Chapter 13: The Bell of Fate
Above the silver chalice, the purple flames burned brightly.
Diye, in her blue and white gothic dress, a heavy iron-grey greatsword in hand, walked onto the altar under the watchful eyes of the apprentice witches.
On the other side of the altar, Diluowei, a delicate rapier at her waist, her small, gloved hand resting on its hilt.
Standing there, Diye felt a surge of emotions. The months of training and cultivation, though yielding the desired results, hadn’t been easy. Especially enduring it all as a woman.
She breathed deeply, feeling the gazes of the witches below, whether focused on her face or lingering on other parts of her body. Though her training had progressed significantly, she still couldn’t get used to being scrutinized like this in a female body.
But she had a feeling that if she was chosen as the witch to go to the Imperial Holy Academy, everything would fall into place.
The official witch evaluation was no longer a concern. Her only goal now was the witch selection!
Diye looked at the petite, silver-haired witch across the platform, some ten paces away. She bowed, her sword held behind her, one hand placed below her chest, performing the witch’s salute. Witches weren’t bound by strict formalities and could also adopt noble etiquette.
“Master Diluowei, thank you for your guidance these past few months.”
“Miss Diye, it was my honor to teach you magic,” Diluowei replied with a graceful, ladylike curtsy.
“Well, however…” Diluowei’s pink lips parted slightly. “Isn’t your gratitude a bit premature?”
“What do you mean, Master Diluowei?”
“Perhaps you still have much to learn from me here. Soon, you’ll understand,” Diluowei said calmly.
“I’m eager to learn from you, but in this match, I’ll give it my all.” Diye’s golden eyes held no hesitation.
“You still refuse to call me Teacher? Well, today, I’ll change your mind!”
Clang!
A flash of silver light. Diluowei drew her rapier in an instant, pointing it at Diye.
Diye swung her greatsword behind her, taking a sideways stance to face her opponent.
Dong, dong, dong— The ancient bell of the underground church tolled.
This signaled the beginning of the top-level duel between the witches of the church.
“Fourth-level Acceleration, Celia’s Wind Encounter…” Diluowei, without hesitation, immediately began chanting the ancient spell. Moreover, she possessed the ability to shorten and omit chants, completing them with mental meditation.
The apprentice witches and witches below gasped. Starting with a fourth-level ancient lineage spell, this was on a completely different level from the previous matches!
Diye didn’t interrupt Diluowei’s casting, partly out of respect for her de facto magic teacher, and partly because disrupting Diluowei’s spellcasting wasn’t so easy.
The greatsword she held behind her glowed with a faint, cold light.
Martial Skill: Moonlight Frost.
Diye had adapted and improved the Body Assault Power martial skill from her Yedi days, making it more suitable for her female body, greatly enhancing her speed and explosive power.
“Diye, be careful.”
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Diluowei moved. With incredible speed, like a blur, she crossed the distance of over ten meters in an instant, appearing before Diye, her rapier, like a silver needle piercing the air, aimed at Diye.
Clang!
Diye’s greatsword, with a wide swing, her long legs providing strong support, traced a crescent arc of light, easily deflecting Diluowei’s rapier.
However, Diluowei’s silver sword was swift and unpredictable. After being blocked, she immediately drew back, gathering power, and thrusting several times in rapid succession.
Diye leaped back, dodging the attacks, then brought her greatsword crashing down on the advancing Diluowei.
Clang!
Diluowei’s rapier was knocked towards the altar.
As Diye landed, she spun around, unleashing a horizontal slash, a sharp gust of wind following the blade. Despite the greatsword’s weight, the speed of the attack left a lingering afterimage.
Enhanced by the fourth-level lineage magic, Diluowei, facing the blur of the sword, leaped back gracefully, momentarily floating in mid-air thanks to the fourth-level wind magic. As she slowly descended, she extended her other hand, quickly chanting an incantation.
As she landed, ethereal blue magic circles appeared in the air.
Ice shards, imbued with ice element and accelerated by elemental power, shot out from the circles.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The ice shards rained down on Diye.
Diye, her long legs moving swiftly, sprinted sideways across the arena, the ice shards embedding themselves in the floor behind her, even freezing parts of the surrounding area.
As she ran, Diye extended one hand, her fingers spread.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Fireballs erupted from the red magic circle that formed in front of her palm.
“What’s going on?”
“I didn’t see her chant…”
“Miss Diye’s casting is even faster than Master Diluowei’s?”
The apprentice witches below were astonished, even the eight masked witches maintaining the barrier were impressed.
Diye possessed exceptional mental strength and focus. She didn’t omit the chanting entirely, but merely recited the incantations silently in her mind, which was naturally faster than any vocalized method.
“Tch!”
Diluowei kicked off the magical barrier behind her, using the recoil to dodge the fireballs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fireballs exploded around her.
The powerful shockwaves still disrupted Diluowei’s balance, forcing her to land on one knee as she slid forward.
Gamyxi’s Servant’s Whip!
Diluowei, even while dodging, had already begun chanting, demonstrating remarkable concentration and multitasking ability under such pressure, something most witches couldn’t achieve.
She swung her hand back, creating a large lightning rune magic circle.
Crackle!
Three blinding lightning bolts, snaking and crackling, lashed out at Diye.
Diye leaped into the air, using the surrounding magical barrier as a foothold, creating ripples in the barrier as she moved, as if walking and leaping on invisible walls, dodging the lightning strikes.
At the same time, she continued to launch large, mushroom-shaped, fourth-level fireballs at Diluowei!
“Ugh!”
The eight masked witches broke out in a cold sweat, focusing all their energy. These destructive fireballs were almost too much for the barrier to handle.
“No!”
Diluowei cried out. While she wasn’t afraid of the fourth-level mushroom fireballs, the limited space of the arena left her cornered with nowhere to dodge.
She had no choice but to cast an Ice Crystal Shield for defense.
Boom!
Flames and shockwaves reverberated within the barrier. Although Diluowei blocked the mushroom fireball, she was still thrown to the ground by the aftershock, rolling and crashing against the barrier.
Fortunately, an ice crystal armor materialized around her. Though the armor shattered and dissipated, Diluowei’s face was flushed, her breath ragged.
“This woman, does she have unlimited magic power?” she thought, glancing at Diye’s ample chest swaying as she landed.
“Hmph, to think little Diluowei has been pushed to this point. The honor of us Official Witches cannot be taken lightly.” Shartha, on the rocky platform above, licked her lips. Waving her wand, a swirling spatial magic circle appeared around her, each vortex releasing a circular, winged mechanical familiar. The familiars were similar in appearance, but their glowing single eyes and the energy emanating from their mouths differed in color.
Seven familiars, their fanged mouths radiating elemental magic power, flew towards Diye.
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