Siderius stretched out three of his left fingers, activating the <Parave> sigil.

The body of the masked man exploded in a thousand bits. The pink shockwave washed over Siderius, only for it to be stopped by the perfectly timed Alchemy barrier.

The shield broke immediately but most of the force from the shockwave was dissipated. Siderius only took a step back due to the force, his entire body unharmed.

Fabrics of the masked man's clothes scattered in the air. His flesh spread all over the place.

"A suicide bomb, heh?" Siderius mumbled.

There were elemental witches like Caterina. There were mental witches like Lyara and Nora.

This nightmare witch was also a mental witch. A mental witch was proficient in controlling others. Schizomancy and Eromancy were very similar to the other. Their instrument might be different, one was lust and the other was delusion, but both achieved the same result, to gain control of the mind and in turn, control the body of the victim.

The masked man was obviously not the real body of the witch. It was probably one of their many puppets.

"The witches that I encountered so far seems to focus on external magic instead of internal." Siderius thought silently.

External magic included puppetry, mind control and the likes. They allowed the witch to gain more power by controlling things outside of their body. Internal magic strengthened magic within oneself, the most prime example were elemental witches.

Caterina was one of the rare elemental witches that Siderius encountered in this world.

The witches of this world were opposite to Siderius' world. The witches in his world focused more on internal magic, making them able to go toe to toe with any witch hunter.

Frankly, Siderius thought that internal magic was superior to external magic. Internal magic guaranteed survival while external magic might look more grandiose.

Siderius examined the remnants of the living puppet to see if he could find anything useful. Unfortunately, this witch was rather careful. It exploded the living puppet to pieces, giving Siderius no clue.

He grabbed a piece of flesh and tried to use Sulfur to locate any magic connection. The witch had severed the connection thoroughly, no link was able to be identified.

"Cunning little witch..." Siderius smirked. He crushed the piece of flesh in his hand then threw it down the ground.

This witch lacked proper combat prowess and intelligence just like Nora. However, he was much more reserved and careful. They even knew to disconnect any magic connection to avoid Siderius looking for him.

From what the witch had acted, Siderius painted a clear picture of who he was dealing with.

"Likely a coward. Schizomancy requires the witch to play with the victim's mind. His desire can be something that benefits Schizomancy. Sadism? Manipulation? Either can be true. Or it can be a third one.

He must be someone that Jude or Caterina knew as well. A complete stranger wouldn't know how to attack Caterina' house so efficiently.

There is a chance it isn't the case. But that requires this witch to be powerful. He isn't that powerful..."

Siderius carried Caterina on his shoulder and walked toward Red's direction. He needed to find a safe place to conduct Alchemy Palace.

Alchemy Palace would induce Siderius' mind in a heightened state, allowing him to go deeper in Caterina's mind and find out what happened.

The side effect of this was Caterina would also be able to intrude in Siderius' mind. He didn't worry about that one bit. Caterina's mind was broken beyond repair and Siderius still had the fortified Mind Palace that was strengthened for two hundred years.

Siderius had no intention of returning to the Crossroads Inn. There were too many eyes there. The Baron's estate was also a no-no considering the fact that Siderius didn't know if Jude wasn't the enemy.

For all he knew, the nightmare witch could be Jude himself. He intended to find out Jude's desire via Caterina.

Siderius put Caterina onto the horse's back then led Red deeper into the woods. Lycan rested on his shoulder, gently snoring.

There was no safer place than the wilds for a witch hunter. It was where they were most familiar with.

Siderius set up camp in a secluded area of the Rottin Woods. The location had tall grass all around to conceal him and Caterina.

Siderius put Lycan down on the ground and ordered it to patrol the area, making sure no one would be able to approach them. The wolverine stood up straight and did a salute.

Siderius showed this movement once when they were still in Mucktown. For some reason, this movement had really stuck with it and became one of its quirky features.

Siderius dug out a hole to put him and Caterina inside. The bottom of the hole was laid with burned charcoal and then a layer of dirt and gravel. The charcoal would keep them warm through the night without the need of a fire.

Fire would attract a lot of attention and Siderius was trying his best to not evoke any. He would be vulnerable pretty soon.

Once everything was set up properly. Siderius fed Red and Lycan, making sure they were full.

Night came just in time. Siderius placed Caterina inside and drew a seal on her forehead.

He also drew a similar seal on his forehead, establishing a spiritual connection between the two. Then he sat next to her on the coal bed.

In Siderius' hand was the pipe from before. It was filled up nicely and ready to be drawn at any time.

Siderius took a huge puff from the pipe. His mind started to wander and his vision blurred.

[TOXICITY +10]

[TOXICITY +5]

[TOXICITY +7]

His level of toxicity increased with every puff he drew from the pipe.

"Connect my mind with a witch again. There is definitely going to be some kind of side effect one day." Siderius mumbled. His lips kept puffing the pipe, drawing more smoke to his mouth.

[TOXICITY +4]

[TOXICITY +6]

[...]

[TOXICITY LEVEL: 45/100]

When Siderius felt that the Spiritual door had been opened wide enough, he laid down beside Caterina. His hands moved and conducted the sign sequence for Alchemy Palace, the Psychosis Meditation.

Instantly, the sulfur seal on Caterina's forehead and Siderius burned with an orange intensity. A thin strand connected the seals.

Siderius' vision began to blur more and more. And then, he saw himself inside the dark mind space of his psyche once again.

In the middle of the space was the giant manifestation of his soul. In the corner was Fluff with a psychosis ring rotated around its body.

In front of Siderius were two doors. One stone door with alchemical symbols and elements. This door led to his already established Mind Palace.

The other door was made from woods with climber plants running all over it and a huge wind symbol in the middle. This was Caterina's door, the entryway to her mind.

Siderius stepped forward and opened Caterina's door.

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