Chapter 86

"Sarkaz men don't wear maid outfits... and besides the prince's clothes you're wearing, only Eileen's maid outfit is proper noble attire... You don't really think that hastily altered clothes can fool a face-to-face inspection, do you...?"

"Okay, should I Ursus for not allocating a low budget for the high-precision optical equipment for the drones?"

Slightly unaccustomed, she tidied her gray hair, which had been styled into a side bun... The new spell that the Sarkaz elder had given Nana replaced the previously uncontrollable Witchcraft power flowing through Nana's body.

"Okay, Eileen... let's go."

PS: I have a premonition that my death is near.

Woo woo cat 2

4th Crimson Warm Winter: 088 Teleportation Altar a

Eileen, an ordinary Sarkaz girl... born in 1975 when the Sarkaz Civil War was escalating, she has lived within the White Emperor's sphere of influence since birth...' The Babel '.

At just eighteen years old, she was practically a toddler by Sarkaz lifespan standards, but considering her past as a maid in the Babel, she was the most steadfast supporter of the White Emperor among these wanderers... When Nana was about to put on that dress, aside from the tailor, her reaction was the strongest.

Nana knew that in their hearts, the White Emperor, revered as 'Chairman,' held a unique and unparalleled position.

This respect even imbued the items she used with a strange meaning... It wasn't until the 'butler' told her that Nana would become their new guardian that Eileen accepted the fact that Nana had ownership of their belongings...

Clearly, she agreed very reluctantly.

Even now, with Nana already dressed in that white silk dress adorned with black tulle at the cuffs and collar, Eileen's gaze towards Nana was incredibly penetrating... as if she were looking at another person through Nana's silhouette.

Nana didn't mind this level of rudeness, after all, she had done her job well and put in a lot of effort.

To cooperate with Nana's plan, the black-haired Sarkaz girl cut off her long hair, which she had always kept well-groomed even during their escape. After being re-dyed using magic taught by the 'butler,' that hair was then attached to Nana's hair...

It may seem that they have only partially transformed into Nana's side-swept bun, or partially draped over her shoulders or even around her waist, but ultimately, they have become an important component of the Witchcraft ritual—the material medium that truly belongs to the Sarkaz.

So-called Witchcraft is a distortion of reality created by the Teekaz through their resonance with this land... If Sarkaz, even if they possess the non-physical source of Witchcraft, their use of Sarkaz magic is destined to be limited... Just like how Nana was blocked by the gate of the Loken Watertank, this is unimaginable for a true Bloodfiend.

Now, under the guidance of the elderly Sarkaz whom she met by chance, Nana finally has the opportunity to truly use this power that she has never paid attention to before.

"Amulet... is that all?"

Before the Landship heading to Ursus gave them a Sarkaz shock, Nana was making final preparations... Holding Eileen's outstretched left hand, Nana watched as the white hair intertwined from her wrist, wrapped around her palm, and reached the tip of her middle finger, carefully checking whether the flowing magic was still effective:

"Hmm... no problem... although I've never used this spell before... but Eileen, the long maid outfit might be inconvenient for escaping if a fight breaks out. You could actually cut it into a short skirt."

"... That's far too revealing, Your Excellency... From the perspective of the Court's vampires, it's like... unwrapping food and leaving it exposed to the air..."

"You are now a supporter of the Speaker, the Court nobleman eager to evade the committee's pursuit... You should refrain from saying anything that could expose you."

Faced with the maid's cold response, Nana could only release her hand and let her examine her bun... Due to a lack of tools, the bun didn't seem to be tied very tightly, so Eileen had to reinforce it every now and then...

To be honest, Nana is starting to miss the rubber bands and cheap hair clips that you can find in every little shop in Columbia cities.

After Eileen finished checking and rearranged her skirt, Nana stood stiffly in place, inwardly cursing the Sarkaz's feudal and superstitious social system... Then, in accordance with what they said was the proper conduct of Bloodfiend noble, she turned her head towards the 'butler' at an angle accurate to the single digit:

How are the preparations for the 'ritual' going?

"We've confirmed that everyone is wearing the amulets correctly... Now you just need to finish your performance, and remember to bring enough mediums when you return. We can leave anytime."

As he spoke, the 'butler' gestured to the few young men in the forest who were already exhausted and collapsed... And as Nana's gaze swept across, the assassin noticed the 'altars' constructed of steel, gold, silver, and a large amount of ashes dug out from the cracks.

"Targeted teleportation... Can Witchcraft even do something like that...?"

To Nana's quiet question, the old man's smile unexpectedly carried a mixture of doting affection and pride:

"It is said that in the ancient era of Teekaz, before the Court established, the central authority already controlled the entire continent using Teleportation Altar... However, with the sudden increase in environmental Originium, many rituals were lost..."

The old man's words made Nana feel a little dizzy. She had heard many legends about the effects of the original Sarkaz Sorcery in the past few days. According to the old man's memory, the ritual they were setting up could instantly fly across the earth and land precisely at any location... But now, considering the limitation of at least ensuring everyone's safe landing on the ground, 15 kilometers of directional teleportation was already the limit.

To complete this ritual, they unearthed the skeletal remains of hundreds of people from the previous burial pit on the Landship.

The ritual requires the consumption of their death, their terror, their consciousness... and then, the remains that represent their former existence will also disappear from this land.

This is the Witchcraft of the Teekaz, the manipulation of death, resentment, love... and consciousness itself.

Nana's disgust for the white bone 'altar' was almost undisguised, and the others in the Sarkaz wanderer group felt the same way... Several women explicitly forbade the children to look at it, and even the men, who were the main force in completing it, now mostly looked away from it.

This thing is a symbol of the Sarkaz original sin.

Eileen, who was about to use this to travel to the Ursus Landship, couldn't avoid it; she and Nana had to see it, and her tone was complicated:

"... His Excellency the Speaker once said that many people believe the main reason Teekaz has fallen to its current state is due to Sankta's betrayal... but our objectification of the spirituality of life is the root cause of why we are avoided by countless lives on this land... Sir, do you hate it?"

"... Methods are just methods, I don't object to making the best use of resources... it's just... well, I hate it."

If she didn't need this as proof that she was indeed a member of the Royal Court Sarkaz, why would Nana rely on such disgusting stuff... She could have just had everyone else drive away and then sunk the newly arrived Landship herself.

It can only be said that in order to complete increasingly complex mission objectives, Nana's mission process has also gradually become more complicated.

One last look at the skull she didn't recognize, whose skull it was, placed before the altar. Nana awkwardly smoothed the ends of her hair, which had suddenly grown longer... The ink-black resentment and death that once flowed within it had all been transformed into... now flowed freely from Nana's fingertips...

But this also means that Nana's consciousness has begun to actively touch upon those things that were suppressed by the Sankta Halo in the past.

In the old man's emergency lectures over the past few days, he also gave a clear definition of these 'spellcasting materials'... Sarkaz... no, all living beings on this land can be called --

'Despair'.

With a crisp sound of the sintered skull shattering, Nana, dressed in a long silk dress adorned with white gauze, opened her eyes again, and what came into view was the orderly military formation as expected.

In the past, attempting to fight an army head-on was an incredibly foolish choice... But to get rid of the trouble she had created for herself, Nana merely glanced at Eileen, who had lost her balance and ended up sitting on the ground, before turning her gaze back to the Ursus people in front of her.

As crimson light began to emanate from the ends of their pure white hair, the Ursus soldiers, who hadn't said a word yet, suddenly found their palms incredibly smooth.

"... Blood? It's blood!!"

Simply by looking at her, she could draw life from the very things in her sight. Crimson threads broke through the barrier of her skin and scattered in patches on the ground. At this moment, they seemed to have their own life. They flowed on the dirty ground but did not even pick up any dust... After all, this blood now carried the life and soul of a concept... In Sarkaz Sorcery, under Nana's gaze, they presented themselves as a mysterious concept in its pure form, rather than a fusion of water, cells, or even iron.

As test subjects of Nana's magic, the Ursus soldiers were in complete chaos. After screaming, they immediately collapsed, and almost no one could stand normally after having two liters of blood drawn from them...

Nana didn't say a word during this time, because ensuring she didn't accidentally kill someone was already the limit of her concentration.

Fortunately, Eileen, pretending nothing had happened, got up from the ground and remembered the 'script'. While using the amulet's hand to help Nana up, she also made sure to slightly lift Nana's rather long skirt.

"Members of the Babel Council and the Bloodfiend Court have come in person, and you dare to be so disrespectful? You barbarians who know no manners!"

Savage? Listening to Eileen reciting her lines, Nana wondered if she felt like laughing, but it didn't matter. Whether it was the imperial Ursus or the feudal Kazdel, in Nana's eyes they were both quite savage... It didn't matter.

Importantly, Eileen's appeal actually worked.

Just as Nana was about to use the drawn blood as a weapon, an Ursus man dressed in a field officer's uniform, accompanied by two vanguard captains, stepped out of the Landship with a serious expression that made his jaw muscles bulge.

His assistant behind him was holding a telephone with gold-plated decorations.

"I wonder... which prince has come?"

"Don't give me that 'you'll know if I tell you' look... Ursus really know how many people are in the Bloodfiend Court? I just think you should know why I stopped you..."

Nana approached step by step. Despite the opponent's overwhelming height advantage, the blood that had been unknowingly drawn from the entire ship behind Nana slowly drew closer like a wall. The Ursus colonel's face was covered in sweat, clearly under considerable pressure.

As Nana sat down in mid-air, the wall of blood behind Nana transformed into a howling human face, then into a faceless humanoid figure dressed in Ursus military uniforms. It then opened its mouth wide like a legendary Ditto, revealing animals such as wolves, dogs, rabbits, and cats from within... In short, the scene was extremely bizarre.

"I know we in Babel suffered a defeat, and you Ursus think you have another chance to claim territory for yourselves... We really don't have time to deal with you, and it's no big deal that we're outmatched... But it's one thing for that the False King's subordinate Theresis, to chase after and bully the Speaker's followers... But what kind of people are you, Ursus, that you dare to threaten passing Sarkaz and try to take our people to the mines?"

As she spoke, tentacles made of blood slowly climbed up the colonel's body. Nana could feel his heartbeat quickening; he was panicking... his mind was completely blank, a simple panic.

As the blood formed a sharp blade and pressed against the other person's neck, Nana squinted and looked down at them:

"I may not be able to deal with my compatriots on the Court's side, but that doesn't mean you bunch of brats can bully us... I may not be able to deal with Theresis, but I can certainly deal with you!!"

Even so, Nana still let the blood tentacles release their grip on the other party. As the essence of life and soul became richer, Nana felt it was about time to begin her retreat.

"Now I'm giving you two choices... one is to wash away the insults against us with your lives, the other is... hand over that idiot who ordered the detention of our compatriots! Otherwise, I'll show you the anger I've been building up since we started this so-called civil war!"

Having said that, Nana looked at the soldier carrying a tray decorated with gilded lace, waved her hand, and the phone that had been connected from the beginning immediately flew into Nana's hand:

"So, do you understand now?"

[... Ursus will never bow down to anyone. You're playing with fire, Bloodfiend ...]

"I'll return the favor. Ordering your subordinates to capture the Infected on Kazdel's land... using your Ursus laws to interfere with the people of my Sarkaz, what a display of your authority! Maybe you should just give up on this Landship... I'm coming to find you right now, right to your house... Who are you again? Never mind, the blood of your subordinates will tell me..."

[... the border crossing operation of ship 4452 is its own problem, I think we can still talk about it...]

"What are you talking about? Your people would actually arrest Sarkaz just because he has Originium Crystals and force him to mine in your mines... Then everyone in my field of vision is my life support. I don't think there's anything wrong with my logic."

[But... you lost your civil war, didn't you... I think you have more important things to do... like rallying the White Emperor's people, transferring the Babel's assets... In short, don't you think it's very inappropriate to waste your time on me?!]

"... Indeed, that's why I didn't smash your ship to pieces... I don't want to waste my energy on someone as inexplicable as you... The Theresis people are probably still chasing me, I can't be bothered to waste words with you... Next, I need to lead the Speaker's people through the Ursus route to avoid the Court's pursuit. I need vehicles, food, clothing suitable for the Ursus climate, and Originium blocking drugs..."

"Now, meet my demands, or I'll use your blood to lure the Ursus Army Group into attacking Theresis."

[... Does this... not conform to the wishes of the White Emperor...?]

"She's gone, isn't she... So now nobody's going to stop me. Guess what will happen if I sail this ship right in Theresis's face... Anyway, you Ursus love war the most, don't you? Let's have war, forget all those ideals and desires, let's have a war of one mind, for blood and annihilation!"

[You're crazy... Things won't turn out that way. Therese will probably focus all his efforts on dealing with Victoria afterward... He won't have time to tug at Ursus...]

"It's alright, I will... I'll find you, you idiot who gave those nonsensical orders to go to other countries to arrest people, then I'll cut your head off and use your blood to tell my people that they can still receive protection!"

[... I told you, it was an accident. Ship 4452 has already been destroyed by you, hasn't it...? And now, tell me, how much of what you need will it take to get my beloved men back?]

"Well... they've already paid the price... and Dunkel, you're pretty pathetic... I hope none of your men will be so blind as to run into my hands again..."

After hanging up the phone, Nana bypassed the colonel who had been thrown away like trash, then rummaged through the garage of the Landship, eventually finding two trucks in relatively good condition and taking them with her blood.

Against the backdrop of a sea of blood that resembled a tornado, the white-haired Bloodfiend Lady smiled at the people collapsed on the ground, revealing her cute little fangs. Then... the Bloodfiend noblewoman and her maid, along with two trucks, disappeared without a trace.

The second teleportation target was a deliberately cleared forest clearing, a place that would be difficult to detect without a manned aircraft or a high-flying Owl Dragon heavy drone... After Nana returned with Eileen, as the crimson blood tornado dispersed in the air and merged into the altar, the Bloodfiend Cat, whose hair was now entirely crimson, revealed a cheerful smile that was completely incongruous with the gloomy altar before her:

"Ha~ They believed it, that guy seems to really believe it... Hurry! Get moving, while the soldiers on that warship are incredibly weak after I drained their blood, load the luggage onto the truck and get out of here immediately!"

Looking at the white-dressed girl who appeared almost insane, Eileen showed a hint of disbelief:

"... Your Mightiness?"

"Hmm? Is there a problem?!"

"... You don't look too good right now..."

"Huh? You mean these?"

With her back to the pouring rain of blood, the girl, whose eyes and hair glowed with a chilling red light, glanced at the altar and offerings built with lives, then tilted her head indifferently:

"Just making the best use of resources?"

"... Do you really think so?"

Seeing the Sarkaz girl in front of him with a tearful expression, Bloodfiend Demon Cat tilted its head in confusion. Meanwhile, as the 'butler' on the other side smashed the skull of another unknown person, the crimson and black aura were drawn from Nana's body and gathered again at the altar... Only then did Nana realize that something was wrong with her condition.

She had never felt such a strong urge to use a pretext to destroy something.

As the old man ushered the others to pack their belongings and prepare to leave as planned, he looked seriously at Nana:

"It seems you've inevitably been affected by 'Sarkaz's Despair'..."

"I just..."

"I've been listening to the communications... What you said during your 'performance' was clearly no longer a threat... You are genuinely influenced by the history and mindset within you, and for this you sincerely want to subdue His Highness's people, and at the same time, you sincerely want to kill those Ursus people... Even if the reason is a conflict you imagined... that doesn't change your true intention to unleash 'despair'."

After a moment of silence Nana looked at her hand and clenched it into a fist: (Another)

"I... I used to think I was special..."

"The Sarkaz have chosen countless heroes throughout history. Are we incapable of love? Are we ignorant of death and hate? But the state of the Sarkaz today proves the danger of the misuse of Witchcraft ... At least, please don't really... become like the Bloodfiend Demon."

After a long silence, Nana tilted her head and covered her left eye with her grayish-white bangs.

"... I will be careful."

PS: Waaaaa, cat Qi

PS2: This chapter should focus on the impact of Witchcraft on individual personality... Also, these are all personal interpretations, since the Witchcraft rituals appearing in the game involve 'cannibalism'...

It seems rather abstract, and the cost isn't obvious. My personal understanding is that the Patriot adjusted the ritual to minimize the cost as much as possible... For example, the 'eaten' person will only experience temporary physical weakness instead of death.

The only certainty about the entire ceremony is that FrostNova shares some of her subordinates' lives with her Patriot through the amulet, while her subordinates receive a bonus... at least that's what the storyline seems to suggest, though I'm not entirely sure.

The 'teleportation' Nana uses is essentially a 'door key' amulet... Without an amulet made from Nana's hair, the altar cannot be used...

However, this clearly exceeds the scale that Nana usually uses... Using the Teekaz Witchcraft ritual on such a large scale will probably attract something terrible.

4th Crimson Warm Winter: 089 I'm here to negotiate on behalf of the Sanguinarch.