Playing a Little Game

The path ahead into the forest was surprisingly easy.

Contrary to Vivian's expectations, there were no ambushes from the Fire God Cult. In fact, they hadn't seen a single member of the cult.

Big Watermelon and Melee God of Magic, the two players acting as escorts, were secretly amazed. "As expected of a Witch," they thought, "one move and even the Fire God Cult is too scared to show up."

Even Vivian herself felt a flicker of this illusion in her heart.

But only Liao Zixuan knew the truth: the situation was likely not that simple. The Fire God Cult's presence in the "Claw" nest wasn't due to fear.

After all, from the Fire Mage "Shal," Liao Zixuan had learned who was truly leading the Fire God Cult's operation.

It was the Bishop.

Eugenia.

That woman who was genuinely "possessed"!

When Liao Zixuan first heard the name "Eugenia" from a Fire God Cult mage, he didn't react immediately, only finding it vaguely familiar.

But upon reflection, after searching his memories, he suddenly understood. He slapped his thigh with a small wolf paw— Wait, I can't slap with paws.

Never mind that. Liao Zixuan wasn't slapping himself, but the young girl!

Let's not dwell on such trivial details.

What truly mattered was—

Oh my goodness!

It's that formidable lady!

Someone Liao Zixuan would call "Grandma" couldn't possibly be just a mere Bishop of the Fire God Cult in Huodian City.

Note that the "mere" in "mere Bishop" is from Liao Zixuan's perspective. In reality, reaching the position of Bishop in a city was a significant achievement in "Fall of the Gods."

Yet, even such a figure didn't warrant the title "Grandma." Just how powerful must the real Grandma be?

The answer was—

A Witch!

Not like Vivian, who was a "packaged," no, not even a shoddy imitation, but more like a crude toy, a fake Witch he had "created."

This one was the genuine article, honest and true, original. Well, maybe original, but not the original person.

Because while Eugenia's body belonged to Bishop Eugenia herself, the soul within had been swapped out for a true Witch.

The Thousand-Faced Witch—Bella.

In the game's past lore, countless players had been thoroughly tricked by her. This formidable lady loved disguising herself as NPCs from various factions and then...

Peacefully and openly, using her alias to... stir up trouble!

And the Fire God Cult Bishop of Huodian City was the first alias players encountered for Bella!

In his previous life, this storyline wouldn't have been triggered until some time after the game's launch. He never expected to encounter this formidable lady so soon.

However...

We share the same roots, why must we be so harsh on each other?

He hoped that, as fellow Witches—even though his Vivian was only a nominal Witch—she wouldn't make things too difficult.

This was one of the reasons Liao Zixuan had encouraged the girl to confront the Fire God Cult head-on. After all, if even the opposing Bishop was an inside job, how could they possibly lose?

But as the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry.

If that formidable lady truly decided to act erratically, no one should try to reason with a Witch using normal logic. Liao Zixuan still had a backup plan.

This led to the second reason for his confidence.

It wasn't anything grand, just very simple.

Liao Zixuan knew the Witch Bella's strongest ability. Coincidentally, he, the Dark Flame Wolf, had a perfect counter for it!

If Bella dared to use that...

Heh heh.

"We're here!" With no further obstacles, a large cave entrance leading downwards soon appeared before them.

This was undoubtedly the lair of the "Claw," the overlord of the Claw Forest, the Magic Tyrannosaurus.

It was also where the Fire God Cult was holding their growth ritual.

Vivian looked into the deep, dark cavern, clutching the Scythe in her left hand. Speaking of which, even Liao Zixuan found it a bit strange. Ever since she woke up and found this Scythe, the girl had kept it with her.

Even though Vivian had absolutely no close-combat skills, the Scythe was useless to her.

It seemed that for the girl, the Scythe was less of a weapon and more of a... lucky charm?

The young girl gently rubbed the handle of the Scythe with her finger, a look of determination on her face. She was the first to lead the way into the cavern.

Drip.

Drip, drip.

As they first descended into the lair, the surroundings were silent, save for the occasional sound of water dripping from the rock walls.

Although it was underground, the passage wasn't dark. The Fire God Cult had been here before, and torches were planted everywhere, which was convenient for Vivian and her companions.

It was just that...

They hadn't encountered a single Fire God Cult follower.

Logically, even if there were no assassins to intercept them, there should at least be someone at their main base, right? Not even a single guard post?

Unless the entire Fire God Cult had evacuated.

But was that possible?

Clearly not.

So, all this strangeness pointed to one thing.

A trap.

Or perhaps... a conspiracy.

"Welcome, welcome." As Vivian and her group finally reached the lowest level, the sound of applause from above broke the long-standing silence.

"You've really made me wait a long time. I almost thought you wouldn't come."

Vivian looked up, directing her gaze towards the source of the voice.

It was a woman wearing a magnificent bishop's robe.

And her position was at the center of the entire underground lair, atop the head of a huge Tyrannosaurus that was lying prostrate, seemingly hypnotized into slumber.

"Little girl, can you tell me your name?" Eugenia sized up Vivian with a smile.

She crossed her legs, leaned forward, and sat with her legs crossed on the head of the "Claw," which was more than a story high, looking down at everyone from above.

"Vivian, my Lord Bishop."

The young girl met the gaze of the woman on the "Claw's" head without looking away.

Although she appeared calm and composed at the moment, the girl's increasingly tight grip on her scythe betrayed her inner nervousness.

"My Lord Bishop, can you please stop this ritual?" Although she knew it was futile, Vivian still tried to ask.

According to the usual tropes, a hot-tempered villain would curse at you and attack immediately.

A wise villain would roll their eyes at you and engage in a battle of wits.

A traitorous villain would...

"Of course." The woman on the giant head of the "Claw" nodded with a smile.

A villain who was both a traitor and a madman would...

"However..."

"You'll have to play a little game with me."

As she spoke, Eugenia snapped her fingers. Then, a large iron cage containing over a dozen people was pushed out by the Fire God Cult followers.

And beneath this large iron cage, a terrifying brazier filled with bubbling, extremely hot magma was also pushed out, enough to completely engulf the iron cage above.