Release that Witch

...

For the first time, Phyllis felt that waiting was like agony. She thought that after four centuries of training, time would be the last thing she would be bothered about. She did not expect to feel restless after just one morning.

If Celine’s argument was correct, finding The Chosen One would mean the end of the Battle of Divine Will. The instrument of Divine retribution had the ability to destroy all the demons and her mission would then be over.

Without the shells made by the church, most of the survivors would fall into a deep sleep that they might never be awakened from; or they might fuse their souls with Lady Eleanor to contribute their last breath.

Every time she thought of this, she felt an indescribable confusion. Aside from the long-awaited relief, she also felt a trace of disappointment. A life imprisoned in the shell, even if it could be sustained, was still a form of torture. Once the war was over, she could finally rest forever. But she also found it hard to imagine that once she closed her eyes, she would never again see the glorious world of Taquila.

The two conflicting emotions kept afflicting her until the afternoon came.

”Are you ready?” Wendy appeared in the castle hall.

”Always,” Phyllis immediately stood up.

”Come with me.”

Accompanied by Wendy, she walked through a promenade made up of olive trees in the castle backyard, into a small open space. It was surrounded by fences and covered by dense vines, so she could only see a glimpse of the overhead sky, and the ”walkway” she saw when she came. The only way out from here was to follow the same path when she entered.

Phyllis instantly understood the reason for this. The witches under observation would appear one by one at the end of the promenade. This distance did not affect the observation, yet also guaranteed the safety of the Union members.

If she had any unforeseen movements, this promenade would definitely be a huge obstacle for her.

Phyllis did not feel repulsed and instead, she started to have a better impression of the king who was a common person—at least he did not regard the witch as an optional accessory. His behavior was completely understandable before he could fully trust her.

At the moment, her impression of the Witch Union was on the same level as the Holy City. A witch organization that was large and had various means would not be able to assert its influence if it suffered from secular suppression. Now they also had a strong footing in the king’s heart, so the Witch Union was starting to look more like the Union.

Shortly after Wendy left, the first witch appeared quickly in her field of vision.

It was Agatha.

When the youngest promoted person of the Taquila age summoned a clear, pale blue ice crystal, Phyllis observed that the beam of light was like Maggie’s, hence she was not The Chosen One she was looking for.

After the test was completed, Agatha did not leave the promenade but walked straight to her.

”My Lady?” Phyllis was a little surprised.

”I used to be a member of the Quest Society, and I’m very interested in things such as the Magic Stone. I hope you don’t mind if I stay to observe?”

”Of course not,” Phyllis shook her head first, then politely gave her a salute for the Senior Witches. ”By the way, I haven’t yet thanked you for your help. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to pick The Chosen One that quickly. ”

”It was your own choice as well,” said Agatha, waving her hand. ”Let’s continue watching.”

”Okay.”

One by one, the witches displayed their ability at the end of the corridor. She placed the ring between the two people. Other than observing the intensity of the light beams, Agatha also recorded the results.

During this period, Phyllis also found a lot of dazzling orange lights. For example, the width of the light beam of the witch named Soraya was more than that of her shoulders and she was even better than Anna or Nightingale. There was another witch called Evelyn, whose light beam had an alarming intensity which was almost twice that of Anna.

Echo and Summer were those who had stronger orange lights. Both also reached the same level of body width.

The most prominent member of the union was Leaf.

When she cast her magic, Phyllis thought for a moment that she had seen Lady Eleanor. Countless orange lights with as wide as fingers rose up to the sky, just like a fence connecting heaven and earth—these light beams came from each plant in the garden. They echoed the magic power of Leaf, like living creatures. The beam of light above Leaf’s head was close to the edge of the Five-Colors Stone and did not pale in comparison to Lady Eleanor.

When her beam of light was cast, Phyllis felt her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She thought that Leaf was The Chosen One that all the Taquila survivors had been praying for. However, after forcibly suppressing her mood, she found that the beam was still a little bit away from the edge of the Magic Stone—the ”key” would not change the orange light beams that it reflected, regardless of the distance of the target. As long as it was placed in front of the eye, the scene would reflect the real performance of the key.

Although the entire castle backyard was full of raised light beams, they were not that light wall she had seen before. The misty light beams were magnificent, but still did not connect.

Neither of them was The Chosen One.

After she let out a deep breath, Phyllis lowered the ring and waited quietly for the next witch to appear.

She still did not see that thick light wall after it ended.

”You have seen all the members of the Witch Union,” Agatha closed the notebook, ”Is Leaf The Chosen One that you are looking for?”

”The Chosen One isn’t amongst them...” Phyllis whispered after a moment’s silence, ”Although her beam of light is amazing... but it’s still a long way from what I have observed at night.”

She began to feel anxious again. ”Why is this happening? Did Roland Wimbledon hide The Chosen One? Or did someone in the Witch Union not come today? Is Roland actually unwilling to unite with Taquila to fight the demon, or is he still wary of the Witch Empire that once ruled the entire continent?”

Many thoughts flashed through her mind, and she rejected all these ideas. ”No, it doesn’t make sense. It’s impossible for him to hide The Chosen One without the Five-Colors Stone. And Lady Agatha will never collude with the common people to deceive me. I need to stay calm at this moment... Unfair accusations and doubts will only make things worse.”

”At night?” Agatha frowned. ”The witches generally didn’t practice their abilities in the rooms, and you should have been at the Foreign Affairs Building at that time. Can the Magic Stone observe from such a distance?”

”I did see the light beams of The Chosen One... Not only was the breadth much more than I could imagine, but its distance was beyond the reach of the Magic Stone, which was truly a miracle.” Phyllis said in a gentle tone, ”I swear in the name of Taquila.”

”I got it,” Agatha nodded. ”In that case, give me the ring.”

”Your Lady, you mean...” She was a little surprised.

”I know Nightingale’s character. She’ll never let you enter the Castle District at night. If The Chosen One is really in the castle, I’ll help you to find her.”