Chapter 26: Lord, Envoy, and Witch!

"Boom—rumble—"

Accompanied by a sudden crack of thunder, purple lightning tore through the increasingly muggy summer day.

Immediately after.

"Splatter, splash..."

The rain poured down in torrents, washing away the sweltering heat in the air. The surrounding noise and chaos were drowned out by the downpour.

[Star-Rain & Quicksand Cafe]

Located just a street away from the Ogran Academy of Nobility, this is a secluded cafe brimming with youthful vitality. It is a popular dating spot for many couples from the academy.

It is graduation season.

Consequently, this place has become a sanctuary for the young noble men and women—who are otherwise bound by strict social codes—to recklessly release their hormones during the most beautiful years of their youth.

Picking up a glass of iced coffee and taking a small sip, Zorn rubbed his temples.

"Sometimes, having an overly powerful sense of insight is not a good thing."

Walking here, he had felt the presence of young men and women intertwined in almost every private booth, some even engaged in deeper explorations of one another.

These young, succulent, and delicious lives—Zorn could easily snatch them away if he just opened his palm and applied a little force. Such slaughter was exactly what the former Zorn Kolic frequently did.

In the original timeline, the "Zorn Kolic" suffered from a constant depletion of his spirituality; he needed to feed and grow through endless slaughter. But the current Zorn would not lose his innate spirituality as long as he did not suffer grave injuries. He only needed to proceed steadily to grow stronger.

Zorn sipped his rich, mellow coffee, staring at the rain outside and the carriages passing by.

Before long, a rather ornate and spacious blue carriage pulled up to the entrance of the [Star-Rain & Quicksand Cafe]. Emerging from it was the [Rose Witch], Jolia.

Watching her approach, Zorn curled his lips into a faint smile.

"The plan is showing initial success!"

Earlier, when the Rose Witch first emerged, Zorn had used the power of the [Evil Spirit Warlock] to secretly inject his influence deep into the sequence of [Rose Witch] Jolia. He had also bestowed upon her the "Words of Enlightenment."

After a new week began, as classmates—and classmates with a decent relationship at that—Zorn would frequently encounter Miss Jolia. Each time they met, beyond the casual banter, Zorn would use his [Evil Spirit Authority] to follow the path he had laid out, silently reshaping and remodeling her spiritual will.

For ordinary people, reshaping their spiritual will took only once or twice to turn them into loyal believers of the [Evil Spirit Warlock]. But for an Awakened, it required many more sessions. After all, Zorn was only at Level 1, and his [Evil Spirit Authority] possessed only Level 1 potency.

Over the past few days, Zorn had reshaped Jolia eight or nine times, finally reaching a level of perfection. Now, Jolia was a devout believer of the [Evil Spirit Warlock].

Using [Authority] to reshape the spiritual will of an Awakened, implanting a loyal faith, and converting them into a devout believer—this was the terror and dread associated with the world-class boss known as the [Evil Spirit Warlock]. And this was the fundamental reason why "Zorn Kolic" was feared by the Othinston Republic and regarded with wariness by the Holy Blazing Sun Church.

Using this power directly to constantly enslave the Awakened and convert them into believers was undoubtedly a good method. The previous "Zorn Kolic" had thought the same, and that was exactly what he did.

Slaughter, kill, convert!

Grow and strengthen along the way, ultimately marching toward glory!

And then—he was beaten to death in the Ancient Hall of Sorcery and dismembered. These were the lessons learned in blood and tears.

The powerful ability of [Evil Spirit Authority] must be used, certainly. But to use it wantonly and on a large scale—other Awakened were not fools; they would eventually see through it. The correct way to utilize it was to be subtle, silent, and invisible. Only those with value were worth Zorn capturing as chess pieces.

After converting Miss Jolia into a believer using the methods of a Great Boss, the message Zorn had passed during the lunch break today was: after school, an envoy would meet her at the [Star-Rain & Quicksand Cafe].

Now, Miss Jolia had arrived as promised.

"Creak!"

Just as Zorn was lost in thought, the door was pushed open a crack. Then, a figure in a black-and-white checkered dress, carrying a faint, lingering fragrance, quickly slipped into the room. As if afraid of being discovered, she swiftly closed the door behind her.

"It's you..."

Upon sitting down and seeing the face of the person across from her, Jolia exclaimed. The shock on her young face stood in stark contrast to Zorn's slightly narrow, mocking smile.

After a moment of bewilderment, the devout will deep within her soul seemed to take effect. Regaining her composure, she stood slightly and curtsied, lifting the hem of her dress to greet him quickly.

"Greetings, Envoy!"

Zorn examined Jolia from head to toe in detail. It wasn't until Jolia’s face began to flush with a faint red hue under his gaze that he finally withdrew his eyes.

"No wonder the Evil Spirit Warlock could become the first world-class boss," he muttered to himself.

At this moment, the "Jolia" influenced by his transformation showed no signs of being altered. Even on a spiritual level, there were no traces of pollution, modification, or infiltration. The various meticulous summaries from the "Truth Verification Posts" tested by the [Players] surfaced in Zorn's mind.

"The correct way to use [Evil Spirit Authority] is not a single high-intensity transformation, but multiple progressive ones."

"A single high-intensity transformation easily tears the target's life soul, self-will, and spiritual essence apart; even if repaired, the target is highly likely to be ruined."

"Moreover, harsh, deep-seated transformations are easily detected by experts with strong sensory capabilities."

"Change from a violent, high-intensity transformation to a silent, drizzling infiltration. This progressive, repetitive permeation can cause permanent changes."

"In this way, it neither provokes resistance from the target nor damages their spiritual essence, and it avoids the attention of other Awakened. The entire process feels like a natural, inevitable progression."

The truth verification post was perfectly validated on Jolia at this very moment.

Gradually pulling back his wandering thoughts, Zorn lowered his voice, asking in a tone that was both deep and melodious.

"How is the Blood-Shadow Rose executing the Words of Enlightenment passed down by the Lord?"

Listening to the inquiry from the Lord, Jolia's body trembled slightly. Her initial shyness and curiosity were instantly suppressed, and she responded cautiously.

"During this time, Ms. Hazel Cheney has been eagerly trying to decipher the Lord's Words of Enlightenment. Although there has been progress, the Lord's secret words are too profound and obscure; overall, the progress is not significant."

The difficulty of those enlightenment words was naturally high; it was normal that Hazel Cheney could not deeply analyze them. Zorn nodded slightly.

"The Lord has asked me to bring you new information: mist and valley. Tell them these were images from a dream."

"Mist, valley, images from a dream."

Jolia carefully memorized these simple words and information. The simpler the information provided, the less likely it was to reveal flaws. With the Words of Enlightenment, coupled with the "mist and valley," Zorn believed that the quite intelligent Ms. Hazel Cheney—well, in a sense, calling her a "Mr." might not be a problem either—would certainly understand the mysteries within.

Then... the [Blood-Shadow Rose] would formally step onto the distant and arduous "Journey to the Ancient Ruins—the Ruined God Kingdom" in Zorn's stead.

In the original timeline, the Evil Warlock Boss needed to choose one of three nodes to open the journey and clear the path to the ancient ruins, the [Ruined God Kingdom]. By doing so, he would activate the connection between the [Evil Spirit Warlock] and the [God Kingdom], receive divine grace, further solidify his status as a Great Boss, and better make this world feel pain.

However, the entire journey process would undoubtedly require paying a massive price. Zorn Kolic’s slaughter of the Steam City-States, destruction of manors, and blood sacrifices in towns were all to open the [Ruined God Kingdom] better and faster. Yet, in the original trajectory, spurred on by various forces, that place would become the grave he dug for himself.

But now, the situation was completely different.

Zorn needed the God Kingdom, and even more so, the powerful divine grace within it. But Zorn did not intend to dig for it himself. This important and grand task would undoubtedly fall upon the [Blood-Shadow Rose].

Using [Rose Witch] Jolia as an entry point, disguising the information and guidance given to them as "Blood-Shadow Rose Witch" secrets, he would have them do the digging. The process might be difficult, but there would be gains.

The core that allowed the secret sect of [Rose Witch] to trust him was the "Jolia" anchor. As long as Jolia could grow strong through an unfathomable trajectory and could grasp some information about the "future," the witches would have no choice but to believe in the authenticity of it all.

"Furthermore, the Lord has other information to instruct!"

Zorn spoke again, making Jolia even more humble and devout.

"A calamitous and terrifying blood-source power is enveloping Ogran City."

"A restlessness and catastrophe from the depths of the sewers have already taken shape."

"A rat plague will arrive unexpectedly!"

"This is the vision of the future witnessed by the Lord."

The Lord! Witnessing the future.

Jolia, who had a foundation in occult knowledge, felt her heart tremble. She knew very well what a grand and mighty feat it was to witness the future.

Feeling Jolia’s heart and will grow increasingly humble, Zorn once again exerted his [Evil Spirit Authority] to reinforce her devout will. Frequent maintenance would better sustain the bridge between the Lord and the believer.

And this would be the shortcut that the [Evil Spirit Warlock] constructed for the [Blood-Shadow Rose] witches to slide into the abyss!