Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Celia's face turned red.

She remained lying on the ground, her body still wrapped in blue-gold chains of light. The lingering effects of the holy light slowly coursed through her body, causing a tingling, itchy sensation, and an indescribable, tingling softness.

Damn, why does this feel so weird?

It was both painful and pleasurable.

An absurd thought even popped into her head.

Or should we ask him to do it again?

Wayne looked down at her, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

He had seen that expression before, and knew it very well.

Hena looked like this before.

He was speechless.

Are all demons in the abyss like this?

Without thinking further, he raised his hand and withdrew the holy light.

The holy light dispersed, turning into specks of light and disappearing into the air. Celia collapsed to the ground, catching her breath, and slowly pushed herself up to sit up. She rubbed her wrists, which were marked with red welts from the straps, her eyes somewhat dazed as she stared blankly at Wayne.

"...Why...why did you stop?"

Wayne's lips twitched slightly.

"What? You want to be tied up again?"

Celia opened her mouth, wanting to say "It's not impossible," but she swallowed the words back; she still retained a shred of demonic dignity.

She turned her head away and snorted.

"If you don't want to continue, then don't continue. Do you think I care?"

Wayne didn't respond to that.

He stood there looking at Celia for a while, carefully considering his words before speaking: "Um... what is Hena to you?"

"Who is Hena to you?"

Celia was stunned for a moment before she reacted.

"You mean the Abyss Nightmare Demon, Hena?"

Wayne nodded.

"She's my best friend!" Celia's tone changed abruptly, her memories drifting back to the past. "Oh, and Lilith too! The three of us used to hang out together a lot when we were in the Abyss..."

She stopped abruptly, looked Wayne up and down with a probing gaze, and asked, "Hmm? How do you know Hena?"

"She's my friend, and I've helped her out before."

Celia was very surprised.

Of course she knows Hena.

That guy was a real oddball in the abyss; he was a loner and didn't like interacting with other demons. You could count the number of friends he actually had on one hand. With a personality like that, how could he even have friends?

She subconsciously pursed her lips.

The fact that even a recluse like Hena could have friends stirred up a strange, inexplicable jealousy in her heart.

However, she didn't let those emotions show.

"Since she's Hena's friend, she's my friend too." Celia dusted herself off, stood up, and spoke in a much more natural tone than before. "So, what do you want?"

Wayne didn't beat around the bush.

"What's the story behind this city? How long have you been here?"

Upon hearing Wayne's question, Celia, unusually, abandoned her lazy demeanor, sat cross-legged back on the soft couch, and patted the spot next to her.

"Fine, don't sit then." Celia didn't seem to care and continued, "Do you know what's buried beneath this city?"

"Gods."

"Yes, but that's not all." Celia's tone turned somber. "This is a divine tomb. The dead god sleeps here, his physical body becoming the ley lines beneath the city, and his divinity becoming the rules that permeate the entire city. Because He didn't want to believe He was dead, He let this city live on in His place."

Celia paused.

"Everyone in the city, the sleepers, the semi-sleepers, including your and my current identities, are all part of this dream."

After listening, Wayne took a few seconds to process what he heard.

"And you? How long have you been here?"

Celia shook her head: "I can't say for sure. I've been here for quite a while longer than you, but not for very long either. I followed the aura of the gods here; after all, who wouldn't want the legacy of a god?"

"You're also a trial participant?"

"Yes." Celia nodded, "but it's not quite what you expected. My trial involves hunting Awakened Ones."

Wayne immediately became alert.

Celia noticed his reaction and waved her hand: "Don't worry, I won't do that. I did kill some awakened ones when I first came in, but then I realized something was wrong."

"What's wrong?"

"This trial is not a gift from the gods at all." Celia's tone turned cold. "Hunting awakened ones and feeding their souls as sacrifices to the dreams of this city. It's less a trial and more fodder to prolong the lives of the gods. I may be a demon, but I'm not so low as to be an executioner for a Grim Reaper."

She chuckled softly as she spoke.

"So I chose to sleep. To bury myself in dreams, to be a noble lady who knows nothing, at least my hands won't get dirty."

However, at that moment...

Selene's eyes began to glaze over.

She braced herself against the armrest of the soft couch and shook her head vigorously, trying to shake off the drowsiness.

"Damn it... looks like I'll have to go into a deep sleep."

She looked up at Wayne.

"Remember, don't trust anyone in this city who claims to be a messenger of the gods, especially those people in the city center. This trial is a scam from beginning to end; whoever believes it will die."

She wanted to say something more, but then her body swayed and she fell sideways onto the soft couch.

Wayne took Celia's words to heart. He stood there looking at her for a moment, then turned and left.

Next, he had another appointment to attend.

The address was an invitation from the old church in the west of the city.

It wasn't a short walk from the city lord's mansion to the west of the city. Wayne walked along the main street for about fifteen minutes, asking for directions twice before finally finding the church behind a row of crooked old houses.

It's called a church, but it's actually mostly collapsed.

The roof had a large hole, a section of the steps at the entrance was broken, and withered vines climbed all over the pillars on both sides.

The church was even more desolate inside than it appeared from the outside; pews were overturned, and the floor was covered with a thick layer of dust.

Unexpectedly, the person inside was Ophina.

Wayne paused for a moment.

"Is it you?"

Ofina turned to look at Wayne.

"Yes, it's me."

The panel appeared as expected.

[Ofina Victoria - Current Status]

[Current dominant personality: Subpersonality. She saw you from afar in the dungeon yesterday. Although you've shrunk, she still recognized you.]

[Note: She shows no remorse for betraying the Witch Cult; in fact, she finds pleasure in it. The arrest and imprisonment of dozens of witches is nothing more than an amusing game to her.]

[Note 2: She enjoys the feeling of being in control of others. Watching others move step by step towards a predetermined outcome under her arrangement is her most pleasurable moment. Now, she wants to try and control you.]

[Note: Be careful. Her interest in you is based on your status as "God's chosen one," not on goodwill.]

Wayne's tone was flat.

"Why did you call me here?"

Ophina didn't beat around the bush.

"I would like to invite you to join the Divine Servant Team."