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

Chapter 318 Ascending to the Extraordinary, Outer Space

Roland was surprisingly not questioned.

Both Fram and Russell stared at Roland for a while before smiling and leaving.

Russell, in particular, was all smiles. He patted Roland on the shoulder, said some encouraging words, and then went back to the lab to work on making armor.

Toran's reaction was similar to Russell's.

She had an expression that suggested she could rise in status because of her son, and then she went into Russell's lab to help Roland make armor.

The eldest brother, however, had a rather solemn expression. He was the only one who chose to stay and talk to Roland.

"Junior brother, I know that we haven't known each other for long, and we've only spent a few days together."

"But I've always considered you my fellow disciple!"

"For the sake of those little inventions I helped you tinker with, when you become successful in the future... no, it seems you've already become successful."

"In short, if I really need your help, senior brother, you can't just leave me hanging!"

Looking at his senior brother, who was earnestly trying to establish a connection, Roland smiled helplessly: "Senior brother, what are you saying?"

"Isn't this a matter of course?"

"If you just want to tinker with explosives experiments, I can use my connections at the academy to get you into a specialized lab so you can focus on being a bomb enthusiast."

"Anyway, they've recently restarted their weapons development work, and they're in dire need of talent like you."

"Good brother! I didn't misjudge you!" Aslan excitedly grasped Roland's hand.

Roland watched his senior brother enter the laboratory with a helpless expression, and then sighed. It seemed that doing research in the safe environment of the academy was indeed quite depressing for this senior brother who was quite accomplished in the field of explosions.

After everyone had left, Iluvia approached Roland, her eyes still filled with lingering worry: "Even though it's a gift from the gods... is everything really alright?"

"And that silver-haired girl just now, was she... Lord Death?"

"I saw that she dispelled that suffocating feeling."

Roland then realized why no one had asked him about Elena's background.

It turns out they were all overwhelmed by the pressure of death...

The thought that it was Elena who helped dispel the oppressive aura... is the difference between mortals and gods really that great?

After briefly introducing his limited-edition Pokémon, Roland looked at Iluvia and said, "Don't worry too much. It's just the information asymmetry that's making you worry."

"But believe me, there are some questions about myself that I still don't fully understand."

"Perhaps after this trip to Avalon, I will be able to figure everything out."

"I'll tell you when the time comes."

Iluvia shook her head: "No need... Since it's a secret you feel uncomfortable letting me know, I won't listen."

"Everyone needs some privacy, right?"

"but……"

Iluvia pursed her lips. After realizing Roland's extraordinary background, Iluvia vaguely guessed that Roland must be carrying some important mission.

Throughout history, all the saints favored by God in the Papacy have been like this, without exception.

"Roland...promise me that if you encounter any danger in the future, you can't just rush in without saying a word. You should at least tell me."

"Okay?"

Looking at Iluvia, who was bowing her head and whose voice was trembling slightly, Roland shrugged and laughed: "Don't worry, if we really encounter a life-threatening danger, I'll be the first to run, without the slightest hesitation."

"...You keep your word!"

"of course."

……

After the inexplicable turmoil subsided, Roland stood in front of the conference room that had been cleared out to be used as a ceremony room, and suddenly felt a little nervous.

I had given myself several hours to prepare mentally, but I was still a little nervous at the last minute.

Seeing this, Kalia, who was standing behind Roland, went up and patted Roland on the shoulder: "What's there to be nervous about? Didn't the Demon King say that nothing bad will happen if we fail? At most, we can just use up some materials and try again."

"Isn't the one thing you have plenty of right now materials?"

The experienced Cellina nodded in agreement: "That's right, Roland. Don't be too nervous. Even if it's a secret technique personally given by a god, it's essentially just a process of injecting magic power."

As she spoke, Cellina subconsciously reached out to rub the cat's head in her arms, then belatedly realized that the silly cat had been taken away by her father for intensive tutoring.

Iluvia, who had skipped work to sneak over, didn't say anything; she had already said what she wanted to say.

All I can do right now is stand there in a daze.

Roland sighed: "Knowing is one thing, being nervous is another, isn't it?"

"Of course, if it were Ms. Fram's plan, I probably wouldn't be nervous."

"Where did she go now?"

While munching on the beef jerky in her hand, Kalia said, "It seems she went to contact her teacher. Want some beef jerky? Chewing on something can relieve tension."

"Thanks, Lia... but you should keep the beef jerky for yourself." Roland politely declined Kalia's offer to feed him, and simply took a few deep breaths.

Soon, the Demon King pushed open the door.

"It's ready, come in."

Roland nodded and, under the watchful eyes of the three women, walked into the conference room, which had been set up as a ceremony venue.

But he was quickly stunned.

There were no mysterious symbols, magical formations, or ritual implements in the meeting room as he had imagined. It was simply an empty meeting room with chairs and tables removed.

There was nothing more than a pile of materials that the Demon King had specifically requested in the center of the conference room.

"Um...wasn't there supposed to be a ceremony? Where's the formation?"

"Look, you're in such a hurry again." The Demon King said helplessly, then pointed to the pile of materials: "Just walk over there and stand in the circle formed by the branches of the World Tree."

"The things you imagine will appear when the ceremony begins."

After saying this, the Demon King sighed, "It really is a wonderful gift personally given by the gods."

"After setting up the site according to the procedure, the intricate array patterns, circuits, and designs actually disappeared automatically."

"It looks like they're trying to prevent technology leaks."

"Moreover, I don't understand the underlying principles at all."

"The only thing I can understand is that this ritual, like the ritual of the Law of the Stars, can connect the consciousness of the person performing the ritual with the starry sky outside the heavens."

After expressing his feelings, the Demon King looked at Roland and said, "Go quickly. If anything happens, I'll call for help for you, so don't worry."

"Of course, even if you really die, given Death's attitude, you should be forcibly sent back in some way."

"But that would be quite embarrassing, you'd better be careful."

Roland took off his coat, revealing a navy blue shirt underneath, and walked into the circle formed by the branches of the World Tree: "I'll take your words as encouragement and comfort."

Just as the Demon King had said, as soon as Roland finished speaking and stepped into the circle, the entire room was instantly filled with a dark purple light.

The intricate patterns covering the entire floor of the room, along with the interwoven straight lines, exuded a mysterious magic at this moment.

At this moment, the Demon King began his final task.

"In the name of the God of Death and End, I declare—the brilliance of the stars descends upon this place, guiding the Son of Man to the outer reaches of the stars."

"Obey the divine decree, overflow, Great Source of magic..."

"Traverse the cycles of the stars and open the forbidden gate!"

As the Demon King finished chanting, something happened that alarmed him.

Roland is gone.

To be precise, after she finished reciting the complete ritual that Death had given her, Roland's body and the materials scattered on the ground disappeared in a burst of eerie purple light.

Demon King: “!!!”

……

"Hmm...this is different from the ritual process Nina described?"

"Where did I get here? Am I still on the mainland?"

As Roland felt the ever-increasing limit of magical power within his body, and the overflowing magical power as the limit rose, he subconsciously clenched his fist.

Without a doubt, with the Demon King's chant and the flash of light before his eyes, his strength directly crossed the boundary of the extraordinary and reached the seventh-ring extraordinary level.

The protection from the Great Source did not fail; in fact, he could even control its activation and deactivation.

He was just a little confused by his surroundings.

This is a temple in the starry sky... If Roland hadn't been certain that he couldn't possibly be in a dream right now, he probably would have thought he was having that strange dream again.

That dream of braving the wind and snow on a snowy night until arriving at this heavenly palace.

But unlike a dream, there isn't a single large, exaggeratedly giant tree here, nor a mysterious lake.

Before him was truly nothing more than a collapsed palace.

It was even more dilapidated than the scene in my dream.

The statues, which were already incomplete, became even more incomplete.

Originally, he only lost one hand, but now he's lost both hands.

The face was already blurry, and now even the head has disappeared.

More than exploring the unfamiliar temple before him, Roland wanted to find a way back.

But Roland soon realized that Death had sent the Demon King to this place using this ritual for a specific purpose.

With that thought in mind, Roland walked deeper into the temple.

Since I can't find a way back anytime soon, I might as well explore what's inside this star temple that seems to have a lot to do with me.

Roland walked deep into the temple for a long time, but there was nothing along the way except for the dilapidated statues and the well-preserved floor tiles for some reason.

The monotonous scene finally changed after Roland walked for half an hour.

Roland saw a similarly dilapidated stone throne, and upon it, a twisted, humanoid shadow.

Roland stopped and did not continue forward.

Although that humanoid shadow looked very much like the shadow figures summoned by Kalia's spell.

But because of his long-term interaction and in-depth communication with Kalia, Roland knew very well that... that thing was definitely not a shadow! It was something far more terrifying.

But strangely, Roland sensed a familiar and warm feeling emanating from this shadow!

But after that feeling, Roland experienced a chilling fear that even made his soul tremble.

Before Roland could even ponder what the shadow truly was, it flew toward him at an unimaginable speed, attaching itself to his body and seeping into his flesh.

Roland: “!!!”

(End of this chapter)