“Who exactly are you, and why do you know about my witch identity?”
Ileil completely distrusted the deal proposed by the black-haired woman. Originally, Ileil didn’t want to waste words with her, but she called her “kin,” which caught Ileil’s attention—perhaps the black-haired woman before her knew what exactly happened in that accident two years ago, how she lost her male body and was transformed into a witch.
Before becoming a witch, Ileil was a burly and strong youth; even Gro had once lamented that he vaguely glimpsed the shadow of the “Blade Ghost” in the gradually maturing Ileil.
But as a witch, Ileil not only lost her previous physique but also failed to possess the spells that witches should master. To adapt to this body with lower physical strength, Ileil had to change her combat style. The witch identity was undoubtedly an obstacle to her progress.
If possible, Ileil wanted to learn from her mouth the method to turn back into a man.
…
“I’m just like you, Miss Ileil. We are both children not favored by the gods, all sinful witches.”
The black-haired woman showed a sorrowful expression, but Ileil couldn’t empathize with this madwoman at all.
“You haven’t answered the second half of my question.”
“Hmm~ I don’t mind telling you the truth without reservation, but these are paid content, Miss Ileil.”
She half-squinted her deep, empty black eyes, her tone carrying a bit of distress.
“But I understand your feelings, Miss Ileil. It’s a bit too early to make you decide now.”
“No, there’s nothing I can’t consider.” Ileil stared straight into the black-haired woman’s eyes. “You say you can be my aid in revenge… then you at least need to show some sincerity first, right?”
After hearing Ileil’s response, the black-haired woman smiled with interest: “Hehe, Miss Ileil is really greedy. If doing this can win your trust…”
The black-haired witch raised her hand, and the black-gold flames turned into countless tiny chains, wrapping around Ileil’s body. The flames enveloping the girl didn’t cause her burning pain but instead brought a sensation completely different from what she expected…
A warm touch.
Ileil couldn’t understand… why she would resonate with such flames that desecrated life. Before the girl could think deeper, the black-haired witch’s sweet voice rang out again:
“Don’t be afraid, my kin.” She looked at Ileil, who gradually stopped struggling and began to accept this fire, smiling as she said:
“As a meeting gift, let me burn away that contract you were forced to sign first.”
Outside the sea of fire, the mercenary group’s people were still scrambling over this blaze.
The fire evolved from black-gold flames had reached an uncontrollable level.
Clearly, rain was still falling over Renn Town, but this rain did nothing to stop the fire’s spread.
Feeling fear toward unknown things beyond cognition is human nature. The mercenaries who were just preventing the zombies from escaping had almost all lost their composure. Anyone would panic seeing inextinguishable, eerie flames.
And the female mage Alyssa had watched with her own eyes as Ileil was swallowed by this sea of fire. She had tried every means she could to quell this blaze, but with minimal effect.
…
“My Lord, please descend Your light…”
An elderly monk knelt beside Alyssa, staring at the horrific scene before him, his murmured prayers never stopping, irritating Alyssa.
“Hey! What about those bastards who said they’d help? Any fucking news now?”
She roared at the mercenaries behind her in a rough voice. The person she questioned was sweating profusely, replying softly:
“Soon… this time it’s really soon! Big sis, you know… Kaze is always fast.”
“A bunch of freeloaders.”
Alyssa directed the surrounding mercenaries to move valuable items away from the scene. Seeing the monk who had been doing nothing useful from start to finish, muttering nonstop, she impatiently interrupted his prayer:
“Stop mumbling about your goddess there; if your hands and feet can still move, come over and lend a hand!”
The monk acted as if he hadn’t heard Alyssa’s words, continuing to maintain his devout posture kneeling in place, ignoring her.
“My Lord, please forgive our sins…”
The elderly monk was like a sinner awaiting judgment, trembling as he prayed for divine forgiveness.
“Please guide the departed souls back to the dawn…”
Originally, Alyssa hadn’t expected this outwardly decrepit monk to help, but when she heard the monk’s absurd words clearly, her patience finally reached its limit.
“Can you shut the fuck up? If you can’t help, fine, but don’t fucking curse people!” She strode to the monk, grabbed his collar, and lifted him from the ground.
“This is the punishment descended by my Lord… unavoidable…”
The monk hung his head, hands clasped, still murmuring to himself, as if Alyssa’s words hadn’t entered his ears at all.
“Bullshit!” Alyssa shoved him hard, and the monk staggered back a few steps, nearly falling. She pointed at the sea of black-gold fire, her voice carrying irrepressible anger: “Ileil is still in there… If the Dawn Goddess is really that powerful, stop wasting words here and hurry up and save her!”
The monk was startled by her action, a ripple flashing in his murky eyes, but he quickly returned to that numb piety. Alyssa gritted her teeth in anger, her fists clenching with a crack.
…
“Alyssa! What’s the situation now? I brought the person—!”
A urgent shout came from afar. Alyssa turned her head and saw Kaze running over panting, with a stranger following behind.
“Him? He’s the one you found?” Alyssa’s gaze swept over the helper Kaze brought, a tall figure in a white robe entering her view, a golden cross pendant hanging at his chest.
“Tsk… Isn’t this just an old man?” She scrutinized the helper’s face, full of the ravines of age. Although his straight posture and resolute eyes proved he was a battle-hardened warrior, in Alyssa’s view, without some special ability, it wasn’t enough to quell the current crisis.
As a rare mage on this continent, Alyssa certainly didn’t sense any magical aura from him.
But Alyssa didn’t expect that the monk who was impervious to her words would have a different reaction upon noticing the old man’s arrival:
“Is… is it really you…?”
A strange light suddenly flashed in the monk’s eyes, his lips trembling, his voice hoarse and excited:
“Do… Dorias Your Excellency…”