"Just thinking about a few things."
Zorn made no effort to hide his admiring gaze, fixed on Miss Joliya with her fair skin, beautiful features, and long legs.
She was wearing a magnificent, blue, petal-like court dress today that made her seem exceptionally vibrant.
It wasn't just Zorn. The eyes of the other young nobles also lit up whenever they looked at Miss Joliya.
Zorn's blunt admiration actually made Joliya, who was on the verge of becoming a Witch, a little self-conscious.
"It's time for lunch. After the meal, my mentor will demonstrate her Extraordinary Power to us."
Pressing her thin lips together, Miss Joliya gave a faint smile.
"Hurry and take your seats!"
She turned and walked toward the long table.
He watched her graceful and energetic silhouette.
'She would make... a rather nice doll,' Zorn mused.
Soon, however, Zorn shifted his gaze to the dining table.
'Ooh! A delicious lunch. I love this sort of thing.'
A [Star Trace Fighter] skilled in close combat possessed a robust physique.
The more they ate, the better their stamina, endurance, and growth efficiency would become.
Paired with the [Glutton's Stomach], it would be an unbeatable combination!
A moment after sitting down, once the pre-meal prayer was over, Zorn began to feast, not stopping until he was completely satisfied.
As lunch concluded, maids came over and began to lead the guests away one by one.
'The plan! It's officially begun,' Zorn murmured to himself as he stood up.
A maid led Zorn into a small changing room.
This room was a nodal point for the "foundational ritual," one of several used to nurture the Witch.
On a clean and tidy altar covered with a black cloth lay a silver dagger, a bowl of fresh spring water, a burning red candle, and a sachet of thorn-flower fruit.
With the maid's help, he donned a matching black robe and a mask decorated with a thorn pattern.
"Next, you must pick up the red candle and follow me. The flame cannot go out at any point."
"These are the special instructions of the mysterious Rose Sect. Only by following them can you witness a great and mystical power."
The maid said, her tone unpracticed.
Zorn, already familiar with the procedure, didn't expose the lie and simply complied.
The moment he touched the burning red candlestick, something in his pocket silently ignited—a blood-colored, paper-cut silhouette inscribed with the Saint Maya Secret Language, which he had stored inside a small iron box.
It was something Zorn had specially crafted for this occasion using the power of an [Evil Spirit Wizard].
'So they want to use me as a sacrifice?'
Zorn was, of course, already prepared for this.
A blood-colored paper-cut silhouette, inscribed with the Saint Maya Secret Language—mysterious words brimming with malevolence.
Not only could it take Zorn's place, having its Spiritual essence drained by the ritual instead, but it would also allow Zorn to execute the perfect play.
After a detour that took a little over ten minutes,
the maid led Zorn, who was carrying a Blood-colored Candle, into an underground chamber filled with them.
In the underground ritual chamber, Miss Joliya sat before a small, pyramid-shaped altar, secret words already inscribed on her face, awaiting the start of the Witch ritual.
Her mentor, Hazel Cheney, was officiating.
The candlelight converged, fueled by the offerings of their very bodies, to illuminate the new Witch.
The ritual had already begun the moment Zorn took hold of the Blood-colored Candle!
The Blood Shadow Rose Esoteric Sect, which had always shown a flagrant disregard for human life, was playing them all for fools.
Initiating the ritual and allowing the "sacrifices" to witness so-called Extraordinary Power was just a ploy to have them all bewitched and enslaved by the Witch.
They were all kindling for the birth of a new Witch.
When the new Witch was born, they would all fall under the influence of the "Rose Witch."
They would feel admiration, a sense of intimacy, or even secretly fall in love with her.
Afterward, they would all be at the Rose Witch's beck and call. Whatever the Witch asked of them, they would do their utmost to accomplish, like... crazed servants!
These Evil God Organizations loved using such extreme methods to achieve their goals.
As the Messenger of the Blood Shadow Rose, Lady Hazel Cheney, finished chanting the Spell,
the candles in everyone's hands rapidly melted, transforming into streams of fire that drew gasps from the crowd.
The flames seemed almost solid as they gathered and flowed above their heads, forming a vast ocean of fire.
The fiery streams seemed to inflict a faint, burning pain upon each of their souls.
All the young nobles who witnessed this incredible scene were utterly stunned.
It was merely a simple advancement ritual.
But combined with the prior psychological suggestions, it was enough to captivate these young nobles who had never before witnessed Extraordinary Power.
And this... was only the beginning.
As the ritual progressed, their initial amazement gave way to expressions of worship, reverence, and yearning.
Then, their faces went slack, their eyes turning vacant and lifeless, as if their souls had been siphoned away.
The flames, which possessed properties of guidance and capture, flowed deep behind the altar's curtains.
Miss Joliya, her materials long prepared, began her ritual to become a Witch.
Zorn, hidden in the crowd, kept his masked face just as placid and listless as the others.
The iron will of an SS-Level [Star Trace Fighter] alone was enough to resist the ritual's influence.
And that was to say nothing of Zorn's many other preparations.
The ultimate goal of the ritual was to offer materials to a great and hidden existence, chant secret words, anchor oneself to mystery and the unknown, and thereby master the incredible Extraordinary Sequence: [Rose Witch].
[Rose Witch]
Excels at toying with and bewitching the hearts of others.
Draws the fruits of its growth from the pain and confusion of others.
Zorn and the others were the targets of this bewitchment, the "food" for the nascent Witch.
For a newly empowered [Rose Witch], practicing on these young nobles was a safe way to reap rewards while also enslaving, taming, and ultimately controlling them.
If not for Zorn's interference, it would have been a perfect ritual.
Just as Miss Joliya began to accept the power of the [Rose Witch] Sequence,
the blood-colored paper-cut silhouette in Zorn's pocket—the one he had inscribed using the power of an Evil Spirit Wizard—was perfectly consumed by the ritual, silently absorbed by the [Rose Witch] Sequence.
'Rose Witch, are you ready to meet your new master?'
'Next, you will listen to great and secret words.'
'Carry this out to the letter.'
'Remember... this is... a task from your master.'
Zorn murmured silently from behind his mask.
Joliya, still undergoing the succession and unfamiliar with the powers of a [Rose Witch], remained completely oblivious.
At the moment the Sequence descended, the power infused within it would burrow into the deepest part of her Spiritual essence, remaining with her for the rest of her life.
In a state between dreaming and waking,
Joliya saw and heard many things.
Amid the hazy illusion, she perceived with exceptional clarity a towering silhouette that seemed to merge with the night's Starry Sky.
She had a basic knowledge of Extraordinary Studies, so she knew this was a secret, great, and terrifying power.
Then, a flood of text appeared—or more accurately, was inscribed—deep within her soul.
There were also mysterious, grotesque whispers, echoing softly at first, then growing louder and louder until they roared like an avalanche.
"Ah!" she cried out in alarm.
Joliya jolted awake from the ritual, her face deathly pale.
In the underground chamber, the other participants swayed like marionettes, looking as if they were about to awaken.
The Rose Envoy, Lady Hazel, who was standing nearby, quickly steadied Joliya, bringing the situation under control.
"What's wrong?"
Lady Hazel's voice was gentle as she studied Joliya, her brow furrowed slightly.
'Joliya has considerable Talent for the [Rose Witch] Sequence,' Lady Hazel thought. 'She simply hasn't blossomed yet. But once the pain from her parents' deaths is used to water this thorny flower...'
'...it will bloom into a beautiful, thorny, and yet delicate rose.'
"I... I heard some... secret Enlightening Words," Joliya said, her voice uncertain.
"Secret Enlightening Words?"
Lady Hazel was taken aback for a moment, then a flicker of delight appeared in her heart.
'Joliya seems to have even greater Talent than I imagined. To think she received incredible, secret 'Enlightening Words' while obtaining the [Rose Witch] Sequence!'
"Do you remember the secret Enlightening Words?"
Lady Hazel asked, a hint of urgency in her voice.
With the surge of the steam tide, the World was changing.
She knew that many powers were reawakening with it.
If they could truly glimpse some of these secret Enlightening Words, their gains would be immeasurably vast.
The great [Blood Shadow Rose Witch] was slumbering, and only a select few could hear the great Witch's voice.
And Joliya, it seemed... was one of the chosen.
"Although the Enlightening Words are incredibly awkward and obscure, they're carved clearly into my memory, still echoing in my ears."
As Joliya spoke, Lady Hazel nodded slightly.
"Yes, that is a characteristic of secret Enlightening Words."
"Go on. Recite those enlightened secret words for me."
Joliya composed herself for a moment, then began to recite the mysterious "Enlightening Words."