My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 199 Paying Homage to the Dead

Roland eventually put the gemstone necklace away.

What exactly is the purpose of this thing...? Let's take our time to figure it out.

Once the research is complete, I'll be able to figure out where the system's anomaly is occurring.

Roland wrapped the necklace with a branch of the World Tree and then put it into his storage ring.

Let's talk about the research after we return.

Just as Roland put away the gem necklace, the Demon King's voice rang in Roland's ears.

As this guy became more and more familiar with Roland and his group, he started speaking more and more casually.

"Were you serious about what you just said?"

As Roland left the banquet hall, he walked towards the deck: "What words?"

"Are you serious about lifespan, kid?"

Roland laughed: "Of course, you know that poem too. Have you forgotten its description of humanity?"

"'Mortals destined to die,' isn't that an accurate description?"

Upon hearing this, the remnant soul of the Demon King chuckled: "You brat... it seems you still haven't realized your special abilities."

"What's special about it?"

"Someone who can be favored by the World Tree and even the Great Source Will, you actually think you're just like an ordinary human?" The Demon King's laughter carried a hint of helplessness: "Although from my current perspective, you are indeed a human with a limited lifespan."

"But it's unlikely that you're just an ordinary person with a limited lifespan."

"You should know that you are practically immersed in the influence of the World Tree's power every day."

"Don't tell me that humans no longer teach elves about their origins?"

"Those truly immortal elves were born from the branches of the World Tree."

"Even if you don't achieve immortality, you'll definitely live longer than a normal human."

Roland laughed after hearing this: "Really? There's such a factor? But I didn't sense it."

"Heh, lifespan increase isn't something you can feel." The Demon King's remnant soul then brought up another matter: "By the way, that gem you picked up..."

"Is it dangerous?" Roland asked.

He had originally planned to let the Demon King sneak a peek.

Although only a portion of his soul remains, this being is somewhat of a demon king and an expert who understands the existence of evil gods very well, so perhaps he can discern something.

If there is any danger, just hand it over to the Vatican and let these professionals perform a ritual to help the deceased.

The Demon King manipulated the gauntlet to land on Roland's shoulder and said, "Dangerous... not really."

“I can feel an extremely pure divine power enveloping this gem.”

"No... no, it should be said that this pure divine power was solidified into this gem."

"It's dangerous because this divine power is completely pure, without any impurities. It sounds complicated, but to put it simply... its power can be absorbed by anyone without any side effects."

“When I was killing evil gods, I often did this kind of thing: removing ‘impurities,’ that is, the original power characteristics of those evil gods, and then devouring the purest divine power and divinity.”

"This gem is almost the same as the one I made by hand before."

"It feels similar to me in terms of the feeling it gives me."

"All in all, you've found something pretty good."

Roland clearly didn't pay attention to the Demon King's boastful reminiscences: "You said anyone can absorb it? Can I do that too?"

"You're planning to use it?" The Demon King's tone turned serious after a brief moment of surprise: "You'd better not get your hopes up about that."

"It is true that anyone can absorb it, and it is also an objective fact that there will be no side effects."

"But... this is also a 'price'."

"Those who attempt to steal divine power without working will pay the price."

"An unimaginable price to pay."

The Demon King's tone grew increasingly solemn: "Don't think I'm just trying to scare you. Why do you think I stole the power and divinity of the evil god by killing a god back then?"

"The demon race has expended so many resources and sacrificed so many soldiers for this... all of which could have been used to attack the human race!"

“But I have to do it… fate, or what is called karma. I must make contact with the god who steals power in order to obtain power without paying a price.”

"The god-slayer is also a connection."

The Demon King sighed, "Not to mention, this gem should contain, without a doubt, the power of the Whisperer of Eternity."

"Forget about establishing any causal connection with him. Moreover, the World Tree consciousness within you and the Great Source Will that has its eyes on you will not allow you to absorb the power within."

"but……"

“You could take this back for your little girlfriend. That Kalia, she seems to be the agent the Whisperers of Eternal Silence are trying to create in the world.”

"However, it seems that His methods of controlling the little girl are not very effective at the moment."

"If you let her absorb this divine power, it won't make her strength increase dramatically in a short period of time."

"But it should greatly stabilize her innate magic that was occasionally out of control back then."

Although the Demon King couldn't see Roland, he could certainly imagine Roland's expression at that moment.

It must have been filled with entanglement and unease.

So he continued, "Also... do you know why this girl is still unable to break through the third ring?"

"You think she's lazy, but that's not the case."

"Witches among humans are quite a special kind of beings."

"It is itself a manifestation of the Great Source's will's favor towards the human race."

"At the moment of a witch's birth, she inherits a portion of the authority originating from the Great Source."

"Its affinity with magic is unmatched by any other human."

"Just like that princess, she wields the power of death and decay."

"Although she cannot grow into an existence like that Grim Reaper, if the god who holds the power of death dies that day, she will be chosen as the next Grim Reaper."

"Of course, that's assuming she wasn't dead at that time."

"Kalia too."

"I believe you've also noticed that her innate magical ability is indeed Shadow."

"But this is only the appearance of the Whisperer of Eternal Silence."

"The divine descent ritual that you just stopped did have some effect."

"His power eventually seeped into this world."

"He bestowed his power upon Kalia, who originally could only awaken shadow-related talent spells."

"That flat-chested elf must have noticed that too."

"So although she kept urging the girl to cultivate hard, she secretly placed many restrictions on her."

"To prevent her strength from breaking through too quickly."

"She can no longer contain Kalia's growing power." "She can also see that once Kalia's power breaks through a certain limit... a big problem will arise."

Upon hearing this, Roland recalled the timeline of the system—wasn't that the Kalia doomsday timeline?

Thinking of this, Roland continued, "Are you sure it'll be okay for Kalia to use this?"

“Absolutely no problem, I swear on the honor of the Demon King.” The Demon King raised his index finger and said, “Hey! Do you think the World Tree’s consciousness might have realized this, so it specially made this into the shape of a necklace for you?”

"How do you know it's a necklace? Can't you see it?"

"Silly boy, a chain made of World Tree branches, plus a divine gem, I can guess what it is just by looking at the shape of the magic."

Roland was somewhat speechless; the Demon King's guess was still too audacious: "It shouldn't be that bad, right?"

"The World Tree doesn't need to care about me to this extent..."

Just as Roland and the Demon King were discussing in the corridor, a violent shaking nearly caused the entire Iris to capsize.

If Roland hadn't reacted quickly and regained his balance, he probably would have been thrown to the ground.

"Enemy attack!"

Roland heard Delan's voice travel through the deck and into the cabin.

Then came the sounds of various spells and gunfire.

Delan, who was the first to leave the cabin and go up to the deck, and several judges who helped carry the bodies began to fight back.

Immediately afterwards, the familiar magical reaction of Flam came, and the next moment, all the attacks stopped.

"Roland! Are you alright!?"

Cellina appeared at the corner of the corridor almost immediately.

Roland shook his head, then asked, "What about Nash?"

"Meow, I'm here!"

Nash, who had turned back into a cat, peeked out from Cherlinina's coat pocket.

Suren and the other judges then began to gather in the corridor.

The group quickly went to the deck to meet up.

On the deck, Flam's face was solemn, and the weapons in the hands of Delan and several judges were still stained with blood that had not yet dried.

Roland followed the group's gaze and looked out onto the sea, where the "corpses" of several giant shadow monsters, each over a hundred meters tall, were floating.

The lingering, enormous shadow made everyone tense.

Once everyone else had arrived, Flam immediately said, "Evacuate immediately!"

"I'm going back to the Pomegranate Flower first! This level of attack is beyond the capacity of the personnel left behind! The Pomegranate Flower cannot be destroyed, or none of us will be able to get back."

"Everyone else, get on the lifeboats now!"

Roland shook his head: "That's too slow, and the risks on the return journey are too great... Let me do it."

Roland released Origin Tracking, using the soul beacon he had left on the Pomegranate Flower to lock onto its location, and then used his rarely used talent spell to move the lifeboat directly onto the deck of the Iris Flower.

"Ms. Fram, is it alright for you to fly with me on your own?"

……

The people on board the Pomegranate Flower were still unaware of what was about to happen.

The two hatters and Götze, the three of whom were the ship's highest combatants, were currently stationed in the captain's cabin.

To be precise, everyone on the ship was currently within the three people's magical sensing range.

"I wonder when they'll be back." Götze lit a cigarette and took a puff.

A hatter, fiddling with his hand axe, chimed in, "They've only been gone for four hours. There's no way they're that fast. After all, there's a lot to investigate on this ship."

Another hatter looked at Götze and said, "Speaking of which, isn't it said that the open sea is very dangerous? So far, apart from the occasional little sea monster that jumps onto the ship, we haven't encountered any danger."

"Even that young man named Allen could handle that sea monster; he just shot it with a gun and it was over."

Götze chuckled helplessly: "I don't think it's safe here...maybe the danger just hasn't arrived yet..."

Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, a monster formed from shadows rose from the sea.

The thick shadows almost merged into the night.

If it weren't for the shadow being so dense it seemed to flow, if it weren't for the enormous commotion the monster made when it emerged from the sea, if it weren't for the lights on the Pomegranate Flower finding the monster... it would have been almost nonexistent in human sight.

The two hatters said nothing and immediately went to the ship's gun emplacements according to the pre-arranged plan.

As an exploration ship from the Great Exploration period, the main guns on this ship were far more powerful than the city defense main guns deployed by the Empire.

Its power is no less than the full-force attack of a ninth-ring legendary mage.

After the two hatters left, Götze immediately used the broadcast to order all personnel on the ship to proceed to the designated armed location.

In addition to the main gun, there are also many secondary guns on the turret, which also require operators.

They couldn't tell the strength of the monsters in front of them, but they were sure they could go all out.

The next moment, the simultaneous roar of the two giant cannons almost made Götze's ears ring.

Thank goodness, even after being idle for decades, the ship's armed systems have not suffered any damage.

The massive beam of light that shot out from the main cannon instantly blasted the shadowy giant that had risen from the sea in front of him into two pieces, which then disappeared into the shadows.

But this did not put Götze at ease.

Because just as the main gun was in the process of loading shells, countless bubbles rose up in the sea.

Countless small sea monsters surged out of the sea and rushed towards the ship.

Not only that, but three giants emerged from the distant fog.

Countless colossal sea monsters, even more terrifying than giants, emerged from the sea and headed into the distant mist.

In that instant, Götze realized something, and with a furrowed brow, he immediately roared through the communication system: "All personnel, fire out all the shells the Academy has been saving for decades!"

"Don't worry about equipment damage; if it's scrapped, it's scrapped! Now, unleash the full firepower of this ship!"

"You two hatters, please come with me to the deck! Protect the gunners below!"

"Everyone else, ignore what's happening on deck. We'll hold off those bastards jumping onto the ship! You all focus on taking down those big guys!"

The lights in the captain's cabin dimmed.

Götze let out a long sigh, then reached for the long sword at his waist.

only……

After noticing the foreign object, Götze started rummaging through his pockets.

That was a suicide note.

I wrote this before I set off.

Götze smiled as he looked at the suicide note, then tossed it into the captain's cabin, donned an experimental suit of armor he had found at the forward base, and headed for the deck.

On the deck, the Hatter, wearing the two experimental suits of armor he had found at the base before departure, and the man wielding his longsword and hand axe with blurring movements, worked together seamlessly to kill all the small sea monsters that surged onto the deck.

Götze smiled, fastened the visor of his armor, and with a burst of steam, the captain joined the battle.

(End of this chapter)