The soldiers' expressions turned to shock once they were out of the plain rock of the tunnel and into the bunker itself, which Wolfe had enchanted.

Their silence spoke volumes, and they followed silently while Wolfe led the way to a spare recreation area, as they had no meeting rooms here.

"This will have to do for the moment. This place is not intended for receiving guests. I have soundproofed it, though, so none from the outside will hear what we are saying, other than Millie, who is bringing us the coffee your subordinates were craving." Wolfe informed the group.

The young Bunny came running in with the tray of cups and the carafe of coffee, complete with almond milk and sugar.

She bowed politely as she set the tray down. "I'm not sure how you take your coffee, so I brought our usual dark roast with almond milk and sugar if you take it that way." She announced, then ran back out of the room.

"Is that, was that a bunny girl? Like part rabbit?" The team leader asked, confused.

Cassie smiled at her. "The curse on the Frozen Wastes led to a lot of hybrids in the aftermath of the war. You get used to them but don't wander far from our enclaves, or the curses will come back into effect, and you won't be able to speak to each other.

Now, would you care to elaborate on your assertion that there shouldn't be anyone living here?"

The trio took off their helmets, revealing pale skin, dark hair and the same gemstone eye that Cassie and Ella shared, except in a vivid gold instead of violet or blue.

"There really shouldn't be anyone here. The United World Military determined that due to the bloodline curses, there were no remaining magical species left on this continent over a century ago. As far as we knew, this continent was essentially barren except for monsters, and the whole region you call the Frozen Wastes has been declared a Nature Preserve and War Memorial.

It is against global law to build any form of settlement here or attempt to alter the geography. But lately, we have detected signs of both. We came to you first, as we detected a powerful magic user, and we were intending to return them to their home continent."

Wolfe examined the three witches and found that the curse was present in their bloodline, but it was being suppressed by a spell. He carefully considered his next words, as these witches were clearly still very anti-Magi and wouldn't take well to the realization that he was one. They also didn't seem to believe that there was still a functional society on this continent.

"The changes you have seen are a result of the curses that had been lingering after the war fading. Magic is returning to the continent at a rapid pace, and we're in the middle of getting a situation with the human nations who are running out of natural resources sorted out.

I'm sorry that you have come all this way on a misunderstanding, but the Witches were never wiped out, not even close. It's just that their power level was limited by the Bloodline Curse. Now that the Curse is breaking, they are returning their Covens back to a more reasonable and prosperous state." He explained.

"The Covens are recovering? What about the Sylvan Family or the Priyas? If my knowledge of history is correct, their Covens should have been on this continent." One of the junior witches asked, earning her a glare from the team leader.

"The Sylvan Coven is still active, and we have a member of the Priya Family here with us today." Wolfe offered, gesturing to Priya.

"Lulabeth Priya, of the Seventh Branch of the Priya Family, descended from Elder General Lula Priya." She agreed.

The young woman teared up a little as she stared at Priya. Then she held out her hand, and Priya hesitantly took it and helped the Witch to her feet.

"So, there are still some of you." The woman's voice was suddenly icy cold, and Wolfe felt the mana pull as a weapon hit Priya's armour.

He grabbed the soldier in a Gravity spell and threw her across the room.

"Explain now if you want to leave here alive." He demanded.

"The descendants of General Lula have been declared excommunicated traitors to the Priya Family. The penalty is death. Do not interfere in our family business, Demon," the younger Witch demanded.

"So your United World Military allows blood vendettas within Witch Families to execute people in public? It seems that your culture is the one which has lost sight of civilized behaviour." Ella laughed, gathering mana in preparation for a fight.

The team leader finally recovered from the shock of learning that so many Witches had survived on this continent when they were assumed lost in battle by the rest of the world's population.

"Stop it. Sergeant Priya, sit down now. We will deal with your insubordination when we return home.

To answer your question, no, we do not allow blood vendettas to be used as a reason for public execution. The Priya Family seems to think that they are above the law today, but that notion will be swiftly corrected." The team leader insisted.

"Might we know who you are so we know if there are others we should keep away from your team?" Wolfe asked.

"Mary Sylvana and the third is Callista Daria. My apologies for allowing my subordinate to act out. I was shocked to learn that my family still has an active coven, and I reacted too slowly. Could you tell me how many are left? Both Family Members and Witches under them."

Priya smiled at the team leader with a hint of viciousness that was actually intended for her distant cousin, who was now sitting on the floor at the back of the room.

"The Sylvan Coven covers just over four thousand square kilometres, consisting of roughly one hundred active villages, with a total of twelve million residents. The Sylvana Family numbers about a hundred the last time I counted, but that doesn't include branch Families. 

Our Priya Family resides in the Sylvan Coven territory, and we have been celebrated military officers ever since the war." 

The last was clearly a jab at the other Priya, who looked shaken at the news.

"Should I order more coffee? I don't think that one pot is going to be enough for this discussion." Wolfe suggested.

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