Karlo spotted a “black cloud” approaching from a distance. The little demons on the ground screamed and took flight, diving into the ominous cloud. As it drew closer, Karlo realized it was no cloud at all but a gigantic demon.

This demon had massive wings growing from its back, covered in black scales, with a wingspan of six or seven meters. The wings were powerful, whipping up gusts of wind with even a slight flap, lifting several small demons into its gaping maw.

The bird-like demon devoured its prey with alarming speed and an insatiable appetite. It had consumed countless small demons on its path but still seemed ravenous. Inevitably, its gaze turned to Karlo.

"Damn it," Karlo muttered as he sprang to his feet and dashed away. He and this bird-demon were on entirely different levels of power; fighting it head-on would be suicide. It’s absurd to think a person armed with cold weapons could take on a bomber!

Karlo fled with remarkable speed, but the bird-demon was faster. In just a few breaths, it had caught up with him. With a powerful beat of its wings, Karlo felt a strong wind surge beneath his arms, lifting him uncontrollably upward.

Desperately flapping his small, meager wings behind him, Karlo tried to counter the upward motion, but it was futile. His wings were more ornamental than functional compared to the demon’s.

As Karlo rose higher, he saw the demon’s enormous jaws slowly open to receive him. He threw his two serrated daggers at the demon, but they sank into its mouth without causing a ripple.

Thinking quickly, Karlo activated a black aura with his right hand and hurled it at the bird-demon. “Weakness Spell!”

The black aura expanded in mid-air, eventually enveloping the bird-demon. Its body suddenly felt as though it had gained an immense weight, and its movements became sluggish.

The gusts of wind beneath Karlo disappeared suddenly, and he felt a surge of relief, preparing to escape as soon as he landed. But before he could descend a meter, the wind returned. Karlo looked back and saw that the “Weakness Spell” had worn off.

"Damn it, this bird-demon’s magic resistance is extraordinarily high," Karlo thought grimly. Usually, when he used such spells against lower-level demons, they became easy prey, barely able to move. Why did it last only a few seconds here?

It was likely due to the vast difference in power.

In desperation, Karlo unleashed all the spells he knew: Weakness Spell, Curse Spell, Blindness Spell... The bird-demon was bewildered and disoriented by Karlo’s frantic barrage of magic, allowing him to finally return to the ground.

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But before he could escape far, an enraged roar erupted from behind. The bird-demon, eyes blazing with fury, took to the skies once again in pursuit.

"This is bad," Karlo cursed inwardly. His magical energy was nearly depleted.

Stumbling, Karlo headed toward the demon’s gaping mouth. In mid-air, his physical strength was useless, and he could only watch as death drew nearer.

"No, I can’t just be eaten like this."

Karlo’s mind raced, desperately searching for any possible escape. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"Confirming descent?"

"Yes, yes."

The stinking, hot breath from the demon’s mouth was already on Karlo’s face.

"Selecting random descent dimension for the host…"

"Hurry up!" Karlo urged frantically. Half of his body was already in the demon’s mouth, and he was about to be torn apart like a piece of meat.

"Selection complete, preparing for descent…"

The demon’s sharp teeth, resembling a guillotine, snapped down, and Karlo shut his eyes tightly.

"Crunch."

The bird-demon’s jaws snapped shut in vain, hurting itself with the impact.

"Huh? Where did that piece of meat go? How did it suddenly disappear?"

...

"Where is that damned witch?"

"Child, my poor little Jimmy, he’s only three…"

"I’m going to nail her to a cross and burn her alive!"

In the raucous square, farmers with pitchforks, hoes, and axes gathered, their emotions running high and their mouths spewing all sorts of vile threats. Everyone’s rage was directed at one person among them.

"Old John, that evil woman is your daughter." As the village chief, Basse was a large, imposing figure with considerable authority. He stepped forward, grabbing the hapless man’s collar and lifting him up.

"You must know where she is, don’t you?"

The old man, disheveled and vacant-eyed, seemed unable to accept that his beautiful daughter had become a witch and killed the town’s mayor’s only son. He mumbled repeatedly, "I don’t know, I don’t know anything…"

Enraged, Basse slapped Old John twice, causing him to clutch his head and scream wildly, "It’s his fault, he tried to rape Talia, he deserves to die…"

"Pah." Basse threw Old John to the ground and spat, "The Baron’s son desiring Talia is her honor."

"You should die too, your whole family should die…" Just as Basse released Old John, a woman from the crowd charged forward, punching and kicking him. "Talia that whore took my child, you better tell me where she is! Speak…"

"Enough, calm down." Basse intervened, separating the angry woman and addressing the villagers, "We must find Talia before the Baron’s guards arrive, or the entire village will be implicated by her."

Basse looked worried, "The Baron’s only son was killed in our village. If we cannot deliver the murderer, the entire village will be destroyed by his wrath."

Fear appeared in the villagers’ eyes, and someone spoke up, "So what are we waiting for? Let’s split up and search."

Basse nodded, about to assign roles when a breathless villager burst in.

"I… I found Talia."

Basse’s eyes lit up. "Where is she?"

The villager caught his breath and quickly said, "I saw her sneak into the barn with a sack on her back. I didn’t dare follow because of her magic."

"Good, let’s go catch her now."

"But…" someone hesitated, "She uses evil black magic."

Basse’s face showed a moment of doubt but quickly hardened with resolve. "Everyone, go back and bring toilets. Filth can neutralize a witch’s magic."

The villagers, invigorated by the plan, eagerly responded. Soon, each returned carrying a toilet, and Basse, with a commanding voice, led them to confront the legendary witch.