The Archbishop of Sloth was taken to the outskirts of the royal capital and subjected to relentless torment.
Given that archbishops were all lunatics, physical pain was meaningless to Sloth. To him, pain was not a form of torture, death itself would be a mercy.
For ordinary people, dealing with such a person might be troublesome.
However, the Reincarnators, who knew the storyline and had foresight, had plenty of methods.
The most direct one was to openly insult the existence of the Witch right in front of him.
As expected, the moment the insults were spoken—
Several invisible shockwaves erupted around them, instantly striking toward the Reincarnator who had spoken.
This was the authority of the Archbishop of Sloth—Unseen Hands.
Hundreds of invisible hands extended from his body, launching attacks undetectable to the naked eye.
However, the Reincarnators, already aware of his abilities, kicked up a cloud of dust the moment they noticed the disturbance.
Within the dust, the shockwaves clashed against the airborne particles, revealing their shape.
Immediately, several individuals raised their shields, blocking the invisible strikes.
This process was repeated over and over.
Demon mask stood to the side, supervising, though the expression beneath his mask was grim.
By now, he had already realized what Greylin was trying to do.
It was absolute madness.
And before long, another team of Reincarnators, heavily injured, returned with a captive woman.
That woman was Crusch Karsten, one of the royal candidates like Emilia.
The squad sent to capture her consisted of over a dozen Reincarnators, none of whom were weaklings.
Yet only four returned, two of them severely wounded.
This spoke volumes about the level of protection surrounding a royal candidate.
Frankly speaking, if not for Greylin informing them that their lives were already in his grasp—
That refusal to carry out the mission would result in their immediate deaths—
These people would have fled long ago, looted and pillaged the kingdom at will, and then returned to the Reincarnation Palace.
Crusch was tossed onto the ground in the outskirts.
The four surviving Reincarnators were visibly shaken, their eyes filled with fear and madness.
"If Lord Greylin doesn't give us enough of a cut after this, I swear, I'll revolt even if it kills me!"
One of them gritted his teeth and spoke.
Another, however, was staring at Crusch intently.
"Since she's just bait, it doesn't matter if I have some fun first, right? Damn, she was a pain to capture. At least let us enjoy ourselves."
Demon mask, though the commander of these men, remained silent.
Given the current situation, if he tried to stop them, it would only create chaos among the ranks.
But things never go as planned.
At that moment, from the direction of the royal capital—
Several plumes of dust rose as figures rapidly charged toward them. Seeing this, Demon mask's face twisted, and he immediately shouted,
"Everyone, retreat! Take Sloth with us, leave that woman behind—"
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly froze.
The reason, a thick fog had begun to roll in.
Upon seeing it, Demon mask burst into laughter.
"Haha! Release Sloth and leave him here. We're out of here! That thing has arrived, mission complete!"
Without hesitation, the Reincarnators activated their various abilities and fled the scene.
Within the mist, an elderly butler, clad in a formal suit with a head of snow-white hair, swiftly arrived.
He lifted Crusch into his arms and untied her restraints.
"Lady Crusch, this is my failure. I let you be harmed."
Crusch merely waved a hand.
"It's not your fault. There's no time for this now. Those lunatics brought the Archbishop of Sloth here, and worse—they seem to have lured a monster. Prepare for battle! We need to take down that Archbishop and whatever they summoned before pursuing those maniacs—"
Before she could finish speaking, multiple invisible shockwaves erupted from within the fog.
The elderly butler wielded his longsword deftly, effortlessly deflecting the attacks and shielding Crusch.
At that moment, several more figures arrived.
They were knights from the Kingdom's Knight Order.
Upon hearing that a royal candidate had been kidnapped, the kingdom had immediately dispatched its forces.
However, instead of relief, Crusch's expression darkened.
"Where's the Sword Saint, Reinhard? He didn't leave the capital, did he? This is obviously a diversion!"
The butler's expression also grew solemn upon hearing Reinhard's name, but he replied truthfully,
"Lady Crusch, the kingdom anticipated this might be a trap, so… he did not leave the capital. Only the knight order was sent."
Upon hearing this, Crusch finally relaxed a little.
The Archbishop of Sloth was troublesome, but with the butler beside her and the presence of the knights, they could handle him with ease.
However, just then—
A sharp, high-pitched wail echoed from within the fog.
It sounded almost like the cry of a whale.
At that moment, both Crusch and the butler's expressions drastically changed.
Crusch finally realized what was happening.
"Those lunatics…! They lured the White Whale here!"
The White Whale; a terrifying magical beast that had ravaged the world for over a century. A creation of the Witch, it had once devoured a third of an entire nation.
Its hunger was eternal and insatiable, capable of consuming anything.
It could also generate white fog.
This fog could never be dispersed, and if one were swallowed by the aggressive white fog, they would vanish from existence entirely.
That was its authority—Existence Devourer.
Those consumed by it would have all traces of their existence wiped from the world, including from everyone's memories.
This White Whale had terrorized the world, devouring countless people and entire regions.
In the process, it had grown unimaginably powerful.
And it was the reincarnators who had drawn this monster here.
Had they not known the plot in advance, perhaps only the Witch Cultists would have known that the White Whale was drawn to the Witch's miasma.
And the Witch's miasma, apart from the Witch herself, was also found in the Sin Archbishops who carried the Witch's Factor.
According to the original storyline, the White Whale had already been lurking near the kingdom, not far from the capital.
By constantly provoking Sloth, they had forced him to unleash the authority granted by the Witch's Factor, thus truly summoning the White Whale.
With a wall of white fog now enclosing them, the knights sensed unprecedented danger.
In such a situation, concerns about a diversion no longer mattered.
One Sin Archbishop, plus a world-ravaging magical beast, this was not a battle they could win without preparation.
Some knights remained behind to protect Crusch, while others rushed back to the capital to report.
Sword Saint Reinhard ultimately left the capital and headed to the outskirts to slay the White Whale and Sloth.
In the end, this decision proved correct.
The capital was not attacked again.
However, on the outskirts, even greater chaos unfolded.
Initially, only Sloth and the White Whale were present.
But to everyone's shock—
Shortly afterward, the Archbishops of Gluttony and Greed also arrived on the battlefield. Of the six Sin Archbishops, three had gathered here, along with a monstrous beast.
Such a force was terrifying beyond words.
Had Sword Saint Reinhard not been there, half the royal capital might have been annihilated.
However, Reinhard was an existence beyond all reason.
Three Sin Archbishops and the White Whale, all were slain beneath his Dragon Sword.
Though the battle was perilous (at least for everyone else), the details need not be elaborated here.
What mattered was the outcome.
Due to this turmoil, the royal capital took a long time to recover.
Reinhard was temporarily ordered to remain in the capital, ensuring that a similar incident did not happen again.
And in the wake of this chaos, the disappearance of Border Count Roswaal became an insignificant matter.
Meanwhile, back at the border, inside the mansion's Forbidden Library…
Beatrice watched warily as Haruto, in the form of a little girl, stood before her. Faint waves of energy rippled around her body.
Haruto, however, remained indifferent.
"Roswaal was not killed by me. Staring at me like that is pointless. Besides, I came here to protect this world."
Naturally, Beatrice did not believe such words.
"Unreasonable… You're too dangerous. Betty must eliminate you."
As she spoke, a burst of energy erupted from Beatrice's hands.
This was spirit magic.
Like Puck, Beatrice was a powerful spirit aligned with the attribute of Yin. Yet, what she wielded now was non-attribute magic, pure magical impact.
But such an attack should not be underestimated.
Fueled by Beatrice's immense mana, this impact could tear through an ordinary magical beast.
Let alone a mere human.
However—
Beatrice watched in shock as the human before her casually waved a finger.
His fingertip traced through the air as if severing something invisible.
The incoming magical impact instantly dissipated midair, vanishing without a trace.
Witnessing this scene, Beatrice felt as if her centuries of accumulated knowledge, as well as everything she had learned from countless forbidden tomes, had been utterly shattered.
Haruto's irises shimmered with radiant, rainbow-like hues.
"Alright, enough nonsense. If you interfere with my plans, it will bring harm to this entire world. If that happens, I'll have no choice but to lock you away in a little confinement chamber for some discipline."
Upon hearing this, Beatrice's initial shock transformed into pure anger.
Fortunately, the Forbidden Library existed separately from the outside world, ensuring that the disturbances here would not be noticed beyond its walls.
---------------
—The next morning.
Emilia anxiously wandered around the mansion, searching for "Meili." She had just brought her here, so how could she have disappeared so suddenly?
At last, after opening a certain door, Emilia stepped into the Forbidden Library.
Taking in her surroundings, she was about to apologize and step back out—
When she saw "Meili," the very person she had been looking for, currently hugging the great spirit Beatrice.
This sight left Emilia utterly stunned.
That great spirit… was actually getting along so well with "Meili"!?