“Hahaha! You two won’t escape today even if you grew wings!” the heavily injured Sean shouted frantically.
“You scum, what are you laughing at?” Sophia’s temple throbbed as she grit her teeth and snapped.
‘These youngsters certainly haven’t seen much of the world. As long as I stall for a little more time, the 500 Witch Hunting Squad soldiers stationed outside Sindar Town will surely arrive and surround them!’
‘Take things one step at a time. Slow and steady; everything is going according to plan!’
‘It’s fine, I already notified someone just now to go get reinforcements. Furthermore, Bishop Aeneas is on his way.’
‘Today, I will capture these two top-tier witches at all costs!’
From the squad Sean brought, a priest rushed to his side and cast healing magic on him. Other lackeys stood in front of the sisters, shielding their master with everything they had.
As his wounds gradually closed and his strength returned, Sean twisted his neck, and that murderous, sinister grin resurfaced.
His mind was currently immersed in the wonderful image of capturing the Omnia sisters, presenting them to the Pope for credit, and receiving a promotion and title.
He felt as if he were already opening the champagne at halftime.
“Sophie, that knight’s longsword at your waist… it should be about time to put it to use, right?” Elise winked at Sophia with a smile, showing no anxiety regarding their current predicament.
“Indeed, El-chan, let’s go all out! For this battle, we’ll use our old tactics!”
Sophia calmly drew the **[Refined Knight’s Longsword]** she had crafted last time. The blade rubbed against the scabbard, letting out a clear, ringing sound.
She held both weapons in a wide, sweeping opening stance, a total homage to a certain black-clad swordsman.
Dual wielding!
This wasn’t exactly a class skill; it was a technique born from Sophia’s hard training and persistent pursuit of perfection over the last 2 years.
Elise watched Sophia’s attack with surprise. A knight’s longsword and a katana were two different types of weapons with different styles of attack. However, her swordsman lady was actually able to pull off something similar to the martial arts feat of drawing a square with the left hand while drawing a circle with the right. The level of difficulty was easy to imagine.
‘Sophia really is working hard to improve. Who knows how much blood and sweat went into mastering this technique… I certainly can’t lose to her!’
She held both weapons in front of her simultaneously, leaving no openings while buying time for Elise to chant her magic behind her.
Using **[Chant Acceleration]** and **[Fireball]**, Elise helped Sophia clear out the minor grunts around Sean, rendering them unable to fight for the time being.
Sophia immediately responded with practiced coordination—a bond formed through their cooperation over the years. It only took a simple glance between them.
She repeated the previous strategy of constantly chipping away at Sean’s stance bar. Her continuous assault became even more fierce than before; after all, the frequency and speed of two blades far surpassed a single sword.
Now, even parrying seemed beyond Sean’s strength. Even though he had the “Focused Intuition” talent to predict attacks, it was futile if his body couldn’t keep up with his brain’s reactions.
Sure enough, after a short while, Sean entered a broken-guard state once again.
Sophia seized the opportunity. Her blade fell, severing one of his arms. Simultaneously, she used the knight’s longsword to pierce his shoulder, pushing him back several meters and pinning him firmly to a tree.
“Cough, ah! How is this possible… What kind of never-before-seen… sword technique is this? You bastard! Cough, cough, ah!!” Sean groaned in agony, trying to struggle out of his predicament, but his efforts were in vain.
Seeing Elise in the distance preparing to cast a magic attack on him, Sean realized the situation was grim. His previous composure vanished, replaced by a look of panicked terror.
“You—you idiots! Do something! Stop that witch’s magic! Quick, quick, quick!!!”
“El-chan! Now’s the time!” Sophia hurried back to defend. Seeing dozens of Sean’s subordinates launching an attack on Elise, she wasn’t worried in the slightest.
Elise focused on channeling mana. What she was about to cast was the newly learned **[BLAZING THUNDER EXPLOSION]**.
Lightning elements swirled around her raised staff. A small flame at the tip seemed to absorb the surrounding mana, compressed by intense pressure into a fist-sized fireball. A moment later, it suddenly exploded. Flame snakes spat from a half-man-high inferno as it roared, ready to erupt.
Dozens of squad members attacked Elise with their swords simultaneously, but they didn’t deal a single point of damage, nor could they interrupt her casting.
This was because the total damage from dozens of soldiers combined wasn’t even worth looking at. It wasn’t enough to break Elise’s **[Holy Prayer: Shield]**!
The soldiers in front were hit by the **[BLAZING THUNDER EXPLOSION]**. They screamed as they were pushed back toward Sean. The paralyzing effect of the powerful lightning magic combined with the high burst damage of the fire magic charred everyone—along with the tree behind them—completely black.
These dozens of men who had worked closely with the murderer Sean over the years got what they deserved. Justice would finally be served!
Sophia walked quickly back into Ruud’s Tavern. She knelt on one knee, hand over her chest, and offered a prayer for the tragically murdered Ruud family. Then, she pulled the kitchen knife from Uncle Ella’s hand.
“May the Lord’s grace be like sweet rain, nourishing the souls of the departed, that they may forever bask in the light of Heaven.”
She returned to Sean’s corpse and quickly used the kitchen knife to saw off the charred head. She tossed the head along with the knife into a nearby trash can.
Daring to love, daring to hate, taking action, and hating evil with a passion—this was Sophia Omnia.
With her hands clasped, Elise also offered a silent prayer for the innocent Ruud family, truly hoping that they would suffer no more in the kingdom of heaven.
—
Before long, trouble arrived in succession.
Five hundred soldiers of the Witch Hunting Squad arrived on the scene, surrounding them completely. Bishop Aeneas, a favorite of the Pope, stepped down from a carriage not far away and walked unhurriedly toward them.
In truth, Bishop Aeneas had received Sean’s distress signal long ago. He had intentionally left him to die. Furthermore, the Pope had hinted to him that Sean had other uses.
“Good afternoon, you two famous ladies—or should I say, the two most wanted criminals. Look at what you’ve done. Apostate witches, the Lord will not forgive you!” Aeneas looked at them with feigned indignation.
“Sinful witches! His Holiness the Pope was intentionally lenient toward you, even saying that if you were captured, you wouldn’t be subjected to the death penalty. However, your murder of the Ruud family and the slaughter of Lord Sean—who was equivalent to the Pope’s personal guard—and his men… every soldier present can testify to these crimes!”
Aeneas’s sharp words grew more aggressive, giving the sisters no chance to explain.
“I will certainly report this to His Holiness! All witnesses present today will stand for the wronged souls! You will be sent to the stake on the central street of Caronpolis!”
Hah, it truly was impossible to defend themselves now.
Did they really have to carve a path of blood to escape? However, only Sean and his dogs were guilty; these soldiers were only doing this under pressure.
However, on a nearby roof, Nino was already channeling powerful ice magic. She had arrived and was ready to show off!
“O snow spirits of Peak Snow Territory, please grant your blessing! Beautiful Ice Phoenix, please sweep away the obstacles ahead with your feathers! **[BLIZZARD]**, **[ICE FREEZE]**!”
The sky suddenly erupted with howling winds. Countless ice crystals gathered rapidly in the high air, and the ice clouds descended. A moment later, dense, small ice spikes rained down like a torrential downpour.
The blizzard obscured everything in front of the witch sisters, while the ice freeze immediately rooted every enemy present.
“Wahahaha! Elise! Sophia! The pitch-black Ice Demon King, Lady Nino, has come to save you!” Nino struck her classic chuunibyou pose and jumped off the roof with a loud declaration.
Immediately after, she pulled out an emergency teleportation scroll. After a flash of intense light, the three of them vanished instantly.
Let’s run away!
“Darn that Ice Witch! Has she really colluded with these two?! What a pity… I didn’t bring the witch-hunting tools issued by His Holiness.” Bishop Aeneas witnessed the whole thing. Seeing the “cooked duck” fly away left him incredibly frustrated.
“Compatriots of the Witch Hunting Squad, recover Lord Sean’s body. His Holiness just indicated that a state funeral will be held for him.” Aeneas stated the facts to everyone present, and the soldiers took action accordingly.
However, 1 hour after Sean’s body was placed in the casket, Bishop Aeneas sent a freshly written letter to the Pope via carrier pigeon. The contents read:
‘Respected Pope Dussell, the remains of Sean you require will be transported back to the capital shortly. Afterward, I will secretly execute your plan as per your instructions.’