Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 344 Double Image
With a loud thud, Ethan and the black-haired girl were both stunned.

The black-haired girl lay half-reclined on the ground, supporting herself with her hands, staring blankly at Ethan, who had just completed a perfect over-the-shoulder throw.

As for Ethan, he has begun to believe in the theory that humans can unlock their genetic potential in times of crisis, but he is not yet sure whether this should be called science or magic. He is probably the first person in human history to perform an over-the-shoulder throw against an elemental spirit.

In fact, even if you asked him to replicate it again, he wouldn't think he could do it.

With his small frame, it would be difficult for him to do such physical work. He could say that the shepherd's pie provided by the black-haired girl ultimately harmed her.

The stalemate lasted for several minutes. The black-haired girl used her hands to support herself and stood up. Ignoring Ethan's outstretched hands, she ran away in a huff. Her body crashed into the wall and turned into splashes of ink, disappearing without a trace before hitting the ground. Thus, Ethan was left alone in the luxurious but empty hotel.

He quickly checked the skill list, and the description of Shadow Bolt had changed accordingly:
Shadow Bolt: You idiot, you idiot, you idiot!

Well, he guessed that the Shadow Elementals might need to calm down for a while now.

He raised his right hand and stared at the spot where the stinging sensation had come from his palm. A black line had appeared in the very center of his palm, the pattern of which looked like a burning flame.

He washed the remaining plates, checked the first floor of the inn, neatly arranged the chairs he had sat on, and before leaving, he called out to Shadow Bolt in the lobby. After confirming that no one answered, he went out and left.

The road they came by returned to normal, and on their way back they realized they hadn't gone very far. Before long, Ethan encountered some low-level ghouls wandering in the mist. They still couldn't hold their heads up in front of the Emperor and were not aggressive at all. Ethan confirmed the location of Mirror Dark Furnace City by the number of ghouls that appeared. When he returned to the castle, it was already late at night, and even "Red Eyes" had gone to rest.

Ivy rushed over immediately, "Are you alright? The Peter who invited you out was actually..."

"Ah, it was Shadow in disguise."

"You encountered it? It didn't do anything to you, did it?...No!"

Ivy suddenly snapped to attention, her eyes sharpening considerably. "Tell me your first title at the Containment Bureau!"

"Chicken farmer".

"It's definitely you."

Ivy breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since she realized that Peter was an imposter, she had been on edge. This time, the enemy was unusual. The ghouls and "red eyes" were just decoys. What they were really facing was the being hidden in the depths of darkness, which Professor Valerie called "hunger."

“I just saw Professor Valerie. She’s being held captive in the castle’s underground. Actually… I think she’s staying here voluntarily. She doesn’t seem to intend to leave until she finds out the truth about ‘hunger.’”

These are the followers of the God of Truth. They only have the truth in their eyes, and they will never give up their investigation, even if they are in danger.

Only death could stop their pursuit of the truth.

Of course, they can't leave here now either.

In her parchment book, Valerie wrote that the post office on the 14th was a one-way ticket; once you were in, there was no going back.

Not only humans, but even Mrs. Morgana didn't know where the exit was.

Back in their room, the two talked about what had happened at the hotel. Ethan omitted the pink heart on the hotel sign and the ambiguous name "Love Nest," but when she heard that the dark-haired girl had treated her to a shepherd's pie, Ivy couldn't help but show a strange expression.

"I thought you were being hunted by it. It wanted to turn you into a ghoul or just swallow you whole!"

Ivy felt that the only potentially dangerous moment in the story was when Shadow hugged Ethan from behind, but strictly speaking, that wasn't really a real danger at all.

"Ethan, there's no one else here, tell the truth."

Ivy paused, then asked with disbelief, "Are you sure you threw her with an over-the-shoulder throw? This isn't some excuse you made up after you were attacked... Uh, I mean even if you were attacked, it's not your responsibility. This is about our judgment of the whole thing, so I want to know the truth."

If Ethan had said that one of his elemental abilities had been restored at a crucial moment, summoning a sun in the mist, or freezing the entire valley into red ice, she would have believed him without hesitation. But what about the over-the-shoulder throw?
That's not Ethan's style.

As far as she knew, Ethan's hand-to-hand combat skills were not strong. In the previous Royal Pillow Fight organized by Princess Sofia, Ethan was knocked off the bed by a pillow thrown from the other side in the first round and stopped in the top 32. She found it hard to imagine Ethan using a shoulder throw.

"This is the truth."

Ethan opened his right palm in front of Ivy, showing her the flame-like black markings. Now that he came to his senses, he realized that he and Ivy had both misunderstood. Shadow's words about "remembering her with your body" probably referred to some kind of mark.

This made Ethan feel somewhat guilty. A rune mark wasn't really a big deal to him.

Ivy returned to the parchment book thoughtfully. As Ethan recounted his encounter at the hotel, a thought flashed through her mind. Although Ethan had lost his memories of the Shadows, he firmly believed that their relationship was like that of siblings or elders and juniors.

This suddenly reminded her of the question Valerie had raised in the parchment book.

Why is Morgana Blakelev special?
Previously, they couldn't determine whether "Hunger" possessed self-awareness. The only thing they were certain of was that it could awaken humanity's most primal hunger, turning them into monsters that devoured each other. However, Morgana was special to "Hunger." For some reason that Valerie could never understand, "Hunger" not only shared its power with her but also provided Morgana with a new home.

After being infected by "Red Eyes," Morgana was destined never to return to human society.

"Why are there so many low-level ghouls in the mirrored Darkforge City?"

Ivy blurted out the question.

Ethan raised the same question not long ago: there are far too many ghouls in Mirror Darkforge, almost matching the population of the real Darkforge. If something happens in the future and these ghouls enter their world, Darkforge could very well turn into a living hell overnight.

Ivy had initially thought these ghouls wandering aimlessly through the streets were "soldiers" created to destroy Darkforge City, but just now, she had another idea.

“What if ‘Hunger’ never intended to destroy Darkforge?” she murmured to herself. “These ghouls in the city are their kind. They are decorations, like the passersby you meet in the city. You don’t talk to them, and you never remember their names.”

Ivy felt she had grasped an important clue.

This is a rather bold assumption, because any sane person seeing such a large number of ghouls would think that someone intends to use them to launch an invasion of the Empire, but she believes that such a large number of ghouls is simply to keep Morgana from feeling lonely while living here.

They were Morgana's kindred spirits, the city's pedestrians, making her realize that she was not alone here.

They appeared earlier than Morgana's "children".

So here's the problem.

Why is Morgana so important to "hunger" that someone capable of creating "contaminated zones" at will would be willing to build a safe haven for her alone?

"The sky, because it saw itself..."

The turning pages once again focused on the story of Morgana and Grand Duke Bellamor. Morgana had a tragic past and deserved sympathy, but in the Empire, especially during Julius's reign, there were many people who were more tragic than her, and those people disappeared into places unknown to anyone, their names forgotten.

"Ethan, look here."

Ivy's tone became urgent, "Grand Duke Bellamor heeded the Witcher's warning and ultimately decided to send Morgana away from the family to live in a remote town."

On this issue, the Grand Duke of Bellamore made his choice.

Valerie never definitively judged Morgana in the parchment book, but from the moment she was born, she was labeled a "devil," and even after the destruction of the Blacklift family and her subsequent life in Darkhearth under an assumed name, she could not escape the label of "devil."

The Witcher believed that Morgana would bring destruction to the Bellamore family, but in fact no one could prove it. It was more like it was mentioned so often that it gradually became a fact, to the point that everyone believed that Morgana was the embodiment of the devil.

Perhaps it was a better ending for everyone if the escort team died in the ghoul attack.

At least they no longer have to worry about an incarnation of the devil.

"And you, you chose someone else, and then abandoned it in the darkness to be forgotten."

The moment she stated her conclusion, Ivy felt a great weight lifted from her shoulders.

She braced herself for Ethan's dismissive gaze, because theoretically, this story was far more far-fetched than Morgana creating countless ghouls to plot revenge against Grand Duke Bellamore, and it also involved Ethan—anyone facing accusations would instinctively refute every conjecture made by the other party.

That's right, it's just a guess, and Ivy can't provide any evidence.

However, Ethan's reaction surprised her. He looked down at the lines on his palm, seemingly lost in thought, unusually quiet.

Ivy smoothed things over, saying, "Of course, this is only one possibility."

(End of this chapter)