Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 357 I refuse

The surrounding scenery was rapidly receding, and Gagran flew with Adele to the beech tree.

This beech tree seems to be bigger than the last time. It was originally just a tree located in the center of the city, but now it has divided the city into two parts.

There were still corpses hanging on its branches, and Adele and the other girl flew through the middle of them.

Several times Adele felt that the corpses wanted to turn around and grab the corners of her clothes, but because of Gaglan's presence, they dared not move.

"These are all believers of the City of Disaster... but you should have guessed this."

Geglan did not deliberately drive away the corpses, but simply relied on his own status to make them retreat automatically.

The corpses were entangled by branches and suspended between countless jagged and strange buildings.

The closer you get to the beech tree, the more bizarre the shapes of the buildings in the city become. There are tall walls, fortresses, and spires, scattered at different heights, like a maze.

Buildings in geometric shapes such as cylinders, cones, cubes, and spheres are stacked in groups, upside down and twisted.

These crazy buildings seemed to be connected to each other by tubular sky bridges, casting an indelible shadow on Adele's heart.

"…But didn't you say before that there were only three believers in the City of Disaster?"

Adele asked in confusion, "Besides me, you and the Original Witch, there are many other people here."

"There are only three in the North and South continents."

Gegran explained, "On the other side of the seal, there is a western continent. A lot of source essence is sealed there, and the main body of the City of Disaster is also there."

"There are also quite a few residents there who have mastered another system of Beyonder powers. They do not rely on Beyonder characteristics, but on a ritual-like arrangement to gain abilities."

"The ritual you used when you were promoted to Sequence 7 originated from the Western Continent. It was modified to some extent based on the common mystical rituals in the Northern Continent, but the effect is the same."

"The residents of the Western Continent also worship the City of Disaster?" Adele asked in surprise, "That means there is also a church of the City of Disaster there...?"

"Strictly speaking, what they worship is not the 'City of Disaster', but the various branches of Disaster."

Gagran replied, "According to the information I got from this dream, some of them believe in a kind of existence called 'worship of gods'."

"Different gods control different kinds of disasters. People there call these beings "gods". Out of fear of disasters, they worship the gods. This categorization, in turn, promotes the awakening of the overall consciousness of the City of Disasters."

As they were talking, Geglan and the other man had already arrived at the foot of the beech tree that cut the entire city in half.

The flame on the beech tree seems to have been burning for tens of thousands of years, and the tree is still standing, as if it has a unique meaning for believers on both sides.

Gegran tapped the thick tree trunk gently with his hand, and the bark began to burn, producing purple flames and forming an illusory light gate.

Adele also tried knocking, but there was no response.

"Only when you reach the level of a demigod can you open the light gate. If you want to pass through the light gate to the other side of the city, you have to wait until you are promoted to an angel. And after you are promoted to a true god, perhaps there will be new changes here."

Gagran explained, "So, if you want to borrow more power from the source essence, you should improve your own sequence as soon as possible."

"Can you also borrow the power of the source?" Adele's eyes lit up, and she immediately noticed the implicit meaning in Gagran's words.

"At your level, you can't borrow much power. For a witch, the biggest effect is that all rituals that require true gods or other high-level beings to witness can point the source of the ritual's power to the City of Disaster. From then on, your fate will be somehow connected to the City of Disaster, and others may be disturbed by the City of Disaster when they are fortune-telling about you."

Gagran patiently explained to Adele, "However, being too entangled with the fate of the source is not necessarily a good thing. You need to weigh the pros and cons yourself."

Adele stroked her chin, thinking: "Is this an ability that all witches who control the City of Disaster possess?"

Gagran snorted softly and did not answer immediately, but turned his gaze towards the light gate.

On the other side of the light gate, there appeared a deep black passage. Both sides of the passage were lined with ugly and twisted sculptures. They looked like the result of secondary carving and seemed to be a blasphemy to this ancient city.

In the burning purple flames, Adele saw that the passage was littered with corpses from unknown eras, each of which had suffered varying degrees of beating, squeezing, twisting, and tearing.

In the dim light, the huge figure at the end of the passage only revealed half of its outline, which almost made Adele's mind collapse.

That is the ultimate embodiment of the thing that the Tarot Society has repeatedly warned is inaccessible, the source of starry sky pollution, and the core of all disasters in the world!
Like a speeding steam train, the huge black front end rushed forward along the passage, crushing the ancient remains on the road and rolling at high speed along the inner wall of the passage which was more than ten meters high.

Adele felt her body disintegrating and deforming. At the same time, she noticed that even Gagran beside her was not immune. Countless blue-black snakes peeled off from her face and died. Before she died, there were human-like patterns on the skin she shed.

In the last moment before Adele lost consciousness, she saw clearly what was coming at the end of the passage:
It was a ball of swirling blood-red mist, an amorphous substance like the blood foam gushing out of the neck cavity. It filled the front end of the tunnel, which was densely covered with eyes that were constantly generated and decomposed!

"He is different from other essences. We cannot control him."

Gagran's body also collapsed and rotted when she faced that existence, but her voice still echoed in the city.

“All we can do is not let Him control us.”

……

Adele suddenly woke up from her dream, cold sweat all over her body, soaking her pajamas.

Tracy was lying on the bed next to him, sleeping peacefully, leaning against the wall. Compared to the powerful pirate general, she looked more like an insecure child.

The experiences in the dream flooded into her mind, and the fragmented memories made her head feel a little swollen and painful.

Scarlet restraints, primordial jelly, colors beyond space, burning beech trees, the door to the western continent...

There were many phrases that even Adele didn't know what they meant when she recalled them. The protection of old knowledge in her mind was still working, which prevented her from being contaminated by similar information.

After lifting the quilt, Adele was no longer sleepy, so she got out of bed tremblingly and poured herself a glass of water from the kettle on the table.

A large glass of cold boiled water flowed down her throat into her esophagus, and Adele felt her brain become a little clearer and no longer confused. Only then did she remember why Tracy was in the same room with her.

When Adele and Gegran returned to Port Berens, they found a hotel to stay in. Gegran chose a single room next to Adele and her roommate.

Do you want to meet Gagran?

Adele was a little undecided.

What she saw tonight gave her an unprecedented sense of uneasiness. Even though she had died violent deaths in her dreams before, some of which were deaths in the form of mythical creatures, but what she saw today... was something beyond those.

Although Adele hadn't made up her mind yet, she was quick in putting on her clothes.

Although dying in dreams before would not affect reality, after all, I had never seen such a terrifying thing before. Even Emperor Roselle was polluted, and the death and resurrection of the Black Emperor could not rule out this kind of pollution.

I should talk to someone...

Adele tiptoed out of the room, came to Gagran's door, knocked, and the door slid open naturally.

Geglan was half lying on the bed. A red candle was lit at the head of the bed. The warm flame flickered, and her face was bright and dark.

"What on earth did I see?"

Adele asked hesitantly.

"City of Disaster." Gagran pulled the quilt to his side to make room for Adele. "To be precise, it's the ending of City of Disaster."

Adele carefully sat down next to Gagran and leaned on Gagran's shoulder.

"The Fool took control of Sefirah Castle and became the Lord of Mysteries. The Creator's eldest son took control of the Sea of ​​Chaos and is planning to become God. However, no one can control the City of Disaster."

Gagran said slowly, his expression solemn. "The City of Disaster is such a special existence, and this is why Chike is afraid of it."

"Remember I told you before that the 'Original Witch' can be resurrected from the dead like the 'Black Emperor'?"

"This statement is actually not quite accurate. After the Black Emperor dies, if the order he established still remains, he can be strangely resurrected from his own mausoleum. The original witch will be reborn in the body of a witch above the demigod level after a disaster of a large enough scale occurs."

"However, after the Black Emperor is resurrected, if his three Beyonder characteristics are possessed by someone during this period, then these three Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics will automatically return. After the Original Witch is resurrected, the existence that possesses his Sequence 1 will not be affected and can still retain her Beyonder characteristics."

This? Adele frowned instinctively, feeling incredible.

Due to the existence of the Law of Conservation of Extraordinary Characteristics, the resurrection of the old gods must be accompanied by the return of their characteristics, otherwise it would be impossible to achieve the same status and ability.

No, there should be another possibility...

Adele looked at Gagran, who nodded.

"The only explanation is that the one who was resurrected was not the original witch, but... 'Chongshen', or one of the incarnations of the City of Disaster."

Gagran said solemnly, "If an original witch dies, a new one must take her place in a short period of time. Otherwise, the City of Disaster will further awaken and gain power equivalent to that of a true god through a ritual with the source."

"You said before that you were killed by a demigod-level being in your dream last time? That was the body that the City of Disaster once incarnated. However, its power was still very weak at that time, so Chike became the original witch first and took the initiative to cut off the connection with the City of Disaster."

"Although I want to bring Chila down, it doesn't mean I want the City of Disaster to wake up."

Gegelan turned around and stared at Adele: "Do you remember what I told you when we separated?"

"If I fail, you must return to the ruins and use my remains to become the new Original Witch."

"Chike doesn't want to become the Old One, because that means there is a high probability that he will lose himself. Based on what he has done, the resistance from the City of Disaster will be even more severe."

"But, if that's the case, then it seems that we don't have to be hostile to Chick. After all, we don't want to see the awakening of the City of Disaster more than an 'Original Witch', right?"

Adele nodded first, then remembered something and continued to ask Gagran.

"There is more than one path to the City of Disaster. That idiot Chick doesn't seem to realize this yet. He still thinks he is the only choice for the City of Disaster."

Gegran laughed sarcastically, "This is his conspiracy. There are no true gods in the Hunter Path now. Even if Chike occupies the Witch Path and does not become an Old One, the City of Disaster can still influence the Hunter Path and form a new worshipped god from this vacancy. At that time, Chike will be completely unable to resist the City of Disaster that has mastered the Hunter Path, and he will become a complete Old One."

"To put it simply, the only way out before us is to squeeze Chike out, and then use the City of Disaster to accommodate the True God of the Hunter Path, and finally obtain the status of the Old One, and then bet that we can at least achieve a balance in the game with Him."

The expression on Gaglan's face was a little complicated. It seemed that he was trying his best to show relief, but he failed after trying several times. He just let out a long breath.

"He has already placed the gamble before us. Only by betting our entire fortune can we compete with Him."

Her voice was no longer charming, but heavy as cast iron. "He can lose many times, but if we lose once, we will be kicked off the table."

"You are only Sequence 6 now, not yet a demigod. You have not seen what is inside your own 'door'. There is still a chance to turn back."

This was the first time that Gagran persuaded Adele to give up. Even though the witch in front of her was the one she had personally brought up, she still wanted to give her a chance to give up.

Hypocrisy? Gagran didn't know, but she knew that a witch should be like this. She suddenly wanted to give the child a chance to quit, so she did it. There was no reason, and no need for other reasons.

"At least, if you give up, your future will definitely be more stable than it is now..."

Gagran was only halfway through her words when Adele suddenly interrupted her. This was the first time she interrupted Gagran tonight.

“If the future is already determined, is it still the future?”

Adele looked up at the starry sky outside the window and said, "So I refuse."

(End of this chapter)