Samantha

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Samantha (萨曼莎)
Alias(es)	Elder Samantha; Cult Leader; Order Leader; “old witch”
Species/Race	Human 170
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Echo of Truth Cult; head of the Truth Faction during her leadership 21 136
Occupation/Role	Former Cult Leader of the Echo of Truth Cult; elder; Cecilia’s teacher 50 169
Status	Deceased — her soul was devoured through Soul Feast, after which her body withered and dispersed in Zackeos’s domain 173
First Appearance	Chapter 38

Background / History

Samantha led the Echo of Truth Cult for decades and presided over the Truth Faction. Under her long tenure as acting leader, the cult had steadily expanded, and elders regarded her as a leader who had rarely made mistakes before her recent failures 136.

She took in Cecilia and trained her in magic for ten years. Her apparent care concealed a calculated purpose: Samantha intended to make Cecilia into a replacement vessel for her own aging soul. To accomplish this, she researched a forbidden black-magic ritual that could transfer her into a young body through a sacrifice witnessed by the ancient demon Zackeos 50 169.

Her divination foretold that the Chosen One would kill her. Terrified of death, Samantha became fixated on identifying and eliminating the Chosen One, assigning Ansu—unaware that he himself was the target—to investigate the matter through Freya 50 70.

Appearance

Samantha used magic to preserve a middle-aged appearance, but her failing lifespan eventually overwhelmed the disguise. By the time she confronted Ansu directly, she appeared as a visibly aged and deteriorating witch 104.

• Initially appeared to be a woman in her forties through sustaining magic 104.
• Her natural late-stage appearance included deep wrinkles, dense age spots, bloodshot eyes, and a frail, unsettling visage 104 136.
• Could disguise herself as a young, beautiful woman, though the illusion faltered whenever her unstable magic surged 167.
• After Ansu’s forest traps, she was left bloodied, ulcerated, and unable to maintain her youthful disguise 167.

Personality

Samantha was a calculating conspirator who preferred manipulation, threats, and indirect control to open vulnerability. She exploited her authority within the cult, shifted blame onto subordinates, and cultivated Cecilia as both an asset and a future vessel 38 50.

Her principal motivation was self-preservation. Although she framed the Chosen One as a threat to the cult’s “great cause,” her divination-induced fear of death drove her increasingly desperate actions 70 105. As her body deteriorated and Ansu repeatedly deceived her, her caution gave way to paranoia, cruelty, and erratic rage 136 165.

She nevertheless retained enough cunning to recognize the strategic value of followers, offering Scholar promotion to the Council of Elders in exchange for continuing through Ansu’s traps. When the traps became lethal, she treated him as expendable 167.

Abilities & Skills

Multi-School Magic

Samantha was a high-level mage proficient in evocation, necromancy, and conjuration. Her specialty was combining multiple schools into complex, difficult-to-counter attacks 169.

• Created a corrosive black storm that obscured detection and distorted perception. 169
• Used blended magic to pressure Cecilia’s defenses before initiating Soul Feast. 169
• Her magical mastery was considered formidable even by elders who had lost faith in her judgment. 167

Divination

Samantha used divination to investigate the Chosen One and received the prophecy that the Chosen One would eventually kill her 50 70.

• Used blood and divination crystals to seek Ansu after infiltrating Benalu City. 165
• Her fear and unstable mental state made her increasingly distrustful of her own divinations. 165
• Her obsession with the prophecy directly led her to assign Ansu the Chosen One investigation. 50 70

Curses and Poison

Samantha employed insidious black-magic methods to coerce Ansu into obeying her orders 104.

• Poisoned Ansu, causing blackened veins, spreading corruption, and severe pain. 104
• Placed him under a curse and gave him one week to locate the Chosen One or die. 104
• Relied on Ansu’s separation from Cecilia to pressure him without interference. 104

Soul Feast

Soul Feast was Samantha’s ultimate ritual: a sacrificial black-magic contract overseen by the ancient demon Zackeos. She intended to sacrifice Cecilia’s soul and take possession of her body 50 169.

• Required a sacrificial target and invoked Zackeos as the “Master of the Scales” and “Warden of Contracts.” 169
• Was intended to grant Samantha Cecilia’s young body and extend her life. 50 170
• Samantha’s version was less complete than Ansu’s original Ancient Enus-language version, allowing him to trigger arbitration against her ritual. 168 170
• Her final attempt targeted a disguised puppet person with no soul, invalidating her sacrifice and invoking the ritual’s punishment against her. 173

Equipment / Magical Items

• Homeward Compass — An ancient rune-covered disc that could instantly teleport its holder to its designated starting point. Samantha used it to abduct Ansu to the Northern Borderlands 104 148.
• Divination crystals — Used alongside blood magic to locate Ansu in Benalu City 165.
• Prepared teleportation circles — Samantha escaped the failed cult ritual through a pre-arranged teleportation circle, having diverted power for her own escape 40.

Relationships

• Cecilia — Her apprentice of ten years and intended vessel. Samantha trained Cecilia’s exceptional magical talent while secretly planning to sacrifice her soul and seize her body; Cecilia ultimately rejected her as a teacher and joined Ansu against her 50 169.
• Ansu / Hermit — A cult executor whom Samantha ordered to locate the Chosen One. Ansu repeatedly deceived her, exposed her intentions to Cecilia, and engineered her defeat through Soul Feast 50 104 173.
• Scholar — Her Chief Inquisitor and trusted subordinate. Samantha used his modified, magic-resistant body to trigger Ansu’s forest traps, promising him elder status before he was annihilated by the final trap 106 167.
• Elder John and Elder Lyles — Elders ordered to hunt and kill Ansu, while capturing or crippling Cecilia for Samantha 136.
• Elder Matthew — A Truth Faction elder who became disillusioned with Samantha’s instability and surrendered to Ansu and Cecilia 168.
• Zackeos — The ancient demon invoked through Soul Feast. Zackeos arbitrated the competing rituals and devoured Samantha’s soul according to the contract’s rules 170 173.
• Freya — Samantha ordered Ansu to maintain contact with the Saintess in hopes of learning information about the Chosen One 50.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Hunt for the Chosen One

Samantha pressured Cecilia and Ansu to locate the Chosen One at the Royal Academy, blaming Cecilia when the investigation failed to produce results 38. After divination foretold her death at the Chosen One’s hands, she made the search the cult’s highest priority and threatened Ansu with removal from the Order if he failed 70.

Ultimatum and Deception

Samantha poisoned Ansu, teleported him to a remote stronghold, and gave him one week to find the Chosen One 104. Ansu exploited her paranoia by falsely claiming the Chosen One was protected in the royal capital, prompting her to leave and creating an opportunity for him and Cecilia to undermine her position 104 105.

Loss of Control Over the Cult

After realizing Ansu had deceived her, Samantha mobilized a major cult force to kill him and reclaim Cecilia 115 136. Her increasingly hysterical orders, inability to mobilize the full Council of Elders, and public exposure through rumors steadily eroded her authority 144 156 165.

Final Hunt and Death

Samantha personally pursued Ansu and Cecilia to Maple Grove Town, using Scholar to clear the magical traps laid for her. Scholar’s death and Samantha’s injuries left her desperate but still determined to claim Cecilia’s body 167.

She initiated Soul Feast against Cecilia, only for Ansu to counter her with a more original ritual. In the final confrontation, Samantha sacrificed a disguised, non-sapient puppet person rather than Cecilia, invalidating her own contract. Zackeos consumed her soul, and her body subsequently decayed into dust 169 173.

Notable Quotes

“If we can't kill the Chosen One, then the Chosen One will surely kill me in the future!” 70

“Find him! You must find Hermit, and then kill him!! Bring me his head!” 136

“I don't want to die... I don't want to die! As long as you let me live, I can give anything!” 173