Chapter 660: Ambush

Following Reflection Naclis's instructions, Loren arrived near a corner.

In the corner was a cardboard box, and inside it lay a small black-haired loli, covered only by a few torn newspapers.

"Be careful... Her Arcane Ability is terrifying, so it's better to be cautious..."

Just as Loren was about to approach, Reflection Naclis warned him in time.

"It's fine."

After turning dark, the Wrath Witch was indeed prone to fits of rage, but it depended on the situation.

If someone intended to harm her, she would instantly lash out and kill them.

But if others bore no hostility, she wouldn't react much either. She had a way of sensing others' emotions.

Even though Loren said this, Reflection Naclis was still somewhat worried. Her intuition told her it was dangerous right now, so she followed behind Loren, ready to attack at any moment.

Just as they drew near, the Wrath Witch in the box instantly opened her eyes, and those eyes stared fixedly at Reflection Naclis behind Loren.

"..."

A sudden fear welled up from the depths of Reflection Naclis's heart, but she didn't retreat even half a step, still staring fixedly at the Wrath Witch.

"You back off first."

Loren suddenly said to Reflection Naclis. Even though her sense of danger was growing stronger and stronger, she still chose to obey Loren's command.

After Reflection Naclis retreated, the Wrath Witch's expression softened considerably.

Her small eyes curiously sized up Loren. It was the first time she had ever seen a human without hostility toward her.

Loren stepped forward and directly placed his hand on top of the Wrath Witch's head, stroking her hair.

The Wrath Witch tilted her head, still staring at Loren. She didn't quite understand his behavior.

"Here, this is for you to eat."

Loren pulled out a piece of bread from his clothes and placed it in front of the Wrath Witch.

This bread had been made by Mirrorheart before and had been kept in Scarlett's space all this time.

The Wrath Witch curiously sniffed the bread in Loren's hand, then tentatively took a bite. After confirming it was safe, she began to eat.

She didn't even reach out to take it with her hands, just biting the bread from Loren's hand like that.

"What's going on with her?"

By now, Reflection Naclis had also dispelled her hostility, somewhat unable to understand the Wrath Witch's situation.

She was completely unlike a human.

"Just treat her like a little cat or dog. She never received any human education.

"My guess is that she was discovered to be a witch when she was very young, then killed, then revived through her Arcane Ability, cycling over and over like that. She never lived a single day as a human, so naturally she wouldn't receive an education."

"This..."

Listening to Loren's explanation, Reflection Naclis also felt a pang of heartache.

No matter how miserable the other witches were, at least they had lived as humans to some extent.

After finishing the bread, the Wrath Witch licked Loren's hand lingeringly, which made Reflection Naclis feel even more heartache.

"The goal has been achieved. Let's head back."

Loren picked up the Wrath Witch, and she curled up obediently in his arms, motionless, only those blinking eyes fixed on Loren the entire time.

"Okay."

Reflection Naclis wouldn't take up a spot either. She directly hid in Loren's shadow, and they flew off together.

Things had gone much more smoothly than Loren had imagined, so smooth that Loren felt something was off.

So after leaving this city, Loren didn't rush to regroup with the other witches. Instead, he flew in the opposite direction.

After flying some distance, Loren finally landed, and then he heard Reflection Naclis's voice:

"What happened? Master Mentor."

When she spoke, Reflection Naclis didn't show herself. Loren only heard her voice.

"Something feels off. My Intuition has started warning me too..."

"Do you need me to notify the others?"

"No need. If they learn about my situation here, they'll probably rush over without a care for anything else... I don't want to see that happen."

The place Loren landed was an ordinary city, with quite a few people around.

The Hermit card erased Loren and his companions' presence, so he walked openly on the streets.

"What do we do next?"

"Let's rest here for a bit first, and grab something to eat while we're at it.

"I only brought that one piece of bread, which clearly isn't enough for this child. She probably hasn't eaten anything this entire time..."

Loren even suspected that the Wrath Witch had starved to death at least once during this period, only to revive here again.

"You come out too. With the Hermit card, others can't detect you."

"Okay."

With that, Reflection Naclis emerged from Loren's shadow and walked into a restaurant with him.

"How are things on the others' side?"

Loren hadn't let Reflection Naclis tell the others about his situation, but he still needed to check on how they were doing.

"After finding this child, I let the original regain consciousness. We've been in constant contact. Everything is as usual on their end. Scarlett took out quite a bit of food from her space, and they've already started eating."

"That's good."

Loren let out a sigh of relief, then realized something else:

"I've been thinking about something. Since whether Naclis stays awake is controlled by you, does that mean you could completely keep Naclis from ever waking up?"

"Yes. By the same logic, she could also make me disappear forever.

"So right now, our lives are in each other's hands. Fortunately, we trust each other now."

Reflection Naclis confirmed that Loren's guess was correct. She herself didn't seem to mind.

"That's good..."

If it had been at the beginning, Naclis had truly wished for the Reflection to disappear completely.

Although the Reflection had never said it, Loren also knew that her attitude toward the original wasn't much better.

Even with Loren's later mediation, the accumulated conflicts over so many years couldn't simply vanish.

It must have been during the time Loren was gone that they had completely reconciled.

While they were talking, the restaurant served their food.

The food of the Holy Flame Empire wasn't very tasty, but it was better than nothing. Loren had no choice right now.

This meal, the Wrath Witch didn't eat much. After a few bites, she peacefully fell asleep in Loren's arms, and Loren didn't wake her.

"Quite some time has passed, hasn't it? Can we head back now?"

"Let's wait a bit longer. My unease hasn't dissipated yet..."

Just as the words left his mouth, a strong unease suddenly surged from the depths of Loren's heart.

"Get ready..."

Loren suddenly stood up, and the Wrath Witch in his arms was startled awake.

The next moment, intense firelight blazed all around. Loren looked out the window and found that the city he was in had been completely surrounded by flames. A wall of fire encircled them, shooting straight into the clouds.

Along with it came screams of agony. Many people had died beneath the fire wall, and those close enough didn't even have time to scream.