Chapter 284: The Alluring Witch (12)
"This aura… it's him." The robed figure spoke in a chilling tone.
"And it seems he's brought along some powerful companions… no matter. I've accumulated a portion of my true body's strength during this time—more than enough to kill all of you."
As his voice fell, thicker waves of black mist surged around the throne. The skeletal figure in black robes slowly rose to its feet.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
After the tide of monsters receded, the group took only a brief rest before setting off again.
During the journey, both Fiona and Marie of the Voodoo faction tried, in their own subtle ways, to probe Gideon for the reason behind the monsters' sudden retreat.
Naturally, he claimed complete ignorance.
And this time, he wasn't lying.
With no answers to be had, the two witches could only grumble inwardly before parting ways with him for the moment.
The road ahead was strangely smooth. Not a single monster appeared along the way.
Even the dangerous zones Fiona had specifically marked were eerily empty when they passed through.
It felt less like a perilous expedition… and more like a leisurely outing.
Before long, they arrived near the Source Power Passage.
Gideon narrowed his eyes.
The forest had thinned significantly here, replaced by scattered remnants littering the ground.
In truth, this sight had begun appearing half an hour earlier—
Remains of both humans and monsters, tattered clothing, broken blades and staffs…
This place had clearly once been a battlefield.
Fiona, seemingly familiar with the area, led them straight to the base of a slope. There, a wide cavern entrance yawned open.
"The Church's power channel lies within. It took me a long time to pinpoint its exact location," she said, turning back.
Before proceeding, Gideon discreetly placed a sacred statue into the grass, then examined the entrance.
There are traces of holy energy here… and it's incredibly pure, he thought.
"The Voodoo faction will remain outside to guard against interference," Marie said.
Fiona frowned slightly. "If our combined witchcraft isn't enough to seal it, we may still need your assistance."
"Heh, Fiona," Marie smiled faintly, "with your abilities, I doubt that will be necessary."
With that, the Voodoo leader stepped aside, clearly having no intention of entering the cave.
Fiona narrowed her eyes but chose not to press further.
"Mr. Gideon," she turned again, "you're not planning to stay behind as well, are you? The item you seek is down there."
Trying to cut off my excuses in advance… Gideon twitched his lips.
Even if she hadn't said it, he would have gone in anyway.
For one, he had come specifically for the Saint's remains.
Secondly, he had already made preparations—if anything went wrong, he could still respond calmly.
More importantly…
As he gazed into the cave, the holy energy within felt… different.
Even the slightest contact made his own power surge endlessly.
Even within the Church, his reserves of holy power were considered exceptional.
Yet here, that sensation was amplified many times over—as if he were standing beside a fountain that continuously restored holy energy.
"I haven't yet fulfilled my duty of assisting with your ritual," he said calmly. "Of course I'll be going down."
Fiona smiled elegantly. "What a gentleman. I'm starting to like you."
Marie glanced between the two and rolled her eyes.
"Let's move. We don't want more monsters showing up," Fiona said, stepping into the cave first.
The other witches quickly followed.
Gideon brought up the rear.
---
Beyond the entrance lay a downward-sloping passage, not particularly steep. Like outside, remnants were buried along the path—though here, they were far more intact.
Some skeletons even remained frozen in their final moments before death.
Judging by their attire, one side belonged to the Church… but who were they fighting? Gideon wondered.
After more than ten minutes, they reached what seemed to be the bottom of the cavern.
Though visibility was poor, the rock walls emitted a faint glow, illuminating the surrounding ruins.
Neatly cut stone blocks, winged statues, and broken metal crosses…
All signs pointed to this once being a Church outpost.
But what drew Gideon's attention most… was a stone well.
From within it emanated a pure, powerful holy energy—so strong that even his own power became more active.
He approached slowly.
Ripples shimmered at the mouth of the well.
But upon closer inspection, he realized—
It wasn't water.
It was a pool formed entirely from condensed holy energy.
Golden patterns flickered in his eyes as his brows lifted slightly.
"This is… a halo?"
His gaze pierced through the pool, spotting something unusual at the bottom.
At its center lay a dark ring of light.
Pitch black within, yet constantly releasing streams of holy energy outward.
He had seen something similar once before—at the bottom of a well in a small town, during the Pennywise incident.
Back then, he thought it was some anomaly caused by the clown.
Now it seemed…
That halo had been the true source of Pennywise's power.
"So… Pennywise might not be completely dead after all," Gideon muttered, stroking his chin. "That does fit the rules of this horror-filled world."
"I'd advise you to stay away from that," Fiona suddenly said.
"The Church placed powerful formations around the Source Passage."
She picked up a bone and tossed it forward.
"Zzz—"
In the next instant, it disintegrated into powder.
Gideon had long noticed the formations, but chose not to mention it.
"Miss Fiona, as agreed, I've accompanied you to… this place," he said, glancing around. "But where is the item I want?"
Fiona smiled faintly. "Don't rush, darling. Something like that wouldn't just be left lying around."
She pointed toward the well.
"The owner of those remains was likely this place's guardian. As long as the passage isn't threatened, it won't appear."
"So, you'll have to wait patiently until the ritual is complete."
Gideon narrowed his eyes, then moved aside to wait.
Satisfied, Fiona turned away.
Seizing the moment, Gideon quietly set up a few more holy artifacts.
---
"Young ladies," Fiona clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"We've waited a long time for this moment. A thousand years ago, witches were respected. But ever since that damned Church rose to power, we've been branded as a plague…"
"We've been slandered, despised… burned at the stake."
"Even today, witches can barely find a place to live in all of North America. Those 'Anti-Witch' banners in the cities are proof enough!"
"Did we truly do anything wrong?"
She shook her head calmly.
"We simply wielded extraordinary power—power that made those Church scum feel threatened!"
"But today… everything changes."
She gestured behind her.
"That stone well is the Source Power Passage—the origin of all the Church's holy energy."
"Destroy it, and every member of the clergy will lose their power!"
"And the combined witchcraft you've trained so hard for… was all for this moment!"
"Tell me—are you ready?"
A brief silence filled the cavern.
Then—
"We're ready!"
"Overthrow the Church!"
"Let witches walk proudly again!"
Fiona truly lived up to her title as Supreme—her words ignited the witches' hostility instantly.
Yet not everyone was swept away.
Madison quietly stepped back, her guard rising. Damn… so this is her goal. Opposing the Church won't end well.
Jenny looked around uncertainly, unsure if this was truly the right choice.
Queenie stared toward a figure in the corner. "Isn't he from the Church? Isn't he worried about losing his power?"
Zoe, too, looked over, her face filled with concern. "What will he do…? If he loses his power, Miss Fiona will definitely kill him."
Gideon, however, remained outwardly calm.
Yet as a bona fide priest of the Church, sitting here and listening to an anti-Church conspiracy unfold before him…
The feeling was… strangely surreal.
At the same time, he was calculating Fiona's timing.
From what he had overheard outside the Voodoo shop before, once all these young witches died, Fiona would regain her youthful appearance.
If he were in her position, he would act before the remains appeared.
After all, until the target item was secured, someone like him—a member of the "Wings of Retribution"—wouldn't act rashly.
With that thought, Gideon took out a silver cross and began toying with it.
Jenny's expression changed instantly upon seeing it.
They had already agreed beforehand—she would tamper with the ritual.
---
Once everything was in place, Fiona ordered the ritual to begin.
The young witches immediately split into five groups, taking positions at designated points.
In the final assignment of roles, Jenny remained the best fit for the "Time" aspect, while Queenie served as one of the assistants.
Standing at the forefront, Jenny held a pocket watch, chanting softly.
Soon, magical energy began to swirl around it.
Everything in the cave flickered—
For a brief instant, Gideon saw the broken cross restore itself.
At the same time, Jenny's face grew strained, her magic draining at an alarming rate.
Opposite her, Fox drew a small blade and sliced open her palm.
Drip… drip…
Blood fell to the ground, then began to move as if alive, forming intricate patterns.
Madison reluctantly raised her hand. Flames surged into the air, illuminating the entire cavern.
Moments later, droplets of water gathered around her, and wild grass sprouted rapidly from the ground.
Zoe clenched her fist, then pressed her palm to her chest.
A massive shadow of a spider emerged behind her, while a sweet fragrance filled the air.
---
Seeing this, Fiona's lips curved upward.
She lifted her hand and pointed into the air.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the cavern.
Then—
Whispers echoed in everyone's ears.
"I will curse you forever in hell…"
"Witchcraft is not evil—it is the pursuit of truth…"
"I can die… but please spare my child…"
As the voices grew louder, countless spirits materialized above them.
On the ground, a crimson pentagram formation had already taken shape.
This was Fiona's meticulously prepared grand ritual—
A combined witchcraft.
Using bloodline, time, elements, soul, and memory as catalysts…
And drawing upon the power of witches who had died unjustly in the past…
To unleash an immensely powerful sealing spell.
However, a ritual of this scale came with an enormous cost.
The moment the formation was completed, the lead witches were already visibly exhausted.
Even Fiona's breathing had grown uneven.
"What are you all standing around for?!" she snapped at the remaining witches.
The girls froze for a moment, then immediately released their magic to support the others.
With the influx of fresh power, the pentagram formation blazed even brighter.
Countless streaks of crimson light split off from the array and spread outward.
A crystalline barrier instantly formed along the cave walls, sealing everything in place—even the upward passage was completely blocked.
Gideon's figure flickered, appearing at the entrance.
"It can even block holy power…" he murmured, holding his hand just outside the red barrier.
"With this, no one down here will be able to escape."
From his perception, the energy contained in that barrier was comparable to a holy artifact refined over fifty years.
Fortunately, he could still sense the sacred items he had placed outside earlier.
Not far away, a trace of surprise flashed through Fiona's eyes.
She hadn't even seen how the boy moved just now.
But once the combined ritual was activated, no one would be leaving.
---
At the same time, more crimson light surged into the spirits hovering above.
A suffocating aura instantly filled the cavern.
The spectral witches grew immensely stronger, and under Fiona's guidance, they hurled themselves toward the stone well.
Boom!
The cave trembled violently.
Cracks immediately spread across the protective barrier surrounding the well.
Just as the spirits prepared to strike again—
A crushing presence suddenly descended upon the cavern.
Gideon's gaze snapped toward the well.
At some point, a figure had appeared beside it.
Clad in a long robe—tattered and worn, yet still bearing the unmistakable refinement of something once extraordinarily luxurious.
"Tap… tap…"
The figure stepped forward slowly, revealing its face.
It was a skeleton—crystal-clear, its entire body etched with countless fine runes.
Upon closer inspection, those runes were none other than passages from the Church's Ten Commandments.
"The Saint's remains…" Gideon narrowed his eyes.
"That's what you're after," Fiona said calmly. "I'll use the combined ritual to hold it off. The rest is up to you."
Gideon frowned. "Miss Fiona, our agreement was that you would hand over the remains to me."
"Heh, and isn't that exactly what I'm helping you do?" she replied lightly, tossing something toward him.
Gideon let it fall to the ground before glancing down.
It was a fragment of bone—the same one she had shown earlier in the Voodoo shop.
"This piece comes from that thing," she said, pointing at the skeleton.
"As long as you carry it, it should suppress its hostility."
Gideon didn't move. "You still haven't answered my question."
Fiona leaned lazily against the rock wall, her posture accentuating the curve of her legs.
"Oh, sweetheart… would you really ask a lady to fight a monster herself?" she said pitifully. "What you want is right in front of you now. Whether you act or not is entirely up to you."
"You—" Gideon clenched his teeth.
"I'll remember this."
Fiona only smiled wider—and even blew him a kiss.
---
Gideon forced his breathing to steady.
But when he turned around, his expression had already returned to calm.
Even if Fiona hadn't gone back on her word, he had planned to retrieve the remains himself.
From the moment the skeleton appeared, he had already judged—
In life, its owner had been at least of archbishop rank.
Its bones were filled with sacred marrow, radiating immense power—so much so that Gideon could feel his own skeleton resonating with it.
And the reason the remains could still move…
Was precisely because of that marrow.
If Fiona were to interfere, it would only result in unnecessary loss.
---
Gideon quickly stepped outside the barrier, waiting for the witches to break the well's defenses.
Before long—
A crisp, shattering sound rang out.
Something invisible in front of him had broken.
Before he could even move—
A shadow shot past him.
Turning his head, he saw the skeletal remains slam directly into the pentagram formation.
Boom!
The entire cavern shook violently.
"Pfft—!"
The witches spat out mouthfuls of blood almost simultaneously.
Their auras instantly withered.