Village of Witches

His burning golem already felled, Guts earns cheers from Isidro and praise from Roderick, though Serpico notes the fire is spreading and Isidro suggests fleeing. Molda then reveals herself as the one who loosed the golem, meaning for the group to burn. The crew gawk at a genuine witch, Isidro cheekily rating her above Schierke, while Schierke calmly insists they pose no threat. Realizing her error at spotting a witch and elves among the intruders, Molda is scolded by her fellow witches as they rush in, and worry over the blaze spreads through both sides, all but Isidro, who is found munching freshly roasted watermelon.

Clouds gather and break, dousing the flames with a sudden downpour as Gedfring rides up on a ram, and Schierke marvels at weather magic that would normally demand elaborate rites. Introduced as master archmage, Gedfring names Kukka, Iony, Theuene, and Molda, chiding the last, who turns up her nose. Puck greets several witches and hails Gedfring as Grampa Ged. The archmage recounts an oracle glimpsed by the Flower Storm Monarch, a small whirlwind rising from the island and returning as a fierce tempest, which strengthens Schierke's hunch that the moonlight boy is the monarch's avatar. Gedfring also relates a dream in which an old friend, Flora, asked him to treat her beloved pupil kindly, then invites the travelers to rest at the witch village and meet the elf king.

Crossing a forest of trees carved with old men's faces, the party watches one snap alive and bite Isidro's arm when he foolishly reaches in, to the barely stifled laughter of Kukka and Iony. The two, with Theuene, introduce themselves and ask how Schierke came to keep such company; she answers that they journey to restore Casca's shattered mind, as Farnese pulls Casca back from a tree. Guts smiles when Kukka says the elf king could make such a cure possible. Gedfring speaks of the shriek of the astral world and the ruin of the spirit woods wrought by the Falcon of Light, promising a full account at the village. The group reaches a cliff over a lush forest crowned by a grand cherry tree, which Gedfring names Elfhelm, home of the sorcerers under the Flower Storm Monarch. Entering the huts, they pass witches at their craft, many nursing grudges against Puck, and Gedfring leads them toward his manor.

Molda admits she set the burning golem on the party. Gedfring conjures rain to quench the fire and welcomes the travelers, revealing Flora's dying plea on Schierke's behalf. He confirms Schierke's theory linking the moonlight boy to the Flower Storm Monarch and guides the group to Elfhelm beneath the great cherry tree.

A Fantasia Arc chapter, it ran in Young Animal issue 13 on June 24, 2016, across twenty-three pages, and marks the first appearances of Kukka, Iony, Theuene, and Gedfring.