Release that Witch

”Don’t be so upset, Lord Mayne.” Zero held her hands behind her back and slowly circled the square. ”The church was originally founded by the Union anyway, so His Holiness only did this so that the witches could get back what was theirs. If you win, you can also get my memories and experiences—wealth I accumulated over the past 200 years.”

”I see. Letting Zero use the Reflection Church was already strange because even if she were the Pope’s favorite, she was still a Pure Witch and shouldn’t have been given access to the church’s deepest secrets. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize this soon enough.” Mayne was silent for a while before saying, ”If you win, where do you plan to lead the church to?”

”To victory,” she said, raising her head, ”or destruction... just not towards the Fjord Islands.”

”W... what?”

”You think no one knows about your secret orders?” Zero’s tone contained a trace of mockery. ”Right before a great battle, you sent resources to the port of Kingdom of Everwinter to repair ships and support sailors. Plus, you sent a large number of scapegoats to the gallows. These are all costly expenses, practically impossible to hide from the church.”

”Shoot, O’Brien even entrusted her with the Pivotal Secret Area’s intelligence agency.” He thought silently. ”That doesn’t prove anything! As the Pope, I need to think in the long-term to ensure that the church survives under any circumstances.”

”Do you even believe your own words?” Zero laughed. ”Right after you accepted the scepter in front of all those believers, you started thinking about your own future, and you lost your will to win the Battle of Divine Will before it even began—do you think a mortal like you can earn the approval of God?”

”What approval of God?” Mayne couldn’t help but scream. ”If his approval was really protecting us, why were the humans suffering defeat after defeat?” He panted heavily and rasped. ”Meanwhile, we need to rely on God’s Punishment Army to battle the demons, so time is of the essence, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

”No, not just God’s Punishment Army,” whispered Zero. ”The fate of mankind shouldn’t rest in the hands of a few people.”

”Are we supposed to count on you witches?” Mayne chuckled coldly. ”Don’t forget that it was your kind who failed us 400 years ago!”

”The witches are also only a small group.” She stopped walking and stared directly at the Pope, her eyes chilling him to the core. ”This battle will decide the survival of all of the mankind, so everyone needs to be involved—men, women, the elderly and children will all become honored warriors and join the fight against the demons, or else... they’ll all die.”

”That’s absurd. You plan to send those civilians who are scared senseless by demonic beasts against actual demons? You must be out of your mind...” Mayne suddenly stopped, as he realized she wasn’t joking and was seriously sharing her plans with him. ”The only way to give civilians the ability to fight was...”

”You want to feed all of them Pills of Madness?” He asked in disbelief.

”One enchanted person is no match for a God’s Punishment Warrior, but what about ten?” Zero turned her head and asked. ”Not only is there currently a steady supply of demonic beasts running rampant, but the Pivotal Secret Area might also be able to invent a few new formulas. Five years later, the church will have a supply of around three to four million pills. What does this mean?” She paused. ”It means that besides God’s Punishment Army, the Holy City can also send out an army of millions of maddened men to participate in the battle against demons.”

”You’re... insane!”

”Insane? You’re the insane one for not taking the Battle of Doomsday seriously!” The Pure Witch suddenly roared. ”Both the Union and the church used small groups to fight against their enemy’s full force, which is why they failed. No one is exempt from this battle, and mortals can’t hide behind God’s Punishment Army or witches forever—as I said, this is a fateful battle that requires everyone’s full efforts, otherwise we won’t be able to contend with the demons in the Barbarian Land!”

A Pure Witch raised by the church would never say such a thing because this was the mentality of a conqueror. Mayne’s face grew pale. ”You are... an absolute mutt!”

Your Holiness O’Brien, did you really foresee all of this?

”Accepting knowledge is a part of the process of self-change, and only the exchange of thoughts can bring progress.” Zero inhaled sharply. ”Perhaps we should stop chatting and decide who the ruler of the church should be.”

”Don’t bet on winning,” said the Pope through gritted teeth. ”I built this world!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Red Mist appeared at his feet and began to spread. Zero seemed slightly taken aback. Suddenly, she grasped her throat and screamed a tortured cry, her face curling up like orange peels, falling off in chunks, and spewing blood everywhere, soon losing its human form.

”This is the demonic mist hidden in the Pivotal Area’s traps and only affects witches with magic power,” said Mayne bitterly through the Red Mist. ”If I fill the entire square with it, you’ll be left to suffer endlessly and die a thousand times!”

”Is that so?” A gust of wind suddenly cleared all the Red Mist around the Pure Witch, and the reborn Zero said painfully, ”Of course, the new Pope has some tricks up his sleeve. If you headed straight to the library of the Pivotal Secret Temple in the beginning, this battle would be even more difficult—but this is also the fun part of the Battle of Souls.

”Is that... a Stone of Windpower?” Mayne noticed a ring with a green crystal on her finger. ”The stone’s area of influence is limited, so as long as I keep my distance, I can break this shield with a God’s Stone of Retaliation bolt. But just to be safe, I should make some preparations.” He racked his brain, created two Pills of Madness, and swallowed them.

”Oh, smart idea,” said Zero with a grin.” Your biggest weakness is in your fighting ability, so the duo-colored pill can increase your strength, agility, and pain tolerance, so it’s much harder for me to attack you from afar with weapons such as crossbow bolts.”

Mayne ignored her, moved to an area unaffected by the Magic Stone, and focused on creating a God’s Stone of Retaliation. The Pills of Madness were kicking in, and he felt his strength increase rapidly and sight become very clear. When he created the God’s Stone of Retaliation, it would make the most effective weapon against the witch, and she would die of erosion by the Red Mist if she tried to attack him.

She’s also making her own weapon—what is it? A pair of long swords?

It makes sense to have bolts, but what does she need swords for?” Also, the structure of the swords is very strange, with a blade as broad as her torso and encrusted with many crystals, seeming strangely familiar.

Zero raised the weapons in her hands. ”Do you know? In the Illusion Room of the Reflection Church, there is more than one recorded image.”

What does that mean?

”Did you forget what His Holiness O’Brien said? Alice’s battle with Natalia was completely recorded by the Union,” she said carefully. ”Besides absorbing memories, watching and learning are also talents of mine.”

As she said this, the crystals on the swords lit up one by one, as if they were signaling something. And then a bright golden light emerged from the swords and ripped through the Red Mist, shooting straight into the sky. The sky also seemed to respond to this power by shooting down thousands of bolts of light.

”What... kind of ability is this?” Mayne stared in shock.

Before getting the answer, he was surrounded by an engulfing golden light, which seemed to tear the entire world apart.

*******************

The cage fell slowly to the bottom of the God’s Stone cave.

Zero threw the clothes on her shoulder onto the ground and walked out of the cage. The scars from whippings had all disappeared from her back, as if they had never been there.

The Verdict Warrior standing guard lowered his head respectfully and handed her a prepared golden robe—the clothing signaling the highest authority in the Church.

With the help of many attendants, Zero put on the baggy robe and walked straight to the Pivotal Secret Temple, not sparing even a single glance back.