Witch's Embrace

This was a large-scale control spell; anyone whose willpower was not strong enough would fall into a deep sleep almost instantaneously under the spell's influence.

Now, as it approached late at night, even though the thugs from the Dark Intelligence Network were anxious and agitated, the fatigue from their prolonged chase and the drowsiness brought on by their biological clocks had already accumulated.

Thus, Hawthorne's spell became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Bang bang bang bang—

Almost instantly, at the other end of the corner, the reinforcements from the gang had yet to release a single arrow before they came tumbling down in a flurry.

Their weapons and torches were all dropped to the ground, but at this moment, they couldn't care less; they just wanted to collapse and get a good night's sleep.

Okay, great, one side dealt with!

Hawthorne breathed a sigh of relief, but the other thugs were already closing in. Seeing him poke his head out, several crossbow bolts suddenly flew toward his back!

Bang bang—!

This time, they were very close. The crossbowmen aimed accurately, but unfortunately, the force of the first arrow was blocked by the mark of "Blade Ward," and the second arrow was weakened by Mage Armor, not even causing him pain as it fell to the ground.

In the meantime, he had cast False Life on himself. This protective first-level spell was enough to ignore the damage from that arrow.

Seeing their comrade's crossbow bolt deflected, the thugs rushing in with knives became a bit nervous, their pace faltering: "This guy has spells! Charlie, you all should shoot him too!"

"Wait, what's wrong? Why hasn't anyone from Charlie's side come over?"

"Hold on... Charlie's side—"

After rounding the corner, these gang members saw the bodies lying all around and were instantly terrified, their hair standing on end, followed by a scream: "They're all dead!"

This shout shattered their courage, sending a chill straight to the tops of their heads, while every hair on their bodies bristled with fear!

Six or seven people, silent and sudden—now all dead?!

Is he a mage?!

No!

He's a demon!

The few remaining thugs were nearly paralyzed with fear. Seizing this rare opportunity, Hawthorne threw his Grimoire onto the ground and skillfully pulled out another Grimoire from his backpack—Introduction to Weight and Measure.

He had practiced switching Grimoires multiple times while at the convent, so he was more than familiar with it. This book contained a powerful offensive spell: Burning Hands!

It could unleash a blast of fire in a cone of sixty degrees, with a radius of six meters, igniting anything flammable in an instant!

"Die, you bastard!"

Hawthorne turned around, extending his right hand without needing an incantation. A surge of blazing flames erupted from his palm—whoosh—!

The alley was already narrow, and except for one extremely cautious crossbowman standing far back, the flames nearly engulfed all of them!

In an instant, the clothing on those thugs and the hair on their heads caught fire. The searing pain elicited a series of piercing screams: "Ah—!"

Fear completely shattered their morale, making them abandon all resolve to fight; with fire blazing, they turned and fled in a panic!

The one remaining lucky crossbowman, seeing his comrades run, lost any desire to fight, dropped his crossbow, and also turned to escape!

At this point, the battle was over.

Hawthorne let out a sigh of relief, not pursuing the gang members who would either be severely burned or worse. He leaned against the wooden wall of the house, breathing heavily.

Alright, it's time to go. I wonder when Yuta might catch up to me again...

He steadied himself against the wall and walked outside, passing by the group of people sleeping soundly, lowering his head to assess their identities.

Upon seeing a familiar tattoo shaped like an eye, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Hmm... More members of the Dark Intelligence Network?

Hiss, what are the odds of running into them again?

Well, it didn't matter; after all, these guys were minions in the game, and with so many valuables in the Eye Demon Guild, they would need to be dealt with sooner or later, so starting a conflict with them now was not a big deal.

Losing interest in them, he took another step forward, but suddenly, his body came to a stop, and his brow furrowed.

Wait, where's Yuta?

He turned around and was astonished to find that Yuta was no longer in sight behind him!

She's not chasing me anymore?

Or...

Has she taken these Dark Intelligence Network thugs as new prey and gone off to hunt others?

Hiss... Does that mean I'm safe for now?

But… I can't just leave Yuta behind like this...

An out-of-control witch can cause tremendous destruction. This is evident from the fact that she just killed seven or eight thugs almost instantly, severing their heads in the process.

Even though this is the slum, an unmanaged area, killing so many people at once would still be significant enough to shock the entire Liberl Port, drawing the attention of various Grand Churches, the Black Staff Tower, and even the Public Lord of the City!

At that point, the fact that so many witches are hidden in the convent would undoubtedly be exposed, and I fear I wouldn't be able to escape the consequences!

You must know that the convent is my stronghold. Without it, my advantages would vanish. In this world teeming with monsters, how can a weak ordinary human like me survive?

So, I really need to follow up on Yuta's situation.

Moreover, having already gotten her Purification halfway completed, there's no reason to give up now.

However...

With one Shield, one False Life, and one Sleep Spell—three first-level spells—I have completely exhausted my Mana.

In less than an hour, not only do I have no combat ability, but I also lack the power to recast Longstrider.

In this state, I can't even keep up with Yuta's pace; how can I even think about capturing her again?

And waiting another hour for my Mana to replenish?

What would happen next? By then, where would Yuta have run off to?

With no combat ability and unable to wait any longer, considering his current state, Hawthorne couldn't help but feel disheartened.

Was he really going to just stay here, doing nothing?

Frustrated, he pulled up his system, hoping to find some way to break the deadlock.

However, when the attribute panel appeared, his pupils instantly contracted.

Current Mana: 3/6.

His mood was flooded with shock!

How could this be?!

He clearly cast three spells, and a first-level spell requires two points of Mana—he had already experimented with this before. How could he still have three points left?!

Confused, he panted heavily, staring intensely at his panel.

Then, right before him, that "3" flickered momentarily and changed to "4."

I've regained a bit of Mana?

What's going on? Why is this happening?

He didn't understand. He searched up and down the panel until he found a new line of small text at the bottom of the status bar: Magic Power Surge: Your soul ally and Pact Overlord, Heidi, is transferring her excess Magic Power to you due to the influence of Witch's Night. Until Witch's Night ends, you will recover one Mana point every minute.

Hawthorne suddenly realized.

So that's how it is! Wow, I didn't expect this!

Does that mean that tonight, my mana is effectively infinite? I can wreak havoc without worry?

With that thought, Hawthorne couldn't help but burst into laughter.

In that case, tonight will truly be my absolute territory!

Well, then I won't worry at all!

As his spirits soared, the number for his "Current Mana" jumped again, turning into 5.

Without any delay, he cast Blade Ward and False Life on himself, then pulled out his spellbook to cast Agathys' Armor and Longstrider.

After completing all of this, he was filled with ambition and turned to head back.

Following the trail of bodies and blood, he was certain he could find Yuta's whereabouts!