The Virtuous Dark Witch

Chapter 25

The moment the man opened his eyes, the seven Andros Progenitors far away in Andrea Capital sensed it, immediately tracing the trail.

At the same time, Cinderaven, who had been staying safely in the birdcage and was full of energy, suddenly had bulging eyes. As if realizing something, an unusual ferocity flashed in its pupils, which were almost popping out of its sockets. The light in its eyes faded. With its last ounce of strength, it kicked its legs, adjusted its posture, and slammed its head into the tip of the silver needle fused to the bottom of the cage.

Perhaps driven by the determination to fight to the death, it used immense force. The silver needle pierced through Cinderaven's head from between its eyebrows. Immediately, its soul felt as if it had been set on fire, and excruciating pain shot through its entire body. Every feather on its body stood on end, and its black bean eyes dropped their pretense, turning into blood-coagulated glaze.

Unable to flop or scream anymore, Cinderaven was making its final struggle. Even as its soul burned, it dared not close its eyes—because if it closed them, it would never open them again.

The man who woke up lying in the center of the mercury stone pond was still a little confused at first. But when he saw where he was, his eyes lit up, and ecstasy surged in his heart. The corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily. "Ha… uh…" Unfortunately, his loud laugh was cut off midway.

"Who's there?" The Andros woman who had fallen into the Blazing Sun Sinkhole and been used as a cushion by the ten-year-old girl lay on the rocky ground, unable to move for a moment. Fortunately, after nearly half a month of nourishment with pet blood, Andros' self-healing ability had been fully awakened. When she heard the sudden sound, she immediately became alert.

The man lying in the center of the mercury stone pond ignored her. At this moment, he was too busy to attend to others. An inexplicable excruciating pain pierced his soul. He raised his hand to hold his head, but his limbs were tightly bound by iron chains as thick as a child's wrist. He tried to break free with force, but immediately after the soul-wrenching pain, something went wrong with his body.

A moment ago, his face had been extremely handsome—exquisite beyond words. A withered gray spot smaller than the tip of a needle appeared between his eyebrows, then quickly spread outward. In less than ten seconds, his entire face lost its color and began to shrink. In the blink of an eye, his cheeks had sunken in.

After engulfing his head, the withered gray showed no sign of stopping. It continued to spread downward, reaching the man's sexy neck. The man endured the excruciating pain, his facial features distorted, but he had no way to stop it. “Uh…”

After the pain subsided a little, Roxane Mullin, who was lying next to the Andros woman, immediately rolled over and crawled forward, following her intuition. She wanted to retrieve her blood amber.

It was raining in the sky. Her beautiful and delicate dress was soaked through. Her pink little fingers scratched at the rocky ground, dragging her thin body forward. Soon, blood appeared on her fingers.

The moment her blood gushed out of her body, both the Andros woman lying motionless on the ground and the man lying in the center of the mercury stone pond, who was struggling to resist the pain, showed terrifying greed in their eyes.

They smelled a sweet delicacy and became extremely hungry.

Roxane Mullin didn't notice at all. She slowly approached the stone pond, groping randomly on the rocky ground with her broken fingers in the darkness. Finally, she touched the familiar warmth and couldn't help but smile sweetly.

The man floating in the center of the stone pond seemed to be drawn by something. He forgot his struggle and turned his head to look at the shore. The darkness didn't affect his vision—the embarrassed yet sweet girl struck a chord in the darkest part of his heart.

Retrieving her beloved blood amber, Roxane Mullin was overjoyed. But when her gaze met those blood-coagulated, glaze-like eyes, she froze. Although she couldn't see the face of the blood-eyed Andros noble clearly, she was already enchanted—what beautiful eyes.

Perhaps because the sweet smell was too tempting, the Andros woman lying on the ground struggled to get up before her body was fully healed. She had a premonition that as long as she devoured that girl, she would be able to recover completely.

She moved her stiff legs with difficulty. The pain made her want to roar loudly, but after enduring that terrible t*****e, she had become cautious. She only dared to hold her head high, suppressing her impulse. The raindrops falling continuously made her involuntarily close her eyes, take a deep breath, clench her teeth tightly, and walk toward Roxane Mullin extremely slowly, following the scent.

At this moment, Roxane Mullin was immersed in a beautiful fantasy, not noticing the approaching danger at all. When a cold hand grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her out of the beautiful fantasy, she finally realized she was afraid. She screamed in terror. "I don't want to die—please let me go…"

Her tender cries were pitiful. Because the little girl had calmly sought death along the way, the squatting Andros woman never expected her to struggle violently. With a tug, she stumbled and fell on top of her, but her right hand still tightly clutched the back of the little girl's neck.

"Why are you suddenly being naughty?" At this moment, the Andros woman only had eyes for this sweet feast—she couldn't wait any longer. Blood filled her eyes, and the veins on her face bulged. She opened her mouth, her sharp fangs extending, and leaned down.

"No!" Roxane Mullin clung tightly to the blood amber with one hand, stretching out the other to reach the man lying in the center of the stone pond, begging for help. "I don't want to die… help me…"

In a short time, the withered gray had spread all over his body. But unlike before, the man didn't seem to care at all. He had no intention of saving himself, allowing his body's vitality to fade away and quickly decline.

His calm blood-colored eyes stared at the little girl begging for mercy on the shore of the stone pond. He seemed to fall into deep thought, motionless. Finally, just as the Andros woman's fangs pierced the little girl's snow-white skin, preparing to enjoy herself, his eyes sharpened. A white light like sunlight shot out from between his eyebrows, easily piercing into the Andros woman's eyebrows.

The Andros woman's eyes instantly changed color, her pupils turning golden yellow. Meanwhile, the man's beautiful blood-colored eyes in the center of the mercury stone pond lost their light and slowly closed.

At the same time, Cinderaven in Anastas City also struggled to flutter its wings, pulling its pierced head away from the silver needle. Then its wings went limp and it collapsed. The blood-coagulated, glaze-like eyes disappeared again. But it seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, yet still dared not close its eyes to rest. It stared tightly at the silver needle, as if ready to slam into it again at any moment.

"Why did it disappear again?" Duke Alexandra Stirling, who had just arrived in Lavis City, frowned and shouted angrily. "What on earth is he playing at?"

Standing side by side with Duke Alexandra Stirling, an elegantly dressed woman was not as angry as he was. Instead, she closed her eyes to feel carefully. After a long while, she helplessly opened her pair of blood-coagulated eyes and sighed deeply. "It really has disappeared."

"It seems we're still too slow." A somewhat effeminate young man suddenly appeared on the other side of Duke Alexandra Stirling. Worry filled his blood-coagulated eyes. "Could something really have happened to Austin?"

"Brett, you're talking nonsense again." Duke Eliza Miller, wearing a traditional blood-red dress and a crown, led her sister Duke Amy Miller out of a thick fog. "I told you a long time ago that something must have happened to Austin."

Amy Miller, who had hoped to find Austin Corell this time, was in a very low mood. She crossed her arms, her face serious as she looked at the distant lights. "Sometimes I really want to break into the West Sea Forest."

Upon hearing this, Duke Lisandra Stirling, standing beside Duke Alexandra Stirling, couldn't help but laugh, gently raising her hand to cover her mouth. "You?" She looked Amy Miller up and down disdainfully. "Why didn't you say that when Selah was alive?"

"You…" Amy Miller glared angrily at Duke Lisandra Stirling, wanting to refute, but what Lisandra said was the truth. She pouted unwillingly, then suddenly smiled sarcastically. "Yes, I dare to say it because Selah Dessey is already dead."

Duke Lisandra Stirling's eyes darkened. Her hand, which had been covering her mouth, dropped to her chest, clutching it tightly. She said coldly. "Selah is gone, but her Demon-Hiding Snake Staff is still here. None of the dark weapons she forged were sold…"

Listening to Lisandra Stirling's list, Amy Miller's face darkened again. She clamped her lips tightly, unable to refute.

"The ancient tombs of successive Dessey Witches are still there." Lisandra smiled. "Don't think that just because Austin was able to come out of the West Sea Forest two thousand years ago, you can too. I'll give you a piece of advice—don't overestimate yourself. Otherwise, you'll not only lose the face of the Andros Progenitors, but also your life."

“You…”

"That's enough." Alexandra Stirling and Eliza Miller spoke almost simultaneously. They exchanged glances and sighed in unison.

Duke Brett Hall turned around. "Let's go back. Staying here won't help." It had appeared twice in a month—he thought Austin was probably going to return. But after he came back? He looked up at the night sky covered with thick dark clouds. He estimated that Andros would be purged again.

At the bottom of the Blazing Sun Sinkhole in Rodrik Valley outside Anastas City, the hungry Andros woman was now standing by the mercury stone pond with a frown, looking at the man whose body was quickly recovering in the center of the stone pond. She opened her pale pink lips and whispered, "Austin Corell?"

Is this Austin Corell's secret? Even without a soul, his body would instinctively reject any foreign possessor, even at the cost of self-destruction?

"Or perhaps Austin's soul hasn't perished." The Andros woman raised the corners of her mouth when she thought of this. "Very well. The fact that it can be stripped means his soul must be much weaker than Selah's." Then it should be easy to control. But when she thought of Selah, the smile on her face disappeared immediately, and her eyes turned cold. "Now that I'm awake, it's time to settle the score between us."

Without a soul, the man lying perfectly restored in the center of the stone pond looked as if he were sound asleep.

The Andros woman moved to the other side of the stone pond, stepping on the only birch wooden stake driven into the rock at the bottom of the sinkhole. She pressed down hard. As the birch wooden stake sank, the man floating on the mercury gradually sank into it.

Roxane Mullin, who had just escaped the clutches of death, was now huddled on the ground, trembling with fear. She was so cold, but it was still raining, and the rain was getting heavier. She clung tightly to the blood amber—it was her only source of warmth.

After the man sank into the mercury, the Andros woman stopped pressing the birch wooden stake. She had more important things to do. She looked at her slightly rough hands with some disgust, but she had to make do for now. She flashed to the little girl's side and grabbed her by the hair.

Roxane Mullin trembled, thinking the woman had changed her mind again. "Wuwu…"

"Do you know of any small towns nearby?" The Andros woman licked her lips.

"I… I don't know." Tears mixed with rainwater as Roxane Mullin sobbed. "I really don't know…"

The Andros woman narrowed her golden yellow eyes, smiling regretfully. "Is that so? But I'm very hungry now. Since I can't find food quickly, I'll have to eat you."

Before his soul was sealed, it had been scratched by the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger. After sleeping for ten thousand years, it was now very, very weak. He needed to nourish it with fresh, vibrant blood to recover to his peak as soon as possible.

"No, no!" Roxane Mullin kicked her legs frantically, trying to crawl forward to get as far away from the Andros woman as possible. But with her neck caught, she couldn't escape. "Wuwu… I'll talk, I'll talk… After leaving Rodrik Valley… hic… go all the way north. Not far from Anastas City, there are several small villages… I've told you everything. Please let me go…"

Small villages? The Andros woman's eyes lit up—perfect for her. "Then let's go now." Given his current condition, entering a big city would inevitably lead to some accidents. Small villages were the safest.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, dousing the night's liveliness in Anastas City.

Slap… slap…

On the empty main street, a disheveled woman, lifting her wide skirt with both hands, cried "Roxane" as she ran frantically eastward.

The rain beat relentlessly against her body. She stumbled and fell to the ground. Ignoring her scraped wrists, she immediately tried to get up and continue running. But unfortunately, her wide skirt was too cumbersome—she tripped again and again. She screamed in anger.

"Ah… my Roxane, where are you? Mother is here… wuwu…"

Haina Mullin beat the ground repeatedly in hatred, crying bitterly. Her heart felt as if it had been torn out. "Roxane." After buying the little white rabbit, she didn't see her daughter when she walked out of the pet shop. She immediately realized something was wrong. Her Roxane was the most well-behaved—she wouldn't run around.

She screamed again and again, but there was no response. After a long while, Haina Mullin finally stumbled to her feet. She didn't dare to delay, lifting her skirt and running toward the Dessey Clan's shop. She had to save her daughter.

There was no bright moon tonight, but it still didn't affect the three of them practicing. Merlyn sat cross-legged on the bed, facing the window. The raindrops hit the glazed window with a pattering sound, but it only made the room more peaceful.

The hourglass placed on the bedside cabinet had sand flowing relentlessly—it was already late at night.

In the darkness, the skirt piled on Merlyn's lap suddenly glowed faintly. The sudden change made her frown. But before she could open her eyes, a glowing dagger covered with powerful silver lines appeared in front of her.

"What's going on?" Merlyn opened her eyes, staring at the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger hovering in front of her, which she couldn't recall. She blinked slightly, thought for a moment, and closed her eyes again.

But less than a quarter of an hour later, she suddenly opened her eyes wide. She grabbed the handle of the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger with her right hand, jumped out of bed, waved her left hand backward, and the purple cloak hanging on the hanger covered her. She put on her boots, directly passed through the glazed window, appeared downstairs, and flashed southward.

Haina Mullin, who had finally run to the Dessey Clan's shop, never expected to see the person she was looking for so easily. But before she could speak, the person had disappeared in front of her. She chased after her in panic. "Lady Merlyn… Lady Merlyn…"

No matter how loud or helpless the voice behind her was, Merlyn had no intention of looking back. She raced southward. However, Haina Mullin's voice successfully attracted Thea and Elara's attention.

Seeing her always calm sister rushing out into the rainy night with the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger, Thea knew something was wrong and quickly followed. Elara also hurriedly put on her little boots and jumped out of the window, chasing after them. But she was still young and not skilled enough. Soon, she lost sight of her aunt and mother.

Standing on the deserted street, Elara scanned her surroundings, not missing the slightest anomaly. Unfortunately, she found nothing. She channeled her Witch Power, raised her right hand, and called out, "Uria." A bat hiding in the darkness chirped twice. Elara's eyes darkened. She didn't stop, running as fast as she could toward the south gate of Anastas City.

"What did you say?" At the Lord of Anastas City's Mansion, Rocky Anastas' face changed in shock when he heard that all the Dessey Witches had left the city. "Why did they suddenly leave? Where are they going?" Before getting a response, he quickly gathered his followers.

The turned Andros standing bowed beside him also didn't know why this had happened. "We've been keeping an eye on them—there was no warning at all."

Ah… wuwu…

Heart-wrenching cries, pleas for mercy, and desperate screams filled Moddy Ridge Village outside Anastas City. No one had expected that death would come in their sleep.

After draining the blood of a young Rozin man, the Andros woman let go of his body, not even wiping her mouth as she stepped over the corpse and walked to the next house. Standing at the door, she gently poked the protective barrier outside the house as if playing a game, her voice eerie. "Will you come out on your own, or shall I come in?"

Roxane Mullin, who had been following behind her, was already terrified. She didn't know if this was a dream or… or reality.

At first, she would look at the bodies lying on the ground and the blood-stained earth. But later, she didn't dare. She stared straight ahead, not daring to look down or back, clutching the blood amber tightly in her hand.

Screams came again. She finally couldn't hold on any longer. "Ah…" After screaming, she fainted as if losing her soul.

Once outside Anastas City, Merlyn no longer held back. She pushed through the rain curtain, flying rapidly on the wind. That thing had woken up, and it was nearby. For the sake of the West Sea Forest and her young Elara, she had to seriously injure him while he was still weak.

A hint of blood wafted into her nose. Merlyn's eyes were filled with coldness. He was really eager—eating like this as soon as he woke up meant he was very weak. She leaped over a mountain, flipping and continuing to race on the wind. The smell of blood was getting stronger and stronger—she knew she was getting close.

After sucking the blood of six more young Rozin people, the Andros woman finally showed a faint smile. She then went to the next house.

This time, she didn't ask—she directly broke through the barrier outside the house, walking into the house as if strolling in a garden. She looked at the family huddled under the table, clinging to each other. Having replenished so much fresh blood, his soul was now very comfortable, and his mood had improved a lot. "Who wants to go first?"

Upon hearing this, the family huddled helplessly inward, wishing they could die immediately to avoid this suffering. But as long as they were alive, they would be afraid. Finally, the mother stepped forward, her lips trembling as she opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound. “…”

When the woman was dragged out, her young son grabbed her foot and cried. "Mother… mother…"

The woman kicked her legs wildly, shaking her head vigorously. "Let… let…"

"Don't worry." The Andros woman said gently to the little boy. "You'll see your mother again soon." She brushed the woman's hair to the side as if treating a lover, taking a deep sniff and closing her eyes in enjoyment. "You smell good." Her fangs flashed with a cold light, ready to strike.

The little boy seemed to know what was going to happen. He threw himself at the Andros woman with all his strength. "You monster—let my mother go!" He beat her thighs with his small fists, trying to bite her like she had bitten others.

The Andros woman threw the woman aside, grabbing the little boy. "Then you go first." This one was even more delicious.

The woman was thrown to the ground, dizzy and seeing stars. But as soon as she turned around, she saw the Andros woman's fangs already approaching her son's neck. She screamed at the top of her lungs. “No…”

Boom…

The Andros woman, who was about to suck blood, trembled slightly. She immediately threw the little boy aside, flashing out of the house. The Holy Crow Spirit Dagger missed, stabbing into the rock wall.

Merlyn outside the house took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She had finally arrived. Her eyes were fixed on the Andros woman not far away. She clenched her right hand, and the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger reappeared in her grasp.

Golden yellow eyes—that was him.

"Progenitor Fisher." Merlyn called him by name. What the West Sea Witch Ancestor couldn't be sure of was confirmed by her. The smell of blood here was overwhelming. If it had been Progenitor Fisko who was sealed, this village wouldn't have suffered.

The Andros woman wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her hand, looking Merlyn up and down with golden yellow eyes, her excitement undisguised. "A descendant of Selah." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and sighing. "You smell wonderful. I didn't expect to drink the blood of Selah's descendant on the first day I woke up."

"You're dreaming." Merlyn didn't waste any more words with him. She plucked two strands of hair from her head, throwing them into the air—one flew toward the unconscious Roxane Mullin, and the other wrapped around Fisher.

Fisher didn't dodge or avoid it. He began to chant an ancient spell. Unfortunately, he seemed to have forgotten that the body he was in now was a turned Andros, completely unable to communicate with nature. By the time he realized this, it was already too late to dodge.

Having bound the two of them, Merlyn stamped her right foot, soaring upward. "Menglada…" Fisher clenched his teeth, holding his breath and trying to break free. But a powerful force lifted him up, then slammed him into the mountain north of the village.

With a loud bang, dust flew into the air. Excruciating pain hit him. Before he could roll over, Merlyn, carrying Roxane Mullin and holding the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger, followed closely behind. She threw away the burden in her hand, then flashed forward, stabbing the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger into Fisher's back.

"Ah!" The pain pierced his soul. Fisher was enraged, breaking free from the black silk binding him with a burst of strength. He kicked his legs, flashing away. The Holy Crow Spirit Dagger tore a long, bone-deep gash in his back, and blood gushed out. Worse still, the self-healing ability of this Andros body couldn't heal the wound at all.

Merlyn didn't dare to give him a chance to catch his breath. She attacked again with the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger. Fisher flashed toward the village, wanting to replenish his blood. But now that Merlyn had thrown him out of the village, she would never let him go back. She appeared out of thin air, blocking his path, and stabbed downward with the dagger.

Fisher hated the Holy Crow Spirit Dagger more than anything, but he also feared it deeply. The excruciating pain in his back prevented him from resisting head-on, so he had to dodge. Unfortunately, he had bad luck this time—he crashed straight into a patch of ice. Thea, who had arrived just in time, reached out to tear out his heart.