Witch Redemption

Eisen glanced at the corpse, then took out a specially made black cloth roll and picked up one of the bodies. "Serial number 93, confirm retrieval."

Jeno did the same, picking up the corpse and grabbing the Libra Cross Greatsword stuck to the side. "Serial number 94, confirm retrieval."

Thirty minutes later, at the Witch's Abode in the border district of Mori City, Jeno and Eisen threw the corpses they were holding onto the ground amidst the ruins, and then began to stare in the direction of the inner city.

"It's almost time."

Nearly forty minutes had passed since the Crimson Night Torrent. Most of the low-level monsters had been kept out of the border area. Only a few escaped and headed straight for the inner city, but they were quickly wiped out by the dark, menacing magic crystal cannons.

“The rest is to eliminate the other two witches… Hmm, in that direction…” Jeno suddenly frowned.

"She's dead. Judging from this feeling, she should be number 86. Is she asking me to go and retrieve her?"

"Okay, then I'll handle recycling number 47 myself."

After making this response, Jeno began to stride towards the inner city.

At this time, Li Lan and her two companions were unaware that the other three witches had already died...

Chapter 21 The Witch's Demise

The densely packed monsters were not the mimicry of chaos that Li Lan had imagined. They had various shapes, were pitch black, and emitted thick blackish-gray smoke, crowding together like a dense torrent.

"This way!"

Number 47 calmly ran towards the street, where the massive city wall was now fully revealed.

At this moment, the dark monsters were roaring behind them. Even though they knew in advance that these monsters were coming, Li Lan and Lana were still out of breath and almost collapsed on the ground.

Fortunately, with the deliberate guidance of number 47, they finally figured out the general terrain of the inner city and knew which way to go when they were luring away the monsters. When they saw the huge city wall, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

On the city wall, a dark cylindrical cannon was moving rapidly thirty meters in the air, aimed directly at the oncoming horde of monsters.

Then, with a deafening roar, a dazzling golden light exploded in the air, unleashing flames as bright as the sun, engulfing everything and turning all the demons touched by the golden light into dust.

At this moment, there are only about three minutes left before the Crimson Night Torrent ends.

"Even at the very last moment, we must never let our guard down." Number 47 instructed the two pale-faced juniors while checking the safety of their surroundings.

Suddenly, his gaze fell on the dark street corner in the distance, and a sense of foreboding welled up inside him. He said calmly, "You guys practice here first, and I'll protect you secretly."

After saying that, number 47 walked straight towards that corner and never looked back.

In their momentary confusion, Li Lan and Lana didn't think much of it and simply nodded. As a result, they ended up waiting for over an hour...

After they had safely crossed the raging torrent of the Crimson Night, two more heavy chimes sounded from the inner city's clock tower, and they realized that something seemed amiss.

"Lana, where did Senior Number 47 and the others go?" After calming down, Li Lan recalled the series of events that had happened today and felt that there were many strange things going on.

"Shall we look for it?"

Lana gestured, pointing to the street corner where number 47 had disappeared more than an hour ago.

Just as the two were considering taking a step, two tall figures wearing black trench coats suddenly emerged from the corner of the street.

"These two people are..."

In the gradually fading moonlight, Li Lan and Lana could barely make out the basic features of the two men: they had beautiful blond hair, handsome lower faces, and upper faces completely hidden in the shadow of their top hats.

"..."

A nameless fear surged through them. Li Lan and Lana had no time to escape. In the blink of an eye, they were horrified to find that the two men were already standing in front of them, their right hands slamming down on their foreheads with lightning speed...

The crimson hue of the full moon in the sky has gradually faded, and its gentle light shines upon the world.

In the eerily quiet neighborhood, two men in black trench coats put down the unconscious woman they were carrying, who looked like a salted fish, and stared at each other.

"As before, the memories these witches can access are only those after they are summoned to this world; before that, it's all blank, and we don't know what their origins are."

Geno waved his hand dismissively and grumbled.

In contrast, Eisen, whose face remained icy, went straight to the point: "Have you found any relevant memories of the guy you have?"

"No, those dead people only taught these two how to survive, they didn't mention anything else, and we don't know if they have any backup plans."

The two remained silent for a few seconds after hearing this, before Eisen finally spoke first, "In that case, let's do as the warden says, keep them alive, and spend some time secretly monitoring them later."

"That's good. Also, regarding the Sixth Apostle and that Abyss Demon that happened tonight..."

Geno grinned mischievously.

"you think……"

"Give them a glimmer of hope, let them know who the murderer was who killed witches number 93 and 94."

"Hmph, if the warden blames me, I won't know anything about it."

Eisen brushed it off with a single sentence, not wanting to get involved in Jeno's thoughts at all; he just wanted to do his job well.

Seeing his companion's reaction, Jeno couldn't help but sternly say, "You've always been so boring! You don't know how to enjoy life..."

Eisen ignored him, picked up the unconscious Li Lan, and headed straight for the witch's residence.

………………

When she came to her senses, Li Lan felt a splitting headache, as if she had a hangover.

"I am at..."

He opened his groggy eyes and found himself lying on the rough, gray ground, covered in dust. The morning sun made him squint.

He was lying on the ruins outside the witch's residence.

"..."

As her memories slowly returned, Li Lan recalled that she had spent a crazy night last night. Senior Number 47 led them around, running around to avoid attacks from monsters. Finally, just as the Crimson Night Torrent was about to end, Number 47 left early for some unknown reason.

He and Lana never saw the return of number 47; instead, they were greeted by two other men with intense hostility.

"That's right, those two!"

Suddenly remembering that it was those two slaps that knocked them unconscious, Li Lan felt a wave of fear. She struggled to get up and hurriedly checked her condition, only to find that she was fine. It all seemed like a dream.

"Karen".

Lana's groggy voice came from behind her. Li Lan turned around and met her puzzled eyes.

Lana's blue beast eyes suddenly widened in fear. Li Lan immediately followed her gaze and saw a large pool of dried blood not far away. On the bloodstain was a thin, scarred arm, its filthy fingers tightly clutching a handful of blue crystal-like hair, as if foreshadowing something...

Still shaken, Li Lan and Lana waited in the witch's abode until noon, but the four witch seniors did not return.

The predecessors left only this horrible severed hand in this area, and then seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Even though Li Lan only spent three or four days with them, these four enthusiastic seniors left a deep impression on him. Perhaps he had already unconsciously placed them in an extremely important position in his heart.

In this strange world where he had no relatives or friends, only those who came from the same world could give him a sense of security.

But now, this sense of security has quietly vanished with the disappearance of these four predecessors, and a nameless unease has begun to fill his heart.

On this day, Li Lan and Lana did not step out of the defense zone. They wandered around the surrounding area for a while, searching for clues about the existence of the four predecessors. Gradually, they began to learn a shocking piece of bad news from some residents who had returned to normal life.

The last four witches of the previous batch all perished in last night's torrent of crimson light...

"Number 47, they're all dead?"

The shocking truth plunged Li Lan and Lana into despair.

Li Lan didn't know when he returned to the witch's residence. The moment he pushed open the door, he seemed to see No. 47 sitting quietly reading a book in a gray down chair, No. 86 playfully greeting them, No. 94 nodding to them with a gloomy expression, and No. 93 grumbling to his partner No. 94.

When I came to my senses, it was all an illusion. The empty living room was deserted and eerily quiet.

Li Lan walked in somewhat distraught, still unable to believe that these four witches, so much more powerful than him and Lana, could just disappear like that, and he had no idea what the cause of their deaths was.

"No, we had the opportunity to find out, but they didn't want us to. What kind of impact would it have on us if we knew? Otherwise, why were these seniors so secretive yesterday and the day before?"

The more Li Lan thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. She felt restless and uncomfortable sitting on the gray down chair, her face turning ashen with worry.

Lana, who was standing next to him, had the same expression.

Both of them were transmigrators from Earth. Both of them were highly educated and adults. No matter how confused they were, they would not believe that the deaths of the four predecessors were an accident.

"This world is not the beautiful place we imagine; it is filled with obvious malice!"

Based on what he had seen and heard over the past few days, Li Lan gradually calmed down and came to this startling conclusion. He increasingly felt that some of the things that Senior No. 47 and the others had been hiding were very likely related to his and Lana's lives!

But which side is actually trying to harm them? The Empire? Or someone else?

Completely baffled, Li Lan turned her head away, only to meet Lana's preoccupied gaze.

Seeing the same emotion in Li Lan's eyes, Lana hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Karen, I think the world is not as simple as we imagine."

“I think so too, but we don’t know much in just three days,” Li Lan pondered for a moment, then added, “Starting tomorrow, we shouldn’t rush out to hunt monsters, but should first look through some relevant books.”

“That’s right. We must gather intelligence on all aspects, including the Imperial Constitution and the Witch Code,” Lana shared the same view. Of course, what troubled her most at the moment was the news of the deaths of her four predecessors. She spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear, “I suspect that the deaths of the four predecessors were not solely due to monsters, especially since before Senior Number 47 left, the Crimson Night Torrent was almost over, which means…”

After that, the person who could threaten the life of number 47 should not be a monster.

"Could it be those two...?"

Li Lan immediately recalled the two strange men in black trench coats she had encountered at the end. She didn't know their identities for the time being, but she felt that the death of number 47 last night was suspicious.

"It's possible, but there's one thing we must all be clear about: we don't have the resources to investigate this matter right now, and I think we'll have to pretend we don't know about the deaths of these four seniors for a long time to come."

Lana is a smart person. How could she not know about the four seniors' evasiveness these past few days? It's just that everyone's emotional intelligence is not too bad. After spending a few days together, they can't be considered to be completely open with each other. Naturally, they won't be foolish enough to dig into some secrets.

Li Lan was well aware of what Lana meant. They were all greenhorns who had just transmigrated, and even survival was a problem. The best course of action for them now was to bide their time and wait until they were stronger before slowly uncovering the tip of the iceberg of this world's secrets.

They are nothing more than ants at the mercy of others.

Shaking his head in distress, Li Lan's gaze fell on the scarred severed arm on the table. He then asked, "Lana, what do you think of this?"

"I don't know which witch senior's severed arm it is, but the one thing I can barely determine is that the hair on this hand may belong to the murderer who killed this witch senior."

Lana and Li Lan were on the same page again. They had noticed this morning that the hair was not human hair, but more like the fur of a wild animal. They could feel a bone-chilling cold when they touched it, which meant that this thing was definitely not ordinary hair.

"As Senior No. 47 mentioned before, there might be an Apostle or an Abyss Monster this time. Although I don't know which two terrible things they were referring to, this hair might be related to the Apostle or the Abyss Monster they mentioned."

Li Lan recalled the bits and pieces that No. 47 had mentioned in the past, many of which No. 47 had evaded, simply telling them that they would know when they became stronger.

What are you planning to do?

Lana asked earnestly, and Li Lan saw a flame in his deep blue beast eyes, a flame called anger, hatred, and an indomitable will.

In that instant, Li Lan seemed to be infected. He grabbed the blue crystal hair tightly held in his palm and said firmly, "I want to live, and I must live. Then, after I become stronger, I will seek justice for myself and for my predecessors!"

His intuition told him that those who were hostile to these predecessors were also eyeing them, the witches who were still alive!

"Then it's a deal. No matter what happens next, we must trust each other! And no matter how long we live, we will avenge this! If nothing unexpected happens, this is not only a disaster for our predecessors, but also a disaster for us!"