Mystery: The Witch of Desire

Does the fourth floor also belong to your company?

"Yes. I really don't understand why the boss rented the fourth floor as well... She clearly can't afford the rent anymore. If she rented one less floor, at least she could pay my wages normally, and I wouldn't be so broke that I can't even afford a little meat..."

The receptionist spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction, clearly having a lot of complaints about her boss.

After a moment's thought, Livre spoke:

"Please introduce me to your boss."

The receptionist stood up expressionlessly and pointed to a double sliding door behind the reception desk:

"Come with me."

Pushing open the door, there was a long corridor with many closed doors on both sides, or rooms with only a crack open, letting out dust, clearly not in use.

“My name is Susan… My father is a poor wretch who came to the Southern Continent to make a living, and my mother is an indigenous person. So although I look half Northern, I’ve never been to the Northern Continent… Damn it, I really hope my damn old man can find a wife in the Northern Continent and give birth to me in Rune, so I can live a life like a human…”

The receptionist, who called herself Susan, was very talkative and poured out her troubles to Livre, whom she was meeting for the first time.

Miss, let's not even talk about whether your father would have given birth to you if he had a different wife. If you had ever seen the slums of East Backlund, you probably wouldn't say such a thing...

Liviel silently grumbled to herself, but didn't say it aloud. People always need to have a little hope. If Susan knew that the poor people in the North Continent were living the same miserable lives, wouldn't she feel the cruelty of life even more?

Finally, after turning several corners in the corridor, Susan led Livre to a half-open, dilapidated door. From the outside, Livre could not tell that there was someone working inside.

Without knocking or saying hello, Susan pushed open the door and said coldly:

"Ms. Michelle, a young lady is looking for you."

Liviel entered the room and took in the layout: a dim gas chandelier, peeling floors and walls, a desk piled with clutter, a cracked sofa, and a partition door; the interior was likely a bedroom or similar resting space.

A fair-skinned woman with a cool demeanor sat behind her desk, flipping through piles of letters.

Seeing Susan bring her guests in, Ms. Michelle stood up. She was tall with long blonde hair, which looked a bit frizzy from not being groomed for a long time. Her eyes were the same red as the messenger's, and they looked bright and lively, adding to her radiant beauty.

"You are……"

Michelle looked Livre up and down with a puzzled expression, clearly surprised by the arrival of this uninvited guest.

"My name is Monroe, and I'm from Backlund. I'd like to discuss some business matters with you."

As Livre spoke, she activated her spiritual vision, looking Michelle up and down. She noticed the unnaturalness in Michelle's spirituality and made a preliminary judgment that Michelle might be an extraordinary being.

Michelle's suspicion deepened. She took a step back, approached the coat rack, reached into the coat pocket, and said:

“I don’t recall having any guests from Backlund.”

"Perhaps, you didn't have it before... but now you do."

Liviel smiled slightly, walked to the worn-out sofa and sat down, her two long, snow-white legs crossed together under the hem of her emerald green dress.

"Tell me, what kinds of services do you offer?"

Michelle glanced at Susan, who was standing to the side, and gave her a wink. Susan immediately left the room, closing the door behind her.

Then, Michelle made a simple cup of tea, placed it in front of Livr, and said:

"I'm ashamed to say that we don't have any business anymore. The current situation is very difficult, and small businesses like ours can no longer survive."

"Oh, really?" Livre took the tea, a mysterious smile on her face. "I have a batch of artifacts unearthed from the ancient Highlands Kingdom. Doesn't Ms. Michelle have any interest?"

As expected, Michelle's red eyes flickered upon hearing this, revealing her keen interest in the ancient highland kingdom.

"What kind of cultural relic? Let me see it."

She leaned forward slightly, appearing somewhat impatient.

“This artifact is quite simple,” Livre said, leaning back on the worn-out sofa. “It’s ‘Tinicor.’ Are you satisfied with this answer?”

Michelle paused for a moment, then asked incredulously:

"Who sent you?"

"Miss Sharon of the Northern Continent."

Livre looked at her with a smile, while holding the 'Last Whisper' in her bosom.

“Sharon…”

Michelle murmured, her red eyes suddenly turning melancholy.

"They're all dead... Everyone's dead..."

Livre frowned slightly, then calmly reassured him:

"Tell me in detail what happened."

Michelle sighed deeply, tugging at her eyes to keep the tears from falling, and slowly said:

"Because of the betrayal of the traitor, the strongholds of the 'Bound Ones' have all been cleared out by the Kingdom's military."

"This is probably the last stronghold of the 'Bound Ones'..."

Livre's heart sank. She didn't know how to comfort Michelle, because Miss Sharon probably didn't know that the 'Bound Ones' had suffered a heavy blow, so she didn't give her any supplies to support the 'Bound Ones'.

Michelle grew increasingly agitated, muttering repeatedly:

"Actually, even if we didn't face a purge by the military, we probably wouldn't have much hope of holding on."

“It’s been three years. We haven’t received a response from the ‘Bound God’ for three years…”

"In these three years, we prayed countless times, hoped countless times, and relied on our faith in God to survive one siege after another, and face one sacrifice after another. However, God abandoned us..."

Bound God...Do you worship a bound god?

Livre was startled; she was familiar with the name.

The Bound God is an evil god worshipped by the Rose School. However, Livre knows that the Rose School actually worships the Mother Tree of Desire. Therefore, she has always believed that the Bound God is a 'cloak' or a cover for the Mother Tree of Desire.

But why would the anti-colonial organizations in the Southern Continent worship the Bound God...?

Livre swallowed hard and asked carefully:

"Can you tell me, where did your belief in the bound god originate?"

Michelle wiped away her tears, calmed her agitated emotions, and slowly said:

"At the beginning of the Fifth Era, Death fell, and a wave of resistance against the rule of the Byron Empire emerged in places such as the Star Plateau and the Pass River Valley in the southern continent."

During this process, the deity we believe in, the Bound God, appeared. He established the Rose School and assisted the Tinicol family in establishing the High Kingdom.

From then on, the people of the Highland Kingdom continued to worship the Bound God until the arrival of the colonists from Intis and Rune...

For hundreds of years now, God's response has become less and less frequent, until now, He has stopped responding to believers altogether.

We were like lost lambs, unable to find our way forward.

The bound one is doomed…

It sounds like the Bound God was indeed a once-active deity, but now he has abandoned his name and the response of his followers... while the Mother Tree of Desire has become the evil god actually worshipped by the Rose School...

Could it be that, sometime hundreds of years ago, the Bound God was corrupted by the Mother Tree of Desire, had his authority usurped, and was reduced to a puppet, or weakened?

Until three years ago, He completely lost His authority and power, and was utterly unable to answer the prayers of His believers…

How did Miss Sharon come to be involved with the Bound Ones? Was it because of the Messenger? The Messenger's surname is Tinicol, and she is a member of the Highland Kingdom's royal family... If the Messenger wants to overthrow colonial rule and revive the Highland Kingdom, the Bound Ones are undoubtedly her 'base'...

After some thought, Livre felt she was gradually figuring out the relationship, and asked again:

"Do you still have any living members of the Tinicol clan?"

Michelle paused for a moment, then fell silent.

This shows they don't trust me...

Seeing her expression, Livre guessed what she meant and took the initiative to speak:

"Tell me, what do we need to do now? I can help you with many things."

Michelle's eyes lit up slightly, and she quickly said:

"There is indeed a lot to be done now."

“Our organization in the cities has been largely destroyed, but most of our strength is in the countryside, in the forests, in those tribes. Without organized leadership, they become a disorganized mess, lacking any connection with each other.”

“Each stronghold was originally responsible for contacting several tribes, but now that the other strongholds have been destroyed, those connections have been severed. The most important thing now is to restore contact with these vital forces located in the vast rural areas… This is a daunting task, as their activities span the entire southern continent, and many are hidden in forests and mountains, making them very difficult to find…”

"This is indeed a difficult task..." Livre sighed thoughtfully. "What resources do you still have at your disposal?"

Michelle sighed and said:

"I'm all alone now..."

A lone commander?

Livre had anticipated that things would be bad, but she hadn't expected them to be this bad; the 'Bound Ones' were practically wiped out!

Michelle then slowly calculated:

“Susan was hired temporarily and doesn’t know my true identity. Besides her, there are two bounty hunters whom I sometimes hire to handle things.”

“I had very little contact with the other bound people, which is why my base was spared.”

“Well, perhaps I should commend you for your foresight,” Livre said sarcastically without holding back. “I need a quiet room.”

"All the rooms on the third and fourth floors are available for your use... In fact, it's very spacious here."

Michelle pointed outside, her expression seemingly somewhat helpless.

“I originally rented this place with the intention of building a large stronghold in Highland City, but now it seems that there is no need for that.”

Livre randomly chose a room, wrote down her current situation and questions in a letter, then drew a spiritual wall, set up the ritual to summon the messenger, and began to chant:

"I!"

"Summoned in my name!"

"A spirit that wanders in illusion, a friendly creature that can be commanded, a messenger serving the Lord of the Little White."

In the dim green candlelight, the messenger's four brightly colored heads emerged, looked around, and then frowned.

“I have found the bound ones, but they are almost all wiped out.”

Livre glanced at the silent messenger and continued to ask:

"May I ask what your relationship is with Miss Sharon?"

The messenger remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking:

"Let Sharon tell you."

"That's exactly what I want to do."

As she spoke, Livre handed the letter for Miss Sharon into the messenger's mouth.

The messenger disappeared into the void, and after a while, she returned carrying a letter.

Livre eagerly opened the letter and saw Miss Sharon's neat handwriting:

I feel very sorry for what happened to the bound people... I never expected such a thing to happen.

I can answer most of your questions.

You guessed right, I have some connection with the Rose School. In fact, I was a member of the Rose School before.

The Rose School is divided into the Temperance School and the Liberty School. Marich and I belong to the Temperance School, which is based on the idea of ​​"repression and moderation," and are in opposition to the Liberty School, which deals with desires through "indulgence and burning."

Unwilling to succumb to the depravity of both soul and body, Marich and I ultimately chose to defect, and were subsequently hunted down by the licentious faction to this day.

I don't know much about the 'bound gods'. Initially, the only deity worshipped by the school was the 'bound gods', and they advocated moderation, leading a simple and austere life.

Later, as the influence of the Mother Tree of Desire deepened, words like indulgence began to appear in the oracles. Some high-ranking members claimed that the "Bound God" was the incarnation of the "Mother Tree of Desire," and the traditions of the school gradually changed. 922 years ago, the "Bound God" gave birth to the divine son "Shea." Under the influence of this brutal and bloodthirsty "divine abomination," the indulgence faction gradually gained power, leading to the current split.

Regarding the messenger you mentioned... actually, she is my teacher.

She was once the daughter of the ruler of the High Kingdom, and later became the chosen one of the bound gods.

Within the school, indulgence in desires and bloody sacrifices gradually became the mainstream, causing His body to be torn apart and taken over by different key members of the Rose School.

My teacher has only recently awakened. He currently possesses the angelic title but lacks the corresponding power. In order to obtain the integrity of my teacher's body, for our freedom, and for the people of the Highland Kingdom, we are bound to oppose the Rose School...

I know the Rose School is also your enemy, so let's trust each other.

Chapter 224 My Messenger is an Angel?

Miss Sharon's letter was very long, and Livre read it slowly, feeling increasingly shocked.

The bound god gave birth to the divine child 'Shea'?