"Your pickup lines are really low-grade," the bear muttered in a deep voice.
"Guess I don't have much experience hitting on a bear," Yarrow admitted, rubbing the back of his head. He hesitated, then added, "If I can find another way to turn you back into a human, will you leave that Legacy Spell to me?"
The bear cracked one eye open, regarding him with mild disdain. "What way?"
"Uh…" Yarrow faltered. He wasn't sure himself. This whole system felt unpredictable. Zen and Ji Xiaofei had at least given some kind of hint before transforming, but the peach fox had changed without warning. And now this bear—despite providing a clue earlier—was showing no reaction at all.
"I can't say for sure, but… maybe you just need to become friends with me or something?" Yarrow offered with a forced smile.
The bear studied him for a long moment, then lowered its head. "Crazy."
"I kind of think I'm a little crazy too," Yarrow sighed. He leaned forward. "How long have you been a bear, anyway?"
A pause. Then, the bear finally answered, "Three years."
"Because of your teacher? Alisa?" Yarrow guessed.
The bear's eyes darkened. "Yes," it said. "She tricked me. Took me to what she claimed was the wizard's qualification test, but it was really a curse ritual."
It let out a low growl, grinding its teeth.
"For five years, I studied magic under her. All that time, she was secretly experimenting with curse magic. And I was her test subject."
Yarrow's breath hitched. "Not just you?"
"If I'm not mistaken, every single animal in her house was once human," the bear said, its voice taut with anger. "After the ritual, I lost everything—my past, my memories, my humanity. I became just another creature in her collection."
The bear exhaled, as if forcing itself to remain calm. "If I hadn't found the diary… if I hadn't seen the truth of my past, I might have stayed that way forever."
Its voice dropped to a whisper.
"But I remembered. The moment I read those pages, my memories came rushing back. I knew who I was—Serena Edson. A human girl. I had a family. I wasn't her pet."
Yarrow listened in silence.
"The diary became my anchor," Serena continued. "I hid it from her, pretended to be an ordinary animal while secretly planning my escape. Every day, I repeated my name to myself over and over. I taught myself to write again, using a pen in my mouth—anything to hold onto my identity."
She took a slow breath before continuing.
"Alisa was powerful. Her magic could track me if I wandered too far. I couldn't just run. And she kept taming me, feeding me potions. I had to pretend to drink them, then spit them out when she wasn't looking."
Yarrow clenched his fists. "And did you find a way to break the curse?"
The bear's gaze flicked toward him, unreadable. "Yes."
"What is it?"
Serena parted her jaws as if to answer—but then snapped her mouth shut and glared. "That's none of your business."
Yarrow thought for a moment. "Is it related to the Legacy Spell?"
She didn't respond, merely turning her head away.
"Then that's it, isn't it?"
"I said it's none of your business," she snapped. "Some things are better left unknown."
"Oh. Thanks for the warning," Yarrow replied dryly. After a pause, he asked, "Then how did you escape?"
Serena lifted her head, gazing at the cave wall as if searching for the right words. "I've thought about that a lot," she admitted. "In the end, I think it was because I never lost myself. My human thoughts, my memories, my will to be free… They never disappeared."
"One day, I realized I had relearned how to speak."
Serena's voice was quiet, yet firm.
"After that, I started trying to cast spells again. To my surprise, even in this bear form, I could still use magic."
She paused, as if remembering.
"For a long time, I acted like nothing more than an ordinary bear. That made her drop her guard. Eventually, she felt safe enough to leave me alone. And when she did—I took what I needed and escaped."
Yarrow glanced around the cave. "And you've been hiding here ever since?"
She nodded.
"Won't your teacher find you? I mean, is there a chance she left some kind of tracking spell on you?"
"I considered that," Serena said. "Before I ran, I used a purification spell to erase any traces she might have left. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to stay hidden this long."
Yarrow mulled that over, then hesitated before asking, "So… if you manage to turn back, are you going to get revenge?"
Serena fell silent. Then, after a long pause, she murmured, "I just want to go home. To see my mom and dad again."
The weight of those words lingered between them, settling into a quiet neither of them was willing to break.
Time passed. Just as Yarrow was beginning to doze off, Serena stirred. She rose to her feet and walked over to the cauldron, whispering a levitation spell. The thick, blue liquid inside lifted, flowing into a container she had set aside.
Yarrow watched as she carried it to the open space at the center of the cave. Dipping a bristle brush into the shimmering liquid, she began painting intricate magical runes onto the stone floor.
The symbols were complex—far beyond Yarrow's current understanding of magic.
Ten minutes later, the ritual circle was complete.
Then, the wooden box in Yarrow's saddlebag floated into the air, opening itself. The iron sheet within rose, hovering beside Serena. Another object followed—this time, a folded set of clothes, which settled neatly at the edge of the ritual.
She turned to look at Yarrow.
"Go inside the cave and wait until I call you."
Yarrow raised an eyebrow. "You really think I'm a threat? Even if I stayed, what could I possibly do to you?"
Serena let out a huff, eyes narrowing in mild exasperation.
"If the ritual works, I'll be naked when I transform."
"Oh."
Yarrow promptly turned on his heel and walked into the cave.
Still… curiosity got the better of him. Hiding behind a stalagmite, he peeked out, just enough to see what was happening.
Serena took a deep breath and began to chant. The first spell was short—not from the Legacy Spell. As she spoke, a faint red glow spread across her body.
Another chant followed, coating her in soft purple light.
Is she stacking buffs? Yarrow thought.
It made sense. She probably wasn't strong enough to use the iron sheet's spell directly. The ritual, along with the enchantments, was a way to bridge the gap.
As the spells accumulated, Serena's brown fur lifted in the air currents, shimmering with a strange, iridescent brilliance. The runes on the ground began to pulse, shifting like living threads, weaving themselves around her in glowing blue strands.
Yarrow felt something strange stir in the air—something divine.
For a moment, he almost believed he was witnessing the transformation of a celestial beast.
If this were Journey to the West, she'd at least be the mount of a Bodhisattva.
Then, the iron sheet floated in front of her. A golden flame ignited, spreading across its surface until runes emerged, glowing against the metal.
Serena began chanting.
There were six lines of runes. She spoke slowly, deliberately, the words heavy with power. It took two full minutes before she finished.
At the final syllable, golden light erupted beneath her feet, rising like a cocoon, enclosing her completely.
Yarrow's eyes widened.
This looks like an advanced purification spell. Is it the same concept?
He'd read about purification magic before—how some spells wrapped the user in a shell of light, washing away curses before allowing them to emerge, reborn.
Yarrow's mind wandered.
What kind of girl is going to step out of that cocoon?
One thing was for sure.
She's definitely not going to be a beast-eared girl.
Why didn't she transform?
Yarrow frowned. He had interacted with Serena multiple times—so why hadn't she turned back into a human, like the peach fox and the others?
Was it because she had originally been human before the transformation?Or was there another reason?
Comparing this to his past experiences, a theory began to form in his mind. But he wasn't certain.
The golden cocoon remained intact for half an hour. Then—finally—Yarrow noticed a thin crack appearing at the top.
The crack widened, spreading like a web across the entire silken shell.
With a sharp snap, the cocoon shattered. Golden fragments scattered into the air like embers before fading into nothingness—revealing what lay inside.
Yarrow's breath caught.
His eyes widened.
Impossible.
The creature that emerged was still a bear.
Nothing had changed.
Serena glanced down at herself—her massive paws, her fur-covered body. Her expression shifted from confusion to growing panic. Her breathing turned ragged, her entire frame trembling as realization took hold.
"No. No. Impossible!"
With a furious roar, she lunged from the ritual circle, rushing toward the bookshelf. Clawing through the tomes, she yanked them down one by one, flipping frantically through their pages.
"Impossible! Where did it go wrong? The Retrogressive Spell is supposed to reverse all states! Even if my magic wasn't enough, I used the enhancement circle! Why—"
Pages tore under her claws. Her breathing grew more erratic.
Yarrow stepped forward cautiously, watching the bear unravel before him. He wanted to say something—anything—but before he could, a shrill, mocking laughter rang through the cave.
The sound sent a chill down his spine.
"Where did it go wrong? Hahaha! Serena, you poor fool. Let me tell you—"
A flash of dazzling light erupted in the chamber.
"Nothing went wrong. The only mistake is that you… are a bear!"
As the light faded, a figure materialized before them.
A woman with fiery red hair, draped in a revealing mage's robe, smirking like she was watching the most entertaining tragedy of her life.
Serena's entire body went rigid.
Her breath hitched, her pupils dilated.
She barely managed to choke out a single word:
"…Teacher."
There was no doubt.
The one who had turned Serena into a bear—the twisted, perverse Archmage Alisa—had arrived.
Yarrow, who had been momentarily frozen by the sheer tension of the moment, suddenly found his gaze drifting downwards.
He muttered under his breath, half in disbelief:
"Damn. That diary wasn't lying. This woman really dresses like a prostitute."
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