Feylord had managed to escape the sewers, but Verno was chasing after him while shooting flames everywhere. The discrepancy in the mastery of Pyromancy was apparent as Feylord’s barriers were shattered and his fire was being consumed, fueling his pursuer’s attacks.

“You’re not getting away even if you reach the academy!” Shouted Verno from afar as more flames burst forth.

With a pale and terrified face, Feylord put all his strength into sprinting. There was no use seeking help from the civilians so he kept fleeing.

After 15 minutes, Feylord reached the halfway point and could see the Elven building of the academy, however, he had run out of stamina and sustained some injuries.

Just as he was about to turn around and make one last stand, he caught sight of a figure shooting in his direction with an outrageous speed.

When the silhouette become clearer, the youth’s face brightened as he shouted atop his lungs,

“Someone is trying to kill me! Help!”

His loud shout caught the attention of the newcomer, who leapt in the air and, with a thud, landed between Verno and Feylord.

With blood-red hair and eye-patch covering one of her eyes, the Dean waved her hand and easily got rid of the wave of fire cast by Verno.

“H-he’s trying to kill me, ma’am.”

Melissa frowned and turned her attention to Verno, whose face was flushed red from rage. Although he didn’t continue his attacks, he also didn’t back down or scurry away.

“He’s in league with the Unholy Blasphemers.”

Unfortunately for him, Melissa didn’t have a favorable response. She clicked her tongue and with an open hand, made a grabbing motion toward the spy.

He felt an unstoppable force pull him close to her, and in an instant, he was kneeling in front of the Dean.

“As your clear actions of violence weren’t committed in the academy grounds, you will not receive punishment. However, I witnessed someone trying to kill a student of the academy, which is enough to make me act.”

A violent gale pressed down on Verno’s body, flattening to the ground and completely immobilizing him. Within a couple of seconds, he groaned and blacked out.

“Thank you!”

“Save it for when you explain everything. I’m bringing you both with me.”

“Yes, of course! I will fully cooperate!”

In the Sun Alchemist’s hideout, the atmosphere was gloomy as Stella curled up on the old sofa and Frey paced around nervously.

As for Jonathan, he was standing motionlessly like a statue, dazedly looking at the hidden spot in which he used to put the love letters.

A long bout of silence flowed between the three of them before static footsteps echoed from outside.

Stella twitched and peeked at the entrance whereas Frey let out a bit of his Ice-aspected magic.

The unexpected visitor was a man wearing a unique white and red priest robe. He had unremarkable facial features and had an expression of absolute serenity and peace.

With his hands behind his back, Parmenas- former Deacon of the Holy Church- entered the gloomy hideout and looked at the three spies.

The man neither looked angry or anxious, his facial muscles didn’t move and his demeanor was unperturbed.

Slowly, he raised his hand and muttered an incantation, resulting in three large blobs of light to shoot at the three ‘students’.

Almost instantly, all the injuries they sustained were healed and they even recovered some energy.

“A wholly unsatisfactory display, Jonathan.” Commented Parmenas as he remained near the entrance.

Finally snapping out of it, the heartbroken youth clenched his fists and retorted,

“You could’ve warned us about the attack.”

“You seem to have forgotten my stance in all of this. My presence here is already a breach of our agreement.”

“Then why did you come?”

Displeased with Jonathan’s aggressive tone, Parmenas sighed and performed the standard praying ritual of the Holy Church. Only when he was done did he speak again,

“Getting swept up by frivolity instead of focusing on your task. If you continue like this, I will find more suitable partners.”

“Hah! Suit yourself!” Hissed back Jonathan.

He knew that Parmenas was bluffing as it wasn’t easy to find people willing to steal the Alchemy Scripture and the Item the former Deacon wanted.

Parmenas was in a sensitive circumstance and didn’t have the liberty to seek new allies, thus risking divulging his intentions and ruining his plans.

“I can always scheme again. I’m not in desperate need of your assistance.”

He then paused for a couple of seconds before asking,

“Who caught the Witch of Izakan?”

Jonathan lowered his head and didn’t speak, leaving Frey to answer,

“We don’t know. There was a green mist and then everyone was dead. The Witch was defeated in an instant!”

“A green mist?”

Parmenas tapped his foot on the ground before turning around and leaving.

However, he didn’t head back to the academy but stopped at a random spot and closed his eyes while mumbling a chant.

Soon, a resplendent golden rune appeared mid-air. It emitted subtle waves of light around it as it moved on its own.

With a deep frown and unusually serious expression, Parmenas soundlessly followed it.

Alas, not even five minutes later, the magical rune stopped.

Lanky and sinister black shades came out of the darkness, surrounding the Deacon.

“You were looking for me?”

A sweet and youthful voice rang in Parmenas’ ears, but he kept a cool head. If one would look closely, they would notice that his eyes were twitching ever-so-slightly and his stoic face hid a bit of anxiousness and dread.

“I erred in my judgement. Excuse me.”

He bowed and walked away, neither invoking his magic nor sparing an extra glance to the frightening black shades.

Rather than an immaterial energy like Mana or elemental energies, a skill was something that couldn’t be altered easily. Still, Arthur was somehow able to decrease the damage done by [Wither Touch]. He drained most of her Mana without killing her. Basically, he had left just enough for her body to maintain its physiological functions. After all, he needed her to be awake and capable of speech and thought.

He had sensed Mana fluctuation emitting from a silver pendant tucked under her clothes, so he tore it off for safety’s sake.

His knowledge about Magical Artifacts was limited, thus making him especially wary of them. Some could develop sentience and others would activate in specific circumstances, such as the death of their owner, for example.

“Do you still want to continue your futile struggle and meaningless threats?”

Arthur looked at the pale-faced Jan, who regained consciousness for the second time. She was missing a leg and half an arm, and her complexion was that of a lifeless corpse.

She had suffered extreme mental and physical damage, so much so that her voice became hoarse and low and her eyes were hollow.

The animosity and rage from earlier were nowhere to be seen, now replaced by despair and helplessness.

“S-spare me and… I…I will tell you.”

“It all depends on how detailed the information you have is.”

She looked at him with empty eyes before taking slow and deep breaths as a chilling numbness spread across her body.

“The Circle of Damnation is somewhat recent. It’s comprised of very few members, all of which are rumored to be devil-worshippers.”

“That’s basic stuff and not enough.” Rebuked Arthur as he placed his hand on the girl’s abdomen.

Sensing imminent death, Jan hastily continued, “I know of two of their members. One is called the Devil Doctor and lives in the Desert of Peace and Commerce. The second is…”

A fit of coughs assaulted her, making her spit blood and shake her head to get rid of the aching and dizziness.

“The second is actually here.”

“I want to know their identity.”

The Witch looked down at him, her voice emotionless as she muttered, “You will kill me if I tell you. Let me recover a bit and heal my wounds.”

“Are you stupid?”

“... it’s up to you. You subdued me so easily, so me recovering a bit shouldn’t pose a problem to you.”

“...”

The parasite looked at her for a couple of minutes before using [Wither Touch], planning to kill her. He wasn’t going to take any risks, no matter how small, and even dead, she was going to serve as a powerful host. As the excruciating agony returned, Jan cried out for a moment.

Surprisingly, the Witch of Izakan saw her torturer stagger to the back and clutch her head.

The yellow-ish cubic barrier trapping her inside vanished, but the spider webs remained. As the parasite groaned in pain and fell to the ground, Jan thrashed around and after a bit, was able to hold her hand.

Channeling what remained of her Mana, she used her ability on the parasite who inexplicably fell unconscious.

The vessel’s head exploded into a mass of blood, gore, and disgusting matter. With hurried actions, Jan quickly used her ability again to smash one of the boulders, subsequently making her fall to the ground and loosen the tight binding of the silk-like white webs.

With only one leg left, the witch hastily bit her finger and used the dripping blood to draw a symbol on the ground.

Before long, a sinister laugh reverberated around her, followed by the appearance of a normal-sized black skull with two blue flames within its empty sockets.

Jan spilled more blood on the drawn circle before waiting impatiently. Soon enough, she was enveloped in an ominous dark blue light, which lasted momentarily.

When it was gone, the witch’s body was completely healed. Even her lost leg and arm were back and intact.

Even though she had survived the ordeal, the orange-haired girl didn’t look pleased. She knelt near the headless corpse of the torturer, first retrieving her pendant before inspecting it carefully.

When she didn’t notice anything peculiar, she walked to the blood circle and muttered,

“One more exchange. Single transaction. One year. Spatial Displacement to the base in the Nether Storm Archipelago.”

The dreadful black skull returned for half a second and teleported the Witch of Izakan out of the secluded coastal area. She had even taken the corpse with her.

The so-called Spatial Displacement was instantaneous, sending Jan to what looked like an ancient mausoleum.

She stood on another magical circle, finally breathing a sigh of relief as she sat on the ground.

Jan held her head and looked down, still scarred by what happened. It wasn’t the embarrassment of getting kidnapped so easily, but the unforgettable pain of having one’s limbs transformed into nothingness. It was similar to the legends about Void Magic, which consumed everything and inflicted unimaginable suffering to the victim.

‘Could she have been part of the Circle of Damnation and wanted to see what I knew? Only those people know how to use Void Magic.’

No matter how much she racked her brains, she couldn’t determine the identity of the assailant. The green mist and the shiny barrier was distinct, but they weren’t enough to pinpoint a specific individual. The world was filled with all kinds of mystical and mysterious abilities, all different from each other and capable of ridiculous things.

‘It couldn’t have been the Sun Alchemists. Not Parmenas either. Perhaps a shapeshifter? Or a vampire?’

Countless possibilities flooded her mind, but not once did she suspect that it could have been a parasite. It wasn’t due to her ignorance, but because parasites were extremely scarce to the point that a handful of them existed in Astria.

Furthermore, from Jan’s perspective, the unknown enemy had masqueraded as one of her subordinates but didn’t do any distinctive thing that could jeopardize their real identity.

‘I was the only one targeted, but this could be just the beginning.’

A heavy sigh escaped the girl’s lips as she laid down and covered her face, her arms trembling ever-so-slightly.

Unbeknownst to her, a finger-sized black spider with light purple stains on its back had crawled from the headless corpse’s pocket. It soundlessly distanced itself before shooting thin and unnoticeable webs and climbing to the ceiling, its six minuscule eyes looking down at the entirety of the room.

‘I’ll wait for the rest to come before I begin the harvest.’-Arthur