Seeing the situation, Noah and Ciel quickly rushed to their side.

Just as they joined them, all the flames around them moved. It coalesces around the Fallen like a shell before it expands and explodes.

Boom!!!!

The explosion shattered the binds and seals around the Fallen, sending the Support squad members flying backward. The oppressive heat intensified, making it harder to breathe.

Amidst the blazing flames burning fiercely and blowing smoke, the figure of the Fallen appeared. Her long, flowing hair cascaded down her back like molten lava, glowing with an intense fiery hue.

Her amethyst eyes, lighter than those of a Cain were in stark contrast of her pitch-black sclera that seems to swallow any light.

Her once elegant white dress was now charred and tattered, clinging to her body and fluttering in the heatwaves radiating from her body. The fabric seemed to flicker with embers, as if it could ignite at any moment.

Most of all, the two bones protruding in her temple like a horn signifying her strength. The small bumps on her forehead also show that her strength is reaching the next level.

Seeing this, Ciel's expression couldn't help but darken.

"Support Squad! Evacuate this place immediately, we will handle the rest from here on out." Ciel commanded, her voice firm and authoritative.

The Support squad members, recognizing the urgency in her tone, began to move swiftly, gathering their equipment and aiding their injured comrades.

'We got here as soon as we entered the Spatial Lock. But it seems like we're quite late, the Fallen is about to reach level 3.' Ciel thought with a grim expression.

"Hey, you," Ciel called out to Noah. "I'm not going to save you even if you get killed by the enemy.

Noah met her gaze. "What a mean thing to say, I'm not even planning to die." he replied, his voice steady despite the tension.

Ciel's eyes narrowed. "Just remember, this isn't a game. One wrong move and you're dead."

Noah nodded, clenching his fist tighter. "Sure."

With that, they both turned their focus to the Fallen.

As Noah turned his attention to the Fallen, something stirred in his eyes.

He turned to look at the Fallen again, a small purple dot had appeared on the right chest of the Fallen, pulsating ominously. It was like a dark, malevolent entity, its tendrils spreading outward, corrupting the very essence of the victim's soul.

The sight quite horrifying, a vivid manifestation of the seed of darkness that had taken hold of her.

The Fallen also known as the Witch of Fire, turned its focus to them.

—Flames of Torment.

The Witch of Fire soft voice echoed through their head.

After that, she moved. The air around her shimmered with heat, and every step she took left scorched marks on the ground. The oppressive heat intensified with each movement, causing the very air to warp and shimmer. As she advanced, the world inside the spatial lock began to change.

The crimson sky became darker. The ground cracked and split under the intense heat as blazing flames erupted from it, consuming the world in their fury. It didn't take long for the surroundings to resemble Hell itself.

The oppressive atmosphere weighed heavily on Noah and Ciel, making it difficult to breathe, let alone fight.

"Hey, hey, you're kidding right!? A Sanctuary? She shouldn't be able to use it yet." Noah exclaimed.

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Ciel's eyes widened in shock, her usually composed demeanor faltering. "A Sanctuary at her current level... This isn't good. It might not be as strong as the real one, but it's enough to destroy anyone at our level."

The realization hit them hard. A Sanctuary, a powerful domain created by anyone from level 3 and above, was a separate space where their power was absolute. It was something many Ego Masters dreamed of achieving.

Seeing the situation they're in, Noah and Ciel realized that they need to go all out at the start.

"Soteria."

"Boreas."

They both muttered softly, their voices steady despite the chaos around them.

A thin long sword with Pristine white platinum blade and Pitch-black sword hilt appeared in Noah's right arm.

While in Ciel, Her circular pupil changed into a slit that resembles a dragon eye.

A thin long sword with a pristine white platinum blade and a pitch-black sword hilt appeared in Noah's right hand. Its presence seemed to free anyone from the intense heat.

Simultaneously, Ciel's eyes transformed, her circular pupils changing into slits that resembled a dragon's eyes, glowing with an icy blue intensity.

Seeing the changes to two of them, the Witch of Fire moved.

She compressed the intense heat and flames around her into a small ball in her index finger before flicking it, firing it like a bullet.

The Fiery projectiles hurled towards Noah and Ciel Breaknecking speed.

Ciel quickly raised her hands, summoning a shield made of ice from the ground to protect them against the attack. The shield shimmered with cold air, creating a barrier between them and the incoming bullet of fire.

Boom!!!

The small bullet of fire hit the shield made of ice, taking a large brunt of impact

However, just when they thought they had protected themselves against the attack, the surface of the shield melted under the intense hit of the fire bullet before it exploded.

Caught off guard, the ice shield shattered instantly, and the force of the explosion sent Noah and Ciel flying backward.

They hit the ground hard, the intense heat and force behind the explosion left them disoriented and in pain.

But compared to Noah, Ciel is in much better condition.

Noah struggled in his feet, wincing as he clutched Soteria

While Ciel, bruised and battered, stood on her two feet effortlessly.

Wooooooh

Ciel took a deep breath and a trace of cold air appeared, freezing the area around them instantly.

The temperature plummeted as the cold air gathered, forming a large blizzard that further froze the surroundings.

Ciel raised her arm in front of her before clenching it into a fist. The cold air in the air condensed into countless ice spears. With a swift motion, she brought down her fist, firing the ice spears into the Witch of Fire in a lightning speed

Seeing the countless ice spears flying towards her, the Witch of Fire raised her right hand in a swift motion.

A large amount of molten lava surged from the ground, forming a large lump of molten lava that protected her against the onslaught of ice spear.

Hiss!!!

The ice and lava collided, creating an explosion of steam and mist. The intense heat clashed with the biting cold, filling the air with deafening hiss.

Without wasting anymore time, the witch of fire concentrated a massive amount of fiery flames. Her body glowed with fiery light as She brought her left hand in front of her, the intense heat distorting the air around her.

With a swift motion, she unleashed the fiery flames as a devastating ray, piercing through the steam and mist in the air.

The searing heat scorched anything in its path.

The ray flew through towards Ciel at a speed that will be hard for anyone to dodge through.

But not for Ciel.

Her eyes, the Eyes of the Heavenly Frost Dragon, Boreas, showed her the impending appearance of the ray in advance, giving her a chance to prepare.

She moved with lightning speed, dodging to the side while summoning a wall of ice to absorb the brunt of the attack. The ray struck the ice wall, causing steam and mist to billow out as the intense heat melted the ice almost instantly.

Seeing the massive amount of steam and mist billowing out, Noah, already back on his feet, rushed towards the Witch of Fire.

Using the cover provided by the steam and mist, Noah moved quickly and silently, his sword Soteria glowing with a hazy white aura. He aimed for a swift, decisive strike, hoping to catch the Witch off guard.

The Witch of Fire, however, was not so easily fooled. Sensing Noah's approach, she turned and unleashed a torrent of flames in his direction. The fiery blast cuts through the mist, incinerating anything in its path.

Noah, instead of slashing through the flames to negate it using the Sword of Beginning, leap to the side, narrowly avoiding the searing heat.

That's right, negate it.

During three days of travel to the Salem City, Noah pondered why his Sword of Beginning didn't work against Ciel.

At first, he thought that it just not strong enough to Cut through her. But then, he realized that it was not meant of ending a life.

It was meant to end something for a new beginning, just like what's its name suggested.

Using the momentum from his leap, he charged forward again.

[Cut]

Holding his sword with a hazy white aura, he slashes towards the Witch's torso.

[Frost-Time state]

While the Witch is preoccupied with Noah, Ciel moves at lightning speed.

Using the slowed world perspective and acceleration of her Frost-Time state ability, she moved to the side of the Witch in a blink of an eye

[Frost embrace]

With her Frost embrace ability that lets her freely control the ice, she manifests a long sword made of ice and slashes towards the Witch's neck.

'Take this.'

Noah and Ciel both thought in unison as their blade cut through the air.

Just when they thought their blades would cut through her, something changed within her.