Free Web NovelChapter 156: Chapter 156 Little Gift_1
"Qiqimora... what on earth are you thinking?" Presia looked at the abruptly appearing Qiqimora, her face full of surprise.
But Qiqimora just glanced at her, gave her a smile, and then swiftly turned her gaze back to Aiden, asking with interest, "Were you just testing my abilities? What if you had really hurt me just now?"
"I am the prison warden here," Aiden lied expressionlessly, "it’s normal and reasonable to shoot dead an intruder. Besides, I knew for sure that you would be unharmed." After pausing for a moment, he asked Qiqimora, "It’s the authority of ’Void’, isn’t it?"
The moment he saw Qiqimora, he was actually a bit panicked, but after a moment’s thought he decided to shoot first and ask questions later. If the shot worked, all the better; he could severely wound his opponent and take control. After all, encountering a suspect attempting prison break within the prison, he had every reason to kill the intruder on the spot.
If the intruder was there to kill him and possessed abilities superior to his, striking first would be his only chance of victory.
If firing the gun proved useless, he could muddle through by claiming it was just a test. If the intruder was not there to kill him and could easily neutralize the gunshot, it was unlikely that they would become angry over it.
"You figured it out at a glance?" Qiqimora smiled, "Just like what Presia said, you are quite the expert."
Aiden thought to himself that he had guessed correctly, it truly was the divine word of "Void".
This was the core area, covered by a magic-sealing barrier. Unless someone temporarily exceeded the limit of a normal person’s magic power by consuming the precious Magic Potion, it was impossible to use black magic here without his permission.
Even if one could use black magic, stealthily entering the prison without alerting anyone would be very difficult.
The person claimed to be Qiqimora—one of the three Great Witches capable of using divine words. Most likely, she had used the authority of divine words to infiltrate the prison.
Melifilia had once mentioned to Aiden information about the authority of "Void", and at the sight of Qiqimora, Aiden felt that she completely matched Melifilia’s description.
Using the divine word of "Void", one could completely erase their presence, rendering their shape, voice, and even scent undetectable, so infiltrating the prison indeed wouldn’t be difficult.
But the fact that the bullet had passed directly through her body without any interaction made it seem unlikely it was the effect of the same divine word. After all, normally, from the moment Qiqimora chose to appear before him, the effect of the divine word should have temporarily vanished.
Aiden speculated that this was likely another authority under "Void"—meaning Qiqimora probably had more than one divine word at her disposal.
"The power of ’Void’ can be quite troublesome sometimes," Qiqimora lamented while straightening the wrinkles on her sleeve, "no one cares to give me a second glance, no matter how eye-catching my outfit is."
"Stop the nonsense. What are you doing here?" Aiden asked, eyes fixed on Qiqimora, "Talking so much without taking action, you’re not here to finish up for the incapable Vila, are you?"
Although he appeared calm on the surface, he was actually quite tense inside.
His opponent was likely closer to the "authority" than himself, and might even hold one or two divine words of other authorities—it’s not that he couldn’t win; as a wielder of divine words himself, he knew well that although divine words were powerful, the authority that could be wielded was limited when used by mortals. Still, the prison was his home turf.
But to confront an enemy of such caliber in battle, to come out unscathed would be difficult.
Luckily, Qiqimora smiled and eased the atmosphere, "Of course not. To be precise, I should say I’m here to clean up the mess that Vila has made."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Aiden Galahad, I am here, entrusted by the ’Great Witch at the Pinnacle’, Abigail, to convey to you the current stance of the Witch Assembly," Qiqimora said with a touch of seriousness, "We apologize for the attack Vila conducted against you on her own accord and hope that you will not longer harbor any hard feelings over her actions."
Hearing this, Aiden was quite surprised.
"Are you implying... a truce?" he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"Well, to be accurate, we didn’t actually start a war in the first place. The attack was purely Vila’s personal action," Qiqimora shrugged. "You’ve ’attended’ our gatherings. You should realize not everyone among us values loyalty."
"Indeed," Aiden agreed, acknowledging her point, "then you have no objections to me sneaking into the gathering? I guess Abigail’s ’teaching’ me divine words wasn’t really an attempt to educate me, was it?" freewebnøvel.com
The divine word imparted could cause serious Spirit contamination to an ordinary person. Abigail clearly had that intention when she used the divine word on him, which meant that, at least at that moment, Abigail was indeed set on killing him.
Abigail’s stance was Aiden’s most pressing concern now; as the organizer of the Witch Assembly, her stance could to a certain extent determine the Assembly’s direction.
"That was just a little joke. That’s just how Abigail is, she wasn’t really bothered at the time," Qiqimora said with an easy smile.
"That is quite magnanimous," Aiden nodded.
"But we really didn’t expect you to be a wielder of divine words as well," Qiqimora remarked, glancing at the mercury sphere that was casually nibbling on scrap iron in the corner, "Even Vila’s mercury alloy automaton has been defeated."
"Are you planning to take that thing back?" Aiden asked.
Truthfully, he wasn’t keen on returning the mercury sphere; for one thing, it was able to invade the prison through the sewage system, posing a significant threat to him. For another, he wasn’t keen to let go of such an interesting toy, and then there was the matter of the damage it had caused to the walls and pipes that he hadn’t claimed compensation for yet.
"No need for that, consider the toy a little gift from us to you, after all, it caused some damage here. We hope you can overlook it. Of course, we need to show some corresponding sincerity too," Qiqimora said with a smile.
"You said earlier that attacking me was Vila’s personal behavior," Aiden was still a bit apprehensive and sought confirmation from her, "can I take your word for it? What if she attacks me again..."
"That’s all the more reason to keep this thing. You’ve heard from Presia; it was Abigail who gave it life. Vila lost the precious gift Abigail gave her, so of course, she must take responsibility. Rest assured, she will listen to us," Qiqimora assured.
