The Warden of The Witches

Truly Headache-Inducing

The next afternoon, in the warden office.

"...That's the general situation. Prisoner 3397, the witch Priscilla, has returned to normal and no longer requires special monitoring standards. The alert level has been reset to red. I will handle the coordination with the Inquisition Bureau. And I have already informed the day shift, through Franda. Make sure to relay this information to the night shift and all members of your riot squad." Aiden informed Veronica, who stood before him.

Priscilla had recovered from her "amnesia" and transformed back into the powerful witch skilled in mental spells. It was essential that this news be disseminated to all personnel in the core area, and Veronica was the captain of the fourth riot control squad responsible for the core area.

"Understood," Veronica respectfully saluted. "I never expected such a significant event to occur in my absence. I regret not being able to assist..."

"It couldn't be helped. After all, it's been a full moon these past two days," Aiden chuckled warmly. "You should head back to your post."

"Okay," but instead of leaving the office immediately, she seemed hesitant.

"What's the matter?" Aiden sensed that she had something to ask.

After much hesitation, Veronica cautiously spoke up, "Um, earlier during the patrol in the garden area, I overheard some strange discussions among the prisoners. It seemed to be about you, Chief Warden..."

"You mean they were talking about me taking prisoners 3307 and 3397 out?" Aiden grasped the situation immediately. "I used Fei abilities to investigate that matter. Any strange rumors are because Fei caused trouble upon her return, leading to her current confinement."

"Ah... I see." Veronica exhaled in relief, then saluted. "I'll take my leave now."

Aiden nodded as he watched her leave the office, and leaning back in his chair.

After reporting to the Inquisition Bureau in the morning, Priscilla's case had come to a temporary close, leaving only some loose ends. With his own tasks completed for the moment, he could take a brief rest.

As he settled his mind, yesterday's words from Mephilia resurfaced in his thoughts.

"Seize the authority, and become a dominator..."

Mephilia had given him this suggestion.

Traversing into a different world, cultivating to become a deity, and ascending in a single step to heaven—these things intrigued him to some extent, but interest aside, the decision to pursue them was another matter.

Firstly, the path to godhood in this world was undeniably perilous. The fact that inheriting divinity from the remains of other divine beings was involved meant that this path would be fraught with scenarios of killing for treasures.

As far as Aiden knew, there were two factions related to this path to godhood: the Witch's Gathering and the Blood Moon Cult—neither of which were benevolent.

Even now, he was being targeted by a member of the Blood Moon Cult.

Mephilia had mentioned that individual had touched the "authority of hatred" and to fully wield the power of this authority, he must fulfill the ritual requirements corresponding to each proverb, one of which was to kill Aiden.

Aiden speculated that these supposed ritual requirements likely involved actions like "carrying out a revenge" or "killing an enemy," with Aiden being chosen as the enemy to fulfill the ritual. After all, the cult created by that individual was destroyed under Aiden's command, and even the goddess he had managed to summon to this world was taken away.

If Mephilia words were true, Aiden realized that unless he armed himself by walking this path to become a dominator, he would eventually be killed by that individual.

However, if he attracted more dangerous individuals while attempting to become a dominator, it would be a case of putting the cart before the horse.

Moreover, there was another crucial point: Aiden was well aware that Mephilia was not trustworthy.

Although he had guarded Mephilia for nearly five years, the more he interacted with her, the more he found this goddess unpredictable.

Mephilia seemed to treat him with a game-like attitude, viewing him as a valuable toy or even a pet. She granted him divinity, occasionally offered advice, but always remained tight-lipped about the purpose of summoning him.

It wasn't until yesterday that he learned from Mephilia that he was summoned not only to serve as a pawn to prevent others from ascending as dominator but also that Mephilia intentions went beyond just that.

As for the reasons behind Mephilia voluntarily being detained by the Inquisition Bureau and any information about agreements between her and the former Aiden, the current Aiden remained completely unaware.

Despite appearing as the guardian while Mephilia seemed like his prisoner, due to the unequal distribution of information between them, he was actually the one in a passive position.

Accepting Mephilia advice blindly, without understanding her true intentions, clearly carried risks. What if her encouragement to become a dominator concealed ulterior motives...

With these thoughts in mind, Aiden took a moment to steady himself.

At present, it wasn't necessary to look too far ahead. Whether worrying about when the founder of the Blood Moon Cult might return or speculating on Mephilia true intentions, he found himself unable to take any decisive actions.

Even if he resolved to become a dominator, obtaining divinity and the divine language was no easy task—Priscilla and Dailey had both pursued divinity in vain.

When considering where to begin the search for divinity and the divine language, the Witch's Gathering was the only lead he could think of. After all, whether it was his knowledge of the divine language or the technique of speaking it, it all ultimately stemmed from the Witch's Gathering.

However, actively seeking to gather divinity and the divine language through the Witch's Gathering was akin to courting death.

Abigail, Lamia, and Chimera, the three powerful witches, were controllers of the divine language. Dailey once described Abigail as being close to godhood. She was likely, much like the individual Mephilia referred to as "that person," who was on the brink of attaining the authority of a dominator.

Regarding the other two individuals, they were probably no less formidable. After the Blood Moon Cult suffered setbacks against the Witch's gathering, they quickly fell in line. Not to mention the Blood Moon Cult, even the Inquisition Bureau never harbored intentions of targeting Abigail.

In addition to them, there were Vera and Hasbinis, who were also grand witches on par with Dailey and Priscilla.

The Witch's gathering itself pursued the divine language and divinity. While the divine language could be shared, divinity was limited. If they were to discover that Aiden possessed divinity...

For him now, the Witch's Gathering was definitely not an organization to be trifled with—although, to some extent, he had already stirred the pot.

"This is truly a headache!" he slumped in his chair, and letting out a deep sigh.

Is it really this difficult to live well in a different world?