Joliya had just finished uttering several tongue-twisting syllables.
"Yes, that's the Taes Ancient Language."
Hazel Cheney had immediately identified what she was speaking.
"The Taes language?"
Joliya blinked her bright, slightly bluish eyes and looked at her teacher, a flicker of curiosity deep within her pupils.
In the past, Hazel Cheney would not have explained much to Joliya.
But things were different now.
From some hidden depth, Joliya had received the mysterious Enlightening Words—and in the Taes Ancient Language of Mysticism, no less.
This meant Joliya was no ordinary girl. She possessed a special quality that Hazel couldn't see.
Hazel Cheney vaguely realized that perhaps... this was their hope!
As such, she could now be told certain things that ordinary Transcendents were not privy to.
Her gaze swept over the many young, dazed nobles standing stiffly like wooden posts.
Only then did she look back at Joliya, a fond, doting smile gracing her face as she began to speak.
"Long, long ago, our progenitor, the great Ancestral Witch, was born from the cosmic chaos."
"But as time passed, seven Witch sisters were gestated within the body of the Ancestral Witch."
"At first, the seven sisters were as close as could be, but at some point, conflict began to fester. Over the long ages, their discord became irreconcilable."
"After an ancient confrontation between Divine Spirits,"
"the Ancestral Witch fell into a deep slumber. The seven Witch sisters then each passed through their own Gate of Life and arrived in this world."
"The great being we worship passed through the Blood and Shadow Gate, a portal woven from rose thorns."
"The great Lady Blood Shadow Rose Witch is the one true god we worship!"
"The ancient language that the seven Witch sisters used to communicate with each other, and with their Believers, is the very Taes Ancient Language you just spoke."
When Lady Hazel Cheney finished her explanation, Miss Joliya couldn't help but cover her mouth. Her breathing grew rapid, and a faint blush colored her cheeks.
"The great Lady Blood Shadow Rose Witch gave me the Enlightening Words."
Having studied a fair amount of Mysticism, she held the great Lady Blood Shadow Rose Witch in the highest reverence.
The more she learned of Extraordinary Mysticism, the more she understood its wonders, and the more she grasped the terrifying might of the beings from myth and legend.
To see one of those legends manifest in reality was a shock beyond anything she had ever experienced.
Hazel Cheney nodded slightly.
"Yes. This is most likely a Divine Grace, a gift from Lady Blood Shadow Rose Witch to you, and a great revelation for our Blood Shadow Rose."
"Now, we must record every word of this revelation from Lady Blood Shadow Rose Witch. Only then... can we better carry out and obey her divine oracle!"
At these words, Joliya grew exceptionally serious.
A subconscious thought surfaced in her mind. 'This is a task given to me by my master. I... must complete it!'
Beneath the curtain of blood-red candlelight, one Witch recited while the other transcribed. They were eagerly receiving the divine oracle from the great "Lady Blood Shadow Rose Witch"!
Meanwhile, hidden in the crowd beneath a mask and robe, Zorn quietly savored the scene. He had cast his line, and the fish were biting.
Zorn had indeed used the Taes Ancient Language.
But the cunning Hazel Cheney had omitted many details from her telling of the Ancestral Witch's myth.
For instance!
She never mentioned *why* the Ancestral Witch had gestated the seven sisters within her body.
She certainly didn't mention that after their birth, the seven sisters fed on the Ancestral Witch's corpse to grow strong.
The Witches inherited the Ancestral Witch's nature: her resentment, depravity, cunning, Joy, pain, torment, and more.
At the same time, the seven Witches also inherited the traits of their respective "fathers."
And while the Taes Ancient Language was called the "Divine Language," it didn't belong to the Witches. It was the language the ancient Divine Spirits used to communicate amongst themselves.
The Blood Shadow Rose Witch had long been in a deep slumber, disturbed by her father. While she might give a certain response to a Sequence, it was clearly impossible for her to deliver clear, enlightening whispers in the Taes Ancient Language.
As a former Player, Zorn knew all of this.
The Witches, however, clearly did not.
And it was precisely because of the Blood Shadow Rose Witch's complexity that the information Zorn transmitted using the power of an Evil Spirit Wizard seemed all the more authentic.
The fish had taken the bait, but the real prize was the "big fish"—the investment the Esoteric Sect, Blood Shadow Rose, would make next. That was the crucial part.
When Blood Shadow Rose finally invested vast resources, endured countless hardships, and was on the verge of reaping their reward...
...that would be the moment Zorn Corick, this World-level boss, would unleash his cruel and bloody harvest upon them.
He would use the suffering of the Blood Shadow Rose to water the Blood Shadow Rose.
'I hope they can bloom rose blossoms to my satisfaction.'
「Soon.」
Lady Hazel Cheney had obtained the complete Enlightening Words from Joliya.
The more Lady Hazel Cheney contemplated them, the more she could sense the extraordinary secret hidden within.
But she couldn't decipher it on her own. She would need more help.
Still, she was a veteran of many storms, having even survived the despair and desperation of being hunted by the Church Knight Order.
Taking a deep breath, Lady Hazel Cheney suppressed her turbulent thoughts.
Her gaze swept across the room before landing on Joliya.
Deciphering the secret within the ancient Enlightening Words was important, but so was cultivating Joliya.
The new generation of Witches was the very source of their Blood Shadow Rose Witch Sect's strength.
Moreover, Joliya carried the hope for the revival of Blood Shadow Rose.
She took Joliya's hand and began to instruct her with care.
"We Rose Witches can see into the hearts and desires of others."
"We can even delve into their very souls and take complete control."
"We are the Dominators of desire, the Controllers of souls, and we feed on the flowers of desire that bloom from deep Spiritual energy."
"But you must remember, human desire is merely sustenance to us."
"Do not indulge in it. Do not become trapped by it!"
"We are Transcendents. We gradually transcend the physical, spiritual, and vital planes, leaving the realm of mere flesh and blood."
"Before us, ordinary humans are nothing more than vessels, containers for the food of passion."
"Only by truly understanding this can you become a Rose Witch who can pierce the hearts of others and thereby produce delicious sustenance."
Before, Joliya had only understood this information in theory.
But now that she had mastered the power of a Rose Witch,
she looked at her friends in a new light.
As she felt and saw the myriad emotions radiating from them—terror, surprise, shock, confusion—
she finally understood what it meant to be a Transcendent, what it meant to be a Rose Witch.
She was no longer the same as her classmates!
She walked lightly among her classmates, as if strolling through a bacchanalian feast of flesh and wine.
She gently touched the forehead of her dearest friend.
Her fingertip was like a tendril, a key unlocking the gate to the other girl's desires and mind.
She greedily siphoned the envy, resentment, and curses from the depths of her friend Hanna Beischer's heart.
"So... seeing me gain Extraordinary Power makes you this unhappy, doesn't it, Hanna?"
"To think you'd resent me for gaining this mysterious power. You're even cursing me to die in the depths of your heart."
"Seeing you so miserable makes me so very happy, my dear Hanna."
...
"Felix... as expected, men truly are creatures who think with their lower halves."
"Your desire for me haunts your dreams. Don't worry, Felix. I'll grant you a perfect dream, and then you will forever become my slave, bound to my feet to serve me!"
...
"Treni, you... uh... alright then! I didn't expect you to actually be in love with Felix. Don't worry, I'll help you get him!"
...
Walking through the crowd, Joliya, now possessing Extraordinary Power, was like a Dominator, a supreme queen.
She moved through this jungle of flesh and blood, absorbing nourishment while transforming the flowers of desire from deep within their Spiritual Wills into her own Witch Essence.
At the same time, she converted her own will into Faith and injected it into her targets.
Joliya reveled in it all, gleefully and wantonly wielding her Rose Witch powers among the crowd.
She had no idea that every gift from fate comes with a price tag, already secretly attached.
Oh, Witch who toys with the hearts of men, are you prepared to pay it back?
After siphoning the emotional sustenance from seven or eight people,
Joliya seemed to have reached her limit.
A nascent Witch does not have a large appetite.
This allowed Zorn and a few others to escape, saving them from becoming her sustenance.
Not that it mattered. Even if his turn had come, Zorn was already prepared.
As Joliya concluded her harvest and experimentation on the "sacrifices," and as Lady Hazel Cheney blew out the ritual candles,
everyone else finally awoke from their daze.
They were still lost in the memory of the incredible, magical scene they had just witnessed.
"This time, you have merely witnessed a glimpse of mysterious Extraordinary Power."
"Remember, Mysticism and the Extraordinary are not things to be spoken of lightly."
"Only piety and Faith can guide us to obtain such incredible Extraordinary Power."
As Hazel Cheney spoke, she also used one of the Rose Witch's abilities: subconscious influence.
This would ensure these "ordinary people" remained tight-lipped about their journey to witness Extraordinary Power.
But for Zorn, a Star Trace Fighter with a will of steel, it naturally had no effect.
With the demonstration of Extraordinary Power concluded, the tea party also drew to a close.
After being seen off by the butler, Zorn boarded his carriage.
"Hooo..."
Letting out a long breath, Zorn gently rubbed the bridge of his nose.
DONG... DONG...
In the distance, the bells of the Holy Fierce Sun rang, marking the four o'clock hour of afternoon prayer.
Zorn's gaze fell upon the setting sun.
Night was about to fall, and the blood moon would soon rise.
'Time to go back and prepare.'
'Tonight...'
He slowly traced the lines on his palm.
'...will be a silent feast!'