Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

”Master Mentor, what brings you here to see me?”

Clemens was still praying with the other believers. It clearly wasn’t prayer time, yet he continued to pray.

The believers were the same group as when Loren had visited last time; Loren’s memory was sharp enough to remember them all.

Sure enough, the next moment, these believers turned their heads in unison, their movements as synchronized as machines.

Loren swept his gaze over these believers. A few turned their heads slightly slower. Loren quickly made a judgment: among these believers were mixed ordinary people. This was actually more troublesome than if they were all Pseudohumans, as Loren would have many more considerations when killing.

”Priority is killing Clemens. Most of the others are Pseudohumans. Kill anyone who comes to obstruct us as well.”

Loren swiftly made his decision. He couldn’t afford to become hesitant and timid because of this. Not proactively killing everyone was the greatest concession Loren was willing to make. But if a normal person really came to obstruct him, then Loren would have no choice but to label them a Pseudohuman.

”Gale Thrust! Throat-Severing Slash!”

In the blink of an eye, Loren appeared in front of Clemens, Requiem slashing towards his neck.

This classic little combo Loren had used before when pretending to be the Black Moth Butterfly. But everyone who had seen this move was dead, so Loren could use it in front of Pastus without any reservations.Although Pseudohumans mostly relied on ambush, and the Mages of this world were somewhat fragile, the fact that this Pseudohuman could ambush and kill Clemens indicated its strength was not weak to begin with.

Perhaps Loren’s consistent feigning of weakness had paid off. Clemens didn’t dodge immediately but instead chose to block Requiem’s blade with his arm. The result was obvious: one of his arms was severed clean off. Requiem’s speed barely slowed, continuing straight for his neck.

Pseudohumans have no emotions, so they remain perfectly calm during combat. He showed not the slightest surprise at his severed arm, immediately choosing to dodge backward.

At the same time, Pastus had already made his move. He swung his staff, and the magic he had been charging was instantly released. Wooden spikes suddenly erupted from the ground. They didn’t completely pierce Clemens’s body, but they successfully hindered his dodging steps. Requiem successfully sliced across his throat.

A slashed throat was already a fatal injury, but for an elite individual among the Pseudohumans, it meant nothing. Without a moment’s hesitation, he immediately tried to break free from Pastus’s restraint.

That wasn’t all. Vines suddenly sprouted from his wound, continuing to bind him.

Loren had just finished his move when Requiem plunged into Clemens’s chest once more, then slashed out sideways, cleaving half of Clemens’s upper body open.

Clemens’s severed arm stump began to writhe, but a mysterious force continuously suppressed his regeneration.

Against Pseudohumans, Requiem’s Severed Hope effect (damaging the soul, injecting thoughts of death) was ineffective, but the No Life effect (wounds difficult to heal) remained. Combined with its inherent extreme sharpness, it was more than sufficient for killing Pseudohumans.

Clemens realized the severity of the situation and stopped hiding.

His face rapidly melted away, revealing a mass of unknown black substance. On this black mass, facial features could barely be discerned, exuding an indescribable sense of eeriness.

At this moment, Clemens... or rather, the elite Pseudohuman, was no longer constrained by a human form. It had completely transformed into a black, unidentified creature. Along with this came a massive increase in strength. Before Loren’s next slash could land on it, it broke free from Pastus’s restraints.

Simultaneously, its hand stretched towards Loren at a bizarre angle, extremely fast. Without using Void-walking, Loren couldn’t escape.

But now he didn’t need to use Void-walking. Loren raised his blade to block. The blade instantly split the twisted hand down the middle. Loren continued applying force, cleaving through its arm along with it.

While the two were engaged, Pastus had already charged his next spell. The brambles torn apart by the Pseudohuman merged into the ground. Immediately after, a thick, sturdy tree instantly grew. Several branches wrapped around the Pseudohuman, binding it to the trunk.

Even though it could easily snap the brambles before, now facing these seemingly slender branches, the Pseudohuman couldn’t break free.

The trunk continued to grow, gradually engulfing the Pseudohuman. Loren seized this opportunity to unleash a frenzy of Finishing Moves, stabbing the Pseudohuman over and over. Soon, it was punctured like a ragged cloth, finally completely swallowed by the trunk.

Seeing the fight break out here, the others immediately chose to flee. Pseudohumans and normal people were mixed together. Loren didn’t know who to target, so he could only rely on the Scarecrows responsible for the blockade outside.

”Is it dead?”

”It’s dead.”

Pastus continued casting. The giant tree that had swallowed the Pseudohuman sank into the ground. Even if it wasn’t dead, it had completely lost its threat.

”Resolved...”

Loren let out a sigh of relief. This round was also won by an information gap. The Pseudohumans thought they had Loren locked down, never expecting Loren could call for help through the Bird.

They also didn’t expect Loren to suddenly attack. The most crucial piece, Clemens, had been dealt with. The remaining small fry were barely stronger than ordinary people. Given enough time and without being ambushed, the Scarecrows were fully capable of resolving them.

”Let’s go out.”

Loren sheathed his blade, intending to go outside the church to check the situation.

Under the Scarecrows’ control, the people were very obedient, all hiding in their homes, waiting for the Scarecrows’ search.

More than half of the Scarecrows were responsible for blocking the exits; the rest were responsible for searching house by house.

Both logically and reasonably, they should start searching from near Loren’s residence. By the time Loren walked there, many Pseudohuman corpses already littered the ground.

After death, Pseudohumans gradually dissipate, saving the trouble of cleaning up the corpses.

”Master Mentor.”

As Loren approached, a Scarecrow who was working traced the Sprout of New Life over its chest, bowing to Loren.

”How is the situation?”

The Scarecrow was currently at the door of a residence. After knocking, the homeowner came out. The moment he stepped out, he saw the mirror. Upon discovering the homeowner’s reflection was absent in the mirror, the Scarecrow immediately hacked him to pieces with a flurry of blades, then proceeded to search inside the room for others.

Seeing the genuine Mirror of Truth, Loren’s last shred of doubt instantly vanished.

”Are there many Pseudohumans?”

”Not many. Probably less than one in ten people have been replaced, and most are concentrated near your residence.”

”Is that so? That’s good...”

That number wasn’t too terrifying. Besides, they had only tallied the people near Loren’s home; Pseudohumans in other areas were certainly fewer.

In this twisted world, having only this many die in a single disaster was indeed fortunate.

Moreover, they died household by household, so not too many people would experience the pain of parting from loved ones...

Just as Loren was pondering this, the Crow that had been freeloading at Loren’s place suddenly charged out. Its target was clear: Pastus.

Loren only saw a flash of black light, and one of Pastus’s eyes was pecked out.