pertwk Page 122
Page 122
Arthur and the others present all frowned.
"So, is there any way to free them from their status as witch 'vessels'?"
Arthur found the key to the problem:
"As long as we can ensure that the witches don't revive from their bodies, they shouldn't be wiped out by the church."
"That's true. As long as we can ensure that the witch's existence doesn't revive within these 'vessel' girls, we'll be fine."
Merlin nodded to Arthur, then looked intently at Lani, who was present:
“Your grandfather, Mr. Lawson, once told me about your family history.”
A thousand years ago, the Mann family was cursed with a bloodline called "Blood Rose" by a witch.
From then on, her descendants began to frequently encounter "container" girls who could revive her, and those close to her would inevitably suffer bloodshed.
For the past thousand years, the Mann family has been deeply troubled by the witch's curse, but they have also developed a way to resist the "Blood Rose" curse.
Using extraordinary materials prepared with dark elemental essence as a medium, and at the cost of the life force of knights of Silver rank and above, the curse of "Blood Rose" was suppressed.
Initially, the "Blood Rose" curse was passed down through several generations among the Mann family's descendants.
However, in recent years, the transmission of curses has become more and more frequent.
I think this is perhaps the main reason for your family's decline.
"The Mann family?"
Lani lowered her eyes and murmured the word that was completely unfamiliar to her.
She had no memory of her parents, so how could she know about this bloodline but long-declining family?
After adopting her, Grandpa Lawson only mentioned the family name when discussing his own identity.
Therefore, when this part of the family history is heard...
Although Lani inherited the bloodline of the Mann family, she did not have a deep feeling about it.
"Dark Element Essence?"
Arthur, upon hearing this, wore a thoughtful expression.
Because he recalled:
When he first approached the alchemist Merlin, he helped Mr. Lawson complete a transaction.
The items being traded were a dagger inlaid with dark elemental gems and a strangely shaped bracelet that Lani was currently wearing.
At the same time, two sentences that the two had passed between them through him, the middleman, but which he couldn't quite understand, involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
Lawson said:
"This is the payment I'm offering."
Merlin said:
"Your compensation is far from sufficient."
Now, thinking back, it connects to the method of suppressing the "Blood Rose" curse that I learned from Merlin.
The reward Mr. Lawson was referring to at the time probably meant not only the Dark Element Essence Dagger, but also his own life.
Thinking of this, Arthur's gaze drifted to the girl Lani beside him.
He thought to himself:
Alas, Mr. Lawson has never told you these things, but now that you know, what will you think?
"Mr. Merlin, did Grandpa Lawson obtain this bracelet from you in a transaction?"
Soon, Lani snapped out of her reverie about the history of the Mann family.
The clever girl seemed to have already guessed where the strange bracelet that Grandpa Lawson had given her came from.
She took off the bracelet, whose inner and outer rings were made of different materials, and pushed it in front of Merlin:
"Could you please tell me what price he paid for this?"
"Hmm! So Mr. Lawson didn't tell you that?"
Merlin could read the obsession in the pretty face of the girl before him.
He picked up the strange bracelet on the table, his thoughts drifting back to the past, and began to recount a long-forgotten memory:
"This bracelet is an extraordinary artifact that I acquired many years ago from a bishop of a holy church."
That bishop had participated in the hunt for witches, and had killed a witch who had just been revived and had not yet grown up.
After the witch died, the bishop used a special sacred silver instrument to cut out her heart.
Then, the most concentrated witch "witchcraft factor" was extracted from this heart and sealed in a storage container made of extraordinary materials.
The Holy Church named it "The Witch's Heart's Blood".
"The Witch's Heart's Blood" can effectively suppress the witch's revival progress and also has a certain "witchcraft" restraining effect on the reviving witch.
This is the research result obtained by the Holy Church during the "witch hunt" frenzy.
"Witches do not coexist, but compete with each other."
The bracelet in Miss Lani's hand contains a drop of a witch's heart's blood.
That's why it has a suppressive effect on the witch's will within you.
After introducing the origin and capabilities of this bracelet...
Merlin paused, then continued answering Lani's other question:
"I met Mr. Lawson ten years ago."
Since he met him, he has been constantly searching for multiple ways to suppress the witch's curse within Miss Lani.
Not long ago, Mr. Lawson entrusted Lord Arthur to give me a stone dagger inlaid with dark elemental essence.
Then, make a deal with me in exchange for this bracelet that seals the "witch's heart's blood".
Dark elemental essence is extremely rare compared to other elemental essences, and it can only be born inside powerful dark-attribute magical beasts.
In addition, the once-powerful Shadow Church was wiped out by the Holy Church after a holy war three hundred years ago.
Dark-attribute magical beasts are even harder to find, not to mention the dark elemental essence that can only be produced within their bodies.
Therefore, I believe Mr. Lawson must have spent many years painstakingly acquiring this stone dagger imbued with the essence of dark elements.
Upon hearing this answer, Arthur sensed something amiss and thought to himself:
Are there no other costs involved?
He remembered very clearly that Merlin had said that the compensation Mr. Lawson brought was far from enough.
He blinked, silently keeping these thoughts to himself for the time being.
He planned to find Mr. Lawson alone after returning to Blackrock Territory and verify his suspicions with him.
He looked at Lani.
She lowered her eyes, a thoughtful look in her light gray eyes, as if she were pondering something.
After ending this topic.
"For now, let's set aside the issue of the curse of the witch's resurgence and discuss another issue that you're more concerned about."
Merlin returns to the main topic:
"How can we transfer the soul of Vivi, the other girl existing within Miss Lani's body, back into her own body?"
Lancelot, who had been silent, straightened his back and looked at Merlin with concern after hearing this.
Merlin then put away the "Book of Proverbs" that he had just been reading.
He clasped his hands together and placed them on the table:
According to the Book of Proverbs, the revival of the witch's will follows a special and independent law of reincarnation.
This is why multiple "containers" for recovery exist simultaneously.
Furthermore, the relationship between the soul of the "container" and the will of the witch is not a conventional relationship of past and present lives.
Rather, it's more like a sacrifice to an evil god.
Generally speaking, the revival of a witch's will goes through three stages.
The first stage is erosion.
The intermittent resurgence of the witch's will will begin to erode and influence the fate of the "container," leading to disasters and cholera outbreaks.
In the early stages of this phase, the "container" can only have a vague understanding of the witch's will.
Only after a disaster or cholera outbreak related to her occurs can the "container" gain a clear understanding of the existence of the witch's will.
The second stage is possession.
When disasters and cholera occur, and the "container" comes into contact with the witch's will, its soul will be slowly devoured, and it will lose control of its body.
The witch's will is gradually returning to the real world.
The third stage, the peak of power.
Once the witch has fully obtained the body of the "vessel," she will begin a certain path of advancement in order to restore her original and strongest power from the "witch hunt" period.
In this "Book of Proverbs" of the Holy Church, which is at the level of bishops.
The first two stages of the witch's revival are described in fairly detailed terms.
The third stage, however, consists of only fragmentary records.
Merlin sighed and continued:
"Based on Lord Arthur's account of the battle against the witch at the door earlier."
Miss Lani and Vivi should be in the second stage of the witch's resurgence.
Vivi's soul was transferred to Miss Lani's body by the revived witch's will, and then both were devoured by the witch's will.
Fortunately, the "witch's blood" I mentioned earlier took effect, suppressing the revival of the witch's will, interrupting the process of soul devouring, and causing her to fall back into a state of slumber.
However, Vivi's soul, which had been transferred into Miss Lani's body, remained within Miss Lani's body due to the lack of guidance from extraordinary power.
"correct."
At this point, Merlin remembered a crucial thing:
"The witch's ornament you mentioned, Lord Arthur, might be the third stage of advancement that wasn't detailed in the 'Book of Proverbs.'"
Upon hearing this, Arthur understood and took out the exquisite silver necklace.
This is the extraordinary artifact he acquired by trading a gem of wind element essence with Merlin.
Its hardness exceeded his expectations.
In the battle against the witch who has taken over Lani's body.
He struck twice with all his might, but failed to shatter it, only managing to create two insignificant cracks.
Upon seeing it, Merlin immediately took it from Arthur's hand.
Then, pondering the cracks on its surface, he murmured:
"I acquired this extraordinary artifact by chance."
Its former owner was just an ordinary low-level mage who traded it for half a piece of fire elemental essence from me.
Half a piece?
Arthur was stunned when he heard this.
He quickly realized what was happening and began to criticize Merlin in his heart:
They claim that alchemists should adhere to the principle of "equivalent exchange," but in reality, they engage in the unscrupulous business of buying and selling.
However, Merlin's next words prevented his favorability from decreasing further:
"However, judging from the current situation, this silver necklace is not just an ordinary amulet."
It also involves the will of the witch, a symbol of calamity, which can accelerate its recovery.
It was my shallow understanding of the extraordinary that led me to make a wrong deal with Lord Arthur, almost causing the disaster of the Blackrock Witch's resurgence.