Elena scoffed, unwilling to argue with Milly.
She had long known that Milly was single-mindedly convinced that the Church of the Goddess was the side of justice; even wasting more breath on the matter would be meaningless.
Besides, why should she explain anything to her?
Milly was just the key to open the door, an object to be bullied.
In the future, she would be like a little puppy, kept only to satisfy needs.
“If you have something to say, say it already!” Milly snapped. “Hesitating like that… you’re looking for trouble on purpose, aren’t you?”
“I’ll say it, but you won’t believe me.”
“Just say it! Whether I believe it or not is my problem!”
Elena huffed, looking away as she smoothed her long hair.
“Before, when I went to the Crimson Phantom, I saw the Archbishop. Although she was in disguise, the magic power radiating from her was clearly of the light attribute.”
“How is that possible? You’re lying!”
“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me,” Elena said, spreading her hands. “Seeing is believing. I expect the Archbishop will visit again; won’t you know for sure then?”
Milly was momentarily speechless.
In truth, she knew that Elena had no reason to deceive her.
She simply couldn’t believe it — that the dignified Archbishop would have connections with witches.
Speaking of which, the atmosphere of the Gutram branch was also worrying. With a Cardinal leading the bullying of young girls, the idea of the Archbishop being improper wasn’t entirely baseless.
Once she returned to the Holy Capital, she would definitely make this matter public.
“I’m telling you, Leona isn’t a good person either,” Elena continued.
“Don’t think she’ll uphold justice. She’s only pursuing her own interests.”
“Do you really think all those witches were burned to death? Actually, they weren’t. Most of the powerful witches were imprisoned, subjected to inhumane experiments every single day.”
“How do you know so much?…”
“How do I know so much?” Elena said crossly. “I’m a witch, so of course I know. Not long ago, we just destroyed a prison!”
They had rescued many witches whose bodies were covered in wounds.
The experiments at each secret base were different. The base Elena had destroyed appeared to be focused on “soul-casting experiments for man-made artifacts.”
Artifacts were generally passed down from ancient times, possessing power that could destroy the world. Humans almost never obtained them; only those ancient races would inherit the artifacts of their ancestors.
Elena had heard that the Dragon Race had many ancient artifacts.
The Elves also had a bow.
In short, it was not impossible to create artifacts artificially, but artifacts usually possessed an autonomous consciousness, whereas man-made artifacts lacked it.
Therefore, Leona began human experimentation.
She wanted to seal the souls of witches into man-made artifacts.
“Weren’t those witches all burned to death?”
“Haven’t you ever been to the execution grounds? Haven’t you noticed anything strange?”
“Strange?”
Milly didn’t dare go to the execution grounds; the cursing and wailing would leave her traumatized. However, it wasn’t as if she had never been there. She had gone two times before.
“Weren’t there several witches who didn’t curse or wail at all while they were being burned?”
“Um, it does seem that way…”
Even if it hadn’t happened often, Milly remembered it clearly.
Every time, there were a few witches who wouldn’t cry or curse.
However, those witches were all prominent figures with high status. She assumed they simply refused to yield even in death.
“You’re wrong. Those witches were decoys. The decoys were also witches — corpses discarded from human experiments.”
“What? Discarded corpses?”
“The human experiments are inhumane and easily kill the witches. These dead witches then replace those who were supposed to go to the execution grounds, providing a continuous supply of materials.”
Once the new batch of materials was killed, they could replace the witches again.
In this cycle, there were fresh materials every time.
“How is that possible… That’s too cruel…”
“This is the truth hidden by the Church of the Goddess,” Elena said slowly. “Leona is doing this because she wants to rise up in rebellion. She wants revenge for what happened twenty years ago!”
“Twenty years ago, the Dragon Race destroyed the Church of the Goddess. The Pope at the time was also named Leona, but it wasn’t this current person. You could say the current one is using a pseudonym.”
“To take revenge on the Dragon Race, Leona dabbled in forbidden magic.”
“Moreover, witches were also created by Leona. She used forbidden magic to inject miasma into the bodies of young girls and then sent them home.”
“Once the miasma erupted, a witch would descend.”
Milly opened her mouth, her thoughts unable to keep up with the pace.
What was going on? Witches were created by Leona?
Then, why did they go to such great lengths to catch witches?
Was it all to provide materials for Leona? Was it for her so-called revenge?
No, she couldn’t listen to these slanders!
Elena was talking nonsense just to destroy Milly’s mental resolve. She had to stay calm. Witches were villains — wasn’t Elena the best evidence of that?
Back then, Elena had locked her in a dungeon.
She had been treated recklessly every day, living a life worse than death.
“Heh, believe it or not.”
Elena scoffed and stopped speaking.
Actually, she hadn’t intended to say so much; after all, Milly was just the key to the prison door.
Ever since they destroyed the secret experimental base last time, Leona had become cautious. Every base required the blood of a Saint to be opened.
Well, it didn’t necessarily have to be a Saint.
As long as one’s “light-attribute magic” reached a certain level, the doors could be opened.
Elena was a witch by nature and couldn’t open them at all. Currently, the only ones who could were Milly, another Saint, and Leona herself.
That was why Elena needed to manipulate Milly.
On one hand, it was for revenge; on the other, it was to save her mother.
She shouldn’t have needed to say so much, but somehow everything had come pouring out.
‘Could it be that, subconsciously, I’ve already started to trust Milly?’
‘Impossible, she and I are irreconcilable!’
Milly had captured countless witches. Who knew how many witches had become wandering souls, and how many had become victims of human experiments?
‘Calm down. Don’t lose your composure.’
She would stick to the original plan: first, stop the demon’s descent, then use her identity as Felusa to pull off a “hero saves the beauty” act. That would surely make Milly become obedient and submissive!
***
By evening, the carriage slowly rolled into the village.
Milly lifted the curtain, and the scenery came into view.
Compared to Yohn Village, this place seemed even more desolate.
The golden sunset should have made for a warm scene, but the village was completely empty. Even the old locust tree at the entrance was bare, with two crows perched upon its branches.
Standing at the village entrance were two witches dressed in black robes.
Their black robes drifted in the wind, and they wore devious smiles on their faces.
Milly felt like backing out; she was most afraid of terrifying things. However, Elena placed a hand on her shoulder, making it impossible for Milly to retreat.
Elena was the first to jump off the carriage, then she reached out her hand toward Milly.
Milly hesitated, but she had to play the part of a couple.
So, putting on a delicate act, she placed her hand in Elena’s palm. Seizing the opportunity, Elena picked Milly up directly, causing her to let out a short scream.
Immediately after, Milly’s feet landed on the ground.
She covered her chest and let out a breath, casting a resentful look at Elena.
“Lady Elena, we welcome your arrival.”
The black-robed witches gave a casual salute.
After all, they weren’t from the same blood alliance; it was merely a respectful title. Their words and actions didn’t show the slightest hint of actual reverence.
“Mm, I’ve come to show some support.”
As Elena spoke, she pulled Milly by the shoulder.
Milly’s cheeks flushed as she snuggled obediently into her arms.
“Let me introduce her. This is my lovely little wife,” Elena said, using the alias. “Emma is quite shy and doesn’t play with anything too intense. We’re just here to have a look around.”
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