"What, is there someone in town you care about? Or is it just a hurdle in your heart you can't get over?"
The witch asked.
Her followers burst into laughter, especially the baron Bird's housekeeper she named laughed particularly loudly, his cloak-covered face full of madness, eyes wide open, mouth agape, Ethan was genuinely worried he'd laugh himself breathless.
He speculated this might be an unusual initiation ceremony.
The witch's followers had all experienced such a process.
"Since that's the case, let me help you. See this rain? It's a gift I've prepared for the town."
The witch extended her right hand, letting the rain accumulate in her palm, "I heard your sheriff is an Enlightenment Society graduate, she must have already investigated that Riverside Town's water source had issues, now she should be mobilizing the entire town's forces against me, right? But the only water that can bear a curse is not just your drinking water, though its effect is not so obvious, it can make them experience the pain of their bodies decaying little by little."
She emphasized, "Yes, everyone you know will ultimately die, the only difference is how long the painful process lasts. Actually, by doing this, you're helping them to be freed. You wouldn't want them to struggle in despair for too long, would you?"
The witch's voice was drowned out by the rain and wild laughter, the surrounding laughter gradually turned into beast-like roars.
Ethan glanced at Baron Bird's housekeeper, this fifty-year-old man laughed as if he was angry.
This was why Ethan didn't like going out.
He was in a world fraught with danger, so dangerous that if you try to step out of town, you'd sooner or later be surrounded by a group of Evil God's Followers or dark creatures. In fact, in his imagination, such a scene had already occurred countless times, only this time it was happening right in front of him.
The good news was he had plenty of time to think.
He was sorting through his current predicament.
An evil witch made her comeback through Baron Bird's daughter, planning to kill everyone in town with a rainstorm, indicating she's at least a third-rank Transcendent.
Rank three is the threshold people draw, someone who crosses this threshold has already transcended the realm of humanity, becoming an existence beyond ordinary comprehension.
In other words, he was facing an Evil God's follower with a group of followers, who was eager for revenge against Ximu Town.
The three heroes who once defeated her were dead, their descendants were incapable of taking up the mantle.
Therefore, Ximu Town's fate was sealed—to be destroyed by the Evil God's Followers, all souls offered as sacrifices to the Evil God Bajatos.
The extremely unfavorable situation left Ethan with no choice, all past thoughts only led to the same conclusion.
—No witnesses can be left.
The weak body of a magic profession determined he couldn't expose himself openly, becoming a target for others' schemes.
So from now on, he had to start considering the aftermath.
"Where are you going?"
The witch asked in surprise, Ethan's reaction caught her off guard, he didn't respond but turned his head, walking towards the rain-shrouded cabin.
This was one of her favorite programs.
She was very fond of the process of a person being crushed by despair, becoming a puppet who only listened to her instructions—everyone here was like that.
"To fetch a jar."
A response came from the rain.
"What are you going to do with the jar?"
"The weather forecast said there'd be hail today."
Hail?
Is he scared silly, or emotionally collapsed due to despair?
Boring.
"You—"
The command stopped abruptly, the witch gasped suddenly, and the ripping pain made her grit her teeth, she stared at her raised palm blankly, a hole somehow appeared in her palm, the rainwater accumulated there ran down through the pierced part, reintegrating with the storm.
The bone-chilling cold rushed from the wound to her entire body, the wound didn't bleed, icing over the moment it was pierced.
Elemental Shaper!?
An absurd thought emerged.
Why would an Elemental Shaper appear in such a godforsaken place?
Why didn't she see any chanting or spell-casting process at all?
Everything happened in the blink of an eye, not giving her a chance to think, she saw Ethan only took two steps forward, then all the laughter disappeared, those laughing a moment ago fell forward, when the witch looked closely, she noticed their bodies were covered with fist-sized wounds.
Tearing skin, breaking bones, enough to plunge any person with trypophobia into terror.
They still maintained smiles, as if unaware of their own deaths.
The same was happening to her.
She suddenly recalled the night of the blood moon when the meteor fell from the clouds, an untimely natural disaster interrupted the ritual, allowing Ximu Town to linger for a few days.
Now looking back...
Was that someone releasing magic?
What a joke!
What a joke!
She took a step forward, losing support as her body fell straight into the mud soaked by rain.
"Thud—"
...
This is the consequence of a magic profession exposing themselves openly.
Outside the cabin, all noises vanished, leaving only the patter of rain.
"Miss Keroy, could you help me bring over that jar over there?"
"Guh!"
This was the largest jar in the cabin, originally used for storing sundries, Ethan cleared out the dusty items inside, piling them on the table, then put a parchment on it, writing Becky's name with a pen.
Then Baron Bird's housekeeper.
Ethan explained to the head-tilting Miss Keroy, imparting the crafting technique, "This is a tradition from my homeland, used to honor the spirits of the dead, burning the deceased into ashes, then placing the ashes into a container for burial at a fengshui treasure site."
In his view, Fireball Skill and Ice Arrow have many uses.
Lighting, getting rid of cold, dissipating heat, or creating water sources, it can bring convenience to daily life, he particularly dislikes using magic for combat, like changing the form of rain, making it hail, this is a change brought by entry-level Ice Arrow, but this also means he has to handle after matters for people again.
Fireball Skill can effectively erase the traces of those people's existence.
"Miss Keroy, I have a key question to ask you."
Ethan's pen stopped, eyes deep.
"Guh?"
Miss Keroy stiffened her body, appearing a bit nervous.
"Besides Becky and the housekeeper, what are the names of the others?"
Due to the sudden situation and forced circumstances, he forgot to ask each person's name, causing significant difficulty in handling after matters.
Miss Keroy first returned his gaze with a confused look, then uneasily looked around, it seemed to be a difficult task for her too.
The stalemate lasted nearly two minutes.
"I know now."
Ethan resumed writing, adding other victims' names afterward.
Housekeeper B, Housekeeper C, Housekeeper D...
He was deeply grieved.
Miss Becky and her seven old housekeepers rest here in peace.