Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted-Chapter 60: Retreat

"Let's retreat."
Now wasn't the time to fight Eldrin. Loren decided to temporarily avoid clashing head-on.
"The Robed Figure? So you're actually working together..."
The black robe, the mysterious aura, carrying a blade—Eldrin quickly confirmed Loren's identity.
"Actually, I gave myself a nickname. Since I can blacken others, you can call me the Black Moth Butterfly."
With one arm holding Luna, Loren used the Wind-Cleaving Blade to escape the area of the Dance of the Green Sea. But by then, Eldrin had also blocked their path.
"How dare you..."
"Throat-Severing Slash!"
The moment Eldrin spoke, Loren instantly struck. The blade, glinting with a cold light, swept across Eldrin's neck. He promptly raised his magic wand to block. His wand was no ordinary item; it withstood Loren's slash head-on without leaving even a mark.
Eldrin's expression darkened. He hadn't expected Loren to attack so suddenly. But before he could say anything, Luna also swung her sword. The sword energy she unleashed forced Eldrin back.
Loren considered himself a mage, so it was normal that his physical output wasn't as high as Luna's.
He didn't linger. The instant Eldrin retreated, Loren grabbed Luna and ran in the opposite direction.
Before coming, Loren had drunk a potion that increased agility. Luna was naturally fast. Given the limited mobility of Abundance Sequence magic, Eldrin simply couldn't hit them.
No wonder Eldrin was researching Crimson Magic. The upper and lower limits of Abundance Magic weren't high.
It was just that the Church strictly forbade its followers from learning magic of other sequences, especially magic like Crimson Magic, which didn't belong to any Orthodox God sequence.
Crimson Magic was strictly prohibited not because it was cruel, but because it didn't belong to any Orthodox God sequence and was completely uncontrollable.
During their escape, Loren's intuition suddenly sent a warning. His steps faltered, and he simultaneously pulled Luna to a stop.
In the very next second, a row of bamboo suddenly sprouted in front of them. The bamboo appeared incredibly fast, its growth process almost invisible. If they had kept running, they would likely have been impaled.
This wasn't ordinary bamboo. It was crimson red, covered in barbs, with extremely sharp tips. Its leaves were like saws. Getting stabbed by this thing would definitely be unpleasant; even if you didn't die, you'd lose a layer of skin.
"This way."
Loren quickly changed direction, heading toward an alley. Taking advantage of his momentary pause, several Scarecrows blocked his path.
"Get lost if you don't want to die!"
They all knew about the Robed Figure wiping out entire families and had personally witnessed Luna killing their colleagues. So even as Loren ran past them, they didn't dare obstruct him at all.
Only after Loren had run far away did they resume the chase.
"Damn it..."
In the end, Eldrin could only watch helplessly as the two escaped. With so many people watching, he absolutely didn't dare use other magic.
"Search quickly! Search the entire city!"
...
"Hurry, drink this!"
Loren brought Luna to hide in a corner. Only then did Loren have time to check on Luna's condition. Eldrin's magic had still injured her; she was now covered in small wounds.
Thanks to Loren's timely intervention, these wounds were all shallow and not a major issue.
Without hesitation, Luna immediately drank the potion Loren handed her. Under the potion's effect, the wounds vanished instantly.
"Had enough of playing superhero, Miss Luna?"
"You... when did you know?"
Loren's words made Luna freeze up. Her mouth hung open for a long moment before she managed a complete sentence.
Finally, Luna canceled her transformation, reverting to her original appearance. She was still wearing her school uniform, which now had many holes torn by magic.
"I knew you were a witch the first time I saw you. I knew you were a superhero when you first met me in your superhero form."
Memories flooded Luna's mind. She still deeply remembered Loren's view on witches from their first meeting:
"Even so... you still chose to be so kind to me..."
It formed a stark contrast with the attitudes of ordinary people. Luna's admiration for this Master Mentor grew even stronger.
Especially since he had saved her twice now. Both times, it was her own willfulness that dragged Loren into danger. Yet, he was still willing to come save her.
Luna resolved in her heart to protect Loren for a lifetime.
"First, come back to my house with me. I'll help you clear your name. The King doesn't know you're a witch. What the newspapers said was just framing you."
"Go... go to your... your house?"
The mention of going to Loren's house made Luna freeze up again, her face flushing bright red, steam practically rising from her head.
Her current demeanor was completely different from the decisive, lethal person she was before. It seemed facing Loren was harder than dealing with a group of Scarecrows.
"Let's go quickly."
Loren grabbed Luna's wrist and led her through hidden paths toward his home.
On the other side, Gwen, disguised as Loren, also left upon learning the operation had failed.
"You really should reorganize your guards. At the very least, make them not retreat without a fight."
"Of course, I'm not saying the Scarecrows are any good either. They're also a bunch of useless fools. No wonder the Gedlan Kingdom has always been the weakest country in the God of Bountiful Harvest's territory."
Gwen cursed a few more times before leaving, putting on an angry act.
...
As Gwen entered through the front door, Loren climbed through the window into his own bedroom.
Upon returning home, Gwen resumed her place on the table, continuing to act as a decorative piece.
After returning, Loren didn't engage in idle chat. He went directly to Mirrorheart's bedroom, only to find her with clothes he had worn draped over her face, busy with some handiwork.
"Stop that for a moment. Quickly give me your clothes..."
"Understood."
Mirrorheart was very willing to follow this command. Before Loren could react, her upper garment had already slipped down.
"Wait... not that one. I want that school uniform you made before."
Luna and Mirrorheart had similar builds. Mirrorheart was only slightly larger. Luna could wear Mirrorheart's clothes.
"So it wasn't this one on me you wanted..."
Although Mirrorheart's tone remained as cold as ever and her expression unchanged, she still performed a gesture of disappointment, her whole body slumping.
Despite saying that, Mirrorheart never delayed tasks. She took out that school uniform from the wardrobe, along with the white stockings.
"Oh, I should remind you, I didn't wash them after we used them last time."
"..."
Mirrorheart said "we used," not "I wore." Loren understood perfectly well what that meant.
"Forget it."
After getting the clothes, Loren returned to his bedroom. Luna was still sitting where he left her, unmoved, curiously examining Loren's bedroom, especially Gwen on the table.
"Here's a new set of clothes for you. You can't keep wearing that outfit; it's easy for people to guess things."
"Hmm... remember to wash it when you get back..."