Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

"Pick it up."

"Found it?"

Rex's expression was strange.

"Don't lie to me."

"I found it upstairs."

"Well, since you found it, keep it safe. Don't take it out."

"I am very obedient."

"Alright, Tia. Anyway, I'm safe here. Even though I'm all alone, no one will dare to mess with my church. Go back now. I trust you can take good care of Marn, right?"

"Yes! You can completely trust Tia, senior!"

Tia patted her chest to indicate that there was absolutely no problem, then flicked her sleeve and grasped something hard in her hand.

Now that we've asked all the questions we could, we can consider starting the task.

Rexar let out a long sigh, turned around, and closed his eyes.

After saying this, Rexa never looked back, focusing all his attention on the statue of the Virgin Mary, praying devoutly and solemnly.

So much so that he didn't even notice the dark muzzle of a gun silently pointed at the back of his head.

Tia raised the elephant-hunting gun in her hand, and the extraordinary characteristics of the great philosopher were activated instantly, greatly increasing the strength of her physical body. With her eyes focused forward, Tia could vaguely see the best shooting point.

A sneak attack on Rexsa from behind is actually not a good plan.

—While it's true that superhumans' physical bodies aren't so incredibly impenetrable as to bullets, they do have other ways to prevent bullets from penetrating them.

So Tia also prepared other things: the Golden Fire, the Crimson Chalice, the Path of Suffering...

Passing the promotion ceremony is a very troublesome thing, whether it's killing traitors or finding the Book of Transformation, but if you simplify it, it becomes: who to kill, where to kill, how many to kill, and what equipment to take after killing them.

It became simple instantly.

In this nightmare, there were only four of Ulrich's students, and the temporary ritual given by the nightmare also provided an opportunity to rewind and start over, so Tia chose the most efficient method.

Elimination method.

--boom!

Before Rexar could turn around, Tia quickly gripped the elephant gun, her finger pressed against the trigger of the large-caliber hand cannon, and rapidly tapped it repeatedly.

Seven bullets, each as thick as a thumb, were fired almost instantly, piercing Rexar's heart, throat, and back of the head.

"Senior! Take this righteous backstab!"

Tia suddenly shouted after the bullets had all been fired.

Then came the golden fire that Tia had prepared long ago.

But before the flames could fully form, a faint red glow appeared around the wounds on Rex's body. His muscles twitched rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, several bullets were expelled from his muscles, the brass casings clattering to the ground.

Even Rexar didn't react in time, and suddenly turned around and said, "Junior, you... Jeremiah?! You're disguised as Tia?"

Before he finished speaking, all three rituals on Rexsha took effect simultaneously. A crimson thorn vine, with a soft hiss, sprayed blood as it emerged from Tia's chest, piercing through her skin and into her heart.

Before Tia's Golden Fire and Light in Blood could be activated, a crimson aura pierced her heart along with the thorn vine, instantly rendering all of Tia's rituals ineffective.

Ouch! Ouch! So good!

Before Tia closed her eyes, these were the only two sensations she had left. The pain was instantaneous, instantly transformed into pleasure. If her heart were still intact, Tia could have used this exhilarating feeling that filled her with energy to stab Rexar with her sword.

Rex was astonished. "Not Jeremiah?"

At that moment, Rexar's mind was in complete chaos, and he immediately went outside and shouted loudly.

"Call a doctor! A doctor!"

—The next moment, time stood still.

Tia's vision went black for a moment, then she felt someone forcefully shoving her back again.

"Senior, Senior Sulf! Don't fall asleep here! We're still discussing the teacher's funeral arrangements!"

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I recently returned from Dunhuang and Wuwei with some research materials, and now I'm heading to the Yinqueshan Museum in Linyi to gather some of its collection for my thesis. I'll also be stopping by my next destination on the way. I'll be posting two separate updates a day, resuming double updates on Friday.

Chapter 196 Tia: You can completely trust me

With a bang, Jeremiah slammed the door and left.

After the two senior students left, Tia went upstairs as if she were going home and took everything she needed. The only thing she didn't take was the golden lamp—it was too heavy to carry.

Downstairs, Little Marne looked completely bewildered and exclaimed, "Senior, senior, that's my hat! And that money is mine too. Oh, my candy, don't take my ice cream too!"

With a thud, the child, who had been running too fast, fell to the ground and lay there, tears welling up in his eyes, watching Tia's departing figure.

Tia was still kind-hearted; she left some ice cream and candy before she left.

As for the gold shield? What does a little kid need so much money for? I'll keep it for you for now, and give it to you when you grow up...

After leaving the clock tower, Tia pondered the strategy for the promotion ceremony.

First of all, forcing our way in is not an option; she can't even beat them!

Oh, except for Marne.

She kicked him to death.

But whether it was Rexsa or Jeremiah, her Sequence 8 seemed completely outmatched. Her seven bullets were enough to take down an elephant, but Rexsa miraculously recovered from her injuries instantly.

This rapid healing is probably at least Sequence 4.

Moreover, it was simply unbelievable that Rexar could nullify all of her rituals in an instant—Tia didn't even see the "black-robed" figure pay any price.

As for Jeremiah, even if she's weaker than Rex, she's probably not someone Rex could easily mess with...

After thinking it over, Tia bought a campus map and went to the faculty and staff dormitory.

The St. Pantheon College in Mistmoon City was originally a church building, and the faculty and staff housing was actually the parish's townhouses.

Tia inquired about Jeremiah's address and found the corresponding house number by following the road.

—Bang bang bang!

A knock on the door immediately connected the inside and outside, and soon Jeremiah's voice came from inside.

"Is it Tia? Wait a minute—has the thing in the clock tower been found? Don't worry about the clock tower's curse, Marn is there watching over it, nothing will go wrong. Rexar isn't stupid either, he won't let anything happen to the teacher."

"Tia is here. Hmm, keep looking for everything, don't forget anything—Tia! I'll open the door for you right away."

Jeremiah, with the phone tucked under his arm, clicked open the door, raised an eyebrow, and stared intently at Tia with her captivating, emerald-green eyes. "Why did you suddenly come here? It's not safe inside the school now. Go back to the clock tower."

Tia said, "Senior! It's not safe to stay anywhere! There's a traitor among us!"

In an instant, Jeremiah's face fell into an almost terrifying silence.

The air around Jeremiah was almost completely still, heavy and cold. Emerald eyes were filled with undisguised hostility and disgust.

This reaction sent a chill down Tia's spine, and she took two steps back with a hint of fear—how come her senior is a gravity major?!

However, this aversion was not directed at Tia.

"You went to Rexar's place?"

"No, no, no, I believe you, senior!"

"That's good."

The chilling atmosphere dissipated considerably, and Jeremiah said with annoyance, "All the rites and funerals were just Rexar's own words. He said that was the teacher's final arrangement before his soul was trapped in the eternal curse, is that really true?"

Tia, curious about the "sage's" opinion, asked, "Senior, are you saying this is Senior Rexar's personal opinion?"

"In my opinion... Tia, this is completely a case of him disregarding the overall situation and indulging in wishful thinking in his desire to obtain the Book of Transformation!"

"The Academy is now on the verge of collapse. The Transformation Faction and the Sublimation Faction are just a step away from a complete split! How could Rexar dare to think of holding a funeral for their teacher at this time!"

"Whether being trapped in an eternal curse counts as death or not, now that he's learning, he needs a teacher to support him, but all he wants is the Book of Transformation!"

"Holding a cross in his hand, but with a heart as selfish as a demon!"

Jeremiah's tone shifted abruptly, and he asked, "Tia, can I trust you?"

"Of course! You can completely trust Tia, senior!"

Tia patted her chest and assured Jeremiah.

His expression and posture had a hint of a repeat offender about him, and Jeremiah felt that something was off.

But she didn't think too much about it, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "In that case, I need your help."

"I can't beat my senior!"

"...I didn't ask you to fight him. You already couldn't handle Rexar's Disintegrate spell, let alone the fact that he has already mastered the Trinity."

"what is that?"

"Dissociation is a high-sequence ritual of the Transmutation school, which can break down a large ritual into many smaller rituals, thereby reducing the burden and cost."

Tia probably understood.

For example, the ritual of the Holy Blood in the Chalice that she learned early on was a super-simplified version of the Red Chalice.

Jeremiah added, "But Rexar had mastered the art of disintegration to an exquisite degree, easily breaking down a ritual into tens of thousands or even millions of smaller rituals, which were virtually costless and, of course, had no effect. The result was that the ritual was nullified."

Good grief, they've fallen silent...

"The Trinity is one of the secrets of the Transcendental School. Its main effect is that when one ritual is activated, the other two rituals work simultaneously, and the effect is amplified three times. Of course, the cost will also increase three times. This is especially terrifying in Rexar's hands, so I don't expect you to be able to do anything to him."

“There are some relics left by my teacher on the clock tower, a short sword, very short. See my laurel wreath? It’s only this long. It’s the assassination sword that killed the tyrant Maximus five hundred years ago. Could you help me find it?”

Tia exclaimed in surprise, "Senior, don't do anything rash! I heard you say that Senior Rex is quite strong."

“I didn’t intend to kill him. The true purpose of the Sword that Pierces the Tyrant is not as a weapon, but as a key. The previous president, Bishop, had two extraordinary swords: one was Solomon’s Victory Sword, and the other was the Assassination Sword that Pierces the Tyrant. He gave these two swords to his two students.”

“Professor Ulrich obtained the Assassination Sword, which he then modified into a key to the side door. The storeroom next to the seventh-floor observatory was unaffected by the ritual. By going through the storeroom and using the Assassination Sword, you can open the side door to the observatory.”

Tia asked, "Senior, are you going to take the Book of Transformation?"

“Yes.” Jeremiah made no attempt to hide his intentions, saying, “What Rexar wants is the Book of Transformation. I’ll just give it to him. He’s a Transformation Scholar and a student of the Master’s Way of Transformation. I can give him this book. Then I can make him completely give up any other thoughts and get out of the Iris.”

"Isn't this a bad idea?"

“Tia—If the teacher weren’t the president of the academy, I would never have done this. Moths are the path of ruthlessness, but I am still a human being no matter what.”

Tia understood what he meant.

Both sides are now stuck in their own stubbornness. Rexa is convinced that Jeremiah has strayed from the right path and that his soul is irredeemably corrupted, and that his opposition to the funeral is out of fear of being exposed; while Jeremiah is convinced that it is all Rexa's selfishness, and that she will absolutely not allow the funeral to take place in order to ensure the integrity of the school.

This stubbornness has made it irrelevant who the real traitor is, and it has made the conflict even more difficult to resolve.

This is probably what Ulrich wanted to show her, so she could first understand what the Alchemy Society was really like inside.

But Tia didn't really care about these issues; what she cared about more was:

How can we kill the traitor now?

Or to be more specific: how to kill either Jeremiah or Rexsha.

Kicking Marne to death isn't much harder than her trying to commit suicide. So, by killing either Jeremiah or Rex, Tia can use the process of elimination to find the real traitor.

As Tia pondered, Jeremiah said, "The sword's extraordinary properties are very special. If it hadn't been sheathed, only someone who is adaptable to both alchemy and the Holy Grail could see it."

"Rex possesses a high degree of adaptability to the Holy Grail, so he's definitely searching for this sword. The worst-case scenario is that the Assassination Sword is already in his hands..."

"Does it really have to be an assassination sword?"

“Of course. Otherwise, the remaining options are to try to unravel the ritual at the main gate, or to fall for the trap and hold a funeral. But the former takes too long, and as for the latter—Tia, I don’t want to be torn apart, nor do I want to see blood.”

Jeremiah's face grew increasingly somber. She walked barefoot on the floor in the living room, and from the cracks in the floorboards came the faint, restless flapping of wings.

But the sound stopped abruptly.

Jeremiah's gravitational field was also instantly cleared.

Jeremiah wasn't enlightened; he was simply stunned.

Tia easily drew a simple short sword from its scabbard. The blade was only 44 centimeters long, without any decoration, carving, or inscription. But the moment the blade was drawn, Jeremiah immediately recognized it:

Assassination Sword!