Mystery: The Witch of Desire

His vision grew increasingly blurry, and everything around him slowly sank into nothingness.

In that instant, a pair of eyes slowly opened in that cold mirror.

Levi shuddered, his consciousness, which was on the verge of collapse, suddenly cleared, and the scene before him became sharp and clear again.

He stared intently at the eyes reflected in the mirror.

That wasn't the familiar yet indifferent reflection of himself he used to see when he prayed to the being in the mirror.

Those were deep, ancient eyes, seemingly from the primordial chaos, their gaze carrying the power to pierce through all illusions, quietly settling upon him.

A strange chill and a shiver ran through me at the same time.

Levi instantly recognized the aura—those eyes, he had seen them time and time again in his dreams.

In that illusory dream, it is these very eyes that gaze upon themselves in the mirror.

Levi trembled all over, overwhelmed by a sense of utter desolation.

With his last ounce of strength, he roared at the mirror:

"Power, I am willing to give everything, grant me power!"

He no longer cared what kind of evil god existed in the mirror; as long as it could grant him power, he was willing to give up everything, as long as he had power now, as long as he could save Emily now!

He no longer wanted to endure the pain of losing his family.

The ancient eyes reflected in the mirror grew even deeper, their gleaming light revealing an indescribable mystery and majesty.

The next second, a massive amount of information flooded into his mind like a burst dam, and frantic babbling exploded in his ears.

Revi felt a tearing pain in his brain. He had heard these words once before in a dream, on the night he was promoted to Sequence 9 Assassin.

However, this time, he understood the meaning of those ramblings:

"Witch, City of Calamity".

In an instant, Levi was shaken to his core.

Before he could react, a vast and powerful force poured directly into his body from the surging information flow, condensing into a tangible existence and embedding itself in the black pattern on his chest.

It was a vertical, eye-shaped, dark blue gemstone-like object, its surface covered with strange, thread-like patterns, and its texture as clear as crystal, resembling a closed, mysterious, evil eye.

Immediately afterwards, the dark blue, gem-like object began to merge with the black patterns on his chest, embedding itself into his flesh, repairing his wounds, and becoming part of his blood.

A piercing, excruciating pain instantly swept through his body, as if countless red-hot steel needles were piercing and churning within his veins, every inch of flesh screaming and tearing apart. Levi convulsed, a suppressed scream escaping his throat, yet in this extreme agony, he keenly discerned the true nature of the jewel-like object—

Exceptional features!

This is an extraordinary trait of the Sequence 7 witch!

"That being directly bestowed upon me extraordinary characteristics, and these extraordinary characteristics have become integrated into my body like a living thing!"

Without the complete digestion of the potion, without tedious preparations, without gradual adaptation, a massive amount of spirituality and authority, along with the fusion of his characteristics, instantly washed over his body and mind. A power far exceeding anything he had ever experienced surged within him, almost breaking through the shackles of his body.

Levi didn't know what would happen after that power broke through the shackles of his body—perhaps a complete transformation leading to advancement, or perhaps physical collapse and death.

Explanation of the plot and its release

After I released the new chapter yesterday, many UUs commented whether I was going to become a witch. To be honest, I was scared because the chapter I updated today hasn't reached the witch level yet. I'm afraid you guys will scold me, hahaha.

To make up for everyone's anticipation, I'll be updating four chapters today, totaling 8000 words. Then, I'll be releasing a massive 20000-word update when it goes on sale. I'll discuss with the editor whether we can release it on Monday so everyone can have one less day to wait.

Finally, thank you all for your continued support. Thank you to Forgotten Great Tree King, Augules, Moderation Wizard, Anping Tianyuan Jingyi, Fallen Petals, and Book Friend 20240131114941852 for the monthly tickets. Thank you everyone!

Chapter 94 Self-Destructive Tendencies

However, the next second, the surging power within his body suddenly stopped, and the extraordinary characteristics that were slowly fusing in front of his chest also froze, no longer showing any unusual movement.

Levi was startled and lost in confusion, wondering why this change had stopped.

But that extraordinary quality remained firmly within his body, standing in opposition to the female statue, creating a delicate balance.

Revi didn't have the mind to think about that right now—the tentacles were still wrapped around him, wreaking havoc, trying to kill him.

In the massive stream of information just now, besides extraordinary characteristics, Levi also extracted two powers:

One is the ability to manipulate frost, an ability he had previously acquired from a Sequence 7 witch.

Another ability is "fire infusion," which uses the pressure from physical contact and force collisions during close combat to gradually infuse flames into the enemy's body, eventually triggering a violent explosion. This ability comes from the Hunter Path Sequence 7, the Pyromaniac.

"Arsonist, from the Hunter's Path? I've actually extracted power outside the Assassin's Path! How is this possible? Is it because I made two prayers in quick succession?"

Levi suppressed his doubts for the time being and immediately activated his fire-injection ability.

Flames seeped into the writhing tentacles, gradually eroding and filling their interiors. The next moment, a thought struck him, and he ignited the fire buried deep within.

A series of sizzling, ear-piercing crackling sounds erupted as the rampaging tentacles suddenly convulsed, twisted, and curled up violently, their interiors completely burned away. In the blink of an eye, they withered and charred, like dead vines, utterly devoid of all spirituality and vitality.

Revi himself was also caught in the flames. He quickly rolled on the ground to extinguish the flames on his body. Ignoring the burning pain, he looked in the direction the tentacles extended and quickly found the source of the fire—a rotting corpse lying among the stacked boxes, its shape no longer recognizable as human. Countless charred tentacles were attached to the blackened and swollen body, some of them still twitching slightly.

Reeve immediately raised his hand and conjured a ball of icy frost, instantly freezing the rotting corpse into a block of ice, completely eliminating the potential threat.

Having dealt with the threat, Levi didn't hesitate for a moment. He staggered over to Emily's side and carefully removed the convulsing, dead tentacles from her body one by one.

Emily's body lay limp and motionless, her once bright eyes still tightly closed, showing no sign of waking. Reeves' heart leaped into his throat, and he trembled as he slowly reached his hand to her nose—

And breathe!

Reeves breathed a long sigh of relief, then slumped to the ground with Emily in his arms. At that moment, he felt both the joy of surviving a disaster and the urge to burst into tears.

At the same time, an indescribable sense of self-reproach welled up within Reeves:

"Why put myself in such a dangerous situation again? And this time, I've dragged Emily into it too. Why can't I be more careful? Why am I so concerned about those cult members? No matter what the situation, no matter how dangerous, I'll rush in without hesitation. I'm like a machine that's constantly craving self-destruction..."

Reeves bitterly criticized himself, but he had no time to be weak; he and Emily were still in a precarious and uncertain situation.

Levi gritted his teeth, supported his aching body as he stood up, carefully carried Emily in his arms, and limped towards the outside of the storage room.

Stumbling and staggering down to the first floor, just as he turned the corner of the stairs, he bumped into Klein, Melissa, and Elizabeth, who were rushing over.

Elizabeth immediately noticed the bloodstains on Revy and the unconscious Emily in his arms, and cried out in alarm, her voice filled with panic:

"Ms. Amy... Mr. Angvi! What happened to you? You're covered in blood!"

Reeves suppressed the turmoil in his heart, his tone calm yet urgent:

“I’m fine. Is there a doctor at home? Amy has fainted and needs immediate treatment.”

Guided hastily by Elizabeth and the other two, Reeves carried Emily quickly into a guest room and carefully placed her on the soft bed.

"One of our guests is a doctor; I'll go and fetch him right now!"

Elizabeth didn't dare to delay. Before she finished speaking, she turned and rushed out. Not long after, she came back in with a middle-aged doctor carrying a medical kit and with a serious expression.

The doctor bent down and carefully examined Emily's breathing, pulse, and pupils. After a moment, he slowly stood up and said in a gentle tone:

"This young lady is fine. She was just frightened and fainted due to slight suffocation. She will wake up after a good rest."

The huge weight that had been hanging over his heart finally lifted, and Levi thanked the doctor repeatedly, his tone full of sincere gratitude.

After the doctor packed up his medical kit and left, Elizabeth looked at Reeves with a serious expression and asked softly:

"Mr. Lyon, what exactly happened? How did it get like this?"

A glint flashed in Levi's eyes as he subtly activated his instigation ability, speaking naturally:

“A thief just sneaked into the storage room. I discovered him and we got into an argument and a fight. I accidentally hurt myself, and Amy was so frightened by the fight that she fainted.”

The instigation had taken effect without the three suspecting anything, and Elizabeth even exclaimed in surprise:

"A thief? How could a thief break in! I'll go get my father right now!"

"Wait!" Levi quickly interrupted, fearing that Mr. Teyvat would discover the secret of the storeroom had been exposed. He activated his instigation ability again, speaking earnestly:

“Mr. Teyvat is busy overseeing things outside; there’s no need to bother him with a petty thief. I can handle this myself. Could you stay here and watch over Amy for me?”

The instigating force enveloped the three once again, and they all nodded in agreement.

Levi nodded slightly, stood up to leave the room, but stopped at the door, turned back, and used his persuasive abilities to remind him again:

"Remember, don't tell anyone about this. I don't want to cause panic among the guests."

"We understand."

The three of them looked slightly dazed and answered in unison, clearly having been completely influenced by the instigation.

Levi walked out of the room, found a piece of clothing in a guest room and put it on to make his blood-covered body less conspicuous.

As he passed the banquet hall, he glanced at Mr. Teyvat, who was anxiously directing his servants.

While waiting for the doctor to treat Emily, Revey learned from Melissa what happened when he was entangled with the tentacles: a violent explosion occurred nearby, the exact cause of which is still unknown, and a large number of police officers have rushed to investigate.

Reeve stared coldly at Mr. Teyvat; his agitation seemed genuine, as if the explosion was not part of his plan.

However, even Levi himself found it hard to believe that this unusual explosion was unrelated to the schemes of those cultists.

Was Teyvat genuinely unaware of the explosion, or was he faking it?

Levi kept this in mind, returned to the second floor, entered the storage room, and came to the rotting corpse and tentacles.

He picked up a mirror, gathered his spiritual energy, and stroked its surface, whispering:

"The origin of this body."

Chapter 95 Danitz's Trap

A hazy mist rose from the mirror, and then a blurry image slowly emerged:

In a secluded corner, a man dressed as a dockworker was talking to a man with blond hair.

Suddenly, the man with the scorched yellow hair drew his knife and plunged it into the porter's chest.

The porter collapsed, and then the blond-haired man placed the body, along with a bone pendant, into a box, muttering obscure incantations.

As he continued chanting, an eerie aura descended, and the box containing the corpse began to tremble slightly.

The scene abruptly ended, but Reeves' eyes were filled with shock:

The man with the scorched yellow hair: It was none other than Blazing Danitz!

"This corpse was prepared by Danitz; it's a trap he set for me!"

Revy snapped out of his shock and quickly went through every word he had said to Danitz in his mind, suddenly realizing his conspiracy:

“Danitz approached me and brought up Mr. Teyvat's matter. He then suggested that I investigate Mr. Teyvat's house. After learning that I was going to Mr. Teyvat's house for a party, he told me that Mr. Teyvat's house contained mummy-related items, and then gave me this bone pendant. My bone pendant reacted with the bone pendant on the corpse in the box, and the contaminated corpse attacked me…”

Reeve quickly searched the body and found another identical bone pendant!

"Why would Danitz set a trap for me... Does he want to take all of Mr. Teyvat's property? No, if that were the case, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to design such an ingenious trap..."

Suddenly, a terrifying possibility occurred to Levi:

He was discussing the Southern Continent cargo ships with Meyer at the Sail Tavern when Danitz overheard them, revealing that he was the instigator. Only then did Danitz propose to rob Mr. Teyvat together...

“Danitz knew I was inquiring about cargo ships from the Southern Continent, so he set a trap to get rid of me…”

Reeves was immediately horrified:

Danitz and the Rose School were in cahoots!

In order to ensure the safe arrival of the crucial items from the Southern Continent in Tingen, and to ensure the proper conduct of the sacrificial ceremony, he set a trap to eliminate me, this potential threat!

"Why would Danitz, a key member of Vice Admiral Iceberg's crew, collude with cultists? Could it be that Vice Admiral Iceberg is actually a member of the Rose School? But, based on what I know, Vice Admiral Iceberg's pirate crew doesn't enjoy plundering and killing; they don't seem like cultists..."

As Levi was pondering this, he suddenly remembered something even more critical:

“If Danitz was lying to me from the beginning, then his claim about the arrival time of Mr. Tewat’s cargo ship must also be part of a deception, designed to attract the attention of me and the organization behind me.”

"The cargo ship carrying the key items for the sacrifice will actually arrive sooner!"

"Perhaps it has already reached Tingen..."

Levi's heart sank. He immediately walked to the corridor window, preparing to climb out of Mr. Teyvat's villa and rush to the dock area to find out the truth.

But just as his fingertips touched the windowsill, a series of hurried footsteps echoed through the banquet hall. A servant who had gone out to gather information rushed to Mr. Teyvat's side and reported in a low voice:

"Sir, we've found out! It seems some pirates caused an explosion and fire in the nearby streets, and the police are on their way!"

Although the servant tried to lower his voice, it still reached the ears of the highly sensitive Rivi.

He froze, his steps abruptly halting.

"Pirates? Flame Danitz!?"

"Could it be... that the sacrificial ritual has already begun?"

Without a second thought, Levi immediately climbed out the window, turned around, and fixed his gaze on the faint red light appearing on the horizon not far away.