The demon gods did not actually mind Mad Witches all that much. After all, without those "collaborators," operating in the Real World would take considerably more effort.
But to say they liked them...
That was going too far, especially with an old relic who refused to follow the rules joining their ranks recently!
For fuck's sake, what was wrong with a nice, safe transaction? Why insist on robbery? How utterly uncivilized!
Besides, times had changed. Long ago, every Mad Witch had been a prized delicacy in the eyes of the Outer Gods. Very few survived the hurdle that came after reaching the fifth tier, and most high-tier Mad Witches ended up in their clutches. They were exceptionally delicious!
With luck, they might even find a stepping stone among them that would let them encroach on another Outer God's dominion. It was simply irresistible!
But that was in the past. Now...
The Wizard Civilization had grown too quickly, and the Legendary Gate was far too powerful. These days, Mad Witches were extremely cautious when dealing with Outer Gods, never taking more than their due. As a result, they bore relatively few traces of the Outer Gods, and naturally, the Outer Gods' returns had diminished.
Conversely, every wizard who managed to reach the fifth tier was fucking formidable, especially the Mad Witches!
After reaching the fifth tier, ordinary wizards sought a standard level of combat strength: the ability to trounce knights, demons, dragons, and the like at the same tier. That much satisfied them.
The more talented Fifth-Order Wizards sought power beyond the fifth tier—in other words, the title of demigod!
It sounded somewhat absurd. Normally, the further one advanced along the supernatural path, the harder it should have become to fight above one's tier.
But wizards were different.
At the first