The Warden of The Witches

Chapter 160:

The Purging Cults List

Two days later, at the Rose Prison, in the warden's office, Rebecca visited once again.

"Reconciliation with the Witchs' Gathering? Is that really true?" Rebecca's face was filled with astonishment.

"Indeed," Aiden nodded calmly.

"This..." Rebecca hesitated for a moment. "But it doesn't seem like something you would do."

"It's not a big deal. Besides, Vera has already left the autonomous region. Trying to catch her now would be futile. It's not practical for the Inquisition and the Mounted Police to keep expending so much manpower and resources just for my safety," Aiden replied nonchalantly.

"You should tell the Chief about this," Rebecca frowned slightly.

"I'm not that stupid. He would definitely make a scene. So Could you please convey the message for me?" Aiden smiled, while holding his teacup.

"Don't use me as your shield," Rebecca grumbled unhappily. "Anyway, the Witches' Gathering is still an illegal organization. You, a former inquisitor, getting involved with such a group... isn't that a bit risky?"

According to the Black Magic Management Convention signed by most countries on the mainland, witches and warlocks researching dark magic privately are essentially violating the Convention. In the eyes of many, including Rebecca, the Witches' Gathering is seen as a large transnational criminal organization.

Therefore, Rebecca couldn't help but feel a bit worried when Hearing about Aiden's private reconciliation with the Witches' Gathering.

"No, not really. Firstly, what I'm doing is not fundamentally different from the autonomous region and the member countries of the Convention. Secondly, to be precise, the Witches' Gathering is not an illegal organization; it just happens to have many fugitives among its members," Aiden corrected. "Take Abigail, the apparent organizer of the Witches' Gathering ; she isn't even listed in the wanted registers of the Convention's member countries."

"That's because she..." Rebecca hesitated slightly, "...has been residing in the Sabbath Forest, which is not claimed by any country as its territory."

Aiden shook his head. "Almost any well-known warlock is usually jointly wanted by several countries. The reason Abigail might be spared is because the cost of capturing her far outweighs the necessity. While the countries that signed the Convention all wish for the dissolution of the Witches' Gathering, if the witches were to unite against the Convention, it would pose a significant challenge for any nation."

"So, targeting Abigail under the Convention might actually lead the Witches' Gathering to unite?" Rebecca grasped his implication.

"Yes, but the reverse holds true for the Witches' Gathering as well. If Abigail were to personally unify the witches to resist the Black Magic Management Convention, she would immediately become a target," Aiden nodded. "That's probably why Abigail has refrained from doing so."

Priscilla and Vera have always hoped that the Witches' Gathering could be consolidated into a tight-knit organization to oppose the Convention. However, the only figure with such rallying power is Abigail, the organizer, who has chosen not to take that path. While this could significantly improve the situation for all witches, it might bring more harm than good to Abigail personally.

"So that's why countries haven't acted against Abigail, and correspondingly, Abigail hasn't openly defied the Convention," Rebecca mused deeply.

"Yes, so what I'm doing is no different from those few countries under the Convention," Aiden calmly raised his teacup. "When Abigail sent someone to propose a truce between Vera and me, I had no reason to refuse. It would not be wise to make enemies of the entire Witches' Gathering."

"But there are organizations that have declared war on them..."

"Indeed, which is why I asked you to bring me the files of the Bountiful Mother Cult for me to peruse," Aiden shook the file bag that Rebecca handed to him.

Aiden decided to gather as much intelligence as possible about the Bountiful Mother cult using the resources at his disposal before responding to the Witches' Gathering.

Despite some information revealed by Qimora, Aiden was certain that they were still withholding some details.

The reasons behind the Bountiful Mother Cult targeting the Witches' gathering were definitely more than just seeking divinity. After all, the countries that signed the Convention had never considered directly declaring war on the entire Witches' Gathering. How can A religious group attempting to revive itself between the Empire and Gistas dare to do so.

Moreover, the Witches' Gathering itself was quite loosely organized. Even among the seven Grand Witches, only Priscilla, Vera, and Dailey had a sense of camaraderie. The others mostly operated independently.

If their focus was solely on the divinity possessed by those three Grand Witches, the best strategy would be to systematically dismantle them one by one, starting with the relatively easier targets like Lamia or Qimora.

However, from the current situation, Abigail sending Qimora to recall Vera indicates Abigail's intention to personally organize for battle, even involving Vera, who does not possess divinity.

This suggests that the Bountiful Mother's declaration of war is aimed at the entire Witches' Gathering, or at least specifically targeting Abigail herself.

The Bountiful Mother Cult undoubtedly has deeper motives, perhaps even involving the unnamed witch who founded the Flying Spaghetti Cult...

"You could have accessed this information from the bureau yourself..." Rebecca remarked.

"I can't risk it. If I were caught by the old man now, it would be troublesome," Aiden shrugged.

Knowing Director Harold , just his unauthorized reconciliation with the Witches' Gathering would be enough to earn his disapproval.

That's why he only had Rebecca convey this fact, temporarily concealing the Witches' Gathering proposal for cooperation.

Rebecca stared at Aiden for a moment, then sighed, "It feels like you've changed a lot since being in prison. Your previous style of doing things was more akin to the director's."

"There's a problem with your statement. What do you mean by 'since being in prison'?" Aiden sighed. "Well, people do tend to change somewhat when their environment changes."

After all, he had literally become the former Aiden in a new setting.

"I've heard from other task forces that the Bountiful Mother Cult has been increasingly active in the autonomous region recently. I wonder if it's related to the Witches' Gathering?" Rebecca crossed her arms. "I'm a bit worried. If both sides go to war, I'm not sure if it will spill over to this side."

"Speaking of which..." Aiden suddenly remembered something. "How exactly is the Bountiful Mother Cult perceived in the autonomous region? Has that cult been included in the 'List for the Purging of Evil Cults'?"