The Warden of The Witches

At the same time, in the Rose Prison.

Aiden sat in a space enveloped by gray mist, expressionless as he gazed ahead—where the four Grand Witches stared intently at him, the last guest to arrive.

This time when he was summoned, Abigail directly arranged him at the other end of the long table, facing her directly. While The other Grand Witches remained concentrated on Abigail's left and right sides.

The seating arrangement at this table was quite reasonable, considering he hadn't joined the Witch Gathering, but merely collaborated with them... or more accurately, utilized each other. If Abigail had arranged for him to sit together with them as he had disguised himself as Priscilla last time, he would have felt uncomfortable.

This was the so-called "Welcome Party" the Grand Witches held for him, their collaborator.

"It's my first time formally inviting a man to our 'tea party,'" Abigail began with her eerie voice. "Welcome, Aiden Galord."

"I'm honored," Aiden replied with a polite smile—though he wasn't sure if they could see it. "Thank you for the two 'little gifts' you gave me before."

That was the truth. The phrase of Order's Divine Language and the Mercury Sphere were both valuable treasures to him.

"You're welcome to enjoy them," Abigail replied indifferently. "It seems you take good care of Priscilla and Dailey."

"I heard My former 'beloved disciple' who disappeared before. was surprisingly also with you," Lamia added in her hoarse voice, her forked tongue flashing between her lips. "When is she getting out of prison? I miss her. She never received proper discipline for using my name back then, and she vanished without a trace."

"Sorry, but with her crimes, she's probably going to stay in prison until she dies," Aiden shrugged.

Melusine had little chance of parole, and even if she did, Aiden wasn't inclined to facilitate it. Even if she stayed in prison for long, sooner or later, she would try to escape.

But now, after resolving Evangeline situation, it wouldn't be unreasonable to let Melusine out— to be handled by Lamia, who had the intention to "reminisce." Their relationship.

Aiden glanced around. "It feels like someone is missing. Where's Miss Hasbinis? Did she get caught? Or... is she dead?"

From his perspective, the figures in the distance were shrouded in thin mist, making it difficult to discern details. However, just by their outlines, he could roughly identify them. Abigail and Lamia, with their non-human features, were unmistakable. And Hasbinis, with her childlike petite figure, was also easily recognizable. If she were missing, it would be easy to spot.

Hasbinis was also registered with the Inquisition Bureau as an S-level international wanted criminal. It was said that she excelled in enchanting brooms and blankets with rare flying beast materials, enabling them to carry people through the sky. In addition, she was skilled in taming winged beasts like the wyverns and griffins. From Aiden's perspective, she was a rare talent—after all, in this world, aircraft hadn't been invented yet, and creations capable of flight were limited to hot air balloons and steam airships.

"The Inquisition Bureau is attacking the cult's stronghold tonight. I entrusted her to monitor the scene from above," Abigail replied calmly.

"Tonight?" Aiden was somewhat surprised. "You seem quite well-informed."

The Inquisition Bureau's action was earlier than he had anticipated. When he relayed the location of the bountiful Mother Goddess Cult stronghold provided by the Witch Gathering, Aiden had repeatedly reminded Rebecca not to underestimate the cult's fighting power and to prepare thoroughly.

The Inquisition Bureau's operations were kept confidential, and they wouldn't disclose operational details to him. But the Witch gathering seemed to be aware of the Inquisition Bureau's movements. Was it Qimora gathering intelligence, or...?

"We helped them out behind the scenes," Abigail responded as if she had read Aiden's thoughts.

"Helped them out?"

"I imitate those guys' nun and create an homonculus then placed it in that village to die," Lamia interjected with a smirk.

Aiden understood now. The Witch Gathering deliberately orchestrated the "incident" of the homonculus dying locally. So To prevent panic from spreading among the local population, the Inquisition Bureau would have to act sooner rather than later.

"You're quite daring to use such a method," Aiden remarked.

The Inquisition Bureau should at least be successful in taking down the cult's stronghold, but capturing the mastermind was unlikely.

Firstly, the mastermind might not be at this stronghold. Secondly, that person was a wielder of the Divine Language.

Even though the Divine Language didn't possess direct offensive capabilities, it could still mentally corrupt ordinary people, making it a highly effective form of widespread mental attack.

Inquisitor teams that operated as a unit would typically be equipped with items or personnel to counter mental corruption. However, based on Aiden's personal experience, the ordinary countermeasures against Divine Language taught by Saint-level wielders could only provide emergency relief at best. To completely eradicate the influence of the Divine Language, one would either need to utilize expressionism or possess highly sophisticated mental healing techniques.

The Witch Gathering probably also believed that the Inquisition Bureau wouldn't be able to capture the mastermind, which is why they let the Inquisition Bureau take the lead. After all, the other witches, besides Abigail, were after the divinity possessed by that priest. They wouldn't want the target to fall into anyone else's hands, including the Inquisition Bureau's, or even himself as their collaborator.

"Before Hasbinis returns with the results, we might as well discuss the details of our cooperation," Qimora, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

"That's a good idea. Let's talk about the distribution after we've dealt with the 'Black Goat,' so we don't end up fighting over it in the end," Lamia chimed in with a smile.

"It seems a bit premature to discuss distribution before anything's been settled, doesn't it?" Aiden smiled, then shifted the conversation. "And besides, does it even make sense to discuss this?

His implication was clear. Given his and the Witch Gathering originally adversarial positions, any agreements made would hold no weight once their common enemy was eliminated. They could easily break the agreement or stab each other in the back. When it came to becoming dominator, most people would find it difficult to maintain any dignity.

"...That makes sense. I appreciate frankness," Abigail surprisingly nodded in agreement. "Why don't we cut to the chase and exchange the information we each possess?"

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