Witch Redemption

The chaotic memories faded once more, replaced by the image of the silver-haired witch who always had a smile on her face. Her figure was like a ray of dawn in the darkness, dispelling all the chill and easing the pain in her heart.

She didn't understand what kind of magic this witch possessed, or why she felt a strange sense of security whenever she was near her, as if she were being protected behind her, even though this witch was so weak, and her existence should have been that of an enemy to this witch.

"It shouldn't be like this...it shouldn't be like this..."

Her slender right hand, raised high, covered her already blurred vision, plunging everything into darkness.

"Why did you save me? You clearly..."

Even though she had long since lost all attachments and decided to face the end of her life alone when Fenrir died, Mira had never hated her current happiness so much, nor had she ever longed for such ordinary and quiet days to continue forever. Yet, she knew her own identity better than anyone else.

She was just a puppet, a puppet who shouldn't have betrayed the great creator.

"crunch-"

The door opened abruptly, and a familiar figure appeared with a surprised expression. "Mira, are you... alright?"

"..."

That voice, filled with concern and warmth, soothed all the pain in his heart, causing the flustered man, who was gesturing wildly, to avert his gaze and avoid looking directly into the witch's eyes.

"No...no..."

Her voice had returned to its usual coldness, and Mira pretended not to know anything, "Why are you here?"

"That guy sent me up to check on you."

When Li Lan mentioned that guy, Mira quietly wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes and muttered, "Meddling in other people's business, he doesn't seem like a creator at all."

"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

When Li Lan asked the question, he casually took out his own natal magic book, and without saying a word, he first blessed her with a status effect, and then began to use "first aid" to check her physical condition.

Unfortunately, since half a year ago, Li Lan has tried almost everything she could to find a way to save this little one, but it was all in vain. Even if she spent a lot of money to buy a high-level monster's magic core, it could only be used as high-intensity fuel at most, and it could not affect her lifespan.

It could be said that Mira's death was inevitable; her body was in a state of constant decline.

Li Lan never dared to say this outright, nor did he dare to let anyone know it. However, he would not give up. He went so far as to use his connection with Archbishop Christian to obtain many medical books from the Viana Theocracy in hopes of finding a solution.

"I'm fine," Mira, having regained control of her emotions, jumped off the bed and silently approached Li Lan, looking her in the eye for the first time. "Roman, do you know who I am?"

Li Lan remained silent for a long time. Before this, he had been thinking about when this little guy would reveal his identity.

But today, her unusual condition made Li Lan instinctively want to avoid the question.

“Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti,” Mira’s face had returned to its usual coldness, as if she had once again become an emotionless puppet, “the enemy of witches, and also your enemy. On March 15th of last year, during the Crimson Night Flood, I killed two witches. At that time, the two witches were numbered 93 and 94. The reason I know about witches is because I was one of the initiators of the witch summoning, a collaborator of the Empire.”

Li Lan averted his gaze as if trying to escape, struggling to control his emotions. Even though he knew from the beginning that there was a similar possibility, he still felt a strange pain when he actually faced it.

His intuition told him that Mira couldn't possibly be that kind of person, but if everything Mira said was true...

"Roman, you shouldn't have saved me, you should have hated me, that's how it was from the beginning."

Trying hard to hide the pain deep in their eyes, Mira avoided looking at each other, neither daring to meet the other's gaze.

"So... I'm sorry, Roman. I know this apology may be too late for you, but perhaps I can make it up to you. Take me to the border between the Dark Swamp and the Forest of the Giants of Orma. Your grimoire can guide you into that sealed temple. My corpse will open the path back to your homeland for you, and you won't have to suffer for it."

At this moment, Mira seemed to be throwing everything away, and this was the only way she could make amends for the rest of her life.

"Something's not right, something's not right. Why is Mira acting like this today? Something must have happened! Otherwise, she wouldn't be like this!"

After a brief period of sadness, confusion, intense confusion, followed.

Li Lan was never one to act impulsively, nor would he readily accept any explanation. At that moment, he sensed that this little guy must have some unspeakable secret! At the very least, the murderer of the two seniors might not be this guy, but someone else, or perhaps, there was someone behind her manipulating everything.

The more I thought about it, the more something seemed off. How could such a powerful being as an apostle have fallen to such a state? There must be something fishy about it.

"Mira, do you believe me?"

As Li Lan gradually calmed down, he finally looked at the little guy in front of him. He craved revenge, but he longed even more for the truth of this world!

Even if the witch's enemy is the empire, or the whole world, what does it matter?

Even if an extraterrestrial evil god were to descend, he would have the courage to fight it head-on, even if it meant dying in a very rhythmic way.

What is there in life to despair about? What kind of behavior is this, crying and sobbing?

"If you believe me, then tell me everything. Even if you lose all your power, even if everyone betrays you, I will stand behind you and help you bear it all! Don't run away, don't lie, tell me everything!"

Even if he transmigrates into the body of a woman, even if he is now a lowly being in this world, it doesn't change the fact that Li Lan is a man. And a man can never back down; he must bear all of this.

This is his awareness, his trust.

Chapter 75 The Disturbing Situation

For Li Lan, nothing is more important than intelligence; only by knowing the truth can she find ways to deal with the situation.

Now that Mira has dared to reveal her identity, and he has experienced a brief moment of shock and confusion, he should calm down after the emotional turmoil and take the initiative to comfort her.

This is Li Lan, the composure and responsibility that a reliable adult male should possess.

Hatred is important, but not so important as to make him lose his mind; otherwise, he wouldn't have fled the empire in such a sorry state.

Seeing that Mira's mood had changed, Li Lan immediately pressed her advantage, "Mira, do you want to know why I was able to escape the Empire? I've already accomplished something this difficult, so what can't I do? If you dare to tell me, I dare to create a miracle for you, do you believe me?"

Finally, Mira's expression changed.

Indeed, it was an extremely strange feeling. At that time, she had already decided to die with the Abyss monster Fenrir, but she did not expect to be saved by the witch beside her, and even survive to this day.

If this isn't a miracle, then what is it?

"I......"

Tens of thousands of years of loneliness, pain and despair seemed to vanish in this moment. The witch stood before her like a great tree sheltering her from the wind and rain, even though the witch was so weak.

"Romon, your strength is still..."

"You should know that the grimoire is level 19, right? A witch's grimoire has a level system. The higher the level, the stronger the witch. Level 19 corresponds to the platinum level for an ordinary adventurer at most. But, Mira, only the witch herself can truly understand a witch. My abilities are beyond your imagination."

Li Lan was very confident. He now had a large group of underlings, and all of them had considerable faith points. This was his trump card. In addition to this trump card, he also had two other powerful weapons at his disposal: the "Book of Fate's Judgment" and the "Book of Dark Fusion." Even if he couldn't win in a head-on confrontation, escaping shouldn't be a problem.

"Just tell me, and I'll consider what to do after you've finished."

Since Li Lan dared to make such a confident promise, Mira, the little girl, gritted her teeth and was eventually moved by his sincerity. "Roman, this world is not as simple as you think. I cannot reveal the name of the person behind this. If I do, the consequences will be dire."

It all started from the time when the gods were born...

"This world was created by a great creator? The starry sky, the sun, and the moon are all fake?" The astonishing truth left Li Lan completely dumbfounded. This completely fell into his misconceptions. "The legends of this world mention that the ancient gods fought against the evil gods from beyond the realm, and finally sealed this world at the cost of their lives. Is that also fake?"

"The seal is real, but the fight against the extraterrestrial evil god is fake. The seal is to prevent this world from collapsing again. Originally, this world was on the verge of destruction because of the Creator's departure, since this world has always existed on the Creator's body."

The shocking truth, unknown to the world, is shaking Li Lan's worldview.

"From the moment I was born, this world has been falling apart. All the great creators have lost interest in this world and intend to make it disappear into the dark void. There are many great creators, and they may even be divided into multiple factions. For example, Shub Nicholas, whom you know, belongs to the low-key faction. She only has one representative in the present world, and that is the goddess of the underworld."

The Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti, had a significant connection with the Goddess of Space and the Goddess of the Underworld. Otherwise, she wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles to this place last year in the final moments of her life, intending to change the seal on the ruins of the Goddess of the Underworld's temple before her demise. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold on until then.

"For example, there's Yog-Sothoth, the creator of the goddess of space, Chronos, and one of the creators who informed the gods of the 'Prophecy Day'..."

In a simple conversation, the Creator's three camps were already vaguely divided: one was the benevolent observer, another was the emotionless, detached observer, and the last not only represented chaotic evil, but even his own avatars intervened, and he even orchestrated a whole battle of gods.

"The Ross royal family? The mastermind behind the gods' bloodshed?"

Even if Mira didn't dare to say it outright, Li Lan could guess that the mastermind behind this evil organization must be a creator, a true god from beyond the realm.

"Wait, where have I ever heard this word before!"

His memory flashed back to a distant past, and Li Lan suddenly remembered that he had investigated the "Ross Royal Family" and the "Hassan's Blade" because of the sword technique "Ross Royal Family Three-Strike Sword" that the slime had mastered. Unfortunately, he found nothing in the end. The only thing he could guess was that the pillar god Lerakin was definitely related to the Ross Royal Family.

Remembering how they almost died at the hands of this pillar god, this time it was truly a case of "new grudges plus old ones," with no way to clear their names.

"The Ross royal family's origins predate the historical records of other nations, even going back to the Age of Gods. It is divided into a surface organization and a hidden organization. The hidden organization disappeared after the end of the Age of Gods, while the surface organization officially appeared, but continued to remain hidden behind the scenes after the failure to resist the British Empire. The reason why the witch summoning later became corrupted is actually related to the Ross royal family. It was they who interfered with the witch summoning and revealed the witch's physical nature, which led to the large-scale killing of witches later on."

Mira begins by recounting the end of the Age of Gods and then moves on to the origins of witch summoning, discussing its initial purpose and subsequent corruption.

"The witch summoning ritual was a special god-making ceremony from the very beginning. I don't know the specific principles and reasons. All I know from Chronos is that she sacrificed all her believers to gain a chance to travel through time and space. She used this opportunity to live in another world for three years, and after returning, she created the special witch summoning ritual based on her experiences during those three years."

"No one knows the upper limit of a witch's power, but one thing is certain: as a witch's strength grows, her injuries will cause her sanity to falter, leading to a 'demigod' or 'godlike' state. In this godlike state, she will gain the unique form of a creator and even greater power."

Another series of special intelligence was recorded in Li Lan's mind. Before this, he always thought that the higher the level of the witch, the better. But now he suddenly realized that even if the witch's level was raised, it might be an unsolvable trap.

"The semi-divine state is reversible, but if a witch becomes fully divine, she will become a mindless monster, perhaps even surpassing the power of the abyssal demons. On one hand, many powerful nations want to seize the witch's power; on the other hand, they want to prevent the destruction caused by the witch's divine transformation. Therefore, they have consistently suppressed witches during their formative years."

Countless secrets were revealed without reservation, even the sacrificial materials required for summoning the witch were explained.

The birth of a witch is, to some extent, a product of the will of intelligent beings. All the sacrifices involved in the "witch summoning" must be prepared to sacrifice themselves. Only in this way can their souls be exchanged with the summoner from another world, allowing the witch to be reborn by using the corpses of monsters and the remains of some ancient gods.

The more Li Lan thought about it, the heavier she felt. "So that's how it is. The apostles only know the secret of the witch's summoning, but have never controlled the witch's summoning? To put it bluntly, all of this is decided solely by the will of humanity. The existence of the apostles is merely that of the representatives of those ancient creators, continuously supplying energy to this world according to the eternal oath."

Indeed, this world fell into a state of energy depletion as early as ten thousand years ago. Nowadays, minerals in all aspects are scarce, and most of the materials are obtained from the corpses of monsters.

Li Lan had once wondered why the demons seemed endless, replenished by each Crimson Night Torrent. He never imagined this was the very means by which the creators supplied energy to this world. Even though the demons left behind resentment after being killed, that resentment was never useless; it was another form of energy, absorbed by the many temples of this world during the nights of the Crimson Night Torrent, sustaining the protective barrier.

Is this the truth? Only now are they telling Li Lan that the destruction in the "Prophecy Day" will come again soon, and that the world's major powers all know the truth and that their actions are all for self-preservation. How can he accept this?

Li Lan remained silent for a long time in the face of these facts, and in the end did not express her opinion. Instead, she said calmly, "I know the general facts, but Mira, why have you fallen to this state?"

Mira pondered this for a moment, but made no attempt to hide anything.

Firstly, as the Sixth Apostle, she disregarded the eternal oath and actively intervened in the political power of intelligent beings, repeatedly attempting to interfere with the witch's summoning. This sparked conflict between her and the other five apostles. It wasn't just the five apostles who wanted to take this opportunity to eliminate her; the true mastermind behind it all was the Ross royal family.

In other words, what truly governs her life is a terrifying being at the level of a true god.

Secondly, she is the only apostle who can enter the Temple of the Goddess of the Underworld. Her body is the key to breaking the seal of the temple. If one can obtain her body, it may be possible to locate the Temple of the Goddess of the Underworld, which has been missing for tens of thousands of years, and find the treasures left behind by the Goddess of the Underworld.

Legend has it that the treasure left behind by the goddess of the underworld is a portal to another world formed after the sacrifice of the goddess of space, Chronos. This portal defies the limitations of space and time, leading to another safe paradise. The corpse of the Sixth Apostle is the key to entering this portal; whoever obtains it will gain hope before the "Prophecy Day" arrives.

Thirdly, after gaining the power to dominate the world, intelligent beings also have terrible ambitions. They have gradually plundered the power of the ancient gods who are long dead, and now they intend to create beings with power comparable to apostles, and even surpass those great creators in the future and replace them.

Now, the corpses of the apostles have become key research materials. Not only the apostles, but also the avatars of the great creator are now part of the hunting plans of some intelligent beings!

...... ...... ......

Before they knew it, it was already broad daylight. Mira had spent the entire night pouring out her heart before finally revealing everything to Li Lan.

The future of this world is only destruction. Even beings as powerful as the Apostles are nothing more than pawns in the hands of the Creator, destined to perish along with this world. And that day is fast approaching.

"That's insane!"

After a night of intense study, Li Lan was utterly shocked. The Ross royal family, an organization controlled by an extraterrestrial evil god, had only played a small role in this. Subsequently, those intelligent beings at the pinnacle of power displayed extraordinary abilities, replacing the ancient gods and distorting the original purpose of the witch's summoning. Now, they were even scheming against the apostles and the extraterrestrial evil god. Were these intelligent beings truly the humans he had imagined? The orcs he had imagined? The elves he had imagined?

"Do those creators really just let things go like this?"

"do not know."

This was Mira's final answer. She was simply instinctively terrified and helpless. She had carried the hopes of her two ancient friends, yet she watched helplessly as those hopes gradually crumbled, leaving her with nothing.

"Roman, take me to that temple! We still have a chance! Go now, we still have a chance!"