The Vampires were arrogant, proud, and capricious. Working under them, the Sethite wizards never received any respect. Even their highest-ranking Grand Elder had to be utterly deferential when facing any Second Generation Vampire other than Talia.

However, although they were of a lower status when dealing with the Vampires, they also received considerable benefits from them.

Unlike other witches, the Sethite wizards had little interest in studying magical arrays; to them, dark arrays were merely tools to help the Vampires destroy the temples. The real benefit they gained from the Vampires was an endless supply of dark magic spells.

They didn’t need to bother with research. Backed by the Lasombra, as long as they carried out the Vampires’ orders, parchments inscribed with spells would be delivered right to their hands. Although the system of dark magic was not yet complete, their strength was far beyond that of the witches who had only begun studying it a few years ago.

The thousands of Garcia and Anderson witches combined were at a disadvantage against the Sethite wizards, who numbered less than half their size. Maia had not followed the Grand Elder to confront the God Race. Instead, she had furiously sought out the other witches to teach them a lesson, even bringing some Vampires with her.

From the very beginning, the Garcia witches had been scattered by the sudden onslaught of dark magic. Although some had managed to regroup around Kana, the best opportunity for a counterattack had already passed. Merely defending against the Sethite wizards’ relentless barrage of dark spells required all their concentration, leaving them with no energy to guard against the Vampires who harassed them with sneak attacks from the sidelines.

The Garcia witches suffered countless casualties from the Vampires’ ambushes, and the ground beneath their feet was nearly soaked through with blood.

The thick scent of blood, tinged with a foul hint of rot, spread through the ruined city. Molly, who had always loved the smell of blood, couldn’t help but frown. The vibrant red she had praised countless times now stung her eyes, and a baseless rage surged in her heart.

It was a rage many times more intense than what she had felt upon learning of the Sethite wizards’ attack.

Anyone’s blood could stain this land, but not the Garcia’s.

Selfishness and cold-bloodedness were etched into the very bones of the Anderson bloodline. Because of this shared coldness, they could kill with a smile and betray without a second thought. The clan appeared “united,” but in reality, this was just their nature.

From a young age, they understood how terrifying their own kin were. But everyone craves companionship, and the young Anderson witches were no exception. Their shared bloodline made them repel one another, so they had to seek playmates elsewhere.

And the Garcia were the “playmates” they chose.

Although the Anderson witches had found more interesting pursuits as they grew older and followed their instincts, the Garcia witches would always be their untouchable reverse scale.

Expressionless, Molly bent down and dug out a blood-soaked clod of earth. She crushed it, smearing the dark red blood on her fingers. Raising her hand to her nose, she sniffed and whispered, “…It smells awful.”

The blood of Garcia witches smelled awful.

At her feet lay several of her own clan members, struck down by dark magic, unconscious and showing no signs of life. Molly glanced at them out of the corner of her eye, tossed the dirt aside, and raised her bone staff. Wisps of black mist coiled around the unconscious witches, piling them in front of her. She dropped her staff and drew a dagger from her waist.

The sharp blade sliced through soft skin, and fresh blood sprayed across Molly’s face. She wiped it away casually with her hand and proceeded to cut the throat of one unconscious clan member after another.

After the Garcia witches had suffered heavy casualties, Kana had led the survivors to Molly’s position. With the Anderson witches temporarily holding the line, Kana and her people had a moment’s rest. She no longer held any hope of winning this battle; she only wanted to save as many of her clan as possible.

Her injuries made it difficult for Kana to focus. As she rested against a tree, she caught sight of Molly slaughtering her own kin. Shocked, she cried out, “What are you doing, Molly?”

Molly glanced over at her, the blood on her face making her smile look incredibly sinister. She answered patiently, “I’m summoning a demonic creature.”

Kana’s eyes widened. “They might still be alive.”

Molly waved a dismissive hand, her eyes cruel and merciless. “They’re dead now.”

“You…”

“They’re more useful dead than alive,” Molly said, picking up her discarded bone staff. She smiled. “All you need to do is watch quietly. It’s not like I’m killing your people.”

She needed “sacrifices” to summon a demonic creature, and these clan members who could no longer fight were the perfect choice.

These were “sacrifices” with the power of darkness flowing through their veins. Molly’s heart pounded with excitement, wondering what kind of creature she could summon. She struggled to steady her trembling hands, then sliced her own wrist with the dagger.

These “sacrifices” were still not enough…

Kana stared at Molly in a daze, murmuring, “Lunatic…”

She looked around. Many of the Anderson witches had seen what Molly was doing, but their faces remained cold and indifferent.

…A bunch of lunatics.

Following Kana’s orders, Betty led the witches she had rescued from the city into the wilderness. But before they could find a suitable place to set up a teleportation array, their path was blocked by the sudden appearance of Sethite wizards.

“So many little witches,” said the leader, a tall, plain-looking middle-aged man with a somewhat shrill voice. “Where do you think you’re going?”

There weren’t too many of them, but Betty’s group consisted mostly of young witches. They had been imprisoned by the Vampires for so long that they could only use simple witchcraft. Obviously, such non-aggressive spells were useless in this situation, and they still had to protect these young ones.

Betty stared at the Sethite wizards blocking their way, her lips pressed into a tight line. She gripped her bone staff so hard her knuckles turned white. The dark magic released by the Sethite wizards lowered the surrounding air pressure significantly. The young witches, already weak from their rescue, couldn’t withstand the pressure, and many collapsed.

The sound of quiet sobs reached her ears. Betty’s heart trembled, and she didn’t dare turn to look at her clan members’ faces. She bit her lip and glared furiously at the Sethite wizards.

“What are you crying for? Shut up,” Eunice clicked her tongue in annoyance, her cold gaze sweeping over the young witches behind her. “If you want to live, get up.”

Her glare silenced them all.

“You take them and leave.” Eunice turned her head. Seeing that Betty had bitten her lip until it bled, she frowned. She reached out and squeezed Betty’s wrist reassuringly, the impatience on her face gone. “I’ll hold them off,” she said flatly.

Betty was stunned and instinctively objected, “No, we’ll do it together…”

Eunice stared at her face and let out a low chuckle. “Those few low-level spells you know won’t be much help to me, will they?”

As she spoke, she suddenly reached for Betty’s Space Gem and pulled out a crystal-clear ruby.

Betty had gotten it from Cynthia and had always treasured it, a fact that bothered Eunice very, very much.

“I’ll take this as a gift,” Eunice said, pocketing the ruby. Before Betty could react, she pushed her by the shoulder. “Hurry up and go.”

Betty was worried about Eunice, but her clan members were watching her. The sky over the city was dark and heavy, and she didn’t know what was happening with Elder Kana, but she suspected it wasn’t good… She had promised Elder Kana she would protect these witches. Betty’s eyes reddened slightly as she whispered, “I want to stay and help you. I’m afraid you’ll get hurt…”

Eunice’s expression was strange, as if she’d heard something hilarious. Her tone was utterly dismissive. “You think they can hurt me?”

Eunice’s contemptuous expression enraged the Sethite wizards. An eagle formed from the power of darkness circled above the witches’ heads before diving down, its sharp talons looking as if they could tear off a chunk of flesh with a single touch.

Eunice waved her bone staff, and a barrier appeared overhead. The cold, dark power devoured the eagles one by one as they crashed against it.

Staying would only be a burden to Eunice. The witches with Betty had already started retreating with the younger ones. Betty wanted to stay and help, but Eunice refused again.

Betty clutched her bone staff, feeling helpless, hating her own weakness for the first time. She looked at Eunice’s back, anxiety and fear welling up inside her, making her ask again, “…You will come find me, won’t you?”

It was as if only Eunice’s definite answer could quell her unease.

Even while facing the dark spells hurled by dozens of Sethite wizards, Eunice still looked relaxed. After casting another barrier, she turned to meet Betty’s gaze and nodded firmly. “I will.”

Betty gave her one last deep look, wiped away her tears, and turned to run.

Eunice watched Betty’s back until she disappeared from sight before looking away. She turned back to the Sethite wizards in front of her, her relaxed expression replaced by a grave one.

She didn’t care if those other witches lived or died, but Betty would… What a hassle. Eunice lowered her gaze, her hand gently stroking the Space Gem at her waist as if she were stroking the ruby inside.

Eunice intercepted every Sethite wizard who tried to pursue Betty and the others. The leader raised a hand to stop his clan members from giving chase again, his face grim. “They won’t get far. Let’s deal with this eyesore first.”

“You think you trash can deal with me?” Eunice let go of her Space Gem and propped herself up with her staff. Her cute and sweet face wore a mocking smile as she said bluntly, “You’re not worthy.”

They could tolerate such humiliating words from the Vampires, but the one standing before them now was a witch, a young witch at that.

This was enough to ignite the Sethite wizards’ fury.

Not far from the city, a powerful surge of magic suddenly erupted in the wilderness. Camille, who had been searching for Betty, frowned as she looked in the direction of the fluctuation. She stroked the skeletal rat in her hand, thought for a moment, and summoned a skeleton to go see what was happening.

The skeleton carried her toward the source of the fluctuation. The wilderness was filled with trees and rocks, but many of the trees had been turned to ash by the waves of dark power, dissipating into the air.

With the trees gone, Camille could see from a distance the Sethite wizards and, opposing them, the one person fighting against dozens all by herself… Eunice.

Realizing it was Eunice, Camille was a little disappointed. She scanned the surroundings but couldn’t find Betty, which made her angrily punch her skeleton’s head.

Where on earth did Sister Betty go? Camille was about to order the skeleton to leave when her gaze fell upon Eunice, who was caught in a storm of dark spells, her face pale, looking like she couldn’t hold on for much longer. She stopped.

So even the genius is about to break, huh? Camille’s eyes darted around, and she directed her skeleton to hide in the shadows.