Chapter 184: Corpse Puppet

Chapter 184: Corpse Puppet

A pitiable existence that should have died long ago, yet the dead had no awareness of their own death. Normal death allowed one to return to the River Styx for reincarnation, but their death erased the last trace of their existence from the world.

Regarding Corpse Puppets, the Sanctuary Church did not handle them with methods like burning or killing upon encounter. Instead, they used a gentle approach, allowing them to live out their final days as much as possible, under complete monitoring.

Letting them be? That was impossible. Corpse Puppets also aged. As they grew old and approached death, their nature gradually awakened. Becoming violent was one thing; Corpse Puppets could digest the life force contained in living beings of their own kind. Once they attacked humans, drinking their blood and devouring their flesh, they could compensate for the consumption caused by aging, even becoming stronger because of it… So once Corpse Puppets were discovered, they could not be left alone.

Everyone in the entire town had been hit by Soul Extraction, a unique magic belonging to the Undying Witch. Even though Deya discovered it in time, she was helpless at this moment. Forcefully dispelling it? It was not impossible!

But the consequence of doing so would be mass deaths… Their souls had already been extracted significantly. What remained after interruption would only be incomplete fragments, utterly incapable of sustaining their normal lives. Moreover, because the Soul Extraction magic was interrupted, they lacked the necessary transformation. These townsfolk couldn’t even become Corpse Puppets!

So she hesitated. Should she interrupt the Soul Extraction now, or silently watch the process complete, with everyone in the town returning to normal… It would have been easier if this were an isolated place, just sealing it off afterward. But this town actually still had contact with the outside world. If handling took too long, new Corpse Puppets would escape. The symptoms of Corpse Puppets weren’t contagious, but they could breed fearsome monsters.

The townsfolk might not leave in the short term, but the Mercenaries and Adventurers inside would. And due to the nature of their professions, their mortality rates were high. Once nearing death, they would awaken the nature of a Corpse Puppet… Thinking of this, Deya’s expression turned resolute. Silently apologizing in her heart, she immediately began dispelling the Soul Extraction magic.

Acting now… Even if she couldn’t save them, she could ensure their True Spirits could return to the River Styx!

Faint, fragmented light covered the sky above the town, falling like a gentle spring rain. It was very mild, causing the townsfolk touched by the fragmented light to involuntarily stop and carefully feel this warm, gentle sensation from within. They felt an inexplicable heavy burden on their bodies gradually dissolving… Along with it, their consciousness also dissolved.

The weakest townsfolk silently collapsed, followed by the normal townsfolk, and then the strong Professionals.

Of course, not everyone died directly under the Purification due to their souls being too weak and shattering. Some persevered. They looked around blankly. It wasn’t that they couldn’t react, but the damage to their souls was too great, robbing them of the ability to think.

Without time to worry about them, Deya’s willow-like eyebrows furrowed. With fierce eyes, she waved her hand, and several Light Ribbons condensed into a great knight’s sword in her grasp. The great sword slashed at the grey ripples behind her. The distorted faces within those ripples rapidly dissolved under this sacred light, extremely scorching to them, without even a chance to return to their original owners!

The Undying Witch looked at the furious Deya with an unreadable expression. She lowered her head to look at the Compass in her hand. The needle indeed pointed at the young girl before her, not the little dragon she wanted to find. So, was she tricked by that woman, Dan Marina?

Hmm… no. Organizing the memories extracted along with the souls, memories that should have been discarded as trash. Considering the person she sought, she temporarily kept these memories. Removing the useless ones, the most useful information came from the memories of the two guards at the town entrance. They saw an unfamiliar young man enter the town.

Later, when that young man left the town, because he saw the girl riding a Flying Magical Beast approaching, he immediately sprinted away, running out of their sight. The rest of the memories let her understand some events that occurred during her slumber, such as… the Witch Hunt that happened not long ago!

A Witch Hunt ruined by a little dragon. That little dragon was definitely the one she wanted to find. But… he actually had a Witch standing behind him, and was even willing to take great risks to help that Witch. Not only were his abilities special, but he also ignored the curse-like fate that Witches would inevitably face betrayal.

Such a… such an existence, I really want him!

Seeing the abnormally frenzied, eerie smile on the white-haired, grey-eyed Witch before her, Deya felt a strong chill throughout her body and mind. She knew about many Witches. Some chaotic Witches were indeed like lunatics. Even though many of their actions seemed normal, they could start doing crazy things anytime on a whim!

“Why attack these innocent people?”

“Why? Oh, I’ve slept too long and wanted to understand some things immediately.” Tapping her cheek with a finger, the Undying Witch spoke with a hint of eerie fluctuation in her tone. Seeing Deya unaffected, she straightforwardly abandoned this minor trick. “I don’t remember the Sanctuary Church having someone like you… right?”

Her scavenged memories also contained no information about Deya. Perhaps this town was too remote, its people of low status, knowing too little. “By the way, have you seen a little dragon?”

“……” Deya did not speak, her expression not changing in the slightest. However, she felt uneasy inside. The Witch beside Zheng Yichen was one thing, but now a new Witch was paying attention to him. This was the worst possible situation.

“Don’t want to say? Fine, I’ll find out myself. Your soul tells me you know about this…”

A sudden burst of sacred golden light spread from Deya’s body. Zheng Yichen, flying far away, looked back at the golden light illuminating the sky and couldn’t help clicking his tongue. With a battle of this scale, what exactly happened over at the town? But such a big commotion seemed a bit wasteful of power, didn’t it?

Scratching his head, Zheng Yichen muttered to himself. In his view, power should be used in the most convenient and advantageous way. Such a big commotion probably meant releasing too much power that couldn’t be controlled or contained… well~

Waving a claw, Zheng Yichen withdrew his habit of projecting his own thoughts onto others. Everyone had their own unique understanding of using power. Without seeing the actual situation, imposing his own thoughts onto others was somewhat arrogant. Should he go back and take a distant look?