The shuttle in the second dimension

　On the afternoon of the third day after returning, Lin Xuan had just finished training (beating) Subaru. He looked at Subaru who was lying on the ground in pain and didn't want to move. Lin Xuan shook his head and was about to leave, but just as he was about to leave, Subaru stopped him.

　"I feel like you've become a little strange since returning from the capital. Why are you always running out? What are you doing?"

　Pausing, Lin Xuan glanced at Subaru behind him and explained to him the reason for his strange behavior in the past few days, "After returning from the royal capital, I always feel that something bad is going to happen. Although I don't know why I have such a feeling, to be on the safe side, I think I should hang around more. You should also pay more attention these days. If you find anything strange, tell me." After that, Lin Xuan left.

　Arriving near Aram Village, Lin Xuan patrolled the area like a soldier. Just as Lin Xuan had told Subaru, he had recently developed a bad feeling. He knew it came from the Witch Cult, so he had been lingering around Aram Village for the past few days, hoping to confirm whether the Witch Cult had arrived.

　Originally, Lin Xuan had planned to keep Roswaal behind, so that even if the Witch Cult came, he would have the confidence to successfully repel them or even annihilate them. However, after leaving the throne room and saying something to Rem, Roswaal disappeared, which forced Lin Xuan to exclude Roswaal from his plan.

　Walking in the forest at a moderate pace, Lin Xuan carefully observed his surroundings, as if trying to find any traces of the Witch Cult's arrival.

　"Hasn't he come yet? Or is he hiding too well?" After glancing around, Lin Xuan stopped.

　Suddenly, as if sensing something, Lin Xuan glanced behind him. Seeing no one behind him, Lin Xuan frowned.

　"My illusion."

　Muttering, Lin Xuan turned and continued forward. But after five steps, he suddenly turned. His right hand had already rested on the hilt of [Slash], and as he turned, he instantly pulled it from its sheath. The next moment, a stream of black blade energy flew out.

　Wherever the pitch-black sword energy passed, it was destroyed by the domineering destructive force. Finally, a long and narrow sword mark was left in front of Lin Xuan.

　Lin Xuan walked along the knife mark. When he was about to reach the end of the knife mark, he saw a corpse that was cut in half by the knife energy. The corpse was wearing clothes like a cultist.

　Looking at the body on the ground that was cut in half and bleeding profusely, Lin Xuan raised his left hand, gently pressed it on the position of his heart, and said lightly.

　"I don't have that uncomfortable feeling as before." Lin Xuan didn't know whether this phenomenon was good or bad. It seemed that since he entered that strange state last time, he felt that he seemed to have become different. No, rather than saying that he had become different, it would be better to say that he was slowly changing back to his original self, the self who had not yet lost his memory.

　"Witch Cult." Whispering, Lin Xuan pulled the cloak off the corpse.

　"This thing should be able to serve as evidence." As he said that, Lin Xuan swung a knife at the corpse. Then, the destructive power overflowing from the knife wiped out the corpse and the blood-stained land from this world.

　"The goal has been achieved, we can go back now." As he said this, Lin Xuan slightly grinned, revealing his clean white teeth.

　"But before we do that again, let's get rid of some of the prisoners' flies."

　The next moment, the dark destructive force vented out from the slashing. In a moment, the area within dozens of meters around Lin Xuan was filled with the dark destructive force. When the destructive force dissipated, except for where Lin Xuan was standing, there was only a deep pit everywhere else. It was really hard to imagine that this place was a small forest not long ago.

　After dealing with those who were hiding in the dark and spying on him, Lin Xuan rushed back to the mansion without stopping.

　When Lin Xuan returned to the mansion, it was almost time for dinner.

　After returning to the mansion, Lin Xuan called Emilia and Ram over. Although they were all confused as to why Lin Xuan had called them over, due to their trust in him, they felt that it must be no small matter for Lin Xuan to call them over so seriously.

　When Emilia and the others arrived, Lin Xuan took out part of the cloak he had torn off the body of the Witch Cultist.

　When they saw the cloak, Emilia and the other three's expressions changed.

　Emilia was stunned and worried, Subaru's words were pure confusion, and although Ram's expression didn't change much, her clenched fists and the strange look in her eyes showed that she was not as calm as she appeared. Rem's expression changed the most among the four. When she saw the cloak, her face was filled with anger and hatred.

　Looking at the changes in the expressions on the four people's faces, Lin Xuan explained to them the origin of the cloak.

　"You all probably know that I've been out a lot these past few days. Actually, ever since I came back from the capital, I've had a bad feeling, so I've been out on patrol. This afternoon, I spotted someone wearing this cloak. If I'm not mistaken, this attire should be worn by... followers of the Witch Cult."

　"Yes, it's the Witch Cult." The one who answered Lin Xuan was Rem. She looked like she was trying hard to suppress her anger, and even had a tendency to turn into a ghost.

　"Rem, calm down." Lin Xuan sighed and patted Rem's head gently.

　"I'm sorry, I lost my composure." After being slapped by Lin Xuan, Rem knew that he had lost his composure and couldn't help but apologize.

　Looking quietly at the cloak in Lin Xuan's hand, Ram asked calmly, "Lin Xuan, how many people wearing this kind of clothing have you found? Is this the only one?"

　"Not only that, I can feel more than one gaze on me, but I have dealt with them all. But I think these people are just here to explore the way." After answering Ram's question, Lin Xuan expressed his thoughts.

　"I'm afraid it's just as you thought." Ram frowned slightly and said, "The Witch Cult really knows how to pick the time. It just happened to be when Lord Roswaal is away."

　"Yeah." Lin Xuan whispered, looking at the cloak in his hand.

Chapter 49

　Number Nine

　A chill as if to freeze everything continuously emanated from Agurola's body. Even Lin Xuan, who was holding Agurola's right hand, almost lost consciousness. His entire right arm was frozen purple.

　Feeling the bone-chilling cold coming from Agurola, which seemed to freeze everything, and his right hand which was gradually losing its intuition, a dark red light flashed in Lin Xuan's blue eyes. Then, he felt that the frostbite on his right hand suddenly eased a lot, and the intuition that was about to disappear also returned.

　Holding his forehead, Lin Xuan sighed, "If you continue like this, you will never be able to eat ice cream from that dessert shop again, Aguarola."

　After saying that, Lin Xuan seemed to feel that it was not enough, and immediately added, "And I will never take you for ice cream again."

　"Hey!!" Agurola cried out in surprise, as if he had heard some horrifying news. He broke free from Lin Xuan's right hand and jumped up. He looked at Lin Xuan with a frightened face and said hurriedly, "This is not my intentional act. You, you cannot do what you said. You, you understand~~~~~~"

　After saying this, Agulora looked at Lin Xuan with a pitiful expression, tears gleaming in her flaming eyes, like an abandoned kitten, pitiful and utterly awful. And the chill that had previously emanated from her, as if to freeze everything, had long since vanished.

　If it weren't for the icicles on the ground, Lin Xuan would have thought that the chill he felt earlier was just an illusion.

　"Really, you have to learn to control the power in your body~~~" Lin Xuan gently rubbed Agulola's little head, and his words revealed a hint of doting.

　"I, I understand~~~" Feeling the touch of Lin Xuan's palm, Agulola narrowed his eyes slightly and replied with a comfortable look~.

　"Well, then I'll take you somewhere else to eat ice cream~~~" After gently patting Agurola's little head, Lin Xuan took Agurola's little hand and walked towards another block.

　……

　Holding Agurola's hand, Lin Xuan and Agurola came to another street. Suddenly, Agurola stopped. At the same time, Agurola, who usually looked timid, now showed an unprecedented seriousness in her eyes. Her flaming eyes were fixed on the petite figure standing in front of her.

　After Agurola behaved strangely, Lin Xuan also saw the figure that Agurola was staring at.

　She was a blonde girl wearing a gray protective suit with an 'ix' mark on the shoulder of the suit. But what caught his attention most was that the girl's clothes looked exactly like Agurola's. As soon as he saw the girl, Lin Xuan understood why Agurola showed a seriousness he had never shown before.

　"Number nine, 'Night Master of Flame'——" Lin Xuan whispered as he looked at the girl in front of him.

　It seemed that No. 9 'Night Uncle of Flame' had also discovered them. When Lin Xuan was looking at her, she also began to look at Lin Xuan and Agurola.

　"Number 12——" Finally, she fixed her gaze on Agurola.

　Looking at No. 9 standing opposite, Lin Xuan did not have a serious expression like Agurola. Instead, he took Agurola's hand with a slight smile and walked towards him.

　"Nice to meet you, Enatos, the 'Night Master of Flame' from number nine." Lin Xuan said with a smile, his lips slightly raised, outlining a gentle smile.

　At the same time, Lin Xuan did not forget to release his perception and kept investigating his surroundings. Although he was not afraid of Zaharias' sneak attack, he also did not like being attacked by others. Therefore, although Lin Xuan looked easy-going, he was still vigilant in his heart. Finally, after not noticing anything unusual around him, Lin Xuan was no longer so vigilant.

　"Number 12 and the owner of Number 12?" Unlike the well-behaved Agurola, Number 9 gave people the feeling of a somewhat self-righteous girl.

　"Hey - Enatos, I'm taking Agulola to eat ice cream. Do you want to come with us?" Without any intention of treating Enatos as an outsider, Lin Xuan directly invited him.

　"Eh!?" After hearing Lin Xuan's invitation, Enatos was stunned for a moment, as if she suspected that she had misheard. She blinked her big eyes and looked at Lin Xuan in confusion. "What were you talking about?"

　"I'm going to take Agulola to eat ice cream. Do you want to come with us?" Looking at Enatos with a puzzled look on his face, Lin Xuan repeated what he had said.

　After listening to Lin Xuan's words and confirming that he had heard correctly, Enatos looked at Lin Xuan in surprise. "Why did you invite me? Obviously, in the Flame Feast, our camps are hostile to each other, right, the holder of number 12?"

　"If possible, don't call me the holder of number 12. Just call me Lin Xuan. Also..." As he said that, Lin Xuan gently patted Agurola's head and said with a smile, "Her name is Agurola, so don't call her number 12, Enatos."

　Looking at Lin Xuan standing in front of her, Enatos felt a little confused about the person in front of her. He was obviously her enemy, but he invited her to eat. This was too strange. She even suspected that he was going to put drugs in the food for her and control her.

　"What? Do you suspect that I have ulterior motives?" Lin Xuan smiled as he looked at Ernatus's strange expression.

　"Indeed, your behavior is indeed too weird in my opinion. But I accept your invitation." Looking up, Enatos looked at Lin Xuan and spoke in a slightly arrogant tone.

　"Oh~~~ Don't you suspect that I have ulterior motives?" This time it was Lin Xuan's turn to be surprised. He had a weird look on his face before, wondering if he had ulterior motives, but why did he agree the next moment?

　Stretching out his slender fingers and pointing at himself, Enatos said confidently, "I trust my intuition."

　"Intuition~~~" Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Ernatos with a smile, "I didn't expect to hear this word from you."

　"However, since you have accepted my invitation, let's go--" After saying that, Lin Xuan stretched out his other hand and signaled Enatos to stretch out his little hand.

Chapter 50 Transfer

　The day after Lin Xuan discovered the traces of the Witch Cult

　Lin Xuan got up shortly after the sun rose. (Zine Bug) Normally, by this time, Lin Xuan should have washed up and prepared to go to the courtyard for morning exercises. But this morning, he didn't do any exercises. Instead, he ran to a high rooftop in the mansion and sat cross-legged on it, facing the sun.

　Lin Xuan calmed himself down and tried to improve his condition to the best it could be. If nothing unexpected happened, Lin Xuan and Emilia decided to start diverting and attracting the attention of the Witch Cult after dinner and lure them out.

　Lin Xuan could imagine that after discovering that he and others were about to move, the people of the Witch Cult would pursue and encircle them.

　"I don't want to think about it anymore." Putting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, Lin Xuan began to adjust his state of mind.

　-

　After dinner, Lin Xuan and the others prepared to move on. Beatrice was supposed to be with the group, but she chose to stay behind to guard the Forbidden Library. Lin Xuan was very confident in Beatrice's safety. Especially since Beatrice was in the Forbidden Library, she was very powerful. Whether the Witch Cult could find her was another matter.

　After Emilia and Subaru boarded the dragon carriage, Lin Xuan also stepped on the pedals and rode on El. Gently pulling the reins, Lin Xuan looked at Ram and Rem sitting in the driver's seat and asked.

　"Are you ready?"

　"We're ready and can set off at any time." Rem responded, nodding to Lin Xuan.

　"Let's go." Lin Xuan said after taking a deep breath.

　"Yeah." Rem gently swung the reins and instructed Dilong to start pulling the cart.

　Originally, to attract the Witch Cult's attention, Lin Xuan and his companions shouldn't have chosen to move at night. However, to appear more realistic, they chose to move during the day. However, they didn't really want to move quietly, so they deliberately slowed down the dragon carriage, deliberately making a louder noise while also 'inadvertently' leaving a more obvious trace.

　After passing through the village, Lin Xuan immediately felt a strange sensation, as if someone was watching him. Yesterday afternoon, it was because of this strange feeling that Lin Xuan discovered the well-hidden members of the Witch Cult.

　"Have they discovered it?" Lin Xuan muttered to himself as he glanced at the pitch-black forest beside him.

　"I wonder when they'll come out to intercept us." Lin Xuan retracted his gaze and began to strengthen his vigilance, always prepared to deal with any attack from the Witch Cult. Just like that, Lin Xuan and the others were finally leaving the forest. But just as they were about to leave, Lin Xuan sensed two unusual movements. From the forest on either side, two wind blades flew out, attacking the two earth dragons.

　As soon as he discovered the two wind blades, Lin Xuan immediately swung the [Destroy] in his hand. The next moment, two pitch-black sword auras directly tore and destroyed the two attacking wind blades.

　On the other side, after seeing Lin Xuan's behavior, Ram and Rem immediately realized that the people from the Witch Cult had taken action. While ordering the earth dragon to stop, they became alert and looked around vigilantly. Both of them activated the magic power in their bodies and were ready to fight at any time.

　Just after Lin Xuan blocked the two magic attacks, accompanied by a rustling sound, one after another Witch Cult members wearing strange cloaks walked out of the woods and surrounded Lin Xuan and others.

　"Are you finally unable to hold back and are ready to take action?" Whispering, Lin Xuan immediately guided the magic power flowing out of the [door] to flow throughout his body, stimulating his body and improving his physical fitness.

　After glancing at the enemies around him wearing strange cloaks, Lin Xuan jumped off Al's body.

　After glancing at the members of the Witch Cult who were blocking the dragon carriage's path, Lin Xuan swung the [Destroy] sword in his hand, and in an instant, a dark blade energy cleared the way ahead for the dragon carriage.

　"Rem, you guys go ahead. I'll hold them off here for a while and catch up with you later."

　Biting his lower lip, Rem replied with a complicated expression, "I understand. Please don't be so stubborn, Lin Xuan." With that, Rem drove the dragon cart and rushed out through the path that Lin Xuan had torn open. As Rem drove the dragon cart out of the encirclement, Lin Xuan also ordered his mount, Al, to follow the dragon cart and leave first, waiting for him not far outside the forest.

　Watching the dragon carriage gradually receding, Lin Xuan turned around and looked at the group of Witch Cult members whose faces were covered by cloaks. Scratching the back of his head helplessly, Lin Xuan said with a hint of embarrassment.

　"Although there is no grudge between us, please disappear." Lin Xuan's words had just fallen when countless pitch-black thorns broke out of the ground. The dozens of witch cultists surrounding Lin Xuan were pierced by those pitch-black thorns. In an instant, the area around Lin Xuan turned into a purgatory.

　Looking at the scene around him that seemed like hell, Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said jokingly to himself.