Like snow melting and disappearing, the monster's body slowly shrank and eventually disappeared. In its place stood a girl who looked to be about eighteen years old at most. She had hair the color of a wheat field. Her body was neither maggoty nor fetid.

She stared at the ground with her head bowed low. She seemed so lifeless as if she was waiting to be punished.

The girl spoke. "I'm sorry,"

Edulis replied. "You didn't do anything wrong, Tibea."

The child looked up and smiled reassuringly. Then the child's body hardened like plaster, turned to dust, and scattered into the air. At the same time, the black blood and rotting flesh that littered the plaza, the vines and white flowers that poked through the stone, all vanished. The white aura that had enveloped Edulis had also dispersed into thin air.

"What the hell is going on?" Kurzina shouted. She realized what had happened and rushed to the square. When she saw Edulis, her expression changed, like a budding flower.

"S-saint, you've returned!" Kurzina exclaimed, then knelt in front of Edulis and clasped her hands together.

"I told you not to kneel…"

The children's reaction was the same as hers.

"Are you okay, Enri?! Eh... Edulis? How..."

Marie, Methena, Shumi, and Harsh came to check on Enri, and their eyes widened at the sight of Edulis' face.

"Edulis is alive! Oh... Lutea, you have answered our prayers."

The children's eyes turned red. Aruru, who was with Methena, ran to Edulis and climbed onto his shoulders.

Raghad, meanwhile, kept his head down, staring at the ground. He had just arrived at the square on his Velox after subduing the cavalry.

"Father..." Raggaard sighed. He stared at Ashur's decapitated body. The father who deceived his people... But in his mind, Raghad remembered the kinder man.

Other people were gradually leaving the square. The fury to rush to Kindathu's office had vanished. Some were still kneeling on the ground, praying, and some were carrying the bodies of family and friends who had taken their own lives.

"Lutea, why didn't you spare my husband?"

Someone spoke the words. Edulis paid no attention as it was a common occurrence. Despite what people think, Lutea is neither omniscient nor omnipotent. Lutea can offer no help to those who take their own lives.

"Hey, buddy. I didn't realize you were so lenient...you really don't think Tibea did anything wrong, despite this mess she made?" Ishkur asked, coming to Edulis' side. Even after realizing that Edulis was the reincarnation of Bosha, Ishkur didn't change his tone.

"What does a sniveling child know, she's been tricked."

Edulis held out his hand. Something long and slender, like a pinky finger, was in his hand, the one Tibea spat out. It was as black as charcoal, with indecipherable red lettering on one side. A pulsating black aura surrounded it.

"What is that?"

"It's a cursed object. The so-called 'witch's finger'."

Edulis's voice trembled as his chest burned like heated oil. It felt like it would jump out at him if he let it. Edulis clutched at the witch's fingers with all his might. The veins in his clenched hand were visible, but the Witch's Finger remained intact. He couldn't help it. Lutea is the only one who can break the witch's charm.

Edulis wondered. Why? Why is it still in the world? The moment the witch dies, all cursed should lose their power.

"Really? The Fey family, the self-proclaimed descendants of heroes, used a witch's cursed object. What the hell happened to this family?"

"Hey, where are you going?" Edulis walked away, ignoring those who praised him and those who wanted to ask him something. His face was like that of a she-wolf who had lost her cub.

"Saint!"

"Edulis!"

Realizing that something was amiss with Edulis, the descendants of Ygraine, Kurzina, and Raghad followed. Ishkur licked his lips, his eyes shining. He realized where Edulis was going.

Edulis stopped in front of the largest building on the Fey manor grounds. The barricades were all down, thanks to Tibea's rampage. Edulis entered the building, climbed the stairs, and kicked down the door.

It was Kindatu's office. Behind a table with a black crystal ball on it, Kindatu stood with a sword.

Edulis pointed his sword at him.

"You have defeated Tibea, and you have done well."

Kindatu said.

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"Lord, why did you do this?"

"To use the power of a witch to kill your people! Why would you, who should be closest to Lutea, do such a thing?"

Raghad and Kurjina shouted. Ishkur stood behind them, crouching, dagger clutched in one hand.

Meanwhile, Edulis' gaze remained on the table. Kindatu glared at Edulis.

"If you are the reincarnation of Captain Bosha, you know what this is."

"The Eye of Granadilla..."

Kindatu crossed his arms over his chest, looking toward Lagarde and Kurzina. "I had no choice. The lords of the past, the lords before them, all worked for this charm. Sacrificing human blood and flesh, obeying the orders of the witch." he said.

"Did you just say... you followed the orders of a witch?"

"Kurzina, you are a child of faith, and I know I look as hideous as a bug to you right now, but what would you do? This is a world ruled by witches. Would you risk your family to protect your faith?"

Then Raghad asked. "Lord, was there no other way to escape the witch's eyes and fulfill Lutea's will?"

"This orb is the Witch's Eye. Our ancestors were given this eye in exchange for the surname Fey and power. This eye is all-seeing. It cannot be thrown away or broken. The moment we betray the witch, our tribe will suffer pain worse than death."

Kurzina furrowed her brow.

"But our clan is also causing others to suffer, as our lords bend to the witch's will! How can you stand by and watch?"

"What do you want me to do then? Do you want me to abandon my family? That's not what the position of the Duke is for. The person who stands in the position of Duke is the one who loves the clan the most. The one who can protect the family, even at the expense of others, is the one who will become the head of the family!"

"Those who follow Lutea's will are blessed. If you stand up to the witch, Lutea will empower you, just as she did today!"

Kindatu shook his head.

"Lutea is dead. She was killed by the witch, her soul shattered into shards and scattered across the world. How can an unearthly being empower us? What you saw today was nothing more than the remnant of a deceased goddess. It may have seemed like a miracle to your eyes... but it was only the leftover magic of the goddess, acting on her memories of her lifetime."

"What nonsense?" Edulis said. The boy's voice, barely past puberty, sank low.

"We killed the witch. I defeated the last of the witch's clones, and Ygraine and the Apostles defeated her main body."

Kindatu bowed his head deeply.

"Ha-ha. How wonderful it would have been if you had killed the witch! But you couldn't. After Lord Bosha fell, Granadilla launched a counterattack and killed Ygraine."

"Granadilla killed Ygraine? Nonsense! Ygraine was like the brightest sun, and Granadilla was just a blurry shadow. How could a shadow cover the sun!"

Edulis could not accept Kindatu's words. It sounded absurd; Granadilla, who had lost all her clones, was as weak as she could be. Ygraine, on the other hand, was unstoppable. Monsters like Tibea, the so-called "earthworms," would spit out the witch's fingers as she walked by.

"I don't know about you...but look at the result. The sun has set and shadows covered the world. The witch Granadilla is in control of Astania! Don't you see the black light that pulsates in this orb?"

"Bullshit!"

"Bosha, Ygraine, I blame you all, why couldn't you kill the witch? Why did you allow this world to be ruled by her?"

Kindatu tightened his grip on the sword. So much so that his hand and sword trembled.

"Oh, ancestors! What kind of authority is this that made us receive the witch's attention? I would have preferred hiding deep in the mountains, surviving by eating fruits and herbs..."

"Kindatu, whatever it is, it's over for you, for the Fey family, for all of us. You have summoned a witch's monster, and there are no excuses. House Fey will be stripped of their titles, and you will all be punished."

Ishkur said.

"Yes, I am finished. But House Fey is not finished."

"What?"

Kindatu shouted, his face a mask of despair.

"Tell the world, Raghad. You would not abandon your people, would you? There was only one witch, me, Kindatu. The lord, the madman, worshiped the witch, then lost his mind and slaughtered the people of the clan."

He reversed his grip on the sword.

"Lord!" Raghad shouted, but by then, Kindatu's blade had pierced his own chest.

"Please... protect the family." Those were Kindatu's last words.

Kurzina's father, Hathor, was left to take over, for all other potential leaders of the House were dead. The immediate priority was the Festival of Saints. It was a matter of national law to hold a sainthood ceremony. It could be postponed, but it could not be avoided.

Unlike Ashur, Dersh, and Dumuzi, Hathor knew little of the family's secrets. All he knew was that the Fey were not descendants of Bosha. He knew nothing of their contact with the witch.

The suddenness of his new position as head of the family, coupled with his newfound knowledge of the family's secrets, and the challenges of conducting a saintly ritual and keeping the people in line, left Hathor frozen.

Hathor wanted to talk to Edulis about honoring Kindatu's wishes and dealing with the witch, but he refused and wandered the Fey estate like a ghost.

Edulis stood in front of the trough and watched the water flow. The water was deep and clear. It held the rain of the past month. The water reflected the full moon. A drifting cloud threatened to cover it.

"Is Ygraine dead? Is Lutea gone? What nonsense!"

The goddess is a presence like the sun or the moon. An eternal light that never disappears. Occasionally, it may fall to the earth or be obscured by clouds, but it will rise again in the sky someday. It illuminates the earth with its light. Just as morning brightens after the night passes and darkness descends after the evening, it is the nature of things.

But humans are foolish, and sometimes when dense darkness covers the sky, they wonder if morning will ever come.

Edulis recognized such foolishness in himself, the fact displeased him, causing him to frown.

There was a creeping, wormlike anxiety in Edulis's mind! The witch's fingers were not broken. The black orb radiated evil energy. It must be true that the witch is alive, but where is Lutea?

"Lutea is dead. She was killed by the witch, her soul shattered into pieces and scattered across the world."

Staring into the water, Edulis checked his magick. The white magick was nowhere to be seen. Was it a fragment of Lutea? Kindatu had said it was Ygraine's remains but...

"Nonsense!"

Edulis took a step closer to the waterway. The moon was nowhere to be seen, and only dark clouds reflected off the water. Edulis thought. Does the moon disappear when it's covered by clouds? Lutea had only been covered by dark clouds for a moment. The light must be hiding somewhere!

"'Damn it, if only I were stronger!"

Edulis felt terribly sorry for himself now. If he had been strong enough to defeat the witch and survive, he could have been Ygrainne's strength, Lutea's strength, and he could have seen the journey that followed...

Edulis's face was filled with regret.

"What are you doing, Edulis!" Someone shouted. The voice was urgent. There was the sound of fast running across the stone floor. Edulis turned around quickly.

Lost in thought, he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings. What is she doing...? What…

"Didn't you say you'd be back?"

As Edulis turned around and caught sight of ivory hair. The smell of sun-dried grain wafted past his nostrils, and the warmth of her body pressed against Edulis' chest.

"Well, I was just thi—"

A strong force rushed towards Edulis. A moment later, a splash echoed, and his vision was engulfed in water.