They were just finishing their breakfast when Wolfe felt a massive surge of power coming his way and hastily erected an [Unholy Flame Barrier] array around himself.
All the Witches looked shocked for a moment, as he was the first to sense it, but then a portal opened, and a flaming blade thrust through, crashing into Wolfe's barrier and immediately becoming engulfed in Unholy Flames.
Wolfe pulled power from all of the Witches who had Servant Bonds with him and struck back with a [Lightning Storm] Array, instantly forming a massive thundering cloud on the other side of the portal.
"Stop, please stop! You will kill everyone!" The General shouted as intense screaming came from the other side of the portal.
Wolfe ended the [Lightning Storm] spell, and the portal closed, no longer held open by the intense flow of Mana through it.
"Might I ask what was that?" He demanded of the General, who was now kneeling at his feet, having thrown herself from her chair to try to stop him.
She would have tackled him if it hadn't been for the barrier. Despite their status as both being at Rank Five, an Unholy Fire was not a simple task to put out.
"We must have missed our check-in time, and they thought that we had all met with hostile forces here. That spell was the [Purgatory Blade], so the caster must have been the Defence Minister herself. I need to get in contact with them and let them know that we are alright, or they will send an army.
I know that you're breaking the law by living in the War Memorial, but nothing good will come of them mobilizing the army again." The General pleaded.
Wolfe sighed and expanded the barrier to encompass the whole spire, then handed her back the portal device.
"Don't try to go anywhere. We're not done talking yet." He informed the old witch, who was looking more shaken by the second.
She grimly nodded and opened a portal, then gasped at whatever she saw and closed it to no more than a handheld mirror in size, so she could speak through it.
"Minister, we are alright. You caught our host off guard with your attack." The General nearly whispered.
The answer was raspy with pain, and the smell of burnt flesh and smoke wafted through the small portal.
"Where are you? Is the War Memorial more dangerous than we were told? Should we move up the purge?" An equally elderly voice replied.
"We are perfectly safe. Your attack struck a Rank Five Demon, and he retaliated before anyone could stop him. He's not hostile to us. They just want answers. The Continent was cut off from all news, and they don't understand our laws or why they are being sanctioned."
"How can you say it's not dangerous when there is a Demon of that power beside you? Half of the healing corps is going to exhaust themselves trying to save the lives of our rescue team." The other voice growled, then broke off to give a wet and wheezing cough.
"There are many Rank Two and Rank Three Witches here, including children who have awakened naturally, and none in this village carry any sign of the Bloodline Curse. I don't know how it happened, but everything we know about this place is wrong." The General informed the officer on the other side.
"Where are the rebels who we detected?" The other voice demanded, sounding weaker by the second.
"There are none. It was the locals holding an advancement ceremony to elevate Rank Three Witches. Minister, you need more healing than that. Lower your barrier, and let me cast the rejuvenation on you. My whole team is here and fresh." The General requested.
"The Interior Minister is nearly here. She can heal me up. Follow your orders and find the Rebels. If they're not in the War Memorial, they have to be somewhere. You have 24 hours to bring back their bodies. You know the penalty for failure."
With that, the General sighed and let her portal close.
"What an interesting conversation. So you weren't here just because there were people living in the War Memorial, but because there were suspected rebels here." Wolfe mused.
"The Government maintains that there are no survivors here. To their minds, anyone who is here must be a Rebel. But I will explain it all if you can help me back up into my seat. These old bones aren't what they once were." The General sighed.
Wolfe picked her up with a Gravity spell, then straightened her hair and clothes with air magic before placing the General back into her seat and sliding it back into place at the table.
"Hopefully, I didn't make things too much worse," Wolfe remarked, not at all sorry about his actions.
"I can't say either way. But there was a lot of damage. Much more than I had expected from a Lightning Bolt." She sighed.
Cassie frowned at the old Witch. "That was a Lightning Storm Array, not a Lightning Bolt. If he had kept it up a little longer, it might not have left survivors."
It was about time that these Witches understood that picking a fight here was not in their interest, but from their response to one missed check-in, it looked like things had already gotten far beyond that point.
"What will they do next?" Wolfe demanded, not in the mood to wait for more attacks.
"They will send an attack group. Not here, but in the wilderness. The standard strategy is to wipe out the reinforcements before going after the main threat. But I think that they are going to be looking more at the other Continents than at the War Memorial for now.
I am ready to send a detailed report back, and I can only hope that it reaches someone who will see reason. It might be a violation of Global Law for them to live here, but these are Curse Free Witches. That should count for something." She explained.
The younger witches all looked moved by her speech, and everyone seemed to agree, but Wolfe could see in the eyes of the veterans that things weren't that simple. It wasn't about right or wrong or even the facts. It was about politics, and political gain had nothing to do with either.
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