Vaan’s group calmly followed the female survivor down the stairs to the underground floor, a basement previously used to store wine.
However, it had been turned into a small refuge shelter in the present situation.
With Vaan’s senses, he located three other survivors in the shelter, each occupying a space apart from one another and not saying a word. They were lost in their thoughts regarding the disaster and the status of their families.
At the same time, they were also conserving their energy.
With the town covered in fog and Fog Beasts on the loose in the area, they didn’t know how long they had to hide before the situation improved.
Nevertheless, the three survivors immediately showed surprise when Vaan’s group arrived under the female survivor’s lead.
“I’ve brought some people who could help us get out of town,” the female survivor said to the other survivors.
However, after a short glance at Vaan’s group, one of the survivors quickly lost interest and dully stared at the ground.
“Don’t joke around, Lady Bernadette. You only brought us extra mouths to feed. To get us out of here, we’ll need a High Witch or Aura Lord at least,” the man with a stubby beard replied pessimistically.
“As for changing the situation of Misty Leaf Town? Perhaps only Her Majesty can do it. However, we are all trapped in here with no way out. People come in, but no one comes out. The Fog Beasts will hunt anyone foolish enough to try.”
“That also means no news can make it out of this town,” the man added.
“I didn’t risk my neck to bring these people over here just to listen to your pessimism, Sir Riordan. I’ve watched these three witches slaughter a dozen Fog Beasts in the market square,” Bernadette coolly stated.
“They are definitely Peak-stage Senior Witch or higher.”
“Seriously, Lady Bernadette?” the stubby bearded man named Riordan glanced back up at Bernadette with a pleasant surprise and asked, “You’re not joking, right?”
At the same time, the other witch survivors also revealed hopeful expressions after learning of their feats.
“Do you think I’m that bored? Or do you think my eyes have gone bad, Sir Riordan?” Bernadette stared at him with narrowed eyes.
“Not at all, Lady Bernadette—”
“Tell us what happened to this town,” Aeliana commanded authoritatively, disinterested in listening to the survivors’ nonsense.
They were wasting her time and her Lord’s.
“Of course, Lady…”
“It’s Lord Aeliana to you.”
“Right, Lord Aeliana… Huh?” Bernadette suddenly paused to stare back at Aeliana in shock before she stuttered, “L-Lord Aeliana? As in Lord Aeliana of Sunpeak Town? I heard you were…”
Bernadette wanted to continue her string of questions, but she quickly stopped when she saw Aeliana’s patience growing thin.
“Ahem,” Bernadette cleared her throat before she said with a serious look, “It all happened the other day, Lord Aeliana.”
“It was just another normal day for Misty Leaf Town until two strange witches appeared through Spatial Magic and started questioning about the Thousand Fog Mountains. As people come to Misty Leaf Town to inquire about the Thousand Fog Mountains all the time, nothing seemed wrong up until that point.”
“I’m not exactly sure about what actually went down, but one of the local folks must have offended the two witches or something,” Bernadette mentioned. “After all, why would the two witches suddenly decide to massacre the town?”
“Two witches appeared in the town, asked some questions about the Thousand Fog Mountains, then decided to massacre the town?” Astoria summarized with a frown before she asked, “If the two witches killed the townspeople, then where did all this fog and Fog Beasts come from?”
“It came from one of the two witches, my Lady. The person was a space-attribute witch, probably at the High Witch rank at that,” Bernadette replied with an assumption.
“After the other witch slaughtered everyone in the southern parts of town, the space-attribute witch opened a large spatial portal and brought the fog from the Thousand Fog Mountains to swallow the town.”
“Since then, no one was able to leave without getting themselves killed by the Fog Beasts,” Bernadette explained.
“I know a bit more about the story since I was somewhat in the area, my Lady,” Riordan interjected while having his eyes glued on Astoria’s beautiful appearance.
“Speak,” Astoria calmly demanded.
“Yes, my Lady,” Riordan acknowledged and said, “I remembered that before all hell broke loose in the southern part of town, I heard someone exclaiming ‘Fallen Witches’ in the area.”
“As such, I think the two witches silenced the town to keep their identities hidden. The fog might be a means to stall for time until they finish whatever business they came to Thousand Fog Mountains for,” Riordan speculated.
“Fallen Witches?” Astoria narrowed her eyes before she asked, “Did you see what they looked like?”
“I don’t think I’d be alive if I did, my Lady,” Riordan forced a smile.
“True. I don’t think you would be either,” Astoria agreed with a nod before she furrowed her brows in thought. “While space-attribute witches aren’t rare, there aren’t many at the High Witch rank…”
“Do you think it was done by the Great House of Caelestis, Headmaster Astoria?” Hester asked.
“The Great House of Caelestis, huh? They certainly have a few High Witches in their household,” Astoria admitted with a thoughtful look before she added, “But a Fallen Witch in their ranks? Seems unlikely.”
“Then Misty Leaf Town’s situation is unrelated to them?” Hester wondered.
“That’s also hard to say,” Astoria replied before mentioning, “If a High Witch from the Great House of Caelestis was involved, they might have used Fallen Witches as a means to hide their involvement while creating atrocity here.”
Astoria didn’t really think the Great House of Caelestis was involved. But since it was mentioned, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“Why are you fixated on the Great House of Caelestis?” Aeliana coolly asked and said, “Since the town had been reduced to this state by a space-attribute witch, it could be anyone. This includes those that live outside of the seven witch kingdoms.”
“I can’t help it,” Astoria said with a shake of her head.
“After all, the Great House of Caelestis holds a grudge against our Black Rose Kingdom after some of its important members were killed within our territory after the last great expedition.”
“It wouldn’t be strange if they wanted to take revenge sneakily,” Astoria stated.