Witch Redemption

Banguson is a contradictory descendant of the gods; his kindness is considered heresy in this corrupt kingdom.

But there was no way around it; everyone was too deeply involved. Everyone would instinctively praise the goddess and ultimately give their all for her.

"Bangussen, I've forgotten a lot of things lately. I've forgotten when we first met."

“I’ve forgotten too. It was probably more than 12,000 years ago, when you had just become the Moon Knight.”

Unlike her, the man she relied on always had such a good memory, like the only guiding light in this dark world of the dead.

"Bongussen, perhaps one day I will forget you along with everything else."

"It's alright, I just remember you. I will always remember you, and I will tell you whenever you want to know."

Unlike her, the man she relied on always had such a firm will, always loved her so deeply, and always waited for her ahead, until the end of this dark world of the dead.

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

The undead have no tears, nor do they feel pain. The distraught Sandra stood quietly in the sanctuary, the fleeting fragments of memory only leaving her feeling lost and forlorn.

"What just occurred to me?"

I can't recall it; my blank mind seems to be missing something.

"Yes, Bangusen said he wanted to liberate his former subordinates and comrades, so he needed a special ritual and the help of those witches to end our era."

"Although there are still a dozen or so left, it doesn't matter anymore, does it? Bangusen has already left and can't witness the end."

"What did he say to me when he left? Oh, right, he said that if he can't come back today, he wants me to personally see these guests off."

She muttered to herself several times, like a walking corpse, burying her completely decaying skeletal form under her black robe, and then this woman who had lost countless memories suddenly took a step.

A few minutes later...

"Miss Sandra?"

Li Lan was a little surprised. This woman, who was usually quiet and reserved, rarely showed up at her door at around four in the morning. It seemed rather scary.

"Ladies witches, please pack your things and come with me immediately."

Li Lan frowned. He was always a very responsible and kind person. "Hmm? Did something go wrong? The ceremony..."

“The ceremony is over, you have completed your mission, and it is time for me to fulfill my promise to Bangusen.”

Her voice was cold and devoid of any emotion; she seemed to have always been this way since Li Lan met this powerful woman.

"I see. Then Mr. Bangusen, he..."

“He has gone to a faraway place and will not be able to return for the time being. Once I send you back to the surface world, I will go with you.” Seemingly unwilling to continue on this topic, Sandra simply nodded blankly and then quickly left the room. “Please do so as soon as possible.”

Driven by an instinctive unease, Li Lan quickly gathered all the witches around her and made final preparations.

“Something’s not right.” Even though Li Lan didn’t know what had happened, the gloom that had been hanging over her heart ever since she received the talisman promised by Bangusen today had been lingering.

This day was December 20, 10005 in the Gregorian calendar. A year after Li Lan arrived in the Luen tribe, he once again fled from the depths of the underground temple. This time, he was accompanied by three witches and a traitor from the "Restored Divine Court".

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

Unlike when Li Lan first arrived at the depths of this underground temple, the world of the dead is now completely silent, with no trace of skeletons to be seen anywhere.

These countless lost souls seem to have all been redeemed and vanished into the dust of history.

Thus far, Sandra, who was leading the way, simply crossed one intersection after another and climbed one staircase after another, heading directly to the end of this world of the dead.

After careful calculation, they realized that they were currently in an independent space about 10,000 meters underground. It would take a long time to cross this huge independent space, so it took them two hours to walk.

"arrive."

In the dimly lit space, winding through countless turns, it felt like walking through a long underground tunnel.

Finally, Sandra stopped in front of an enormous stone door. The door was dark gray with numerous blood-red patterns on it. These patterns were likely arcane script unique to the ancient Lanno divine kingdom, emanating a strange magical aura.

Sandra simply raised the hand, which was covered in black, mottled bones, and pressed it on the stone door. As the door opened, an endless spiral staircase began to appear behind her, leading straight to the top.

Without a word, amidst a strange sense of familiarity, she slowly stepped onto the stairs, one step at a time.

"Bangussen..." The murmured call awakened fragmented memories, and scenes from the past reappeared.

Lost for tens of thousands of years, all that remains is that tall, blurry figure moving forward, and she simply follows closely behind, instinctively walking on, as if chasing light in the darkness.

They walked in silence, a strange stillness filling every corner of the space, making their footsteps clearer than ever before.

Suddenly, a dazzling light appeared in the sky. Li Lan squinted slightly and saw that from this point onward, a large number of pure white moonstones were embedded in the walls, eternal and indestructible, illuminating the space as bright as day.

“This is…” Celine Bellman stared wide-eyed in surprise, not expecting that the “World of the Forsaken” would have a staircase leading directly to the outside world. “Hurry up, we’ll be at an exit soon. There’s a terrible gatekeeper there. I’ll hold him off for a bit, and then you can escape. We’ll meet at the exit of Lanogulin.”

“Divine messenger, Yonnieres…” Sandra’s cold voice rang out once more, awakening even more distant memories. “My Lord is about to rise again, and He is not there.”

After saying that, Sandra suddenly stopped and turned to the side. "You can go now, don't look back."

Li Lan's ominous premonition intensified. Just as he was about to speak, the black-haired Yu Hui beside him set up a soundproof barrier. "Servant, you are from two different worlds. Don't try to extend your mercy to a dead person. Do as she says, and you should indeed leave as soon as possible."

As an ancient creator, and especially a true god with profound knowledge of the "soul," Black-haired Feather Radiance rarely expressed her views on this underground space, but that did not mean she had never seen through the true nature of all the undead here.

In fact, Black-haired Yu Hui had some understanding of what the divine messenger Bangusen had initially entrusted to these witches; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so confident in instigating them to stay, and even dared to say that the powerful figure's words were credible.

Because Black-haired Feathered Radiance knew from the beginning that all the undead remaining in this place were only fragments of their souls, and even the divine messenger Bangusen was about to perish.

"This god-level powerhouse is probably the last vessel of the Moonlight Ancient God, an excellent tool to hold many soul fragments. The reason he asked these witches for help was simply to liberate the large number of undead from this enslavement that has lasted for tens of thousands of years. Although there are still a dozen or so missing, it doesn't matter much."

"Even the ancient gods, powerful as they are, had their share of cowardice and chose to commit suicide in order to survive, remaining dormant for tens of thousands of years. Such gods, such behavior, are truly beyond words..." Unable to refuse, for seeing such an ugly side is exactly what the true gods desire most!

Watching all the witches hurriedly depart, Sandra turned and stepped into the deepest, most distant darkness.

The undead will be forever bound to this world of the dead. Only the Moon Knight, who has passed the "Knight's Oath" test and obtained a new body, can leave this place. Reaching this point is already her limit.

"I'm sorry, witches, Bangusen was ultimately unable to fully fulfill his promise. This is all I can do to help you. The rest of the journey is up to you."

The lone undead, having forgotten everything, vanished into the darkness.

She returned to that familiar place as always, and waited for the return of a man named "Bangussen" as always.

Unfortunately, this time she may never get to see him again.

Chapter 53 A Reliable Senior

The spiral staircase, so long it's almost exaggerated, stretches endlessly upwards, as if there's no end in sight.

Every so often, Li Lan could see huge, dark gray stone gates scattered to the side, exactly the same as the giant gate he had seen in the world of the dead at the very bottom.

According to Celine Belluman, behind each of these countless giant doors lies a separate space.

“Since ten thousand years ago, dozens of races have hidden themselves in the underground temples, and each race has its own independent area,” Celine Bellman said. The space she mentioned is more like a “country within a country.” “I don’t know much about the general information. After all, I am just an executor of the restoration of the divine court. To put it simply, I am a henchman.”

“So the only space I can enter is the area where the lower-level Rune orcs rest, which is the layer that connects with the ‘World of the Forgotten’,” Celine Bellman said, while concealing her extremely uneasy expression. “You’d better not underestimate the Restoration of the Divine Court. Its foundation is probably not much worse than that of the Duchy. Even someone of my strength is just a small fry on the surface. Who knows how many arrogant and powerful figures are lurking in the shadows.”

Li Lan was a very cautious person. Upon hearing this, he recalled the map that the chief of the Rune tribe had given him when he handed over the mission. "I remember that chief was very frank about the underground temple when he gave me the mission to enter the Rune Desert. He even gave me a map. Could there be something wrong with this map?"

“Not bad,” Celine Bellman said, now that they were all on the same side, she didn’t want to stand on ceremony with Li Lan. “That idiot not only gave you this information, but the Duchy also received the same map. If you had followed this map to find the temple entrance, then congratulations, you would have died inside.”

Although this happened a long time ago, Celine Bellman still clearly remembered that a month after the United Duchy of Ries went to war with the Restoration of the Divine Court, a huge army found the entrance to the Ancient Temple based on this false intelligence, and then tens of thousands of orcs of various races were all buried there.

It wasn't that a large number of warriors from the Restoration of the Divine Court were lying in ambush there, but rather that it had been an execution ground since ancient times, established by the Moon God. It was a space specifically used for "heretical trials," containing countless traps. Even demigods who entered it were very likely to never return, so the danger was unimaginable.

"..." Li Lan was somewhat relieved that she hadn't been greedy from the beginning, otherwise she might have been doomed.

"Those despicable pigs!"

Unbelievable, this was a trap? That makes sense, these guys never intended to keep any promises from the beginning, they just wanted to get rid of Li Lan, this suspicious witch, and use her as a stepping stone.

"Is there a trap on the road we're walking on now?"

Li Lan checked, since he was completely unfamiliar with this underground world and didn't have much information about it.

"No, this is the only way to the outside world. Unless there are special circumstances, the orcs or other intelligent races living in these independent spaces will not leave here on their own initiative, that is, cross these spatial gates you saw earlier. Moreover, not everyone can enter these spatial gates at will; permission is required."

"I see. So our most dangerous situation should be at the exit?"

"Yes, based on my many previous experiences, the entrance is guarded by a huge skeleton. That skeleton is very strange and has always given me an extremely dangerous feeling. My adoptive father called that skeleton 'the messenger of the gods,' and treated it with great respect. It is said to be one of the founders of the restoration of the divine court."

A god-like being!

With a god-like being guarding the exit of this ancient temple, the danger is unimaginable!

“I didn’t have much hope for this escape,” Celine Bellman said honestly. “I came here to seek refuge with Lord Bangusen, hoping he would lend a hand. As you know, to fight against a divine messenger, you have to be the same divine messenger. I just didn’t expect him to just disappear.”

Although the undead Sandra led them to this spiral staircase leading to the outside world and stated that the messenger Yennefer was not at the temple entrance, the anxious woman still felt uncertain.

As a traitor and a double agent, Celine Belluman felt a pang of regret, but now she had no other choice.

Traitors are hated everywhere, whether for justice or evil. She knew what would happen to her if she were caught.

I guess I'm at peace with it now. After all, I barely saw my past before, and my faith in restoring the Divine Court completely collapsed. The master I'm serving now has a pretty good personality.

"A divine messenger? Even if they aren't divine messengers, those powerful figures guarding the exit are no pushovers either; they might be beings on par with you."

Li Lan seemed to be deep in thought. Although he had anticipated from the beginning that leaving this place would not be easy, it now seemed to be a million times more dangerous than he had imagined.

"Violet, get ready. There might be a fierce battle coming. The moment you meet them, no matter who they are, you must kill them without mercy."

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

Under the guidance of this witch senior, Violet, Anne, and Sophia underwent a great deal of training. Thanks to the undead that were killed, their spellbooks all reached level thirty-six. Currently, in terms of individual strength, they are definitely superior to this witch senior.

At this point, under the instructions of "Roman Hydra", they all drew their own Libra Cross Greatswords without hesitation, and opened their grimoires, which floated beside them.

Name: Violet

Race: Feline Orc

Class: Axe Warrior

Secondary Profession: Moon Knight

Level: LV36

In terms of skills, the initial skills are the support skills "Mind's Eye" and "Swiftness" and the attack skill "Whirlwind Axe".

After upgrading to level 10 of the Magic Book, the skills added are: passive amplification skills "Self-Healing", "Low-Level Combat Continuation", and "Swift Shadow"; support skills "Gale Force", "Primary Cat Beast Transformation", and "Crimson Flame"; and attack skills "Fearless Charge", "Rampage Slash", and "Heaven-Opening Axe Strike".

The spellbook adds four skills from level 10 to level 30: the offensive skills "Flame Dance", "Ultimate Blazing Slash" and "Purgatory", and the passive skill "Fire Elemental Body".

Through countless battles, Violet had long since mastered these skills, achieving a high level of proficiency. Although using the strength of a feline orc to wield this heavy class didn't offer a significant advantage, her combat experience compensated for this, allowing Violet to hold her own against even legendary adventurers.

Of course, she is no match for Celine Bellman, a lower-level demigod. To defeat Celine Bellman, she would probably need to reach level 50 in her magic book.

The same applies to Sofia and Annie.

Name: Sofia Laura