Nurturing Humanity

The Dark Age

Year 212 of Babylon.

Medusa, the personal disciple of Circe the evil witch, descending from the Rose Church, was incomparably talented and was a very cautious person. She was an heir of the lineage and possessed intellectual capacity every bit on par with Lilith. However, she disguised herself as a witch of good and infiltrated the Kingdom of Bablylon to acquire knowledge from the lineages of the other two witches.

Three years later, she had learned all there was to learn and declared that she would establish a kingdom in the Balchik Mountains. She named her kingdom, which was located near the peak, the Kingdom of Rose. She then designated it to be one ruled by a female monarch.

In the Palace of Babylon.

“Those fallen witches who defiled the three laws of the witches, the ones who succumbed to debauchery, evil and darkness, scurrying about like rats, dared to actually establish their own kingdom, and furthermore, call themselves to be of the true lineage of the three witches?” A severe expression was seen on Lilith’s beautiful face as she sat on her throne. She was dressed in a black and azure sorcerer’s robe, was wearing a crown of flowers and was carrying a black wooden staff. She was incredibly furious at the moment.

Her terrifying mental powers leaked out, shaking the place around her.

Countless witches were trembling below her throne. The brunt of the terrifying mental shock rendered them ashen.

“My lady, what should we d…” a witch asked.

“War. There shall be war!!”

Lilith stomped her staff and rings of transparent light cast out like ripples. That was a level four spell from Cassandra the Witch of Spring—’Ripple of Sound’. Her words were heard throughout the entire Kingdom of Babylon.

“War. There shall be war!!”

“War. There shall be war!!”

Year 213 of Babylon.

Lilith led over 100 witches on an expedition to the Balchik Mountains and attacked the Rose Kingdom. Mountains were razed, rivers were vaporized, trees were toppled and blood was spilled all over the place. Countless powerful witches fell in the war.

That score that had yet to be settled between the three witches of the previous generation, was passed on to their respective disciples—Lilith and Medusa.

The war lasted for eight long years.

In truth, the evil witches had been amassing extremely dreadful powers under the leadership of Circe. There were over 70 witches among their ranks. What they lacked in numbers, they made up for with their evil training methods, which were produced results way faster than the true witches, thus making them more powerful than their true counterparts.

The Rose Kingdom’s combat prowess was apparently every bit comparable to that of the Kingdom of Babylon.

Medusa, who had been accumulating power for a long time, made a breakthrough one day and became a level five witch. Lilith, a true witch was swiftly defeated and had to flee.

The further one advanced, the more pronounced the difference in every level became, making the one of higher level something akin to something else altogether.

Medusa, after making her breakthrough, did not give chase as she watched Lilith flee. She silently familiarized herself with her new breakthrough, then went on to take on the Kingdom of Babylon single-handedly three days later.

It was an act that shook the entire kingdom.

“You so-called true witches are getting too slow with your training. I’ve made my breakthrough and you Lilith, had yet to do so. If it had not been for Master Circe not wanting to lock horns with her two old friends, the Kingdom of Babylon would have long been hers.”

“The scores between the previous generation had been settled. My master had her sentiments, so it would fall upon me, her heir, to finish what she started! I’m here today to wipe clean of all that dishonor Master Circe suffered!”

“Who in this world would be able to fight me?”

Medusa looked like a pure innocent girl dressed in a vibrant crimson sorcerer’s robe and held a wooden staff. Her entire being was steeped in a faint yet massive mental fluctuation while her robe emanated transparent bluish aura about it. Her eyes were seen to be burning like flames.

She attacked the Kingdom of Babylon all on her own.

She went straight to the Palace of Babylon, fighting the entire country single-handedly. All 131 witches, including Lilith, fell instantly before her.

The difference in power brought forth by one single level was too great to compensate.

“Do you admit defeat?”

Medusa stood at the palace while still being shrouded in a bluish aura, as she looked down on all citizens of the kingdom.

Her terrifying mental pressure shot to the heavens, causing the entire place to rumble and fall apart. The witches in the palace were thrown about and their minds were taking in massive shocks.

“Medusa, you infiltrated the Kingdom of Babylon to acquire knowledge passed down by the two of our great witches. You cunning b**ch… we, would never surrender. Brute force shall never crush our arms and ruin our spines!!”

Serme, a minister of the palace, struggled to hold her head up. “Your barbaric, violent deeds would never bring us to our knees. The great maker said it himself, this is barbarism, not civilization…”

Medusa stomped her staff on the ground before Serme was able to finish. A terrifying blast of mental pressure was conjured and ripped that level three witch open. Blood sprayed from her body and she quickly fell to her pool of blood.

“Anyone else has anything to say?”

Medusa asked calmly.

“You command terrible might, but she shall not…”

Boom!

Yet another witch growled, but she was quickly blasted to pieces, with her remains spraying all over the palace. The scene was unbelievably bloody.

“Do you have more to say?”

Medusa then scanned the witches in the Palace of Babylon around her.

Her gaze was devoid of both joy and sorrow.

Her master held too much sentiment for the other two that she called sisters. Circe remained unmoved by the idea of taking on the other two, no matter how Medusa persuaded her. Medusa deemed that her master stood a good chance at defeating the other two, for the rate at which conventional witches progressed, was just too awfully slow.

Medusa, on the other hand, became literally unchained as the age of the three witches came to an end.

In her perspective, power reigned supreme over everything, and it did not matter how one acquired it. She deemed the so-called true witches to be too pedantic, which was why they lost. She deemed that she would be able to get everything she wanted, so long as she was powerful enough. The way she saw it, that was the truth about the world.

“Everything would change.”

Medusa’s gaze was calm as she looked the witches before her, “Yield or die.”

“We would never yield!”

Pfftt!

Yet another one was reduced to a bloody splatter.

“You are Circe’s disciple. Could you please do me a favor? Even if the entire Kingdom of Babylon were to be covered in blood, we would still never yield…” A frail old man rose eventually. That was an elder from the age of the three witches and someone revered by many, who was considered a living tale for having gone through the miserable tribal age with the three great witches.

Boom!

Powerful shockwaves sent that wizened sorcerer crashing to a pillar in the palace in an instant, causing blood spill from his mouth.

“A good-for-nothing old fart. Who else dares to stand before me?”

Medusa asked calmly.

…

The place was dead silent.

Lilith stood at the edge of the palace while being covered in blood all over her. Her heart ached terribly as she saw the harrowing scene taking place before her eyes. She asked the witches who intended to rise to stand down as she mumbled, “I, Lilith, on behalf of the Kingdom of Babylon, shall surrender.”

“My lady!!!!”

Countless witches howled in frustration.

The Kingdom of Babylon had been established for over 200 years. Even during the most difficult time back in the tribal age when the three witches first rose, where almost every single one of the men in the tribe perished, where the remaining women chose to ingest the blood of the Evil Eye and die en masse, none had ever surrendered to anyone. That had been the pride of the Kingdom of Babylon. Yet at that moment, Lilith personally gave up that unyielding glory and resolve that were uniquely theirs.

Countless wept and wailed throughout the kingdom at the very moment she surrendered. Countless witches had their knees on the ground with their staffs, being completely shattered inside, cursing at their own powerlessness and ineptitude.

The requiem was heard throughout the streets. That was the Symphony of Fate from Beethoven, and countless hummed to the tune without realizing it.

All of them knew that no one else would be able to stop that level five witch without having the three great witches resurrected. The Kingdom of Babylon was about to be completely doomed.

Medusa took brimming strides, walking past Lilith, who was severely injured and sat on the throne of Babylon, looking down at all of them. “From here on out, there shall be two kingdoms. The Rose Kingdom shall be the suzerain and the Kingdom of Babylon, the vassal. Lilith shall continue her reign.”

“From here on out, there shall be an empress above the king. The empress shall rule over the two kingdoms of sorcerers. All shall bow to the empress.”

“From here on out, the Kingdom of Babylon shall be tasked with propagating the species and breed men. The Kingdom of Babylon shall contribute 100 men to the Rose Kingdom every month. There are 143 sorcerers in Babylon and I shall take all 16 male sorcerers with me. They shall be members of my harem.”

…

Unfair treaties fell upon them and were reiterated throughout the entire Kingdom of Babylon through the use of level four sorcery—’Ripple of Sound’.

Countless people wept and wailed.

They wept and shouted. They fell into despair, knowing very well that the world was about to be plunged into an age of darkness, and destruction was looming upon them yet again.

The men knew very well from that day onward…

They should be reduced to breeding stock once again.