Yet Wendy wasn't as thrilled as she was. With a skeptical tone, she asked, "Did he really say that?" "Yes, he had already saved Anna and Nana before I arrived. Prince never believed the Witch's power came from the Devil—he said it was our own strength—" Nightingale suddenly stopped, realizing the other party didn't believe her.
Well, she thought, it wasn't Wendy's fault. If she were in her place, she probably wouldn't be tempted by a single Witch's account. The Witches had endured oppression for too long. From the Eastern Frontier to the Desolate Mountains, countless real-life examples had shown them betrayal and abandonment were all too common. They had long lost the ability to trust others.
The thought of this gradually calmed her excitement, though the journey might not go as smoothly as she had hoped.
"Wendy, you know my branch ability—besides seeing the flow of Magic Power, I can also detect lies," Nightingale said earnestly. "I once asked him why he took such a huge risk to help the Witch. He replied, 'Border Town doesn't care about origins. 'He wants all witches to become free citizens." "If he does that, he'll become the Church's thorn in the side," Wendy frowned. "Even if Prince doesn't know what that means, don't you?" Nightingale couldn't help but chuckle. "My initial thought was almost the same as yours. I asked him, 'Is this really possible?' Guess how he answered?" She paused, then said word by word, " 'You'll never know the answer unless you take this step.'" "No lies?" "No lies," Nightingale affirmed.
"It sounds almost unbelievable," Wendy's tone softened slightly. She couldn't fathom why her longtime friend would deceive her.
"Yes." Nightingale couldn't help but agree. Had she not witnessed it firsthand and verified it with her own eyes, she probably wouldn't have made such a hasty decision. Looking back now, as Roland had told her from the watchtower, he was indeed a man of few lies. During their two months together, aside from his reluctance to fully explain the use of the Ice Ray, everything else had left her thoroughly satisfied.
Of course, she didn't care about that little trick. It would've been strange to reveal all her secrets to a stranger, a Witch she'd barely known.
"Tonight, once everyone returns, I must share this crucial news with you all!" she said solemnly, her eyes fixed on Wendy. "I hope you can help me persuade them." As dusk fell, the witches who had been working outside began returning to the camp. Seeing Nightingale safely back, everyone was overjoyed and gathered around to ask questions. The white cloth band around her arm weighed heavily on her heart. After casually answering a few questions, she raised her hand to call everyone to silence.
The narrative unfolds over an extended period, beginning with her infiltration of Border Town, followed by her encounters with Roland, Anna, and Nana Wa. The story progresses through the construction of city walls, the assembly of steam engines, and ultimately the resistance against the evil beasts, culminating in Anna's coming of age. Nightingale then pulls out from her bosom the steam engine blueprints—obtained through "robbery and plunder" —to prove she was not lying.
Most witches, after joining the Order of the Holy Mountain, lived in seclusion, unable to comprehend the outside world, their minds consumed by devotion. When the Nightingale revealed that Anna had endured no suffering and safely passed her coming-of-age ceremony, the crowd erupted in cheers. This was the ultimate trial for the witches—having endured hunger and cold, they had journeyed to the Desolate Mountains solely to seek the legendary Holy Mountain. If, as the Nightingale claimed, a Lord of the Holy Mountain would accept them, sparing them from demonic torment, wouldn't that be a far greater blessing than dwelling on the sacred mountain itself?
At that very moment, a path emerged from the crowd, and a Witch with emerald hair and a half-serpent-patterned face approached the Nightingale.
"Dear Mentor," Nightingale bowed respectfully. The figure before her was none other than Khara, the Serpent Demon and founder of the Guild of Mutual Aid. Within the guild, her fellow sisters addressed her as Mentor.
"I heard the stories you told," her voice was hoarse and hollow. "Do you want to tell everyone that everything we do now is wrong?" "No, Mentor, those aren't stories. What I mean—" "Enough," she waved impatiently. "I don't know what you encountered on your recent journey to Border Town that made you say such things. A Prince showing sympathy for a Witch? It's as ridiculous as pitying a frog," she turned with a cold laugh, spreading her arms wide. "Sisters! Have you forgotten how mortals dealt with you?" Without waiting for Nightingale's explanation, she continued her accusation: "Yes, mortals. Those incompetent ones, posing as God's followers, brandished blades and whips against us. Without God's Stone of Punishment, why should they trample witches underfoot? Our power doesn't come from demons but from God's divine grace. The Church shouldn 't act on God's behalf—we must! Sisters of the Confraternity! The holy mountain recorded in ancient texts is God's dwelling place!" What... Nightingale couldn't believe her ears. Though she had always thought the Confraternity's leader was eccentric and obsessively seeking the holy mountain, she hadn't expected such hostility toward ordinary people. While Hakkara wasn't as approachable as Wendy, her concern for sisters was genuine and sincere. But this hostility toward commoners was unexpected.
So, in the past few years, she had been suppressing her hatred and anger? The so-called non-interference in worldly affairs was merely to accumulate strength, in exchange for a day of thunderous retaliation in the future? The Nightingale mused—what now compelled her to no longer conceal herself? Could it be...
"We've uncovered the clues to the Holy Mountain's awakening, just as ancient texts prophesied! In twenty days, when the crimson moon with blood-dripping edges appears in the night sky, we'll cross that colossal stone gate rising from the earth's depths and reach the final shore!" She turned to face the Nightingale. "You've been deceived by mortals. We've lived in a grand deception since birth. The trials of adulthood are God's tests of both spirit and flesh—only the resolute and unyielding deserve true strength. As for the Church," she sneered, "a bunch of mortals daring to act in God's name? They'll all end up in hell sooner or later." "And you... child, there's still time to turn back," Harkar paused. "Forget your stories. I'll forgive your ignorance and mistakes, welcome you back as a co-sponsor, and help us seek eternity on the Holy Mountain." The Nightingale's heart had completely cooled. Trials? Those sisters who endured the torment of being devoured on the Day of Awakening and failed to survive were mere losers? This sounded just like the Church's rhetoric. The surrounding witches even showed approving expressions, and Wendy didn't step forward... Suddenly, she felt utterly bored. Before her blink, the co-sponsor's founder, the witches' guide, had become a stranger.
She shook her head. "If that's the case, I'll take my sisters who wish to leave with me, while those who choose to stay... may you have good fortune." As the Nightingale prepared to depart, a sharp sting from her calf caught her attention. Lowering her head, she saw a black snake with blue stripes—this was the Magic Power Snake, silently wielding its signature venomous abilities, the hallmark of the snake demon Hakkara.
The paralysis rapidly spread throughout her body. Nightingale opened her mouth to utter something, only to be met with utter darkness.