None of These Witches are Ever Serious

Ch. 18



Chapter 18

Outside the cabin, Lilian was hacking at a tree with the edge of her hand, splitting it into neat, stove-sized logs.

The place felt cramped; she’d decided it needed an extension.

She froze mid-swing, turned, and hurried back inside.

“Miss Moruna, what’s wrong?” Lilian arrived just in time to see Moruna knock over her cup.

Luckily, she used wooden mugs; nothing shattered, no one cut themselves.

Lilian had always treated witches kindly. She understood why Bicolor Realm created them.

The Ten Sages had summoned Otherworlders to fight the Outer Gods, but the realm itself wasn’t passive. Whenever the Outer Gods’ power surged, witches appeared.

Their strength came from Bicolor Realm—utterly different from Outer Gods—and could wound the other side.

Yet their numbers dwindled, not because the Outer Gods killed them, but because Outer-God worshippers did.

Like muscle, a witch’s power had to grow, and the process was long, treacherous, and unpredictable.

Before they matured, they had no defense against the rising tide of malice.

Human cruelty wasn’t the only threat; the growth itself could spiral out of control. If it did, the witch turned into Black Slime and died.

So Lilian believed every surviving witch deserved protection.

It was why Lilika had thanked Luo En for rescuing Moruna.

Lilian righted the cup and patiently mopped up the spilled water.

Only one thing left: change Moruna out of her soaked clothes.

Eyes vacant, Moruna whispered, “Luo En... Lord Luo En... is in danger...”

Lilian’s eyes widened. A witch who’d escaped the Black Slime could still speak?

“Miss Moruna, who’s in danger?” Lilian asked on reflex.

“Lord Luo En is in danger!” Moruna’s delicate brows knitted; she bolted upright as if to sprint headfirst into the door.

Lilian caught her by the arm.

“Lord Luo En... is in danger!” Louder this time.

“I’ll take you to him. Calm down,” Lilian said.

She overestimated Moruna’s lucidity; the girl couldn’t hear a word.

Left with no choice, Lilian immobilized her to prevent mishaps.

She’d meant to leave Luo En on his own, curious how far this Otherworlder could get unaided—but circumstances had shifted.

Lilian lifted her skirt slightly and spoke with deliberate calm.

“Miss Moruna, don’t worry. I’ll take you to him.”

...

...

On his thirty-third attempt to leave, a snow-white squirrel blocked Luo En’s path.

Its eyes were disturbingly human; for a moment he felt he was facing a child, not a rodent.

The squirrel snorted, spun on its hind paws, and trotted off.

Luo En had no idea what it was proud of, but he followed.

He wasn’t worried. The footprints in the dirt were crisp; he couldn’t lose the trail.

Yet as he trailed the squirrel, the scenery began to shift—something he noticed only because he’d circled these parts for days.

He’d never seen a clinic here before, nor rows of streetlamps bent under invisible weight.

Their kerosene had long dried; cobwebbed cracks veiled the glass.

Ice sculptures were thicker here too, all facing away from him, as if fleeing something.

“Showing me the way?” he muttered.

The squirrel’s odd behavior suddenly made sense: it was guiding him.

But why?

Through the haze of that question, an aurora flared ahead.

In the hand of one sculpture lay an unfurled scroll, source of the light.

Unlike the others, this statue was young, powerfully built, bare-chested. On the left pectoral, an angry face—part lion, part human—stood out like stone grafted onto skin.

The white squirrel halted before the sculpture, lifted its head, and began gesturing with tiny paws.

“System, what is this?” Luo En slowed but did not step closer.

For once, the System hesitated several seconds.

[Warning: multiple high-energy signatures detected. Exercise extreme caution.]

Luo En scanned the area. Did it mean the sculptures or the glowing scroll?

[Evil God Spawn detected within the ice. Current power insufficient for victory. Retreat advised.]

[System repeats: retreat immediately.]

“First, tell me—what is that scroll?” Luo En stared at the light.

[Item identified: Magic Scroll. Effect—reduces activity of nearby Evil Gods.]

So the magic the mayor claimed to have borrowed was this very scroll.

“How do I dispel it?”

[It is not recommended to dispel this spell. Doing so will release the surrounding Evil God spawn.]

As the System created by the Ten Sages, it naturally would not advise Luo En to halt the magic.

“So I’m just supposed to sit here and wait to die?”

[Answer: your decision is exceedingly wise.]

“...?” Luo En felt completely baffled.

Yet he realized he wasn’t the least bit surprised by the System’s reply.

“Weren’t you supposed to turn me into the Strongest on Earth?”

[You are merely imprisoned within this Time Prison; you will not actually die.]

[During your confinement, the System is confident it can mold you into the Strongest on Earth.]

[The environment is ideal: you will encounter no accidents, allowing you to advance step by step toward that title.]

[Once you are capable of handling these spawn of the Outer Gods, the System will notify you to dispel the spell.]

More question marks seemed to sprout above Luo En’s head as he listened.

Suddenly, his vision flashed with an event that would occur a dozen seconds from now—

—he curses at the System, reaches out, and yanks down the magic scroll, ripping it in half on the spot.

—the instant the scroll tears, the ice sculpture in front of him shudders to life, and molten-red patterns ignite across the Evil God’s chest.

[Otherworlder, you must leave this place at once and preserve the spark of your future.]


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