It felt so good to be close to the witch!

Lacking the earth-shattering power of "Tearing Wind - Sword of Judgment," Roy's strike was like a casual vertical slash made by a novice swordsman.

Yet this casual strike left a black scar in the air that was difficult to heal for a long time.

The blade flashed across Rielko's body, leaving behind a barely audible hiss.

"Chong-"

The spark blade is sheathed.

A thin black line appeared on Rielko's body, starting from his brow and running downwards, dividing his body evenly in two.

Rielko stared blankly ahead.

He could feel his burning soul fire shattering under the blade that tore through space.

"The power of a demigod?"

With his last ounce of strength, Rielko uttered those words in a hoarse voice.

His gaze was fixed on the gray-striped masked knight, as if he wanted to see the true face beneath the mask before he died.

But this is something he is destined to be unable to do.

The flame of the soul has been extinguished, and the dissipation of life is irreversible.

Roy remained expressionless as he watched Rielko gradually turn to ashes and vanish before him.

Within his body, a blood-blue essence of blood soul, whose radiance far surpassed that of the five seats of the Divine Punishment, slowly took shape. At the same time, the space within his body also took away all of Rielko's remaining battle qi.

After the battle ended, Roy immediately deactivated his "Destruction State".

Without the blessing of the "Destruction State", Roy felt that his body was so "weak". He turned his head to look at Latiyi, who walked out of the spatial ripples and was wearing a palace-style cheongsam. He wanted to say something, but the next moment, his eyes went black, he lost consciousness, and his body fell straight forward.

With her long, full legs, Lati took a step forward and reached out to hold Roy's body. Looking at Roy, whose brows were furrowed and who seemed to be enduring some kind of intense pain, a hint of heartache flashed deep in her eyes.

"Ugh……"

Latie let out a barely perceptible sigh. She didn't know what had enabled Roy, who was only a Legendary Two-Star, to kill the Fifth and Sixth Seats of the Divine Punishment at the peak of the Legendary Realm, and even the Fourth Seat of the Divine Punishment at the limit of the Legendary Realm, Rielko. But she knew that he must have paid some huge price that she was unaware of.

Gazing at Roy's face, Latie's eyes were momentarily dazed. When she came to her senses, she picked Roy up, and a dazzling silver light emanated from her body.

In the light, the two figures disappeared, leaving only a few ripples in the air that gradually dissipated.

……

The province of Greli is located in the western part of the Radiant Empire, thousands of kilometers away from the capital city of Saint Fuye, which is located in the heart of the empire. The two provinces are parallel to each other, each occupying a key location in the east and west.

The province of Greco itself is not particularly outstanding, nor does it have any especially valuable products. The reason it can be listed alongside the royal capital, Saint Fuye, is because within the province of Greco lies a colossal mountain thousands of meters high, known as the Holy Mountain.

This is the heart of the temple, the Cathedral of the Privy in the royal capital of San Fuye. Although it contains many forbidden items, the truly core and forbidden things are located in the Holy Mountain.

At the summit of the sacred mountain stands a magnificent and ancient architectural complex, and at its deepest part is a grand hall bearing the marks of time.

Beneath the hundred-meter-tall statue, whose face is no longer discernible, sits an old man kneeling on the ground.

He wore a crown and an extremely ornate white robe with gold patterns. A scepter with a fist-sized gold gemstone at its tip floated silently behind him.

The old man had a peaceful face, and his weathered eyes seemed to hold a deep affection for the world.

He silently gazed at the twelve oil lamps on the high platform beneath the statue, their metal bases fueled by magic oil.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze seemed to blow through the hall, causing the lamps to flicker. When the breeze subsided, counting from left to right, the flames on the fourth, fifth, and sixth oil lamps went out simultaneously, leaving only a wisp of smoke rising faintly.

The old man's prayer abruptly stopped, and after a long while, a gentle voice slowly emerged from his lips:

“Bradley…”

“Knorrs…”

“Rilke…”

"May you find peace in God's kingdom."

"Thump! Thump!"

The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the main hall, reflecting the anxious heart of its owner. He arrived at the entrance of the main hall, took a deep breath, and called out loudly:

"Your Holiness, Rilko and the others..."

“I understand.” The old man who had been kneeling on the ground slowly stood up. The golden scepter that had been floating behind him flew automatically into his right hand. When the old man turned around to face the knight, he was no longer the kind-faced old man, but the supreme pope of the Divine Gaia Empire.

"Lawrence, convey my decree."

"Yes!" The knight at the entrance of the main hall knelt on one knee and bowed his head deeply.

"Order the archbishops of the cathedrals and temples of all provinces to recall all serving witches within three days, and within the following week, escort all serving witches, along with the new witches captured this winter, to the Privy Cathedral in the royal capital, St. Fuye!"

"This is a top order; it must be carried out!"

At the end, the Pope paused, "Except for the province of Rafa for now, and at the same time, use our undercover agents to investigate the murderer of Rielko and the other two."

“…Understood!” The knight, who had bowed his head, responded in a deep voice, then rose and quickly left to carry out the order.

Standing alone in the empty hall, the Pope turned his face toward the southern province of Rafa, his eyes flickering with uncertainty: "Border Duke, Breton Soros..."

"I'll let you linger on for a little longer..."

"A great and prosperous era will eventually come!"

……

In the boundless, deep darkness, it rises and falls.

After an unknown amount of time, a warm current suddenly appeared and enveloped Roy completely.

A pale blue light tore a hole in the dark sky, gradually awakening Roy's confused mind.

He gazed at the only ray of light in the darkness and struggled desperately to get there.

The moment his hand touched the light, all the darkness vanished completely before his eyes...

"Sister Shanika, Brother Roy has been unconscious for two days now. When will he wake up?" The girl's voice was sweet and charming, but it couldn't hide her worry.

"...Lord Roy's physical functions have fully recovered, and he should be able to wake up today, or at the latest tomorrow." The gentle voice comforted the owner of the previous voice, and seemed to be convincing itself as well.

After a brief conversation, there was a moment of silent conversation.

Inside the room, Shanika looked at Roy lying on the bed, her eyes filled with worry and heartache.

Two days ago, when Roy, who had gone to intercept the Temple Knights, was brought back by Lady Latie, he was seriously injured, unconscious with his eyes closed, and his physical strength, spirit, fighting spirit, and soul power were all severely depleted.

The horrific sight startled the witches, and Shanika immediately began treating Roy.

The talent of "life healing" is indeed powerful. After Shanica took action, Roy's body recovered to health in less than half an hour.

He remains unconscious and has not yet woken up.

Shanica could only guess that Roy's soul was somewhat damaged and needed time to recover.

The soul is profound and mysterious. Although "life healing" has the ability to heal the wounds of the soul, it cannot solve all problems related to the soul.

Therefore, all the witches can do right now is to wait quietly.

And this wait lasted for two days.

Elena, the little fox spirit, sat down by the bedside and looked at Roy, who was unconscious. She bit her lip, and her two big, fluffy tails drooped limply on the edge of the bed.

Her illusionary abilities can hypnotize and control the consciousness of living beings, but they are completely ineffective against Roy's unconscious state.

Perhaps once she advances to become a Great Witch and is able to forcibly invade the souls of other beings, she can help Roy awaken from another perspective, but for now, she is powerless to do so.

"Roy, you need to wake up soon."

"While you were asleep, everyone was gloomy, and so was I..."

The girl lowered her head, her voice so soft that only she could hear it.

Her gaze gradually drifted away.

Before meeting Roy, she and her sister Ais lived a nomadic life, sometimes hungry and sometimes full. To avoid being tracked down by the Divine Punishment Knights, they rarely came into contact with ordinary people during their escape, and most of their food came from the mountains and forests.

Before meeting her sister Ais, she lived a much more miserable life on her own.

Although her newly awakened illusionary abilities are very effective against ordinary people, her magic power is very limited, and she can't hypnotize more than a few people at once. Once five or more people discover her at the same time, her whereabouts will inevitably be exposed, followed by escape, escape, and more escape...

That dark period remains etched in her memory to this day.

It wasn't until she met Roy, or more precisely, until Roy was willing to repay evil with kindness and accept her and her sister Ais, that her wandering life finally found a stable and warm harbor.

At first, Elena appeared quirky and mischievous, but she harbored deep suspicion towards Roy.

Having experienced all the darkness of the world, would she, judging others by her own standards, choose to help those who harmed her after being harmed herself?

She thought she wouldn't.

But what happened later gradually melted her frozen heart.

It turns out, there really is such a human nobleman in the world who genuinely cares for witches...

he……

Like a ray of light in endless darkness, it illuminated her world.

After awakening as a witch, Elena remained confused.

After she awakened, her parents proactively reported to the temple that she was a witch, just to avoid being implicated.

What they didn't know was that Elena had awakened illusionary abilities, and even without actively using them, they could discern certain things from her mental fluctuations.

So she chose to leave alone.

She knew that, having become a witch, she was an anomaly, a "demon's daughter" who, in people's eyes, only brought calamity.

From the day she left home, she completely severed ties with her former family.

She was all alone.

During his time in Blackrock Territory, he met not only Roy, but also many other women he met later.

Everyone is doing well. Although there is some minor competition among us, there is more care and concern for each other.

Especially towards her and Vivian, the two youngest witches, the other witches would do their best to take care of them...

Roy is like a pillar with its canopy spread out, sheltering people from wind, rain, and scorching sun, while below him live the witches enjoying their happy lives.

Before she knew it, this place had become Elena's home.

She would not allow anyone to destroy her hard-won new home.