I slowly stood up, gently lowering Lavinia to lean against a nearby wall. She looked up at me with wide, tear-streaked eyes, but I gave her a calm nod.
"Just stay here for a moment."
Turning around, I faced the witches.
"Sorry about that," I said flatly, cracking my neck as demonic power surged around me. "Now… where were we?"
Crimson light flared in my palm as my mana katana materialized again, humming with power. I pointed it directly at the group.
"You're infringing on Gremory territory," I said coldly. "So leave now… or you can—"
BZZZZT.
The sky above suddenly lit up. A dozen magic circles bloomed into existence, glowing violently.
Before I could finish my sentence, the entire street rumbled as a barrage of elemental spells came raining down. Fire. Lightning. Wind. Ice.
I sighed, annoyed more than worried.
Without moving an inch, I raised one hand calmly. "Magic Missile," I whispered.
In an instant, dozens of crimson magic circles spun into existence behind me like a halo. They fired relentlessly, fast, sharp bolts of destructive mana launching upward and colliding with the incoming spells mid-air.
A few stray attacks got through. My automatic barrier activated with a sharp crack, a red, hexagonal dome flaring around us.
BZZT!
BOOM!
The force pushed us back slightly.
"Kyaa!" Lavinia squealed, clutching my coat tightly, eyes wide in fear.
She looked up at me. "Mr. Gremory, what is going on? Why is this happening to me?!"
I didn't answer immediately. My eyes stayed fixed on the figures floating above us.
Then their leader raised her voice. "Give us the girl and you can leave this place alive, Heir Gremory!"
I turned my gaze to Lavinia. She trembled, still clutching the little witch hat I'd given her earlier.
I reached out and gently patted her head.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," I said, voice calm but cold.
"This person" I pointed toward the glowing business card "She is currently my customer."
I flashed the witches a small, icy smile.
"And you know how we devils are… We love contracts above all else."
A tense silence followed.
"Unlike you witches," I added, "who'll do anything for power even selling your own kind."
The lead witch snarled. "Don't lie to yourself, Gremory. You wanted her for your peerage. You see what we see… don't you?"
Lavinia blinked, looking between me and them, confusion clouding her expression.
But then her gaze dropped to the little broken doll lying beside her cracked, leaking faint blue magic and her breath hitched.
I let out a soft sigh, eyes narrowing slightly. "That may be true," I admitted. "She has potential, no doubt about it."
Then my tone dropped lower, sharper.
"But I'm not scum. I don't trick children and drag them into the dark like some back-alley pedo."
That set them off.
"You little brat!" the older witch roared, fury igniting the air around her. She flung her hand forward, summoning a massive, writhing flame that twisted and grew into a towering elemental.
A flaming giant roared to life, shaking the very ground as it took its first steps.
"Walburga, Glenda! Assist me!"
The other two witches raised their arms. More magic circles appeared.
Flames surged, ice spears spun in mid-air, and bolts of cursed lightning lashed toward us as the giant charged.
I placed my hand gently on Lavinia's shoulder and whispered a spell.
A translucent dome formed instantly around her, multiple layers of barrier of barrier magic form.
"Stay here. I'll be back, Lavinia," I said, giving her a small smile before stepping forward.
"Thunder Breathing: First Form – Thunderclap and Slash."
A sonic boom erupted behind me as I vanished from sight.
In the blink of an eye, I reappeared in front of one of the witches. Her eyes widened in panic. She hastily tried to form a defensive spell, but she was far too slow.
My blade cut through the magic circle and slashed across her chest.
SHHK!
"Gahhh—! You bastard! You'll die for that!" she screeched, blood spurting from the gash as she staggered back.
But before I could finish her off—
BOOOOM!
The fire giant, now fully formed, threw a colossal punch straight at me, but it missed.
Instead, its massive fist crushed Walburga.
Her scream tore through the battlefield as she was sent flying, engulfed in her own ally's flames.
As I was slightly burn from the heat that the giant was emanating.
"GLENDA!" Augusta barked, enraged.
The second witch raised her arms and chanted furiously. Hundreds of magic circles burst into existence, surrounding me from every direction.
ZRAK-ZRAK-ZRAK!
A barrage of spells rained down. As I tried my best to dodge and throw a couple of spells to block them.
The witch raised her hand and a torrent of deep purple flame erupted toward me. It was hotter, denser, and far more dangerous than any of their previous spells.
It knicked my arm and shoulder as my flesh sizzled.
That wasn't ordinary fire.
It burned through my barriers.
I grit my teeth. "Holy flames…?" I hissed, steam rising from my skin.
Augusta smirked.
"You can't escape it, Gremory," she declared, her eyes glowing with divine malice. "I wield the Longinus, Incinerate Anthem. Even gods tremble before the flame of judgment."
She flung another blaze toward me this one even faster, homing in on my mana signature.
"...Guess I'll just have to move faster than it."
I took a deep breath.
"Tempest Breathing: Second Form – Thunder Drift."
The wind burst outward as I vanished.
I reappeared in a blur, then again, then again. Each step was a sudden, violent burst of speed, my form flickering like thunder dancing across storm clouds.
The ground cracked beneath me as I darted unpredictably, slashing through incoming magic while closing in on Augusta.
She tried to aim.
But my movements were too erratic.
I reached Augusta in a flash.
"Tempest Breathing: Fifth Form – Roaring Gale Fang!"
My body spun mid-air, surrounded by a cyclone of violent wind. The momentum carried my blade downward in a sweeping arc, slicing through her defensive magic like paper.
SHHK!
Her head rolled clean off.
I landed as the wind settled. Blood sprayed across the pavement. I flicked the blade clean.
Then—
"No!" I heard Lavinia scream.
I turned sharply.
The barrier was shattered as the flame giant flickered… then crumbled into nothing.
And there she was.
Walburga, burnt, bleeding, barely standing, her charred arm pointed a glowing magic circle directly at Lavinia's head.
Behind her, Glenda raised a makeshift cage around the doll, sealing it with fragile but desperate enchantments.
"Don't move, you bastard," Walburga spat, blood oozing from her lips. "One move and I'll blow her fucking brains out."
My eyes narrowed.
I dispelled my mana blade and slowly raised my hands.
"Alright. Easy. You do know if you kill her, none of you are getting out of here alive," I said, voice low and cold. "And with the amount of magical artillery you idiots just threw around, you've probably already alerted the Church."
"Shut up!" Walburga snapped. "Or I'll shut you up like her parents."
Lavinia's eyes widened.
"...My parents?"
The words hit like thunder.
Walburga smirked cruelly, ignoring the blood dripping from her chin.
"Yeah. We killed them. They refused to cooperate. Wouldn't hand you over, so we flipped there car"
She laughed, a wet, bitter sound.
"Guess you could say it was… a happy little accident."
Silence.
Lavinia trembled.
Tears streamed down her face, her hands clutching the scorched edge of her witch hat.
"Why…?" she whispered. Her voice cracked.
"Why would you do this…?"
Walburga shrugged.
"Why? Because they were annoying."
"Annoying," she repeated, barely breathing.
Then her aura changed.
An enormous amount of mana surged.
The air turned cold, colder than it should've been.
Behind her, the sealed doll began to shake and crack, glowing faintly as the barrier shattered.