Chapter 19: A Mission from the Master!

“Just thinking about a few things.”

Zorn did not hide his admiring gaze at Miss Jolia, whose fair skin, delicate beauty, and long legs captivated him. Today, she wore a splendid blue petal-like court dress that made her appear especially vibrant. Not only Zorn but also several other young nobles had a gleam in their eyes when looking at Miss Jolia.

Caught off guard by Zorn’s sudden admiration, Jolia, who was about to ascend as a witch, felt a bit embarrassed.

“It’s almost time for lunch. After lunch, my mentor will demonstrate extraordinary powers to us,” she said with a faint smile, her thin lips pursed.

“Please take your seats quickly!”

She turned and walked toward the long table, her graceful and lively silhouette leaving a lasting impression.

“If one were to make a doll out of her… it would be quite exquisite,” Zorn mused thoughtfully.

But soon, Zorn shifted his attention to the dining table.

“Ah! Delicious lunch—this is exactly what I love.”

As a melee specialist known as the Star Mark Fighter, Zorn boasted solid physical fitness. The more he ate, the better his stamina, endurance, and growth efficiency became. Coupled with a gluttonous appetite, it would be a deadly combination!

After sitting briefly and concluding the pre-meal prayer, Zorn began to feast heartily until he was fully satisfied.

When lunch ended, maids gradually approached to escort the guests away.

“The plan is officially underway,” Zorn murmured silently as he rose.

Guided by a maid, Zorn entered a small changing room. This was a node within the “Basic Ritual,” one of the ceremonial points for nurturing witches.

On a clean, neat altar draped in black cloth lay a silver dagger, a bowl of spring water, a burning red candle, and a sachet filled with thorny rose fruits.

With the maid’s help, he donned a matching black robe and put on a thorn-patterned mask.

“Next, you must hold the red candle and follow me. The candle must not be extinguished throughout the process.”

“This is a special instruction from the mysterious Rose Sect. Only in this way can one witness the great and secret power,” the maid explained in an unfamiliar tone.

Familiar with the procedure, Zorn did not expose the ruse but complied.

The moment he touched the burning red candle, a blood-red paper silhouette inscribed with Saint Maya’s cryptic script and kept in a metal box inside his pocket silently ignited.

This was a creation of Zorn’s own, forged through the power of the Dark Spirit Sorcerer.

They wanted to offer Zorn as a sacrifice?

Naturally, Zorn was well prepared.

The blood-red paper silhouette, filled with forbidden incantations, not only substituted for Zorn’s spirit in the ritual but also allowed him to flawlessly abandon the ceremony.

After taking a detour of over ten minutes, guided by the maid and carrying the blood-red candle, Zorn arrived at an underground chamber illuminated by numerous blood-red candles.

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At this moment, in the subterranean ritual chamber, Miss Jolia, her face inscribed with sacred runes, sat before a small pyramid altar, awaiting the commencement of the witch’s rite.

Her mentor, Hazel Cheney, presided over the ceremony.

The candlelight gathered, using her own body as an offering to illuminate the birth of a new witch.

The ritual had already begun the moment Zorn took hold of the blood-red candle!

The Rose Sect’s notorious shadow cult toyed with the participants.

Initiating the ceremony to let the sacrifices witness so-called extraordinary powers was merely a ploy to enrapture and enslave them.

They were destined to become kindling for the birth of a witch.

When a new witch emerged, all present would fall under the influence of the “Rose Witch.”

Whether through admiration, intimate bonds, or secret affections, they would all serve the Rose Witch.

Whenever the witch made a wish, they would exert their utmost efforts to fulfill it, becoming… maddened servants!

This evil cult favored such extreme means to achieve its ends.

When the Rose Shadow’s envoy, Lady Hazel Cheney, finished chanting the incantation, the crowd gasped as the flames in their hands rapidly melted, transforming into streams of fire.

These flames, almost tangible, converged and flowed overhead like a vast ocean of fire.

The fiery streams seemed to sear each soul with a faint burning sensation.

At that moment, all the young nobles witnessing the astonishing spectacle were deeply shaken.

Though a simple ascension ritual, combined with prior psychological suggestion, it was enough to convince these uninitiated nobles of the existence of supernatural power.

And this… was only the beginning.

As the ritual proceeded, each observer’s face showed awe, reverence, and desire.

Then their expressions grew vacant and dull, eyes hollowed as if their souls were drained.

The guiding, capturing flames flowed into the depths behind the altar’s curtain.

Prepared materials in place, Miss Jolia began her witch ascension ceremony.

Among the crowd, Zorn masked his face, maintaining an equally calm and impassive demeanor.

With his SS-level Star Mark Fighter iron will, he was immune to the ritual’s influence.

Moreover, Zorn had many other preparations.

Offering materials to the great and secret existence, chanting cryptic words, anchoring the mysterious and unknown, and ultimately mastering the unfathomable supernatural sequence—the Rose Witch—was the ritual’s final purpose.

The Rose Witch specialized in trickery and beguilement.

She thrived on others’ suffering and confusion, drawing sustenance from their growth.

Zorn and the others were the targets of this manipulation—the newborn witch’s “food.”

The newly empowered Rose Witch practiced on these young nobles, ensuring safety while gaining benefit, and simultaneously enslaving and taming them for control.

If not for Zorn’s interference, this would have been a flawless ritual.

As Miss Jolia received the power of the Rose Witch sequence, the blood-red paper silhouette crafted with the Dark Spirit Sorcerer’s power in Zorn’s pocket was perfectly absorbed by the ritual, silently taken in by the Rose Witch.

“Rose Witch, are you ready to witness your new master?”

“Next, you shall hear the great incantation.”

“Strive to accomplish it all.”

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“Remember… this is… the master’s command.”

Zorn whispered silently beneath his mask.

Unaware, Miss Jolia, unfamiliar with the Rose Witch’s power she was inheriting, remained oblivious.

As the sequence descended, the infused power penetrated the depths of her spirit, binding to her for life.

Between dream and waking, Jolia saw many visions and heard many voices.

Amidst the hazy illusions, she vividly sensed a majestic silhouette merging with the starry night sky.

Having mastered the basics of supernatural studies, she knew this was a secret, formidable, and terrifying power.

Then, a flood of textual information emerged—more precisely, engraved deep within her soul.

Mysterious and grotesque low whispers echoed repeatedly, growing louder until they thundered like an earthquake.

“Ah!”

With a startled cry, Jolia awoke from the ritual, her face pale as death.

In the underground chamber, the once puppet-like crowd swayed, as if rousing from a trance.

Lady Hazel, the Rose envoy, quickly steadied Jolia and restored order.

“What is it?” Hazel’s soft voice sounded as she examined Jolia, eyebrows furrowed.

Jolia possessed considerable Rose Witch talent, though it had yet to fully bloom.

When the pain born from the death of her father and mother was poured into this thorny blossom, it would bloom into a beautiful, thorned, and delicate rose.

“I…I heard some…secret words of enlightenment,” Jolia said uncertainly.

“Secret words of enlightenment?”

Hazel was momentarily stunned, then a flicker of joy crossed her heart.

Jolia seemed to possess a talent higher than imagined, having received astonishing secret “words of enlightenment” alongside the Rose Witch sequence.

“Do you remember those secret words of enlightenment?” Hazel asked with some urgency.

The surge of the steam tide was causing the world to change.

She knew many powers were awakening.

If they could glimpse even a fraction of these secret words, their gains would be immeasurable.

The great Blood Shadow Rose Witch was slumbering; only a select few could hear her mighty voice.

And Jolia appeared to be one of the chosen.

“Although the words were very convoluted and obscure, they are clearly etched in my memory and echo in my ears,” Jolia explained.

Hazel nodded slightly.

“Good. That is the nature of the secret words of enlightenment.”

“Follow those words closely and express them fully.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Jolia began to recite and interpret those mysterious “words of enlightenment.”