Chapter 24: The Residual Soul Reappears, A New Ritual?

Vivian is clever. To compensate for her physical constitution, which prevents her from casting spells normally, she has developed astonishing combat instincts through real-world sparring with individuals like Grella.

The moment the mage intended to use a defensive spell, she cast a self-silencing hex to interrupt him. Unfortunately, although the enemy was only a first-tier practitioner, his experience as a veteran mercenary far surpassed Vivian's. Seeing that his spell had failed, he decisively activated a spell pre-stored in his ring. A shield shimmered into existence, and the fireball... the fireball grazed past her.

["Ah! I missed!" Vivian muttered to herself.]
[The mage, hearing this, became absolutely furious.]
[Damn it! I used up a precious item for this, and you tell me you missed?!]
[Then, the mage saw a flicker of flame erupting from Vivian's body.]
[Vivian calmly drank a potion.]
[The flames roared, illuminating everything around them.]
[Against the backdrop of the dark night, Vivian, though merely an apprentice, displayed a powerful aura.]
["Damn it, wasn't it you who said we couldn't use fire!" the mage cursed, only to see Vivian charging toward him, staff in hand.]
[Flames surged as she wove through the trees.]
[Vivian’s lips curled into a faint, serene smile.]
[Panic gripped the mage's heart.]
[But no matter how hard he chanted, he couldn't release a single spell.]
[Why is this silence effect so long!]

That is only natural. The self-debuff series of spells I developed are designed to match the duration of a battle; it would be quite disappointing if they wore off halfway through, wouldn't it? If it weren't for Vivian's lack of strength, being silenced for an hour would be trivial. Ron was also pleased to see his brand of magic prove its practical value for the first time.

[In a panic, the mage finally used what is known as a mage's ultimate trump card!]
["Jack! Damn it, come save me!" he shouted toward the other side of the battlefield.]
[Summoning support initiated!]
[The mercenary warrior named Jack heard the mage's plea and didn't hesitate for a second.]
[Mages are rare resources in any era; having one in a mercenary squad is no easy feat.]
["I'm coming!"]
[The tall, muscular man roared and lunged toward Vivian.]
[He was fast—faster, in fact, than Vivian, who was boosted by her toxin-fueled flames.]
[However, Vivian ignored Jack completely, swinging her staff as she chased after the fleeing mage.]
[Alas, Vivian was only a mage; in terms of close-quarters speed, she ultimately could not outmatch a warrior.]

[The mage, having fallen to the ground, looked at Jack, who was nearly upon them, and then at Vivian, flashing a look that said, "You're dead."]
[Boom!]
[The next second, accompanied by a flash of fire, Jack was sent flying, crashing heavily into the nearest tree.]
[He looked up at the mage in disbelief, as if trying to say something, before finally collapsing in a faint.]
[The mage stared at the scene in shock, then felt a sharp pain in his head.]
[Vivian’s staff had landed squarely on him.]
[The mage was knocked unconscious.]
[On the other side, Heidi, now freed from one enemy, had turned the tide.]
[Transforming into a giant bear, she gave the remaining two mercenaries a sound thrashing.]
[After Vivian used a self-imprisonment hex to restrain them, those two were also successfully captured.]
[Vivian let out a long sigh of relief, walked over to the unconscious Jack, and patted his shoulder with genuine gratitude:]
["Thank you! If it weren't for you, that fireball would have hit me."]

The principle behind Vivian deflecting the fireball was that she had injected a magic missile into it to guide its trajectory. However, due to her own constitution, no matter how the magic missile flew, its final target would always be herself. If Jack hadn't rushed over to block the fireball, it would have struck Vivian. If Jack could hear Vivian's thanks, he would likely vomit blood.

["How should we handle them?" Heidi asked, looking at the four unconscious mercenaries with a headache.]
[Her nature was not ruthless enough to kill in cold blood.]
[Vivian had already skillfully produced a rope: "Tie them up first, then ask them why they came to capture you."]
[The mercenaries were physically resilient, and before long, they began to wake up one by one.]
[However, Heidi and Vivian's plans were thwarted.]
[As professional mercenaries, how could they possibly betray their employer?]
["Sigh... they won't talk. What should we do?" Vivian looked troubled.]
["Hmph! You can give up on that idea," the mage sneered.]
[You saw his inner thoughts:]
[Lord Farrell seems to need a druid girl as a sacrifice for the ritual.]

Seeing this, Ron felt energized. A ritual? A sacrifice? He instantly had a hypothesis. When Vivian had taken him to the library, Ron had already read the book she mentioned, which contained the rituals for containing lingering souls. There were thirty-six rituals, all so filled with absurdities that they had left a deep impression on him. The most notable characteristic of these rituals was that they all required a girl with specific traits as a sacrifice to appease the Demon King's lingering soul.

The Ritual of Blood required a blonde, buxom girl.
The Ritual of Despair required a fallen elf.
And indeed, one of the rituals within required the life of a druid maiden.

Thirty-six rituals, thirty-six different types of girls. It was the first time Ron realized his "XP" (tastes) were so broad. Wait... could it be that it wasn't his tastes that were broad, but that he was simply lecherous? Ron pondered.

[You are indeed lecherous.]
Damn it, don't speak!

Ron's eyelid twitched as he glared fiercely at the text before him. Since a new lingering soul had appeared, he naturally had to recover it. However, he had only learned the mage's thoughts through the inner monologue display. In the novel, his identity had not been revealed; how was he supposed to let Vivian get this information? But soon, Ron's concerns vanished.

[Seeing that the mercenaries were so tight-lipped, Vivian cast a self-imprisonment hex on them.]
[Utilizing the tenfold increase in sensory perception that came with the magic, Vivian pulled out a feather.]
[The mercenaries laughed and twisted, but still refused to yield.]
From this perspective, they were truly professional mercenaries. Ron expressed his approval of these men.

[Vivian was at a loss and looked at Heidi: "Heidi, aren't you a druid? You should be able to summon beasts, right?"]
[Heidi nodded: "Yes, I can."]
["Then summon some beasts to help us with the interrogation," Vivian mused.]
[Her words left the mercenaries deathly pale.]
[Seeing the mercenaries' inner thoughts, you wore an expression of disdain.]
[These mercenaries were indeed professional.]
[But having seen too much darkness, their minds were sufficiently filthy and depraved.]
[Vivian actually just wanted the beasts to lick them.]
[But they had already imagined a long string of corruption and torture plots in their minds.]
[Their thoughts had tainted your eyes.]
[Under Vivian’s puzzled gaze, they wailed and confessed everything.]
[At this moment, in their eyes, Vivian was the devil incarnate.]