Witch’s Night: Chapter 25 Singing Once More
The amber eyes stared intently at Luo Yan and Chris, seemingly devoid of any emotion.
Childish sobs came intermittently from the inner room. This little girl, who called herself “Cecilia,” was undoubtedly the master of the ghastly shadow in front of them, but for some reason, she seemed completely unaware.
But now, Luo Yan could also confirm Cecilia’s identity.
She was the God’s Chosen she had sensed earlier.
However… what kind of demonic power was this?
Luo Yan wasn’t familiar with all demonic powers, but she could rule out the three she possessed: “Envy,” “End,” and “Absolute Death.”
That left “Terror” and “Sorrow,” representing the pinnacles of the “Mutation” and “Prophecy” systems, respectively.
The ghastly shadow in front of them was uncontrolled and almost ignored the properties of space.
The tearing spatial rifts could only block its attacks but couldn’t harm it in any way.
Chris’s “Siren’s Song,” Luo Yan’s “Envy,” and other mental abilities were all ineffective, passing through the ghastly shadow as if it were nothing but air.
Luo Yan wanted to try “Absolute Death,” but she was worried about not being able to control the strength and accidentally involving Chris.
Because she had almost never directly used “Manjusaka,” always relying on the sniper rifle and the Philosopher’s Stone to cast it, her proficiency was far less than that of “Envy” and “End.”
The short respite didn’t last long. Soon, the ghastly shadow slowly dissipated again, followed by the warning sting on her skin.
At the same time, Chris was finally able to join the fight. She gradually merged into the shadows, holding a shadow dagger, ready to ambush the ghastly shadow.
Luo Yan conjured a spatial blade for herself, but it was quite unstable and dangerous. Luo Yan could only use it for defense, lest it went out of control and dragged everyone into the Void.
She would be fine, but Chris might not be…
Actually, Luo Yan and Chris had considered rushing into the room and dragging Cecilia out, but the problem was they couldn’t get in.
The ghastly shadow’s primary objective was to protect Cecilia. As soon as Luo Yan or Chris showed any sign of approaching the room, its attacks would instantly become fiercer, forcing them to retreat.
Of course, the ghastly shadow’s power wasn’t infinite. Just like now, it was also limited by “stamina.”
After fighting for a certain amount of time, the ghastly shadow would also get tired, but it recovered very quickly during its rest.
“I feel like… Phew, we’re fighting an intangible phantom.”
Chris panted, looking at the ghastly shadow, which was slowly reappearing in front of Cecilia’s room, blocking the door. She had a headache.
She had never encountered such an elusive enemy…
“But this phantom’s combat power isn’t weak.”
Luo Yan glanced around. This dilapidated residential building was already covered in damage, and the few pieces of furniture had all suffered.
The two chairs were broken into pieces, the coffee table was cracked in several places, and the only thing spared was the high chair near the balcony because their fight hadn’t reached there.
Some of the damage was caused by the ghastly shadow, some by Luo Yan’s spatial blade, while Chris had good control over her power and hadn’t left many marks.
However, this residential building was surprisingly sturdy. Luo Yan had personally seen it take a direct hit from the ghastly shadow on a load-bearing pillar, and after a tremor, nothing happened.
The ghastly shadow’s strength wasn’t actually that strong, at most around “Ruin” level.
But its terrifying aspect was its intangible nature, making Luo Yan and Chris passively take hits, unable to retaliate.
The sobs from the inner room hadn’t subsided, and they could vaguely sense that the little girl called “Cecilia” was huddled in the corner, trembling.
“Miss Luo Yan, aren’t you also a God’s Chosen?”
Chris’s stamina was running low. She was originally an assassin-type ability user, and her ability was of the mental type, which didn’t enhance her physical body.
“Hurry up and think of something with your demonic power!”
“I… I can’t think of anything either,” Luo Yan was equally helpless. “With this ghastly shadow here, unless we plan to kill that little girl directly, there’s nothing I can do in this situation.”
Killing the little girl was simple, just a spatial rift would do.
Not to mention the ghastly shadow, even if the original owner of this house came, they couldn’t stop Luo Yan’s spatial ability.
But now… it wasn’t to the point where they had to take the little girl’s life, and hearing the girl’s sobs, Luo Yan couldn’t bear to do it.
“Isn’t there… Holy shit! It almost hit my head! Isn’t there any other way?”
Chris narrowly dodged an attack. Every strike from the ghastly shadow was aimed at vital points; a single mistake could cost her life.
“How about… I sing a song? The melody that appeared on the first floor, I’ve actually heard it before.” Luo Yan thought for a moment and said. “Maybe hearing a familiar song will calm that little girl down a bit?”
“…Why do I feel like that would be even more dangerous?”
“I sang in front of Magistrate Norian before, and he didn’t say anything.”
He didn’t dare to say anything…
“Um… in that case, give it a try!”
Having said that, Chris couldn’t object.
But she was still a bit curious. After all, Chris was one of the most famous idols in the Free Federation. Putting aside her abilities, her singing skills were also top-notch.
But Chris couldn’t understand the ethereal melody she heard on the first floor. The chaotic lyrics and inexplicable melody could only be said to be a bit too avant-garde for current humans.
“Mm.”
Luo Yan nodded, then cleared her throat.
She didn’t sing the strange lyrics, but hummed the melody softly, her voice resonating with her soul, carefully reaching out to Cecilia.
In an instant, the ghastly shadow’s movements stopped, and it began to slowly dissipate. The little girl’s sobs in the inner room also gradually subsided.
It worked!
Chris’s pupils constricted, while Luo Yan continued humming the melody, ethereal and lingering.
Although there were no lyrics, it still brought an inexplicable chill.
“Is… is Grandpa Bishop… back…?”
A pair of timid amber eyes peeked out, looking towards the living room.
At the same time, the ghastly shadow completely dissipated.
“It seems to be resolved.”
Chris breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Luo Yan,
“Miss Luo Yan, you can stop… Huh?!”
Chris’s expression froze when she saw Luo Yan, her gaze unable to move away.
The humming continued, the ethereal melody echoing in her soul, causing a resonance at the soul level.
However, this wasn’t the reason for Chris’s expression.
The Luo Yan who appeared before Chris was completely different from before.
The ice blue highlights in her silver-white hair, from when she was using “End,” were now completely dyed crimson.
The dreamy aura around her had dissipated, replaced by a tremor in her soul.
Not only that, Luo Yan wasn’t wearing the plain white dress from before. At some point, she had changed into a crimson, strapless evening gown.
Its intricate and gorgeous design was unprecedented, and countless eyeballs swayed beneath the wide skirt, rolling around.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing Chris’s surprised expression, Luo Yan tilted her head and asked, puzzled.
“You, you…”
Chris raised her hand tremblingly. Although Luo Yan didn’t seem to have changed apart from her clothes, she exuded an inexplicable pressure.
It wasn’t the pressure of powerful strength, but another indescribable pressure, as if she was inherently superior.
If Chris had systematically studied the knowledge about Saints, she would know that this pressure came from the conceptual entity’s suppression of living beings on a hierarchical level.
No matter how weak a conceptual entity was, its form of existence itself was a level higher than that of living beings.
On the other hand, Chris also noticed that, although Luo Yan had spoken, the ethereal melody swirling around hadn’t stopped.
Gradually, lyrics began to reappear in the melody.
“Ten guards went mad… nine guards were biting…”
The lyrics were in reverse!
Luo Yan, however, seemed not to hear it and continued looking at Chris with a puzzled expression.
Unaware that Chris was now completely chilled, the look in her eyes towards Luo Yan becoming unfamiliar.
She wasn’t sure whether the girl in front of her was still Luo Yan, and what changes the surrounding singing would bring.
She seemed to have… caused a great disaster.
Just then, Cecilia, who had cautiously peeked out, finally saw everything in the living room.
Seeing the damage around her, Cecilia was so scared that she almost retreated back into her room.
But at this moment, she inadvertently saw Luo Yan’s current form and froze.
However, unlike Chris’s terrified stupor, after a moment of shock, Cecilia’s expression became visibly joyful.
“It’s… it’s the God of Hope!”
She jumped out excitedly, but almost fell due to her weak body, stumbling and supporting herself against the wall to barely steady herself.
“God of Hope?” Hearing this, Luo Yan immediately became alert and looked around. “Where? Where?”
She knew very well that the Church of the End Gods referred to the Witch of Envy as the “God of Hope.”
Although Luo Yan had faced the Witch of Envy and achieved final victory, she didn’t want to go through that again.
It wasn’t fear, but worry. If she failed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Where…”
Chris was about to say that it was probably you, but after a moment of reflection, she swallowed her words.
In the New Era, perception, under certain circumstances, had the ability to alter reality to a certain extent.
There was once an ability user whose heart was pierced during a war, but because his mind and soul completely forgot this fact during the continuous fighting, he supported his supposedly dead body and continued fighting for several days.
It wasn’t until his friend told him the truth about his death that he finally rested in peace.
In other words, if Luo Yan realized that she now looked like the Witch of Envy, and actually believed she had become the Witch of Envy, then this fact would eventually be established.
At that time, Lannister… no, the entire world would face the first true body of a Primordial Demon to descend upon the present world in hundreds of years.
Just as Luo Yan nervously searched for the Witch of Envy, and Chris hesitated to speak, Cecilia next to them had already knelt down respectfully before Luo Yan.
She clasped her hands together in a pious prayer posture,
“Great Lord, I offer my whole being to you, may you… you… you… may you atone for your sins…”
Cecilia didn’t seem familiar with the prayer process. Not only did she stammer through the prayer, but she also mispronounced several words, leaving Luo Yan bewildered.
Although Luo Yan had eliminated the Witch of Envy, her behavior back in Ghost Town could be described as that of the Witch of Envy’s most devout follower. She naturally remembered the basic prayers clearly.
However, prayers were just a means, a standardized behavior to further sense the presence of the conceptual entity “Witch of Envy.” The key was the sense achieved by devoting oneself wholeheartedly during the prayer process. Mispronouncing a few words didn’t affect it.
The problem was that Cecilia’s mispronunciation was too outrageous… from the follower atoning for their sins to the Witch of Envy atoning for hers…
“Little girl, you’re saying it wrong…”
Luo Yan sighed and said helplessly.
“So-, Sorry, God of Hope,” Cecilia’s expression immediately became panicked, and she said in a fluster, “It’s because Cecilia is too stupid, it’s all Cecilia’s fault, not because Grandpa Bishop taught poorly…”
“…If he had taught you well, he would be finished.”
“Ah?”
Cecilia froze, then looked at Luo Yan with a confused expression,
“Strange… God of Hope, why have you changed your appearance again…”
“Me?” Luo Yan pointed at herself and shook her head. “I am not the God of Hope.”
Chris immediately popped up and said, “Yes, yes, yes, she is not the God of Hope.”
By this time, Luo Yan had returned to her appearance in a simple white dress, and Chris finally put her heart, which had risen to her throat, back in its place.
“Bu-, But…”
Cecilia rubbed her temples in confusion, her expression troubled.
That wasn’t right, the appearance of the God of Hope that Grandpa Bishop had shown her… Cecilia remembered it clearly!
A bright red dress, many, many eyes, and… a very beautiful appearance.
Much more beautiful than Cecilia…
However, just then, Luo Yan suddenly frowned. She stared at Cecilia for a while, then reached out and grabbed her arm.
“Ah! God of Hope…”
“Don’t move.”
Luo Yan said in a low voice, holding Cecilia’s small arm, her expression becoming more and more serious.
“Miss Luo Yan, what’s wrong?”
Chris asked, curious about Luo Yan’s unusual action.
Luo Yan didn’t answer Chris immediately. After carefully examining Cecilia for a while, she gently let go of her arm, looked up at Chris, and said,
“It seems we have to find that Bishop.”
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