Release that Witch

”Is this also the result of magic power?”

”Yes. There are so many types of magic power that I just can’t explain every single one of them. It’s a power that transcends the four fundamental forces, the ultimate solution to the great unification, if that makes sense to you,” Lan explained mildly. ”Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that you can enter God’s territory and interfere with the Battle of Divine Will. This world is an independent one. It’s protected by a thick membrane. That’s why I can sit here and talk to you.”

For some reason, Lan’s explanation reminded Roland of bubble blowing. Among those floating bubbles, one of them housed the Dream World. He then asked, ”Then how do I penetrate it?”

”The same way the magic power enters our world — through the Erosion.”

”Er... could you tell me more about it?”

”You should have already noticed that this world has changed a lot,” Lan resumed, and Roland could feel his heart beat frantically in his chest. ”At first, it was just a reflection of your mind, but there are now many things you’ve never seen before. The change started when you began to collect the Forces of Nature.”

”You even know that?” Roland exclaimed in surprise.

”I’ve been wandering about in the Realm of Mind since I was born, so I can sense even the most subtle change.” Lan continued, ”Listen, child. Both the Dream World and God’s territory are driven by magic power. We call it the Force of Nature. When you continue to collect them, this world will expand and overlap with God’s territory. That’s the reason why Erosions appear.”

Roland had heard about this theory during the orientation. He thus said, ”As far as I know, the Martialist Association has collected many cores of the fallen Force of Nature. If you want to collect as many of them as you can, why not just support the the Fallens?”

To Roland’s surprise, Lan did not object his proposal but simply summoned a bitter smile. ”Unfortunately, I’m just the Defender’s student. I can’t take you to the central hub in the Prism City.”

”You don’t mind turning against the Association?”

”If it could stop the Battle of Divine Will, I won’t. Once the Battle of Divine Will ends, there’ll be no Erosion in the Dream World, so in a way, I’m still helping the Association. But that child... She’ll be very disappointed, for she has put so much faith in you.”

Lan suddenly put up a very regretted look as she said these words.

Was she referring to Garcia?

Roland was a little surprised that Lan had such a deep affection toward Garcia. As a God’s servant, she should have lived hundreds of years, and nothing should have been able to perturb her mind.

Was she acting or was she actually too involved in her role?

”Well, this isn’t the only way.” Roland wanted to get some coffee to ease up the tension in the air when he suddenly realized that the cup was already broken. He thus withdrew his hand and said, ”You also said that I have to enter the Realm of Mind in the two worlds simultaneously, right? Perhaps, by that time, we would have had enough cores. The only problem is that how I am supposed to know that the Dream World has already overlapped with God’s territory? We can’t really enter God’s territory from the Erosion in the Prism City, can we?”

”Of course not. The hollow created by the Erosion there is the area of nothingness in the Realm of Mind. It’s completely a different thing,” Lan said while nodding. ”As for when the Erosion will affect God’s territory, you’ll know when that day comes. However, this will also mark the beginning of the destruction of the two worlds. Therefore, you must find a way to the Bottomless Land before that.”

”And then?”

Lan shook her head.

It appeared that Lan could not disclose any more than that, otherwise she would bring harm to God. Nevertheless, there was also a possibility that Lan chose to hold the information back intentionally. Roland had now a basic understanding of what he should do. In fact, he had planned to drive the demons out of the Land of Dawn and earn some extra income by killing the Fallen Evils a long time ago, so Lan’s information did not really change much of what he was doing. The only change was that he now probably had to fight both the demons and the Fallen Evils at the same time.

Roland was not certain what he would encounter at the Bottomless Land. Lan did not say anything about that. If this was a trap, the only part where Lan might lie to him was when she asked him to replace God.

Roland did not think God would surrender after he penetrated the Realm of Mind. Since everything sounded so vague to him, he had to proceed with extra caution.

Another question that bothered Roland was that why she chose him.

As far as Roland could see, Lan could totally pick someone else to help her. Although Lan looked like human, Roland was certain she was not any ordinary woman. Human beings had been defeated once. Given that, she could completely pick a demon or someone in the Sky-sea Realm to achieve her goal.

According to Lan, the north of the Land of Dawn where the Bottomless Land was situated had been taken over by the demons. Kabradhabi had also confirmed that the enemy in the Sky-sea Realm was quite overpowering. The demons apparently had a hard time keeping their land. These two races were obviously far more powerful than the mankind. In a sense, they were almost halfway through the mission.

Roland was not yet that arrogant as to believe that he was the only person who could leave a mark in the Realm of Mind.

At least, Zero had that power too. Dimly, Roland had a feeling that the Battlefield of Soul was a demonstration of the power struggle in the Realm of Mind.

The Dream World originated from there.

He thus asked, ”I bet... that I’m not the first person you sought help.”

Lan replied immediately, ”Yes, I turned to someone else for help as well over the past thousand years.”

Roland felt his chest constrict. He pursued, ”Also including demons?”

”I don’t know much about the other world. After I left the Divine Land, I lost my power of connecting with other servants, but I can tell you that I’m not the only traitor.”

”Who’s the last person you talked to regarding this matter? Zero?”

”The Dream Courier, Alfina. She lived 869 years ago.”

The name was unfamiliar to him. Roland asked, ”None of my preceders succeeded?”

Lan sighed, ”You probably think it’s pretty easy for us to talk face to face like this, but the fact was that they didn’t even manage the first step, which was to stablize themselves in the Realm of Mind and establish effective comunication. Also, I had to phrase the matter in a way that made sense to them. In other words, they had to understand what I was saying. Only in that way would the message be successfully delivered. The more they understood, the better reply they could formulate. This rule applied to both you and the demons.”

”Like you have to share the same mindset?”

”Exactly. In fact, you’re the first person with whom I can effectively communicate. Although I don’t know where you obtained so much knowledge, far more than what this era actually needs, I’m glad I found you.”

”Well...” Roland said hesitantly. ”What if I fail?”

Lan said after a moment of silence, ”I’ll continue to wait until the next person appears. I’ll wait until someone frees me, or until... God kills me.”chaptererror();