Witch Redemption

"Karen, you..."

Lana was somewhat puzzled by Li Lan's actions.

“You were right before, we don’t have much of a chance against Archangel Angel right now, so we should use whatever power we have and focus on getting out of here alive. Besides, if he really is a monster from the abyss…”

Li Lan didn't say the second half of her sentence, but if this guy really was an abyssal demon, then the three of them would definitely be dead beyond any doubt.

A wise person knows when to yield; there's no need to be overly assertive for the sake of momentary pride.

"These two haven't recovered yet, so it doesn't seem like a good idea for us to go to the central main hall now," Lolina reminded them, though her attention was more focused on the werewolf monster not far away.

Honestly, she always felt that guy was really dangerous!

"We can't wait until they wake up before we continue our journey, in case something unexpected happens. Let's carry them on our backs and take them with us. Once we get near the central main hall, we don't need to rush in. We'll proceed with the challenge after we've made all the necessary preparations."

After Li Lan finished speaking, he came to the two witches who looked like dead fish. He glanced at the girl with wolf ears and said, "Lorina, I have a big grudge against that guy, so I'll leave him to you."

After saying that, he carried Della on his back. "Lana, you are the strongest. The next guard duty will be in your hands."

Li Lan gave a wink, implying that the guy in the distance was not someone to be trifled with, and if he really wanted to harm them, the only one present who could probably deal with him was Lana, the dragonborn.

No one knew how long they could withstand the attacks of this abyssal monster.

Suppressing his hostility slightly, Skul let the witches pass by him cautiously, then slowly stepped forward and tentatively asked, "What's wrong with them?"

This refers to the comatose witch that Li Lan and Luo Lina are burdened with.

"There's been infighting. Besides them, there are five other witches whose fates are unknown."

To be honest, Li Lan maintained a certain distance from the werewolf monster, and felt somewhat heavy-hearted.

Skul said with some surprise, "Sure enough, I've heard that the Empire sends witches in every year to make them kill each other. I wonder what methods they use."

What surprised him was not the Empire's methods, but that the false demon god who had infiltrated the temple was a step too slow, and the witches had instead started fighting amongst themselves.

"What's the reason for the infighting?"

"I don't know."

"You're not with those people?"

Skul didn't actually know much about the Imperial Witches, only that they all seemed to be the same.

“Intelligent beings love forming cliques and small groups. Mr. Skull is an old-fashioned man, so he should understand our predicament.” Li Lan felt that he, Lana, and Lorina could now be considered a small group.

“Haha, that’s true,” Abyssal monsters are basically solitary creatures, they don’t really have any small groups. So Skul casually pretended to be profound and changed the subject in time, “So, what information do you want to know about this temple?”

Chapter 59 The Eve of Entering the Venue

"What is the current state of Archangel Angel, who is sealed in the central main hall?"

Li Lan asked the question that was of most concern to her at the moment.

"Heh, of course she's on the verge of death. Even ancient gods die, let alone a descendant of such a deity. I know what your next question will be: what does she look like? How strong is she? I'm in a good mood today, so I might as well tell you. The current Archangel Angel is the embodiment of evil. Seeing her will give you nightmares for days. Besides, even a descendant of a dying deity is not something you can handle. You are really too weak."

Skul made a buzzing, middle-aged voice, his words carrying a hint of smugness, and he didn't forget to add a few sarcastic remarks.

"If Mr. Skull were to intervene, would he be able to kill her?" Li Lan asked again.

“Yes, but there’s no need,” Skul certainly wouldn’t dare say that his current strength was less than a tenth of what it used to be. It was already a stroke of luck that he wasn’t caught and killed by that pseudo-demon god Lerakin. “You guys are a bit strange, though. Your killing intent is so strong. This is different from the other witches I’ve encountered.”

Skul has killed countless witches. Skul can still clearly remember their struggles, fears, and pleas for mercy before they died. They should have been terrifying beings to countless monsters, but they were as fragile as normal people when they died.

Skulle enjoyed the feeling and was happy to see a strong witch break down in front of him.

However, these are extraordinary times, and Skul can only hide his true nature and show his goodwill as much as possible.

If this goodwill could last even a second longer after leaving the temple, that would be Skul's limit.

"These three guys are really promising! They've got guts! It makes me feel quite pleased!"

He felt an urge to destroy them completely right now, and he couldn't help but rub his hands together, almost unable to suppress his true nature.

"The main reason we are so murderous is that the only way for us to leave the temple may be to face the archangel Angel directly. It would be best if Mr. Skull were willing to lend a hand."

Li Lan explained helplessly, her gaze lingering on the werewolf monster's expression.

To be honest, he didn't trust this guy at all. Senior No. 47 had mentioned many times that witches were the nemesis of monsters, and even abyssal monsters should not be able to change their natural enemy relationship.

What could be the reason behind this? Why didn't this guy just kill these witches from the start?

Are you kidding me?

"No, I think Mr. Skul is quite familiar with this Dawn City. In previous years, the Empire must have sent many witches here, right? They all managed to escape successfully in the end?"

Li Lan knew very well that almost all the witches who came here every year died here. Last year, only four people, number 47, were able to escape from this hellish place, and that was only with the cooperation of eight people. This was enough to show just how terrifying this Archangel Angel was.

"This……"

Upon being asked this question by Li Lan, Skul was suddenly startled, recalling what he had seen and heard during his decades of seclusion in Dawn City.

Very few witches manage to emerge alive from the temple each year, or even none at all. Skul only remembers the four witches from last year who caused a sensation throughout Dawn City and set a new survival record.

He thought to himself, "I only remember that four witches left the temple alive last year, but after that, I heard they were strictly confined to the city of Mori's territory, and the Witch Cult didn't assign them any more tasks. Moreover, according to the Lord, all four of them died in last month's Crimson Night Torrent, two of whom were killed by my seniors..."

“Damn it! I should have done more research before coming in! It’s all that damned false demon god’s fault for being in such a hurry to reincarnate and not waiting for me at all.” Regardless, it was the right thing to do to blame all the mistakes on the enemy. Skul calmed down a bit. “However, if I hadn’t come in with him and let this false demon god completely control the situation, it would have caused even bigger problems.”

Skul's expression changed several times before he finally gave in. "Fine, I'll believe your method of leaving. But I must warn you, the dangers in this temple are not limited to that archangel."

Skul didn't originally intend to tell these three guys about the existence of the Seventy-Two Pillar Gods. After all, in his opinion, it would be pointless for them to know about such weak creatures who weren't even worthy of carrying his shoes.

At this moment, he hesitated whether or not to bring up the matter of the pseudo-demon god Lerakin.

"I understand. Then regarding..."

Taking advantage of the rare opportunity, Li Lan quickly asked a whole host of questions about the temple, but received only a few answers.

This is the temple of the ancient goddess of dawn who fell from grace. It was originally supposed to be a tower that reached the heavens, but unfortunately it was destroyed and buried underground due to war.

Furthermore, Skul also revealed some details about the sealing of Archangel Angel, all of which were grand schemes by the gods of the present world. Even the Empire was merely a pawn in the hands of these deities. All of these statements had a strong conspiracy theory flavor.

………………

A sharp pain erupted from behind as the powerful slash struck, followed by a piercing, excruciating pain in the heart that went deep into the bone marrow.

The scream that was instinctively meant to be uttered was preceded by a massive amount of viscous liquid, turning the last words of his life into gurgling mutterings.

"Why? Why?"

Her mind went blank, and as her powerless body collapsed limply, her blood-red beastly eyes revealed only confusion and fear.

She couldn't understand why her best friend, with whom she had spent every day, would kill her, and she was terrified that death would really be like what Major General Abbott had said—a return to heaven, a return to the world she once knew.

“Julie…Julie…”

It wasn't resentment, but confusion, pure confusion. Even in her final moments, all she could think about was whether Julie had been possessed by the unknown entity in the temple. She needed to stop her, and she needed to save her other accomplices.

"Cough-cough-"

The words she wanted to say stuck in her throat. She struggled to get up from the cold ground, but unfortunately, her life force was fading away. Her right hand, which was trying to grab something, only moved a few centimeters in the pool of blood.

The silver halo above her head shattered with a crack, and her pupils completely dilated...

It was an incredibly long dream, a dream that seemed both real and unreal, bizarre and fantastical.

She dreamt of being carried on her father's back as a child when she had a high fever, walking towards the township clinic. Her vision was blurred, and all she could see were countless cars rushing by, while her father remained silent the whole time.

The mother, who was walking slowly beside her, had a worried look on her face and would ask anxiously every now and then, "Shanshan, how are you feeling?"

In her daze, she only felt that everything was familiar, and that this shoulder was warm, allowing her to forget all her pain.

"These are just dreams, aren't they?"

Her response was a fading dream, and everything around her gradually descended into darkness.

Then, a sliver of dawn broke through the darkness, and consciousness suddenly returned, and control of the body was regained...

Codenamed 013 Della suddenly opened her eyes. At that moment, what she saw was Li Lan's not-so-broad shoulders, and a dark and distant corridor that was slowly moving forward with a slight sway.

"You are……"

The familiar black cloak and hood startled Della. What surprised her even more was that, according to her previous memories, she should have been dead. How could she be in a place like this?

………………

In the underground area of ​​the Sunset Temple, in the dimly lit corridor to the right of the central hall.

During their brief rest, Della and Britney, now awake, looked at each other and remained silent.

Della clearly remembered what had happened before, and was naturally grateful to Li Lan and the other two for rescuing her. However, she was conflicted about their positions and did not know how to express herself in a short time.

Britney's face was even worse. She clearly remembered everything that happened in front of that black coffin, from Vice-Captain Julie's sudden attack that killed Della to her furious retaliation afterward.

Julie and her team must have been given some kind of mission by Major General Abbott, otherwise they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to kill.

Even so, knowing full well that she couldn't blame it all on her accomplices, Britney felt immense guilt and pain whenever she thought about how she had lost her mind and killed another accomplice.

Murder is wrong.

She should have known this sooner; it was a philosophy passed down to her by her parents, who were both criminal investigators, influencing her way of thinking throughout her life.

No matter what happens, one must use the law as a weapon to protect one's rights, and should not resort to violence.

"I acted in self-defense! I did nothing wrong!"

Britney tried to comfort herself in a weak and indifferent way, but the image of her accomplice's madness before being killed lingered in her mind, making her look extremely pale, yet she dared not utter a word about it.

Because she knew that Della was someone who valued her friends extremely, and Della was unaware of what Britney had done after she fell into a coma.

On the other side, Li Lan and the other two were also in a dilemma. The two witches they had rescued had woken up, but judging from their shocked and silent appearance, they probably wouldn't be able to get anything out of them in a short time.

Moreover, it will probably take some time before they recover to their full state, so they can only stay near the central main hall for now.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward. After several hours in this gloomy area, Della realized she couldn't continue to wallow in her despair, so she got up and thanked Li Lan and the other two.

Her attitude has changed a lot compared to before.

"I'm sorry, I need to speak with Britney alone."

Della glanced at the dark corner behind her, indicating that they should go there to talk.

"Please go ahead." Li Lan nodded. It wasn't that she was afraid they would run away on their own, but rather that she felt they might have their own secrets that she didn't want the three of them to know.

Three minutes later.

"Britney, I want to know if what happened before was real."

Della, pale-faced, went straight to the point.