Loren took out the crystal ball and aimed it at the Captain. There was no reaction, which actually caught him off guard.
For a split second, Loren even wondered if the Captain was an undercover agent—sacrificing all those teammates just to earn his trust. But that didn't make sense either; emotions couldn't be faked.
"Don't bother testing. I gave up my Arcane Ability, so the detector can't sense me.
"My name is Justitia. Just as you thought—I am a witch."
With the other Sun-Chasers dead, Justitia chose to come clean.
Hearing this, Loren didn't immediately believe her. Instead, he grabbed her face and studied it closely.
He even pried open her eyelids to look at her eyes—sapphire blue, as beautiful as gemstones.
"At least the beauty is real..."
Without Arcane Ability, Loren had no reliable way to identify witches, so he had to rely on appearance and personality.
"Justitia, do me a favor."
"Name it."
After all the prodding and examining, Justitia showed no complaint. She simply waited patiently for his next instruction.
"For the sake of me and the other witches, I need you to die right now."
With that, Loren drew Dull Light.
"Okay."
Justitia removed her armor, knelt before Loren, and spread her arms wide, ready to embrace death.
Faced with this abrupt demand, she didn't hesitate for even a second.
Loren didn't respond. He simply brought the blade down on her neck.
Even as the edge touched her skin, Justitia didn't move an inch.
Loren had genuinely intended to kill her with that strike—but at the last moment, he used the Justice Card to store the damage instead.
"Sorry for doubting you. Get up."
With that, Loren helped her to her feet. Such a test was undeniably cruel, but he had no other choice.
Because of his reputation as the Master of Witches and his willingness to stand against the Orthodox Gods for their sake, this stranger—this witch he'd never met—was ready to give her life for him.
Only a witch could do that.
She hadn't even asked why. She simply believed that her death would benefit Loren and the other witches, and so she chose to die.
Testing Justitia like this weighed on Loren's conscience. He pulled her into an embrace and stroked her hair.
"It's fine. Everything you did was for the witches.
"Without Arcane Ability to prove my identity, it's hard to earn your trust. You were right to do all this."
Even after being treated this way, Justitia didn't harbor a single negative thought toward Loren.
"It's all good now. Do you want to come with me? That way you won't have to keep hiding who you are."
"No."
Justitia shook her head and pulled away from his embrace:
"I came to save you. Now that I know you're safe, I can rest easy.
"I'm more useful staying in this position. I've already helped many witches escape and sent them to the Witches' Church.
"If I leave, the witches who get discovered next might end up in trouble."
Justitia thought only of the other witches, never sparing a moment for herself.
In the end, Loren could only let out a sigh:
"Take care of yourself..."
With Scarlett gone, Loren had almost nothing on him. He couldn't even craft a new Abyssal Gaze Eye.
All he could offer was this hollow phrase.
He didn't try to persuade her to leave again. That would be irresponsible to the other witches and disrespectful to Justitia's own choice.
Besides, they were barely acquainted. Justitia hadn't fully sworn loyalty to him yet.
But Loren believed that day wouldn't be far off.
Justitia looked at Loren, opened her mouth as if to say something, hesitated for a long moment, then finally spoke—uncertain how to address him:
"Master... I need you to injure me. If I come out of this unscathed while everyone else is dead and you got away, it'll look suspicious."
After much hesitation, Justitia decided to call him "Master."
"Cut off one of my arms, and stab me in the stomach too.
"I have the healing ability granted by the God of Light and Fire. These injuries mean nothing to me."
Seeing the resolve in Justitia's eyes, Loren's heart ached.
"If you won't do it, I'll have to do it myself. Without your expert blade work, I'll only suffer more—and I'm more likely to blow my cover."
The more Justitia said, the more Loren's heart hurt for her.
She had been protecting the witches in her own way all along. She didn't have Loren's abilities. Only she knew what price she had paid along the way—to the point of losing her Arcane Ability.
And Arcane Ability was practically a witch's soul.
"Alright..."
In the end, Loren relented. He raised Dull Light and said:
"Justitia, remember this—no matter what happens, I will always be your safe harbor. You can come to me anytime. I will always love you."
"Thank you..."
Justitia replied with a smile. Then Dull Light came down, severing her arm without resistance.
"..."
Even so, her expression didn't change.
Before swinging for the second strike, Loren voiced his thoughts:
"There's another way. I could kill every last worshipper of the God of Light and Fire. That way, no one would persecute the witches here anymore."
Loren's heart couldn't bear to kill her directly—but if it meant saving the witches, that was a different story.
Between a witch being severely injured and slaughtering an Orthodox God's followers, Loren would choose the latter without hesitation.
He would never waver on the choice that haunted Noah.
Justitia shook her head, making her decision.
"Ahh..."
Loren sighed and drove the blade straight through Justitia's stomach. She froze for a noticeable moment.
Before she could ask, Loren explained:
"I stored your pain. I'll release it slowly—slow enough that you won't even notice..."
With the God of Light and Fire's healing ability, as long as she felt no pain, these injuries truly meant nothing to her.
"Thank you..."
Blood trickled from the corner of Justitia's mouth, but she was smiling.
Loren stepped forward, wiped the blood from her lips, and planted a kiss on her forehead:
"You're really brave..."
"Thank you..."
Justitia touched the spot Loren had kissed and smiled.
Even gravely wounded, she was still happy. She had found her purpose. She was certain that Loren genuinely cared for the witches.
Veronica watched the entire scene coldly. Whether Loren talked about slaughtering believers or when he gravely wounded Justitia, she remained unmoved.
Loren had noticed long ago—she was truly apathetic. Even after witnessing all the horrors in the sky earlier, she felt nothing.
The only person Veronica cared about was Loren.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter