Witch Redemption

He stopped in his tracks, an indescribable sense of horror washing over Li Lan. The unusual sight had given him an unprecedented visual shock.

He could barely make out that the general outline of these buildings was the same as the southern rain city he had seen before, but the difference was in the composition of these buildings.

The scene was blood-red, with ugly chunks of flesh piled up everywhere.

The street bricks on the ground, the doors and windows of the buildings on both sides, the eerie dark red clouds in the sky... all the materials that make up these things seem to be a mixture, intertwining and twisting of the flesh of intelligent beings with a large number of impurities, presenting a sense of incongruity that is similar to flesh and blood but not quite.

Only now could Li Lan understand what the black-haired Yu Hui meant by the "vortex of chaos" he had mentioned earlier. This place was indeed insane, utterly beyond reason. Standing here felt like standing in the stomach of some supreme being, constantly at risk of being pulverized by this terrifying distortion and becoming a part of the decaying chaos.

"Oops......"

Finally regaining her senses from the intense horror, Li Lan turned around abruptly, only to find the room empty.

Whether it was the twin witches, White Antelope and Snow Antelope, or the elven girls Juliet, Fu, and Natalie, or even their remaining followers, they all vanished without a trace.

In addition, Li Lan was also surprised to find that the natal magic book floating beside him was completely blank after it was opened, which meant that he would not be able to use any magic book skills. All he could rely on was the Libra Cross Greatsword in his hand.

"Hey......."

Although she didn't know exactly what had happened, the feeling of self-blame was real; Li Lan had never lost her composure like this before.

The unvented anxiety and unimaginable pressure nearly drove him to the brink of collapse. That's why he lost his judgment after learning of the signs of his former comrades, temporarily forgetting the safety of the Twin Witches and making this impulsive move.

"Self-blame is useless now. There is only one thing I need to do now."

That means we can't turn back. We must find those three comrades who might have survived and bring them back to the real world!

Since he was all alone here, all he could do was try his best to survive, complete this task as quickly as possible, and find a way to reality. And everything depended on him.

Shaking his head helplessly, Li Lan suddenly noticed that his own appearance was not quite right. He remembered that he had been in disguise due to Leviathan's "modification" and was obviously an old man in his seventies, but now his appearance had been restored.

"No, the sensation of pain is still there, what's going on?"

Completely baffled and lacking sufficient information, and not daring to linger here, Li Lan could only continue walking cautiously down the long street.

It was an extremely disgusting and bizarre illusion; every step felt neither like walking on a flat, solid surface nor like standing on the body of some creature, but rather somewhere in between.

Moreover, the mottled, blood-red ground seemed to possess a strange suction force, trying to pull him into this mixture of flesh and blood. He had to expend some effort to maintain his balance.

"Save me...please...save me..."

"I'm in so much pain... ah..."

Li Lan began to hear noisy auditory hallucinations, which seemed to come from the ground, or from all directions, making her feel terrified.

Rather than calling this a chaotic vortex, it's more accurate to describe it as a purgatory of flesh and blood. Everything in sight has only an outline and no logic whatsoever. It's as if a collection of evil thoughts has been deliberately distorted to disguise itself as normal.

Suddenly, several hideous faces burst forth from the flesh and blood wall of a nearby building. It was impossible to tell whether they were male or female; they only had human-like features. They were desperately shouting at him, and even extended several bloody, mangled hands, begging for his help.

"Help me... Don't ignore me..."

It was another desperate cry for help, but unlike the strange, boiling-water-like sound of the black-haired Yu Hui, it sounded more like someone being suffocated and pinned to the depths of a pool.

Li Lan ignored it. After seeing the wall in this state, he became even more vigilant, taking each step with extreme caution. He was extremely worried that a similar anomaly might suddenly appear on the ground, and if some hand were to pull him into the ground, it would be even more of a loss.

"Since this city is like this, I might as well leave the city directly. I remember that the last place where Peggy and the others died should be in the northern area?"

So, feeling the strong stench of decay and blood in the air, Li Lan began to change direction based on her memory.

It's important to understand that this isn't some supernatural phenomenon; it's a place of blatant evil. If you're not careful, you could be completely swallowed up by this chaotic vortex.

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

"Uh...uh...Ka...Karen..."

His massive, dark red body, standing five meters tall, crawled forward on the blood-red ground like a twisted rope, resembling an ugly, fleshy python that left a long trail behind him.

"Ugh... oh... I can't... hurt him..."

His consciousness had long since collapsed, and all reason had been replaced by endless madness and destruction, but deep within his broken soul, he still held onto his original beliefs.

Even if he had to abandon his identity as a human being, even if he had long forgotten the faces of his comrades and the promises they made to each other, he absolutely could not harm them.

He was willing to abandon his human self to protect them; this was the only instinct he had to carry out until the very end, even if it meant burning away all his souls. For this instinct, whether it took ten years, a hundred years, or even until the end of his life, he would forever remember the essence of their souls.

"Uh... ah..."

The frantic babbling was dense and incoherent, and it was unclear whether it came from pain in the soul or physical suffering.

He was howling and wriggling incessantly, trying to escape, about to enter his safe haven.

That place is the only paradise in this world of flesh and blood, a vast area with lush green grass and towering ancient trees, which separates it from the crazy chaos outside.

Ten minutes later.

"Sherry? You went out to find food again?"

From the depths of the jungle, a melodious female voice suddenly rang out. Then, from an old building that resembled the ruins of a temple, a white-haired fairy woman emerged. This woman had long lost the dragonfly-like wings unique to fairies, and her sleep-deprived face looked extremely haggard.

It was obvious that this woman was the alien witch who should have died, Matilda von Söder.

He walked slowly forward, finally stopping in front of the enormous "flesh and blood python".

But the head of this "flesh and blood python" was actually a huge and ugly beast's head, somewhat like that of a feline. The monster's head had no eyes or nose, only a huge, foul-smelling mouth filled with densely packed white fangs.

In addition, two thick, dark red claws extended from both ends of the beast's head, gripping the ground tightly and supporting its massive body at the front.

It was only as Matilda approached that she was horrified to discover that a faint female face was embedded at the top of the beast's head. That face was none other than the foreign witch who should have died, Sherry Nancy.

"Hmm? Karen?"

Impossible. No matter how you look at it, the witch who once saved them shouldn't be able to enter this place.

Matilda denied it outright, but at that moment, a rare joy appeared on his face.

This was the first piece of good news he had heard since fleeing the British Empire, even though he found the news utterly absurd.

Yes, this crazy world is no longer a world for the living; to be precise, it's a world for the dead. A purgatory that devours everything—Kallen cannot and absolutely must not enter this place; it's far too dangerous.

He recalled that day when Sherry and he were killed one after the other, and Peggy, driven mad, ultimately chose to devour their bodies, creating a terrible mutation.

Matilda didn't know the specific details. What she saw in her last moments before dying was that Peggy's mutated, enormous body exploded, forming a terrifying vortex of flesh and blood. Although it repelled those formidable elven warriors, it also trapped them there.

Although Matilda had very little information, he was certain that Peggy and Sherry were key to his safe escape from this place. Their original corpses had been fused with the bodies of countless intelligent beings, and they might have already transformed into some kind of terrifying monster.

Within this monster's body, Peggy has complete control, Sherry has some control over the external body, but Matilda, the only one who remains conscious, is excluded and trapped here.

It's not that he can't leave, but that Peggy and Sherry have conspired to trap him here and prevent him from leaving.

Matilda knew more or less about the reasons behind this, but she had always refused to face them.

"You want to hide? Then go to Peggy's place. I'll go check out that area. If it really is Karen..."

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

Struggling to walk, Li Lan felt inexplicably disgusted by this terrifying place, and she felt like she was about to collapse.

He didn't know from which section of the road it started, but from time to time, all sorts of groping hands would jump out from the ground and "beg for help" at him. There was nothing wrong with begging for help in the first place, but once these terrible things grabbed his feet, they would drag him deep into the ground. How could this be "begging for help"?

This is murder!

In Li Lan's view, these creatures who died in the ground were natives of this world, and most likely the many unconscious elves he had seen in the Lost Wasteland. He wouldn't feel sorry for any number of such creatures dying, let alone want to save them.

"If I think about it carefully, I've been walking for about three hours, and I haven't gone very far yet. I don't know when I'll reach the place where they died. What's more troublesome is that I'm starting to feel hungry."

Indeed, Li Lan was certain that he was hungry.

It wasn't a physical hunger, but a psychological one. He began to have the terrifying thought of devouring the flesh around him. What should have been a hideous sight of red flesh now seemed to him like an incredibly delicious feast, and he really wanted to devour it.

Li Lan didn't know if the world had gone mad, or if he himself had gone mad.

"Tsk—"

Even someone with an extremely strong will like him would have such an urge to eat. Li Lan couldn't even imagine what would happen if those three elven girls came in.

Another hand suddenly emerged from the ground, its flesh and blood exposed. Without thinking, the sharp-eyed Li Lan swung her greatsword across it. The flying flesh, devoid of blood, writhed on the ground for a while before dissolving again.

"This is never going to end!"

He grumbled, then looked up at the road ahead with a hint of helplessness.

At that moment, a figure that appeared in their line of sight caused a strong emotional reaction. Even though the distance between them was only a few hundred meters, the familiar aura that should have been deeply imprinted in their souls made them exclaim in surprise.

"Matilda?"

"Karen?"

From their parting on June 16, 10003, until today, June 8, 10007, four years have passed, and neither of them ever imagined that they would meet again under such circumstances.

Unfortunately, of the two people who have met now, one is still alive, while the other belongs to the world of the dead.

The two looked at each other and smiled, as if all the sadness and pain of the past had been washed away by this brief meeting.

"Don't speak yet, come with me, it's too dangerous here."

Matilda, who had aged considerably, simply raised her thin, bony right hand and waved, immediately calming the commotion in the entire area.

With her sharp eyes, Li Lan saw countless invisible threads swirling around Matilda's figure, as if binding her tightly to this chaotic world. This unexpected sight cast a shadow over Li Lan's heart.

After many years of separation, the reunion was filled with joy, but also with the sorrow of being separated by death.

Even so, Li Lan never gave up on the idea of ​​saving them after arriving here.

Just as Li Lan once thought, death is not scary; what is scary is loss.

Chapter 48 Heart-to-Heart Talk

They walked in silence, quickly traversing the seemingly endless distance, as if this desperate and insane world could not stop them.

This was a long-awaited reunion, so simple and unpretentious that no words were needed; their hearts were already overflowing with affection, immersing them both in precious happiness.

Perhaps just recalling the promise made when they parted, and the heartfelt conversations shared while fighting side by side, is enough to make them feel the bond that is as close as brothers, even if they have no blood relation.

After all, in this dark and desperate other world, the witches who have lost everything from their past lives and have no more attachments can only rely on and trust each other to become guiding lights on their respective paths.

Although Li Lan was quite happy, she felt a vague unease as she followed Matilda.

On one hand, he realized that Matilda had a connection with this crazy world of flesh and blood, and that she could easily quell the abnormal commotion in all areas with a wave of her hand, which might hide some terrible secret.

On the other hand, Peggy and Sherry were not with Matilda, which suggests that their separation might not be as simple as it seems. Hopefully, nothing unexpected has happened.

In fact, Li Lan didn't know how long they had been walking. It seemed that the concept of time did not exist in this world. He had never felt tired or sleepy, but instead became more and more energetic as they walked.

Finally, they traversed the perilous, flesh-and-blood land and arrived at an oasis that seemed completely out of place with its surroundings.

"We're here, let's go in."

Matilda finally breathed a sigh of relief and took the lead. Li Lan, who followed closely behind, noticed some strange marks in the jungle, as if some heavy object had been crushed on them.