"Caroline?"
This gray mist reminded Loren of Caroline, the former Gluttony of the Witches' Church, the one who later wanted to be Loren's dog.
"What's she doing here? Has the Witches' Church started its operations?"
Seeing this, Loren quickly set everyone down and began moving forward to observe the situation.
Loren wasn't the only one getting anxious; the Church members were also starting to panic.
Most of these people were nuns. The nuns of the Church of Pain were more important than those of other churches, as they served a certain symbolic function.
Like the Sufferers, nuns also didn't block out pain; instead, their sense of pain was doubled, and they constantly tortured themselves.
For example, the nun who had just rushed over had forcibly branded a red-hot iron mesh into her own leg. She wore high heels, but the heel was a nail driven straight into her bone.
Of course, this wasn't without its rewards. Because of their suffering, they gained power close to that of the Sufferers, making them the most combat-capable nuns among all the churches.
But there was one condition: she couldn't go soft. Kindness was Caroline's greatest weakness, and it was the greatest weakness of all witches.
Thinking this, Loren quickened his pace.
...
"Don't come any closer! Or I'll kill you all!"
The gray mist surrounded Caroline and a few little girls in a certain area, with several nuns standing in front of them.
One of the nuns had already lost all four limbs, yet her face remained expressionless. This level of pain was nothing to her.
Despite her words, the gray mist never advanced further. Unless it was absolutely necessary, she didn't want to kill anyone.
"Why waste so much words?"
Just then, Loren suddenly walked over and kicked a nun straight into the gray mist. Before she could even struggle, she was swallowed up by it.
"Who..."
Hearing a sudden, unfamiliar voice, Caroline immediately became alert. Then she saw Loren's face and instantly broke down:
"Wah... Master... I feel so helpless without you here..."
Caroline started crying as she rushed forward and hugged Loren's leg.
"Alright, stop crying. Tell me what's going on here."
Loren grabbed Caroline by the scruff of her neck and lifted her up, casually slashing and killing the remaining nuns with a single stroke. The Church members who had been rushing this way were also slaughtered by Loren.
"After the method to identify witches was revealed, the Church sent us all over the world to save the discovered witches. I was the only one who came here..."
Caroline was still sobbing as she spoke. She had indeed been through a lot during this time.
After all, she had always been sheltered and naive before. She had learned a few things when she met Loren, but back then, she was always playing the role of Loren's dog and had never truly been independent.
Now, suddenly being sent on a solo mission, shouldering the responsibility of saving other witches—it was normal for her to struggle with it.
She wanted to act spoiled with Loren right now, but clearly, this wasn't the time. She could only temporarily suppress her emotions.
"From what I know of the Witches' Church, they wouldn't have actively sent you here, would they?"
Although Caroline was originally supposed to become the Gluttony Witch, at this point, she was still just a little girl. The Witches' Church wouldn't put pressure on her.
"You're right. I wanted to be like you and save others, so I volunteered..."
Loren nodded. Even Caroline's speech had become much more proper; she must have been learning some culture during this time.
"Did the Witches' Church leave you any backup plan?"
"Yes, this."
As she spoke, Caroline took out a pendant. The shape of the pendant was very familiar to Loren—it was the Inverted Cross and eye representing the Observer.
"In a moment of danger, just activate this pendant, and I'll be taken to a secret space where no one can find me. Absolutely safe..."
After saying this, Caroline paused for a moment before continuing:
"But... it can only take me alone..."
"Alright."
Loren nodded. This was very much in line with the Witches' Church's style. Even the Secret Witch probably couldn't do much more than this.
They didn't treat their believers as expendable resources. They were all family to each other.
"Come with me. You've caused such a big commotion. More Sufferers and nuns will be here soon, maybe even an Angel."
"Okay."
Caroline grabbed the two little witches and followed behind Loren.
They were very young. All witches were young, because the older they got, the easier it was for them to be exposed, and exposure meant death.
"From now on, the Witches' Church's forces are going to grow significantly stronger..."
The best haven for these witches was still the Witches' Church. That was the difference between the Witches' Church and Loren's House.
They were a church; Loren was just one person. He couldn't take in too many witches, let alone shelter all the witches in the world.
But for now, the Witches' Church was practically the backyard of Loren's House. Joining the Witches' Church wasn't much different from joining Loren, especially since the Secret Witch had already come to visit Loren.
With the threat of the nuns gone, Caroline decisively deactivated her Arcane Ability. Although her ability was powerful, it was too conspicuous and easily detected.
Just like now, the moment the ability was deactivated, Loren spotted the Sufferers behind him.
"Loren..."
The Sufferer stared at Loren with his lidless eyes, not daring to make a rash move.
"Hello there. It's been a while. When I saw you last, you weren't like this."
Loren waved at him with a smile, not paying them too much attention.
They still hadn't fully come to terms with the shift in status. Yesterday, Loren was the revered Master Mentor admired by tens of thousands, and today, he was a criminal wanted by the entire world. As a result, they hesitated to lay a hand on him.
Master of Witches—that was the nickname the Church had given Loren. Given the reputation of witches in this world, Loren's title was roughly equivalent to "King of All Demons."
"If you don't dare to make a move, then I'll be on my way."
Loren waved to the Sufferers and then turned to leave.
Just as he was about to give chase, he took only one step before he saw his own body. His head had fallen off at some point.
Before, Loren had to hide his strength. Now, what Loren needed to do was make people fear him.
The more people feared him, the less they would dare to lay a hand on witches.
After all, it was the Church, not the congregation, that wanted to hunt down witches.
Perhaps due to their faith, they would hate witches. But when it came to their own lives and the lives of their families being at risk, that was a different story.
The scene of the Sufferer being killed moments ago was deeply etched into everyone's eyes. An emotion called fear began to rise from the depths of their hearts, and as a result, the remaining people didn't dare to take a single step to give chase.
"Listen up. All witches are my property. If anyone dares to lay a hand on a witch, it means war to the death with me. Prepare for my endless comeuppance."
Loren shouted once more, letting fear settle over everyone's hearts.
The two little witches looked at Loren, and a spark of light suddenly appeared in their eyes.