Chapter 989: Witch Hunt: Change
Alice, Eilish, and Kayla were shocked as the entire Dream Palace began to shake, signaling a structural transformation.
The process was swift, taking only a few seconds.
"The structure changed?! All the routes I knew will be useless..." Kayla muttered in disbelief.
They were caught off guard by the sudden change. They hadn"t expected the Dream Palace to s.h.i.+ft like one of those labyrinth puzzles.
Exiting the room, they beheld a small island in the distance.
"So, where are we now?" Eilish questioned aloud.
"I can sense living creatures nearby," Alice informed them.
"Dream beasts often inhabit s.p.a.ces like this within the Dream Palace. They"re territorial, so be prepared. We"ll have to fight through these monsters," Kayla explained to Alice and Eilish.
Alice and Eilish nodded, their expressions turning serious. They gradually increased their energy levels, preparing themselves for battle.
The monsters noticed their presence and launched an attack. To the monsters, the three of them were invaders encroaching on their territory. Fierce and vicious, the monsters charged at them with great momentum.
Boom!!
A battle erupted on the small island within a designated area of the Dream Palace.
Alice, Eilish, and Kayla worked together to eliminate all the third-stage monsters. With their current strength, third-stage monsters posed little challenge, and it only took a few minutes before they cleared the entire island.
Afterward, the trio discovered a door that led them somewhere else.
Soon, they arrived in a hallway filled with doors once again.
"For now, let"s keep moving forward," Kayla said to Alice and Eilish.
They explored the area for half an hour, encountering hundreds of doors leading to different dimensions. Some doors even harbored dozens of fourth-stage monsters.
As they walked, a door suddenly opened to the side, and several people emerged from it.
Kayla raised her eyebrows upon recognizing them.
"Kim! Lesie! Barno! Ivie!"
The four individuals who emerged were Kayla"s comrades. They turned toward the voice calling them and saw their Captain Kayla.
"Captain!!"
A smile lit up their faces upon seeing their captain safe and sound. They had been concerned, fearing something had happened to her.
"Captain! There"s something important we need to tell you," the woman named Kim exclaimed as she stepped forward to address Kayla.
"What is it? Have you discovered something important?" Kayla asked eagerly.
"We"ve received word that the elders are heading to the Dream Palace. It seems they"ve figured out how to clear this game," Kim explained.
"Really?!" Kayla was taken aback by this unexpected information.
"It appears that the key to clearing the game is here in the Dream Palace. The elders have contacted all the witches they could reach to gather here. However, given that everyone was scattered across Walpurgis Night when the game began, only a few witches will likely respond," Kim elaborated.
"Do we know when the elders will arrive?" Kayla inquired.
"I"m not certain, but we received this information an hour ago, so they should be on their way. If all goes well, they should arrive soon," Kim responded.
"So the elders are likely here... It"s just difficult to locate them in this vast Dream Palace, where every s.p.a.ce is unique and constantly changing," Kayla muttered to herself.
Alice and Eilish remained silent, attentively listening to the conversation.
Following their discussion, Kayla introduced Alice and Eilish to her comrades-Kim, Lesie, Barno, and Ivie-who then introduced themselves.
The group continued their search for the holy stakes while also trying to locate the elders of Walpurgis Night and other witches.
Nearby regions were witnessing an influx of people gathering toward the Dream Palace, where battles were erupting in every corner. Human-like golems had begun rampaging, their numbers swelling to several hundreds within the Dream Palace.
Kayla inquired of her comrades whether the elders of the Silver Faction were allied with them. They admitted uncertainty, noting that Silver Faction witches often targeted non-witches for points. However, given the gathering of witches from both factions in the Dream Palace, alliance seemed probable.
After half an hour, the group finally encountered Elder Amulgu, accompanied by another elder from the Silver Faction.
"You"ve arrived," Elder Amulgu greeted them warmly.
"Greetings, elders!" Kayla and her comrades responded respectfully.
The other elder glanced at Alice and Eilish, inquiring, "And who are these two?" She was a striking woman with long black hair and piercing black eyes, clad in a loose robe and holding a long staff. She introduced herself as Elder Grecia of the Silver Faction.
Alice and Eilish remained silent, bracing themselves for whatever might come next.
"They are our companions whom we"ve encountered," Kayla replied, bowing respectfully.
Elder Grecia gave Alice and Eilish a cold look. "They"re not witches, are they?" she asked
sharply.
"Elder Grecia, let us focus on our task at hand," Elder Amulgu interjected calmly.
"Hmph!" Elder Grecia snorted, turning her head away.
Elder Amulgu nodded and smiled warmly at Alice and Eilish before leading the way forward.
Elder Grecia walked beside her, followed by Kayla and her companions.
As they walked, Elder Amulgu addressed Kayla, "I have a task for your team."
"What is it, Elder?" Kayla inquired politely.
"I need you to locate the holy stakes. We"ve confirmed that all six holy stakes are here in the Dream Palace. In exchange for this information, a group of guests has promised to help us break this game," Elder Amulgu explained.
"Elder, what if..." Kayla began, but Elder Amulgu cut her off.
"They have bound themselves with the highest contracts from the Monster Lord of Contracts. They won"t break their word unless they have no fear of a monster lord"s might," Elder
Amulgu explained.
Kayla then asked, "What exactly are the holy stakes, and who are these individuals?"
"I don"t have much information about them. The leader, a man named Grimm, is heavily bandaged and provided us with details about the holy stakes," Elder Amulgu replied. "He informed us that the holy stakes were created by our Great Matriarch Morgan Le Fay. Their purpose is to destroy the black sun, which she predicted would lead to the downfall of Walpurgis Night."
The revelation left Kayla and her companions puzzled. How did an outsider possess such detailed knowledge? Even the elders of Walpurgis Night were unaware of these matters. "If the black sun poses a threat to Walpurgis Night, why didn"t the matriarch destroy it earlier?" Kayla wondered aloud.
They were filled with questions but lacked the means to answer them. Elder Grecia glanced at Elder Amulgu and remarked, "There"s one crucial detail you"ve overlooked. He mentioned that the Great Matriarch was secretly investigating the downfall of the Hall of Power in the past. Have you considered why there"s a pa.s.sage in the Obsidian Desert? He spoke of two t.i.tles: the Isolated Formation G.o.d and the Divine Venerable of
Wisdom."
Alice and Eilish listened intently, pondering the connection between Morgan Le Fay and these
two fallen G.o.ds.
"The downfall of the Hall of Power..." Alice thought aloud, recalling the appearance of the Commandments of G.o.d"s Will in that location and Morgan Le Fay"s subsequent fall from grace. There had to be a significant link between these events.
Elder Amulgu turned to Kayla and continued, "I need you to locate this place..."
She provided the general appearance of the rooms where the six holy stakes were situated. However, due to recent s.p.a.ce shuffling within the Dream Palace, she was uncertain of their
exact location.
Elder Grecia scrutinized Alice and Eilish, questioning, "Are you certain we can trust these two? Why don"t we focus on earning points instead?"
"Stop, Elder Grecia! You cannot engage in such actions in front of me!" Elder Amulgu
exclaimed loudly.
"Very well... But don"t come crying to me later if we fail to clear this game and you end up
with no points," Elder Grecia retorted.
"I never expected to encounter you here..." Suddenly, a voice with a faint tone of amus.e.m.e.nt
echoed through the room.
Elder Amulgu, Elder Grecia, and the others turned to see a woman with red hair standing
before them. The two elders widened their eyes in disbelief at the sight of this unexpected
visitor.
"You...!" Elder Amulgu stammered, clearly astonished.
Alice and Eilish were equally surprised, recognizing the newcomer. Instinctively, they took a
step back.
The person who had appeared was none other than Red Mist.
"How fortunate to encounter the esteemed elders," Red Mist remarked with a smile, eyeing
them as if they were prey. "You"re seeking the so-called holy stakes, aren"t you? Unfortunately, I cannot allow that. Walpurgis Night will come to an end."
"You traitor!" Elder Grecia seethed upon hearing Red Mist"s declaration about the downfall of
Walpurgis Night.
"A traitor?" Red Mist raised her eyebrows mockingly at the elder. Stepping forward, she continued, "Ah, yes. That"s the label you all decided to give me after what you did! The fate of Walpurgis Night has been sealed, and you witches are powerless to stop it!" Elder Amulgu swiftly turned to Kayla and the others. "Everyone, get away from here!" "It"s too late!" Red Mist laughed, and suddenly, an intense wave of flames erupted from her body like a tsunami, engulfing the entire area in fire within moments.