Witch Redemption

"I've kept you waiting, Sixth Apostle, Lord Kalamiti!"

The woman spoke in an extremely sweet voice and performed the etiquette unique to the Elf King's royal family, bowing slightly.

“Star Goddess Gaia, it’s been a long time.”

The sixth apostle, Carametti, rose to return the courtesy, and then the two most powerful ancient beings of the time took their seats.

Meanwhile, the two elven maids brought by the Star Goddess Gaia began to nervously prepare the special drink of the elven kingdom, Star Dew, for these two noble gods.

"Your Excellency the Apostle has come all this way, surely it's not just to discuss this matter concerning the witch?"

As if she were a prophet, the smiling goddess spoke, her tone neither humble nor arrogant.

Kalamiti clearly remembers that he has met this goddess dozens of times since ancient times, and each time, in different eras, the goddess's attitude has been different. From being submissive at the beginning to being neither humble nor arrogant now, it is, in a sense, a testament to the changes in the goddess's power.

"Both things are related to the witch."

"Oh?"

"The first thing is to stop trying to locate that world. Although I don't know what you're doing, the Creator sent me to warn you that there is a great being there that even the Creator cannot afford to offend. You'd better be careful before you provoke Him."

Kalamiti has always had this emotionless voice, as cold as a machine.

“My Lord Apostle, we’ve known each other for a long time. I’d like to have a chat with you about this matter.”

The Star Goddess Gaia, whose expression remained unchanged, paused for a few seconds before suddenly asking, "Have you ever seen true hope?"

"..." Karamiti hesitated, not because she didn't want to answer, but because she couldn't. In her tens of thousands of years of life, all she had ever seen was "despair".

“I saw it. In that world, I finally understood the purpose of ‘Witch Summoning’. It cannot bring salvation to those of us who are already trapped in a cage. All the heroes who are willing to sacrifice for this country can gain a new life and new hope in that world. This is the true result that ‘Witch Summoning’ wants. Indeed, for so many years we have misunderstood the meaning of this ritual, and it has made us miss out on true hope.”

“However,” the Star Goddess Gaia’s eyes widened slightly, revealing blood-red beast eyes, “missing out doesn’t mean missing out forever. We still have hope. The witch summoning continues. Since we can no longer be reborn through ‘witch summoning,’ let’s find another way.”

"I will not stop my pursuit of that world; moreover, I will find ways to continue infiltrating it. Considering our long-standing friendship, I may as well speak frankly: in the future, there will be more witches from that world, and our connection with that world will only deepen. Perhaps before the prophesied day arrives, the gods of our elven kingdom will completely open the soul passage to that world. At that time, even without the need for witches to summon us, all the heroes of our country will be able to achieve soul exchange with the humans of that world, thus ushering in true hope."

What is hope? Hope is to live, to live happily forever—this is the shared desire of every strong person who knows the day of prophecy.

Staying in this decaying, dark world means the future will only end with its destruction.

"I'm just conveying the message from above. As for whether or not you will be punished, that will be handled by the other apostles. That's the first thing I wanted to say. The notification has been delivered, and I won't interfere further. The second thing is a private matter. I've already informed you of it before, and I don't know what your opinion is."

The Sixth Apostle, Calamity, remains the same, whether ten thousand years ago or today, like a lifeless object devoid of any emotion.

Yet this seemingly lifeless fellow made a rare suggestion that none of the living gods of the elven kingdoms could believe.

"A reform of witch summoning? This is a grave matter of defying the creator behind you!"

"It's alright, I can take full responsibility for the crime."

Even if it means death?

"Yes."

This single word has already expressed the resolve of this powerful apostle, as if nothing can stop her will.

Chapter 35 Turning the Enemy to a Surrender

That night, the two most powerful figures, representing their respective factions, talked for more than two hours and finally reached an agreement on the reform of "Witch Summoning".

The Elf Kingdom can agree to the Sixth Apostle, Caramiti, reforming the "Witch Summoning" system and sparing the witches' lives in the future. However, in return, the Sixth Apostle, Caramiti, must secretly side with the Elf Kingdom and may even need to intervene against the other five apostles when necessary.

At the same time, the Sixth Apostle also has an obligation to secretly help conceal the fact that the present-day gods of the Elf Kingdom intend to interfere in another world.

In short, the vast majority of the conditions were favorable to the Elf Kingdom. The Elf Kingdom could spare these witches, allowing them to grow and be regarded as the future saviors of the nation. As for the apostle's request to take away some of the witches, the kingdom did not agree, as this issue touched upon the kingdom's bottom line.

Soon, it was around one o'clock in the morning. The entire Elf Kingdom was plunged into silence and darkness. The Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti, had already left with her subordinates, while the Star Goddess, Gainya, remained alone in her aerial pavilion.

"If nothing unexpected happens, in a few years, many major powers will implement corresponding reforms, and the kingdom can follow suit at that time. Moreover, the Sixth Apostle is not incapable of betrayal. If she really wants to interfere with the witch's summoning, she will definitely break the rules, and her fate will be death."

Although the gods of the Elf Kingdom would be quite happy to see this meddlesome sixth apostle die, if it weren't for their fear of her power, the Star Goddess Gaia might even have suggested that all the gods of the present world join forces and, using the dream realm unique to this country, completely annihilate this apostle.

After all, the Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti, had a close relationship with the goddess of the underworld and the goddess of space, Chronos, the creators of "Witch Summoning," and naturally knew a lot of secrets about "Witch Summoning," including the teleportation coordinates of many other worlds.

In this world, every major power that controls the "summoning of witches" covets this secret, but none of them dare to make a move against this apostle rashly.

One reason is that the apostles are backed by a group of mysterious and unpredictable ancient creators. Another reason is that each apostle possesses extremely powerful strength, especially the sixth apostle, who is known as the "Plague King" and was infamous in ancient times, having a record of killing an avatar of a creator.

"Now it seems that making changes ahead of time may not be without its advantages. On the one hand, the Sixth Apostle cannot die so quickly, and we still need her to help cover up our intentions. On the other hand, following the crowd will have drawbacks. At that time, our control over the witch will also be weakened, and who knows what kind of trouble might arise."

Throughout history, no nation has ever witnessed a witch who has truly reached her full potential. The idea that "witches will become the key to restraining the ancient creators and become the true saviors of this world," as mentioned by the goddesses of the underworld and space, Chronos, is met with skepticism by the gods of every nation.

"Witches are ultimately outsiders, but there are ways to turn them into our own people. Since the reforms have been brought forward, the corresponding countermeasures must also be brought forward."

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

Edith George, that is his real name after he traveled to this world.

As a shut-in from Earth, although he had always been skeptical of the otherworldly entrances in many novels, and thought that the "raging truck" was just nonsense, he never imagined that he would be hit and transported to another world one day.

Moreover, along with his best friend, this guy now known as "Etty George," they unfortunately flew into the air together on the sidewalk.

To be honest, he had already died once, so he was quite open-minded about this life. As long as he could get by, he would just drift along.

"Ah, life is peaceful as always!"

Just like now, venturing deep into the monster territory, he used this heavy Libra Cross Greatsword to cleave a weak, low-level monster to death, dissecting its magical core, which would earn him a meal tonight. To him, it was as if he lived in a game world, but unfortunately, he never liked being a pro player; he preferred to be a casual player.

And so life went on as it came.

"I wonder what Etty's status is like now."

He muttered to himself for a few moments, his memories returning to more than half a year ago, to how many witches had traveled here together, and how panicked they had all been... Now, all the witches should be used to life in this world, right?

Birds of a feather flock together, and witches from the same world often find themselves drawn together, sharing common interests and supporting each other. Unfortunately, Edith, being too much of a troublemaker, seems to be disliked wherever she goes. After her best friend Edith "abandons" her, she is truly left all alone.

With practiced skill, he cut open the monster's chest with a knife, revealing the dark purple magic core.

When she has nothing to do, it is sometimes hard for Itissa, who is all alone, to bear the loneliness and she talks to herself.

"I heard that some witches have already been promoted to the rank of major in the kingdom's army. That's great! If they can reach the rank of general in the future, maybe they can become officers?"

However, today a completely unexpected voice responded to his soliloquy.

"Then why don't you just try your best to achieve it?"

Hearing the cold, machine-like voice, Ittissa looked up sharply and saw a woman wearing a white mask standing in a secluded area of ​​the monster jungle.

It was less of a mask and more of a strange bone, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes.

"Who? A monster? No, monsters don't speak human language... Miss, is something the kingdom sending you to spy on me?"

Ittysa felt her mouth go dry. All she knew was that the guy in front of her was probably very strong, ridiculously strong, and might even be a threat to her.

Although the Elf Kingdom had repeatedly told them they were the saviors of this world when they were summoned, Itisa didn't believe it. With so many powerful people in the country, why would they need weaklings like them as saviors?

It's probably because of a lack of trust and security that he keeps slacking off.

"Is it because I didn't work hard that the kingdom is going to get rid of me ahead of schedule?"

I feel that this idea is ridiculous, and it seems a bit too extreme.

"..." The masked man looked at him with a strange gaze. "You're special. I have high hopes for you, but you're not strong enough yet."

The woman took out a booklet and tossed it to him without hesitation. “There might be something you want to know inside. If you want to survive, become stronger. Your time is running out. If you want to save your people, keep climbing.”

"Forehead?"

Ittysa was completely bewildered until the woman left, at which point she suddenly realized, "That scared me to death! I thought it was something the kingdom sent to spy on me. What was that thing?"

After quickly flipping through it, the usually lazy blonde witch's expression grew increasingly serious. "Really?"

absurd!

What kind of nonsense is this? Are witches just easy prey? Can they only save themselves by quickly increasing their strength?

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

This day marks the end of the year 10000 in the Gregorian calendar, the last day of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, and it is also the day when Ittissa finally gets in touch with her best friend.

"Etty, come with me. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

It's quite amazing that Ittis and her best friend's real names differ by only one character, and they are indeed twin witches with identical appearances. Even their spellbook professions are the same: "Sword Master," but their personalities are reversed.

Ittisa is a loner and doesn't fit in with others, while her best friend Itti is always lively, cheerful, and has a wide social circle.

"Why can't you just say it here?"

Etty was somewhat disappointed in her partner, who never seemed to want to work hard.

"Um, this is very important, so can we just take up a little bit of our time?"

"Fine, okay then."

Out of consideration for their past friendship, this close friend finally softened his heart; in fact, he didn't want to talk to him at first.

After entering her room, Edith nervously locked the doors and windows, and carefully took out a long-treasured document. "Edith, there's something wrong with the Elf Kingdom. I've discovered it. Take a look at what's in this..."

Edith never expected that her former best friend would look at her like she was an idiot. "You called me in just to show me this? This thing was given to you by a guy wearing a mask, right? I've seen that idiot before, he's like a lunatic!"

"Huh?" A little confused, the lack of information from the group left Itissa with a somewhat blank expression.

"The kingdom confessed to us several months ago. Do you know why those witches of the past perished? It's because they grew stronger. When a witch's grimoire reaches a certain level, she's very likely to lose control if she's injured to a certain degree. Once she loses control, not only the kingdom, but even we witches have to deal with such accomplices. Do you know why the strongest witches suddenly disappeared recently? Do you know who killed them?"

"Etty, I don't quite understand what you're saying..."

From these words, Edith only gleaned information such as "the witches will go out of control" and "the strongest witches have already died."

"Of course you don't understand. Didn't you distrust the kingdom in the first place? Didn't you want to blend in? Without strength, how could you be qualified to know so much intelligence? Of the witches from the same batch, you have the lowest rank now. Don't you even think about why?"

Sensing her best friend's anger, Ittis was momentarily at a loss. "I'm sorry, I...I..." She didn't know how to comfort him, but the confusion in her heart made her determined. "Could you please tell me the whole story?"

After much pleading and cajoling, his best friend finally revealed everything.

It turns out that when a witch's rank rises to major, she will be summoned by Gaia, the goddess of the present world. The goddess will reveal all the truths of this world, including why every batch of witches in the past has died in the end.

At first, many witches did not believe this claim and remained skeptical of the kingdom. It wasn't until November, when eighteen witches with the highest grimoire levels began to lose control one after another, with one even transforming into a terrifying monster and destroying half of the border city, that the witches who learned the truth finally believed in the kingdom.

Amidst widespread fear, the goddess Gaia, the current Goddess of the Star Realm, once again summoned witches of the rank of major and above, revealing a way to save them.

In the past, due to insufficient conditions, the only option was to exterminate out-of-control witches. But now things are different. In order to save the kingdom's future hope, some members of the royal family can choose to sacrifice themselves and give up their bodies. These living gods can then use special methods to allow witches to possess their bodies.

"Etissa, these are things you shouldn't know right now, but I've always considered you a friend. So I hope you can understand the kingdom's good intentions and stop looking at the world with your dark and negative eyes, okay? No matter where you go, there won't be so much intrigue. If you can become stronger, what can't you get?"

These were his best friend's last words as he left, and at that moment, Itissa was in a state of utter confusion, not knowing which side to believe.

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

Two years passed in the blink of an eye, and it was now the year 10003 in the new calendar. Most of the witches of the same generation as Ittysa had taken over the royal family's body under the arrangement of the Elf Kingdom. Even her former best friend Itty had long since changed her identity. "Frian Itty," Frian was the original name of the body her best friend had taken over, while Itty was used to commemorate her former identity as a witch.