The charred head of the witch remained partially buried under the soil. The dirt above it was undisturbed, showing no signs of movement. It gave no response to Rudolf’s question.

Rudolf withdrew his flashlight, plunging the narrow hole back into darkness.

His finger had already shifted to the trigger. There were many ways to silence the whispers in his head. He didn’t have to follow their guidance—eliminating their source was just as effective.

“Wait! Young patrolman!” A hoarse voice rasped from within the hole.

At this moment, the witch was utterly fragile, unable to resist in any way.

“Let me out! I can save your life!”

“Save me?” Rudolf paused, considering the words. Out of caution, he decided to listen a little longer.

“You’ve been tainted by star power! Don’t deny it—you know exactly what I’m talking about!” The witch’s voice quickened. “If you encounter an experienced witch hunter or an inquisitor, you’ll be exposed immediately!”

Rudolf frowned.

Witch hunters and inquisitors—both were powerful enforcers of the Inquisition, specifically trained to deal with witches.

Could it be that the moment he picked up that starstone, he had truly been contaminated?

“Let me out! I can help you! I can make you a witch’s apprentice! I can teach you how to avoid the inquisitors! Look at me—I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

“Help me?” Rudolf asked doubtfully. “You’re nothing but a charred head. How exactly do you plan to help me?”

The witch knew that unless he said something useful, the patrolman above him wouldn’t believe a word.

“All you need to do is dig up a relatively fresh corpse. That will allow me to recover some of my power—then I can help you.”

A mere burnt skull could do nothing. The witch had to regain a body before he could be of any use.

“A fresh corpse?” Rudolf narrowed his eyes. “Don’t take me for a fool. I’ve read the records on the undead at the precinct. Only certain levels of undead can transfer their consciousness to another body. From the way you’re talking, you sound like one of them. But you’re a witch—how could you possibly have the powers of an undead?”

Clearly, Rudolf didn’t believe him. He lowered the shotgun barrel into the hole, his finger tightening around the trigger.

“Wait! Wait!” The witch shouted hastily.

“I see now—you really don’t know anything. Do you even understand why witches must be burned?”

Rudolf paused but didn’t reply.

“There are twelve kinds of apostles in this world,” the witch continued, “each possessing extraordinary abilities. But regardless of the type—whether it’s an alchemist like your sheriff, a knight, a giant, or even an apostle of an evil god—whenever they encounter a witch, they will always try to burn them. Do you know why? Because witches can turn other apostles into artifacts, granting them their powers.”

If that were true… then it made sense why all apostles would want witches dead.

A new thought surfaced in Rudolf’s mind.

Could he use a witch’s artifact to disguise himself as an alchemist? Or perhaps a druid? If he was careful enough, could he trick the inquisitors?

Or was there an even better way to deal with them?

After a brief moment of contemplation, Rudolf pulled back the shotgun and picked up his tube-shaped spade once more.

With a single decisive thrust, he scooped the charred skull out of the grave.

The witch visibly relaxed, and even his stiff facial expression seemed to ease.

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And at last—the maddening whispers in Rudolf’s head vanished.

A witch. A pyre. The undead. Witch artifacts...

Rudolf stared at the burnt skull before him, wondering how this witch had managed to escape the Inquisition’s merciless methods.

Lemang Town didn’t have an Inquisition outpost. The witch hunters and inquisitors had come all the way from Fabro City to capture this man. And those who came were all highly experienced.

Even his eyes had been gouged out by the inquisitors, proof of how thorough their inspections were.

And yet—this witch still lived.

“No matter how much those witch hunters slander us, witches are the strongest apostles!” the witch declared. “Don’t be afraid—I will help you become a witch. You’ll be the strongest of them all!”

A severed, charred head that could still speak… This wasn’t an ordinary witch’s ability. This was an undead trait.

Rudolf was convinced now—there was a hidden witch artifact embedded somewhere in this skull.

It was so well-concealed that it had even fooled the inquisitors.

“You probably don’t know this, little patrolman, but apostles are also known as ‘eternal apostles.’ The most powerful witches possess lifespans as vast as the stars, the sun, and the moon.”

Rudolf stared at the skull, pondering where the artifact could be hidden.

Ironically, he owed the inquisitors some gratitude. They had already stripped this witch of his last remaining means of resistance.

That was the only reason Rudolf dared to stand before him now.

After all, even a Rank 2 alchemist like Sheriff Claude wouldn’t dare face this witch alone.

“Become my apprentice! I am a Rank 3 witch—Bloody Saren! You must have read my file. You know what I’ve done.”

Rudolf’s gaze sharpened.

He suddenly noticed something.

Among the few teeth still remaining in the witch’s charred mouth…

If there was one place on this skull that had been overlooked—one thing left untouched—it had to be…

The witch sensed something was wrong.

The young patrolman’s demeanor had changed.

Rudolf stepped over the skull, looming over it.

Then, with a swift motion, he swung his spade down—slamming it straight into the witch’s cheek.

The impact was effective.

A large chunk of burnt flesh tore away from the skull.

“What are you doing?!”

Even with half his face smashed in, the witch could still speak. But there was a slight change in his voice.

Rudolf smiled.

He had heard it.

A hint of panic.

Reaching into his bullet pouch, he retrieved an alchemic shotgun shell.

Pulling out his dagger, he pried it open, revealing the enchanted lead pellets inside.

There were over a dozen lead pellets inside the shell. Rudolf poured one into his palm.

A searing pain shot through his hand, making him wince.

His heart sank.

The witch was right—he had already been tainted by star power.

Before, alchemic bullets were nothing more than special ammunition to him. They had no effect on his body. But now, just touching one caused him pain.

Extending his hand forward, he flipped his palm over.

A handful of alchemic lead pellets tumbled down, landing on the witch’s burnt cheek.

A hiss of black smoke rose up immediately.

Bullets forged by alchemists possessed a powerful burning effect against heretical apostles.

“What are you doing?!”

The witch’s voice was laced with fear as columns of smoke erupted from his face.

In most places, the reaction was minor—just faint wisps of smoke.

But when the pellets struck his wisdom tooth, a thick plume of smoke burst forth!

The combination of Rudolf’s earlier strike and the burning effect of the alchemic pellets had exposed the witch’s wisdom tooth.

So that was it.

The so-called witch artifact, crafted using undead flesh—was that wisdom tooth.

It had been hidden well.

That must have been how he had fooled the inquisitors.

“No! No! No!”

Rudolf pulled out his dagger, driving it into the base of the tooth, preparing to pry it loose.

“How dare you! How dare you touch my Undead Fang?!”

Undead Fang—that was the name of this artifact?

Rudolf smirked, his tone casual.

“My Undead Fang? Then why is it in your mouth?”

Then he muttered, “Damn it, to hell with this… Did you even brush your teeth today?”

With a sharp twist, he wrenched the wisdom tooth free.

The witch’s head instantly fell silent.

Rudolf picked up the Undead Fang. From the outside, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary tooth.

Just as he was examining it, a faint glimmer caught his eye.

A translucent, softly glowing crystal slowly emerged from the witch’s lifeless skull.

Rudolf instinctively grabbed it, afraid its light might attract unwanted attention.

But just like before, when he first touched the starstone—the witch’s crystal vanished.

Closing his eyes, he immediately saw the starstone again, this time appearing in the star map within his mind.

Like a shooting star, it streaked toward the heavens.

Rudolf recognized this starry domain.

His past life’s zodiac sign had been Scorpio, and he was familiar with its brightest stars.

Scorpio had a total of 14 luminous stars, forming the constellation’s skeletal outline.

And now—he had lit the first one.

Lambda Scorpii, located at the tail of the constellation.

**Scorpio: 1/14.**

Rudolf still held the Undead Fang in his hand.

A thought crossed his mind—since the tooth had already been transformed into a witch artifact, it likely wouldn’t function the same way as the witch’s crystal. The crystal was a remnant that had only just formed upon the witch’s death, whereas the artifact had been altered long ago.

That was probably why the tooth didn’t light up a star.

Just like when he had previously lit up the moon, activating Lambda Scorpii caused three floating stars to descend from it.

As his consciousness approached them, vague words began to form within the glowing orbs.

**Witch Apprentice Awakening Ritual**

**Wordkeeper Awakening Ritual**

**Silver Serpent’s Tail Awakening Ritual**

“Well, I’ve come this far… might as well pick one.”