What does this mean? Roland ran his fingers over the ancient script. The owner of this ancient book had once fought monsters from the wildlands. His gaze shifted downward— "Devils multiply while we diminish." "God's Stone of Punishment can't withstand their onslaught. With their peerless brute strength, they're terrifying foes even without Magic Power." "The Sacred City of Tachira fell. We're scattered in flight." "Cross mountains, cross rivers—escape as far as you can from the gates of hell." "But where can we flee next?" "But that's no longer my concern. I'm dying, Nataya." "Devil's power corrodes me. No cure works." "I write this because I need to entrust you with a request." "Akalis' God's Punishment Trials are nearing completion. The experiments succeeded—superior warriors stand equal against Devils. But she forgot: even if God's Punishment triumphs, it won't belong to us." "True, God's Punishment brings only destruction." "Stop her. Only you can do it." The text was brief. After scanning through it, Roland closed his eyes, trying to see things from Harkara's perspective.
Had she been unaware of Devil's existence and replaced it with Witch, this account would have been interpreted as the Church forces suffering continuous defeats under Witch's assaults. Coupled with the widely circulated rumor that Witch serves as Devil's enforcer and Magic Power originates from the Gates of Hell, Hakkara would likely conclude that the Church deliberately concealed the truth: the so-called Gates of Hell were actually the entrance to the Holy Mountain, where witches had been flocking for centuries to attain immortality. Thus, the number of witches grew exponentially while the Church's warriors dwindled.
This theory, however, has its flaws. The notes mention the opponent's superhuman strength, which clearly doesn't align with a Witch's traits. Moreover, the Witch's ability to crush the Church army despite being affected by God's Stone of Punishment seems implausible. What ultimately drove Hakkara to venture into the wilderness remains unclear. Was it her impatience clouding her judgment, or was it the unexplored depths of the scrolls that truly tempted her?
Roland prefers the latter.
Now he at least knows that the Devil described in the last page of his scribbled notes is not a witch, but a real alien race.
But this did not reduce his doubt, but made more unknown questions.
When did the Church ever actually fight the Devil?
Roland combed through the Fourth Prince's Fourth God Secret Manual but found no relevant entries. After the Church ended the War of Faith, it established its northern stronghold to repel the evil beasts invading from the Great Rift Valley. Later, they built a magnificent fortress city on the Hermes Plateau, naming it the New Holy City. These two interconnected cities—one elevated, one low—were designed to combat evil beasts rather than the Devil. Moreover, the name Tachira was completely unfamiliar to them.
If these events are true, the Church has no reason to conceal them. The Church's historical records meticulously document every successful battle against evil beasts and major victories over witches, as if afraid others might overlook their achievements. Yet, the fight against the Devil is undoubtedly more worthy of grand narrative than any battle against evil beasts or witches.
The last question is God's punishment of the army.
Clearly, this member of the Church didn't want to see God's Punishment Army emerge, so he sent someone to stop the experiment's leader. Did it work? Roland only knew about the Church's Inquisition Army but had never heard of God's Punishment Army—though the Fourth Prince's limited knowledge might have played a role.
Yet if they could truly cultivate powerful warriors capable of confronting the Devil directly, it would only strengthen the Church's power. So why does the note's author believe God's punishment of the army would bring destruction?
The inconceivable aspects of the book are likely to be the two points mentioned later.
"Where do you know the ancient book that led Hakkara astray came from?" Roland looked up at the Nightingale.
"When I joined the Guild of Assistance, the sisters had already embarked on their mountain quest," Nightingale mumbled while chewing dried fish. "But Wendy mentioned that the Guild wasn't originally called that. It started as a group of witches from Haifeng County who happened to gather—Hakara, Wendy, and Shujuan. Later, they found a hidden spot in the Eastern Forest near Haifeng County for secret meetings. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be an entrance to an underground ruin." She swallowed her snack and licked her lips. "But no one except Hakara went down to explore." "The ancient book was discovered in the ruin?" "Hakara claimed so," Nightingale pouted. "As more witches gathered, someone might have accidentally leaked their whereabouts during a meeting. The Church sent a large Inquisition Army to surround the forest, and fewer than half of the twenty-plus witches escaped. That's when Hakara decided to journey to the Desolate Mountains to find the Holy Mountain. They called themselves the Guild of Assistance and made the quest for the Holy Mountain their ultimate goal." Roland fell into deep thought after hearing this. God's secret knowledge lacked sufficient points, and anything involving history or legends left him mentally blank. The ancient book didn't specify exact dates, and he wasn't sure if other historical records documented the war. With the original participants dead, he thought it would be better to investigate the ruins himself.
Yet Roland knew this was nearly impossible. The Eastern Forest was too distant for him. Compared to a spontaneous journey across the entire Graycastle, expanding his territory was his top priority.
Roland stepped to the window and gazed down at the garden below through the floor-to-ceiling glass. The witches were training their abilities as instructed. With twelve under his command, it was time to establish an organization.
In his vision, this organization required no formal charter or guidelines. Designed to streamline witch management and maximize their potential, it functioned much like modern guilds.
The organization's regulations are also as simple as possible, consisting of only two provisions: the inability to utilize one's abilities violates territorial laws, and the inability to utilize one's abilities evades legal accountability.
Roland initially planned to adopt the Three Laws of Robotics, restricting witches from using their powers to harm or attack ordinary people. But upon reflection, he realized this was unnecessary. For witches, their powers are like guns in ordinary hands. When facing danger, there's no real difference between using a gun or a power to fight back. In fact, overemphasizing the distinction between witches and ordinary people only widens the gap between the two groups.
Therefore, it is neither illegal nor evasive of responsibility, which is the most succinct way a tech-savvy person could put it.
As for the organization's name, Roland had already decided on it.
This brand-new group is called "Witch Alliance".