The "Colonial Wars" on the Western Continent more than twenty years ago.
They kicked off the magnificent Great Age of Sail, an era of steam and mist.
At the same time, the three orthodox Churches—the Holy Fierce Sun Church, the Night Goddess Church, and the Steam Church—further solidified their authority and sanctity.
As they expanded the colonial wars, they also intensified their crusade to exterminate Esoteric Sects and Cults.
Many Esoteric Sects and other factions were annihilated, fading into the annals of history.
For instance, the Double Serpent Church Zorn had previously encountered was wiped out completely after just a few battles.
Even their object of Faith, the Upper Ranker known as the Double-Ringed Snake, was suppressed and sealed away.
Today, every Esoteric Sect and Cult that survived possesses its own brand of extremism.
They all share common traits: they are bloodthirsty, cruel, and ruthless, willing to do anything to achieve their goals.
Even though Zorn now held the path of his destiny in his own hands.
He even possessed the potential of the great boss, the Evil Spirit Wizard.
But he had to remember that the original Evil Spirit Wizard was sent to the guillotine precisely because these Esoteric Sects had been fanning the flames from the shadows.
In fact, after the Evil Spirit Wizard's death,
many parts of him were stolen by these Esoteric Sects and Cults.
They became parts of other key bosses, or were used as materials, weapons, and so on.
Facing this Esoteric Sect that posed a threat to him, Zorn was not only cautious but also fully prepared.
He arrived at Number 46, Champs-Élysées and entered the manor.
Guided by a middle-aged butler in his early forties, Zorn reached the main hall.
This was the gathering place for today's tea party.
To the left of the spacious and bright hall, in the long-table area, servants moved in a continuous stream, using silver platters and utensils to place food upon the table.
Beyond the long table on the left were arched glass windows, opulent snowflake-velvet curtains, and priceless murals.
With his limited artistic knowledge, Zorn could just barely tell that these murals were the works of famous artists, each worth at least a four-figure sum in gold pounds.
In the gathering hall to the right,
a dozen or so young nobles around Zorn's age were gathered together, their cheerful laughter ringing out from time to time.
It was clear they were all getting along splendidly.
Among them were a few nobles Zorn recognized—some of them true high-ranking nobles, not like him, who was just there to make up the numbers.
Zorn slipped into the small gathering of young nobles without a sound.
They were all discussing many interesting topics.
Such as Steam Factories, their studies, or oceanic adventures.
They also touched upon their views on politics and offered opinions on some of Ogrande City's latest bills.
Everyone tacitly avoided the "mysterious," "eerie," and "incredible" subject of Extraordinary Power.
After all, they had come today to witness a "miracle."
It was the main event.
From the corner of his eye, Zorn glanced at a corner of the room not far away.
Two Esoteric Sect guards, dressed in blood-red, thorn-patterned robes and wearing masks with a thorny design, stood watch over an archway leading underground.
These Esoteric Sects, wielders of Extraordinary Power, always liked to cultivate an air of mystery and ritual.
This allowed them to subtly intimidate and control—or even slightly enslave—those with weak wills, making them completely obedient.
At the same time, Zorn noticed that the young nobles at the party would occasionally steal a glance at the Esoteric Sect guards and the archway they were protecting.
'First, they pique your curiosity and create a sense of mysterious ritual.'
'Then, they will be separated and led, one by one, into the ritual grounds below.'
'Ostensibly, it's to witness mysterious Extraordinary Power, but in reality, they are the sacrifices. At least, some of them are.'
Zorn was all too familiar with this process.
Nibbling on a delicious little pastry, Zorn offered a moment of silent mourning for the Bruce Clan.
The surge of the steam-powered tide, the reawakening of Mysterious Power.
There was no shortage of nobles who yearned for Extraordinary Power.
Zorn's father, Baron Leon, had chosen to venture into the depths of the mist-shrouded Great Age of Sail.
Meanwhile, the Bruce Clan, to which Miss Joliya belonged, possessed a much deeper foundation.
In their search for Mysterious Power, they had been targeted by the Blood Shadow Rose.
Now, Miss Joliya was about to inherit the title of Rose Witch from the Witch Sequence.
Her father, the powerful and influential Duke, and her mother, the wealthy and generous lady of the house, had already obtained mysterious Extraordinary Power long before she did.
Her family, the Bruce Clan, had long been corrupted, reduced to mere pawns of the Blood Shadow Rose.
And so, their fate was sealed.
In the original timeline,
the Blood Shadow Rose discovered that Zorn possessed a formidable Mysterious Power and subsequently began to cultivate him.
But they were unaware of just how terrifying and potent the power Zorn wielded truly was.
Eventually, they reached a point where they realized they could no longer control Zorn Corick.
By then, Zorn Corick had already tasted the sweetness of power and had found his own path amidst fear and calamity.
On that bloody yet tranquil night,
the great boss, Evil Spirit Wizard Zorn Corick, came to this very manor and stood before the sleeping Miss Joliya's bed.
As Miss Joliya looked on in terror, he expressed his adoration and invited her to join him.
However, in Miss Joliya's eyes,
Zorn Corick was nothing more than a down-and-out noble, a man who had to sell his property just to cling to the last vestiges of his aristocratic dignity—a complete and utter failure.
In terms of Extraordinary Power, he was, at best, a pathetic wretch who had been granted his abilities by the Blood Shadow Rose.
Naturally, she righteously refused him.
"I'm sorry, Zorn!"
"I don't think we're a good match..."
As the knife slid into her heart, blood flowed, and her world shattered into gray ash.
Zorn Corick couldn't remember the rest of her words, nor did he want to.
And so, on that bloody night,
he turned the entire estate of his "white moonlight," including the four Dobermans kept by the gate, into a graveyard of death.
He slaughtered everyone.
And after Zorn Corick killed that beautiful "white moonlight" in his heart, Miss Joliya, he turned her into a doll, which he kept by his side at all times.
"We... can finally... be together forever and ever. Good night, my dear Miss Joliya!"
In the final entry of the Bruce Clan chapter of Zorn Corick's Evil Witch journal, this bloody and twisted love story was brought to a close.
What a truly unforgettable love story!
[If you love her, turn her into a doll and keep her by your side forever!]
[You don't even have the guts to turn her into a doll. How dare you call that love?]
The more "abstract" harem-building Players were quite fond of imitating this practice.
"Do you like to zone out by yourself a lot?"
Just as Zorn was lost in a daze,
the lively, cute, and energetic Miss Joliya appeared before him.