I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

"You can use your fists in the Otherworld!"

Although the handwriting was very messy, Cecil was still able to make out what Duke was writing.

Her eyes lit up, and she suddenly looked up at Quink, just in time to see that Quink had also looked up and must have seen the words as well. They looked at each other, and the atmosphere became quite awkward.

Quink: "...Go easy on me."

As the holy light shone, Cecil rushed forward, grabbed Kunk by the collar, and without using any magic, simply used his brute strength to slam him to the ground.

"Boom-"

"Damn it, again!" Kunk roared in pain as he crashed to the ground, but shamelessly rolled over on the ground again. "If you're so capable, why don't you just blast me to death with one shot!"

"I have never heard of such a request before."

Cecil was one of the high-ranking witches with the highest concentration of cannons among the floating city witches (mainly because she didn't know any proper spells other than using holy light to fire light cannons). Upon hearing Kunk's provocation, she immediately raised her hand and fired a holy light cannon.

Faced with this holy light cannon, Kunk neither dodged nor avoided it, but instead revealed a triumphant smirk... But less than a second later, his expression changed drastically, and he scrambled to avoid it.

Why can't I use teleportation spells anymore?

He originally planned to teleport Cecil back to the surface world, making her commit "violent attacks on other players" and be eliminated early, but the spell failed.

why? !

"Idiot, my spatial anchor is still here. Do you think you can get into the outer world?"

Duke's smugness was practically overflowing from his words; thankfully, Quink couldn't see it, or he might have been furious on the spot.

Covered in dust and dirt, Kunk gritted his teeth and shouted:

"There's no other way, let's just kill him outright, Bone Eight!"

The suspect, whom Quink called Bone Eight, appeared out of nowhere behind Cecil, carrying a bone scimitar and brandishing it.

A sharp, cold light flashed.

Chapter Fifty-Two That Day

Cecil couldn't dodge Bone Eight's first strike, but at least avoided a fatal wound.

She clutched the deep wound on her right shoulder; the healing power of the Holy Light was blocked by some force, and its effects were extremely slow. Back when she was still a paladin, such an injury would have crippled her fighting ability by more than half. Fortunately, Cecil had been a witch for many years and could still unleash her full power.

"boom--"

At this moment, Bone Eight simply stopped acting. He was no longer the pathetic figure who had been chased by Cecil throughout the floating city. Despite Cecil's attacks, he still moved around with ease, controlling the distance between himself and Cecil, and constantly getting closer to the Radiant Witch to launch effective attacks.

Cecil understood that this was an enemy of equal strength, and if she could not concentrate, she would be fatally struck by his blade sooner or later. However, although she understood this, she still could not fully immerse herself in the battle.

She didn't know that this was Quink's ability; although he couldn't directly harm her soul, he could still interfere in this way.

Under Quink's influence, the Radiant Witch began to fight on instinct, being toyed with by Bone Eight like a headless fly. Chaotic memories kept surfacing in her mind, making her feel as if she existed in the past and the present.

Cecil was once a genius paladin who was highly regarded by everyone from a young age. He reached the elite level at a young age and became the youngest member of the Knights Templar.

Her future was originally bright.

But soon, a bloody war broke out.

During this war, she realized that the Knights Templar were not just at all. The bloody war was called a holy war, but it had no sacred reason whatsoever. It was just for naked profit.

It was then that she realized how ugly humans were.

Cecil felt this was wrong.

Therefore, she left the Knights Templar after the war.

During her solitary adventures, she met a witch named Carol and was invited to her city.

When Cecil arrived, he learned that Carol was referring to the floating city, and it was much later that he learned Carol was the city lord of the floating city.

The floating city was a wonderful city, far better than where she had lived before. Most of the witches here were pure scholars, and those who focused on research were mostly uninterested in personal gain. The overall prosperity and vitality of the floating city provided Cecil, who was trying to escape the harsh realities of life, with a place to call her home.

She had no intention of becoming a witch, but one day, while she was bored, she suddenly had a whim and, based on the magic theory Carol had told her, casually conjured a spell with holy light... Thus, in a daze, she created her own spell and became a witch.

Chaotic memories played through Cecil's mind like a revolving lantern, quickly shifting from the past to recent events. And what impressed her most in recent days was undoubtedly the man who suddenly barged into her life.

Cecil still vividly remembers how he first met Duke.

That day, Duke, carrying a knight's sword taller than himself, swaggered up to him with a captivating smile on his face. He handed him the decorated knight's sword, engraved with runes, and said with a smile:

"This is for you, to thank you for suppressing the rioting adventurers yesterday, Your Excellency Radiant Witch."

Because the knight's sword, which was over two meters long, was just too cool, Cecil, who was easily swayed by the offer, simply couldn't refuse his next request.

"Would you like to have lunch with me?"

The day they spent together was exceptionally enjoyable for Cecil, who had no dating experience. Duke displayed his humor, wit, and attentive conversation, which quickly won Cecil's favor. Soon, the two were calling each other by their first names.

That day, the witch was a little carried away, so she readily agreed to Duke's next request.

"I've heard the sunrise in the floating city is beautiful, Cecil. Would you be interested in watching it with me tomorrow?"

That day, they witnessed the sun leaping over the horizon from the highest clock tower in the floating city, its light dispelling the darkness.

Duke also revealed another side of himself in front of Cecil.

Before the sun illuminated the sky, his eyes revealed vulnerability as he gazed at the stars.

Duke spoke to Cecil about himself, about the loneliness of being away from home, about his fear of death, and about his worries and speculations about the Witch Game.

As the floating city transitioned from night to dawn, Cecil gradually lowered her guard and began to recount her past, her resentment towards the harsh reality, and her perseverance.

If the first day's encounter was sweet as honey, and the second day's date was a touch of each other's souls, then the sudden rumors on the third day were like a bucket of ice water, chilling her to the bone.

Have you heard of Duke?

"It seems he's dating five witches at the same time, just to get through the witch game by relying on their favoritism."

"Really? There's solid evidence? Don't let it turn out differently again."

"It's undeniable. The photos taken secretly are all over the place. You can buy them from any information broker."

Cecil scoffed at these rumors.

As one of the five rumored relationships, Cecil didn't consider herself to be dating Duke. She simply saw him as a rare friend, someone who could potentially become a confidant.

She simply couldn't believe Duke would do such a thing!

Cecil initially thought she wouldn't be affected by these rumors, but when she saw photos (magical imaging) of Duke dating other witches, his somewhat intimate actions with them ultimately impacted her. The detailed battle reports from the subsequent witch games further shook her resolve.

So she decided to go to Duke herself and ask him for clarification.

"I don't think he's that kind of person."

Cecil couldn't find Duke that day.

She began calling on friends and family to help her search, but her actions were misunderstood and misinterpreted by her sisters and the public as having a different meaning... To be honest, as more and more solid evidence emerged, Cecil didn't know what to do when she found Duke.

Finally, on the third day of the search, Cecil met Duke, who had shown up on his own initiative.

Are those things all true?

"I don't deny it."

That day, a disappointed Cecil slapped Duke and stormed off.

Just when Cecil thought her relationship with this man was over and she would never have any contact with him again... he barged into her life once more.

"Hang in there a little longer!"

Duke's handwriting continued to emerge, but Cecil, due to excessive blood loss, was no longer able to concentrate.

She didn't know that Duke could hear the voices of the other world, nor could she see the words Duke was still writing. Her mind was filled with the fleeting, fairytale-like two days and the agonizing third day.

She murmured the obsession in her heart, the words she hadn't spoken that day:

"I'm so stupid, I don't understand many things, and I can't see what kind of person you are."

"I don't understand why you did that."

"If you haven't done anything wrong, why don't you say so? If you really are a big liar, why don't you continue to lie to me?"

"I know I will believe you, I know how easily I trust others, and I know that even if no one else believes you, I will still choose to believe you."

“I don’t want to forgive you, Duke.”

The pungent smell of blood, the pain all over her body, and the dizziness from massive blood loss filled Cecil's mind with chaotic thoughts, making it impossible for her to remain calm. Just then, a familiar voice seemed to leap out from her past memories and reach her ears in the present moment.

Cecil heard Duke's voice:

"It's right not to forgive me, even if you never forgive me in your entire life, it doesn't matter."

"I made a mistake, and I don't deny anything. I'm willing to bear any consequences."

"But a silly girl like you has to live on, live happily, live a long, long life, understand?"

"You're not allowed to die!"

Chapter 53 Completing the game is not as good as eating rice

Duke's voice rang in Cecil's ear. Before her confused mind could clear, she felt herself being pulled back forcefully, and something was shoved into her mouth. She bit down...

"Pfft, no, it's spicy! What is this?!"

“Eve’s potion,” Duke called out sharply. Half of his body was still in the surface world, with only the other half exposed in the inner world. The low-powered interdimensional portal that Jasmine had opened was not stable enough, and they didn’t have much time. “Stop, let’s go back.”

With that, he used all his strength to lift Cecil up and dragged her across the interdimensional gate.

From the moment Duke appeared to the moment he carried Cecil away, less than three seconds passed. During that time, Cecil didn't stop.

Although she was indeed at a disadvantage in this battle and was almost dragged to her death by the two of them, Bone Eight and Quink did not gain much advantage either. She was a complete monster, and even her random outbursts in the chaos were enough to drag them into a life-or-death situation.

"How could we possibly let you escape!"

To ensure Jasmine's spell would succeed, Duke retracted the spatial anchor before the interdimensional gate was formed. However, Quink was unaware of this and failed to take advantage of the situation to throw the wildly beating Cecil out of the Otherworld. Seeing Duke drag Cecil away, he immediately realized he had been tricked.

Quink opened the gate to the surface world and chased after her with Bone Eight. They both possessed the means to fight within the hall, and now that they had completely broken off relations, they would miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity if they didn't press their advantage and finish off the critically injured and dying Witch of Light!

But when they returned to the surface world, they were stunned by a holy light cannon.

Who am I? Where am I? What happened?

Under the influence of the cognitive modifier (customized version), the two of them, who were precisely hit by the light cannon, were not even aware that they were being attacked—in their minds, these attacks were not acts of violence, but rather acts of intimacy.