Sin of the Witch is neither a Dark Guild that does anything for money nor a Legitimate Guild recognized by the Council and Guild Alliance. It is a Dark Guild with the ultimate goal of eradicating all darkness and evil in the world.
Ultear and Melty believe that only by achieving that goal can they atone for part of their sins, and their journey of redemption is unending.
All the Dark Guilds in the world are their targets, including the Black Magic Sect and Zeref, who is worshiped by those people.
For this, they are willing to sacrifice their lives if necessary, but they must also cherish their lives as much as possible before repaying their sins.
From the day the guild was declared established, the two have been actively taking action and will continue to do so.
However, even though they call themselves an Independent Guild, they are still seen as a Dark Guild in the eyes of the Council.
After all, both were once part of the Seven Purgatory Dependents, and one of them even infiltrated the Council and grasped plenty of secrets of the Magic Realm.
If they continue on like this, they will sooner or later find themselves in quite a perilous situation. Because neither the Council nor the Legitimate Guild can tolerate them, and neither can the Dark Realm.
Having chosen this path, though it's not to the point of being enemies with the entire world, they will sooner or later be hunted by both sides—light and dark.
Mira expressed concern for the futures of those two.
Rhode said, "Ultear should be able to understand this point, right? She... might even be smarter than us, but knowing this, she still chose this path."
Ultear was never a simple person. In the past, she was just blinded by certain things.
Now, unless the idea of penance gives rise to a self-destructive tendency, maybe one day she can truly see the light.
Rhode couldn't assert whether this was good or bad, but if Gray knew of Ultear's choice, he might feel happy, right?
This journey was a bit longer. They went from winter to early summer within a day, and Rhode and Mira had already taken off their cotton clothes and switched to lighter attire.
In the morning, the coachman said that unless there were unexpected incidents, they should reach Antilu Leina Mu before noon.
However, there really was an unexpected incident on the road.
Rhode heard rumbling explosions, and the carriage stopped.
Mira poked her head out and asked, "What's going on?"
The coachman said a bit nervously, "Ahead is a section where a gang of bandits often appears, but I heard they were eliminated a while ago, so I dared to take this path. Now, there seems to be a battle again, but I don't know why."
Rhode guessed, "Could it be that a new bandit group is vying for territory?"
As he spoke, he had already jumped off the carriage and, with Mira, climbed to a higher vantage point to get a better view.
During this time, the River Crab in front transmitted real-time footage, showing a small cliff where the battle was taking place at the base.
Now, more than twenty people dressed like soldiers in tattered gray uniforms lay on the ground, while two girls were still fighting among the crowd.
One had a head full of green curls, her explosive figure tightly wrapped in a suit with web-like patterns.
Threads shot continuously from her hands, tightly ensnaring her opponents.
The other girl had long reddish-brown hair braided into pigtails, freckles on her face, and wore overalls. In some ways, she could compete with Wendy in terms of stature.
Her magic was intriguing; it seemed to fire carrots continuously, blasting away enemies one by one.
Rhode, observing from the River Crab's perspective, looked at the large crater on the ground and the scattered carrots around the pit, suspecting that the explosions just now might have been caused by those carrots.
On one side were two female mages, and on the other was a 'military' force in tattered clothing. From an outsider's perspective, it was truly difficult to judge who was the villain.
The battle grew more intense. The soldiers' equipment seemed disorganized, with some carrying ordinary swords and firearms, while others wielded magic staffs.
Soldiers were continuously charging from behind the hill, intensifying the battle against the two female mages.
At this moment, a short, plump girl with black hair suddenly sprinted across the cliff, joining the battlefield. With a strong leap, she knocked down a figure resembling a commander holding a magic staff.
As swords and blades came slashing at her, her stature suddenly became tall and slender, avoiding the weapons while raising a long leg to kick down the assailant.
The scene grew increasingly chaotic. Rhode, while describing the situation to Mira, also flew into a position high above, giving him a bird's-eye view of the battlefield.
"It looks like they're on a subjugation mission," Mira said. "Can you see the emblem on them?"
"It seems to be Mermaid's Heel," Rhode saw the emblem of Mermaid's Heel printed on the skirt hem of the girl who fluctuated in size.
Mira was a bit surprised but found it understandable: "After all, we're approaching Antilu Leina Mu. We might even travel together with them for a while."
The two quietly watched the battle from the sky, neither mentioning the idea of helping.
According to the etiquette among mages, even members of the same guild cannot rashly interfere in another's task without being asked.
Between different guilds, it's even more so; even if you help with good intentions, you might be seen as trying to steal their work and thus cause resentment.
"Those military uniforms seem familiar. I think I saw them in a newspaper a few days ago," Rhode thought aloud. "I remember they're called the Petlyura Gang. Does that ring a bell?"
Mira asked, "Is it the one from Gioa Kingdom?"
The Gioa Kingdom is located southeast of Snake Grass Bay, across the sea from the neighboring Bosco Kingdom of the Fiore Kingdom.
It's a country not very affluent, rife with various gangs, and the security situation is very concerning.
And the Petlyura Gang stood out among the many gangs. At their peak, they had more than three thousand people, with one-third possessing powerful Magic Tools.
Gioa Kingdom had attempted multiple times to annihilate this large gang, but with little success.
Furthermore, the gang leader Petlyura continuously absorbed other smaller gangs' members and eventually even raised the banner of rebellion, declaring himself king.
Though the Gioa Kingdom eventually emerged victorious, it was greatly weakened. Coupled with other disruptive gangs, the royal family was overwhelmed with suppressing chaos, leading to a turbulent situation.
Ultimately, the leader Petlyura fled Gioa Kingdom with his defeated troops, entering Bosco Kingdom.
Bosco Kingdom's military was much stronger than Gioa Kingdom's, and after several attempts to wipe them out, Petlyura was left with only a small band of soldiers, escaping along the border into the Fiore Kingdom.
Had it not been for their crimes of pillaging and arson, Rhode might have thought this was the start of a world uprising against feudal systems.
Mira was somewhat worried for those girls below: "If it's the Petlyura Gang, aren't the three of them in serious danger?"
Rhode replied, "It's just remnants, after all. Three against seventy or eighty should be manageable, right…"