Cecilia in the previous life

After Ansu rose through the cult's ranks at lightning speed, Samantha made sure to give him his assignment.

She summoned Ansu and asked in a low voice, "Cecilia told me... you're friends with that Saintess from the Church?"

Even though the sting operation had nearly gotten her killed, Samantha still seemed unable to let go of the matter of the Chosen One.

"Yes, Cult Leader Samantha." Ansu nodded.

Samantha immediately instructed him, "Then do your best to stay on good terms with that Saintess. If she really finds the Chosen One, I need you to report to me at once."

"Uh... well..." Ansu instinctively glanced at Cecilia.

Although Cecilia wore a mask, he could tell from her eyes that she was utterly speechless.

With Samantha's orders, he now had a perfectly legitimate reason to keep contacting Freya.

"Teacher... isn't this a little risky?" Cecilia protested. "Having him hanging around the Church every day—aren't you worried he'll be exposed? There are plenty of powerful people in the Church."

"Either transfer him to my side, or use his relationship with the Saintess to continue investigating the Chosen One." Samantha's voice suddenly turned cold. "The Order has no use for useless people. Cecilia, this isn't a place for you to play house!"

Cecilia frowned slightly.

She wanted neither option, but the latter was at least a little better. She would not have to watch her teacher take Ansu away.

"I really don't understand your obsession with the Chosen One, Teacher." Cecilia sighed. "It's nothing more than a legend the Church has passed down for centuries."

"No!" Samantha said firmly. "The Chosen One is in Benalu City, and very likely inside the Royal Academy itself! We must kill him to prevent those false gods' lackeys from completely overturning our great undertaking!"

She turned to Ansu again, her gaze full of expectation. "Hermit, remember this: you must complete this mission! Use the authority at your disposal if necessary."

Cecilia's eyes grew even more puzzled. Faced with Samantha's attitude, Ansu could only nod repeatedly and agree.

Samantha did not explain where this information had come from, but Ansu knew why. During the simulation, she had admitted that she had received a revelation through divination magic. This old mage who had lived for three hundred years did have a few tricks up her sleeve...

The cult gathering finally drew to a close, and Cecilia led Ansu away in a foul mood.

"Happy now? You can chat with that little Saintess every day from now on!"

Ansu inexplicably caught a whiff of jealousy, but he did not dare lift his head to look at Cecilia.

He could only mutter, "I can't help it... these are Cult Leader Samantha's orders, after all. Honestly, I don't want to get too deeply involved with people from the Church either..."

"Hmph! If I'd known, I wouldn't have brought you."

As Cecilia walked, she suddenly stopped and looked hesitantly toward her teacher, who was talking with the other elders.

"Wait. There's something else I forgot to report."

"What is it?" Ansu looked at her.

"Do you remember what I looked up when I went to your library?" Cecilia asked slowly.

"I do." Ansu nodded. "It was about that... legendary treasure of the Demon Army?"

"That's right. I've already found some clues..."

Just as Cecilia was about to head back, Ansu unexpectedly caught hold of her.

"Lady Witch, you'd be better off not telling your teacher about this unverified information."

Beneath his silver mask, Ansu's eyes held a complicated look Cecilia could not decipher.

"You..." Cecilia lowered her gaze to Ansu's hand, tightly gripping her wrist.

There was something forceful and uncompromising about his grip.

Before, she had always been the one ordering Ansu around. How had their roles somehow... reversed?

"Trust me, Cecilia." A hint of pleading crept into Ansu's insistence. "Telling her about the Demons' treasure now won't do you any good. Let's go back first."

Watching Ansu's strange behavior, Cecilia said quietly, "You really are getting bolder by the day. You actually dare to stop me... have I been too nice to you?"

They remained at an impasse for a moment.

Seeing that he was still utterly adamant, Cecilia finally softened a little.

"All right..."

"I'll trust you this once. We'll talk after we get back."

Although Cecilia did not know what Ansu meant, she knew he had always been cautious. There had to be a reason he was so insistent.

Ansu inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had not forgotten the promise he had made during the last simulation. He wanted to help her just once, and thereby change Cecilia's fate.

The Demon Army's treasure quest would be the greatest turning point in Cecilia's life. She, who cared most about betrayal, would suffer the most devastating betrayal of all in the story...

Ansu did not want her to suffer the same fate again.

Before leaving the gathering, he instinctively glanced at Samantha in the distance, silently recalling the original plot.

Every misfortune Cecilia suffered stemmed from Samantha, the teacher who had raised her from childhood and filled the role of a mother in her otherwise empty childhood.

But in truth, there had never been any genuine affection. Samantha had treated Cecilia so well, spared no effort in nurturing her, and taught her magic only because she wanted to find herself a "vessel."

Samantha was too old. She had lived for far too many years, and she could sense the limits of her lifespan.

Realizing that her death was approaching, Samantha had frantically studied all kinds of magical texts, trying every possible way to prolong her life through magic. In the end, she had found, from some unknown source, a forbidden form of dark magic akin to "body possession."

This dark magic required a sacrificial ritual. Under the witness of an ancient demon, she would offer a delectable soul on the other end of the scales. If she succeeded, she could occupy that young, vibrant body.

She could barely wait any longer. Partly because she was aging so rapidly, and partly because...

Cecilia was far too gifted. She was growing so quickly that she had long since exceeded Samantha's expectations, becoming increasingly difficult to control.

Cecilia's immense strength presented Samantha with a thorny problem. She no longer even knew how to achieve her goal...

Then, a piece of information Cecilia brought back about the "Demon Army's treasure" gave her an opportunity.

Through the investigations of the Order's members, Samantha learned that beneath those ancient ruins lay countless traps, undead soldiers of the Demon Army, and even powerful monsters from the golden age of magic standing guard. Even deploying the Council of Elders would result in heavy losses.

Samantha therefore believed she could use this to wear down Cecilia's strength, then strike while she was vulnerable.

During the operation that followed, everything went according to Samantha's calculations. The group suffered devastating casualties on the way to their destination, and Cecilia was gravely wounded while protecting Samantha.

Samantha decided the time had come.

She devised a trap to strand Cecilia in the most dangerous depths underground, intending to seize control of her body when she was at her weakest.

But Cecilia's strength still far exceeded her expectations. Even after the Order had besieged her for almost a month, Cecilia still had enough strength left to fight...

Ansu could hardly imagine how she had survived. Cecilia fought the endless monsters deep underground, killing them for meat when she was hungry and drinking their blood when she was thirsty. Rage and an unyielding desire to survive transformed her into a monster more terrifying than the creatures themselves...

When the crazed Cecilia fought her way back out of the depths, Samantha completely panicked.

Throwing all caution aside, she immediately performed the sacrificial ritual to restrain Cecilia, then joined the Order's elders in tormenting her soul over and over.

One day, two days, ten days...

The ritual lasted ten days in the outside world, but several years in the mental realm. Years of agonizing torment nearly robbed Cecilia of her sanity, almost twisting her into a true "Mad Witch."

But only "almost," because Cecilia still had not given up.

Her intense hatred and obsession drew the gaze of an evil god.

Deep underground lay a staggering secret from the Demon Calamity War all those years ago. This was where the fallen deity—Ersos—had fallen and lay slumbering.

Cecilia was chosen by Ersos. She inherited the evil god's unyielding will and gained terrifyingly powerful forbidden magic...

What happened afterward was simple. Transformed, Cecilia fought her way out of that hopeless situation, killed Samantha instead, and slaughtered every member of the Order who had taken part in the operation.

She immediately returned to the Order's base, reorganized the Echo of Truth Cult according to her own ideals, and established a new "great objective," recruiting like-minded people far and wide.

No one knew what kind of "revelation" the evil god had given her that day. But from that day onward, Cecilia's outlook changed completely. She no longer disdained power, and finally became the [Witch of World Destruction] who made the world tremble in the story.

Some said her teacher's betrayal and that endless torment had driven her to madness and despair.

Some said the powerful, corrupt magic had warped her will.

But there was another theory: in that moment, Cecilia had learned the hidden cause of the Demon Calamity War and glimpsed the ultimate truth behind this world's corruption. That was why she wanted to bring about some kind of change in her own way.

Whatever the case, from then onward, Cecilia truly embarked on a "path of world destruction" that even her allies in the Demon Army considered extreme.

By the time they returned to Benalu City from the Seaside Winery, it was well past midnight.

Each was occupied with their own thoughts, and they barely spoke along the way.

After bringing Ansu back to her room, Cecilia gave a cold laugh and immediately erected a magical barrier that prevented anyone from spying on them.

Her deep violet eyes, full of suspicion, repeatedly scrutinized Ansu as he stood there.

"Talk. What was that about earlier?"