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

Chapter 238 Decay and Bitter Darkness
Curiosity killed the cat.

This thing applies to all living beings in the world.

There are some things that are better known the more you know.

But now it's too late for her to regret it.

That mural was etched deep into her soul and could not be erased.

Without a doubt, although the murals are somewhat abstract, they do depict the World Tree and the legendary Fountain of Wisdom...

The Demon King, who rose from the lingering remnants of the Age of Gods, knows many things that living beings today are unaware of.

For example, the World Tree in Avalon is just a projection of the real World Tree.

This doesn't mean the World Tree isn't in Avalon, but rather that it doesn't exist in Avalon's real-world plane.

Most elves probably don't know this.

She knew this secret because of that proverb from the Grim Reaper.

Although she can no longer recall the specifics of the conversation.

But she vaguely remembered that after uttering this proverb, Death had given her a similar hint.

However, the deity only mentioned it briefly before falling silent.

After uttering this proverb, she was directly banished from the land of the dead.

But... that's precisely why she found it unbelievable.

She had initially thought that Roland might have some connection with this Grim Reaper.

Perhaps it is the mortal body of a relative I do not know, or perhaps it is a successor chosen by the Grim Reaper.

Otherwise, it's impossible to explain why that short, stout guy kept calling Roland "that person."

But now, the Demon King feels that Roland's true identity is not so simple.

But she didn't dare to investigate any further.

For those who don't fully understand the word "fate," the subconscious reaction might be resistance.

After all, no one wants their life's ending and process to be predetermined.

Any intelligent being with free will would subconsciously abhor the so-called arrangements of fate.

But as someone who once defied fate, the Demon King knows the true nature of destiny.

They also know that all so-called resistance against fate, in most cases, will only become a driving force that accelerates fate.

The cunning of fate is that it always achieves its plans by resisting its hand.

Of course, fate is not inescapable—both she and the hero who killed her with a single sword had figured out how to break free from it.

But that was only the first glimpse into the basics.

It was precisely because they glimpsed the truth of fate that the two were able to change part of their own destiny in the end.

By splitting her soul, she remains in the world in her current half-dead state, thus avoiding her destined death—the law that the Demon King will die at the hands of the Hero.

Although she is indeed dead, she is not quite dead, is she?

And that blue-haired madwoman, according to the flat-chested elf, also lived a lifespan beyond human limits, only dying decades ago.

Clearly, she also changed her own fate in some way—by exceeding the limits of human lifespan.

The flat-chested elf was ignorant and thought that the guy could live so long simply because he was strong.

But the Demon King knew very well that the boundary was not a constraint that could be broken through by his own magic power.

Throughout history, there have been people stronger than that blue-haired madwoman.

That ancient king who established the first human empire amidst the cold winds of the North, a powerful figure hailed as the king of men in legends, had a proven track record of slaying evil gods.

This is not one of those evil gods that I later treated like monsters and defeated.

Those who managed to survive the Age of Gods without being killed by those true gods were all beings no weaker than true gods.

However, this king of men still could not exceed the human lifespan limit and died peacefully at the age of two hundred.

However, after his death, special beings known as witches began to appear among humans.

Although they can only be born in human females, they do indeed break the limits of human lifespan.

Witches can even outlive some demons; if they're long enough, living for thousands of years is quite easy.

Judging from this point alone, perhaps even the King of Men has broken the shackles of fate?
It's just that it's not his own shackles.

Forget it, it's no use for me to delve into this myself... In any case, Roland's background clearly involves a higher level of existence.

But thinking about it this way, the strange things about this kid can be explained.

Why can multiple Primal Runestones exist within Roland?

Why was Roland able to unleash the full power of the runestone so easily?
Why did the World Tree favor Roland, this human?
And... this kid's seemingly ordinary background is actually full of loopholes.

He initially thought it was just bad luck for his father to be affected by the cognitive interference of the Whisperer of Eternity.

But now it seems that this may just be a facade.

but……

"Speaking of runes... what exactly is the current situation of the Demon Race?"

"What is the purpose of the royal court's painstaking efforts to collect rune stones? How many have they collected so far?"

"Could it be to activate the Golden Horn?"

"If that's the case, what crisis has the demon race encountered? Or are those guys planning to start another war?"

As the Demon King pondered this, he manipulated his gauntlets to fly to a rock and rest.

He flew over to help Roland resolve the ceremony.

The Demon King, who is more aware of his current situation, chose to cheer remotely from here.

After all, she could only help Roland conjure a layer of illusory armor at most, providing only a slight physical enhancement effect.

But Roland is now protected by the Great Source Will, so these amplifications of his are dispensable.

Moreover, if even one percent of her guesses were correct, she wouldn't have to worry about Roland's safety now.

……

"General, are we not there yet?" Roland asked, following behind the old general who was holding a torch.

"Yes. After discovering this temple, the group of Dark Apostles attempted to use the remaining divine power here for experiments."

"The passage we just walked through was the original passage of this temple, but after those guys came, they secretly expanded it into an underground research lab."

As Lanzhus explained, "The ceremony is still ongoing, but that's good news. The impact on the city is all due to the continued performance of this ceremony."

"As long as the ritual is interrupted... at least the cognitive pollution will not continue to spread, and the Great Source's self-purification cycle will soon take effect. However, at that time, there will most likely be a sudden magical storm sweeping through Isfar."

Roland nodded. "I understand. What do I need to do then?"

“I don’t know.” Lanzhus grinned. “I’m just a brute who only knows how to swing a sword and kill people. This is the first time I’ve ever stopped a ritual spell.”

“However… as long as we destroy the things that maintain the ritual, that should be enough, right?” Roland said with some helplessness, “Logically, that should be the case, but in the current situation, in addition to that, we may also have to face the evil god hiding behind the scenes.”

"The reason for this is that the power of the evil god spreads through the ritual, which has led to the current state."

"Is that so?" Lanzhuos chuckled. "Then I'll leave it to you. Don't be fooled by my superior strength; when it comes to knowledge, I might not know as much as you."

“I am over a hundred years old. Ever since I joined the army to get enough to eat, I have not received much proper education.”

"It's only because I have good talent and fought my way up that I have the strength I have today."

“I have repelled those kings of the demon race, and I have also dealt with many cultists who tried to do evil in Isfar.”

"I severely injured that Hellfire Archbishop of the Chaos Brotherhood, and the leader of the Ash Order is also one of my defeated opponents..."

"So, my child, I still couldn't avoid falling into arrogance."

As Lanzhus spoke, he clenched his fists tightly: "If I... if I had paid more attention to those insignificant people I had never taken seriously, this incident would not have happened!"

"The fact that Abbas was a mole planted by the Dark Apostle in the Imperial military many years ago is indeed beyond my expectations."

"But without the help of those cultists who had been active in the city for years, the ritual could not have been carried out smoothly!"

Roland interrupted the old general: "This is not the time to talk about this. Go and stop the ceremony, old general."

“…Hahaha, I didn’t expect you to be so calm.” Lanzhuos then asked, “Aren’t you afraid? That’s an evil god. Even if it’s just a wisp of his power, it doesn’t mean we can succeed this time.”

"The gap between gods and men is as vast as an insurmountable chasm."

Roland simply replied, "I have already seen the half-body of the evil god at sea."

“As long as the ritual is not fully performed and their power is not fully descended upon the world, it is not an insurmountable disaster.”

"Looks like you really are an expert... Alright, we're here."

After the discussion, the two arrived at a three-way intersection.

The two of them should have been here debating which path to take.

However, given that the discomfort caused by the evil god's aura had already filled the passageway on the right, the location of the ritual was quite obvious.

"Kid, take precautions, I..."

Lanzhuos was about to suggest that he could open up his domain as a legendary warrior of the ninth ring to temporarily isolate Roland from the pollution, allowing Roland to hide in his domain and avoid being affected by the excessive cognitive pollution.

But the next moment, he saw Roland's whole body bursting with golden, green, and lightning light, his entire body shining as brightly as a disco ball in the ballroom. He then silently withdrew the words he had not yet spoken.

how to say……

This kid has way too many special effects on him.

The lightning-sparkling thorns that appeared alongside the lush green trees, the faint golden light emanating from his body, and the spear made of light elements in the boy's hand all told Landros that even though he had overestimated Roland's strength, he had still underestimated him.

At least he could now sense that Roland, who originally only had the strength of a sixth-ring expert, was now exuding an aura that was in no way inferior to that of an ordinary eighth-ring hero.

"what did you say?"

"……nothing."

Lanzhus stopped speaking and simply walked forward in silence.

Roland found it a little strange, but he didn't say anything.

Holding the Radiant Spear in one hand and the Silenced Sword in the other, he followed the old general toward the ceremony site.

Soon, a scene that could only be described as purgatory appeared before the two of them.

Lancelot looked particularly bad.

"Damn it...has it really gotten this bad?"

Roland's expression also changed drastically.

How can one describe what he saw before his eyes...?

This doesn't feel like a cave at all, but rather like the rotting stomach of some giant beast, still wriggling and digesting itself!
The decaying, blackened flesh walls have replaced the original rock floor. The site where the ceremony was originally held now only retains a trace of its original shape, with the stone altar still standing.

The rest, from the ground to the walls, and even the lighting spheres above the dome, all came to life as writhing, foul-smelling, and blackened flesh and blood!
"Damn it! I've only been dead for a short time, right? Even if you include my fight with that bastard Aibas, it's only been two days at most!"

As Lanzhus cursed, he tried to extend his domain toward the mutated site before him.

However, the results were not satisfactory.

His territory had barely extended when it was completely swallowed up by the revitalized rocky ground!

Not only that, after sensing the fresh magic, the entire cave, like a living creature, began spraying thick pus towards the two of them.

"Damn! This is so disgusting!"

Roland cursed under his breath, then began hurling Radiant Spears of the Sun without hesitation. With the blessing of the Sun Runestone, these spears sliced ​​through the flesh in front of him like hot knives cutting through butter.

The pus that was spewing towards the two of them was also burned away.

Seeing that Roland had already made his move, Lan Zhuos also displayed the strength befitting a nine-ring legend.

Roland witnessed for the first time just how outrageous a warrior at the ninth ring level could be.

As an inexplicable sense of oppression arose, almost instantly, Roland felt countless sword lights flash before his eyes.

In an instant, the sword light condensed into a semi-circular barrier, which rapidly extended from beneath the two people's feet, washing away and slicing everything it touched into nothingness.

The old general's domain didn't have the flashy special effects of Kephass; it just looked like an ordinary circle formed by magic.

But Roland, who was inside the domain, could feel the oppressive aura that was no less than that of the Kefas Light Rain Domain.

This is a realm where skill, magic, and physical prowess are honed to their absolute limits.

It's not flashy, but it's absolutely deadly.

With the two of them working together to clear the area, a large open space quickly appeared before them. Apart from the living flesh that was already writhing on the rock walls, at least the path to the altar was opened.

Lanzhus frowned and stopped Roland, who was about to step forward: "Kid, something's not right here... My move just now should have been able to destroy this cave, or even create a hole that leads directly to the ground..."

"But we haven't accomplished anything except the path in front of us."

"Don't underestimate the destructive power of a ninth-ring legend... Even if a mountain were placed in front of me, I would be confident that I could pulverize it into rocks in a short time."

"not good!"

As if sensing something, Landros pushed Roland backward.

The immense force instantly sent Roland flying, and the next moment Roland saw the old general flying back as well.

But the old general is still the old general.

Roland was pushed away and could only stagger back a few steps to regain his balance.

But the old general, who was clearly knocked away, managed to do a stylish turn in mid-air, then plunged his greatsword into the floor to slow down, before slowly gliding back to himself. He looked incredibly cool.

After silently memorizing the procedure, Roland looked ahead.

A tall, thin, black figure stood before the altar, then retracted one of the tentacles that had just extended from its back.

Then, a single, pure white eye suddenly appeared on its jet-black head, which had no facial features, and stared wide-eyed at Roland.

(End of this chapter)