In a corner of the city, Koranda was being cornered by several tall men. She was crying for help, her hands covering her body, putting on a show of weakness.

However, she seemed to have overlooked one thing: even if there were real villains, they had eyes. If they were really going to target someone, they wouldn't pick someone like Koranda.

Yet, it was this shoddy acting that truly lured Caroline out. By the time Loren arrived, they had already started fighting.

Caroline suddenly descended from the sky, holding a wooden stick, and directly struck the man closest to Koranda. The stick instantly shattered, splinters flying everywhere. The man, however, wasn't really hurt. Sensing the attack from behind, he immediately turned his head.

"Run!"

Caroline smashed the remaining half of the stick directly into the man's face, then grabbed Koranda's hand and tried to run. But Koranda froze in place; with Caroline's strength, she actually couldn't pull her along.

Koranda's obstruction successfully slowed Caroline down. By now, the others also stopped pretending and directly began casting magic. Various forms of Abundant Magic instantly surrounded Caroline. Only then did Caroline realize she had fallen into a trap.

Seeing herself about to be pierced by thorns, Caroline instinctively released her Arcane Ability. Gray mist began to spread outwards from her, instantly devouring all the magic spells coming her way.

"Just as I thought. I knew there was a Witch here. Looking at this, she must be the culprit behind the city's victims. With evidence, let's see what Loren can say now."

It was only now that Koranda made her move. She raised her hand, and a giant tree suddenly erupted from the ground. Immediately after, this giant tree became as supple as a vine and lashed directly at the gray mist Caroline had released.

The giant tree was too fast and too large. The gray mist couldn't devour it instantly. Caroline was thus struck by the tree and sent flying backwards.

"Break her limbs. Just keep her alive."

Koranda didn't give Caroline a chance to catch her breath and continued the pursuit.

It was at this moment that Loren arrived at the scene. Koranda suddenly felt the danger of death approaching. She hadn't felt this sensation in a long time.

She only saw a flash of lightning, and a Robed Figure appeared before her. Koranda only had time to raise her arm.

In that instant, the palm strike Loren should have landed on her face instead hit her arm.

This was also within Loren's expectations. The magic he had just used was the Fifth-tier magic, Lightning Flash, and the Sixth-tier magic, Touch of Thunder. As long as they hit, they would produce a paralyzing effect; it didn't matter where they hit.

Just as Loren began preparing his next lethal move, Koranda launched a counterattack. Sharp thorns suddenly pierced through Koranda's skin, stabbing towards Loren's palm.

However, Loren's Intuition had already foreseen the danger. Before Koranda could even begin her counterattack, Loren had already withdrawn.

The next instant, a small comet streaked across the night sky, plummeting towards Koranda. Completely unable to react in time, Koranda took the comet head-on. The ensuing explosion even lit up the night sky.

Eighth-tier magic, Night-Rending Comet. The destructive power of this spell was top-tier even among Eighth-tier magics. Taking that hit head-on, even if Koranda didn't die, she'd be crippled.

After dealing with Koranda, Loren activated Lightning Flash again, flashing to Caroline's side. She had just struggled to her feet and was still in a daze. Everything had happened too fast; she couldn't process it at all. She only knew that this suddenly appearing Robed Figure seemed to be on her side.

Loren didn't give Caroline time to react either. With one arm, he scooped Caroline up. With his other hand, he pointed towards the sky, which was instantly covered by a massive magic circle.

A sense of foreboding rose in everyone's hearts, but it was too late for them to respond. Loren had already begun chanting and charging energy long ago. By now, this spell was fully prepared.

The night sky, still recovering from the aftermath of the Night-Rending Comet, was once again torn apart by thick pillars of lightning. Dense, countless lightning pillars continuously fell from the night sky, weaving into a massive net.

Eighth-tier magic, Silent Night Lightning Flash.

The lightning pillars struck Koranda's subordinates head-on. These trusted aides of Koranda were no simpletons either; their strength far surpassed that of ordinary Scarecrows at the very least. That's why Loren opened with such a massive, lethal move. He would never make the mistake of letting the tiger return to the mountain. Either he wouldn't act, or he had to strike to kill.

Those people turned to ashes the moment they came into contact with the lightning pillars. The power of an Eighth-tier magic was not something just anyone could withstand.

"Let's go!"

Loren directly cast the Veil of Night, enveloping himself and Caroline, and then quickly retreated.

Caroline felt her brain trembling. When her Arcane Ability was broken, she thought she was surely dead. Then, a savior suddenly descended from the heavens, unleashing two terrifying, lethal moves right off the bat.

Logically speaking, someone so powerful shouldn't have any connection with her, much less come to her rescue. Caroline was very self-aware of this.

She opened her eyes, wanting to see what that person looked like, and then she saw a familiar face.

"Loren?"

"It's me."

Loren hadn't hidden his face from Caroline, so the moment she opened her eyes, she saw Loren's face.

She immediately thought of her family's warnings about him. But Loren had now very tangibly saved her life.

However, Caroline quickly figured it out. Her family members hadn't actually met Loren either; their judgment of him was merely speculation.

Moreover, Loren had saved her life. Her life now belonged to Loren. At most, if Loren wanted to kill her later, she could just give it back to him.

Having thought this through, Caroline didn't speak anymore. She quietly kept her mouth shut, letting Loren lead her on a winding path through the city, eventually returning to Loren's home.

As soon as Loren opened the door, he encountered Movila, who had come to receive him. Seeing Loren return completely unharmed, Movila finally let out a sigh of relief.

"You weren't discovered the entire way. You're completely safe now."

Movila's clones had been observing the situation from the sky the whole time Loren was escaping, just in case someone was following him. Although, with the Veil of Night plus the dragon-hide black robe, it was almost impossible for Loren to be detected.

"Alright."

Back home, Loren also sighed in relief and pulled down the hood of his black robe.

"You... why did you save me..."

After hesitating for a long time, Caroline finally spoke.

"Aren't we friends?"

"Friends?"

Caroline recalled her initial meeting with Loren. Loren had indeed said they could be considered friends. But even Caroline hadn't expected Loren to actually take it so seriously.

"But... I..."

Caroline suddenly began to stammer. She took a few deep breaths, gritted her teeth, and forced out the next words: 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"You heard what those people said, right? I'm a Witch."

"So what if you're a Witch? Witches are more loyal and value relationships more than humans."