Chapter 457: 7 Days

Ron didn’t answer her immediately. While Polly’s words lacked any goodwill, her actions were quite telling. Still... he couldn’t quite figure out what her game was.

"The potion I’m brewing isn’t for curing diseases, it’s for buying time," Polly said, as if sensing Ron’s confusion. She didn’t look at Ron, but the eyeballs in her cauldron began to spin rapidly. "These Centaurs can’t fight off this Demon Plague, and I can’t cure them."

"But I can use this potion to postpone their deaths for at least a week. During that time, Divine Magic won’t work on them. After seven days, if you still can’t figure out a solution, they’ll be beyond saving. No Deities who govern the living or the dead will be able to bring them back. Those are the rules."

As the Ghost Witch’s sinister and cunning voice echoed, a chorus of gasps rippled through the onlookers.

"Polly... Auntie," Buni asked cautiously, "how did you obtain such power?"

Though the Ghost Witch’s appearance was far from pleasant, she had suddenly shown up in town the day after the plague erupted and had been helping save lives. As a result, Buni and the others had a fairly good impression of her.

Most Ghost Witches were creatures of the chaotic evil alignment, but according to Polly herself...

Wasn’t defying the general impression others had of her, and her own usual methods, a perfect expression of chaos? And wasn’t trading a brief, limited seven-day reprieve for a creature’s eternal death an act of pure evil?

"’Auntie’? That title has a different meaning among Ghost Witches. I’m not at that stage yet, but... I’m getting close."

"Live long enough and you’ll pick up some strange powers, little girl," Polly said with a knowing, raspy laugh. She looked at Ron. "And you? My esteemed Lord, do you have any questions?"

"You’d better not wait until this old woman pours the potion down their throats to ask your questions. The countdown starts then!"

"Is this potion only for the Centaurs, or are the others getting some too?"

"Only the Centaurs," Polly said, forcefully stirring the liquid in the cauldron. "As you can see, the others don’t have such a severe problem. When they’re on their last legs, there will be plenty of time for me to brew a new batch."

"In the meantime, if you want to use my cauldron, that can be arranged. But you’ll have to pay a price to rent it."

Polly figured the main reason Ron asked was that he had his eye on her cauldron. It was, of course, a special Magic Item. Given Ron’s proficiency with Magic and Magic Potions, he might actually have a chance of brewing a suitable Alchemy Potion with her equipment.

This was also why she was here. If there were no hope of a cure at all, she would have been more than happy to watch these people perish.

"No, I think I’ll pass," Ron said, taking a step back in disgust. "Also, you mentioned a Demon Plague earlier. What is that, exactly?"

"A magical plague. You must have realized it by now, haven’t you? This is no ordinary plague," the Ghost Witch said with a shrug. "If it were, the Centaurs would be one of the healthiest races here. A common disease wouldn’t fell these great slabs of meat so easily."

"As for the source, I don’t have a coven right now, so I’ve only been able to gather bits and pieces from prophecies. It seems to have been unleashed by a powerful Undead Creature."

"In the past, it always suppressed its power to keep it from completely corrupting the entire Delusional Land. But now... it seems to have thrown all caution to the wind."

Ron’s mind reeled. ’The Ghost Witch doesn’t know the details, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes!’

’The Black Dragon Lich!’ Ron gritted his teeth. ’It has to be the Dragon Lich’s power! And the reason isn’t that it’s stopped holding back, but that it can’t afford to anymore!’

’About three days... that was right around the time we reached Jilannis’s other hideout and started exploring the Revival Fortress of the Delusional Plant People! It seems the lich had already begun to set its plans against us in motion. And Gracia and the Fungal Queen must have locked onto it back then, too, forcing it to focus more on concealing its own presence!’

"Looks like you know something," the Ghost Witch remarked, ignoring Ron now. She opened a grimy cloth bundle and began tossing handfuls of strange, new herbs into the cauldron. "That should make your job a lot easier, then. Congratulations."

"I’ll finish brewing the potion at midnight and pour it down their throats. The countdown starts then. Don’t you forget it. A single day late, and no potion of yours will ever be able to save them."

"Don’t worry, I won’t," Ron nodded. "One last question: does your potion have any interactions with other medicines?"

"No, and it doesn’t conflict with Magic, either. Only Divine Magic won’t work. I stepped into the Divine Hall of the Gods—this is the required price."

"Either the Gods save them, or I do," Ghost Witch Polly sneered dismissively. "You see, that’s just how they are."

"Understood."

As Ron nodded, a figure in white materialized beside him. It was Jilannis. "Lord, I went back to the research institute and brought some containers."

The Moon Elf was levitating an unopened box in mid-air. Inside it were racks of test tubes.

"I figured you’d need these to collect..." the Moon Elf began, but her voice trailed off as she saw Ron extend his hand toward her.

"My apologies, but for the time being, I need you to be my assistant. Lavinia, you come too."

"Me?" The Half-Elf pointed at herself in surprise. "The Ghost Witch said this is a magical plague. I don’t think I can—"

"It doesn’t matter what you think. I’ll handle the main procedures; you just follow my arrangements," Ron said, glancing at the Vampire Mage, who looked eager to jump in. "Silvia, my apologies. As much as I would welcome your assistance, you’re better suited for the work here."

Vampire Descendants don’t need to breathe, and airborne transmission is always a major vector for any infectious disease. Silvia’s chances of getting infected were much lower than anyone else’s.

"Understood." Silvia didn’t question Ron’s decision, nodding immediately. The other helpers were then assigned roles and positions by Buni to ensure every patient received as much care as possible.

"What do you need me to do?" the Moon Elf asked. She was, of course, referring to specific tasks, not a general role. Despite her long life, she knew she was out of her depth in this field compared to Ron. "If you just need an extra pair of hands, I’ll summon some Magic Pets and servants. That will leave me free for tasks that require my personal involvement."