Chapter 14: The Witch’s Revenge
Facing the sudden onslaught of mechanical familiars, Diye’s eyes sharpened. Chanting silently, she waved her hand, her fingers tracing through the air, drawing a long line of fire imbued with runes. The flames enveloped each rune, forming burning feathers.
Diye had already moved from her original position, but the fiery wings still hovered there, trembling.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The burning feathers flew towards the mechanical familiars. The familiars dodged, but three were still struck down.
“Oh? Your shaping magic is quite good too?” Shartha said with a smile of approval, but continued to control the remaining familiars, pursuing Diye.
Diye abruptly stopped, her feet leaving marks on the ground as she swung her greatsword.
Boom!
Two more familiars were struck down.
“Diye, be careful!” Diluowei shouted, charging towards Diye, her rapier flashing like a silver streak.
Diye swung her greatsword horizontally, blocking Diluowei’s thrust. The last two familiars, not daring to approach, retreated to either side, opening their mouths to attack Diye with different elemental magic.
As Diye cast an Ice Crystal Barrier to defend against the familiars’ magic, Diluowei’s rapier, its tip tracing circles, slashed towards Diye with incredible speed.
Clang!
Diye blocked the attack, but lost her balance, sliding backward. The two familiars behind her unleashed their magic.
Diye suddenly twisted her body, lowering her waist, dodging the magic attacks. Then, she kicked backward, her heel creating ripples in the air that formed an orange-red magic circle.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two fiery wings shot out.
“Hmm?” Even Shartha was surprised.
Boom! Boom!
The two familiars were struck by the unexpected fiery wings, their mechanisms exploding, crashing to the ground in a shower of sparks and elemental energy.
The witches below were stunned.
Had Yalan Diye grown so powerful in just a few months?
Not only could she hold her own against Master Diluowei, but she even forced Master Shartha to intervene!
“Yalan Diye… just who is she?” Isesi, newly promoted to Official Witch, began to question her own judgment.
“Sister Diye,” Yoleya thought, her heart filled with excitement.
“Yalan Diye.” Diluowei, empowered by her acceleration spell, moved with explosive speed, her silver hair flying, like a silver phantom, her sword swirling with ice crystal stardust.
However, Diye, seemingly just regaining her balance, had already discerned Diluowei’s attack pattern, despite the magical enhancement.
In an instant, she formulated the perfect counter and disarm. If successful, it would decide the match!
However… as Diye swung her greatsword, she didn’t execute the planned counter, instead opting for a direct attack, slashing towards Diluowei, leaving herself unguarded.
Whoosh!
A gust of icy wind swept through the arena.
Diluowei and Diye, unwavering yet in sync, stopped their attacks at the last moment.
The edge of Diye’s greatsword was mere millimeters from Diluowei’s shoulder.
And Diluowei’s slender silver sword was practically touching Diye’s prominent left breast.
Their hair, stirred by the wind, slowly settled.
“The match is over!” Shartha announced, raising her hand.
The result was essentially a draw.
But that no longer mattered.
What Diye needed was the witches’ acknowledgment of her strength. Her magic was potent enough to simultaneously fight Diluowei and fend off Shartha’s interference. Her swordsmanship, to outsiders, was at least on par with Diluowei’s!
This level of performance was enough to prove she was the irreplaceable, best candidate for the revenge plan.
This was enough.
There was no need to defeat Diluowei with swordsmanship. Unnecessarily revealing excessive swordsmanship prowess might raise unwanted suspicion.
A shimmering, blood-red rose bloomed around Diye, translucent thorns extending through the cathedral, its petals scattering.
In the witch evaluation, all the masked witches voted in favor of Diye. The blood-red rose was the highest recognition and expectation the witches bestowed upon a newly promoted Official Witch.
This was the honor of the witch world.
However, Diye’s heart was filled with complex emotions.
“Next, we will conduct the final assessment for the executor of the plan.” Shartha returned to the small door behind the platform, descended the spiral staircase behind the cathedral wall, and returned to the altar. She gathered with Diluowei and the eight masked witches for deliberation.
Diye remained standing on the altar.
This was the most crucial moment. Even now, Diye felt a sense of unease. After all, there were no absolute rules for the selection, it was entirely up to these witches.
She had chosen to temporarily accept the identity of a witch, to train in this underground church, even enduring the shame of entering the women’s bath and living in the girls’ dormitory, all for this moment!
She had worshipped the Goddess of the Night, studied heretical knowledge, practiced forbidden magic, breathed in the sweet fragrance of women, and inadvertently glimpsed their naked bodies countless times… She knew she had violated too many taboos.
Faith wasn’t about divine power granted as a reward. Even without divine favor, without the bestowal of holy power, one shouldn’t doubt their faith.
But to prove her honor, to reclaim what she had lost, to take revenge on Cerise, and most importantly, to protect Qingruo… she had to choose this path.
All her efforts, all her self-imposed degradation, were for this moment.
If Diye didn’t get chosen, she might truly resort to more desperate measures, directly seizing the ring. Although the risk was high and the chances of success low, she would have no other choice.
She had to go back, and she needed that ring.
Her chest heaved, her pink lips exhaling faint white breaths. Her golden eyes, with their dark pupils, seemed to burn silently, intensely.
The masked witches nodded, seemingly in agreement. Shartha stepped forward from among them, her gaze sweeping over Diye with a hint of amusement, sending a shiver down Diye’s spine.
She announced to everyone: “This plan, guided by the Goddess of the Night, after our continuous observation and today’s trial examination, we have unanimously decided—”
“Yalan Diye is the most suitable candidate to execute this revenge plan!”
At this moment, Diye felt her soul almost take flight, her body as if propelled to an unknown place by an unseen force…
There were no cheers, no applause. This was perhaps the affirmation of their most outstanding witch, but everyone knew that being chosen meant embarking on an extremely dangerous path, challenging the vast and unfathomable Empire with the strength of a single woman.
Embarking on a witch’s revenge!
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