Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

"Anna, apologize to Melody."

"Oh, sorry. I shouldn't have tried to eat you without your permission."

"Is that the key point here?"

Loren pressed down on Anna's head and offered an apology to Melody.

"Forget the apology. Can I eat this?"

Melody pointed at the skewers that were already slightly burnt, drool forming at the corners of her mouth.

Since Melody herself felt that way, Loren just let her be.

"Before that, let me heal you first, or eating might hurt. This is a healing potion."

"Oh, thanks."

Loren remembered Melody being quite cautious, yet now she had become like this.

After drinking the magical potion, Melody grabbed the roasted meat right off the grill and started eating, not caring that it was burning hot.

"These are already burnt and haven't even been seasoned yet. Let me make you some new ones..."

Loren tried to stop Melody, but by then she had already stuffed the burnt meat into her mouth. Immediately afterward, tears streamed down her face.

"Wah... Korali was right... real roasted meat really is delicious..."

"Korali?"

The name sounded familiar to Loren. That was the name of the merfolk he had saved from Mara back then—the one who had almost been eaten by her.

"You know Korali?"

Melody swallowed the food in her mouth and spoke.

"I do. I saved her from Mara back then."

"You're Loren? No wonder..."

Upon learning Loren's name, Melody even set down the meat skewer and instead pulled a book from her clothes.

"Fate guided me to bring this book to you. At the time, I didn't understand why I had to do this, but now I know.

"When Korali returned, I received fate's guidance—that the Loren she spoke of would lead the merfolk race back into the light.

"We have also heard of Master Mentor's name."

Melody's tone was extremely solemn. She even offered the book with both hands.

"What book is this?"

Loren flipped open the pages and immediately understood what it was.

"This is the Dawn Princess's diary—the most important one. It records the greatest secrets, detailing how the gods became gods.

"At the same time, a super-tier magic is hidden within the book. When necessary, you can release the super-tier magic sealed inside."

"I already know all of this."

Melody wasn't surprised by Loren's response. If he hadn't known, that would have been far more surprising.

"Though I cannot understand why someone holding a high position in the Church would become the one to lead the merfolk back into the light, I believe in you, and I believe in fate."

Melody adjusted her posture, her fish tail forming something akin to a kneeling position, and pressed her right hand over her heart.

"I will pledge my loyalty to you.

"Though I cannot speak for all merfolk, I will obey every command you give!"

What was happening now caught Loren somewhat off guard. When fighting the Orthodox Gods, the merfolk were natural allies—the best allies.

He had been wondering how to earn the merfolk's trust, and yet here he was, receiving the merfolk princess's pledge of loyalty.

Things were progressing so smoothly that it completely disrupted his plans.

Still, no matter how he looked at it, this was a good thing.

"Alright, no need to be so formal. Let's eat first."

"Yes!"

Hearing Loren's command, Melody obediently sat down beside the grill.

"Laila, go roast meat with Mirrorheart. I need to read this book first."

"Okay."

Among everyone present, Laila was the best cook besides Loren and Mirrorheart.

Maybe not remarkably good, but at least she knew how to cook—which was already leagues ahead of the others.

While the others roasted meat, Loren began reading the diary's contents. The very first sentence was a bombshell:

"They betrayed the Teacher! They played the Final Song! Led by Amy, ten of them slaughtered the Teacher's other students!"

Amy was the true name of the God of Light and Fire. That she was the ringleader didn't surprise Loren at all.

What did pique his curiosity, however, was why it was ten people, when there were only nine Orthodox Gods now.

"They tore the Final Song apart, swallowed it, and obtained the authority, stealing the power of the Final Singer... They even killed and sealed away the Teacher...

"I barely escaped with all my might. Once they obtained the authority, they were no longer human. I was no match for them at all... Before the Teacher died, He only managed to save two Witches. He tore off two pieces of the Final Song and forced them into their mouths.

"One had her existence erased. The other vanished from this timeline... Including me, only three of the Teacher's students remain..."

"Two Witches?"

Something else appeared that didn't match Loren's memories. There should have only been one Witch with authority—the Secret Witch—yet the Dawn Princess's diary mentioned another Witch with authority.

Loren guessed her fate was similar to the tenth Orthodox God's... dead in the ensuing struggle.

But the Dawn Princess's description of her was somewhat intriguing. Saying that one Witch had her existence erased likely referred to the Secret Witch's authority of secrecy.

As for her description of the other—"vanished from this timeline"—that suggested her authority might be time itself. She had used it to travel to either the past or the future.

"After they obtained the authority, they all went mad. Their bodies followed suit.

"The Teacher was killed. Reason was the Teacher's authority; madness was the authority of the Final Singer... Without the Teacher, and having stolen the Final Singer's power, they simply couldn't bear it. It was only a matter of time before they turned into something like the Outer Gods..."

Through the Dawn Princess's diary, Loren learned that the Orthodox Gods had originally been ordinary people—not even necessarily with top-tier talent.

So it made sense that they couldn't withstand the power of the Final Singer.

Even now, the Orthodox Gods couldn't resist the Outer Gods, and they couldn't hold a candle to the Final Singer.

The Outer Gods were born from desire and madness. The Final Singer was desire and madness itself.

"Before completely collapsing, they found a way to counter the madness—anchors.

"Through faith, they bound themselves to the authority they had stolen. But their authority was chaotic; they could only choose certain parts as their main authority, becoming the corresponding gods...

"In a short time, they used faith to forcibly polarize people. People began attacking each other over their beliefs... Back then, everyone had gotten along so well...

"Only those under my protection managed to survive. But I know this won't last long. They are already gods now.

"No... there is still hope... Ever since they betrayed the Teacher, Witches have been appearing in large numbers. The Teacher once said that Witches are the world's immune system—the way to deal with them..."

Loren turned the pages, only to have the hope he'd just felt shattered in the very next paragraph.

"The Orthodox Gods began hunting Witches. Hunting Witches took priority even over their war against one another..."

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