The Continental Magic Information Center was no ordinary building. Located in the heart of the Witch Kingdom's Base City, slender towers of magical obsidian rose, connected by suspended passages of violet crystal that seemed to float in midair. At night, currents of mana coursed through the towers like tamed lightning, reflecting off the curved windows and transforming the place into a living constellation.

Here, secrets were not only kept: they were distilled, analyzed, and weaponized.

And at the center of it all was Cabernet Inaura, the youngest Director in the Center's history.

Seated at her black silver desk, covered in runes that automatically organized the scrolls and memory crystals, Cabernet seemed the very embodiment of discipline. Her dark wine-colored hair was pulled back in a neat bun, with only a stray strand falling across her face. Her eyes—a deep, almost translucent lilac—scanned the documents with speed and precision.

Despite her youth, she was already considered a legend among the analyst witches. There was no report she couldn't decipher, no code she couldn't crack. It was said that even ancient libraries trusted her to verify historical contradictions.

Tonight, however, her attention was focused on something particularly delicate.

A viewing crystal floated before her, projecting lines of text and maps onto the table. They were recent reports from agents undercover in the Kingdom of Skardi—a small human kingdom that, while lacking the power of empires, maintained enviable stability.

Cabernet muttered to herself as she organized the information:

"Military activity... insignificant. Agricultural production... stable." The new king still insists on a policy of rapprochement with the Empire...

Her eyes narrowed when she found the note she had already read twice, but which kept nagging at her:

"Princess Ingrivid Skardi confirmed on Imperial soil. Report from the Witch "Raven," the mission is being carried out as requested, with the help of an escort prepared for her. Official Purpose: Entry into the Azalith Academy."

Cabernet rested her chin on her hand, drumming her fingers against the table.

"Princess Ingrivid... what exactly are you really doing in the Empire?"

She knew the tensions well. Skardi and the Human Empire had always been wary of each other, their conflicts echoing in small border wars for decades. Even though the new king tried to smooth things over, the princess's presence in enemy territory was more than strange—it was dangerous.

As she reflected, the sound of light knocking echoed through the door.

Cabernet looked up, his cold expression softening just enough to avoid being hostile.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly, revealing a young witch, small in stature, with straight golden hair that fell to her shoulders. Her eyes were large and green, and conveyed a nervous energy that contrasted with the solemn atmosphere of the room. In her arms, she carried a stack of scrolls tied with mana ribbons.

Cabernet recognized her immediately.

"Evangeline."

The newcomer bowed respectfully.

"Headmistress." Her voice was clear, though slightly shaky. "I have a new report."

Cabernet waved her hand, and the mana currents floating overhead moved to make room on the table.

"Bring it."

Evangeline advanced with measured steps and placed the scrolls before the headmistress. Cabernet noted the seal that sealed them: the mark of the External Espionage Network, the branch responsible for infiltrating agents into the human kingdoms.

Cabernet arched an eyebrow.

"A red seal. That means urgency."

Evangeline nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Yes, Director. It's an update directly related to the Princess of Skardi."

Cabernet closed her eyes for a moment.

"Continue."

Evangeline took a deep breath before speaking, as if choosing each word carefully.

"The report states that Princess Ingrivid is not just on a diplomatic visit. There are indications that she is... trying to escape a threat."

Cabernet opened her eyes immediately. "A threat? Be specific."

"We don't have much information about that, but..." Evangeline answered without hesitation, though her voice dropped a tone. "The princess is traveling with three women bearing marks and insignia associated with the Witch Queen. Raven's report... doesn't add up... she didn't warn us that we were directly involved. Raven's orders were... to provide the escort, not to get directly involved."

Silence fell heavily in the room. The surrounding mana torches vibrated, as if reacting to the director's tension.

Cabernet raised her hand to her chin, analyzing the information coolly.

"This... there's something very wrong with this..." she murmured, mostly to herself.

Evangeline remained silent, waiting for a reaction.

Cabernet then opened the parchment and began to read. Words leaped into his mind, forming quick connections: descriptions of the women, their combat skills, rumors of clashes with strange forces in the forested areas.

The silence in the room was almost suffocating. Mana torches crackled on the walls, casting violet reflections that spread across the shelves filled with memory crystals. Cabernet was hunched over the parchment, her lilac eyes glowing with suppressed fury, when the door was flung open.

A witch with disheveled black hair hurried in. Her robes were disheveled, her face flushed from running. She looked as if she had crossed the entire city without stopping for a moment. The heavy air in the room reacted to her energy, the mana flames flickering in swirls.

"Director!" her voice came out almost a shout, shattering the calculated calm that always reigned in the Information Center. "We... we have a Royal Order!"

The words rang like thunder in Cabernet's mind.

She stood up immediately, the parchments falling from the table in disarray. The mana currents floating above the ceiling stirred, as if sensing the gravity of the news.

"A Royal Order?" Cabernet stepped forward, the shadow of her figure casting itself over the newcomer. "Explain now!"

The witch was breathing heavily, but even between gasps, her voice didn't waver.

"Headmistress... the Skardi princess's escort was attacked."

Evangeline stepped forward, her face turning pale.

"Attacked...?"

The witch continued:

"The princess is alive. She was protected. The three women bearing the Queen's seal also survived."

Cabernet narrowed her eyes, every muscle in her body tense.

"Then what's the problem?" Her voice was sharp as a blade. "If they're all alive, why the hell issue such a decree?"

The newcomer hesitated, and that was enough for Cabernet to take a commanding step forward, her aura expanding like a storm about to explode.

"Speak!"

The silence was broken by those words that, once spoken, could never be taken back.

"We have... an absolute hunting order." The witch lowered her head, almost as if apologizing would soften the blow. "It seems that... whoever attacked the princess... has captured... our prince."

The world stopped.

The sound of scrolls sliding across the floor was the only sound.

Evangeline, her eyes wide, let out a gasp, her body swaying. Before she could say anything, she collapsed like a doll without strings, falling to the cold floor.

Cabernet, even with all the power her name carried, felt her legs tremble. Her body swayed, her hand gripping the edge of the table tightly to keep from falling.

"A... Hunting Order..." she murmured, as if the very phrase burned her insides.

Her face was pale, her lips parted in shock.

The mana torches crackled violently, as if responding to the collective memory she had awakened.

There had been only one recorded occasion in all of witch history when the Hunting Order had been declared.

Only once.

When the Queen's daughter—Elion Scarlet—had disappeared.

At that time, the entire world had trembled. The decree echoed across mountains, seas, and deserts, and every witch, without exception, was forced to abandon whatever they were doing to hunt down the missing woman. An absolute, unbreakable order, binding every drop of witch blood to a single destiny.

And now... that same decree was pronounced again.

Cabernet leaned against the table, his fingers trembling despite all the control he'd always displayed.

"Kael Scarlet..." His whisper sounded like a lost spell, thick with disbelief. "Is he in danger?"

The dark-haired witch who had brought the news was still panting, but her voice carried the weight of the inevitable.

"Yes, Headmistress. All signs confirm it. Prince Kael has been captured."

The silence grew even heavier. It wasn't just the gravity of a capture. It wasn't just his blood ties to the Queen. It was his name.

Kael Scarlet.

The first and only "son" of a witch. A being who shouldn't exist, yet was shaped by Elion herself. He wasn't just a prince. He was the impossible made flesh.

Cabernet closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. But the flood was overwhelming.

What did a Hunting Order mean?

It meant that every witch, from every corner of the world, from the youngest apprentices to the elders who rarely left their sanctuaries, must leave everything behind. The order was clear: find, pursue, and crush whoever dared lay hands on the one who bore the name Scarlet.

It was an absolute summons.

The sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway. Other witches, alerted by the collapse of the energy, appeared hesitantly at the door. They stared in astonishment at the fallen Evangeline, at Cabernet trying to hold his ground, and at the messenger who was still breathing heavily.

"Headmistress…" one of them began, but her voice faltered as she felt the weight of the atmosphere.

Cabernet slowly raised her face, her lilac eyes burning like embers.

"Prepare everything." Her voice was low but firm, reverberating with the strength of something that brooks no reply. "This is the supreme decree. The Order of the Hunt has been declared."

A reverent silence fell over the room.

The witches who had approached instinctively retreated, as if facing an ancient force.

Cabernet then looked at Evangeline, who lay on the floor. With a gesture, she made the runes in the room glow, supporting the young woman's body and laying her carefully on a bed conjured of mana.

"She needs to recover." Her voice softened for a moment, before hardening again. "But when she wakes, Evangeline will have her work cut out for her."

The flames in the torches intensified, responding to the headmistress's fervor.

She took a deep breath, each word she spoke etching itself into the stone of the room like a sentence.

"The enemy who dared touch Kael Scarlet will have nowhere to run."

The Scarlet title wasn't just a name. It was a stigma. A promise.

And now, with the Hunting Order echoing, it meant only one thing: the entire world would tremble again.

Cabernet closed her eyes, and for an instant, her mask of perfect calculation shattered. The memory of the last time such an Order had been launched still burned in her mind. She herself, a child at the time, had seen her master depart, never to return. Hundreds had died in that event.

And now... it all began again.

She leaned against the table, her eyes shining with fury.

"Why would anyone capture..." she murmured. "The person with the most political power in this world... Are you all going fucking crazy?" Of course, with the witches… and it's not enough to be just the queen's grandson, but also the son of that demonic aberration.

The silence in the room was broken only by the sound of the decree being engraved in the runes on the walls. A call that would spread through all the obsidian towers, across deserts, seas, and forests, reaching every living witch.

The Hunting Order had been declared.