Release that Witch

The endless humming within the space suddenly quietened down.

It felt as though the two ladies had separated themselves from everything else.

Celine almost shed tears just by looking at the lady standing before her despite their corporeal bodies having long lost the ability to cry. She yearned to step forward to hug her, but halfway through extending her tentacles forward, she saw her crude and unsightly tentacles and stopped.

But the other party took the initiative to step closer and took her tentacles into her hand without hesitation.

“It isn’t my first time seeing a carrier, so what are you ashamed of?”

Just as it had been in the past, her intonation remained amiable.

The familiar voice and appearance made it no longer possible for Celine to control her emotions. She spread out all her tentacles and pulled Eleanor into an embrace.

“Are you able to explain the entire story to me now?” the other party asked with a laugh.

“My Lady, can you tell me of the situation outside first?” Celine only remembered her mission after calming down. The space of consciousness still existed, which meant that the Deity of Gods had not crashed to the ground as planned by the enemy. However, she still needed to hear it first hand that nothing bad had happened beyond the space of consciousness.

“Although it’s still descending, its speed should have reached a safe range before crashing to the ground,” Eleanor explained and paused. “Come to think of it, is this an object built by the demons? I see many God’s Punishment Witches. Are we already able to launch an assault on siege an enemy’s city? So in the end, Alice still… succeeded…”

Celine was finally relieved. “About that… I’m afraid that the situation isn’t as you imagine it to be, and explaining all of it would take some time.”

“A consciousness exchange is most suitable for lengthy reports.” Eleanor sighed.“Come, I am prepared.”

“Yes.” Celine nodded her main tentacle. “I will start from the time after you successfully merged with the central carrier…”

…

The recount took a long time before it was completed.

“… I see.” Eleanor spoke once again, emotions apparent in her voice. “In the end, it was not Alice or Natalia who won, but the humans having actually formed a new system. However, I’m very curious. Was such an extraordinary person truly produced from among the ordinary humans?”

“It took us a long time before we accepted that. It was Agatha who used to recruit ordinary humans that adapted quickly to the circumstances. If not for her creating the ties, I’m afraid the entire process would had been more complicated.”

“I remember that name.” Eleanor blinked. “She is the young Awakened genius.”

“You actually remember her.” Celine was surprised. “She is the only Witch to have maintained her original appearance from our time.” At this point, Celine hesitated for a moment. “Lady Eleanor, are you able to recall all your memories while being in the central carrier?”

Eleanor shook her head. “To be honest, I don’t really know who I am. The name of Eleanor is not entirely correct, because I am also Cheryl, Jasmine, and Salice… All the Witches that had merged with the central carrier makes the current me. I can remember everything that occurred before merging, but nothing when I became one. It is difficult for me to describe the feeling. It is chaotic and messy, and it isn’t as simple as seeing or talking. It’s more like my consciousness has been peeled off into many smaller sections, and only a portion of it remains normal.” Sighing for a moment, she continued, “Oh… If I really try and recall, the only thing I can remember is the analysis of the magic power cores and computations.”

“Then how did you come here?” Celine asked in surprise.

“I am not too sure myself. I guess, when you see a beam of light tearing through the chaos, one would run to it at all costs, right?”

I see, and to me, you were the light in the darkness as well…

Celine fell silent for quite a while as she suppressed the emotions churning within her.

Upon thinking about the smooth process that she had gone through, Celine realized that it might be connected to Nassaupelle’s alterations on the Mother of Soul. Compared to the central carrier of the underground civilization, this ‘carrier’ was most probably even more compatible with their consciousnesses. After all, Mask had many brains and would have the same chaotic and myriad thoughts. If he had not adjusted those consciousnesses, he would be the first to be devoured instead.

It was also because of this reason that the network was more suited for Lady Eleanor. The instant their magic power interacted, she was instantly ‘drawn’ towards it.

Her continued existence with the network gone meant that the carrier inside Neverwinter was an empty shell once more. And presently, Eleanor was residing in the demons’ Mother of Soul.

After Celine shared her analysis simply, Eleanor nodded in agreement. “I believe so too. Who would have known that after being separated for so long, I would turn into a demon the moment I open my eyes. This ending is truly unexpected. But the senior lord called Mask did quite an overhaul. This shell no longer yields the ability to even move, as though it was intentional.”

The inability to move equaled to them being unable to send the information out of the lake, so no one would ever notice the change inside the obelisk. As long as the obelisk continued to produce Red Mist, the Mother of Soul would remain safe. Mask’s actions were undoubtedly hitting the blind spot of his own race.

“So long as we know who you are, it isn’t important what vessel it is.” Celine waved her main tentacle, her voice filled with excitement. “The other Witches that have merged must acknowledge it as well, to allow you to appear. When we return to Neverwinter, Pasha and the rest will be over the moon!”

“I really wish to see them as well.” Eleanor looked into the distance. “But I can’t go that far.”

Celine was startled. “Why?”

“The God’s Stone mine beneath the obelisk is almost drained and will quickly lose its effectiveness. The Mother of Soul will die out as well. Ultimately, it is still a demon, and it can’t move as freely as a carrier,” she answered gently. “The last thing that I can do for all of you is to ensure that this city lands slowly.”

Celine froze in shock.

She realized that she had forgotten an extremely important thing, the Deity of Gods’s ability to surpass its limit to ascend and fall quickly was from the overdraft of the God’s Stone mine. Adding her previous amplification of the obelisk to connect the ‘network’ to the Western Region, the exhaustion of the God’s Stone mine was almost to its last drop. This was an irreversible fact whether or not Mask’s Plan B succeeded or failed.

“It isn’t anything to be sad about.” Eleanor closed her eyes. “Your great effort allowed me to see this world once again, and unlike four centuries ago, there is immense hope for humanity this time… This is enough for me.”

“But—”

Eleanor extended her hand and interrupted her. “In fact, this isn’t a bad thing. If I do not appear, everything remains the same. But if I return, who knows what troubles it might bring, and it might only bring harm and zero advantage to the situation.”

“How is that possible?” Celine retorted as she waved her main tentacle. “Everyone will be even more inspired!”

“You mentioned that the current leader of the Witches is an ordinary human king, isn’t that so? What will be on his mind when he learns about the sudden appearance of the Three Chiefs of the Union at a unified battlefront? As to who Taquila should listen to, would his opinions be solely his… Even if you deny this, you are unable to eliminate these misgivings. In time, it will become a rift. As a member of the Quest Society, you remain focused on the study of magic power, so it is normal for you to be unaware of other things. That is why the safest way is to maintain the status quo.”

Celine did not know what to say.

“I have understood one thing after Alice’s and Natalia’s fall.” Eleanor sighed. “I am a Transcendent, but not a qualified leader. It might be an advantage as compared to an ordinary human, but it definitely isn’t suitable to guide others. When the Union was on the verge of collapsing, I remained passive and never made a decision. That itself was fundamentally me shirking responsibility.”

“My Lady…”

“You do not have to console me. At that point of time, regardless of whether I supported the Queen of Starfall City or the Queen of Sunchaser, it would had turned the situation into a two against one. In that sense, the Union might not have crumbled. But faced with the decision that would affect the future of the entire race, I finally abandoned making a position, which led to the entire ending becoming irreversible.” Her gaze became mixed, as though her emotions had returned to that most arduous point in time. “Merging with the central carrier was the only way of making up for it. It was only after gathering everybody’s will that I came to be sure of my own judgment. I am not suitable to be one of the Three Chiefs. Even if we returned to the past, I would have never been able to lead all of you to a better future. So such an outcome isn’t bad… Accompany me a little while longer, before the obelisk collapses.”

“We can chat for as long as you want.” Celine took a deep breath. “But If I do not do anything now, I will regret it in the future. Regardless, I hope that you can explain everything to Roland.”

“Celine—”

“Maybe you’re right, but that is from the perspective of a King.” She hung her main tentacle down firmly. “At the very least, he is somewhat similar to you. If you claim to be unsuited to be one of the Three Chiefs, then he is the most unsuitable King that I have ever met.”