On top of Major Fortress #606, a few figures had just arrived.

A few of them were familiar faces—the Elite Witches who were part of Axel's entourage. Rosaria and her troops, including Mimika.

Apart from them, a certain witch stood out, standing proudly in the middle of the formation. One who looked almost the same as Queen Wisteria did. Proud, honorable, and beautiful beyond reason.

The first princess of the Hallbach Queendom, Penelope Fria Hallbach!

Slightly behind her, bearing almost the same level of dignity despite her young age—the fourth princess of the Hallbach Queendom, Gwyneth Hallbach!

The big figures of the Queendom had arrived!

"So this is the fortress that Mother asked to repair..."

As soon as they stepped out of the array, Penelope stepped forward, her ponytail swinging under her witch hat. Her sharp purple eyes glanced left and right, surveying the entire fortress and all the witches on defense duty atop the walls.

"To think that person could repair this large fortress in a day... What an unbelievable feat," she added, her gallant voice tinged with surprise and awe.

"S-Sister... Don't leave me..."

Behind her, despite looking just as beautiful and gallant, the fourth princess tugged at her sister's clothes. Her shy personality made it hard for her to even look forward, and she instead used her long fringe to hide her eyes from view.

"Gwyneth..." Penelope sighed, kneeling before her sister, who was almost as small as Teruria was. "We're here to help search for our second sister, not to play. If you can't move by yourself, then return to the castle at once."

She was strict, but fair. However, this fortress was undeniably dangerous. Thus, if possible, she wanted Gwyneth, who was barely twelve, to return to their mother's side. However—

"N-No!" Gwyneth raised her voice. "I... I will help search for my elder sister, too!" she added, despite her legs shaking.

Such resolve!

'Denying her participation could instead hurt her self-esteem further,' Penelope thought, sighing deeply.

"Alright," she said. "But I can't keep an eye on you all the time, so just follow behind me."

"Y-Yes, eldest sister!"

Gwyneth smiled sweetly—an enchantingly sweet smile that even made the strict Penelope want to pat her head by reflex.

"What a great display of sisterhood~!"

That was, if not for the voice that followed, looking over the two with a lukewarm gaze.

"I'm sure we'll be able to find your sister, so don't worry!" the person, Viola, declared.

Apart from her, the five Shaman women also tagged along, arriving at the fortress.

"Delegates from Totem, so you've arrived." Penelope quickly fixed her posture, standing up and coughing awkwardly. "Then, let's proceed to the meeting room. We'll discuss the search plan there," she added.

Of course, everyone's purpose there was to search for Axel and Ethernina.

But only one side was genuinely worried for the missing persons, while the other was just there to earn some brownie points—helping in advance so that, if the time came, they could also ask for help more easily.

The meeting didn't last long, as their discussion was simple.

After all, all they discussed was how to search the Red Zone for the two. In the end, it was decided that they would move as a single party, heading straight north.

It was a simple formation, a simple plan... but it was devised with safety as the priority.

It would be putting the cart before the horse if the rescuers ended up needing rescue themselves, after all.

Of the original members of Axel's entourage who successfully escaped, only twelve tagged along. The other two had to step back, letting the two princesses have the equipment Axel provided instead.

Literally, they stepped aside to let someone more powerful take their posts.

"Alright!" Penelope stood before the search squad, eyeing everyone.

At the front were six of the Elite Witches from Rosaria's squad.

In the middle, the five Shamans of Totem.

And at the back, six more witches from other squads, including the two princesses.

Viola, of course, didn't join in. Rather, she couldn't.

Her ability wasn't geared toward searching, after all.

Worse, she was also the monarch of another dimension. There was no way she would be drafted to search for someone in another monarch's territory.

The most she could do was stay put in the fortress and provide help in defense when the need arose.

After heading onward for a kilometer, staying in formation, Penelope gave the next command.

"Alright, let's start with the second stage! Shamans, please!"

At her command, the five members from Totem stepped forward. On each of their exposed bodies, the tattoos depicting birds like falcons or eagles began to move—manifesting into reality and soaring into the sky.

They were to be the eyes of the search squad, used to avoid pointless battles as much as possible. At the same time, they were also used to search a far greater distance with deeper accuracy than searching from the ground.

Their team proceeded onward like this.

When they saw groups of demons ahead, they detoured.

If one was summoned right next to them, they killed it as quickly as possible, while cycling through who would attack next, preserving their life energy while allowing ample time for recovery.

The search was going well... until ten hours later.

"This... is too difficult for us..."

Their plan was executed perfectly without deviation.

But despite that, their exhaustion was beyond reason.

Monsters at the Minotaur or Cyclops level were popping up like they were just pebbles on the side of the road. Monsters that rush toward them, detecting their presence. And many other challenges.

Each time, the fight took full effort.

Thankfully, none were injured yet, but with their level of fatigue, it wouldn't be strange if they started making mistakes... Fatal mistakes.

Penelope realized this earlier than anyone else.

"Alright, let's set up camp and rest here," she grimly commanded.

It was much earlier than planned, but they couldn't help it. A delay in the search was better than forcing it and incurring injuries or casualties instead.

Since everyone was used to camping, it didn't take them long to set up. Soon enough, they began taking breaks in shifts, leaving a few to guard while the rest rested.

The shifts were divided into five, each shift having two to three witches and one shaman, keeping watch for two hours each. This way, they maintained a balanced setup while the rest took a nap...

"RAAAAAAGH!"

But right after sundown, six hours after their rest began, a beastly roar echoed, reaching the search party. It was so powerful and unnerving that, despite not seeing where it came from, everyone's mind was united in a single thought.

'Run away!'

An enemy they knew they couldn't beat, no matter how hard they tried.

Something that could kill them in passing.

One that was leagues more powerful than any they had faced.

It was the voice of one of the Four Heavenly Kings—Vulcanus!

…

At the same time, when the search squad heard the beastly roar—

In the teleportation circle in Major Fortress #606...

Three figures emerged along with a bright light.

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