Chapter 643: World Severance Ritual
"M... Master Mentor?"
Paqina took off her glasses, intending to wipe them, but the lenses had long since disappeared, and even the frames were battered beyond recognition.
In the end, she activated her Arcane Ability and finally confirmed that the person before her was Loren.
"Master Mentor!"
She hugged Loren recklessly, ignoring everything around her.
"I'm back."
Loren merely stroked Paqina's hair calmly.
Paqina had no idea Loren had already returned. This place was far from town, and by now they were essentially self-sufficient, so Corolla had no reason to go to town anymore.
They had been staying here all along, without a shred of intelligence.
Paqina looked utterly disheveled right now. For the sake of convenience, her hair had been cut short, and the severed locks were still tossed in the trash bin, which hadn't been emptied in a long time.
Her mental state was also terrible. Her current condition was barely better than Noah's had been back then, perhaps even worse.
It was just that witches had resilient life force and the ability to preserve their appearance, so at least Paqina hadn't ended up as ghastly as Noah had.
Still, the dark circles under her eyes were deep enough that she seemed like she might drop dead at any moment.
"How long has it been since you last rested?"
"I can't remember..."
Paqina let out an awkward laugh, still nestling in Loren's embrace.
As long as Loren was back, nothing else mattered to her.
"Go get some rest first."
Loren carried Paqina out of the underground laboratory, and with Corolla leading the way, he arrived at the bedroom for rest.
There was a bed here for Paqina, but she hadn't touched it in a very long time.
Having reunited with Loren, Paqina was incredibly excited. She had so much to tell him that she simply couldn't fall asleep.
After confirming there was no danger here, Loren brought Laila in, and the three of them gathered around Paqina's bedside.
"What happened during this time?"
Loren was very curious about what had occurred while he was away. Seeing that Paqina had no desire to sleep, he went ahead and asked.
The scene outside wasn't something ordinary means could accomplish.
At that, Paqina grew animated. She sat up and gestured wildly as she spoke:
"After you left, I tried everything to seek revenge, and in the end, I finally found a way.
"That was the Severance Ritual, but the Severance Ritual had too many limitations, and different Severance Rituals were hard to combine.
"If a god obtained many authorities, or if multiple gods attacked simultaneously, there would be no time to activate the Severance Ritual at all..."
As she spoke, Paqina's smile grew increasingly manic:
"In the end, I created a ritual capable of handling all situations..."
"What?"
Loren was intrigued by this. Even he was interested in a Severance Ritual that could handle all scenarios.
If Paqina had truly succeeded in her research, it would be an enormous asset.
"I call it the [World Severance Ritual]!
"This ritual can sever all authorities simultaneously, regardless of whether those authorities are currently held by gods or not!"
"..."
Loren fell silent. What Paqina had accomplished was even crazier than he had imagined, crazier than even the trump cards he and Noah had prepared.
Noah's trump card was killing off all humanity. Loren's trump card was restarting the world. But Paqina genuinely wanted to destroy this world.
"It really is a [World Severance Ritual]..."
This ritual didn't just sever authorities, the world itself couldn't escape either.
"We can take this opportunity to kill the gods..."
With all authorities severed, the Orthodox Gods would have no power left to resist.
Not only would they be unable to use their authorities, but even their other abilities would be rendered useless.
"I tested it. After the World Severance Ritual is activated, the Witches' Arcane Ability still works normally, but all other means become ineffective, even physical attacks."
Indeed, without the authority of fire, bullets couldn't be fired. Without the authority of strength, even fists couldn't be swung.
"Even if we don't manage to kill the Orthodox Gods..."
Paqina didn't finish that sentence, but Loren had already guessed:
"The Outer Gods will also devour this world along with the true gods..."
"Yes..."
Paqina revealed a smile. This outcome was also within her expectations.
She didn't care about the world's destruction. She only wanted to avenge Loren.
It was only now that Loren realized Paqina had turned dark. Back then, she'd been afraid at the sight of a dead body, yet now she could casually speak of ways to destroy the world.
"Can the ritual be interrupted at any time?"
"Yes, but I'm still researching that. That's what I've been working on all this time."
"As long as it can be interrupted, that's fine..."
If it could be interrupted, it could be used as a trump card.
Whether it was Loren or Noah, the methods they'd prepared ensured their own survival, but Paqina's method was different.
If it couldn't be interrupted, everyone in the world except Loren would die.
"Did you do all this outside?"
"Yes. I experimented on a small scale earlier, and that's when I learned this ritual doesn't affect the use of Arcane Ability. The ritual's duration is very short."
"Did anyone else get hurt?"
If the range could reach the area around the house, then the other witches most likely wouldn't have escaped it either.
"No. I had everyone stay far away from here in advance.
"Later, the Secret Witch came up with a new plan and took the other witches away, partly to prevent them from being caught in my crossfire...
"She never said it outright, but I knew."
"..."
Although the Secret Witch had taken the others away, she also hadn't stopped Paqina. In fact, she'd even prepared a laboratory for her.
This meant the Secret Witch tacitly approved of, or even supported, Paqina's plan.
"Aren't you afraid? Why didn't you leave with the Secret Witch?"
At this point, Loren asked Corolla a question.
"My duty is to take care of you and the witches. If I left, what would happen to Paqina?"
"..."
Corolla's contributions were far greater than Loren had imagined. She hadn't just been taking care of Paqina, she'd been doing so while risking her own life.
"Would you two like to come with us? I've already found many of the witches, and now I'm heading to the God of Light and Fire's territory to find Naclis."
Loren didn't know what else to say, so he could only invite them to come along.
But Paqina refused the offer. Even though she'd waited for Loren for so long, she still shook her head:
"The World Severance Ritual is almost complete. I need to stay here and keep perfecting it..."
"I need to stay and take care of Paqina..."
"Alright...
"What materials does the World Severance Ritual require? It shouldn't be simpler than a Mythical Creature, right?"
Loren asked this critical question, but Paqina's answer caught him somewhat off guard:
"Witches."