"STOP! We'll be spending the night here! Build the camp!"
Everyone moved quickly as soon as Atara said those words. While the others were fixing the camp, Alinta stood unmoving in the middle. And within a minute or so, every camp had been built.
Alinta's eyes blinked. What happened? That was quick! And hazy! 
When she looked at the guy who had been scurrying around like a shadow, a notion struck her.
Is he a vampire? According to the fictional book she read in the Hex Kingdom, vampires, who need blood to survive, were the fastest creatures.
Did she just come across one?
"Your coven is a diverse one," Alinta observed.
Atara sat beside the newly made campfire and answered with a wave of her hand, "The members of my coven are those creatures who had been deemed criminals by their own tribes, no matter which bloodline they came from." She took a slice of meat out of nowhere and began toasting it. "They have different views, and they stubbornly stick with them despite their tribe threatening and kicking them out. They are not bad people," she said, taking a taste of the meat, "but they are also not good. However, since they haven't committed something that is against my beliefs, I accepted them."
Alinta remained silent. Her grandma... Does she even have moral convictions? That was difficult to believe!
Atara scoffed as she noticed her reaction. "Among the Dark Witches, I am the kindest!"
Alinta had still not responded. Who the hell told her that her grandmother had murdered her own sister without batting an eyelid? She remembered her grandmother herself telling the story with a smug expression on her face.
Only after the air became colder did Alinta finally remark, "Of course you are; you are also the strongest and most powerful entity in the kingdom!"
Atara gave a satisfied nod. "It's good that you know!"
"But why are you here?" Alinta inquired. "How did you manage to come here?" She's been dying to know the answers to those questions.
Atara gazed at her gossiping granddaughter for a half-second before adding, "Well, there's no harm in telling you my story." She raised her palm, levitated three heavy pieces of wood, and threw them on the fire. "Before I became who I am now, the strongest witch in the Hex Kingdom, I used to spend my time in the clan's library, transcribing and creating different kinds of spells. That grimoire you used to transport in this world," she said as the fire raged, looking deep into her granddaughter's eyes, "was made by me. Every written word in that grimoire was created by me."
That information came as no surprise to Alinta.
"The time I finished that grimoire was the time our Dark Witch Clan was annihilated," Atara added coolly, but her eyes were staring afar, seemingly transported back in time. "I hadn't thought of the reason for the sudden attack, and all that—that despite the call for a truce, the white witches still attacked us. We were taken by surprise and unprepared, hence our utter defeat. But then, a sudden realization hit me thereon." She sneered, "Those bastards wanted my grimoire. So, in order not to give them what they wanted, I used the spell of transmigration. And so, here I am, stuck in this place for decades."
"You've been here for decades?" Alinta was taken aback.
"What do you expect?" Atara asked, her brow furrowed, "That my stay here would only be three years, and that would be enough for me to establish my might?" She scoffed, "Don't be absurd. No one is that omnipotent. This world has too many bloodlines with different personalities and beliefs, but they are too proud and arrogant. I needed time to tame them. Even Morrigan," coldness flashed through her eyes, "she looked soft and gentle with a very kind personality, but, in fact, she's just as cold as the others."
Alinta remained silent. Would her grandma despise her if she informed her that her daughter had married the King of White Witches?
Looking at her grandmother's fierce face, she decided against it.
Oh. Perhaps she should simply wait for the future to unfold. There is no need for her to announce the surprise ahead of time.
"Anyway," Atara sighed, "I planned to create a spell that would transport anyone to different worlds, but looking at you now, it appears that the spell is only connected to this world I've been staying in." She shook her head. "How devastating!"
"...," Alinta said. Oh, please! Someone who could accomplish such a feat was already incredible! What else did she want?
Suddenly, Atara stood up and began heading towards her tent without saying anything. "Go to sleep. We still have a long way to go!" she exclaimed as she entered her tent.
The rest of the coven chatted for half an hour before taking a rest as well. Alinta was ready to enter her own tent when she felt something was amiss. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew up near her, blowing the tent apart. As a result of her reflexes, she backed up at least five metres away.
"Oh, what a shame!"
Alinta overheard someone's remark. The voice was enticing, like a seductive woman attempting to steal her soul.
"You have good reflexes, young lady," the woman said, "if you haven't moved an inch, I might have already held you in my claws, sucking your blood, leaving you with only a breath away!" The more the woman said, the more enthusiastic her voice became.
Soon after the dust settled, Alinta caught a glimpse of a woman with long, dark hair swaying in the wind. Her eyes were a fiery red, and her enticing body was cradled by her reddish gown. She was grinning from ear to ear as she regarded Alinta as a predator would regard its prey.
This...
Alinta's eyes blinked.
Is she a vampire?
"What a daring lady you are, attacking my coven in the middle of the night. You're such a brave vampire, I must say."
"Gra--- Lady Atara!" shouted Alinta as she dashed towards Atara and the coven. She then hid behind them. Since her grandma was present and the rest of the coven was powerful enough, she decided not to participate. In any case, she was only an extra that the world would discard in this timeline; there was no need for her to act as a hero as no one would remember her.
Then Alinta heard the woman giggle. Instead of being terrified, the vampire laughed amusingly. She didn't seem to mind that she was up against the most powerful witch in the bloodline right now.
"Brave?" the vampire repeated. "Well, I must say I truly am one brave vampire—or more like one brave entity in this world." Her eyes then sharpened, glaring at Atara with hatred: "A witch like you, who has an unknown origin, ruling this world—just the thought of it makes me gnash my teeth in hate!"
Atara drew her chin up. "What's the point of envying me?" she asked, raising the corner of her mouth. "If you have the capability," she said, lifting a finger and annoyingly beckoning to the woman, "come fight and defeat me."
Everyone expected the woman to charge at them, but she suddenly smiled, her wild face gone. "I am brave, but not stupid," she remarked, fluttering her dress hem. "It appears that the rest of you will be attending the competition, right? Well, I hope to see you there, at the arena, writhing in pain while calling my name in desperation," she said, biting her nail as she began feeling the excitement just by imagining the scenario. "When I kill one of your coven members, please accept my invitation to duel with you."
She vanished like the wind after declaring those words.
Alinta's eyes blinked. "Who was that?" That vampire appeared... hysterical.
Atara snorted.  "The vampire king's stupid, reckless, and soon-to-be-dead daughter."
"Oh?" Alinta asked, blinking again. "So that's why you didn't kill her." She was baffled as to why her grandma still had time to chat when she could simply kill that woman. So, that was why.
Atara huffed and rolled her eyes. "Don't jump to conclusions," she said, glancing at her coven. When they entered their own tents, she added, "I could kill that woman with just a snap of my fingers. However, since I have nothing to prove to the bloodlines anymore, I don't think killing a weakling would be fun. Nonetheless," she looked at Alinta, her eyes flashing with an unknown glint, "watching her die at the hands of my own beloved granddaughter is something I look forward to."
Alinta noticed the breeze becoming colder. When she saw her grandmother's eyes, she couldn't help but shudder and caress her arms.
"Because of her status, the vampire king's daughter killed thousands of innocent people." Atara flicked her sleeves. "So, you have nothing to be guilty of if you killed her, but don't forget to torture the damn woman; it would be a shame to give her a quick death."
Atara began to return to her tent. Her gaze was frigid, and her steps were heavy. When that vampire arrived a while ago, she noticed a hundred vampires prowling nearby. They were filled with bloodlust, thinking that in one moment they might emerge from the shadows to tear everyone apart.
Atara was not afraid of them. But she didn't want any of her coven to suffer casualties.
The vampire king seemed to be mocking and frightening her. Unfortunately, being cocky with Atara was what she despised the most. She had to restore the vampire king to his rightful place before the other bloodlines thought she was easily dominated.