Our Ideal Place (Little Witch Academia)

Chapter 6: The Shrine

She caught Akko in her arms. "Akko! Akko!" Blood floated away from her misshapen face.

Prof. Pisces darted in front of Diana. Her fin pointed to the surface. As fast as she could, Diana swam upwards and headed for the dock. Prof. Pisces swam close to the dock and with a flick of her tail, jumped out of the water. Diana watched her several times then she braced herself, readied her wand and with a strong flick of her tail, she jumped out of the water with Akko. "Metamorphie Faciesse!"

In human form, she landed on the dock with Akko. Blood was streaming from two slits in the middle of her face. "Anna! Melvin! Help!"

What should be done to stop bleeding? She tried to wipe the blood with her handkerchief, but the cloth just brushed against hard scale. This strange form confused her so she changed Akko back. Now, it was clear that her nose was bleeding. She pressed her handkerchief to her nose.

Anna rushed over with some servants. "Miss! What happened?"

"It seems that she cast a spell incorrectly. Could you stop the bleeding? Call Dr. Conagoll if you must. If she wakes up, don't let her go out or do any magic until we figure out what's wrong."

"Of course, Miss." Anna helped a male servant carry Akko and they went into the manor.

Diana transformed into a mermaid and swam next to Prof. Pisces. Bubbles flowed out of the teacher's mouth. "I'm sorry, professor. I don't understand fish."

Prof. Pisces swam to an algae covered wall. The algae reorganized into Luna script. ( How is Akko? )

"I asked my servants to look after her. It seems to be a nosebleed."

( Should we continue? )

It was considerate of Prof. Pisces to ask for permission. "Yes. They'll take care of Akko."

Prof. Pisces asked to swim around the manor. As they did so, Diana thought about what went wrong with Akko's spell. She didn't look like a mermaid at all. It was more like a grotesque fish monster from fairy tales. "I better check how she casts it," thought Diana. She wondered if Akko had a chance to see her mermaid. She did her best to add a lot of small details. If Prof. Pisces visits again, there would be another chance to show her.

After the manor, Prof. Pisces asked to see the shrine. The shrine seemed to impress her most. She darted here and there, pausing to look at some carvings on the stone walls and pillars.

( What rituals can it do? )

"I only know of the ritual to become family head."

( But there are so many magic glyphs. See here... and here...) Prof. Pisces swam around each carving.

"I... I never knew. I've never seen these before."

( I'd be interested to know, especially the gate to the unseen. )

The ancestral saying repeated in her mind. Sybilladura Lelladybura... When traditional and modern powers mingle, the gate to an unseen world will open. Did the shrine conceal such a gate? "I'll have to do some research."

As they finished their swim, Diana decided to put aside some time to clean up the lake, except for the algae on the walls since Prof. Pisces used it to write. Her 10 minute effort removed large debris, but the bottom was a nasty, muddy muck. Walking to the manor with Prof. Pisces safely in her fishbowl, she hoped that Akko was ok.

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To be in Continued in: Summer Solstice

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Artist shoutout to conago at twitter!