In an instant, Witch Stefania sensed a mortal threat.
The five witches beside her acted at once, converging on her. Bells were wrapped around all six of their wrists, and now they rang violently. Clearly, this was some kind of magic that warned them how great the danger was.
This was the Specter Holy Church's unique inherited magic, the Specter Sacred Bell. Each bell represented the soul of a First-Class Wizard Apprentice who had studied Specterology.
Three bells could be strung together and turned into a bracelet with simple alchemical processing, without any need for complex Alchemy.
The sound of the Specter Sacred Bell had many uses. It could disturb an enemy wizard's mind, serve as a kind of medium for divination to gauge an opponent's danger, and even work with a unique First-Ring Magic to fire the Specter Shock Cannon.
What made the witches of the Specter Holy Church go pale was that the bells on their wrists shook so wildly they seemed ready to break. Every ring sounded like a death knell.
It was a warning, plain and simple.
They needed to leave, fast.
Some cunning Black Wizards had already turned and fled. They had all fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood; staying alive was what they did best.
The moment something looked wrong, of course they ran.
Whatever else happened, they could figure it out after escaping.
The six witches extended their right hands and shook their bells, unleashing a Specter Shock Cannon at Locke. It burned the soul's Psionic Energy to strike directly at an enemy's soul.
But in the next instant, a swordlike magic plant appeared in Locke's hand.
He swung Pinellia. In a flash, layer upon layer of Spell Models stacked onto it. Four of the six witches before