On the border road, after the Sin Archbishops of the Witch Cult launched their assault, Akane immediately mobilized the members of the Divine Dragon Merchant Guild, who quickly surrounded the area.
Hundreds of guild members clad in purple robes raised their right hands before even arriving. Fireball spells, massive ice lances, lightning, and waves of magical force surged in from all directions.
"Damn Witch Cultists—go to hell!"
Only now did Crusch recall Shendu's earlier warning, and she could not help but regret her own carelessness.
If Akane had not stepped in just now, she might have died in the very first wave of attacks—without even leaving a trace behind.
Burning with anger, Crusch drew the katana at her waist. Infused with wind magic, a blade of compressed sword energy shot toward the white-haired young man at incredible speed.
"I say, launching an attack right when I'm enjoying my speech—what kind of upbringing did you people have?"
The white-haired young man tilted his head. His body did not move an inch, as though he had been frightened stiff, yet there was not the slightest fear in his eyes.
As the attacks from every direction struck, it was as if they collided with an invisible wall. Every physical and magical assault vanished soundlessly, without so much as a ripple.
Even Crusch's strike was completely neutralized. The white-haired youth showed no urgency at all, merely gazing at them with mocking eyes.
"How is that possible? With so many continuous attacks, not even a single ripple appeared."
Seeing the white-haired youth effortlessly block the combined assault of hundreds of mages, and watching all the spells collide against the barrier only to disappear, Crusch felt a deep shock.
But having been warned by Shendu beforehand, Akane understood that this man must possess some kind of special Authority.
"I mean, I was talking. I was in the middle of speaking, you know? Don't you think interrupting like that is strange? I'm not insisting I have the right to speak, but when someone is talking, shouldn't you at least listen until they're finished? Whether you listen or not is your freedom—I won't complain. But deciding not to let me speak at all—isn't that going too far? Just how arrogantly self-centered are you?"
The white-haired man remained disdainful, allowing spell after spell to strike the barrier. He looked slightly displeased as he glanced at them, then at the mages of the Divine Dragon Merchant Guild.
After finishing, he noticed Akane and Crusch remained silent, and his dissatisfaction deepened.
"So you're looking down on my rights—my scarce personal property?"
His voice halted abruptly, a trace of madness flashing across his face as he swung his right hand.
More than a dozen streams of translucent air instantly materialized. Once formed, they shot forward at unstoppable speed toward the members of the Divine Dragon Merchant Guild and Crusch's forces.
"Deploy magical barriers!"
Sensing the pressure released by the young man, the guild members around them did not hesitate. They immediately activated the power of their rings and raised a joint defense.
In an instant, a massive magical barrier formed from the combined power of hundreds of people, barely neutralizing several of the air currents. But Crusch's subordinates were not so fortunate—within a single wave, at least several hundred perished.
In just one move, Crusch's forces suffered devastating losses. Even the members of the Divine Dragon Merchant Guild were placed under immense pressure. His strength was overwhelmingly oppressive.
As for Akane and Crusch, they were clearly his primary targets. Five or six streams of air surged toward them in succession—only to be casually dispersed by a flick of Akane's hand.
"Haa... you saved my life again, Miss Akane!"
Facing the sudden assault, Crusch still felt lingering fear.
"Save your thanks for later. Besides him, there's another one."
At Akane's calm words, unrest spread through Crusch's ranks. A teenage boy with coffee-colored long hair appeared before them. He wore ragged clothes and no shoes.
Not only that—he held two short swords in his hands. Each time he darted forward, several sprays of blood followed in his wake. Wherever he passed, few knights remained alive.
"Ahh, ahh... such delightful emotions. No matter how much I consume, it's never enough—eat, drink, bite, binge and gorge! Thank you for the feast."
The ragged boy approached slowly, and Crusch once again felt a surge of danger.
The appearance of the two of them signaled an immediate reversal of the situation. Just two people were enough to make Akane and Crusch feel immense pressure.
"Who exactly are you?"
Realizing their identities were anything but ordinary, Crusch asked again, her gaze heavy with caution.
Upon hearing her question, the two exchanged a glance before introducing themselves with contemptuous pride.
"Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, representing Greed—Regulus Corneas."
"Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, representing Gluttony—Lye Batenkaitos."
After their introductions, they advanced slowly. The Archbishop of Gluttony suddenly accelerated, aiming to close in on Akane and Crusch to strike.
His speed blurred into an afterimage. With his short swords, he targeted Akane's arm and slashed down with full force.
Roar!
As expected, the moment he drew close, Akane's eyes transformed into vertical draconic pupils. A terrifying dragon's pressure erupted from her body—nearly reaching a double-A rank in intensity.
Caught off guard, Lye was heavily injured by the overwhelming force. Even with the combat experience and physical prowess he had devoured, he could not compare to a dragon in absolute strength.
Immediately after, Akane spat out a blazing fireball at the spot where Lye crashed, triggering another explosion.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion erupted, followed by a scream from within the smoke. The once-arrogant Archbishop of Gluttony was dealt a crushing blow.
"Take this!"
Seeing that the Sin Archbishop might be wounded, Crusch swung her blade as well, delivering a follow-up strike into the explosion.
Slash!
Under the combined assault, the Archbishop of Gluttony was completely stunned. Before he could even activate his Authority, he suffered severe injuries.
Fortunately for Lye, his vitality was extraordinarily tenacious, and he did not die on the spot.
"My, my. Archbishop of Gluttony, that was rather foolish of you. Letting yourself be ambushed like that—you're truly pathetic. Be careful, or you might fail the mission."
Regulus looked at him with open disdain, his tone dripping with contempt.
As the smoke cleared, Lye's figure reappeared. His already ragged clothes had been burned further, and a deep wound carved across his right shoulder.
It was clear that the joint attack from Akane and Crusch had been highly effective.
Hearing Regulus mention the mission, Akane roughly guessed their objective—to erase Crusch's memories and flaunt their presence before them.
But knowing full well how formidable the Archbishop of Greed was, Akane had no intention of prolonging the fight. She turned to look at the members of the Divine Dragon Merchant Guild behind her, then at Crusch.
"Crusch, issue the order to retreat. That man cannot be defeated head-on. There is no benefit in fighting him—best to withdraw strategically."
Akane had always followed Shendu's commands. She added, "Master instructed me as well—once we encounter them, we are to return immediately. No prolonged engagement."
"I understand."
Upon hearing it was Shendu's order, Crusch took a deep breath and spoke sharply, "Iron Fang, listen up! Do not engage—retreat at full speed!"
"Divine Dragon Merchant Guild, leave a rear guard. The rest, withdraw!"
Once the commands were issued, both knights and guild members began to fall back swiftly.
Yet Regulus made no move to stop them. Instead, he stared at the two who remained in place, as though he already had them cornered.
"Do you really think you can run? You're my assignment, after all."
Regulus spoke arrogantly, convinced that as long as the primary targets remained, it did not matter if the rest of the rabble escaped.
Among the Sin Archbishops of the Witch Cult, Regulus could be considered the strongest. He possessed an overwhelmingly powerful Authority, yet he himself was a complete amateur in actual combat, relying entirely on that power to act tyrannically.
Wielding near-invincible strength had made him incomparably arrogant.
After Crusch and Akane issued their orderly retreat, only a small number of people remained on the field. Seeing the situation before her, Akane knew it was time to leave.
"Crusch, let's go. We'll report this matter to Master."
"Right!"
From their brief exchange alone, Crusch understood that these Witch Cultists were far from ordinary. If Akane had not stood before her, she likely would have already been killed.
"Heh. Do you think you can leave? Did I say you could? Walking away in front of a guest is terribly rude behavior."
The Archbishop of Greed spoke coldly, continuing his rapid-fire stream of irritating nonsense.
"Sorry. Your power isn't all that special. Goodbye."
Seeing the arrogant look on his face, Akane stomped lightly on her shadow. Dozens of Shadowkhan ninjas suddenly emerged before them.
The moment they were summoned, they charged forward one after another toward the Archbishop of Greed. Yet no matter how they attacked, they could not produce the slightest effect.
Regulus merely waved his hand casually. The approaching Shadowkhan ninjas were instantly blasted into clouds of black mist.
What the Sin Archbishops did not expect, however, was that Akane and Crusch slowly began to sink into their shadows, gradually disappearing.
"Damn it! Don't even think about escaping!"
Sensing his prey slipping away, the Archbishop of Greed flew into a rage. He unleashed his Authority at full force, wiping out the remaining Shadowkhan in an instant.
But he was still one step too late. Akane and Crusch vanished completely.
The mission Pandora had assigned—to strip Crusch of her memories—had utterly failed.
"Oh my, Archbishop of Greed, it's rare to see you look so furious. Let's see how you explain this when we return."
Despite having failed the mission and suffered heavy injuries himself, Lye gloated shamelessly.
"You're no different, bastard. We were executing this mission together. Don't think you'll escape punishment either."
Regulus had never imagined that those two women would slip away like that, diving directly into the Shadow Realm.
However, noticing a few remaining members of the Divine Dragon Merchant Guild in the distance, the two immediately rushed forward and slaughtered them to vent their anger.
Two hours later, at the entrance to Roswaal's territory, Akane and Crusch returned from the border and began tallying the losses.
Akane discovered that the Divine Dragon Merchant Guild had lost around thirty to forty people—those who had stayed behind to cover the retreat.
Crusch's losses were far greater. In the first wave of attacks alone, she had lost nearly four hundred subordinates.
Upon learning that Crusch had suffered a sudden ambush, Felix Argyle immediately dropped everything. In less than an hour, the cat-eared knight arrived at Crusch's side.
The moment they met, Felix stepped forward and embraced Crusch. Seeing that she was completely unharmed, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Lady Crusch, thank goodness you're safe, nya. Thank you, Miss Akane, for your help."
Felix swished his tail energetically, visibly overjoyed.
When he had first received the message from Iron Fang, he had feared that Lady Crusch had been gravely injured. Seeing her intact now allowed him to relax.
He could not help but feel grateful that Crusch had formed an alliance with Shendu and gained her protection.
"It's nothing. Just doing what I can."
Akane waved her hand dismissively. After a brief exchange, they headed toward Roswaal's mansion.
Once the two young maids opened the gates, Shendu was already waiting in the courtyard. Through the intelligence network of the Shadowkhan, she had learned everything in advance.
She invited them all into the living room. Rem prepared black tea as they sat down to talk.
Inside the mansion's parlor, Crusch—with her deep green hair—still wore a lingering look of shock.
After their initial clash with the Sin Archbishops of the Witch Cult, she fully realized how troublesome they were—far beyond ordinary adversaries.
It was worth mentioning that Crusch herself was a renowned powerhouse. She had once fought one of the Three Great Witchbeasts—the Great Rabbit—and driven those monsters into the Sanctuary.
It was precisely because of that famous battle that she had been regarded from the beginning as one of the most promising candidates in the Royal Selection. That was the true symbol of her strength.
"I apologize, Lady Shendu. Thanks to your arrangements, I returned unharmed. I underestimated the danger of the Witch Cult and was caught off guard."
Crusch lowered her head, fear still lingering in her eyes. She had learned that arrogance could invite disaster.
"So, what do you think of the Sin Archbishops of the Witch Cult?"
Seated calmly, Shendu looked at the still-shaken Crusch and asked thoughtfully.
"They're very strong. One of them was within a reasonable range. But the other... I couldn't see through him at all. His strength was absurd."
The combined magic of hundreds of Divine Dragon Merchant Guild members was terrifying—even if more than half were only D-rank spells, it was still overwhelming power.
Not to mention Crusch's own sword energy, which carried tremendous destructive force.
Yet even with all that, they could not break through the Archbishop of Greed's defense. That alone spoke volumes about his strength.
After hearing Crusch's account, Shendu confirmed that it matched her expectations. It was likely one of the normal applications of the Archbishop of Greed's Authority.
She recalled that the Authority was called the Lion's Heart.
By transferring his heart, he could place himself in a permanently fixed state—or manipulate the flow of time around himself. That was why a simple wave of his hand could unleash devastating attacks.
Those invisible currents of wind—once released—could have their speed manipulated to achieve destructive power even greater than sword energy.
"I already know about that. For now, Crusch, avoid moving around unnecessarily. Stay home and lie low. I doubt they would dare venture deep into the kingdom's interior to attack you again."
Shendu patted Crusch's shoulder in reassurance.
"That truly puts my mind at ease."
Hearing Shendu's comfort and arrangements, Crusch's face flushed faintly. She stepped forward and embraced her openly.
Crusch trained regularly, her physique firm and well-toned—though not quite comparable to Emilia's.
"Mmm... this is a little annoying. Really annoying."
Seeing the scene, Emilia puffed out her cheeks, looking slightly displeased.
"Thank you, Lady Shendu. With you looking after me, I believe I have nothing to fear. Having you here is truly a blessing."
Still holding her, Crusch's eyes were filled with gratitude—and a trace of deeper emotion.
As a soldier, Crusch was not easily moved. Yet Shendu's foresight, composure, and careful arrangements had deeply impressed her.
Even someone as strong-willed as Crusch could not help but feel she wanted to rely on her.
"Enough flattery. Felix, I'll leave Crusch in your care for now. In a while, we'll head to the Sanctuary. Once we return, it'll be time to settle accounts with the Witch Cult."
Shendu clenched her fist, her eyes cold.
Certain matters had already been arranged clearly. As long as they proceeded step by step, the Witch Cult would soon become history.
There was still thirty-five percent left to complete. Shendu would use this opportunity to eradicate the Witch Cult entirely—eliminating the troublesome Sin Archbishops and Pandora once and for all.
This was her current mission.
And her final one.