Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 470 I want to report
Without hesitation, Solaris ran towards the secret passage without looking back.

The activated magic scroll sprouted plant roots beneath the chorus members' feet, firmly anchoring their ankles to the ground while slowly extending upwards. Thorny barbs on the vines pierced their skin, pinning them to the spot.

But, that's all.

Veronica realized the most fundamental difference between the chorus and normal humans.

Logically speaking, no matter what path one takes, the thorns on the vines will gradually drain their energy. The more the prey struggles, the faster it will be drained. This is a magic scroll personally drawn by the Archbishop of the Church of Life, and its holders are only a very small number of the Church's elite.

However, today, she encountered an exception.

The members of the chorus were completely unaffected. They felt no pain, and even when they were covered in blood from the barbs, it did not stop them. What truly drove them was the internal modification. Beneath the wounds were not human muscle tissue, but gears fused with flesh and blood.

This allows them to transform their bodies into blades, easily slicing through the vines that obstruct them.

Veronica glanced at the thrown mace, which landed behind one of the chorus members.

Judging from the situation, it's six against one.

This is the consequence of trying to be a hero.

No matter how hard Veronica racked her brains, she couldn't come up with a way to escape. Let alone dealing with six chorus members at the same time, even in a one-on-one fight, she might not be able to kill these painless, artificial monsters with bodies completely different from humans. This meant that what would be fatal to humans would just be a hole that could be easily filled in the chorus members.

Would piercing the heart or severing the head be of any use?

Veronica knew that this was just a beautiful vision deep in her heart; in reality, she would have died at the hands of these monsters before she could do any of it.

However, that was her choice.

She had already foreseen her fate when she let Solaris escape.

He was executed by the secret department established by Pope Carlo for betraying him, and died in a secret room unknown to anyone.

This actually made Veronica relax.

She felt that this might be the best outcome for her, so that she wouldn't have to face Carlo, or judge his crimes as an adjudicator. All the responsibility and mess would fall on Solaris's shoulders alone—that's the magic of death. No matter what her life was like, or how many wrong decisions she made, they would all vanish with her death.

Perhaps when everything settles down in the future, she will be rewarded with a good reputation for realizing her mistakes and turning back from the wrong path.

People are always more forgiving of the dead.

There will be no more disagreements about interests and positions, so we can make judgments more calmly.

Veronica's eyes narrowed. The mace that had landed behind the chorus members knocked one of them away and returned to her hand. The incantation she chanted broke the balance and clarified the hostile stance of both sides.

"Come on, monster!"

Veronica was met with the sound of gears turning.

She saw the killing machines breaking free from the vines and approaching him. Their arms had turned into sharp blades, and some had their chests ripped open, with cracked ribs growing outwards, resembling a giant maw ready to tear its prey apart.

"**!"

The horrifying sight made Veronica mutter a curse under her breath; she thought whoever could transform a human body into this state must be a pervert.

It is said that the chorus project was carried out under Julius's supervision.

Maybe……

The death of this man is a good thing for both the empire and the far west.

Veronica never imagined she would have such a rebellious thought, nor did she imagine that she, a dignified judge, would ultimately die as a rebel.

The chorus was getting closer and closer to her.

Sparks flew as the mace struck the blade, flashing before Veronica's eyes. This balance lasted only a few seconds before the battle turned into a one-sided massacre as more and more chorus members surrounded her.

She vaguely felt the blade cutting through her skin, and the split chest cavity locking onto her, the ribs closing in as if about to bite down.

Veronica closed her eyes.

Such a death scene would be absolutely horrible.

Time ticked by, and she remained taut in the darkness.

Death was much easier than she had expected; she lost consciousness before even experiencing pain.

The only thing that puzzled Veronica was that the sticky, slippery feeling under her feet never disappeared. Why did the person still feel wet and sticky under their feet even after they died? And the air after death still smelled nauseatingly foul.

Could it be because she stood in the slime for too long that even her soul was pickled and flavored?

Veronica tried to open her eyes and found that she was still in the secret room.

The six chorus members who should have torn her apart were all lying on the ground as if they had lost power. Their bodies were still in the modified state and they did not appear to have any external injuries.

Furthermore, an uninvited guest appeared in the secret room.

They had met once before in the confessional outside the Cathedral of the Dawn's Crown, where the young man impersonated a priest and left behind a murderous proclamation that insulted Carlo.

However, Veronica suddenly felt that the young man wasn't so bad anymore, and...

Well done!
Based on Carlos's actions so far, he certainly deserves the label of "a piece of shit".

“When the chorus project was underway, the project leader anticipated this situation, so he installed a ‘shutdown command’ in the bodies of the chorus members in the hope of ensuring that they would not be abused to the best of his ability. Even Julius himself was unaware of this.”

"It seems you have close ties with the Margaret family."

Veronica said, "Let me guess, Mr. Ethan."

This wasn't actually a very difficult deduction. In fact, the young man had already left her clues in the confessional. He had people who came to the confessional call him "Old Sen." In addition, he could come and go freely in the Dawn Crown Cathedral. The only one who fit this description was the omnipotent being described in "Imperial Truth."

Veronica personally believes that "Imperial Truth" contains serious distortions of the facts and acts of deification, but it is enough to show that the Empire has ushered in a powerful figure who is even stronger than the Saint.

"Judge, isn't the situation quite obvious at the scene?"

Ethan asked, “The chorus is the property of the Empire, yet it has appeared in the far west. I accuse your Pope Carlo of theft. Considering the funds the Empire has invested in them, according to Imperial law, Carlo will face a sentence of 897 years in prison.”

He paused briefly, "Of course, if we take into account other crimes, and punish them all together, he would probably be burned at the stake seven times and then sent to the guillotine five times."

"Just like you treated Julius."

Before Carlo built his fortress in the far west, Veronica had heard that Julius had been publicly executed in the capital.

It was a long execution. Julius's flesh was charred and then regenerated in the flames, and it took a whole day before he finally breathed his last.

Veronica gripped her mace tightly, remaining vigilant. "So this time, you've also come to overthrow the far west."

"Overthrow the far west? How could that be? I was merely entrusted to report irregularities and misconduct within the Holy See."

Ethan said, “Your Excellency, as you know, although the Vatican has established a corresponding whistleblower department, it is extremely difficult to go through the normal procedures. Whistleblowers may very well disappear without a trace before they can present any evidence.”

Veronica's tense stance immediately softened somewhat.

As the manager of the enforcement team, she bears a significant responsibility for this situation.

It wasn't just the whistleblower department that became a mere formality; all departments and rules that were unfavorable to Carlo's absolute power were the same. The ascetics represented by Solaris were the last neutral faction within the Papacy that did not openly support Carlo. So, not long ago, the faction leader Solaris died on the border, giving Carlo a perfect excuse to wage war against the Empire.

"I, Ethan, am filing a formal complaint against the current Pope Carlo of the Church of Life for violations of rules and regulations, including but not limited to election manipulation, theft of imperial property, illegal mining, hiring murderers, and framing others."

"and then?"

Veronica stared at the righteous Ethan. If she remembered correctly, not long ago, this whistleblower had committed several murders in the cathedral, and the cult leaders had taken refuge in the Church of Praise thanks to him.

“If I remember correctly, Mr. Ethan, you also face multiple murder charges.”

“I am deeply saddened by Mr. Darrant’s death, but I must do so because I have sufficient evidence to suggest that Mr. Darrant was still attempting to harass and even mind control my friends recently.”

Ethan answered fluently, "Moreover, according to Imperial law, Darrant should have been publicly executed like Julius, but the Far West granted him protection, allowing him to commit even more crimes. Don't you think this itself is another strong proof of Carlo's violation of rules and regulations?"

"And what about Ms. Aurora?"

Knowing she couldn't get the better of Darrant, Veronica immediately turned her gun on another heinous murder case: "The Forest Speakers, led by Ms. Aurora, were just a group of people who loved the environment and were dedicated to improving the harsh conditions of the far west. Yet you cruelly murdered her and hung her from a tree."

She wanted to see how Ethan would explain this.

Veronica knew what Carlo would do.

If she were to question Carlo in this way, he would be taken aback at first, then show a regretful and self-reproachful expression, and then sing praises of Aurora's death, calling it a noble sacrifice, all of which were necessary means to bring about the day of redemption.

And what about Ethan?
She listened very carefully.

If Ethan put forward the same theory, then it proves that he and Carlo are essentially the same, both people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

What right does such a person have to speak so eloquently here, or even attempt to judge others?

Veronica was poised to strike, just waiting for Ethan to start his sophistry.

"Ms. Aurora gets along very well with the elemental spirits. Not long ago, she put forward thirteen points of view on the problem of the perennial drought in the far west."

"What do you mean?"

Veronica frowned. "You cruelly murdered her, and now you're using her for your amusement!"

This is worse than Carlo's behavior, at least Carlo would at least feign remorse for his mistakes, and sometimes even squeeze out a few tears as if it were a performance.

Didn't you see today's news?

Veronica took the newspapers Ethan handed her with a puzzled look, and a series of headlines on them made her expression freeze:

"From Desert to Fertile Land? Ms. Aurora Demonstrates a New Model of Elemental Symbiotic Agriculture."

Interview with Aurora: Unveiling how to communicate with the elemental spirits and draw water to heal the parched land.

Science or Miracle? Aurora's Mysterious Partner Brings Hope for Climate Improvement in the Far West.

They are all today's newspapers.

After leaving the capital, Aurora not only gave speeches on multiple public occasions but also accepted a personal interview. Combined with the repeated mentions of elemental spirits in the reports, her subsequent fate is quite clear.

In Empire Truth, Ethan is described as the greatest elemental econist of his time, and it was he who pioneered a completely new way of coexisting between humans and elemental spirits.

Veronica's cheeks burned, and she couldn't utter any of the soul-searching questions she had prepared; she fell into a state of complete silence.

She became yet another girl who blushed in front of Ethan.

After a long pause, she finally managed to squeeze out a question, "Then... the corpse in the garden."

This question is not sharp or incisive at all.

Even though they had been convinced, they were too proud to ask even a single question.

Special effects.

Ethan gave an equally impeccable answer, saying, "I don't know if you've had any contact with the emerging film industry since the Far West was sealed off. Just so you know, we don't kill actors during filming. All the corpses and bloody scenes are done with special effects."

The reason he made this statement was that after arriving in the far west, Ethan discovered that Carlo had actually cut out parts of the movie and used them as evidence that the empire worshipped an evil god and carried out large-scale evil god sacrifices. In the far west, quite a few people actually believed it.

"If you don't believe me, I can arrange for you to meet with Ms. Aurora later."

Veronica's calm demeanor completely shattered her defenses and made her vaguely aware of the fundamental difference between Ethan and Carlo.

If it were Carlo, even if alternative methods such as "special effects" existed, he probably wouldn't have bothered to keep Aurora alive, just like the two servants of Yayuma who died in the secret room.

Because compared to the "Day of Redemption" and the "Great Future," the life of a small sect leader is utterly insignificant, and for Carlo, taking another's life is so simple and justifiable.

"you……"

Veronica took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down after being speechless in front of Ethan. "What do you plan to do?"

“I want to initiate a witness protection program.”

"Witness protection program?"

“You know, all the people who tried to accuse Carlo have disappeared. I will testify in court, but until then, you need to protect my personal safety.”

Veronica blinked and fell into a long silence.

Her lips twitched a few times, and she opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

She strongly suspected that Ethan was making fun of her.

She protected Ethan, really?

(End of this chapter)