"BOOM—RUMBLE..."
With a clap of thunder, a flash of purple lightning tore through the increasingly oppressive summer day.
Immediately after.
"WHOOSH..."
A curtain of rain poured down, washing away the scorching heat in the air.
All the noise and chaos were concealed by the rushing curtain of rain.
[Star Rain Flowing Sand Cafe]
This was a secretive cafe brimming with youthful energy, located just across the street from Ogrande Noble Academy.
It was a popular dating spot for many couples from the Ogrande Noble Academy.
It was currently graduation season.
Therefore, this place had become a spot where the young noblemen and women, who already faced few restrictions, could freely unleash their hormones in the prime of their youth.
Picking up a glass of iced coffee and taking a small sip, Zorn rubbed his temples.
'Sometimes, having powers of Perception and Insight that are too strong isn't necessarily a good thing.'
On his way here just now,
he had sensed that in almost every private room, the auras of young men and women were entwined, with some even exploring each other intimately.
'All these young, delectable lives... All Zorn had to do was open his palm and apply a bit of force, and he could easily take them.'
And this kind of slaughter was something the previous Zorn Corick often did.
In the original timeline, Zorn Corick's Spirituality was constantly draining away, so he needed to constantly kill to feed and grow.
But the current Zorn, as long as he wasn't severely injured, wouldn't lose his own Spirituality.
He only needed to proceed steadily and surely to grow step by step.
Zorn savored the rich coffee, staring at the curtain of rain outside and the passing carriages.
Before long, a rather magnificent and spacious blue carriage stopped at the entrance of the Star Rain Flowing Sand Cafe.
The one who stepped out was the Rose Witch, Joliya.
Watching Joliya approach, Zorn gave a slight, tight-lipped smile.
'The plan is already showing results!'
Back when the Rose Witch first awakened,
Zorn had used the power of the Evil Spirit Wizard to secretly infuse it deep into the Sequence of the Rose Witch, Joliya.
And he had given her the "Enlightening Words."
After a new week began,
As classmates, and fairly good ones at that, Zorn would frequently run into Miss Joliya.
And every time they met, after some small talk,
Zorn would use his Evil Spirit Authority, following the path he had laid before, to silently reshape her Spiritual Will.
To reshape the Spiritual Will of an ordinary person, it would only take one, or at most two, attempts to transform them into a faithful believer of the Evil Spirit Wizard.
But for a Transcendent, it required many more attempts.
After all, the current Zorn was only Level One, and his Evil Spirit Authority only had the power of Level One.
Over the past few days,
Zorn had performed the reshaping on Joliya eight or nine times to finally achieve a perfect result.
Now, Joliya was already a devout believer of the Evil Spirit Wizard.
Using the Authority to reshape Extraordinary Spirituality, implant loyal Faith, and convert people into one's own devout believers.
This was the terror and horror of the so-called World-level BOSS, the Evil Spirit Wizard.
And this was also the fundamental reason why "Zorn Corick" struck fear into the Autanston Republic and made the Holy Fierce Sun Church wary.
Directly using this power to continuously enslave Transcendents and convert them into his own believers was undoubtedly a good method.
The previous "Zorn Corick" had thought so too, and he had acted on it.
Butcher, slaughter, convert!
He grew his power and influence, marching toward ultimate glory!
And then—he was ganged up on and beaten to death in the Ancient Hall of the Saint Witch, after which he was dismembered.
This was a cautionary tale written in blood and tears.
'I definitely have to use this extremely powerful ability, the Evil Spirit Authority.'
'But if I use it unscrupulously and on a large scale, the other Transcendents, who are no fools, will see through it.'
'The right way to use it is covertly, silently, without being detected.'
'Only those who are valuable are worthy of being captured and used as my pawns.'
After using his big-boss methods to convert Miss Joliya into his own believer,
the message Zorn had passed along during the lunch break today was:
After school, at the Star Rain Flowing Sand Cafe, a Messenger would grant her an audience.
And now, Miss Joliya had arrived as promised.
"CREAK!"
Just as Zorn was thinking, the door was pushed open a crack.
Then, a figure in a black-and-white checkered pattern, carrying a faint, fresh scent, quickly slipped into the room.
As if afraid of being discovered, she quickly closed the door to the small room.
"It's you..."
As soon as she sat down and got a clear look at the person across from her, Joliya cried out in surprise.
The astonishment on her small face was a stark contrast to Zorn's faint, sly smile.
After a moment of astonishment, the devout will deep within her soul seemed to take effect.
After she came back to her senses, she rose slightly, holding the hem of her skirt to give Zorn a quick curtsy.
"Greetings, Lord Messenger!"
Zorn, for his part, sized Joliya up meticulously from head to toe.
Only when Joliya's face began to flush slightly under his gaze did Zorn slowly withdraw his eyes.
'No wonder the Evil Spirit Wizard could become the first World-level big boss.'
He mused to himself.
At this moment, the "Joliya" who had been altered and influenced showed no signs of it at all.
Even on the Spiritual Layer, there were no traces of contamination, alteration, or infiltration.
The many detailed summaries from the "Truth Verification Sticker" tests that the Players had once conducted surfaced in Zorn's mind.
"The correct way to use the Evil Spirit Authority isn't a single high-intensity alteration, but multiple, gradual ones."
"A single high-intensity alteration can easily tear the target's living soul, self-will, and Extraordinary Spirituality. Even if repaired, the target will most likely be ruined."
"Moreover, a forceful, deep alteration is more easily detected by Extraordinary masters with strong Perception abilities."
"Shifting from a high-intensity alteration, like a raging tempest, to an invasive one, like a gentle rain that seeps in unnoticed."
"This kind of gradual, infiltrating alteration, when performed repeatedly, can cause permanent changes."
"This way, it neither provokes resistance from the target, nor does it damage their Extraordinary Spirituality. At the same time, it doesn't attract the attention of other Transcendents. The whole process is more like a natural self-transformation."
The Truth Verification Sticker was, at this very moment, being perfectly validated by Joliya.
Gradually pulling back his wandering thoughts, Zorn lowered his voice and asked in a low, melodic tone,
"The secret Enlightening Words transmitted to you by the Master, how is Blood Shadow Rose proceeding with them?"
Hearing the inquiry from her Master, Joliya's body trembled slightly. Her original shyness and curiosity were instantly suppressed, and she responded cautiously.
"During this time, Lady Hazel Cheney has been eagerly trying to decipher the Master's Enlightening Words. Although she has made some progress, the Master's coded message is too profound and obscure, so overall, the progress hasn't been significant."
'The enlightening coded message was very difficult to begin with. It's only normal that Hazel Cheney can't fully decipher it.'
Zorn nodded slightly.
"The Master had me bring you new information: mist and valley. Just say it was a scene from a dream."
"Mist, valley, a scene from a dream."
Joliya carefully committed these simple words and information to memory.
'The simpler the information given, the harder it is to find any flaws.'
With the enlightening coded message, plus "mist" and "valley,"
Zorn was confident that the very intelligent Lady Hazel Cheney—well... in a way, calling her a man wouldn't be a huge stretch—she (he?) would definitely understand the subtleties.
And then... Blood Shadow Rose would officially take Zorn's place and embark on the long and arduous journey to the "Ancient Ruins—the Ruined Divine Kingdom."
In the original timeline, the Evil Witch BOSS needed to choose one of three nodes to begin the journey and open a path to the Ancient Ruins, the Ruined Divine Kingdom.
This would activate the connection between the Evil Spirit Wizard and the Divine Kingdom, allowing him to obtain Divine Grace, further solidifying his status as a big boss, and better inflicting pain upon the world.
And the entire journey would undoubtedly require an enormous price.
Zorn Corick had slaughtered Steam City-States, destroyed manors, and performed blood sacrifices in towns, all to open the Ruined Divine Kingdom better and faster.
However, in the predetermined timeline, with various parties fanning the flames from behind the scenes,
that place would become the grave he dug for himself with his own hands.
But now, the situation was completely different.
Zorn needed the Divine Kingdom, and he needed the powerful Divine Grace within it even more.
But Zorn had no intention of doing the digging himself.
This important and great task had undoubtedly fallen to Blood Shadow Rose.
By using the Rose Witch, Joliya, as an entry point, the important information and guidance he provided would be disguised as coming from the "Blood Shadow Rose Witch," leading them to do the digging.
The process might be difficult, but there would also be rewards.
And the key to making this secret sect, the Rose Witches, trust all this was the "Witch anchor," Joliya.
As long as Joliya could grow stronger along an unbelievable trajectory and grasp some information about the "future,"
then the Witches would have no choice but to believe in the truth of it all.
"Besides that, the Master has other information and instructions to give!"
Zorn spoke again, making Joliya even more humble and devout.
"Calamity and a terrifying Bloodline Power are enveloping Ogrande City."
"An unrest and cataclysm from the depths of the sewers has already taken shape."
"The Rat Plague will arrive unexpectedly!"
"This is a vision of the future witnessed by the Master."
The Master! Witnessing the future.
With her foundation in Extraordinary Knowledge, Joliya's heart trembled. She knew very well what a monumental power it was to witness the future.
Sensing Joliya's heart and will growing ever more humble, Zorn once again used his Evil Spirit Authority to reinforce her devotion.
'Frequent maintenance is the best way to maintain the bridge between a master and their believer.'
And this would be the shortcut to the Abyss that the Evil Spirit Wizard was building for the Witches of Blood Shadow Rose!