novelraw Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Star’s Legacy?
What fucking nonsense.
Lina had nearly flung those words right in his face.
Such a dangerous S-rank Containment Item—I had gone to enormous lengths to seal it away, so how could I possibly have deliberately left some “legacy” for later people to unseal it?
The means to unseal all S-rank sealed items had been placed beneath the grand library of Celestis, guarded in shifts by two S-rank witches.
Lina did not think those slapdash cultists had the ability to force their way into Celestis.
And also... how had she sealed that containment item back then again? Tsk... she could not remember a thing!
Oh, and that so-called legacy?
That was even more ridiculous...
After Lina had been stabbed in the back back then, all the personal belongings she carried had fallen together with her downfall into the ‘Void’.
That was a land of nothingness beyond the world. Even time and space did not exist there. The moment those things fell into the Void, there had been no possibility of ever retrieving them again.
If there really were any relics, then they were probably those ‘fashionable little pieces of junk’ deposited in the Witch Association’s soul treasury.
Useless little gadgets, and equipment used as temporary gear at lower levels.
Those things had now also become a dead account, and there was even less chance that any clue for unsealing an S-rank Containment Item could exist among them.
In short, there was no way these cultists could possibly find the so-called ‘Star Witch’s legacy’, much less unseal S-09...
Wait, no, that was not right! Just now... Fennis had seemed to be trapped by some innate barrier!
Those cultists were unlikely to have mastered such advanced magic, while one of S-09’s traits was invading reality through innate barriers...
Could it be that those people had really ‘stumbled upon’ some method of unsealing it that even she did not know about?
After thinking for a moment, Lina said flatly, “Mm, I’m also investigating matters related to the Star Witch. I think... we can share information.”
“How... far has Your Excellency investigated?” The cultist swallowed and asked cautiously, “Ah, if you are unwilling to say, I also...”
“She went to search for the blueprint of the true starry sky,” Lina let out a disdainful snort. “After stepping toward the starry sky, she never returned.”
Lina was speaking utter nonsense with a straight face.
But this claim was not entirely baseless. In the original game’s designed endings, there really had been such a worldline, and before entering the final BOSS battlefield, Lina had also received clues for that mission.
It was also the only special mission she had not completed in her previous life.
“What?!” The cultist’s eyes widened instantly. Disbelief filled his mind in a flash, followed by a sudden understanding!
Everything connected together!
Because of the Witch Association’s special methods, news regarding the Star Witch had quickly vanished from streets and alleys alike. Many people had forgotten this former leader of the witches, the sovereign of all magic. But organizations like theirs, hidden beneath the undercurrents, could never forget her name.
All they knew was that this strongest Great Witch had suddenly disappeared.
That perfectly explained the Witch Association’s series of abnormal actions!
“The true starry sky” was forbidden information suppressed by all orthodox churches and official powers. Even they, followers of the Lord of Chaos who stood closest to the ‘truth’, knew very little about it...
Looking at it this way... this ‘higher being’ might really have an extraordinary background!
His gaze toward Lina gained a few more traces of reverence.
“All right, now it’s your turn to answer my question,” Lina interrupted his train of thought. “Why did you risk being caught by an S-rank witch to interfere with this beginner witch examination? From where I stand, this hardly seemed like a profitable deal.”
“This... I don’t know either...” The cultist lowered his head and said, “The bishop only told us to find that descendant of the Sibyl family and bring her out alive.”
He paused, then continued, “It seems the Sibyl family has some connection to the Star Witch’s legacy... as for the specific details, I don’t know either...”
Lina’s gaze flickered, and a sense of discord rose in her heart. After thinking for a moment, she continued, “Mm... as for the Star Witch’s treasure, I do happen to have some clues.”
“What clues?” A faint red glint flashed through the cultist’s eyes.
“Mm... actually, the one who inherited part of the Star Witch’s legacy is the little girl whose body I’m currently occupying.” Lina spread her hands. “It’s just that...”
“Just what?” the cultist asked eagerly.
“It’s just that I have a contract with this little girl.” Lina smiled. “I need to leave one hundred gold dragons in her account as compensation. You know, beings like us are unable to violate the terms of a contract.”
“So...” The cultist looked somewhat confused. “You need us to...”
“Find a way to deposit one hundred gold dragons into this little girl’s account at the Witch Association.” Lina’s tone was exceedingly serious. “That way, I’ll be able to obtain the secret of the Star Witch’s legacy... oh, right, her name is Lina.”
“One hundred gold dragons...” The cultist sounded hesitant. “But we...”
“We are all servants of the Lord, followers of the Lord, and everything is for the Lord’s awakening,” Lina questioned sternly. “Or could it be... that your desire for wealth is greater than your faith in the Lord?!”
“You... You are right!” The cultist immediately prostrated himself, clearly stunned by Lina’s ‘devoutness’.
Lina nodded. “You should have a way to send this information out, right?”
“Of course.” A trace of a smile curled at the cultist’s lips. “That woman’s magic may be powerful, but even she cannot interfere with the Lord’s dreams.”
Lina turned around and waved a hand at him. “Very good... you can prepare for ‘martyrdom’ now.”
“Yes... the Lord shall witness...” The cultist lowered his head.
Lina walked out of the light curtain and expressionlessly made a throat-slitting gesture at Fennis.
Fennis froze for a moment and had just been about to say something when she saw Lina signal to her with her lips:
“【He is fake】”
Fennis’s eyes widened. Her right hand clenched in the air, and silver magic suddenly constricted, tightly wrapping around the cultist’s neck.
In the very last second before his cervical vertebrae were about to be snapped, he slightly raised his head, gathered his courage, and looked toward Lina’s “soul”.
He was very curious what kind of background this higher being truly had.
“Bzzz——!”
Innumerable pieces of information instantly flooded into his brain.
He saw a starry sky, a completely unfamiliar starry sky.
At the center of that starry sky was a pale blue luminous sphere, covered by intricate metallic rings and some gigantic structure made of unknown materials.
The ring-shaped structure spread outward into countless branches, and in one direction, it caved inward to form a gap. A circular structure made of floating prisms extended out from that gap, with blue arcs of electricity leaping within it.
Across the surface of the luminous celestial body, streak after streak of blue flame was drawn out by those overlapping metallic rings outside it, forming some kind of band composed of particles of light.
Within the gigantic metallic ring belt, faint green and blue shadows could be seen, giving people a strange sense of familiarity.
In the next moment, his soul could no longer bear any more information, and crack after crack spread across his vision.
His soul was collapsing!
Ta... no, He was not the Lord’s apostle at all!
Then what exactly... what exactly was that thing?!
He exhausted all his strength and left his final message within the dream...
【Do not look directly...】！
……
“I got some useful information out of him... I’ll sort it out later and submit it to the Association.” Lina looked at the cultist turning to ashes in the flames and shook her head with some regret.
Even his soul had collapsed... It seemed the one on the other side was also an incompetent half-trained fool. What a pity about those one hundred gold dragons.
“Why execute him?” Fennis could not help asking. “Perhaps we could still have obtained more information from him.”
“His soul had been replaced.” Lina spoke calmly.
“How did you know?” Fennis asked instinctively.
“The flow of his magic power was off.” Lina folded her arms and looked straight at Fennis. “How could you not even tell that...”
Holy shit, she had instinctively treated her like her own student again!
She was now an S-rank Great Witch, so how was a mere apprentice like her still pointing fingers at her!
Lina hurriedly tried to patch things up and said with an apologetic smile, “Ahahaha... Lady Witch of the Moon, th-that’s not what I meant... uh, well, um...”
But Fennis merely shook her head calmly. “No, it’s fine... a long time ago, there was also someone who spoke to me in that tone...”
“Was she... someone very important to you?” Lina asked carefully.
“Mm... someone irreplaceable.” Fennis gently closed her eyes, took a deep breath, lowered her gaze, and revealed a faint, somewhat lonely smile at the corner of her lips. “Unfortunately, I’ll never have a chance to see her again...”
An awkward silence fell between the two of them.
Suddenly, Fennis felt her hand being held by another pair of warm little hands.
She raised her head and saw that Lina was holding her right hand while speaking in a gentle tone, “There will always be a chance to meet again.”
“Mm...” Fennis said softly, “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me... ah, right.” Lina released Fennis’s hand. “Protect that little girl from the Sibyl family. Those cultists seem to think she has some special value.”
“Ah, and also!”
As if she had suddenly remembered something, Lina asked in a serious tone, “The reward for my assisting you this time in obtaining information...”
“Uh... when the time comes and you submit the information, the Association will decide on your reward according to the circumstances.” Fennis had not expected that even at the very end, this little girl still had not forgotten her gold dragons.
That greed for money... it was practically exactly the same as hers.
“Ah right, right, once I get the information later, how do I contact you?” Lina asked.
Fennis thought for a moment, then took out a specially made small blue crystal and handed it to Lina. “Crush this crystal, and I’ll be able to find you at any time.”
Lina quickly weighed in her mind what would happen to her if she sold that crystal, then obediently stuffed it into the very bottom of her cloth pouch.
Fennis remained behind in the secret realm to continue investigating, and after receiving her assurance, Lina also left the secret realm in a thoroughly satisfied mood.
That said... I didn’t get any moonlight moss... did I pass this exam?
As soon as she walked out of the secret realm, Lina immediately felt herself locked onto by a dense mass of burning gazes, followed by a burst of noisy commotion.
Eh eh eh? What was going on!
“Wah wah! She came out!”
“Huh? Why didn’t Lady Witch of the Moon come out with her?”
“How did you dodge that attack just now!”
“Yeah, yeah! That was so cool!”
“Your commanding just now was amazing too!”
“Miss, would you be willing to join our society?”
……
Lina was surrounded in the middle by a crowd of chattering apprentices and, for a moment, did not know what to do.
“Everyone, quiet down.”
That examiner with long brown hair stood in the center of the plaza and spoke loudly through a magical loudspeaker.
The apprentices quickly quieted down, though a few hushed conversations could still be heard.
“Thank you, students, for your cooperation.” The brown-haired examiner nodded, then continued, “Next, I will announce the arrangements for the makeup exam, the compensation plan for everyone... and the Association’s special reward for the student who made outstanding contributions in this incident.”