Ten minutes earlier, after completing the rescue at the plaza, Garfiel was directly escorted out by the Ninjakhan of the Shadowkhan. Once the hostages had been sent away, he figured that with Shendu's abilities, the remaining matters would be handled properly.
With nothing better to do, he strolled casually down the street.
After walking for a while, two familiar figures entered his sight. One was the blue-haired maid Rem, carrying a basket. The other was the adorable cat-eared girl, Mimi Pearlbaton.
"Huh? Garfiel? What are you doing here?"
Rem asked in surprise when she spotted him, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
"Tch. I just finished a mission, so I'm wandering around. You two out shopping?"
Garfiel said thoughtfully, glancing at the local specialties inside the basket as if he had figured it out.
"Yes. Lady Shendu is quite busy today, so I wanted to do what I can to help."
Rem replied obediently with a gentle smile on her face.
The three of them chatted for only a short while before a sudden explosion shook the entire city. Immediately afterward, civilians began running in panic. Within moments, chaos spread everywhere.
"What the hell? Did the whole city get hit? Not just the plaza?"
Garfiel stared blankly, not expecting the situation to be this complicated.
"I don't know... but this doesn't seem simple."
Compared to Garfiel, Rem sensed the danger immediately. A grave look appeared in her eyes.
Within minutes, just as the smoke from the explosions began to dissipate, a voice suddenly rang out from the city's broadcast system—arrogant and domineering.
"Can you hear me? That's right, I am Capella, Archbishop of Lust of the Witch Cult. I hereby announce that the entire city hall has fallen into our hands."
"If you don't want this whole city to become a city of water, you'd better follow my instructions..."
The broadcast sent shock through all three of them, disbelief filling their eyes.
As the endless rambling continued, anger surfaced on Garfiel's rugged face. He turned to the two girls beside him and spoke decisively.
"Big Sis is busy. Let's head over there first and scout the situation. We'll gather intel and report back to Shendu."
Suddenly, Garfiel looked at Rem with utmost seriousness.
"All right. Mimi, you should head back first."
Since Mimi was not part of their faction, Rem directly suggested she leave, not wanting the cat-eared girl to follow them into danger.
"No way! Mimi's strong too! I want to act together with you!"
Mimi refused without hesitation. In her eyes, her strength was nothing to scoff at. There should be no problem fighting alongside them.
"Fine. Then let's make it quick and scout the place."
As part of the extraction group, Garfiel decided to adapt to the situation. After making up his mind, the three of them quietly made their way toward city hall.
Before long, they arrived at their destination. Even before reaching the entrance, they smelled a thick stench of blood—and the heavy presence of death.
All around lay the guards of Watergate City. Anyone who had approached this place had been slaughtered almost instantly. The state of their corpses was miserable, showing they had barely been able to resist.
There were no fewer than several hundred bodies scattered around, densely packed. The sheer number made one's scalp tingle and discouraged any rash action.
At the center of the plaza stood two figures, especially conspicuous.
There were no other Witch Cultists present. Just those two seemingly ordinary silhouettes, standing quietly before the entrance.
Both were cloaked from head to toe in black robes. The man was a tall, powerfully built brute, gripping two massive blades in both hands. His entire body radiated masculine strength.
The other figure held a longsword in one hand. Even from behind, the person exuded elegance—clearly a master of the blade.
"Don't go over there. Those two are ridiculously strong. It's better not to approach."
Rem immediately sensed danger. The feeling was only slightly weaker than the crisis they had felt against the White Whale.
"Hah! Rem, don't tell me you're scared? We came here with a mission."
Garfiel remained confident, showing no fear whatsoever.
"Miss Rem is right. Those two are extremely powerful. The three of us can't defeat them. And the aura of death around them is severe. They must have been formidable warriors in life."
Mimi was perceptive. With just a glance, she grasped the situation and grew tense.
"Oh? How would we know without trying? But fine, since you say so, we'll retreat for now. Next time, we'll bring Big Sis and attack together."
Garfiel suddenly withdrew his grin, though the smile he forced looked fake.
"Right, right. Let's leave together."
Mimi let out a breath of relief, though helplessness lingered in her eyes.
Rem, however, seemed to sense something. She sighed softly.
Just as the other two gathered magic, preparing to act, she suddenly cast her spell.
"Huma!"
At the very moment they were ready, Rem unleashed countless ice spikes toward the two enemies guarding the entrance.
Simultaneously, Garfiel lunged at the swordswoman, while Mimi charged at the burly man. Rem gripped her flail and followed.
As Garfiel rushed forward, he leapt and threw a punch at the woman. But at that instant, she swiftly drew the sword at her waist and slashed toward him.
Clang!
At the critical moment, Garfiel raised the shield on his right arm, barely blocking the strike.
However, the woman's speed and reactions were terrifying. The invisible flashes of her blade left Garfiel stunned, though he continued resisting desperately.
"No way... this one's way too strong."
Feeling her overwhelming power, Garfiel began to regret his decision. He occasionally transformed his hand into a beast's claw to strike back.
Meanwhile, Mimi and Rem's magic forced the burly man to defend continuously. He frantically shattered the spells with his twin blades while launching counterattacks.
After a brief exchange, the brute suddenly charged forward—faster than before. When he closed in, instead of slashing at them directly, he brought both blades crashing down onto the ground.
Instantly, a violent shockwave surged outward.
Rem hastily erected an ice shield. It barely held for a single second before shattering.
In that instant, countless shards of ice flew everywhere, slicing Rem's shoulder and arm with numerous cuts. The brute's strength was clearly monstrous.
On the other side, Garfiel's stamina had already dropped considerably after repeated exchanges. Every time he attempted a finishing move, the woman blocked it effortlessly.
Thud!
After yet another failed sneak attack, the woman slammed the hilt of her sword into Garfiel's ribs.
With a sharp cracking sound, Garfiel knew several of his ribs had broken. A mere hilt strike at close range had left him gravely injured. That alone showed how powerful she was.
"Huma!"
Seeing Garfiel at a disadvantage, Rem rushed in to assist, launching more than a dozen ice spikes.
Yet the woman parried them flawlessly.
Her airtight sword dance deflected every attack with ease.
"I told you we should've left quickly, Garfiel. You're too reckless!"
"Sorry... I misjudged their strength. Let's retreat!"
Garfiel could feel his stamina nearing its limit.
Seeing that he could barely stand, Rem quickly hoisted Garfiel onto her back, preparing to withdraw.
But just as she lifted him, the burly man wielding twin blades charged again, bringing both weapons down once more.
"Take this!"
At that critical moment, Mimi cast a spell that blasted the brute away, then grabbed Rem and tried to flee.
"Run! We have to get out of here now! Those two are too strong. The three of us can't beat them!"
Mimi shouted sternly as she sprinted outward.
"Right!"
Faced with the escalating danger, Rem hesitated no longer and fled swiftly, determined to avoid further disaster.
However, the burly man and the woman pursued relentlessly. In an instant, the brute rushed forward again, his twin blades slashing toward Rem. She swung her chained flail to block.
Crack!
The brute's twin blades shattered Rem's flail in one strike. The momentum of the blades continued downward, though Rem barely managed to evade with all her strength.
Mimi, on the other hand, was not so fortunate. Noticing that Garfiel was already injured, the cloaked woman directed nearly all of her attacks at him, as if intent on taking his head.
"Roar!"
Sensing the danger, Garfiel forced himself to endure the pain and leapt down from Mimi's back, transforming into his massive tiger form.
Crack!
Now a three-meter-tall tiger, Garfiel roared and hurled his enormous fists at the woman. Yet the results were minimal.
She was incredibly agile. Despite Garfiel striking more than a dozen times, none landed cleanly. At best, he forced her back temporarily. Exhausted, he reverted to his original form, spat out a mouthful of blood, and shouted,
"Rem, Mimi—run!"
Forcing his hands back into tiger claws, he tore up slabs of stone from the ground and hurled them at the two enemies.
Unfortunately, the woman sliced the flying debris apart effortlessly. Dark light flickered along her blade as she swung it again toward Garfiel's head.
"This is a pain... Mimi, Rem, you two run. I'll hold them off!"
Knowing the woman was far too dangerous, Garfiel had no choice but to cover their retreat. As her blade came down, he condensed an ice shield to temporarily block the strike.
Sadly, its durability was far too weak. Cracks rapidly spread across the ice shield. Seeing this, Mimi's eyes widened in shock.
"Garfiel, you can't die! I won't let you die!"
Faced with his attempt to sacrifice himself, Mimi's gaze turned resolute. The instant the woman's sword shattered the shield and slashed toward his neck, Mimi threw herself forward to intercept the blow.
Slash!
A line of blood appeared across Mimi's abdomen. Blood poured out uncontrollably.
Garfiel instantly lost the strength to fight. Holding Mimi in his arms, agony filled his eyes.
"Shadowkhan!"
At that critical moment, as the two enemies closed in once more, Rem hurriedly invoked her authority and summoned thousands of Ninjakhan.
Several thousand was already the limit of what she could summon. After consuming most of her magic power, three Batkhan carried them into the air and away from the deadly zone.
Soon after landing in a relatively safe area, Garfiel and Rem immediately used healing magic at full force, desperately trying to mend Mimi's wound.
Strangely, wounds that would normally heal with ease showed no improvement this time. No matter how much magic they poured into it, it seemed useless.
"Why is this happening? Why can't it be healed?"
"Let's hurry back. Lady Shendu... she might have a way."
Seeing Garfiel's panic, Rem quickly added.
Hearing Shendu's name, Garfiel regained some composure. Carrying the injured Mimi, he and Rem rushed toward the designated district.
Because Rem had formed a contract with Shendu, she knew exactly where to find her.
After great difficulty, Garfiel and Rem finally arrived. Reaching the conference room, Garfiel kicked the door open.
"Mimi's hurt! Lady Shendu, please save her!"
The moment he entered, he shouted loudly, drawing everyone's attention.
"Let me take a look first."
As the mage codenamed Blue, Felix possessed formidable healing abilities.
Stepping forward, green magic gathered in his hand as he began healing the girl's wound.
However, no matter how hard Felix tried, the wound would reopen shortly after being closed. Each time it seemed healed, a strand of pitch-black magic would emerge and tear it apart again.
"I'm sorry... I can't stop the bleeding. Lady Shendu, could you intervene?"
Realizing that even his exceptional healing magic was useless, Felix turned to Shendu for help.
"Please... save Mimi!"
Garfiel wept openly, his heart filled with anguish.
As Garfiel and Felix pleaded, Anastasia also cast a beseeching look toward Shendu.
She nodded and waved her hand.
"Step aside. Let me examine her alone."
At her gesture, the others moved away. She approached Mimi and placed her hand gently over the girl's injured abdomen. Looking at the adorable cat-eared girl, a trace of pity appeared in her eyes.
"How pitiful."
With that, she activated the healing power of the Horse Talisman. White light flowed into Mimi's abdomen, directly erasing the surrounding black magic.
The Horse Talisman did more than heal wounds. It restored abnormal conditions to normal. Whether curse or injury, it could resolve both.
"There was something wrong with the wound. Black magic inside was forcing it to reopen repeatedly."
After finishing the treatment, Shendu calmly explained.
"A wound that cannot be healed... It is most likely the Divine Protection of the Reaper."
Wilhelm's eyes filled with shock as he explained the unique nature of that Divine Protection.
The so-called Divine Protection of the Reaper was a terrifying ability that prevented wounds inflicted by its bearer from being healed, effectively functioning as a curse. That was why Felix had been unable to treat it.
The only person known to possess it was the former Sword Saint, Theresia van Astrea.
"I see. In that case, I'll heal the wound from forty years ago as well."
Shendu stepped forward and placed a hand on Wilhelm's shoulder, once again activating the power of the Horse Talisman.
"Thank you, Miss Shendu. Without you, Mimi might have died."
Anastasia bowed deeply in gratitude.
"The same goes for me. Miss Shendu saved Mimi. I, Ricardo, have no way to repay you."
Ricardo, the canine demi-human captain, knelt on one knee and spoke respectfully.
"There's no need. This was within my capabilities. What matters most now is the overall situation. Everything else is secondary."
Shendu glanced at the recovering Mimi. Anastasia immediately ordered someone to escort the cat-eared girl to a room to rest.
"I'm sorry, Lady Shendu. I'm useless... I couldn't even protect Mimi. Please punish me severely!"
Garfiel cried bitterly, overwhelmed with guilt.
"Enough. If you have the strength to cry, use it to think about how to counterattack next time."
Seeing his fragile state, Shendu rebuked him coldly.
After lecturing him briefly, she ordered Garfiel and Rem to rest. Having just endured a fierce battle, they needed recovery.
Creak!
At that moment, the door opened again. A blond man with meticulously combed hair walked in.
"We cannot agree to the Witch Cult's conditions."
Looking at Anastasia, Kiritaka spoke gravely.
"You mean that object cannot be moved, so it cannot be used as a bargaining chip? Or are they deliberately forcing us to find a way?"
As a merchant, Anastasia had been shocked upon hearing that the Witch Cult demanded the Witch's remains.
"Yes. Even if it could be removed, the Ten Councilors who manage this city would never reach a consensus. Handing over the remains would be equivalent to allowing the city to be flooded."
Kiritaka frowned as he explained.
"Then we have only one option left—battle. We crush them completely."
Anastasia said with killing intent in her voice.
"Understood. However, I cannot assist directly. My soldiers are guarding the nine councilors to prevent them from being captured."
"I understand."
After saying this, Kiritaka turned and left.
Anastasia pondered for a moment before turning her gaze toward Shendu, preparing to discuss their next course of action.