However, the better the reward, the higher the difficulty of the task naturally became.
Not to mention, this was a task that no one had accepted yet; the difficulty clearly exceeded the capabilities of many Core Member Witches.
Tia scrutinized the details of the mission, and a look of realization dawned on her.
According to investigations by certain Witches, there was a Mana Experimental Tower established by the Empire hidden deep underground in the forest near Hela City.
Once the experiment succeeded, the Magic Power within a radius of hundreds of miles would be polluted.
When that happened, any human who absorbed the Magic Power from the air would also be polluted, potentially even undergoing mutations.
Although she could not understand why the Empire would do such a thing, the experimental tower they built was heavily guarded and filled with numerous magic barriers.
It was even said to contain a Mana Binding Barrier.
With it active, anyone who entered would be no different from an ordinary person.
Beyond that, the mission had a time limit.
If a Witch did not make contact with the handler within 1 week, the handler would cancel the mission.
Given the requirements of this task, 10 Magic Crystals were indeed not a lot.
‘However…’
While other Witches feared those barriers, she did not.
These barriers could even become her assistants.
Thus, after thinking for a brief moment, she accepted the mission.
All that remained was to make contact with the handler within 1 week.
—
The night wind traveled through the silent streets.
Mephia’s figure flickered past the outer wall of the Harris Manor, landing silently in a shadow-drenched alleyway.
She stopped in her tracks and leaned against the cold stone wall, slightly tilting her head back to look at the main building of the manor, which still held a faint glimmer of light.
The window of Tia’s bedroom happened to face this direction.
“Worried about her?”
A sharp, slightly mocking voice came from her earring.
The Familiar, Elsa, finally could not contain herself.
With a bit of mischief that suggested she loved watching chaos unfold, she said, “Heh, Master, you can tell lies now without even catching your breath.”
Mephia shook her head, her voice devoid of emotion.
“I am not lying. I did worry about her, but that was in the past.”
“Right, ever since you discovered she had a connection to Nightingale, you changed,” Elsa said.
The night wind brushed past, fluttering Mephia’s skirt and the loose strands of hair at her temples.
She remained silent.
It was true.
Ever since she sensed that this Daughter of a Count might have a connection with that Witch, she felt that Tia’s gentleness, kindness, and soft consideration might all be an act.
Her mind, perhaps, was not any less complicated than that Witch’s.
Elsa was silent for a moment before asking with uncertainty, “But can that Crystal Ball really prove it?”
Could it prove that there was indeed a relationship between Tia and Nightingale?
Mephia reached into her robes.
When she withdrew her hand, a Crystal Ball the size of a fingertip sat in her palm.
The moonlight spilled over the crystal, making its interior look translucent and clear.
“Yes,” she said softly, her gaze falling on the Crystal Ball.
“This is a connected magical tool. As long as a Witch’s aura appears in her bedroom, these two crystal balls will light up.”
The other Crystal Ball had already been placed in Tia’s wardrobe.
All she had to do now was wait quietly for that Witch to appear.
Elsa’s voice carried a hint of excitement, as if waiting for a play to begin.
“If it lights up, then it proves that the Noble Young Lady is not actually a pure, blank sheet of paper, but a scheming girl who is an expert at acting?”
“She deceived you for so long? I really can’t imagine it, tsk tsk.”
It paused, letting out a very soft laugh.
Mephia ignored the teasing.
She simply held the Crystal Ball silently.
There was a sense of expectation in the depths of her eyes, as well as a trace of hesitation that she could not explain even to herself.
She wanted to know the truth, but she did not want Tia to be a fraud.
After all, Tia’s gentleness and kindness were like light that had warmed many people.
If it was all fake, it would be far too disheartening for them.
After a long silence, she suddenly narrowed her eyes.
“What is it?”
Elsa asked.
Mephia slowly lifted her head.
A sharp light flashed through those golden eyes, and her gaze shifted away from the Harris Manor, landing on the thick darkness further down the street.
‘There is the scent of another Witch again, and…’
She paused, her brow furrowing slightly.
‘It’s very strong.’
—
At the same time, in the Old Town District on the other side of Hela City.
Rose walked out from the back door of a tavern.
She took a deep breath of the night air and stretched, the smile on her lips deepening.
She whispered to herself, her voice filled with a lazy satisfaction, “It’s much more comfortable since coming to Hela City.”
The Inquisition here was weak.
Most of those Inquisitors were only Iron Rank, and even Copper Ranks were rare.
It was nothing like the place she used to live, where there were quite a few Silver-level Inquisitors.
The Inquisitors of Hela City could not put any pressure on her at all.
Therefore, she could do whatever she wanted here, and no one could stop her.
As for her Witch characteristics…
She raised her hand, looking at her fair, slender fingertips.
The corners of her mouth curled upward.
“Blood…”
She whispered the word, a sigh carrying a certain piety and fanaticism.
She could drain the blood of those people to strengthen herself.
Of course, she would not kill them directly.
That was too crude and left traces too easily.
She preferred to use her Flower Scent.
That indistinct, charming fragrance would cause those ordinary people to unconsciously lower their guard, then willingly offer up a part of themselves.
Tonight’s harvest was good.
She had drained the blood of everyone in the tavern, nearly 100 people in total.
It was enough for her to digest for several days.
In any other city, she would not dare to be so blatant, but Hela City was different.
Here, she possessed absolute Power.
In this day and age, who didn’t know that Power was the absolute rule?
Raising her hand, she looked at the single drop of blood on her fingertip that had not yet fully dried.
She extended the tip of her tongue and lightly licked it away.
Sweet.
Truly sweet.
Just as she was preparing to turn back to her residence to properly digest the Power within her body…
A sharp sword light suddenly struck from the darkness!
Rose’s pupils constricted violently!
Her body instinctively leaned backward, narrowly avoiding the sword light.
The blade brushed past the tip of her nose, and the resulting gust of wind sliced off a few strands of hair from her temples, which drifted slowly to the ground.
“Who’s there?!”
She shouted sharply, her body twisting in mid-air.
When she landed, she was already 3 meters away.
Under the moonlight, a slender black figure stepped slowly out of the shadows.
An Inquisitor’s uniform, a cold face, golden eyes, and a long sword that reflected a ghostly, cold light under the moon.
Rose narrowed her eyes.
“Oh?”
Her voice returned to its lazy tone, though it was much more guarded than before.
“You are… an Inquisitor from the Inquisition?”
Mephia stopped and looked at her.
The sharpness of a hunter emerged within those golden eyes.
“I didn’t expect… that a Witch like you would be hiding in Hela City.”
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