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

Chapter 370 Kalia is still attacking.

After discovering the anomaly in the far north, Cellina did not intend to continue the investigation, but instead rushed to Roland's side, who was still unconscious.

Thinking of the warning beacon burning atop the Covenant Temple, Cellina began to ponder what exactly that fog was.

Even if it's just a patch of fog that quickly dissipates shortly after it's formed, is it really necessary to mobilize the elite royal army?
According to past practice, routine patrols and security maintenance in demon territory are usually handled by patrol teams composed of orcs, half-orcs, and kobolds—the lower-ranking demon races.

These animals are numerous and reproduce quickly. Apart from lacking high-intensity individuals and having low intelligence, they have no obvious weaknesses.

A typical patrol team would consist of an orc with above-average intelligence, several half-orcs and kobolds, and one familiar for reconnaissance and one for combat.

With this level of equipment, even if its combat strength isn't high, it's more than enough to send out as a spy.

Unless the demons already knew about the dangers of the mist and the risks it might pose, and these risks couldn't be resolved by a simple patrol team.

Thinking about this, Cellina's mind was in turmoil.

Originally, I planned to find a way to escape after Roland woke up and rested for a while, but because of the fog, the escape might be more difficult.

Once the fog appears, the Royal Court Army, composed of members of the Royal Court race and other powerful races, will be dispatched to the location of the fog.

If we leave safely, we must avoid the area of ​​the fog... and the anomaly that the Demon King's court takes so seriously must also conceal great risks.

But why was her room, which had been abandoned for so long, still so warm? She couldn't recall lighting a fire or lighting a closet after she came in.

Speaking of which... it seems that apart from feeling a bit cold when she went to the top of the tower to observe the strange fog phenomenon, the temperature didn't feel that low at other times.

It started because of the Sun Runestone, but she stopped maintaining it to conserve magic. So why isn't it cold yet?
At first, she thought it was the bloodline of the Cangya family that was working. As a traditional werewolf-type demon, although they had thick fur like ancient werewolves, the bloodline of the Cangya family did have natural cold resistance.

But after climbing to the top of the tower, she still felt cold, and it wasn't until she returned to her room that the comfortable temperature she had felt on the way there returned.

For some reason, Cellina looked at Roland, who was still burning.

A subtle conjecture arose in Cellina's mind.

Could the heat source be coming from here?
With a touch of curiosity, Cellina crept closer to Roland, then squatted down and placed her hands, which were stiff from clinging to the top of the tower, above Roland's body.

As the faint, candle-like light brushed against my palm, a warm and comforting sensation instantly dispelled the cold.

"So comfortable..."

Although it was somewhat bizarre to warm oneself by a fire on a person who was engulfed in flames and unconscious, the warmth and heat brought by Roland, who was currently burning, were still extremely precious in this frigid far north.

Especially since the temperature is just right.

It neither makes people feel hot nor cold.

Even with the windows open, it couldn't change the warm indoor environment at all.

The comfortable temperature even made Cellina lower her guard; physical exhaustion and the emptiness of her magic made her feel an overwhelming drowsiness.

Forced to close the window, leaving only a crack for ventilation, and using the broken bookcase to seal the damaged door, Cellina returned to her room, leaned against the wall, and fell asleep.

……

[Ding, it has been confirmed that all remaining prototypes and their derivative creations have been destroyed.]

[Ding, you have chosen to fuse the remaining remnant soul of the Demon King. Subsequent quests will change as a result...]

[Congratulations, host, on completing the second stage of the main quest—Silent March, objectives four and five. Rewards are now being distributed...]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: One unclaimed fragment of divinity]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained a special item: Heart of the World-Destroying Witch (Fragment)]

[Fragment of Unclaimed Divine Power: Upon fusion, it enhances the host's life essence, and all damage inflicts a special effect: Divinity.]

[Heart of the World-Destroying Witch (Fragment): A fragment of the shattered heart of the witch who brought eternal silence to the world; it appears to be a third of her heart.]

When Roland was awakened by the system's incessant buzzing, it was already the morning of the next day.

When Roland opened his eyes and found himself in an unfamiliar room, he instinctively tried to get up to look around, but the intense pain throughout his body forced him back down onto the portable folding cot.

Then he saw Cellina leaning against the corner of the wall, making soft noises, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that after I fell unconscious, Celinina, who had fainted first, woke up and carried me here.

It's quite remarkable that she was able to find such a well-preserved room in a white field where nothing could be seen except snow. Although it looked abandoned for a long time, it must have been decorated very luxuriously before it was abandoned.

Yes, the gauntlets on his hands are still there, but the Demon King's soul is still asleep. It's unclear whether it's a consequence of being caught in the spatial turbulence and the damage to his prosthetic body, or whether he's currently "digesting" the remnants of souls he rescued.

The Soul-Gathering Orb on her waist was still there. Polycia was in slightly better condition. Judging from her soul perception, she should have just fallen asleep from exhaustion, which was due to overexertion.

As expected, Polycia was unable to fully unleash the power of the bone dragon left behind by Elena, but even without its full strength, its own superhuman physique remained unaffected.

Myself... um?
Why is he on fire?!

Ah, it's the Primal Rune Stone working its magic, slowly healing itself...

Tsk, I didn't expect the side effects of this holy sword to be so severe... Without the combined power and interaction of the Candle of Hope and the Messenger of God runes that I obtained when I found Polycia, I'm afraid I would already be back at the academy casting time.

If that's the case, I'll be fine, but it's hard to say what will happen to Cellina, the Demon King, and even Polycia.

Perhaps he has already started trying to find someone?

I was just wondering if the passive effect of World Tree's protection would work on this side effect... Ah, it worked.

Looking at the World Tree runestone within his body and on the system panel, which had fallen into a brief period of silence, Roland had to admit that he was now somewhat helpless.

Unexpectedly, the first time his life-saving sword came in handy was because of the backlash from his own buff.

Fortunately, according to Roland's observation, the World Tree Runestone will be able to function normally again in about a day.

Moreover, even if you can't use active skills, you can still mobilize some of the World Tree's power to achieve some weakened purification effects. Although you can't silence potential opponents, you still have spell counters and spell interference.

Compared to another piece of bad news, this is good news.

Another piece of bad news was that Roland felt as if his magic power had been drained. Although he was constantly drawing magic power from the high concentration of magic power in the surrounding environment, his body was like a bottomless pit. Whenever he stored up a little bit, his mana bar would start to recover, and the magic power in his body would be instantly absorbed by the magic circuit and the small source. With the help of the Hope Candle Runestone, he began to repair his body.

Clearly, he was able to use the liquefied holy sword Durandal's Dawn of Destruction to instantly kill a renowned and powerful bishop with a single charged strike, but the price he paid seemed rather high.

However, Roland felt that what caused all of this was probably the forced use of the Boundary-Breaking Spear in the spatial turbulence in order to escape.

Having mastered the art of countering such underworld skills with spells, he could feel the melting of the small source of magic power within his body.

If it weren't for the advanced alchemical technology provided by Russell within him, which essentially created a complete magic circuit that could be used independently in crucial moments, he would probably still be dizzy right now.

Furthermore, the high-magic environment around him also contributed to his accelerated recovery.

But where exactly is this place?
Further north?
We'll have to ask Celinina.

But compared to this...

Only then did Roland remember to check the system's reward distribution notification.

Although he was woken up by this noise, after waking up, he first checked his surroundings and then checked the status of others and himself, and for a moment he forgot about the reward.

Divine fragments—Roland was no stranger to these things; they could be considered the beginning of his acquaintance with Kalia.

Since it can enhance the essence of life, it should also speed up physical recovery, right?

As for the other one...

Roland thought that the questline for Kalia in the system had ended.

Especially after he realized that Brother Tongzi might have become stupid due to an elbow strike between him and the reincarnation of the Human King, he couldn't help but wonder if this seemingly prescient big shot wanted him to prevent those crises that hadn't yet occurred.

But I should have basically avoided the possibility of Kalia turning to the dark side by now, right?
Why is it still spewing out the materials this guy dropped?
I already got something called the Tears of the World-Destroying Witch before, but this one is even more awesome, so I've started playing the fragment collection mechanism.

However, this is not a good sign...

Moreover, I wonder if I've overlooked something.

Roland lowered his head, looking at the heart fragment in his hand, which resembled pure black crystal, trying to recall something...

I have a feeling that the Demon King or Elena didn't tell me the really crucial information.

What could be more important to keep secret than the identity of the King of Men?

Just as Roland was pondering this, Cellina had already knelt down beside him: "Roland! You're awake! How are you feeling? Are you hungry?"

Roland, who was struggling even to turn over, shook his head with difficulty: "No need... Where is this?"

Cellina said with a complicated expression, "This... is my home, my family's castle. This is the only building that has been preserved intact."

"...So, we're now on demon territory?" Roland asked, forcing a smile to reassure Cherlinina.

It's just on the territory of the demons. The demons' territory is vast. Most of the vast northern border is their domain because the extreme cold environment there is so harsh that ordinary people simply cannot survive. It is not suitable for human life.

Cellina fell silent upon hearing this. She also wanted to be a little optimistic, but she felt it was better to let Roland know the truth.

“Roland… the Cangya family was once the Demon King’s personal guard. In other words… this place is very close to the Demon Clan’s Covenant Temple.”

"Just think of our current location as the capital of the empire."

Roland: "..."

(End of this chapter)