Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

“There’s no need to explain. They don’t want to hear your explanation—they just want you dead.

“No matter how you explain, they’ll only keep questioning until they force you to death.”

Loren turned and said to Laila, and the others heard his words too.

Yvonne began to ponder. Anna was practically itching for action; with a single command from Loren, she could ensure not a single person walked out alive.

Sure enough, Loren’s guess was spot on. Even after Laila had spoken like that, the questioning voices rose and fell without end. The woman claiming to be the victim was the most frantic, hastily retracting everything she had said and spinning a new story, even claiming that Laila was infected by the Rainbow Plague.

Loren let out a bitter laugh. The very accusation he often pinned on others had now been pinned on him.

At a time like this, any explanation was useless. He had to strike from another angle.

Loren didn’t say another word. He used Requiem to carve runes into the ground, eventually shaping an altar.

“This is an altar dedicated to the God of Bountiful Harvest, used for making vows.”

The others were baffled, so Loren began to explain, even stepping onto the altar himself.“I swear to the God of Bountiful Harvest: Laila is innocent. If a single word of this is false, I willingly accept the God of Bountiful Harvest’s judgment.”

As Loren finished speaking, the altar glowed with light, and then nothing happened.

“Your turn.”

Loren flashed a cold, stiff smile and made a “please” gesture toward the woman.

William traced the Sprout of New Life over his chest and prayed to the God of Bountiful Harvest.

He could sense Loren’s anger. This was an unprecedented fury from Loren, so intense that it stirred a flicker of fear in William.

“Lane, I feel uneasy…”

William said to the young man beside him. In contrast, the youth named Lane was far more composed:

“If this is all the resolve you have, then perhaps I’ll be the next head of the family.”

The exchange between William and his brother didn’t affect the others. Praise, face, profit, fear… a mix of things pushed the woman onto the altar.

“I swear to the God of Bountiful Harvest: Laila did harm me. If a single word of this is false, I willingly accept the God of Bountiful Harvest’s judgment…”

No sooner had she spoken than she was enveloped in radiance, followed by screams.

When the light faded, the woman was revealed wrapped in thorns. They slowly ground her to pieces, like a thousand cuts.

She beat at the air, as though an invisible wall trapped her inside the altar. The crowd watched in silence as the thorns shredded her, until her body finally dissolved as if she had never existed.

“I trust none of you will question the God of Bountiful Harvest’s judgment.”

Before anyone could voice doubt, Loren raised the stakes, effectively sealing their mouths.

“Who else voiced doubts earlier? Please step up and swear.”

The woman’s gruesome death still lingered in their minds. Naturally, none dared to step forward, and some even tried to leave. Loren grabbed one of them who was about to slip away:

“The God of Bountiful Harvest is the most loving deity. He loves every single one of His followers.

“As His most devout believer, I too practice that love. I love each of you, so I remember every face.

“I know exactly who voiced doubts earlier.”

Loren dressed his threat in lofty words, but many still clung to hope and tried to flee. Loren used Abundant Magic to entangle them:

“I told you, I remember every face, including your family situations.”

Only now did Loren reveal a genuine smile. Yet William grew only more afraid, to the point where Lane, sensing his mood, sneered:

“Scared of seeing a corpse? Yvonne wasn’t even afraid.”

“My Intuition is strong. My instincts are rarely wrong, and you know that well.”

Despite his fear, William’s gaze at Lane was still commanding.

Seeing William’s eyes, Lane shut his mouth.

“Now, please come up and swear one by one. You don’t want your families to be disappointed in you, do you?”

Under Loren’s coercion, they filed into the altar one by one.

With Loren’s threat looming, no one else dared leave. They simply stood and watched the bloody execution.

Loren didn’t think they were innocent either. If they had any real judgment, combined with Loren’s authority, even the Sun Card’s interference wouldn’t have led them to suspect him.

“Now, you can go home. Praise the God of Bountiful Harvest.”

Loren traced the Sprout of New Life over his chest, and the crowd mechanically followed suit, still too afraid to leave.

Only after Loren had left did they seem to snap awake from a nightmare, fleeing in panic.

“Master Mentor… is there really a method like that to detect lies?”

Back home, Anna finally asked.

“How could there be something so convenient? If it existed, there wouldn’t be so many wrongful and false cases. Those people were just killed by me with magic.”

“So that’s how it was?”

Anna nodded in realization, but she wasn’t particularly shocked. It was very much in line with Loren’s style.

Loren wasn’t afraid of anyone questioning him. In this situation, questioning Loren was the same as questioning the God of Bountiful Harvest.

“Thank you, Loren.”

Laila suddenly spoke up, her head lowered. What had happened today truly left her dejected.

Before meeting Loren, she had been a Ranger, helping the weak and punishing the strong. And yet, today, so many people had come after her over a baseless rumor.

Without Loren, she didn’t know what she would have done.

Loren placed his hand on Laila’s head. She wasn’t much taller than Anna, making it easy to pat:

“We’re family. We rise together, and we fall together.

“After all this, you should understand that explanations are useless. When Caroline (the former Gluttony Witch) and I talked about this before, you might not have had a frame of reference. Teaching with words is never as effective as teaching with experience.”

Laila nodded. Her outlook had shifted in that moment.

“People only believe what they want to believe. No matter how foolish someone is, they’ll still consider themselves clear-headed. Even if you slap the truth across their faces, they won’t see it.”

That was the true power of the Sun Card. Its cognitive interference wasn’t actually that strong, but it exploited people’s deep-seated flaws.

“Movila, keep an eye on those who left. Eavesdrop on them. After what happened, normal people probably won’t dare spread rumors anymore. Only the mastermind behind the scenes will continue.”

What had happened today was just the beginning. The real mastermind had yet to face Loren’s reckoning.

Loren almost missed his old enemies. Back then, he just had to kill them—no need to rack his brain trying to expose them.

Just then, William’s voice came from the door:

“Master Mentor, I’ve figured out a way.”