The Grotesque Miss’s End Story v3c15

Chapter 15: A Wonderful Use for Savior Witch

With a little time left before departing for their meeting with Moonflower, Luo Ling had some preparations to make.

First and foremost, she needed to refine the disguise for her and Iris’s role reversal.

Although Luo Ling in her Black Kite form looked almost identical to Iris, there were still subtle differences in their faces.

She couldn’t leave such an obvious flaw for Moonflower and the others to discover. Even if they might overlook it, Luo Ling didn’t think they were fools or blind.

Moreover, Luo Ling couldn’t constantly impersonate Iris, their personalities too different.

More accurately, their thought processes.

Iris’s way of thinking was… unusual… Luo Ling could replicate her memories and emotional responses, and even maintain a certain level of disguise.

However, she couldn’t replicate Iris’s… unique… imagination, even the Puppet Ballad’s self-learning abilities couldn’t achieve that.

Therefore, Luo Ling needed a method to instantly switch places with Iris without arousing suspicion.

“Should I use Omniscience to rewrite myself, or Miss Iris? But… I’m worried about Naraku’s unpredictable side effects. It’s better used against enemies.”

Even before becoming an Authority, it had caused problems. Even what Luo Ling considered a small-scale use had resulted in a section of Twilight Victoria being consumed by Immortality.

And the corruption was spreading. Even using Omniscience, Luo Ling could only slow it down, not eradicate it—after all, as a fellow Taboo Authority, Immortality wasn’t much weaker than Omniscience.

But if she didn’t use Omniscience, what else could she do…? Luo Ling pondered.

Iris, in bird form, perched on the table, felt a pair of familiar teal eyes staring at her and turned her head shyly, a strangely human-like gesture.

“Wait, if Omniscience of the Chaos Path has side effects, what about Omniscience of the Order Path?”

A thought struck Luo Ling, her pupils constricting.

Each Path had two sides, Grotesquery and Order. Authorities weren’t exclusive to Grotesqueries. The Order-side Transcendence Path already had Luo Ling’s Savior Witch and Su Wan’s Birth.

Luo Ling’s Savior Witch Authority could reverse Paths. When saving Victoria from Doomsday, it was Savior Witch that had reversed Doomsday, allowing Victoria to enter Transcendence and averting its destruction.

If she could reverse Doomsday into Transcendence, she could also reverse Chaos into Order.

However, this required a small experiment, as she would be using this ability on herself.

If it succeeded, it would be incredibly useful in the future.

Luo Ling immediately thought of the area in Twilight Victoria corrupted by Immortality due to her using Naraku’s abilities.

“Miss Iris, remember the place I… accidentally damaged… in your Kingdom?”

“Huh?” Iris paused. “What damaged place?”

“Oh, the place Amethyst damaged,” Luo Ling rephrased.

“……”

Iris’s face fell instantly.

—It seemed Miss Iris truly saw Amethyst and Black Kite as two different people.

Luo Ling’s lips twitched. She couldn’t understand this. The others knew they were the same person, only Miss Iris made this distinction.

Perhaps realizing it was Miss Black Kite, not the despicable Amethyst, Iris’s expression softened slightly.

“Why are you asking?”

“I want to see if I can fix it,” Luo Ling said. “After Victoria’s fall, I obtained a new ability that might be able to… resolve the Immortality disaster.”

“Really?” Iris said, suspicious.

“I’m not sure, but it’s worth a try,” Luo Ling nodded slightly.

“Mmm,” Iris reluctantly agreed, then her face paled. “Wait, what if your… actions… cause the Immortality disaster to spread…?”

“This time, it’s not Amethyst, but Luo Ling,” Luo Ling emphasized.

“Isn’t it the same, it’s still you?” Iris said, her face grim. This time, she understood. Luo Ling was Amethyst, and Amethyst was Luo Ling, the one who always caused trouble.

“There’s still a difference,” Luo Ling said, spreading her hands. “Anyway, I’m already in Twilight Victoria, just informing you.”

She wasn’t certain of its effectiveness, but she wasn’t worried about worsening the situation. Savior Witch, an Authority of the Transcendence Path, had reversed Victoria’s Doomsday; it couldn’t possibly worsen the Immortality disaster.

But explaining this to Iris was troublesome, so Luo Ling simply decided to act, as Iris couldn’t resist anyway.

“Please don’t say such horrible things, Miss Black Kite…” Iris said dejectedly, drooping her head.

Iris knew she couldn’t resist Luo Ling, unless she prevented her from entering Twilight Victoria in the first place.

Unfortunately, that was impossible. Their previous contract granted Luo Ling full access.

Luo Ling could break the contract without consequences, but Iris couldn’t.

Iris’s only hope was that Luo Ling would at least change her appearance, to preserve her image of the cute and reliable Miss Black Kite…

“Oh, no problem.”

Luo Ling nodded, transforming back into her original form, necessary for using Savior Witch.

“Be careful,” Iris chirped anxiously, fluttering behind Luo Ling like a worried wife. “A little damage is fine, but don’t destroy everything! Lord Jingwei needs this Kingdom!” Iris’s anxiety was understandable, having been traumatized before.

“Don’t worry,” Luo Ling replied casually.

They soon arrived at the area consumed by Immortality.

The area Luo Ling had “accidentally damaged” before was only about a hundred square meters, but now, the corruption had spread to almost a kilometer radius, still expanding.

Seeing the scene, Luo Ling gasped. The area shrouded by the Immortality disaster was a terrifying sight.

All the small animals, trees, even insects, were trapped in a horrific state of “the injured undying, the sick tormented, the decaying eternally preserved.”

Luo Ling even saw the white mouse from her first experiment, half its head devoured, yet still squeaking in pain, unable to find release.

If Luo Ling hadn’t chosen a remote location for her experiment, she would have seen humans suffering from the Immortality disaster, a truly hellish sight.

No wonder Iris resented Amethyst so much…

If this continued, within a few decades, all of Twilight Victoria would be consumed, and Jingwei, Iris’s greatest concern, would truly be beyond saving.

“Let me try.”

Luo Ling’s expression turned serious. Under Iris’s anxious yet hopeful gaze, she closed her eyes slowly.

A gentle breeze stirred, and Luo Ling’s body levitated slightly, her hair swaying gently.

The next moment, the black-haired girl opened her eyes, a faint golden light within them, a subtle hint of divinity.

The teal-black scales on her body vanished, replaced by a pair of demonic wings sprouting from her waist, tightly bound. Complex patterns, a mix of crimson and purple, appeared on her arms and legs, like some ancient language, containing a terrifying, taboo power.

Luo Ling now resembled a demon born from hell, yet strangely holy and divine, bringing salvation.

—This was the Authority of the Transcendence Path, Savior Witch.

She had once been a demon walking the Doomsday Path, but her desire for salvation had reversed everything.

“Guixu of Silent Demise, wielder of Immortality.”

Luo Ling looked at the hellish landscape consumed by the Immortality disaster, a hint of pity in her eyes, then slowly raised her hand, bringing release to this tormented land.

Silent Demise reversed, transforming into Myriad.

A light drizzle fell from the sky, bringing life to the barren land.

But… what followed was death.

A death that brought liberation.

The rampant Immortality was finally ended, all beings reaching their destined end, the true end of life.

Then, new life bloomed.

Tender sprouts emerged from the barren land, and small flowers bloomed.

Iris, watching this, was stunned. Even she, a lifelong farmer, had never witnessed such a miracle.

Land consumed by Immortality shouldn’t be able to support life again.

Just then, something even more shocking happened.

She heard a faint, weak chirp, almost like an illusion.

This was…

“Lord Jingwei’s cry!”

Iris’s eyes widened in disbelief, repeatedly confirming it wasn’t an illusion.

It seemed… Lord Jingwei, whose consciousness had been dormant, was showing signs of recovery.

Although not fully awakened, compared to Her previous unresponsiveness, this was a significant improvement.

Could it be… that Black Kite’s, or rather, Miss Luo Ling’s, miraculous ability… had somehow affected Lord Jingwei?

Iris looked up at Luo Ling, now in her Savior Witch form, her gaze filled with adoration.

“So beautiful…”

It wasn’t just her appearance, but Luo Ling’s act of salvation, a unique and unparalleled beauty.

Even in her demonic form.

Even Luo Ling hadn’t expected Savior Witch to be so effective.

But thinking about it, this was the Authority that had saved all of Victoria, even though it had required the arrival of Doomsday and the Woman’s complete sacrifice, it still demonstrated Savior Witch’s power.

In that case…

Luo Ling, after a moment of thought, extended Savior Witch’s effects to both Iris and herself.

Iris didn’t quite understand, but this power felt warm and comforting.

She unconsciously transformed back into her human form, a look of contentment on her face.

This was the power of Transcendence, the foundation of this world, practically a creator god.

For those who didn’t want the world to fall to Doomsday, Transcendence was as essential as water to fish, sunlight to trees.

The next moment, Luo Ling deactivated Savior Witch, transforming into Amethyst.

Before Iris could react, she swiftly used Naraku’s Ensnare, rewriting a single aspect of reality.

The difference between Luo Ling and Iris’s appearances, completely erased by Omniscience.

“Ahhh!”

Seeing Amethyst suddenly appear, Iris yelped, but then she saw the girl before her instantly transform.

Iris felt like she was seeing Lord Jingwei, Her Lord reappearing before her.

Coupled with Jingwei’s previous signs of recovery, Iris instinctively stepped forward.

To Luo Ling’s surprise, Iris suddenly embraced her.

“Waaah, Lord Jingwei, I missed you so much…”

“…It’s me,” Luo Ling said, her lips twitching.

“Waaah…”

Iris remained in her embrace.

“I’m Black Kite.”

“Huh?”

Iris looked up, startled.

“Ah?” She quickly released Luo Ling, flustered. “S-sorry…”

What was going on?

She had clearly felt Lord Jingwei’s presence…

Iris looked at Luo Ling, but her perception was still the same, confusing her.

However…

“Miss Black Kite, did you… disguise yourself?”

Iris took out a small mirror from her pouch, examining herself, then looked up at Luo Ling, blinking.

Identical.

Previously, they had only been similar, but now they were completely indistinguishable.

“More or less,” Luo Ling said, also slightly apprehensive. She carefully checked both her and Iris’s condition, relaxing only after finding no abnormalities.

Savior Witch combined with Omniscience was indeed effective.

Omniscience’s usual chaotic side effects, the random malicious transformations, were gone, replaced by some kind of optimization, although its nature was still unclear. At least, Luo Ling didn’t feel any discomfort.

It was just… quite draining. Even with Luo Ling’s current inspiration, she couldn’t do it again, already feeling slightly exhausted.

Now, even standing side-by-side, others would only think Iris had created a clone, not even considering the possibility of twins.

In their perception, in every aspect, Luo Ling and Iris were the same person.

Luo Ling used True Form, transforming into a teal bird and settling back on Iris’s head, yawning.

“Time for me to rest, Miss Iris. You go meet Moonflower and the others.”

“Oh.”

Iris scratched her head, still puzzled by her perception, wondering how Black Kite had disguised herself so perfectly, even feeling like Lord Jingwei… she had even mistaken her for Jingwei…

How stupid, mistaking someone for Her Lord.

Iris mentally berated herself, then carefully adjusted her hair, creating a nest for the drowsy Black Kite. She was quite skilled at this, perhaps from practice with Jingwei.

After finishing, Iris exhaled and took out her phone.

Moonflower had sent a new message in their little Tea Party group chat.

Perhaps worried about Iris leaking information, Moonflower had only revealed their target Authority now, just before the operation.

“The ancient battlefield, Zhuolu’s Battlefield,” Iris murmured. “Sequence 5, Heavenly Woman Ba (天女魃) of Nightmare.

“Wielder of the Chishui (赤水) Authority.”

****

T/N:

天女魃 (Tiānnǚ Bá-Heavenly Woman Ba): Is a figure from Chinese mythology and folklore, known as a drought goddess or demon. Her name is often associated with drought and scorching heat.

Chishui (赤水) : Red Water