Shade said to the three of them irritably:
"Are you just abandoning these companions of yours?"
He meant those unconscious people lying by the shore. Before the leading High-Ring Arcanist could speak, Shade narrowed his eyes again:
"Or are you carrying something that cannot fall into anyone else's hands, even if it means abandoning all your companions?"
The three of them were bound by the restraining Thaumaturgy Audrey had cast. They had already been weaker than the Witches, and after battling the snake, they had no chance of resisting the Witches' secret arts.
When none of them spoke, Shade turned to Emilia and Angelina:
"What happened here?"
Emilia gave a brief explanation:
"We originally came here to enjoy the scenery, but when we arrived, this group was already here. They didn't notice us. At the time, they were trying to break through the ice, and from far away, we heard them saying that they seemed to be looking for something.
But no matter what they did, they couldn't melt or damage the ice. Then someone said that was impossible—there were no traces of abnormal elements here, nor any traces of rituals or Rune Locks. Then the snake appeared."
Angelina stood at Shade's side, clutching the hem of his clothes:
"We felt something was about to happen, so we sent the little one back to find you. While we stayed here with the other little one to watch what happened, we discovered that these people didn't recognize the Infinite Snake at first. By the time they did, it was too late. To keep things from getting out of control, we helped as well, and then you arrived."
The situation was not difficult to understand, and Emilia and Angelina had handled it properly.
Afterward, the group temporarily left the ice. These cultists