Nevertheless, Vaan's face was burned into their memories, which caused a jolt to their minds when it overlapped with a matching picture.

"The first male Venerable Sage in history Vaan Raphna That man was Vaan Raphna! But didn't the news say he was already dead?"

"I don't think that's important here. How can a man exert such pressure with just his gaze alone? Just how strong is he? I can still feel goosebumps when I recall his gaze!"

The witches decided not to pursue Vaan. As such, he freely walked away without further issues from their group.

Even proud witches know when to lower their heads if they meet someone far more powerful than them, let alone a passing grim reaper.

The witches felt like they just had a very close encounter with death.

Meanwhile, Vaan continued on his way. With his Omni-Sense spread out, he covered a large area of land and grasped its ongoing situations.

"When many ambitious witches without the overwhelming power to make a difference gather, all you get is this big shitfest once order collapses, huh?" Vaan commented as he observed the situation.

Sometime later, the Vossen Household entered Vaan's detection range before he picked up the pace with a frown. He covered large distances with each step and even cut through people's territories as he took a shortcut, making a beeline for the Vossen Household.

"Halt! Who gives a lowly man like you the right to run on my land?! In my territory, you can only walk or crawl!"

Pak!

A haughty and arrogant witch was quickly smacked out of the way when she tried to obstruct Vaan's path and confront him.

Her body smashed into her own magic tower's defensive barriers before falling to the ground. She remained motionless, her neck bent at a weird angle, and her eyes rolled back, seemingly lifeless.

However, a few moments later, the magic tower's mana flowed into the witch's broken body and restored it. The witch's eyes rolled back into place before she stood up and fixed her broken neck with a dumb look, failing to recall what had happened to her.

Her memory was a blur.

"Who am I? What was I doing? Where was I going?" the witch muttered to herself.

Blackthorn City, Central District

The Vossen Household, like many other renowned households and famous witches, possessed a magic tower of their own that didn't lose to others in terms of height and majesty, only inferior to Queen Henrietta's.

At that moment, the Vossen Household's magic tower was being sieged by another renowned household, the Calarook Household.

Many buildings around the magic tower had been damaged, destroyed, or completely cleared for land.

"Come out, Lady Arabelle! It's time we settle the scores between us once and for all! The loser must submit to the victor! What do you think? Must I keep destroying your homes to force you out?" the matriarch of the Calarook Household, Brigid Calarook, spoke.

"Do you think I'm stupid, Lady Brigid?! Do you think I don't know you are working with other renowned households and have them lying in wait to ambush me?! Stop wasting my time and fuck off!" Arabelle roared out the window of her magic tower before slamming it shut.

"Grandma, I can't find Lillias!" Linetta rushed over with concern and urgency and said, "I don't think she made it inside!"

"Keep searching. She has to be!" Arabelle strong hoped.

However, her hopes were shortly dashed by Brigid's raucous laughter outside. One of the Calarook's battle witches had caught Lillias hiding in the ruins of a broken building and brought her over.

"Lady Arabelle, take a look outside and see who I have caught. Isn't she one of your precious granddaughters?" Brigid laughed before threatening Arabelle, "If you don't accept my challenge, I can't guarantee what I will do to her!"

"You're completely shameless, Lady Brigid!" Arabelle cursed with red eyes, seeing Lillias struggling in Brigid's arms.

Lillias made an attempt on Brigid's life with an earthen spike spell, but the latter blocked it with a magic barrier, shattering the earthen spike into countless smaller shards.

"Nice try. Unfortunately, the power is too weak, and the speed is too slow!"

Pak!

A strong slap soon knocked Lillias unconscious, causing her body to become limp and obedient in Brigid's arms.

"Lillias!" Arabelle cried before roaring furiously, "Damn you, you filthy whore! You dare lay a hand on my granddaughter!?"

"If you have a problem with it, come out and faceWho's there?!" Brigid didn't finish speaking when she suddenly sensed incomparable danger from her rear.

"Someone's coming!" one of the Calarook's battle witches alerted a split second later.

However, no one could stop Vaan's lightning-fast movement as he closed the gap between him and Brigid in an instant.

Although Brigid instinctively summoned multiple layers of shield to block Vaan's charge, they all shattered like glass when they contacted his body; they failed to buy her a single moment.

Brigid's face paled immediately.

"Who!"'

Without waiting for her to finish her question, Vaan grabbed her arm and ripped it off her body like tearing up paper. Then, he retrieved the unconscious Lillias from Brigid's torn arm and sent the hag flying with a kick!

"Arghhh!"

Brigid cried in pain as she flew through the air, clutching her missing arm. She vomited mouthfuls of blood moments later due to her crushed and damaged organs.

"Lady Brigid!"

The Calarook's battle witches chased after their matriarch while the other half protected their rear from the sudden threat, Vaan.

Brigid's pale face dripped with cold sweat as her people tended to her wounds with healing magic and recovery potions.

"Who are you?! How dare you interfere with the Calarook Household's matters!" Brigid barked as she bought time for her reinforcements to arrive.

However, Vaan didn't pay her any attention immediately.

He checked Lillias's condition before cutting his thumb and dripping some of his potent blood into her mouth, granting her a swift recovery.

Lillias regained consciousness almost immediately in Vaan's arm. Her eyes widened with a dumb look, wondering if she was in a dream.

Nevertheless, Vaan stomped Brigid's detached arm and reduced it to ashes with his Fire Authority. Then, he finally glanced at Brigid's people.

"You only need to know I'm your worst nightmare," Vaan coolly stated.