Ever since he learned from Alya about what happened in the Ancient Ruins after he left, that place had always been on Lynch’s mind.

However, due to his own circumstances and abilities, it wasn’t convenient to do anything about it before.

Now that his identity has been cleared, it’s time for Lynch to consider returning, but of course, before going back, he needs to understand the current situation there.

So, after making a deal with Fran’s people that day, Lynch casually asked Abbas about the current situation of the Ancient Ruins and later requested Abbas’s assistance to investigate the current conditions of his friends.

For someone of Abbas’s level, this was a simple matter, and he agreed readily without hesitation. It wasn’t long before he delivered what Lynch needed.

Opening the envelope, there were several pages of paper, and Lynch couldn’t wait to read them carefully.

Upon seeing the content, Lynch frowned intensely.

The situation in the Ancient Ruins seemed much worse than what Alya had described.

After gaining dominance over the Ancient Ruins, the Freemasonry Church swiftly initiated a war, nominally called a Witch Hunt but essentially a declaration of war against the original ruling class of the Ancient Ruins, those Wizard Families.

Various Wizard Organizations and the Wizard Families controlling them from behind were all cleansed and massacred by the Freemasonry Church.

The war situation was grim.

These Wizard Families had ruled the Ancient Ruins for thousands of years, and the longstanding class solidification had made them accustomed to arrogance, never imagining anyone would dare to rebel against them.

Because of this, the war initiated by the Freemasonry Church caught them completely off guard, with no preparation whatsoever, resulting in significant losses.

Many Wizard Organizations were slaughtered by the Freemasonry Church before they even understood what was happening. Witch Arrays were destroyed, Guardian Witch Tools were never activated, and even the Witch Masters didn’t get a chance to make an appearance…

The Freemasonry Church was incredibly cunning.

They had laid the groundwork for this war for a long time, developing numerous believers.

After all, they attracted followers with the concept of equality for all beings, which easily gathered faith from humans and Transcendents oppressed by the rigid class system of Nobles and Purebloods in that region.

These believers were spread across various strata in the Human World, even around Nobles; and likewise, they were present in all factions within the Wizard World, with representatives in nearly every Wizard Organization.

The Purebloods of the Wizard Families were accustomed to enjoying privileges, with all labor-intensive tasks being handed over to Muggles. Although many key positions were nominally under Pureblood control for years, in reality, Muggles had long replaced them in actual management.

For example, the Law Enforcement Teams of various Wizard Organizations, where regulations stipulated that members must be Purebloods, but in reality, except for a few Commander Level positions filled by Purebloods, the rest of the Law Enforcement Team, which required hard work, was mostly filled by Muggles.

Other positions, including the Guardian Witch Arrays, Alchemy Magic Statues, and the bells meant to be rung in times of warning in Wizard Organizations, were seemingly managed by Purebloods, but were actually operated by Muggles.

Amid this revolution, the Muggles were absorbed as believers of the Freemasonry Church, making the implications evident.

With inside and outside collaboration, during the outset of the war, the bells were not rung, Guardian Magic Arrays were not activated, and the Alchemy Magic Statues that should have charged to the front lines all collapsed, leaving bewildered apprentices watching as the enemy simply invaded…

There was not a semblance of proper resistance; the situation was overwhelmingly one-sided, collapsing and degenerating from the start.

According to Fran’s report, over 80% of the Wizard Organizations suffered devastating blows initially, with casualty rates exceeding 90%, and three of the top ten Wizard Families were eliminated on the first day of the war.

It was a thorough massacre from top to bottom, inside and out, sparing no one from the family head to an insignificant family member, including the Muggles serving these families, even down to a guard dog…

Perhaps due to severe repression, these Muggles acted with no restraint, driven not merely by a quest for power, but rushing in to vent their hatred, aiming for complete extermination…

Lynch frowned tightly.

Most of his companions served the major Wizard Families, as being Muggles under the previous order left them no better opportunities than serving these Wizard Families. So precious was the chance to serve them that thousands of Muggles competed fiercely, sacrificing pride and dignity for it.

Ironically, many of Lynch’s friends were chosen by the major Wizard Families largely thanks to him.

Originally, he intended to secure good futures for his friends, never imagining circumstances would deteriorate like this…

“I really wonder how everyone is doing…”

Lynch quickly moved on to the following content.

The investigation report initially explained the current situation in the Ancient Ruins, followed by detailed accounts of the friends he commissioned them to investigate.

Lynch examined each one carefully, finding the situation to be a mix of fortunes.

Subaru, Carl.

His earliest friends upon entering the Wizard World, they were relatively lucky. The Wizard Families they served were not entirely decimated despite heavy losses and managed to quickly organize effective resistance.

According to the letter, Subaru and Carl continued to serve under these Wizard Families, fighting alongside them in the war ignited by the Freemasonry Church.

The girl Lanice once fancied him was doing well too; the Magic Potion Manor was one of the first to be destroyed by the Freemasonry Church in the war, yet due to its special nature, it did not suffer severe damage.

Aside from a few Purebloods and apprentices connected to them being killed, most of the apprentices were spared in the Magic Potion Manor.

Moreover, Lanice’s mentor happened to be a follower of the Freemasonry Church, playing a lead role; after the Freemasonry Church took over the Magic Potion Manor, the old guy secured a respectable position of bishop, and Lanice, as his apprentice, luckily became a Priest of the Freemasonry Church.

In the Freemasonry Church, the power of a Priest was quite significant, equivalent to the previous Pureblood status, undoubtedly part of the ruling class.

Of course, there were also unfavorable situations.

Several apprentices Lynch knew had perished, including Adam, who had been quite close to him, and his whereabouts remained unknown.

Additionally…

Lynch’s gaze fell on the last page of the report, which contained information about a single person, named:

Avery Karina Tavendish.