CA – Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Glanna vanished into the Dark Domain once more, her figure gone without a trace. The ground beneath their feet trembled as Glanna commanded more monsters to close in on them.
For a Black Witch within her own Dark Domain, there were a thousand, ten thousand ways to preserve her life. This was especially true for Glanna, the youngest and most talented Red-robed Witch in a millennium.
Even Fanny couldn't guarantee she could tear Glanna to shreds unless she caught hold of her true body.
The wound on Jemma's arm had stabilized, but due to excessive blood loss and the large patch of flesh eroded by the Power of Darkness, her transformation had faded. Her snow-white hair returned to its original brown, her face was deathly pale, and her spirit was listless. She could only be protected in the center of the werewolf formation.
Fanny assigned three werewolves to protect Jemma, then took the lead, continuing to explore the Dark Domain. Although Glanna had escaped, they had successfully pinpointed Eva and Jillian's location.
Dealing with the Black Witch was secondary; their main objective this time was to rescue their people.
Once the werewolves had a clear direction, their determined advance put immense pressure on Glanna. Hiding in the shadows, she directed monsters to obstruct Fanny and the others, naturally overlooking the little priest who was also within her Dark Domain.
The reinforcements Tang Qiu had "invited" were keeping Glanna occupied, but things on Tang Qiu's side were not as easy as one might imagine.
The Gorefiends were said to be the Dark God's most capable generals. Whether that was true or not, their combat prowess was not to be underestimated. A Gorefiend summoned by a White-robed Witch of the Garcia Family could even rival a monster summoned by a Red-robed Witch from another family.
This was the talent the Garcia clan had received in exchange for their loyalty to the Dark God. Vera stood outside the Dark Domain, a dark array swirling with black energy and blood at her feet. She closed her eyes slightly, the Gorefiend's unwilling roars echoing in her ears. She could feel its strength gradually failing.
Vera glanced back expressionlessly toward the place where Erin was being held captive.
She took out a sharp dagger and emotionlessly slit her other wrist. Blood sprayed onto the dark array at her feet, only to be devoured by the surging black energy.
Due to the blood loss, Vera's face was extremely pale. The black energy, like an insatiable beast, consumed the gushing blood but was slow to activate the array. Vera bit her lip and made another cut on her arm with the dagger.
With her current strength, she shouldn't have been able to summon two Gorefiends simultaneously. But Vera was the most talented Black Witch of her generation in the Garcia Family. Just as her consciousness began to fade, she finally succeeded.
The silhouette of a Gorefiend materialized behind her, its roar pulling Vera's hazy consciousness back. She opened her eyes, tore a piece of cloth from her clothes, and casually wrapped it around her arm and wrist before directing the Gorefiend into the black fog.
Erin was returning to Witch City with her. No one could take her away.
The newly summoned Gorefiend headed straight for Tang Qiu, the ground trembling slightly under its heavy body. Lucille slammed the Gorefiend she was fighting to the ground. She looked up, frowning in Tang Qiu's direction, and was about to go and provide support when the Gorefiend beneath her suddenly erupted with force, throwing her off. A massive fist swung toward her head.
Lucille flew backward, her advance once again halted by the Gorefiend.
Tang Qiu had dealt with wave after wave of monsters using the Holy Water of Light. Cracks had already appeared in her light barrier, but she had no time to repair it. The ground beneath her was shaking, and a powerful, oppressive force was approaching. She retreated step by step, already feeling exhausted from the excessive use of her spiritual power.
The ground was littered with the mangled corpses of monsters. The hem of her pure white robes and her silver boots were stained with blood, as if she were trapped in a dark swamp, struggling in vain to escape her predicament.
As Tang Qiu retreated nearby, a monster feigning death suddenly leaped up, its gaping maw snapping at her head. A thin barrier of light appeared abruptly, blocking the sneak attack. Tang Qiu used the opportunity to retreat several steps. A light bracelet on her wrist broke silently and fell to the ground.
The monster, blocked by the light barrier, stood up and let out a low growl at Tang Qiu, lowering its body and stalking toward her step by step.
Tang Qiu caressed the staff in her hand, her expression grave. She had expended too much spiritual power; even with the Holy Water of Light, it was taking a toll.
Moreover, after dealing with this monster, there was an even more troublesome Gorefiend waiting.
A priest's strength was still too weak, Tang Qiu lamented inwardly as she put away her staff.
The monster closed to within two meters of Tang Qiu. She could already smell the foul stench coming from it. The oppressive force was gradually increasing. As danger approached, the blood in her body began to boil, and a sore, aching pain spread through her joints.
Tang Qiu took a deep breath and was about to close her eyes, waiting for her consciousness to fade, when an unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded in her ear. "My beautiful priest, do you require some assistance?"
As the voice arrived, the monster that had already lunged at her was intercepted mid-air. The newcomer grabbed the monster's head with both hands, executed a back-suplex, and flung it away. The monster was slammed violently to the ground. Before it could get up, it was grabbed again and thrown into the air. A pair of feet landed on its stomach, descending with it.
With a loud bang, the monster let out a mournful cry.
The oppressive force vanished. Tang Qiu opened her eyes. The dense fog obscured her view of the situation, and she could only hear the sounds of thuds and the monster's whimpers. She was stunned for a moment, her thoughts racing. Her peripheral vision caught a skeleton walking out of the fog. Her eyes flickered, and she took out a light staff again.
This time, it was an ordinary light staff.
Just as the skeleton reached Tang Qiu's side, the person who had suddenly appeared also finished off the monster and walked over. He was dressed in a magnificent tailcoat, a rose flamboyantly tucked into his breast pocket. His silver, curly hair shone even in the dense fog. Looking up, one would discover he had a pair of red eyes. This young and handsome man was a vampire.
"Are you hurt, my beautiful priestess?" The vampire held the rose and tried to get closer to Tang Qiu but was blocked by the skeleton. The two faced off for a moment before the vampire finally gave up and casually stuck the rose on the skeleton's head.
It seemed these were more people from Mark's Grocery Store.
A strange monster skeleton and a vampire... what kind of organization was behind this?
As Tang Qiu's mind raced, she gave the vampire a slight nod. There was no time for useless pleasantries; the Gorefiend had already reached their vicinity. "I'll have to trouble you to take care of this monster."
The vampire rakishly flicked his hair. "That'll cost extra."
Tang Qiu smiled slightly and nodded in agreement. "Of course." Erin would be settling the bill in the end, anyway.
With the addition of a combat-ready vampire as reinforcement, Tang Qiu could finally continue her search for Erin's location, guided by the skeleton.
The surrounding black fog was no longer as dense as before. Perhaps it was because summoning two Gorefiends in succession had left the White-robed Witch with no energy to command other monsters. In any case, Tang Qiu's path forward was now incredibly smooth.
Even when one or two monsters jumped out, the skeleton was the first to deal with them.
A cold wind swept past her. Lucille wiped the blood from her hands as she looked Tang Qiu over carefully, then asked in a low voice, "Who is that vampire?"
Tang Qiu pointed at the skeleton ahead. "Probably also from Mark's Grocery Store."
Lucille paused for a moment, then said flatly, "A fourth-generation vampire. A bit surprising."
A fourth-generation vampire could have established their own faction in the Blood Domain.
With the first-generation vampires in slumber and the second-generation in seclusion, the Blood Domain was currently the domain of the third and fourth generations.
Why would a fourth-generation vampire not be developing their own power in the Blood Domain, instead coming here to earn a few bottles of Holy Water of Light?
Tang Qiu glanced at Lucille, wanting to say something, but with the skeleton up ahead, she held her tongue and raised a hand to cast a purification spell on Lucille.
One of the two Gorefiends had already been dealt with, and the remaining one didn't last much longer. The moment both Gorefiends vanished, Vera clutched her chest and spat out a large mouthful of blood. She coughed violently for a while, the Dark Domain, no longer sustainable, slowly dissipating.
She could hear footsteps approaching. Vera closed her eyes, summoned a skeleton, and commanded it to pick her up. Then, she turned and vanished into the black fog.
Not long after Vera left, the skeleton led Tang Qiu and Lucille to the spot where she had just been. Ahead, a building loomed faintly in the black fog. The skeleton stopped and detached its arm again.
It bent down and arranged a line of characters on the ground. Lucille glanced down and said to Tang Qiu, "It says Erin is inside."
The skeleton scrambled the characters and arranged a new line.
"But there's a dark array inside. It's telling us to be careful."
Tang Qiu looked at the skeleton and raised an eyebrow. "You're not coming in with us?"
The skeleton shook its head, reattached its arm, and waved at Tang Qiu and Lucille. Then, it turned and walked away, its figure disappearing directly into the fog.
Tang Qiu watched thoughtfully in the direction the skeleton had disappeared and said to Lucille, "Since there's a dark array, wouldn't it be better for it to go in and rescue her?"
The skeleton was a monster, immune to dark arrays.
Lucille followed Tang Qiu's gaze and shook her head slightly. She didn't know anything about Mark's Grocery Store, so she couldn't explain what was going on with their people.
Tang Qiu withdrew her gaze, temporarily suppressing her doubts. She took out several bottles of Holy Water of Light and drank them down, then raised a hand to rub her temples, soothing her tense and weary mind.
Lucille pulled her closer, letting her lean against her to rest. Looking down at her pale face, she frowned and said, "I can go in by myself."
Tang Qiu's lips curved into a smile. She closed her eyes and said softly, "What if it's not safe out here either?"
Lucille was silent for a moment before saying, "...You should rest a while longer."
While Tang Qiu was leaning on Lucille and recovering her spiritual power, the werewolves had also found the dungeon where Eva and Jillian were being held. However, before finding the dungeon, the first things they saw were monsters that were neither human nor wolf, and terrified werewolf men.
This manor was just a small outpost Glanna used for her research on werewolves. Not many werewolf men had been brought here, only a few dozen. Faced with Fanny and the others, they couldn't even muster the will to resist. They huddled fearfully in the dungeon, trying to find a chance to escape.
However, werewolves were extremely sensitive to the scent of their own kind. The moment they stepped into the dungeon, they smelled the werewolf men. They were initially confused, but after breaking down the dungeon doors one by one and seeing the terrified, trembling ordinary human women locked inside, and then thinking of those monsters, they finally understood what Glanna was doing.
Fanny smashed a dungeon wall with one hand, her cold tone thick with rage. "Tear them all to shreds."
Some of the werewolves searched the dungeon for the hiding werewolf men, while others went to check on the locked-up women. Having been imprisoned for so long and subjected to abuse, some of them were on the verge of mental collapse.
Fanny had the werewolves give them a bottle of Holy Water of Light to calm their emotions. She then walked to the last cell in the dungeon, reached out, and snapped the chains. A wisp of black energy seeped out from the ground, which she caught and crushed in her hand. The dungeon door creaked open.
Eva and Jillian, who had long since smelled their companions, stood up from the ground. Eva ran over excitedly, crying out, "Vice-Chief."
Fanny looked at her and chided in a low voice, "Pathetic."
Eva shrank back and retorted quietly, "Who knew the Black Witches were so brazen?" She added hatefully, "She actually captured me and Jillian to use us for breeding."
"And there's a traitor in the clan..."
Fanny raised a hand to stop Eva, saying flatly, "I already know."
A werewolf came over to report that everyone had been rescued. Fanny nodded and said to Eva and Jillian, "Let's go. We need to leave this place first."
If they wanted to take these innocent women with them, they would have to give up on pursuing Glanna for now.
Although they had been imprisoned for some time, Eva and Jillian were in good spirits. Eva went out first to help her companions with the rescue, while Jillian walked over to Fanny's side and asked, "Vice-Chief, how did you know we were being held here?"
Fanny handed her a piece of parchment.
Jillian opened it and scanned it, then lowered her head and sniffed it. Her eyes flashed. "...There's a scent of light?"
Fanny glanced at her and nodded. "A little. Did you meet someone from the Church out there?"
"We had dealings with some clerics once," Jillian said, folding the parchment. She thought for a moment and added, "There was also a Black Witch captured with us."
Fanny frowned. "A Black Witch?"
Eva, passing by, overheard this and chimed in, "Yes, a Black Witch. Let's rescue her too. We can earn eighty bottles of Holy Water of Light."
Fanny glared at her, and Eva shut her mouth and walked away.
Jillian explained, "This Black Witch might have a grudge against the Red-robed Witch who captured us."
"This letter was probably sent to our territory by her friend."
Fanny looked at her in surprise. "A cleric friend?"
Jillian nodded.
"Alright." Fanny turned to leave, her tone even. "Then we'll rescue her on the way."
Glanna's Dark Domain still brazenly enveloped the manor, indicating she hadn't left. The werewolves transformed into their original forms, carrying the humans who had fallen asleep after drinking the Holy Water of Light on their backs, cautiously navigating through the black fog.
Glanna stood on a high rooftop, looking down at the werewolves in the fog. From time to time, she would direct a monster to harass them. A wicked smile played on her lips as she watched their direction of travel.
Vera, riding on a skeleton, came to Glanna's side. She glanced down at the werewolves below and said expressionlessly, "Are they also going to rescue Erin?"
"Just like that priest and the vampire."
Glanna turned to look at her, stroking her head with a pained expression. "How did you let yourself get so injured?" she asked, shaking her head.
Vera lowered her head without a word.
Glanna chuckled softly, comforting her, "It's alright. None of them will be able to leave this manor."
"What about Erin?"
"My lovely daughter won't be leaving either, of course."
Vera looked up at her steadily. Glanna reached out and touched her blood-stained face, asking gently, "Vera, can you research a resurrection array?"
Vera was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "I don't know. I can only try."
The smile on Glanna's lips deepened. "You're as smart as Erin. I'm sure you can figure it out."
Hearing Erin's name from her lips again, Vera couldn't help but look up toward the place where Erin was being held. The wounds on her arm and wrist still throbbed with a dull pain, but she paid them no mind.
The black fog continued to spread. Within it, Tang Qiu rested against Lucille for a while, feeling much of her spiritual power restored. She took out her silver-white staff, nodded at Lucille, and said softly, "Let's go."
After speaking, Tang Qiu took a step forward, but the next moment, her wrist was suddenly grabbed. She paused, looking back at Lucille in confusion. Lucille caressed her wrist and instructed in a low voice, "There's a dark array. We'll stick together."
Tang Qiu blinked, then brandished the staff in her other hand, teasing, "Alright, I'll protect you."
She smiled and turned her head away, assuming Lucille wouldn't respond to her jest. Unexpectedly, Lucille squeezed her wrist and actually replied, "Okay."
Tang Qiu turned back to look at Lucille again, her sky-blue eyes tinged with a faint smile, her gaze openly appraising her. Lucille let her look, merely shifting her own fixed gaze away.
"...Aren't we going in to save Erin?" Lucille asked calmly.
Tang Qiu slowly withdrew her gaze and said with a smile, "Let's go."
The skeleton had only warned them about a dark array inside but hadn't specified what kind. Both Tang Qiu and Lucille were extremely cautious. Before entering, Tang Qiu even cast a spell on both of them to maintain clarity of mind.
A large portion of the dark magic and arrays that Black Witches excelled at were designed to confuse the mind, causing people to fall into darkness and lose themselves within.
However, light magic was the nemesis of such dark arrays, which was why Tang Qiu dared to step into this array with Lucille.
At first, she thought it was a dark array set up by the Red-robed Witch to prevent outsiders from rescuing Erin. She had imagined it might be a maze array, or a summoning array that would besiege them with monsters the moment they stepped in.
It could also have been an illusionary array that blurred the line between reality and fantasy.
No matter which it was, she had already thought of a way to break it. But what she hadn't expected was that this dark array had nothing to do with any of the above.
The moment her feet touched the ground inside the array, the black fog around Tang Qiu was suddenly dispelled. The bright light made her close her eyes in discomfort. When she opened them again, she was in the main hall of the Church. Lucille, who had been holding her wrist tightly, was nowhere to be seen.
Tang Qiu was stunned for a moment, then calmly turned to survey her surroundings. The place she was in was indeed the Church's main hall; even the statue of the Light Goddess on the steps was identical to the one in her memory.
Clerics walked past her, yet it was as if they couldn't see her at all.
Tang Qiu glanced at a passing cleric and saw an unfamiliar face. She frowned and tentatively called out, but the surrounding clerics showed no reaction.
Was this an illusion? But she hadn't been integrated into it. Tang Qiu followed behind a cleric, listening to their conversation, and fell into deep thought.
Tang Qiu searched the main hall and suddenly thought of something. She walked up the steps to the statue of the Light Goddess, bent down, and carefully examined the inscription. At the end, she found the Church's signature.
Gosse...
Tang Qiu's head shot up. The Gosse Church was the one the original owner of her body had belonged to before she transmigrated. After she arrived, the Church had been burned to the ground.
She wasn't in an illusion right now, but in "her own" memory?
Tang Qiu turned around, the warmth in her sky-blue eyes dropping to freezing point. She pressed her lips together and quickly scanned the clerics in the hall. Seeing no familiar faces, she descended the steps, preparing to leave the hall and go elsewhere.
The moment she stepped out of the hall, the silvery moonlight pouring down on her and the full, round moon overhead confirmed her suspicions. The dark array had plunged her into the original owner's memories. And if she wasn't mistaken, this memory was from the night she transmigrated.
Because she clearly remembered that it had been a full moon that night.
Deep within the illusion of the original owner's memory, Tang Qiu stood motionless after entering the dark array. Lucille shook her, frowning, a trace of worry flashing in her eyes. "Grace?"
The blonde priest's eyes were closed, and she didn't respond.
Lucille took out a bottle of Holy Water of Light. Just as she was about to give it to Tang Qiu, the black fog around her also began to recede. Magnificent, ornate buildings replaced the fog, filling the space around them.
Lucille didn't look up to inspect the changing environment. The moment she saw the fog retreating from her peripheral vision, she raised her arm to embrace the blonde priest. However, once the fog was completely replaced, the person in her arms vanished like a phantom.
Lucille's expression turned icy, and the blood in her dark red eyes began to churn. She scanned her surroundings with displeasure. When she clearly saw where she was, a look of astonishment flashed in her eyes.
This was the royal palace of Edry. Lucille looked calmly at the familiar architecture before her. Moreover, it was the palace she had lived in as a child, before it had been rebuilt.
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