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

Chapter 260 Did You Betray Me Too?
For the next few days, Roland immersed himself in a sea of ​​textbooks.

As it turns out, he overestimated the integrity of the compilers of the otherworldly textbooks.

Although they do explain things in great detail in their introductory books, and they like to get straight to the point and get to the point.

But conversely, when it comes to explaining the more in-depth parts, they start to act like they're not human.

These technical terms and symbols gave him a headache.

Although the world is filled with magic, precisely because of this, magic itself is not something "mysterious".

But alchemy is different.

Whether it's ritual magic or a magic array, even if you make a mistake on one or two key points, as long as the crucial points are not compromised, its main function and power will not be greatly affected.

But alchemy is one of those things where you should put the cup on the right, but you put it on the left, and that leads to the experiment failing.

Symbols and symbolism are essential skills in alchemy.

For example, the World Tree.

Yes, His presence is also relevant here.

Alchemists generally believe that the World Tree is the source of all wisdom in the world.

Whether it's magic or alchemy, the essence is to reach "truth".

Therefore, the symbolism of the "tree" was a key focus for alchemists.

The Philosopher's Stone is believed to be an all-powerful object that, once used, grants the user the ability to understand the truth.

As for whether the Philosopher's Stone exists or can be crafted, it does not exist in current human records.

However, given the vast amount of lost historical records, we cannot conclude that it does not exist.

In their symbolism, the alchemists divided the tree people into three parts.

These are the three main branches of a tree. The illustrations in the book show thick branches arranged in a trident-like pattern.

The right side represents compassion, the left side represents severity, and the one in the middle represents balance.

These correspond to the three elements in alchemy.

Sulfur represents activity, salt represents inertness, and mercury represents harmonization.

Extending from this, we arrive at the four realms of existence that exist on the tree.

Prototype Realm, Creation Realm, Formation Realm, Material Realm
These correspond to the four stages of alchemy—blackening, whitening, yellowing, and reddening, also known as black soil, chalk, gold, and reddening.

The terms "red transformation" or "red completion" represent the legendary forging of the Philosopher's Stone.

And connecting the four realms of existence are twenty-two paths...

Okay, Roland has only seen this much so far.

He didn't have time to study the twenty-two paths yet.

He just felt a headache.

These are the basic requirements for learning alchemy.

Fortunately, he had already learned some of the content before, such as the four stages of alchemy.

This is essential knowledge for refining medicines.

Instead, he spent a long time looking at the content about trees and symbols.

It took me two whole days to finish reading it, and another day to understand it.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

I've only read less than a quarter of the book.

Roland felt a sense of despair at the thought of this, and got up to stretch his back and neck, which were swollen and sore from sitting for a long time.

As for Kalia, she got tired of reading and went out to chat with the villagers, while also retrieving Roland's identity documents from the agreed-upon location.

Judging by the time, this guy should be back soon.

After letting out a long breath, Roland decided to continue watching.

He felt he was about to reach a crucial juncture.

If the previous material covered introductory knowledge, the next part he'll be reading will likely involve application aspects.

Although I haven't officially started reading it yet, I did read some of the follow-up content after I finished reading it last time.

Some of the words in it made him realize this.

For example, core symbols, the pivots of the World Tree, and so on.

It's clearly different from the definitions of the previous terms.

But just as Roland was about to go back to his recliner to continue reading, he suddenly felt uneasy.

Without much hesitation, Roland put down the book, circulated his magic, and tried to construct a spell. After confirming that it would not have a negative impact on his body, Roland took out his dual pistols from his storage ring. After confirming that the ammunition was still there, he used Flash to leave.

……

"Damn it! Why are there demons here?!"

"Didn't Roland say this was a secret location provided by that princess?"

"Luckily, I was smart enough not to rush out to get my things, otherwise I would have been surrounded."

"Hey, Demon King, speak! What do we do now?"

The Demon King, who was tied to Kalia's chest as armor, said: "I think you should tie me up somewhere else. You're probably trying to use me as a shield, aren't you?"

"Tch, protective gear should be used with a sense of propriety! Besides, you're not on Roland now, so you don't need to speak to me in a man's tone, do you?"

Demon King: “?”

Holy crap? This guy actually saw through my incredibly sophisticated disguise?!

Oh, this guy seems to be the divine child of the Whisperers of Eternal Silence. He was originally intended to be used as a vessel for divine power to descend, and he even absorbed the divine power of that being...

And I was right next to her.

It seems quite normal to discover that there are problems with one's soul.

"When did you find out?"

"When Roland dumped you on me."

Demon King: "..."

"Fine..." The Demon King sighed, revealing his true voice: "Are you satisfied now?"

"Hmm, that's much more normal. At least it doesn't feel awkward like a woman is speaking to me in a man's voice."

Kalia nodded in satisfaction, then, hidden in the shadows, she pointed to the demons outside and asked, "So, as the Demon King, what's your opinion?"

"I'll just hang it up and watch," the Demon King retorted. "I'm already like this, what more do you want?"

"I can't possibly burn my soul, then transform into an armored warrior by putting it on you, and then you kill these guys, take the documents, and finally, as I'm dying, leave you some last words, and then you cry your heart out?" Kalia nodded, somewhat excitedly saying, "A kindred spirit! That's exactly what I want! But I don't think I'll go through the whole crying-out part."

"...There's still a bit of trouble, isn't there?" The Demon King sighed, then earnestly suggested, "My idea is, since they haven't found you yet, why don't you just run away now?"

"Since there are ambushes here, it means that the princess has either betrayed us or her subordinates have been infiltrated like sieves."

"In no way can this guy be considered a reliable ally."

"You and Roland can just hide in that godforsaken border village and quietly learn alchemy. Once you've learned it, just leave as soon as possible."

"Ultimately, this is a matter for the Kingdom of Platia. You and Roland are citizens of the Empire, and Roland is a Grand Duke. Your choice is not to interfere."

Kalia said irritably, "While I might not be able to think of the rest, I do know how to escape!"

"Do you think I don't want to leave?!"

"If you sense it carefully, a barrier has been set up here in advance."

"The kind where you can come in but not leave!"

"Okay, I can go out, but my gut tells me it's best not to make any rash moves."

"Should we send Roland a message?"

The Demon King did not answer Kalia, but instead began to analyze the current situation.

Just as Kalia said, there was indeed a barrier here, and it was set up very secretly. In fact, in order to hide the barrier, a hidden barrier was set up to hide the barrier that was actually in effect.

And intuition...

Kalia is both a witch and, in some ways, a demigod.

While others cultivate to increase their power, she cultivates to "reclaim her power."

This intuition about a species that, strictly speaking, has no relation to humans, cannot be taken lightly.

It seems the problem might lie with this barrier.

As the Demon King, she was naturally very familiar with the tricks of the demon race.

Even though she was just an incomplete soul, she quickly identified the true form of the hidden barrier.

Eternal silence, the web of fate!
No wonder Kalia suddenly had this inexplicable intuition.

This barrier spell was created by her after she confirmed the existence and names of four special evil gods from the Grim Reaper, and based on the characteristics of the Whisperers of Eternal Silence.

The effect is very simple—marking and tracking.

Any target that has entered the barrier's area, regardless of how it is hidden, will be marked by its own conceptual "shadow" after it leaves the barrier.

The barrier technique that she and the Demon King's army used in fishing operations before was actually used on her.

Fortunately, it was Kalia who came today; her abilities are completely incompatible with this barrier.

Although Kalia, who was hiding in the shadows, would be marked after leaving due to the nature of the barrier spell, her intuition prevented her from rushing to escape.

The Demon King quickly realized the seriousness of the situation.

She had only told a few kings about this barrier technique.

While it's possible they might teach the technique to others, this barrier technique was created in imitation of the characteristics of an evil god.

To unleash it, at least one nine-ring legend is needed.

Considering the Blood Demon Lord Danso who appeared on the border a few days ago, the Demon King found it difficult to make optimistic conjectures.

"Kalia, now, conceal all your magical energy and slip into the deeper shadows."

"You can do it, right?"

"Hide as deep as you can... then run! Get out of the barrier as fast as you can! I'll figure out how to fix the marking problem."

Kalia nodded: "Okay."

……

Meanwhile, Roland, who had just left the village, ran into a group of "bandits".

Although they weren't very strong, their actions bothered Roland a lot.

Although their attire was disheveled, Roland's observation from the shadows revealed that this group of people had clearly undergone professional training.

Although he tried his best to appear nonchalant, he couldn't hide the traces of military training he had undergone.

Let's talk about equipment.

Platia is nothing like the Empire; the price of magical equipment there is astronomical.

But this group actually possessed a large number of standard magical weapons.

Armor, firearms, greatswords and longswords equipped with propulsion devices...

They didn't look like a simple group of robbers at all.

Most importantly, the other party's location was the very spot where Roland and Kalia first left the shadow that day.

An ominous premonition quickly rose in Roland's mind.

Even if it's just a guess, even if the possibility is small... this isn't an empire, and there's no powerful figure here to back me up for now.

After letting out a soft sigh and confirming that there was nothing wrong with his physical condition, Roland silently took out his two pistols.

The bullets he didn't use in the Isfar incident are now being used here.

Silently switching to the magazine provided by Ms. Remilia, Roland pulled the trigger on the bandits.

"boom!"

The bullets left the barrel, but before the gunshots reached the bandits' ears, the blood-red spears pierced them like gourds, and the entire corpse turned into a pool of blood that flowed on the ground before being quickly buried by the northern snowstorm.

After the bandits and their horses were dealt with, Roland went up and collected all of their equipment and clothing.

Just as Roland was about to head towards the agreed-upon location where Kalia was going, Kalia jumped out of the shadows in front of Roland, panting heavily.

"Phew! We're safe! Roland, something terrible has happened!" Kalia grabbed Roland's arm immediately, looking extremely anxious.

Roland also became serious: "No rush, tell me slowly, what happened?"

"The Demon King is a girl! You can't keep her there anymore!"

Roland: “???”

The Demon King interrupted Kalia speechlessly and got down to business, this time using his natural voice: "Ignore Roland. If possible, stay in this village until you resolve your health issues, and don't go anywhere else."

"The location provided by that princess was problematic. When Kalia went there, she encountered a demon ambush, and their strength was not low. There were three extraordinary beings and five sixth-ring beings."

"Moreover, there are indications that the Blood Demon Lord's attention has not been diverted from here."

"There must be a Blood Demon Lord's inside man among the Queen."

"If you don't want to be targeted by a ruler of a royal court, don't do anything unnecessary."

(End of this chapter)