Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

”Throat-Severing Slash!”

The Requiem blade slashed out. Pastus charged head-on to meet it, but the imagined scene of him being cleaved apart did not appear. Instead, Pastus caught the blade’s edge.

”?”

Whether it was strength or speed, the Pseudohuman disguised as Pastus completely overpowered Loren, even managing to catch his blade.

Rage surged from the depths of Loren’s heart. Being at a disadvantage in combat meant nothing to Loren, but he could not allow his dignity to be trampled.

”I’m done playing nice!”

After a brief incantation, a weakened version of Sin-Burning Flames ignited upon the blade, forcing Pastus to release his grip.

Seizing this moment, Loren did not press the attack. Instead, he took out a potion and drank it in one gulp, causing his strength to skyrocket.

Seeing Loren dare to drink a potion right in front of him, the Pseudohuman naturally wouldn’t let this opportunity slip. Its sharp claws shot directly towards Loren’s chest.

Even the crow in the sky couldn’t react in time. The Pseudohuman’s hand pierced straight through Loren’s heart.”Forgot to tell you, I’m invincible while drinking potions.”

Loren tossed the empty vial to the ground and began drinking another potion.

Pastus, refusing to believe it, continued attacking Loren. No matter how hard he tried, his attacks simply could not touch Loren.

Soon, a group of Pseudohumans surrounded Loren, silently watching as the number of empty vials around him grew.

”You know, this is the first time I’ve ever used such a shameless fighting style.”

As the last potion vial hit the ground, Sin-Burning Flames instantly erupted from Loren, spreading outwards in all directions. Several Pseudohumans close to Loren were immediately engulfed by the flames.

Seeing Loren had stopped drinking potions, Pastus seized this chance, charging headlong into the Sin-Burning Flames. Yet, his hand still passed right through Loren’s head. Nothing happened.

Before he could land, a Crimson Blade slash struck his back, tearing open the skin to reveal the black substance beneath.

Pastus landed. Loren began chanting Sin-Burning Flames once more. This time, Pastus did not act recklessly. Thorns appeared in his hands, gradually entangling to form a long spear.

Pastus hurled the spear. The sound of it tearing through the air followed, a testament to its incredible speed.

Yet, the spear still did not touch Loren. Instead, at the exact moment it passed through Loren’s body, Sin-Burning Flames was released once again.

Pastus retreated swiftly to dodge, but this time, Loren’s target wasn’t him, but the other Pseudohumans around him.

Another batch of Pseudohumans was reduced to ashes. Loren glanced around; only about a dozen Pseudohumans remained on the field.

Using Void-walking during the casting animation—this was currently Loren’s most shameless tactic. It was only because he was facing Pseudohumans this time. If it were any emotional being, even if Loren didn’t kill them this time, they’d be so furious they’d jump off a building.

Loren’s Mana was nearly limitless. He didn’t have to worry about running out of Mana for Void-walking. He could literally wear Pastus down to death using Void-walking.

Being unable to fight back while getting hit—no one could withstand that.

Right in front of Pastus, Loren picked off the other Pseudohumans one by one with Crimson Blade strikes, and Pastus could do nothing about it.

He tried every kind of attack, but the result was always the same: utterly ineffective.

Loren didn’t even engage in close combat. Releasing magic took but an instant. Even if a master of speed arrived, they wouldn’t be able to find Loren’s weakness.

To be honest, Loren hadn’t originally planned to use this shameless tactic. Mana consumption was one thing; Loren didn’t care about that. The main reason was that Pastus had just trampled on Loren’s dignity.

”Let me teach you a survival rule in this world.”

Under Loren’s relentless, no-holds-barred assault, all the Pseudohumans Pastus had brought were completely wiped out. Now, Loren was step by step approaching Pastus.

A mage choosing to get close to a warrior like Pastus, whose physical body was incredibly powerful, meant Loren didn’t consider him a real opponent at all.

”Never try to show off in front of me.”

Loren suddenly flashed in front of Pastus, thrusting the Requiem blade towards his chest. After consuming the potions, the speed gap between them wasn’t that large.

Knowing direct attacks were largely useless against Loren, Pastus began chanting a spell. Magical power gathered. Loren’s Intuition sent a warning of danger.

”Deathly Silence.”

This was the Requiem’s third effect: Silence. It was also the first time Loren was using it.

The Requiem had imprisoned quite a few souls by now, making Deathly Silence usable. Although the silencing effect might only last for an instant, that was enough.

Pastus’s chant was abruptly interrupted. Even the gathered magical power dissipated. The Requiem blade successfully pierced his chest.

Loren pushed harder, forcibly pinning Pastus to the ground. Then, Sin-Burning Flames erupted once more.

A sea of fire engulfed both Loren and Pastus. Loren could hear the sizzling sound of Pastus being burned, but Loren himself remained completely unharmed.

”Ah! This strike carries the bond between us! I *will* kill you!”

Pastus’s sins were insufficient; the damage bonuses from Judgment and Sin-Burning Flames weren’t enough. But the explosive power of the Strength Card had no such limitations.

As Loren roared, the flames indeed grew more violent. Pastus’s body gradually turned to ash.

Immediately after, Loren’s Intuition sent another warning.

”Could you just die quietly? Stop trying to revive.”

Loren swiftly withdrew, simultaneously pulling out the Requiem blade. Without the Requiem, it would be difficult for Loren to deal effective damage.

In the next moment, Pastus’s entire body turned into liquid, shooting out like sharp arrows just as Loren dodged away.

”Can we make peace? We’ll stay away from you, and please don’t pursue us to extinction. It wasn’t easy for us to reproduce this many.”

”Indeed, we have no enmity between us. There’s no need to fight to the death.”

Loren decisively agreed to Pastus’s proposal, simultaneously lowering his combat stance.

”To celebrate our reconciliation, I’ve decided to perform a piece of music.”

”I’m all ears.”

The Requiem’s blade was already resting against its sheath, but Pastus genuinely seemed prepared to sit down and listen.

To be honest, Loren wasn’t entirely sure if he could be considered ’sitting’ now. He had already turned into a mass of viscous liquid. The only reason Loren decided he was sitting was simply because he had gotten lower.

Loren plucked the strings. A melodious tune rose. The Requiem’s timbre was exceptionally beautiful, though tinged with a hint of sorrow. The music played by the Requiem was also very pleasing to the ear.

At the same time, magical power gathered silently. As the music reached its crescendo, Loren violently pulled on the Requiem, sending a mass of flesh, infant-like in form, flying towards Pastus.

This was the sixth-tier magic, Crimson Tide Nova. Perhaps its destructive power wasn’t top-tier, but it was first-rate for ambushing people using the element of surprise.

Seeing Loren suddenly attack, Pastus didn’t hesitate either, utilizing his high mobility to dodge. The Crimson Tide Nova simply couldn’t catch up to his speed.

This was also within Loren’s expectations. He continued plucking the strings, unleashing two more Crimson Tide Novas. He hadn’t just chanted one spell earlier.