Drawing a magic circle is a complicated thing.

Selecting materials, modifying the room's state to be constant, drawing accurately, and so on—it was a process that, if done from scratch, would take days to weeks to complete.

Thankfully, the girls brought all the required items and prepared everything that needed processing beforehand. All that was left was basically setting the room and drawing the circle, and it would be done!

"Alright, this should do it!"

The one who was an expert at it, the witch named Nemu, wiped the sweat off her forehead with a smile. Without delay, she quickly dropped a scroll in the middle of the formation and stood at its edge before touching the etching.

"Then, I'm testing it out now!" she said.

Slowly, she poured life energy—mana—into the formation, making it glow in an energetic, bright red. The light flashed, waned, and twisted under everyone's watchful gaze.

And then…

"Success!"

The scroll disappeared from the formation, successfully teleporting away!

Next, they had to wait.

The scroll was a safety measure, something that detected the "stability" of the teleportation pathway. It would then be checked by another witch on the other side, who would send a similar scroll back in return, checking both ways.

About fifteen seconds later, the formation glowed once more.

In the middle of it, a single scroll appeared, dropping slowly to the ground.

Nemu waited until the light completely faded before walking into the circle, reaching for the scroll, and opening it. She checked the changes inside and analyzed them, slowly nodding to herself.

"Alright, looks like it's working fine!" She smiled, sighing in relief. "With this, this fortress is now connected to Major Fortress #606!" She cheered.

"Great job as always," Princess Ethernina smiled, praising the witch's work. "Then, Sir Axel, shall we head to the next place?"

"Huh?"

Axel, who was studying the magic circle with great scrutiny, snapped back to his senses.

"Ah, right." He nodded, standing up. "Then, as soon as the first batch comes, let's head out!"

"Yes, sir!"

After that, Nina simply had to resend the scroll to show that it was successfully connected, and the other side would then send reinforcements to watch over the fortress.

It wasn't a time-consuming action, so it only took them five minutes before the first squad of witches arrived.

"We greet the princess!"

Of course, they had to stop and salute Princess Nina for a brief moment before running to their designated positions. The barren fortress soon became teeming with life and movement.

And with their job here complete, Axel and the rest started heading out.

"Master…"

When they did, Fenrir greeted Axel immediately. Her face showed worry for once.

"What's wrong?" Axel asked, curious.

Fenrir hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

"Master, I suggest we don't proceed any further," she said. "Ahead of us, one of the demons' Four Heavenly Kings is waiting."

"Four Heavenly Kings…?" Axel felt as if he'd heard her wrong.

Not only was Fenrir speaking in long sentences for the first time, but he'd even heard such a comical title coming from her!

"What is this, an isekai anime?!" He chuckled, half-jokingly.

"…"

But Fenrir's expression remained filled with worry, enough that she didn't even react to Axel's little joke. No, it wasn't just her; even the witches remained stock-still, faces pale with fear.

"F-Four Heavenly Kings?!"

Even Nina was so afraid that she was literally trembling!

At that point, Axel realized that something was amiss.

"Wait, Fenrir." He raised a palm. "This Heavenly King… is it as strong as you?"

Fenrir's expression tightened before she slowly shook her head.

"No, Master."

"I see, thank go—"

"They're much stronger than even my wolf form."

"—d… the fuck?"

This time, Axel's face went pale. A monster stronger than even Fenrir's wolf form… a walking disaster!

"This heat is actually coming from Vulcanus, the 4th seat of the Four Heavenly Kings," she further explained. "And by estimates, he's still 500 kilometers away from us. You can imagine how hot it would be right next to him."

Nina gasped in disbelief. "T-This sweltering heat…"

"…is caused by an individual?!" Axel finished her stammered words.

Right now, the ambient temperature was already reaching 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). And that was with the source hundreds of kilometers away. If they stood right next to him…

"The fuck. Is he as hot as an active volcano?!"

Axel couldn't believe what he was saying himself. Such a temperature from an individual was beyond crazy! However, Fenrir's next words made it all make sense.

"Vulcanus is a Fire Giant," she clarified. "And this heat is with him standing still. It gets even hotter when he's in battle."

"Alright, let's retreat!"

Axel no longer hesitated. There's nothing to hesitate about in the first place.

Facing an enemy that could melt them on contact? Nobody would want to enter such a suicidal mission. Instead, the logical choice was to retreat and think of a countermeasure first!

Fenrir sighed in relief and nodded.

"A wise choice, Master—"

But suddenly, her ears stood straight on end. Her head snapped to the north, eyes wide with shock.

"No way…" she gasped. "Vulcanus is moving. He's heading this way!"

"What?!"

This time, Axel truly panicked.

"Nina! Order the witches in the fortress to retreat, ASAP!" he barked. "The rest of you, retreat together with Nina. Use the teleportation array!"

"Y-Yes, Sir Axel!"

The situation called for speed. They couldn't dally or question orders for even a moment.

The witches rushed off, heading back into the fortress and raising their voices. The next instant, a bell rang, signaling the entire regiment's retreat.

"Good…" Axel sighed.

Fenrir, standing beside him, spoke with a worried voice. "Master… are you planning to—"

"Of course." He cut her off.

His expression was firm, with no trace of the fear he'd shown earlier. His hand moved, tapping the system menu and opening his inventory. Then, he took out—

A return scroll.

"I plan to escape first!"

Sacrificing himself so the army could escape? Why would he do that? He wasn't a member of Witcheria's army, nor was he powerful enough to protect them!

At this moment, escaping with his life was his greatest priority.

"Please go, Master. And make everyone in this world escape to a different dimension if possible."

Fenrir smiled thinly, breaking her usual stoic image as she stood with her back to him.

"I… will face Vulcanus alone," she declared, her voice firm and resolute. "I will buy enough time for you and everyone else to escape."

"Fenrir…"

Axel stared at her small back, feeling the heavy burden she chose to shoulder alone. Faced with that grave determination, he stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No. I didn't permit you to leave my side. Who will protect me if you're gone?!" He snapped. "You're coming with me!"

"…Eh?"

Axel was only thinking of saving his own skin!

Witcheria? To hell with them!

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