Inside Vossen's magic tower, Arabelle and Linetta sighed with relief. Fortunately, Lillias was saved—No, not just Lillias; they were all saved.
"Vaan is here, grandmother! Everything's going to be okay!" Linetta exclaimed excitedly with near-blind worship.
pαпdα Йᴏνê|,сòМ She understood Vaan was a meticulous and careful person. Thus, the only reason he dared to appear alone must be due to absolute confidence in his strength.
"Let's hope so," Arabelle said with slight concern.
She didn't want to underestimate Vaan's strength, but he was alone, and the enemy was not. The full might of the Calarook Household stood against him, not to mention the other households hiding nearby.
"No, we can't just sit here and wait for Lord Vahn to save us! We must assist him! Now is our chance to counterattack!"
After Arabelle spoke objectively with a clenched fist, she immediately instructed her subordinates to gather all abled battle witches in the magic tower for battle.
"You, young lady, will not be going anywhere. You're still young and inexperienced, so stay here where it is safe."
Meanwhile, Vaan's claim made Brigid Calarook and her people cackle with laughter, full of disdain and derision.
"You're my worst nightmare? You may have caught me off-guard, but all you did was inflict some pain. Did you think I would fear you because of that?! I fear no man, mongrel!"
After Vaan coolly replied to Brigid, he placed Lillias down on her feet and signaled her to take a few steps back to safety. At that moment, Lillias still had a blank, dreamy look, but she still followed his instruction obediently.
Then, Vaan turned around to face Brigid seriously.
"I know you're trying to buy time, but it's useless. Your helpers won't be coming out to assist you. It's clear that they have decided to adopt a wait-and-see stance."
"It matters not. Even without them, I still have an army. You, on the other hand, are alone. I will take care of you before the Vossens decide to ride your momentum."
Brigid stood up, tall and proud, after her missing arm stopped bleeding and glared at Vaan viciously yet confidently.
Her confidence was backed by a thousand Peak-stage Senior Witches…
However, Vaan waved his hand before every battle witch around Brigid Calarook combusted into blue flames, causing them to scream in brief agonizing pain. Within moments, Brigid's entire army of battle witches collapsed to the ground, reduced to charred corpses.
Brigid's confident expression froze; only shock and disbelief could be seen in her eyes.
"You and what army again?" Vaan casually asked.
When Brigid heard his voice, she felt so cold and indifferent that it chilled her heart. It was as if Vaan had done something insignificant, not worth mentioning.
"But don't you worry. You won't get an easy death like the rest of them. Thanks to you, Vossen Household's plans were delayed. Thus, I'll make sure you suffer sufficiently."
Right after Brigid heard that, she immediately turned around to flee, knowing she had no chance at victory. Her opponent wielded an unknown fire ability of unparalleled might.
She didn't even know how he was controlling it.
"If I didn't permit you to leave, you can forget about trying to escape. You can only blame yourself for trying to realize your ambitions without the strength to back it, offending the people."
With that, Vaan flicked his wrist upward, raising a wall of blue flames to cut off Brigid's escape. But she did not slow down and even sped up with a determined look.
If she couldn't endure the blue flames with her magic barriers, then she would gladly die within the blue flames. That way, she wouldn't have to experience torment at the very least.
Unfortunately, while Brigid had a good idea, the reality was cruel.
Brigid slammed into the wall of blue flames like she would with a high-grade metal wall, solid and seemingly indestructible. Her magic barriers shattered, and her inner organs shook, causing her to aggravate her old wounds and spit out some blood.
"This… is impossible…! How can fire feel so solid?! Why? Why doesn't it burn?! Why can't I feel a shred of magic power from it?! Just what kind of power is this?!"
Brigid pounded the blue fire wall with her fists, much to her dismay, but the blue fire wall refused to give way and repelled her.
"You're not even a Transcendent. Did you think someone at your level could feel or even understand divine power? It burns when I want it to burn. A manifestation of my will, you could say; nothing more, nothing less."
"Stay away from me!!"
Brigid cried, suddenly losing her mind. She threw every destructive spell her mind could conjure at Vaan as he steadily approached with calm steps. With each step he took, her confidence cracked until it shattered completely, plunging her into a state of frenzied desperation.
However, no matter what spell she tossed at Vaan, they shattered or bounced off his protective layer of dragon aura.
How could an Early-stage High Witch possibly break a Peak-stage Aura Lord's pure defensive aura?
Bereaved, despaired, yet desperate and stubborn, Brigid's eyes darted left and right for a path to life. She scrambled to the side with panicked steps—only to stumble and fall.
Brigid cried with fear when Vaan caught her ankle and lifted her up like a weightless doll. Then, he slammed her into the ground repeatedly, shattering every bone in her body and making a mess of her inside.
Bone shards pierced out of her skin, and blood flowed from her seven orifices.
Brigid was rendered powerless, broken in mind and body. In such a state, she had no power to resist, even if she wanted to.
Vaan picked her back up by the hair, raising her body until their eyes met. The fear in her eyes became evident.
"Yes… those are the right eyes. You fear no man because the capital didn't have any strong men. But now, it has me."
"Please spare me..." Brigid Calarook pleaded weakly.
Meanwhile, Arabelle rushed out of the magic tower with her troops, only to stop in their tracks, stunned by the scene outside.
They were greeted with a land filled with charred corpses and a broken, disheveled, and pitiful Brigid in Vaan's grasp.