14 days after the incident at Erys.

“See? I told you it was a bad idea!”

“Shut up!”

“...”

Zeke and the other three were walking in a line, surrounded by at least ten witches.

They unknowingly got too close to one of the outposts and were immediately spotted. Unfortunately, the white van ‘Stella’ wasn’t fast enough to grant them a timely escape.

Very much like the Nezulian Republic, the Witch Association also made use of Technology, but mainly within its military.

Before the van could cross any considerable distance, a black truck roared from behind and blocked their path.

Instead of retaliating, Zeke instructed them to surrender and properly explain themselves once they got the chance.

They got dangerously close to the border and it was within the witches’ jurisdiction to apprehend them or even do worse if necessary.

Still, Zeke was going to make use of the knowledge he had to warn them about the Ascetic Blasphemers.

Although the details of the sightings Sulong got his hands on weren’t that explicit, it did mention that a number of small settlements around this area were getting attacked.

Either the witches already knew about this and were making ready for an attack, or they were still ignorant of the looming danger.

Within ten minutes or so, the four travelers were dragged to the outpost. The dozens of witches patrolling and guarding the place were giving them hostile and unwelcome glares, one more frightening than the other.

“I know I said I wanted to die surrounded by beautiful woman, but this isn’t what I mean-”

“Shut up!” Sulong stomped his friend’s foot and warned him for the second time, but Jack paid him little heed.

Eventually, they were taken to a large tent and faced a domineering woman with a black and golden military outfit.

She stood straight with both hands behind her back. She had a tall frame, short black hair, narrow brown eyes, and a small scar at the side of her lips.

“I am 4-star commander, Silya Hext. Unless you want to be put down here and now, you will answer all of my questions.”

In addition to Silya Hext, there were four other Witches present, two guarding both sides of the captives, and the remaining ones at the entrance of the tent.

Either from their attire or the van they were using, Silya knew that they originated from the Nezulian Republic. She first asked for their names, so they obediently answered.

“I am Zeke Orland, a student from Erys.”

“I’m Sulong.

“J-Jack.”

“My name is Arbert. Nice to meet you.”

The red-haired youth softly smiled, seemingly unaffected by the tense atmosphere.

Before the commander could ask any more questions, Zeke saw it fit to explain the situation,

“There have been sightings of the Ascetic Blasphmeres around this area, Madam. We came here to investigate. We neither wanted to disturb your work or trouble you and your soldiers.”

Silya furrowed her brows and approached the youth, who was a head shorter than her. With a chillingly cold stare, she looked down at him while saying,

“You will talk when talked to.”

“With all due respect, madam, I think this is a misunderstanding. The Witch Association has strict rules and it was a mistake on our part to get too close to the outpost. Could you please let us go?”

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Zeke was the only one who talked, his companions were silent and anxious, with the exception of Arbert, of course.

“This is not a place where you can come and go as you please. Without any official Transit Pass, you are nothing but criminals to be executed.”

“Isn’t this a bit extreme? We’ve done nothing wrong.”

Seeing the youth stubbornly talk to her, Silya snorted and turned away, motioning for her subordinates to lock them up.

“Wait… listen to me! We could all be in dange-”

Zeke kept pleading until he was dragged out of the tent and into an empty cage in the middle of the outpost. There, he was locked along with the other three.

They were like zoo animals, being stared at by the curious witches who had never seen men.

…

“What do we do with them, madam?”

As she sat behind her desk, Silya Hext pinched her temples and sighed in exasperation. Indeed, Zeke’s warnings weren’t baseless, and their poor attempt at escaping her soldiers proved that they weren’t part of a secret organization.

Seeing her assistant give her a long and quiet stare, Hext shrugged in frustration,

“What you want me to do? Execute two kids just for trespassing? It’s getting late so we’ll release them tomorrow with a warning.”

“Yes, madam.”

Before the assistant could leave, Hext stopped her and added,

“Give them something to eat.”

…

Funnily enough, when the night had fallen and the soldiers were supposed to be resting, there was a sizeable group of Witches around the cage.

Zeke was minding his own business and eating the food while Sulong, grinning from one ear to the other, was exaggerating his recent adventures to the girls and women listening with perked ears.

Maybe it was pure luck, or he really was charismatic, whatever it was, he managed to gain their goodwill and turn their hostility to interest and amicability.

Jack joined in and helped coordinate the recounted stories riddled with lies and delusions.

There were even some Witches interested in Arbert, the most handsome of the four. The youth’s resplendent crimson hair and flawless appearance made him the target of pure-hearted females, who were supposed to be strong-willed soldiers.

It was clear that it was their first time encountering men, which went to show how strictly the Witch Association upheld its laws, especially the one about banning any interaction with the opposite sex.

“Have you had enough?!”

A reverberating and clarion voice startled all the Witches. They instinctively jumped to their feet and saluted as the commander came.

“This isn’t a social gathering. Go back to your tents!”

Like a flock of flies, they all hastily dispersed, which made the smug Sulong curse under his breath.

“For how long are you going to keep us here?” Asked the disheartened Zeke, who, unlike his friends, didn’t like sitting inside a cage.

“You will be released tomorrow morning. However, if we catch you again, it won’t end like this.”

“...”

Seeing the youth no retort, Hext snorted and was about to leave only to hear him speak,

“You should be ready for an atta-”

Before Zeke could finish, one of the small tents housing the soldiers turned into flames as loud cries came from within.

Unfortunately, that was only the beginning as one tent after the other was engulfed in flames. The few lucky soldiers who got out in time were hit by something that made their bodies bulge and then literally explode into a fog of blood.

Horrified and shocked by this, Silya Hext immediately took out her weapon, a curved black blade, and shot toward a silver-robed silhouette she spotted.

As for Zeke, he banged on the cage bars, yelling at the witches to stop panicking and focus on the new arrivals: Silver-robed people wearing metal masks.

It took only a glance for Zeke to recognize those people, inhumane lunatics that would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Although it was unknown why their would target this outpost, he knew that sitting in the cage would only lead to his and his companions’ death.

“Sulong!”

“I know!”

The bald and muscular man banged his fists together and created a small yet scorching hit wave that melted the cage in seconds. However, instead of running away, the four, with their backs facing each other, slowly moved around, avoiding the exploding witches.

“W-we have to help!”

Even though he was scared shitless, Jack couldn’t let the Witches get killed like that. The sight of their bodies bulging and then exploding made his insides twist and turn.

Zeke couldn’t determine what was killing the witches, at least not at first. When he activated ‘Aether Control’, he saw insect-like creatures flying around and drilling into the victims’ bodies.

When it was his turn to get attacked, he extended both hands and unleashed one lightning bolt after the other, zapping the Aether-made insects into nothingness.

“Group! Everyone group!”

A brilliant silver light swirled at the center of the camp, pushing the rubble and extinguishing the flames.

What few Witches remained drifted toward Commander Silya Hext. Zeke and the rest wanted to get close too, but two blasphemers jumped forth.

“I’ll take care of them!”

Sulong stomped on the ground and roared, punching straightforwardly and unleashing a blast of crimson fire that instantly ravaged everything in its way.

The two cultists couldn’t even cry as their bodies were turned to ash.

Just when they thought they were safe, at least for a moment, Jack started suffocating as his skin turned into a shade of red.

Sulong’s face turned pale as he knew what was going to happen. He was about to step in and help his friend but Zeke held him back, afraid that he might be hit by the explosion too.

It was then that Arbert appeared next to Jack and pressed his hand against his chest. In a matter of seconds, Jack was enveloped by a thick bubble of sticky blood, which negated the effect of the magical insect and protected him from danger.

“I’ll protect him.” Calmly said Arbert as he controlled the bubble and made his way toward Stella, which parked a distance away.

“You go with them! Prepare the van!”

“But…”

“Go with them!” Shouted Zeke, urging the hesitant Sulong to grit his teeth and nod.