Witch Redemption

Britney is the same. The Berserker's professional talent is not without its side effects. Although excessive blood loss will not kill her in the short term, it will cause her intelligence to decline for a period of time, just like entering a sage state after having too much sex.

If it were the usual Britney Spears, she wouldn't be so laid-back like this; she would have already lost her temper.

"Okay, then we'll officially take action tomorrow."

Li Lan slammed her hand on the table and decided that it was time to leave this strange temple.

He had a bad feeling that if he stayed any longer, something bad might happen.

Chapter 61 Trial

April 17, 10003 (Gregorian calendar), the third day since the witches entered the Temple of Sunset.

The dimly lit corridor was eerily silent, save for the occasional murmurs of the witches' activities echoing in the distant gloom.

Li Lan checked the information in the magic book, then asked, "How are your preparations going?"

Lana was the first to respond, "The number of times the professional skills have been used is full, so there shouldn't be any problem. It's mainly them who are in charge."

"I'm fine too." Lorina stretched her limbs, took a deep breath, and calmed herself down completely.

Because Della and Britney still harbored hostility towards Li Lan and the others, they hadn't had much in-depth communication in the past two days. Judging from their dejected appearance, their mental state didn't seem to be very good.

"We're alright now, lead the way."

Della avoided Li Lan and the other two's gaze as if she were running away.

Britney didn't speak. She was in much better shape than Della, though her face still held a hint of gloom.

"Ah."

Although Li Lan intended to let the two rest for a while to adjust their condition, the food they brought with them had been used up. If they did not take advantage of the fact that they still had more strength to enter the central main hall to seek a way out, their fate would very likely be like that of the witch senior who inscribed the diary, ultimately unable to turn the tide.

"Let's go."

Taking the first step, Li Lan quickly arrived at the last corner leading to the central main hall.

As they turned the corner, the pure white light at the end began to come into view.

As Li Lan cautiously advanced, she opened her natal magic book, letting it float in front of her.

However, on the abstract map of the "Exploration" page, there was only one red dot, which symbolized the abyssal monster "Skur". Apart from this, no other possible dangers were identified.

As for Skul, he's still their teammate for now, and they'll be splitting up soon. Even so, Li Lan remains wary of him and doesn't dare to be careless in the slightest.

At this moment, not only him, but also Lana and Lorina habitually opened their magic books and entered the "Exploration" page.

Della and Britney weren't close to Li Lan and his companions, so they didn't know the many secrets in the magic book. They initially thought Li Lan and his group were being overly cautious and taking precautions in advance.

After thinking for a moment, the two of them opened their magic books and followed along slowly.

Their somewhat disordered footsteps brought a lively atmosphere to the otherwise silent corridor, until the moment they stepped completely into that pure white space.

………………

"Ok?"

A sudden, intense unease surged through Li Lan's heart. She felt her vision momentarily plunge into darkness. When light returned, the path behind her had completely vanished, replaced by endless pure white.

"what happened?"

Not only Li Lan, but Lana was also on high alert, quickly grabbing the Libra Cross Greatsword and holding it horizontally in front of her in a defensive posture.

"The road has disappeared?"

Although Lolina appeared quite calm, she was actually incredibly nervous inside. She quickly scanned her surroundings and found that there was no way to leave the area.

"It wasn't like this last time I came, was it?"

Della and Britney both exclaimed in surprise, not understanding why such a situation had occurred upon entering this space today.

Just as Li Lan was about to ask the two people what had happened when they came last time, a strange change suddenly occurred on the page of the magic book in front of her. The page of the magic book became blank, and countless black auras swirled on it.

"There's something wrong with the spellbook!"

An inexplicable fear caused all the witches present to break out in a cold sweat.

This grimoire represents a portion of a witch's power. If it cannot be used properly, their power will be reduced by at least 60%, which is not a good sign.

Fortunately, the strange phenomenon exhibited by the magic book only lasted for a few seconds. Soon, the rapidly swirling black vortex spread like ink, transforming into many crooked characters on the magic book.

"Trial of Hope"

Conditional unlock

The task is to stop Archangel Angel's rampage within five minutes.

Soon, the numerous words turned into black smoke and dissipated, and the pages of the magic book returned to their original state.

Not only was Li Lan bewildered, but Lana and the others who saw the same information were also completely dumbfounded. "Trial of Hope, what is this?"

"Perhaps we can understand this as a side quest in the game."

Li Lan guessed that in many games he had played before, there were quite a few so-called side quests, and the triggering conditions were naturally varied.

"I don't think so. Shouldn't a side quest give some reward? This few-word hint isn't very helpful to us."

Lana grumbled, but thankfully the grimoire had returned to normal, which was a good thing.

"This isn't a game, it's reality..."

Li Lan shook her head and continued walking slowly forward.

Everything in sight was a soft, pure white, making it impossible to distinguish between the sky and the ground. The five of them seemed to have fallen into a dreamlike void.

In the void, there was one incongruous object: a completely black coffin.

The coffin, made of some unknown material, was deep and restrained, resembling a black hole that frantically absorbed any light from its surroundings. Li Lan sensed an extremely terrifying aura emanating from within, an aura imbued with unmistakable killing intent and madness.

Perhaps it was because of the fear in her heart that Li Lan stopped when she was less than ten meters away from the dark coffin.

"What's next?"

Lana asked, "Since their purpose in coming here is to kill this sealed monster once, now is the time to make it show itself. If it's in this coffin, we might consider prying it open."

She brandished the Libra Cross greatsword in her hand again.

"Uh, you're really serious?"

Just as Li Lan and the others were at a loss, the pitch-black coffin suddenly made a strange "creaking" sound, and then with a bang, the heavy coffin lid fell to one side, revealing a deep void.

………………

While keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings, Skul kept a close eye on the five witches who were walking slowly forward.

As previously agreed, the witches will be back to their best condition today and then begin experimenting with ways to leave the temple.

It is said that in order to open the passage from the temple to the outside world, it is necessary for these witches to kill the archangel Angel, who is sealed here.

Skul was actually skeptical of this claim; he hadn't fully believed the witches' words. Perhaps because the conflict between witches and monsters was ingrained in his soul, Skul instinctively remained wary of them. If it weren't for the current special circumstances, he would have preferred to cripple these creatures and then extract information from them.

Unfortunately, he can't do that now.

There was only one reason: he dared not gamble. This place, which the Lord's sixth apostle called the "Witch's Tomb," had buried countless witches over the years, and the vast majority of them never left after entering it on the first day.

No one knows exactly what happened inside, but one thing Skull is certain of.

If all the witches who came in this time die here, there is a high chance that the temple will be completely sealed off, and the next opening will have to wait until next year.

"That fake demon god dared to blatantly barge in; he must have some trump card to leave easily, while I don't. That's a problem. Right now, the best course of action might be to hope that those witches can find the right way to leave. If that doesn't work, what should I do?"

Skul wasn't unaware that these witches might betray him, but at this moment he truly didn't want to face the sealed monster. Suppressed by this temple to only one-tenth of his power, he cherished his life more than ever before.

Simply because they were no match for the enemy, even self-preservation became a problem.

"Alright, I'll observe for a while and see what happens. When the time is right, I'll still have to make my move."

It's unclear what the situation will be like when the temple opens the road to the outside world, but Skul's current goal is very clear: once the road to the outside world appears, he will reveal his true form immediately and kidnap these witches as quickly as possible, giving that false demon god absolutely no chance.

Only by leaving this temple could he kill these witches without restraint, thus eliminating any future troubles, and successfully complete the task entrusted to him by the sixth apostle of the Lord. He might even be able to notify the Lord to personally take action and annihilate this damned false demon god.

Filled with murderous intent, Skul watched as Li Lan and the other four walked towards that pure white space, secretly plotting his own scheme.

But what it never expected was that the moment the five witches stepped into the pure white space, the endless pure white suddenly began to twist wildly, transforming into a violent storm that swept in all directions. The oncoming storm forced Skul back several steps, and at the same time, it carried all the twisted pure white into the sky, disappearing completely in the blink of an eye.

The central main hall was now gloomy, mirroring the somber atmosphere of the entire corridor.

"..."

Skul was horrified. He had no time to react and could only watch helplessly as the five witches were swallowed up by the pure white space and disappeared without a trace. "What... what's going on?"

It rushed toward that dark, vast space, only to find that the entire gloomy area was already empty, filled only with a putrid, musty smell, a faint smell of blood, and a strange, burnt odor.

"Could it be that the space we saw before was all an illusion, and only this one is real...?"

“That’s right, this is the true central main hall of the Sunset Temple, the area where the Archangel Angel is sealed.”

A sweet, seductive voice suddenly rang out from Skul's left.

"It's you! The Hunter of Chaos! Leragin!"

Skul's words had become incoherent; the person he least wanted to encounter had finally arrived.

“Yes, it’s me. We meet again. Mr. Skul the Icefield Wolf, the lackey of the Sixth Apostle.”

A tall, glamorous woman in a grey-blue classic long dress appeared at the exit of the corridor on the right. She took elegant cat-like steps, and the crisp sound of her high heels echoed in the spacious area.

But as the corners of her mouth curled into an evil arc, her dreamlike, knee-length hair surged violently behind her, transforming into nine pairs of slender, feminine hands. The rising magic manifested as a menacing, jet-black crossbow.

Why are you here?

Skull forced himself to remain calm and asked the question he most wanted to know.

With the Icefield Demon Wolf's special talent, it was impossible for him not to find any signs of the Pseudo-Demon God's existence; this guy couldn't possibly completely conceal any sound or scent.

“I’ve always been here, and I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Leragin's distinctive ring-shaped pupils had completely locked onto Skul; this time, she had come prepared.

"You've always been here?"

Skul's expression changed, and a terrible guess appeared in his mind: the underground area of ​​the Sunset Temple had been artificially created into two different spaces, a real space and an illusory space.

When they first entered, they were in an illusory space. If they had continued to follow these witches, they would have remained in that illusory space indefinitely. However, Skul unintentionally chose to distance himself from the witches. Instinctively trying to protect himself, he inadvertently fell into the real space, the very area that Lerakin had already entered.

Lerakin seemed unafraid that Skul would try to escape again. She approached the werewolf monster step by step, saying, "I can give you a chance. Be my servant, sign a life contract, and I can spare your life."

This means that it must completely betray the sixth apostle, Carametti.