Chapter 644: The Price of the Ritual
"A Witch?"
Loren thought it over carefully, and that answer was reasonable enough.
In a sense, Witches were also a type of Mythical Creature, and they were the Mythical Creatures most favored by the world. It made sense that the World Severance Ritual would require Witches.
"What exactly needs to be done?"
"Several Witches need to perform simultaneously..."
"And what else?"
An ordinary Severance Ritual alone required a Mythical Creature and a precious material. Loren refused to believe the World Severance Ritual would be that simple.
"That's all..."
"..."
The Perpetual Observer's authority told Loren that this was a lie.
This was the only time Paqina had ever lied to Loren. There was only one possible reason she would lie, and that was that the cost of the World Severance Ritual was immense, and that cost had to be paid by her.
To prevent Loren from worrying, she had chosen to lie.
And Paqina was also terrible at lying. When she said this, her confidence dropped noticeably, her tone unconsciously softened, and her voice grew much quieter, as if she was afraid Loren would hear.
Even without the lie-detection ability, Loren could tell at a glance that she was lying.
"What is the cost of the World Severance Ritual?"
"There's no cost..."
Paqina was still lying. She didn't even dare look Loren in the eyes anymore.
"Performing the Severance Ritual requires a Mythical Creature that can restrain the authority, as well as some kind of key item. At most, Witches can replace part of the Mythical Creature's role, so what is the key item?
"That cost should be that thing, right?"
Seeing that Loren had seen through everything, Paqina let out a sigh and stopped hiding it:
"A Witch's soul. The World Severance Ritual requires a Witch to voluntarily offer up her own soul."
"So you plan to use yours?"
"Yes..."
"Ah..."
Loren let out a sigh. Actually, if Paqina's plan had truly been carried out, whether or not she sacrificed her soul wouldn't have mattered anymore. Most likely, everyone would have died anyway.
"I'll do my best to improve this ritual... please don't worry..."
Paqina understood this as well. Now that Loren had returned, this ritual could no longer be used as it was.
After all, Paqina's original intention had been that since Loren was gone, she would drag the gods down with her.
But now Loren was back. She couldn't possibly harm Loren, and the original World Severance Ritual had already lost its original meaning.
"Alright..."
In the end, Loren agreed to Paqina's decision. After all, what she said at the end was the truth.
"You really don't plan to leave?"
"No. There are experimental equipment and research records here. Most importantly, there are still Protective Wards left behind by the Secret Witch here. No matter what I do here, I won't be discovered by the Orthodox Gods.
"Just on this point alone, I'm afraid even you can't do it, right?"
"True."
This was unavoidable. Loren's Hermit card could only erase a person's personal presence, and even Paqina's Arcane Ability could only make people invisible.
If there was really something that caused a big commotion, neither he nor Paqina would be able to hide it. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been discovered by other beings in the first place when they tried performing the Final Remnant Chapter at Cecelia's place.
On this front alone, Loren truly couldn't compare to the Secret Witch.
"What about you? Corolla, do you want to come with us?"
To Loren's surprise, Corolla also shook her head:
"No, Master."
She was a little regretful, but she still smiled and said to Loren:
"I'm just an ordinary person. I can't help much, and I might even hold you back.
"If we really run into danger, you'd have to divert your attention to take care of me. The only thing I can do is take care of you all, and Mirrorheart can do that too, even better than I can.
"If I follow you, I'd only become a burden."
Corolla was very rational and had a good sense of self-awareness.
This actually made Loren feel a bit sorry for her.
In the end, Loren let out a sigh and took out the demon card:
"Corolla, let's make a bet. We'll play rock-paper-scissors. If I win, I'll give you a billion years of lifespan. If you win, then you'll offer me eternal loyalty..."
When he set the terms, Loren froze. This deal didn't work, because the compensation couldn't be paid.
First of all, it couldn't be that Loren didn't have enough lifespan. He was eternal. There was no need to even use a billion as the unit of lifespan, even if it were a trillion, a quadrillion, or even a googol, or the sands of the Ganges, it wouldn't matter.
Then it had to be a problem on the other side. Corolla couldn't pay the price of eternal loyalty, because she had already offered her eternal loyalty long ago.
So Loren changed the price, changing it to making Corolla do a squat.
Originally, he wanted Corolla to pay the price by kissing him, just like Veronica, but Paqina and Laila were both here, so it wasn't quite appropriate.
Especially Paqina. She was still very innocent right now, and Loren felt a bit embarrassed to do that.
In the end, after Corolla did two squats, she successfully received the billion years of lifespan that Loren gave her.
This number was so large that even Corolla felt a little unfamiliar with it.
"And then there's this. Use ninety percent of your own lifespan to exchange for Intelligence... after that, at the very least, you'll be able to reach the level of a Mid-tier mage."
As he spoke, Loren handed the Temperance card to Corolla. This was currently the fastest way Loren had to make someone stronger.
However, this wasn't without a price. When Corolla's own lifespan ran out, she would be hunted down by Death.
By that time, it would be several years later. Even if Loren hadn't subdued Death by then, Death would refrain from touching Corolla out of consideration for Loren's relationship. That price didn't need to be considered.
"Take care of yourselves. We're leaving..."
Loren didn't waste too much time. After arranging things, he planned to leave.
And what he said was for the two of them to take care of themselves, not for Corolla to take care of Paqina. He had completely considered Corolla as one of his own.
"Master..."
Before Loren left, Corolla suddenly called out to him:
"I'll be waiting for you. Waiting for you to create a more beautiful world. When that time comes, you must come and pick me up..."
Hearing this, Loren was a little surprised. He had never known that Corolla had this kind of thought all along.
"Why are you so certain?"
"You're different from others... Your position is very high, yet you can still see ordinary people, and you truly treat ordinary people as people.
"Whether it's the Nobles or the Church, they talk big with flowery words, but they've never truly looked at ordinary people even once. So you really are different from others."
At this point, Corolla's gaze grew more and more determined:
"So, I believe that only you can truly change this world. You have both the ability and the character."
"I will."
Loren didn't say much. He just smiled and stroked Corolla's hair.
Now Loren finally understood why Corolla had such deep feelings for him, and Loren would never let those feelings down.