Chapter 867: A Witch Destined to be a Traitor Anti-Witch?
Chapter 867: A Witch Destined to be a Traitor Anti-Witch?
“Come out; this low-tier tracking technique doesn't quite match your status, does it?”
Mei Linde's avatar paused its footsteps and turned sideways, and subsequently a figure appeared behind her without any concealment.
“Is that so? So you were actually expecting me to seek you out directly?”
Cheryl spoke with an extremely relaxed tone, then looked toward the Witch Cat Cafe on the side.
“A well-chosen place having specifically called me out here, how about going in and treating me to a cup of Fool's Dream Drink? I happen to be craving some.”
“Let's go in.”
Mei Linde did not waste words or offer much rebuttal.
Although she truly did not like contacting this Anti-Witch much, sometimes life was like that; one cannot simply reject life's opportunities.
“Oh a Gold Cat Card?”
“A gift from Dana.”
Mei Linde said quite casually.
As the witch who opened the Witch Cat Cafe, Dana naturally looked forward to a witch like the Academy Head coming to the Witch Cat Cafe to enjoy herself.
“Two full-set Fool's Dream Drink sets.”
Mei Linde spoke, and the staff inside the Witch Cat Cafe briskly handled the ordering and service guidance.
As the Academy Head, Mei Linde's appearance was nearly known to everyone in the academy, but as she and Cheryl arrived here at this moment, they were just like the most ordinary of people.
“Derivative spells of cognitive weakening: cognitive replacement and cognitive blurring?”
Cheryl followed the waitress in a cat-eared maid outfit to sit by the glass edge with the best view, and subsequently mentioned it to Mei Linde quite casually.
“Mhm, status can sometimes become a burden.”
“Actually, for this kind of thing, using a Disguise Technique is more convenient.”
Cheryl said with a smile.
“But what I am best at is still the Weakening Spell.”
Mei Linde did not feel there was anything wrong with her methods.
“Let's get straight to the point.”
“The point? Fine, fine.”
Cheryl was helpless.
Although Mei Linde didn't start with a performance of bickering this time, she clearly still held a bit of prejudice toward her, this Anti-Witch.
“Straight to the point... when will you kick Dainiel out of the Main World's Witch Academy?”
Cheryl's words directly silenced Mei Linde. She had not expected this point to be so direct!
“Is your prejudice against her too deep? I remember she also walks the Anti-Witch Project, right? Or do you members of the Anti-Witch group not see eye to eye with each other?”
“You have a deep prejudice against me too. I haven't even done anything to you...”
“You have no right to say that.”
Mei Linde directly interrupted Cheryl's words.
“You've done many other things; I've just not pursued them with you.”
“Alright for the sake of us being able to continue chatting for a long time, I think we'd better not discuss this topic, how about it?”
“Then change it.”
“The witch who sabotaged Little Han's experiment was Dainiel, right? How do you plan to handle her?”
“Do you have evidence?”
“You have evidence.”
Cheryl said with a smile.
Subsequently, she continued:
“On one side is a little witch with infinite potential and an unmeasurable future, and on the other is a fellow kinsman from a small group of Transcendent Witches.”
“Don't tell me you can't bear to watch and want to act on my behalf. In that case, I might even have to thank you; after all, don't you Anti-Witches love doing these things?”
After all, as the Academy Head, there were truly many things she needed to consider sometimes.
Witches were indeed heart and soul for the witch race, but that didn't mean there were no disagreements between witches; it was just that these disagreements were not worth mentioning on the level of the witch race.
“Really? If you want me to act, then that is indeed no problem. But for an Academy Head to have a secret private meeting with an Anti-Witch at a Witch Cat Cafe, and then have the Anti-Witch resolve the conflict and dispute—is that really good?”
“So that means... you've come just to see a joke of me?”
“I can only watch if you are willing to perform. Let me guess how this matter will develop afterward. Hmm... eventually, this matter will be done by a student, right? At this moment... you stop cherishing your students again, letting them take the blame for the Transcendent Witches?”
“I can only say they are not innocent. I cherish my students, but that doesn't mean there is no punishment when they do something wrong.”
“And what about the Transcendent mentor?”
“……”
“No way out, right.”
“Sometimes, the problem is not the witch, but the philosophy the witches identify with. Many problems cannot be generalized. As an Anti-Witch, you should understand this thought very well, right?”
“They believe... power like Self-generating Magic Power, which belongs exclusively to Transcendent Witches, allows no desecration by other races, even Reserve Witches, is that it?”
Cheryl asked with a smile.
“Yes, but this voice ultimately belongs to a small minority in the Witch Academy. What I am busy with now is also discussing a method that both sides can accept in a reasonable way.”
“Isn't this a very ridiculous question?”
“Ridiculous?”
“Not acknowledging other races... this kind of thing has happened in the history of witches, right? The initial Truth Offering of race transformation through Witchification acknowledged the value of other races. Then does that count as a desecration of the witch race? They have completely accepted the concept of the witch, the power of the witch, and the identity of the witch from thought, race, and body. Then are they witches?”
“It's different, okay...”
Mei Linde spoke.
“One is becoming a witch completely, the other is seizing the power of the witch. The latter has the possibility of taking the power of the witch to rebel against the path of the witch.”
“Truly a joke... haha... after becoming a Transcendent Witch, could it be that these things are impossible to happen? Then all those Traitor Anti-Witches who died at my hands—where did they come from?”
“……”
Mei Linde looked at the Anti-Witch before her with a complex gaze.
She had to admit that sometimes, she might not be able to out-argue an Anti-Witch.
The group of Anti-Witches was sometimes not just powerful in strength, but also powerful in thought.
After all, to be able to stand on the opposite side of the witches as a witch and spur the entire witch race—they asked themselves at every moment whether what they were doing was right.
Faced with the questioning of so many witches, what kind of thoughts supported them in continuing to walk this path so firmly?
She had to admit that the Anti-Witch before her looked down on the Witch Academy of the Main World.
She believed the current Witch Academy was situated within a self-entertaining closed world, everyone playing a role, staying in the academy to "retire."
This was no joke.
Within the Main World, there were too many witches who came here with a mindset of comfortable retirement; no matter how big an event occurred, they had a mindset of watching for fun.
“Then... what do you think I should do? For you to be satisfied?”
“Are you asking me? This Witch Academy isn't mine; why ask me?”
Cheryl looked at the blame Mei Linde tossed over and tossed it back with a backhand.
“If you don't know how to do it... perhaps you can put yourself into the perspective of the parties involved to experience it. For example... how would Little Han hope for you to do it?”
“Thank you for the advice you've given; I will consider it.”
“Just... just consider it?”
Clearly, Cheryl was not satisfied with this answer.
“If you are unsatisfied, you can continue. Instinct tells me that this time you sought me out because 'you' have something to find me for.”
“Look at you saying that hmph hmph.”
Cheryl merely gave a light laugh, and from her expression, it was impossible to tell if Mei Linde was right.
“Two guests the fresh-mixed Fool's Dream Drink set. Shall they be mixed now?”
At this moment, a cat-eared waitress pushed a special small cart, carrying two cute Fool's Dreams to the side.
“Mhm, mix them on the spot.”
Cheryl was the first to speak, but her gaze became much softer after the Fool's Dreams arrived.
“So cute. May I pet them?”
“Of course as long as the guest isn't too excessive. Additionally, please do not pet them while they are mixing the Fool's Dream Drink!”
“Is that so? That's really nice.”
After Cheryl reached out her hand to tease the Fool's Dreams for a bit, her gaze turned back to Mei Linde.
“It's fine. They won't care about what we said.”
“It looks like your spells truly are convenient.”
“If you have something to say, say it directly. In the conversation just now, enough words have been spoken in a roundabout way.”
“Then you truly are impatient.”
“I am busy, after all, unlike you who are so idle. Even if this is just an avatar of mine, I have many things to do.”
Mei Linde spoke.
“Alright then.”
Cheryl also nodded, intending to get straight to the point.
“Mei Linde, do you believe... that among witches there exist witches who are destined to be Traitor Anti-Witches?”
“My answer is I don't believe it. If this is something you discovered based on your own Anti-Witch instinctive sense of smell... I have nothing to say. This isn't a question of who can persuade whom.”
“Then... how about a bet?”
“Humanity cannot be tested. The moment the thought of wanting to test it is born, it is like a piece of glass used for testing—it is destined to shatter. And witches are the same; as long as they are alive, they cannot escape this test.”
Mei Linde's words were equivalent to a very direct refusal, and also a disguised admission that among the group of witches... there indeed were witches who could not withstand a test.
And what Mei Linde didn't believe in even more... was the intensity of this Anti-Witch's test!
No one has an absolutely objective standard to test who is good or bad.
Once such a standard exists, it will ruin everyone!
“I understand I naturally understand no one has the qualification to test humanity. But... that is an ideal testing situation without any background or event. Now we... oh no, it's you all... you all are doing a big thing, and for this thing to be completed, it needs a bottom line for its completion...”
Cheryl spoke halfway, taking the Fool's Dream Drink handed over by a Fool's Dream.
“Thank you little cutie do you need a little tip?”
“Um... no, my own salary is enough for my spending! If you acknowledge my skill, your praise is the best compliment to me!”
“Is that so?”
Cheryl took a careful sip; it was a taste not quite the same as last time.
It seemed it was true that the taste of every Fool's Dream's Fool's Dream Drink had a certain difference.
“The taste is great, truly a taste that a witch can reminisce about. This time it was rare to find time to come here; I don't know when the next time will be.”
“Hehe then let's meet again if fate permits. If you still want me to come, just note my name. I'm called Fool's Tea.”
“Mhm.”
After ending the pleasant conversation with the Fool's Dream, Cheryl looked at Mei Linde again.
“What did those words of yours mean just now?”
“I spent so much effort coming over not to talk about testing anyone. I've just come out of kindness to help you eliminate a hidden danger.”
“Be more specific. What are you going to do?”
“Little Han's ability... both you and I are witnesses. I think you won't keep it hidden forever. A little witch mastering such terrifying power—it transcends the system of Void power and the Transcendent framework, bypassing the single rank division of Transcendent.”
“So?”
“I intend to announce this news. Guess who will have the biggest reaction?”
BAM!
“You dare!”
Accompanying a slam on the table and this questioning shout, Mei Linde instantly became the focus of the Witch Cat Cafe.
Even her spell of cognitive weakening could not hide such agitated behavior.
And after doing this, Mei Linde also realized her loss of composure.
Subsequently, she slowly sat down.
The gazes that had looked over fell into a burst of bewilderment.
After a while, it was as if no one cared about everything that had just happened, returning to peace.
“It looks like you've given the answer; you are the one with the biggest reaction.”
Cheryl said half-jokingly.
“I advise you best not to do that.”
“Then... we both take a step back and change it to another form, how about it?”
Hearing Cheryl say this, Mei Linde roughly knew what the other party's plan was...
“Heh... what follows is your purpose, isn't it? But you have to speak up and let me hear it first.”
***
Laboratory.
The experiments researching Nightmares were not something that could be done overnight, and they required the consumption of a massive amount of time and energy; it wasn't as if an idea could be completed rapidly.
As the things I researched became increasingly separated from past cognition, I also began to gradually understand why Transcendent Witches took anywhere from a few months to over a hundred years for a single experiment.
Because time was the best catalyst and verification method for Transcendent experiments.
While researching the Nightmare purification method, I was also researching another thing.
After all, having given up the simultaneous progress of so many purification methods, I suddenly had quite a bit of spare time.
But this time was invested into another research project.
Namely... the experiment of dream creatures transforming soul-substance.
Dream creatures liked to devour soul-substance from reality, but that soul-substance surely wouldn't just disappear.
I guessed that Dream-state Soul-substance... perhaps could be explored from this aspect as a starting point.
And the reason I wanted to do this was naturally that this type of experiment had been done by witches before, and there was quite a bit of theoretical foundation within the Great Tree of Knowledge.
So I prepared to recognize Dream-state Soul-substance through a multi-angled approach.
However, I was also prepared for failure.
After all, among these theoretical foundations, there wasn't a single successful case so far.
Otherwise... the academic world wouldn't lack the concept of "Dream-state Soul-substance."
If I truly discovered Dream-state Soul-substance, then this technical term really might adopt my naming directly.
Thinking about it made me a bit excited.