The Monster's Apprentice: Chapter 95 - Before This War Is Over | Part 2

Jun 25, 2026

“I keep having that dream. The one about the archway, and the bridge, and the door, and the six-fingered claw. I’m having them every other night now, but they’re not as clear. The only time I understand what’s going on is when I overexert myself. I think my mind is able to think clearly. I think? I don’t know. I should tell Mina about it, but it might just be nothing.”

— Emily Wisteria, “Emily’s Personal Journal.”

Emily had never been so full in all her life.

Karaline’s cooking was, as always, delicious. It was by far the best meal she’d had in months. But now, as she trudged behind Mina on their walk home, she felt sluggish and heavy. She hadn’t trained in weeks. A month without exercising was catching up to her. She could feel how soft and slow she was. She’d have to get back into her routine soon. She was sure she had healed enough to finally return to it.

Emily hugged herself as a cold evening breeze brushed past her, a lit cigarette clamped tight between her fingers. She was beside Mina, leaning against the wooden fence that lined her front yard. They had always had a great view of the town from here, especially at night, with how the moonlight shone onto it, though Emily was admittedly a little more distracted with Mina. It was hard not to stare, not with her elven beauty on full display. Even now, when the moonlight cast a soft glow against her pale skin, she looked more stunning than ever. Her scars looked more like faint tattoos now, barely noticeable. Mina had gotten a second chance. Her body had been able to heal, to shed the damage like a reptile, and start fresh. Her history had been erased, while Emily’s was showing more and more. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking back to when she had first met Mina. She remembered a time when she worried that she might end up like her, that one day her own skin would be so scarred that she’d become unrecognizable. It was already happening. Over the last year, she had collected so many scars, from claws, fangs, and blades. But unlike Mina’s, her scars wouldn’t fade. They wouldn’t smooth into her skin like they were nothing. Emily couldn’t help but think about that night by Star Lake when she and Lux had gone swimming together. When Lux had seen the scars on Emily’s body, she had stopped and stared at them like they were something grotesque. Is that how people would look at her eventually?

“We need to talk,” Mina said before taking a long drag of her cigarette.

Emily tensed. That was never a good start to any conversation. “About...?”

Mina didn’t respond right away. Instead, she stood there, staring out into the valley.

Emily waited.

The wind picked up, rustling through the tree behind them.

“Mina?”

“Is this something you still want to do?” she finally said.

Emily paused. “What do you mean?”

“I know you were reluctant when you started. You weren’t sure if you were capable of rising to the occasion. After everything that’s happened… is it still what you believe?”

Emily stared at her for a moment, searching for the right words. But she didn’t have an answer. Not a clear one, anyway. “I… don’t know,” she admitted quietly. “I mean, yeah, I never wanted to be a monster hunter. I just wanted to be a witch. But when I first started training, I thought that maybe this was something I could be.”

“A hero?”

“Something like that.”

“And what do you think now?” Mina asked flatly, as though she already knew the answer.

Emily took a slow drag of her cigarette. “Maybe I can,” she said, exhaling with a sigh. “But… it doesn’t feel like it.”

“Why?” Mina pressed.

This time, Emily didn’t respond. She thought back to the nest, to the nightmare she had barely survived. She could still feel the succubi’s hands on her skin, the blood, gore, and rot sticking to her. For a while before that, it was easier to picture herself as the hero, the brave, grand witch who fought monsters and won. But at that moment, she hadn’t felt brave. She was terrified, inches from becoming just another victim. Another body left to rot. It felt more like desperation than heroism. She only wanted to survive, to escape from that place. The romanticized image she had carried with her for so long had shattered like fragile glass. Monster hunting wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t the adrenaline-fueled adventure she had imagined. It was raw, brutal, and bloody. It was standing face-to-face with death and knowing that any mistake, any hesitation, could mean the end.

“I didn’t expect it to be like this,” Emily whispered, “I thought… I thought I’d be stronger. That I’d be able to handle it. But... the truth is, it’s scary.” She paused, her throat tightening. “I’m… I’m scared, Mina.” She took another drag.

Mina didn’t say anything for a long time. She just stood there, her eyes fixed on Emily, her cigarette burning down to the filter. Then, with a soft exhale, she flicked it away. “If you weren’t scared, you’d be dead by now. I was scared back in the hospital, but I couldn’t let it stop me.”

“But I don’t know if I can keep doing this, not if I have to go through that again. We barely made it out alive against Draven. And that was just him. What chance do we have against Queen Lockhart? What chance do I have?”

“You’ve fought hard, and you’ve survived. That’s more than a lot of people can say. But… if your heart isn’t in it anymore, I need to know. Like it or not, there’s no turning back now. When Queen Lockhart learns about what happened, and she will, she’ll act. I don’t know what she’ll do, but she’ll act. And you have to be ready for it. There’s no running anymore, no hiding. You can’t slip into the shadows and hope it all goes away. If you can’t do this anymore, then I need to know. I need to know so I can prepare, to do my best to protect you.”

Emily sighed. “I know I have to do this. I know what will happen if I don’t. But… I kind of wish I wasn’t… You know? Why did I have to become the conduit? Why did all this have to happen to me?”

“I don’t know. But it happened.”

Emily looked down, fiddling with the cigarette between her fingers. “I don’t know if I can even be a good conduit,” she said softly. “I mean, look at me—look at what I had to do to myself just to kill him. I can’t kill Queen Lockhart. If she’s stronger than he is, what chance do I have?”

“A higher chance than me.”

Emily blinked, turning to face her. “I’ll never be as strong as you.”

“Yes, you will. You may never do what I can, but that doesn’t matter. You have your gift. That’s a strength no one else can have. I know it feels like you’re not ready, but you are.”

Emily bit her lip. “I thought I was doing alright… but inside that hospital—”

“Look what happened after you crawled out of there. You unlocked something you didn’t know you had. You dug deeper than you ever thought possible. You were able to cast magic strong enough to kill a pureblood. Not many could say that. You did it, Emily.”

Emily went quiet, taking another drag. She let the smoke fill her lungs before exhaling slowly. “No… you’re right. I did it. I never thought I could, but I did. It just sounds so impossible to do even more, you know?”

“You won’t be doing it alone.”

A faint smile pulled at Emily’s cheeks. “I know I won’t. I just know it’s gonna be hard. And… I guess… even if I sometimes wish things were different… I’m glad they aren’t. I’m glad I met you. I’m glad you gave me a chance and that you helped me when no one else would. If not for you, I wouldn’t be here.”

Mina watched her for a moment. Then, without a word, she stepped forward and pulled Emily into a tight hug. Emily froze for a second, but then melted into the embrace, wrapping her arms around Mina. She could feel the warmth of her body, the steady rhythm of her heartbeat, and it was enough to hold back her tears.

She had cried enough.

When they pulled apart, Emily looked up at Mina’s face. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “So… what comes next?”

Mina smiled. “What we do best.”

Emily nodded, her smile growing wider. The fear was still there, lurking in the corners of her mind, but she was going to do her damnedest not to let it control her. She wasn’t just some girl with childish ambitions anymore. She was someone else now. Someone stronger. “Then, let’s not keep them waiting.”

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED TODAY’S CHAPTER!

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