Free Web NovelChapter 2024: Chapter 2024: Adel Isabella
Sleepiness surged once more, and Shard struggled to keep his eyes open, bidding farewell to the three witches. Eventually, unable to resist the drowsiness, he sat back down at the "Balance" position and closed his eyes again.
He originally thought that closing his eyes this time would finally end this strange and splendid dream. But he didn’t sink into extreme weariness for long; a sudden explosive sound followed by the abrupt gale awakened Shard again.
"Wait a minute, how can there be such strong wind in a confined space like the Witch Council?"
Despite the surprise, Shard’s head ached, yet he fought the drowsiness and raised his head, trying to keep his eyes open.
In front, there was an exceptionally dazzling and bright glimmer, and the wind almost prevented Shard from opening his eyes. Even while seated, the gale pushed his body backward. Squinting his eyes, he tried to see what had happened here—whether the "Poetry Cards" had suddenly lost control, but all he saw were Roder Cards dancing wildly in the gale and light, under the beam of sunlight in the council.
He lifted his hand to shield his face, trying to discern what was in the ball of light above the council round table. Shard indeed saw it, the gale within the burst of light tore at a blurry figure of a woman, attempting to pull her back into the light.
She was a young woman with long golden hair, seemingly about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a teardrop mole under her right eye, possessing great beauty. Only her upper body appeared in the light, and each stride forward cast new afterimages, just as the sound she emitted was similarly blurred:
"Do not trust Luviya Annette, do not trust Luviya Annette!"
Utterly stunned by the scene, Shard stood amid the soaring cards. The gale still prompted him to raise his hand to shield his eyes:
"What are you saying?"
As Shard regained clarity, the woman’s figure also became distinct, letting Shard completely recognize the face. That was definitely a witch, even without the insignia on her chest heating up, he knew she was a witch. He couldn’t believe mundane beings could possess such charm.
The woman’s golden eyes also showed extreme shock:
"Who are you? Isn’t this the council? How can there be a man in the council?"
The overlapping echoed voice was still somewhat indistinguishable, but at least Shard heard the full message this time, and she spoke in Delarion language.
"Who are you?"
Shard asked loudly again, but even in the midst of the wind and other strange sounds, his voice wasn’t very clear.
Though puzzled by the man before her who couldn’t trigger a witch’s curse, the woman still tried to convey crucial information amidst her shifting appearance:
"I come from the past! Your past! The destroyed era! I am the Speaker of the Witch Council, Grand Witch of Time, Adel Isabella."
Shard instantly thought of the lock of golden hair he used as the ritual core, then puzzled how someone from the time of destruction could connect to the "Present World." But then he recalled the previous illicit use of the "Poetry Cards," which still retained the power to connect to the Bygone Era, coupled with Shard’s unique Sublimation Incantation, the council site, and her special status, causing such an outcome.
He did not doubt her identity; last week, even though hiding beneath Miss Galina’s skirt and not seeing the council’s Grand Witch of Time’s face firsthand at Green Island Pier, he wouldn’t recognize the wrong person.
"No matter who you are, remember, do not trust Luviya Annette, do not trust her! She is the World’s Destroyer, the true sinner! Stop her, whatever she attempts, stop her!"
Her clear figure blurred, formidable power that even Shard found terrifying was ejecting her from this moment.
"But, madam!"
Shard gripped the table loudly saying to her:
"Though I know Luviya Annette, she is my fiancée."
"Can someone like her find a lover? Are you talking about the violet-eyed destroyer?"
That moment of shock rendered her figure more unstable. The wind seemed to tear every shade from her body, trying to take her away, yet this Grand Witch of Time tenaciously resisted the repulsion.
"Of course. Oh, madam, what exactly do you wish to convey?"
Saying this, he reached a hand toward the light, and the witch instinctively tried to grasp it. As their hands clasped, the nearly faded witch became vividly clear. Yet simultaneously, the tremendous force intended to pull her back into the light also impacted Shard. As the "Yggdrasil’s Key" around his neck abruptly vibrated, Shard’s body stabilized, along with the Grand Witch’s body he held, albeit the suction hadn’t vanished, merely allowing her a prolonged existence.
The witch in the light widened her eyes:
"How is this possible? Are you truly her fiancé? She actually gave you that key? Are you a man or a woman, for she is a witch..."
"Madam, this is no time for that!! Do you know this key? Is it really crafted by Luviya? Also, madam, what exactly is the responsibility of the Witch Council?"
The gale grew stronger, flying cards in the wind causing face pain upon collision.
Adel Isabella used her utmost strength to speak to Shard:
"Time is running out, I’ll only say the most important thing: This time, you absolutely cannot let her succeed! Even if you’re her lover, for the future of this doomed world, you must stop her! Find the [Hope Diamond] and use the Mysterious Language to ask it how to stop Luviya Annette, you will get the answer!"
Her entire body was about to turn into particles of light, merging back into that mass of infinite brightness.
"I will go in search of that relic, but at least for now, I believe in her!"
"The man who entered the Witch Council, the unfortunate one chosen by the Daughter of Destruction, go find the [Hope Diamond]!"
Something was shoved into Shard’s hand by her, and it was attached to a chain. Before her entire being dispersed into points of light and vanished, Adel Isabella spoke her last words to Shard:
"The path of bygone eras and the present world, once we break through it this time, there will be a second time. I will come back for you! I will tell you everything! I can give you everything, just stop Luviya Annette, this is the last chance for this world, for us..."
She completely vanished into the light, which again burst forth, swallowing Shard into it. As the light consumed Shard, or rather, before Shard fully awoke, the thought running through his mind was:
"Luviya, what did you do in the past?"
Then his consciousness fell back into chaos once more.
"Shard~ Shard~"
After an unknown amount of time, a familiar voice by his ear awakened Shard. But this time it wasn’t Fei Ou, that voice belonged to Miss Galina.
"Oh~"
Rising from his position by the round table, he felt dizzy, even a strong urge to gag. With his left hand pressed to his temple and his right hand supporting against the table, he saw Miss Galina, Miss Benanis, Miss Aphrola and Megan all looking at him with concern.
Under the daylight, the lowest level of the [Witch Council] was as peaceful as ever. Shard’s stack of cards was neatly placed at the edge of the table, with two empty magic potion bottles standing at his feet, one large and one small.
Most of the chalk marks of the ritual circle on the tabletop had disappeared, and the [Poetry Cards] used as the core item of the ritual lay on the table, with [Feliana’s Notes] pressing down one corner, and the golden lock of hair had completely vanished.
It was as though Shard had a long and bizarre dream, but at least meeting Miss Feliana in that "dream" was decidedly real, as the scar on his lips was still healing. Moreover, he really felt that there was something extra in his tightly clenched right hand, and because his arms were crossed on the table, he could tuck it into the sleeve of his coat—it seemed to be a small pocket watch:
"Sorry, I’m feeling a bit unwell."
When Shard made another gagging motion, Miss Benanis bent down to support him and patted him on the back. When Shard’s face looked a bit better, she lightly sniffed at the side of his face before softly sighing:
"Is this the scent of the Grand Witch of the Fifth Era’s perfume? Violet, roses, with a faint hint of ink."
"You can smell that?"
Shard asked, trying to stand up, but ultimately decided to sit and talk with them. When he attempted to get up, his whole body felt off, and besides the severe illness he had at the start of spring, he couldn’t remember feeling this bad.
But fortunately, with the end of the Sublimation Incantation and the traits of the [Poetry Cards], his state was recovering rapidly.
"Witches have the ability to smell other witches’ perfumes, you might consider it a peculiar professional ability."
Miss Galina said softly, as if afraid that speaking too loudly would cause Shard to faint. Of course, she didn’t forget to hand Shard the prepared magic potion after uncorking it:
"Although you didn’t fully activate the Sublimation Incantation, you did use its power. Take a good rest, refrain from speaking for now. Sylvie is still with His Excellency the Speaker, so no one will come over for the time being."
"I’m fine, fine."
He drank the two bottles of magic potion to restore his spiritual power, and then felt much better:
"I met Miss Feliana, it was very successful, even more so than I expected."
The four witches all smiled:
"Good that you met her, did you discuss the Whispering Verses with Miss Feliana?"
"No, we talked about some other matters, about things Edwards told me—about the apocalypse."
Before this, he had never talked with the witches about this, but now was a good opportunity, and he could also explain the unformed Maze Lock during the Battle of Green Lake—that was the future he dreamed of. The arrival of the apocalypse was a confirmed fact, and hiding it served no purpose.
The matter was complicated, but if truly explained, dozens of sentences could broadly convey his point. Miss Galina, Miss Aphrola, Megan, and Miss Benanis had different expressions but didn’t seem particularly surprised:
"From the conditions in the material world over the past year, we could also see some signs. But what of the apocalypse, as long as it’s not here yet, lunch must still be eaten, work must be done, meetings must be held. At most, we need to make some preparations, but this is an issue for the entire world. We won’t proclaim ourselves saviors, but it does feel like there’s even more to be done now."
