Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

”Is it Laila?”

Even though Luo didn’t say anything, Anna had already figured it out.

”Yes.”

Luo confirmed Anna’s guess, and a delighted expression immediately spread across her face:

”Then when do we go find her?”

Anna genuinely liked Laila, after all, Laila had truly always treated Anna like her own daughter and was especially good to her.

”We’ll go after we find the Eternal Ember Serpent.”

Luo didn’t plan to rush off to find Laila right away. He intended to locate the Eternal Ember Serpent first, wait for her to toss something over, and then go looking for her afterward.

Besides, Luo already knew where the Eternal Ember Serpent was, so even if he did need to go find it, it wouldn’t waste much time.

”Alright.”Anna supported every decision Luo made and didn’t say anything more.

”Let’s hurry...”

Luo then directly rented a carriage and made his way to the seaside.

There were some traces of destruction along the coast, and Luo didn’t find it all that strange. After all, there were countless monsters and demons lurking in the sea, and the coast got attacked every few days.

However, the Church of the God of Vows and Wind responded quickly, so the damage was usually kept to a minimum. The Church would also help the citizens repair their damaged homes, which was why the area had remained relatively peaceful and why many people were willing to live by the sea.

At most, this destruction was a bit more extensive than usual, but compared to the damage caused by that necromancer before, this was nothing.

”You all find a place to stay, I’ll be back soon.”

Luo led the group to a restaurant by the seaside and had them take a seat. He had eaten here before, and the food was quite good.

”Okay...”

Unlike her excitement last time, Anna didn’t even glance at the menu this time. In the end, it was Mirrorheart who ordered the dishes.

”Mirrorheart, if you encounter any emergency... come find me.”

As he said these words, Luo felt somewhat reluctant. If Mirrorheart wanted to come find him, she would have to kill herself.

Although this had no effect on Mirrorheart whatsoever, it would still hurt.

But upon hearing these words, Mirrorheart grew excited. She had clearly activated her wild imagination again:

”This time, I get to die by your command... just thinking about it gets me so excited...”

”Alright, that’s enough...”

Luo didn’t have much of a reaction. He had long since come to terms with it.

After finishing his instructions, Luo plunged into the water and swam toward the deep sea.

...

Between the territory of the God of Vows and Wind and the Endless Ocean lay a dividing line, an underwater cliff.

Once past that line, the seabed suddenly became unfathomably deep, and ordinary fishermen simply didn’t dare cross it.

The Church of the God of Vows and Wind also knew of the Endless Ocean’s terror, so they had specifically marked the boundary with buoys.

The Eternal Ember Serpent that Luo was looking for was sleeping right below that dividing line.

Luo quickly swam toward the boundary. Before crossing it, the sea was filled only with ordinary fish.

But the moment Luo crossed the line, the scene changed instantly.

Even though Luo hadn’t dived any deeper, his vision suddenly darkened, and the creatures around him became increasingly eerie.

At the same time, Luo felt a pulling force, as if the deep sea was trying to drag him down.

Luo didn’t struggle. He allowed this strange pull to guide him downward, even actively accelerating his descent.

With the Sea God’s blessing, Luo could still see clearly even in the deep sea and felt no pressure from the water.

As Luo continued to descend, the marine life he encountered grew stranger and more grotesque, so much so that they didn’t even seem like creatures that belonged in this world.

Luo activated his water magic and accelerated further, soon reaching the seabed.

But what Luo hadn’t expected was that the place where the Eternal Ember Serpent should have been was now completely empty. What’s more, there were still traces of it here, meaning it hadn’t left long ago.

Combined with the damaged buildings he had seen at the coast earlier, Luo had a guess.

”Could it be that the Eternal Ember Serpent was the one attacking the Kingdom of Anselm?”

The thought suddenly crossed Luo’s mind, and he swam back toward the shore.

His expression turned serious. Wasting time was a minor issue, but if something had truly happened to the Eternal Ember Serpent, that would be disastrous.

He had no idea why the Eternal Ember Serpent would attack the Kingdom of Anselm. It stayed in the deep sea, and the Church couldn’t even find it there. Logically speaking, there should have been no reason for it to come into conflict with the Church.

Even if it did get into a conflict, it should have been with the God of Light and Fire, since it was the one that countered him.

”Could this be related to me?”

The Eternal Ember Serpent might have sensed the Perpetual Observer’s return and gone looking for him.

At that time, Luo was in the God of Bountiful Harvest’s territory. If the Eternal Ember Serpent was going to find him, it would indeed have passed through the Kingdom of Anselm.

With that thought in mind, Luo accelerated once more.

By the time Luo returned to shore, the dishes Mirrorheart had ordered were just being served.

”You’re back so soon?”

Anna waved at Luo excitedly. She didn’t call him Master Mentor like she usually did, as that would be equivalent to exposing their identity.

”Yeah.”

Luo took his seat and called out to the attendant who was about to leave:

”Excuse me, I noticed some traces of destruction by the seaside. Did something happen?”

”Oh, a terrifyingly huge serpent attacked this place not long ago. The Wind Messengers couldn’t stop it at all, and in the end, an Angel had to come to take care of it.”

His speculation was confirmed, and the worry in Luo’s heart nearly killed him.

”Did that big serpent die?”

”Not sure. All I know is it was taken away by the Church. The Angel didn’t directly deliver the killing blow.”

”Taken away?”

The Church of the God of Vows and Wind had always been pragmatic. They never let a threat live, and under normal circumstances, they would have finished it off on the spot.

If they truly hadn’t killed it on the spot, that meant the benefits far outweighed the risks.

Whether they were keeping the Eternal Ember Serpent to use against the God of Light and Fire, or using it to negotiate a deal with the God of Light and Fire, either way, they had to spare the Eternal Ember Serpent’s life.

Luo breathed a sigh of relief and began to eat.

”After this, you all leave the Kingdom of Anselm directly. I’m going to find the Eternal Ember Serpent.”

The Church had probably hidden the Eternal Ember Serpent somewhere very secretive, but Luo now had the ability to detect lies, so finding its location wouldn’t be difficult.

And when that time came, Luo would very likely have to fight the Angel.

”This time, I’m fighting alongside you!”

Anna refused to leave this time. She already had the power to face an Angel head-on.

Besides, their identities were already completely exposed, so even if Anna made a move, there wouldn’t be any problem. At most, they’d just be discovered to be here.

With Luo’s mobility, by the time more enemies arrived, he would have already escaped.

”Alright.”

This time, Luo didn’t refuse Anna. She was no longer a child.