, I leaned down, close enough that my breath brushed his ear. "You don’t have to worry about me," I whispered. "I promise you I will live a very long, full life. But just because I’m such a nice person, I’ll make sure you don’t have to travel into the afterlife by yourself. Wait a few minutes, and your friends will be joining you as you meet the God of Death."

I rose to my feet, smiling sweetly as I wiped my knife again. "Do me a favor?" I added, almost as an afterthought. "Tell the Devil I say hi. And that I’m doing well."

The blade slid through his neck like silk, causing blood to spray all over me.

I turned, calling metal to me with a flick of my fingers. Beneath my feet, the earth shifted. The blades I had created earlier—the ones forged from their comrades’ armor—rose from the forest floor like flowers in bloom.

And the hunt began.

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I moved through the trees like smoke, silent and sure. Shadow stayed to the edge, herding anyone who tried to break away back toward the place I had hastily dug my trap. I started with the backline, the ones responsible for setting up tents, gathering firewood, and laughing too loud about what they’d do to Daiyu’s women.

The blades were an extension of me. Thin, strong, silent. I didn’t even need to touch them in order for them to move.

One by one, the invaders fell. Their throats slit, hearts pierced, and their skulls cracked open like overripe fruit.

Surveying the carnage even as swords continued to fight on their own, I hummed over the idea of creating bullets. I wouldn’t need gunpowder... after all, I would be the one firing them, not the gun, but it would use up a lot less metal.

Then again, the screams and fear of men rambling on as they fought against an ’invisible’ army made me smile, too.

When those left behind were finally killed, the next thing I did was call on my fire.

My fire was different from a lot of demons. Theirs tended to be bright red, orange, and yellow, like real flames, while mine was a mixture of purple and blue. Not to mention, mine burned hotter and faster than anything natural.

A third of the camp became ashes before I drew my next breath.