Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

“Let’s go. We’re leaving here.”

Loren spoke as if no one else was around, addressing the people behind him. Without another word, he shoved past the Pope and prepared to walk out.

“Wait!”

The Pope mustered his courage and blocked Loren’s path:

“Master Mentor must be under the Witches’ control! Even if he does anything, it’s excusable…”

The Pope continued making excuses for Loren. He truly did not want to become Loren’s enemy.

From what he knew about Loren, this situation was actually terrifying.

Loren never did anything without thinking ninety-nine steps ahead. Since Loren had raised Witches, it meant he had almost certainly already prepared to deal with the Orthodox Gods.

Not only that, but it was highly likely that every notable name in the Church already had a death method assigned by Loren.

If anyone else had done this, he would have dismissed it as wishful thinking. But this was Loren.So, all he could do now was stall, make excuses for Loren, and then find an opportunity to retire to his hometown—offending neither side.

But Loren clearly wasn’t giving him that chance.

“I’ve said it before. All of this is because of love. It has nothing to do with anything else.”

Loren placed his hand on the Pope’s shoulder and pushed him aside.

It wasn’t that Loren’s strength couldn’t shove the Pope—the Pope just wanted an excuse to put some distance between them.

Since he couldn’t escape, he might as well get as far away from danger as possible.

“We’re leaving. Anyone who blocks us dies.”

Loren raised Requiem and slashed the air. Immediately, Requiem emitted a wave of pressure, and everyone instinctively stepped back a few paces.

Although Loren had always looked frail and powerless, no one actually thought he was weak.

Anna held a scythe taller than herself, guarding Loren’s side. Her eyes, brimming with murderous intent, locked onto the surroundings. If anyone tried to harm Loren, she would end their life with one swing.

“Can we really leave safely like this?”

Naclis came to Loren’s side and quietly stuffed the firearms in her hand into the Shadow, letting the Reflection ambush anyone at any moment.

“No.”

Loren shook his head. He didn’t think they could just leave like that either.

True, no one here wanted to fight Loren, but he had already crossed the line. They had no choice but to act.

The airplanes were parked right next to Loren’s House. Noah had specially reinforced these aircraft—they had better performance and no self-destruct mechanisms.

But leaving by plane wasn’t realistic. They were too easy to intercept. Being shot down midair was an even bigger threat.

So Loren planned to leave on foot. Once out of everyone’s sight, he would activate The Hermit card.

Then he would head to the Whispering Woods to meet up with the Witches’ Church, or go to the sea to find the Merfolk. In short, he needed to expand his forces as quickly as possible and prepare the Severance Ritual.

“Master Mentor… why…”

Casper blocked Loren’s path. He was the most loyal to the Church, which was why he dared to stand in Loren’s way.

If it weren’t for Loren, he would have attacked directly.

“I’ve already said it several times. Because I love them. The Orthodox Gods want to kill the ones I love, so I’ll slaughter both the Gods and their believers. Got it?”

Loren tried to push Casper aside but failed.

Unlike the Pope, Casper clearly had no intention of backing down.

Tears welled up in the old man’s eyes. In his eyes, Loren was his honored mentor, and now he had no choice but to stand against him.

“I’ll tell you a secret, Casper.

“I’ve already obtained the Dawn Princess’s Treasure. That’s why I’m so certain this is real.

“At the same time, I’ve mastered many Super-tier Magic spells. If you hold back the others, I’ll give you the Super-tier Magic. How about that?”

Loren made an offer Casper couldn’t refuse. But when he tried to push past Casper, the old man still didn’t move.

Meanwhile, Casper had already begun chanting magic. Magic power started gathering, and Loren could already feel the pressure.

This should be Ninth-tier magic.

“I cannot refuse your condition. I would give up everything for Super-tier Magic.

“But I will not abandon the people and the greater good. So I cannot let you leave. I cannot let you take the Witches—the very plagues—away with you!”

“Plagues?”

Loren let out an angry laugh, then continued:

“Have Witches ever actively killed even a single person? And the Orthodox Gods—they steal authority, summon the Outer Gods, pollute the world, and control humanity. Instead of resisting them, you’re here persecuting the Witches!”

Loren’s words sent a cold shiver down everyone’s spines. Looking at the terrified crowd, Loren let out a chuckle.

He said no more and directly swung Requiem:

“Deathly Silence·Throat-Severing Slash!”

By then, Casper had finished chanting his magic. Even the Scarecrows around could feel the oppressive pressure.

But the moment Loren swung his blade, that oppressive pressure vanished instantly. Requiem’s Deathly Silence effect could silence the opponent and interrupt the magic chant.

Though startled by his magic being interrupted, Casper didn’t hesitate and quickly retreated.

He dodged Requiem’s blade, but he couldn’t evade the sword light Loren slashed out. Loren had hidden a Crimson Blade technique within his martial skill.

The Crimson Blade slashed across Casper’s face, which became a signal of some kind.

“Kill them! If we let them leave, we won’t have a good ending either!

“The Angel is on its way! Once the Angel arrives, we won’t have to fear him!”

The Bishop, who had already retreated far away, roared to rally the crowd.

“An Angel, huh…”

Now that Loren knew an Angel was coming, he wasn’t particularly moved. Just an Angel—Loren had plenty of ways to deal with It.

But there were too many people here. Even though Loren had already prepared a small-scale Severance Ritual, he couldn’t use it.

The Severance Ritual was his trump card. He couldn’t reveal it until he killed the Orthodox Gods.

The Pope gritted his teeth and began to pray.

At the same time, plants suddenly began sprouting from the bodies of the Church members around.

“If you don’t attack, you’ll turn into plants very soon!”

Forced into a corner, the Pope had no choice but to use this method to control the congregation.

“Ahh!”

A tree branch suddenly grew out of a Church member’s face. The branch pierced through his skin, causing him to scream in agony.

Then, as if he had gone mad, he charged at Loren—only to be cleaved in half by Anna’s scythe.

“No need to pretend. We’ll fight our way out.”

Chanting sounds filled the air all around. Casper had also stood up again and began chanting magic.

“There are too many of them…”

Not only that—Loren looked up at the sky. The clouds parted, and he caught sight of a familiar figure.

The Angel—the one who had dealt with the Blackened last time.

“You go first. I’ll catch up soon.”

Seeing this, Loren smiled and gave the order.

He flipped open the Dawn Princess’s diary hidden in his black robe. The diary floated in midair, flipping rapidly as magic surged, filling the area with a suffocating pressure.

“Casper, you’re in luck. Before you die, you get to witness Super-tier Magic.”

“Focus fire on Loren!”

The Pope realized the gravity of the situation. Countless spells instantly crashed toward Loren—but they merely passed through his body, striking empty ground or each other.

The cast time was long, but the cast time came with invincibility.