The Warden of The Witches

Taming Mercury

The liquid metal once again gathered into a flat sphere and emitting a metallic, incomprehensible murmur.

The Demon Devouring Bullet was ineffective, and now even the Divine Words couldn't handle it... For a moment, Aiden felt like he was about to meet his end here.

However, the mercury sphere that had cornered Aiden did not attack him. Instead, it surged violently a few times and then spat out something the size of a cherry. The object shot out, hitting the railing of the cell and bouncing a few times on the ground before rolling to Aiden's feet.

Ignoring Aiden entirely, the mercury sphere slowly slithered towards the adjacent cell.

Aiden sensed that the object no longer harbored any intention of harming him—almost as if it disregarded his presence altogether.

After a brief hesitation, he bent down and picked up the object the mercury sphere had expelled.

It was a glass ball... or perhaps crystal, containing a strand of hair. On its surface were intricately engraved, barely discernible runes, displaying exquisite craftsmanship.

Could this be... the core of the golem?

Aiden remembered Rebecca telling him that Vera's golems were guided and identified by hair and cursed inscriptions. This glass ball was likely the operational core of the golem, substituting for runes since they couldn't be engraved on liquid metal.

Yet, the golem voluntarily expelled this core, likely due to the Divine Words Aiden had just spoken.

The Divine Words were effective, at least in rendering the core controlling the golem's actions ineffective, causing the golem to no longer perceive Aiden as a target and expelling the core as an foreign object.

The puzzling issue was that the golem, now without its core, how could it still move.

Just as Aiden was pondering this, he witnessed the mercury lump in front of him slowly attaching itself to the cell's railing, followed by a creaking, chewing-like sound.

Aiden froze—this thing was gnawing on the railing.

It was eating!

Arsena had just mentioned two ways to drive mercury like this. One involved intricate alchemy to create a golem out of it. If that were the case, Aiden's Divine Words should have reverted it entirely back to its original form.

The runes on the glass ball likely controlled its behavioral logic, akin to software.

The other method, possibly using magic beyond dark arts to grant metal life, it was likely the fundamental reason the mercury itself as hardware moved.

With these thoughts in mind, Aiden began to form an idea and considered conducting an experiment.

He retrieved his sidearm, extracted a Demon Devouring Bullet, and hurled it towards the mercury mass.

Upon contact with the mercury sphere, the Demon Devouring Bullet was immediately consumed, accompanied by a crisp chewing sound.

Following that, the mercury sphere expelled something, catching Aiden's eye—it was the head of a magic Stone bullet, along with some gunpowder.

It consumed only the metallic part of the bullet, and the magic Stone did not take effect upon entering its form.

At that moment, Aiden became certain.

This mercury golem was a creation of the Divine Words. Neither the Demon Devouring Bullet nor the "return" Divine Words could transform it back into a pure material form.

According to Dailey, Vera was unlikely to use Divine Words. The true creators who granted life to this mercury heap were probably among the three witches who wielded the Divine Words, with vera crafting the controlling core.

Could it be... Abigail? If this effect was produced by a Saint-level opponent using Divine Words, Aiden doubted his status could dispel it.

Was this the authority of "matter" in the Divine Words? No, it felt more like the authority of "life." Among the three great witches, at least one possessed two to three phrases of "life" Divine Words.

While Aiden pondered rapidly, the mercury sphere suddenly detached from the railing and began moving slowly towards him.

Aiden became wary of its movements.

However, the mercury sphere only slithered around Aiden's feet, emitting an incomprehensible sound without making any overtly aggressive moves.

After a few seconds, a portion of the mercury sphere extended towards Aiden's hand that was holding the gun.

Aiden finally grasped the creature's intent—it seemed to be begging for food.

He glanced at the railing being gnawed by the mercury sphere, noticing a slight notch. Compared to the securely fixed heavy steel, the mercury sphere seemed to prefer smaller metal objects, probably enticed by the bullets Aiden had just fed it, arousing its appetite.

Could this creature be specifically attracted to metals...

After a moment of thought, Aiden took two steps back and holstered his gun.

The surface of the mercury sphere began to ripple rapidly, emitting a low growl, seemingly displeased with Aiden's actions.

Aiden calmly retrieved a few coins from his pocket, displaying them by pinching them with his fingers.

The mercury sphere ceased its growling, then bounced twice and produced a clinking sound resembling a triangle, displaying considerable liveliness.

It seemed to prefer these coins.

Aiden tossed several copper coins to it, which were promptly engulfed by the mercury, accompanied by the sudden sound of chewing.

While it feasted, Aiden cautiously circled around it, making his way towards the opposite end and taking a few steps towards the gate.

The mercury sphere sensed his movement and slithered after him.

It appeared to consider him its caretaker, it's behaving akin to a domesticated animal—not hunting wild prey directly but more resembling a tamed stray dog or cat.

Was this due to its association with the witch...

A sudden thought flashed in Aiden's mind—perhaps this entity could be tamed!

At that moment, noisy footsteps approached behind Aiden. Veronica, accompanied by the riot squad from the core area, rushed over.

"Chief, are you alright!?" Veronica shouted anxiously.

As the mercury sphere appeared in front of Aiden, all the riot squad members froze.

"Be on guard!" Veronica shouted.

Instantly, all squad members drew their guns, forming a horizontal firing line.

Sensing their movements, the mercury sphere growled and transformed into a sea urchin shape, resembling a bristling cat.

"Everyone, hold your fire! Put your guns away! Step back!" Aiden intervened in time.

Veronica hesitated momentarily but obeyed without further questions, she immediately holstering her weapon and gesturing for the other team members to do the same.

The riot squad began to retreat, yet the mercury sphere remained tense.

After a moment of thought, Aiden displayed the silver coin he had been holding in his hand.

The mercury sphere paused briefly, then retracted its spikes, emitting a pleasant bell-like sound, trotting over to Aiden's feet eagerly.

Witnessing this scene, Aiden chuckled in disbelief—this creature seemed to have a taste for the finer things in life!