The battle was intense. This place was the headquarters of The Exaltation Society, and waves of cultists attacked. Wave after wave of Ethereals were summoned and surged toward the three of them. No matter how strong they were, they would eventually reach their limit.

"Fall back!" Hoshimi Miyabi raised her Tailless with her left hand and signaled for Orpheus and 11 to move behind her.

Orpheus, Ghostfire, and 11 finished off the enemies in front of them and retreated behind Hoshimi Miyabi.

Seeing the others retreat to the safe position behind her, Hoshimi Miyabi pressed the fingerprint lock on her Tailless. "Lingering Snow!" Several wide-reaching slashes covered the enemies ahead.

The enemies blocking this attack were cut through like dry wood and turned into Aether particles.

"Huff… huff…" After releasing this strike, Hoshimi Miyabi panted heavily. There was no helping it; under normal circumstances, she could handle these Ethereals with ease, but there were simply too many enemies. The three of them had been fighting for too long, and their stamina had been severely depleted.

As a result, after unleashing that strike, Hoshimi Miyabi's stamina was somewhat exhausted.

"Executor Hoshimi! Are you alright?" Orpheus and 11 supported Hoshimi Miyabi from the left and right, and Ghostfire asked.

"I... I can still hold on," Hoshimi Miyabi said, forcing herself to stay standing.

"Let's retreat first, Captain Ghostfire," Orpheus said. The current situation did not support them continuing to fight. There were too many members of The Exaltation Society. Even though Hoshimi Miyabi's powerful strike had just eliminated most of the enemies, the three of them lacked the stamina to continue fighting and rescue the trapped team members.

"Go! Retreat!" Ghostfire ordered.

"Our headquarters isn't a place you can just come and go as you please," a gloomy voice came from upstairs. Then, a masked person exuding an incredibly high concentration of Aether descended from the sky.

"Who are you!" Ghostfire shouted.

"Heh, I am the current Bishop of The Exaltation Society. You three are truly impressive, managing to deplete so much of our combat strength. However, sacrificing you to Primordial Lord will surely make Primordial Lord very happy," the Bishop of The Exaltation Society said while walking toward them.

"Hmph, you don't have the strength to sacrifice us," Ghostfire said coldly.

"Of course, you are indeed strong, but you currently have less than one-tenth of your strength left. I have waited so long just for this moment. Hahahaha!" The Bishop of The Exaltation Society laughed out loud.

"This person's aura is dangerous. If I were at my peak, I might be able to defeat him, but I can't right now," Hoshimi Miyabi said.

Ghostfire wasn't surprised by Hoshimi Miyabi's words; after all, she could also feel the disparity in strength. Hoshimi Miyabi was the highest combat power in this operation. The entire Obol Squad might be able to rival Hoshimi Miyabi, but the enemy before them was comparable to Hoshimi Miyabi at her peak, while they were in a state of exhaustion after a major battle.

"Prepare your last words! Though no one will help you pass them on. Hahahaha! An Executor with such strength, plus a Defense Force squad no weaker than the last batch. This will surely allow Lerna to produce several Pseudo-Cores," the Bishop of The Exaltation Society felt that the opportunity to successfully implement his long-planned scheme was right before him.

"Oh right, you came to save the people we captured earlier, right? Heh, since you're about to die, I'll tell you: they were long ago sacrificed to my ultimate weapon, Lerna." Watching the three of them still struggling to fight the other cultists, the Bishop of The Exaltation Society spoke again.

After speaking, he raised the staff in his hand. A massive surge of Aether gathered in front of the scepter, aiming at Hoshimi Miyabi and the others. Once the charge was complete, a powerful attack rushed toward the three of them.

Seeing this attack, Hoshimi Miyabi instantly flashed in front of Orpheus and 11, raising her Tailless to block. She then closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I broke my promise, Xuan Yi." Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. When she opened them again, they were filled with determination.

"Executor Hoshimi!" Seeing Hoshimi Miyabi standing in front of them, Orpheus, Ghostfire, and 11 couldn't help but be stunned, then they shouted.

Just as the attack was about to hit Hoshimi Miyabi, a figure flashed out and hugged Hoshimi Miyabi, who was preparing to take the attack. With a backhand motion, he swatted away the peak Level 6 charged attack.

"What did you tell me before leaving? What about your promise to me?" Xuan Yi looked at Hoshimi Miyabi, who still had tears in the corners of her eyes, and said.

"I..." Hoshimi Miyabi wanted to explain something.

"Shh, it's okay, it's alright now. Leave the rest to me." Looking at the somewhat embarrassed Hoshimi Miyabi, Xuan Yi didn't say much else, but comforted her instead.

"Bishop of The Exaltation Society, right? Taking advantage of others, right? You really like to laugh, right?" Xuan Yi looked at the somewhat stunned Bishop of The Exaltation Society. The strike he thought was a guaranteed hit had been swatted away effortlessly, which directly shattered his composure.

"Who are you? Why are you obstructing my plan?" The Bishop of The Exaltation Society demanded angrily.

"Heh, me? I'm just an ordinary shop owner. Of course, I am also Hoshimi Miyabi's husband," Xuan Yi replied casually.

Upon hearing Xuan Yi's words, Hoshimi Miyabi's cheeks flushed slightly. This was the first time their relationship had been explicitly stated in front of outsiders. It was especially embarrassing with two Defense Force comrades listening in the back.

Meanwhile, Orpheus, Ghostfire, and 11, who were behind them, couldn't help but be stunned after hearing Xuan Yi's words. They couldn't believe that the seemingly cold Executor Hoshimi actually had a boyfriend, and one who was quite strong at that.

"You..." Just as the Bishop of The Exaltation Society wanted to speak, a Tailless aura flew over. He used all his strength to block it, but was still sent flying several meters and crashed into the wall.

Xuan Yi looked at the Bishop of The Exaltation Society who had been sent flying and frowned. "xuanyuan sword Slash!" Another slash flew toward the fallen Bishop, but this attack was even sharper than the last.

"Ah!" A miserable scream rang out, and the once-intact Bishop was now in two pieces. Naturally, split from top to bottom.

Afterward, a chill dissipated around Xuan Yi. In an instant, all the Ethereals in the building were frozen and then dissipated, leaving only the members of The Exaltation Society.

"I'll leave the rest to you. This one isn't dead yet and still has a breath left; you can interrogate him about their plans. There aren't many other cultists left," Xuan Yi said, looking down at Hoshimi Miyabi in his arms.

"Mm, but how did you come here? And how are you so strong?" Hoshimi Miyabi was full of questions. Her boyfriend, whom she had been with for so long, was actually stronger than her, and she hadn't noticed it at all.

"I was worried about you, so I followed you secretly. You won't blame me for stalking you, will you? As for my strength, since I sell those special teas, I definitely need to have some strength to prevent robbery and the like," Xuan Yi explained.

Hearing that Xuan Yi had followed her all the way because he was worried about her, Hoshimi Miyabi felt an impulse and kissed Xuan Yi's lips. She regretted it as soon as she did, as there were three Defense Force third wheels behind them.

Thus, the lips of Hoshimi Miyabi and Xuan Yi touched and parted instantly.

"Ahem, well, let's capture the remaining people first, and then stop the bleeding for this leader. This time, we should be able to get some useful information out of him," Hoshimi Miyabi said to Ghostfire, feeling a bit guilty.