Miss Witch's Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

"All of you, leave now. Its target is the authority, and this time I'm fully confident I can lure it away."

The God of Night and Thunder was far slower than the God of Light and Fire, and now that Loren had the Dawn Magpie's ability, there was no way It could stop him if he truly wanted to run.

Besides, the God of Night and Thunder probably had no idea what was actually happening. Loren might not even need to engage It in combat at all.

Even if the clash between the God of Night and Thunder and the God of Vows and Wind wasn't intense enough, It wouldn't have much time to leave Its position anyway.

Loren didn't give anyone else time to react. He immediately flapped the Dawn Magpie's wings and shot into the sky.

The God of Night and Thunder hadn't even arrived yet, but just the precursor signs alone had plunged the sky into complete darkness.

"As long as I lure it away, that should be enough..."

The God of Night and Thunder didn't understand the specifics of the situation right now, so It wouldn't fight to the death.

The Dawn Magpie was extremely conspicuous in the night sky. No matter where the God of Night and Thunder currently was, It would be able to see Loren.

Moreover, mythical creatures all possessed abilities somewhat akin to divine authority, which was perfect for deceiving the God of Night and Thunder. Even better, the Dawn Magpie was a mythical creature that specifically countered the God of Night and Thunder.

The Dawn Magpie had died at Loren's hands, and the God of Night and Thunder had no idea the Dawn Magpie was already dead.

Loren flew at full speed, all the way out of the Uridia Kingdom.

That patch of darkness in the sky clung to Loren like a stubborn ghost the entire way, which proved his plan was working.

In the end, even after Loren had fled the God of Night and Thunder's territory, the sky remained shrouded in darkness. And it was daytime now.

It was only at this point that Loren began to accelerate in earnest.

He had been deliberately holding back his speed the whole time, which also allowed him to confirm one thing: his speed was indeed far greater than the God of Night and Thunder's.

If Loren simply wanted to run, It wouldn't be able to catch him.

Having confirmed this, Loren suddenly accelerated, shaking off the darkness completely. Light returned to the sky once more.

"Should be fine now..."

Loren didn't look back. He flew straight toward the God of Vows and Wind's territory, continuously using wind magic to accelerate himself along the way.

This might not necessarily convince the God of Night and Thunder that all of this was connected to the God of Vows and Wind, but it would at least increase Its hostility toward that god.

Only after fully entering the God of Vows and Wind's territory did Loren finally stop.

"The God of Night and Thunder can't come in here..."

Loren had no further reason to stay. After waiting for a while, he flew off toward the God of Night and Thunder's territory.

This time, he used the Dusk Crow's ability. It wasn't as fast, but it excelled at concealment.

...

"Loren!"

To Loren's surprise, he ran straight into Laila halfway there.

And he meant literally collided. Laila had thrown herself at him again.

"Why are you here?"

Loren hadn't been gone that long. The Dawn Magpie's speed was too fast; even without using it on the return trip, Loren wouldn't have been away for more than a day.

"I was worried about you."

Only after Loren was back within her line of sight did Laila finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"How are the others doing?"

"Everyone's fine. The God of Night and Thunder gave up after it couldn't catch you, and went back to confronting the God of Vows and Wind.

"Luna's injuries have mostly recovered too. Once you're back, we can set out again."

Laila was constantly monitoring everyone's positions. If anything happened, she would be the first to know.

"Good. Then let's hurry back and start executing the next phase of the plan.

"What about Naclis? Has her position changed at all?"

Loren was heading to the God of Light and Fire's territory specifically for Naclis. He was deeply worried about her being in such a dangerous place.

"Naclis's position hasn't changed."

"Not even a little?"

Loren suddenly sensed something was off. If her position truly hadn't moved at all, that might actually be bad news.

"Naclis's position hasn't changed, but Reflection Naclis's position has been shifting constantly.

"Ever since you left, Reflection Naclis has hardly returned to Naclis's shadow at all. Her range of activity is far larger than her original's."

"Then I can rest easy..."

Loren had already guessed what was probably happening around Naclis. She wanted revenge, so she had gone to the God of Light and Fire's territory.

But even with her enhanced power, she still couldn't match the God of Light and Fire, so she had chosen a sneakier approach.

Reflection Naclis's mobility was far superior to her original's. As long as the original was safe, she wouldn't run into any real danger.

And Naclis herself didn't need to move at all. Her daily needs were taken care of by Reflection Naclis, and with Reflection Naclis's abilities, acquiring supplies wasn't difficult.

"What about the others? Have they moved?"

"No large-scale movements. Paqina is still in the Whispering Woods. Corolla occasionally approaches her, so it's likely Corolla is taking care of her now. Paqina herself is like Naclis, barely moving at all.

"Only Flossie has a wider range of movement. She's already visited several countries."

"Alright..."

The current situation was within acceptable bounds for Loren. It might be a bit selfish, but compared to those maids, Loren clearly cared far more about the witches.

Loren picked up speed and quickly rejoined the witches from the Uridia Kingdom.

By now, Luna had fully recovered. It was time to begin executing the next phase of the plan.

"Laila and I will go pick up Paqina and grab the Emperor Card on the way. The rest of you, head toward the coast. Remember to avoid the God of Vows and Wind's territory."

Loren had calculated the timing. By the time he finished everything, the others would probably just be arriving at the coast. At most, they'd have to wait a little while.

"Mirrorheart..."

This time, Mirrorheart had a crucial task, but Loren's heart ached at the thought.

"If anything goes wrong, I'll kill myself immediately and come to inform you."

Dying once was nothing to Mirrorheart, but Loren still couldn't bear it.

"Fine. But if it's not absolutely necessary, don't be so quick to die. I can't bear to lose you..."

Mirrorheart genuinely didn't care about her own life. She would even kill herself just to demonstrate something for Loren, which was exactly why Loren had to emphasize that he couldn't bear to lose her.

"Understood."

"Good. Then let's set out."

After giving these instructions, Loren didn't waste any more words. He grabbed Laila and flew off.

There was still a considerable distance to the Whispering Woods, since it was on the far side of the God of Bountiful Harvest's territory.

The other witches set out simultaneously. This time, they didn't have the Hermit card, so they needed to keep a low profile. They relied entirely on Veronica's Arcane Ability to avoid detection along the way.

Loren flew at full speed the entire way, and before long, he arrived at the Whispering Woods.

Passing through the Whispering Woods, Loren spotted the Witches' Church hideout. The Protective Wards here were useless against him.