The Grotesque Miss’s End Story v3c53

Chapter 53: The Dangerous Miss Linna

The infamous White Witch.

The moment Her True Name first appeared in the Doomsday Messengers’ sight, it was already a shock.

Not because the White Witch, upon appearing, massacred 400,000 people with extreme cruelty. This scale, horrifying to others, wasn’t surprising to the Doomsday Messengers.

Their most proud achievement was, of course, the doomsday of Columbia, where the number of lives lost reached hundreds of millions. Unfortunately, except for the three giants, their two greatest contributors perished in the recent attack on headquarters.

Even the White Witch’s killing prowess was nothing special in the eyes of the Doomsday Messengers, not worth mentioning.

Among the White Witch’s deeds, what the Doomsday Messengers valued most was her replacement of Puppet Ballad.

Other factions knew practically nothing about the truth behind Columbia’s destruction, let alone Puppet Ballad. Most people simply thought Puppet Ballad, ranked forty-ninth in the Sequence, was the weakest High-Risk Grotesquery, thus overlooking the true horror of this incident.

But the Doomsday Messengers, the masterminds behind the scenes, knew Puppet Ballad’s terror very well. It wasn’t just the weakest High-Risk Grotesquery on the surface.

When the entire Columbia became puppets under Puppet Ballad’s control, Puppet Ballad achieved a true qualitative change, stepping into the Taboo level, becoming the eleventh Taboo, its concealment ability so powerful that even Sequence tokens couldn’t detect its presence.

The Doomsday Messengers didn’t dare to manipulate this being, knowing full well that Puppet Ballad’s power was unimaginable.

Moreover, such a powerful Puppet Ballad was also something the Doomsday Messengers were happy to see. As long as Puppet Ballad, after leaving Columbia, continued to hide, devour, and grow, the destruction of the next origin point wouldn’t be far off.

…But when the Doomsday Messengers next heard about Puppet Ballad, it was news of Her being killed and replaced by a previously unknown being, the White Witch.

The Doomsday Messengers’ shock upon learning this news was imaginable.

Afterwards, the White Witch’s actions in Victoria and the role she played in the Victoria Incident were all relayed to the Doomsday Messengers’ headquarters through the Woman of the Company.

The three Messenger leaders attached great importance to this and immediately elevated the White Witch to the highest priority level.

This level meant that, no matter what strange incident occurred, the White Witch would always be on the suspect list.

There were three reasons:

First, she killed Puppet Ballad and utilized its abilities. Puppet Ballad, after ascending to Taboo, possessed one of the most terrifying abilities.

Omnipresent surveillance, undetectable infiltration, and an unkillable nature. The destruction of Columbia was the ultimate manifestation of Puppet Ballad’s abilities.

Second, since she could obtain Puppet Ballad’s abilities by killing Her, perhaps she could obtain other abilities as well, further proven by the subsequent replacement of the Blood Lord.

In this case, it was hard to imagine how many other methods she possessed.

Third, based on what they learned from the Victoria Incident, she was a Grotesquery capable of communication and displayed considerable humanity, bringing more uncertainty to her actions.

Such a powerful, dangerous, enigmatic being with unknown motives and origins, regardless of evidence or clues, was always the prime suspect whenever something happened.

However, it was just suspicion, not a definitive conclusion.

Mentioning the White Witch, all the Messengers present fell silent, a hint of apprehension in their eyes.

They looked up and exchanged glances.

It wasn’t that they suspected there were the White Witch’s spies among the Messengers. This ancient temple could only be entered with consciousness, and Puppet Ballad’s abilities couldn’t touch consciousness. This was a fact known since the Columbia era.

But the other Doomsday Messengers, besides them, weren’t necessarily safe.

“After I return, I will expedite the investigation of all branch stations under my command, trying to identify any suspicious individuals.”

Chen Ke was the first to speak. His strict and serious personality was evident from his earlier reprimand of Mao Ke for being late.

“There’s no need for that.”

Chou Ke shook his head and glanced at Yin Ke, who was leaning against her chair, then nodded slightly.

Although Yin Ke had conceptually lost her limbs, sight, hearing, smell, and even her ability to speak, she could still understand everything in this meeting through special methods and relay it to Chou Ke through his ability.

In other words, Chou Ke could act as Yin Ke’s spokesperson.

“Little Sister Yin and I both disagree with making a big fuss. It will only alert the enemy.” Chou Ke cleared his throat and continued, “Everyone here knows the terror of Puppet Ballad’s abilities. Currently, there’s no way to definitively identify those infiltrated. Although there are methods to search consciousness individually, the consequences… would be unimaginable.”

Normal soul-searching methods would inevitably damage the soul, especially in the realm of consciousness. A slight mistake could completely erase one’s self.

They couldn’t just capture all the Carrier Pigeons and Relay Horses and search their consciousness at the risk of them losing themselves, right?

This method was effective, but if they truly implemented it, the Xuanyuan clan would be the first to applaud.

After such a search, they wouldn’t even need the White Witch or any other being to intervene. The Doomsday Messengers would completely fall apart.

“Yes, Elder Chou is right. We can’t be so rash, especially since we can’t confirm if it was the White Witch’s doing.” Zi Ke said, his expression grim. “The deaths of our comrades are indeed tragic, but we must continue our mission.

Regardless of the truth, we must persevere until the moment the world is meant to reach, the moment the deity Doomsday is born.”

The Doomsday of the old world had already been born. It was Transcendence, sacrificing its own concept of existence, that divided the four origin points, returning everything to before Doomsday, delaying the arrival of the final hour.

But… no matter what, everything would eventually return to its destined path.

This was what the Doomsday Messengers had always believed in.

“For now, try to take over the legacy left by the deceased ‘Shen Ke’ in Victoria. Although she failed, both the Angel of Demise she brought back and her arrangements in Victoria are of great help to our mission.” Zi Ke pondered for a moment and said.

At that time, as one of the three directors of the Company headquarters, the Woman controlled the entire Company’s finances, even the secret treasury was under her charge.

Therefore, the Woman secretly built a hidden power base in Victoria. This was her foundation for gaining a foothold within the Doomsday Messengers after Victoria’s destruction.

If this plan had succeeded, with this achievement, the Woman would have likely become the fourth giant, besides the three Messenger leaders.

But unfortunately, she failed.

Thus, everything she left behind was divided between Luo Ling and the other Doomsday Messengers.

“Each branch station should try to contact individuals favored by Doomsday. Recently… we’ve suffered heavy losses and need time to recuperate.” Chou Ke continued.

Everyone nodded slightly.

Soon, this brief meeting concluded. The Messengers had many things to attend to at their respective branch stations. The aftermath of this incident hadn’t subsided yet, and they had to prepare quickly.

Not every Messenger was like Mao Ke, responsible for only one branch station. The others were in charge of at least several.

Some were left behind by deceased Messengers, while others were like sub-stations, created when a branch station reached its capacity limit.

When almost all the Messengers left, only the three giants remained in the room.

“…What do you think,” Zi Ke’s expression instantly turned serious, “Who betrayed the Doomsday Messengers?”

The atmosphere in the meeting room instantly plummeted, a bone-chilling coldness.

This was a heavy topic.

There had been traitors among the Doomsday Messengers before. Some comrades weren’t firm enough in their beliefs, some feared death, and some betrayed Doomsday, choosing to stand against it, resisting the arrival of the world’s end.

But there had never been a case of a Messenger betraying them.

The Twelve Messengers, as beings directly favored by Doomsday, theoretically couldn’t betray the Doomsday Messengers. Without the corresponding belief, how could they obtain Doomsday’s favor?

But… there were always exceptions.

The reason Zi Ke gathered everyone at this time was to see if there were any exceptions.

This ancient relic of the old world could only be entered with consciousness. Yin Ke, after all the Messengers entered, had been using her abilities to monitor everyone.

However, the result was obvious. None of the Messengers showed any signs of suspicion.

No traitors?

…Impossible.

Because this attack was an impossible attack.

If the Doomsday Messengers’ headquarters was so easy to find, the Xuanyuan clan would have charged in with their weapons long ago. These persistent individuals were almost all fearless warriors.

Even the Doomsday Messengers couldn’t understand why the Xuanyuan clan was so fixated on them. Was it just because the Emperor had fought against Doomsday’s minions in the distant past?

Other factions had also fought against them, but none were as fanatical as the Xuanyuan clan.

Leaving aside those annoying individuals, simply obtaining information in advance wasn’t enough to accurately attack the headquarters, because its location constantly changed. Moreover, even its state constantly shifted between reality and illusion.

Only the three original Messengers knew how secure the headquarters truly was.

It could be said that the attack itself was even more significant than the deaths of so many Messengers. Even the other Messengers hadn’t realized this.

“Sorry, I can’t tell.” Chou Ke shook his head and sighed. “Little Sister Yin… also couldn’t find any trace.”

“…Me neither.”

Zi Ke had hoped that Elder Chou and Little Sister Yin could find something, but now, the most terrifying scenario had occurred.

An undetectable infiltration, without any flaws in their consciousness.

Could the Puppet Ballad they knew achieve this? Had this terrifying ability evolved further in the hands of the White Witch?

Or perhaps…

It wasn’t Puppet Ballad, but another, even more unfathomable being?

For example, another Taboo.

“…What a headache.”

Zi Ke rubbed his temples, his expression tired.

With so many possibilities, even the direction of the investigation was uncertain.

“Let’s end it here for now.” Zi Ke said in a deep voice. “If all else fails, I’ll request a miracle from Doomsday itself.”

“Yes.”

Chou Ke nodded slightly.

However, doing so would come with a heavy price. The reason Yin Ke was in her current state was because of repeatedly using Doomsday’s miracles within a short period. The heavy price almost cost her life, and she was now merely clinging to existence.

Of course, the effect was incredibly powerful. Back then, Columbia, as a result, completely lost any hope of a comeback, meeting its final demise.

The figures of the three Messenger giants gradually dissipated, and the ancient temple returned to silence.

The flickering candlelight remained, until the very end of the temple, where a simple corridor faintly appeared.

…….

“Have you finished reading?” Luo Ling asked.

“…Almost.” Linna looked up, her expression slightly tired.

She never liked reading!

When Linna was young, her mother, Fiona, repeatedly sent her to private schools, but she couldn’t focus at all, barely learning to read.

Coupled with her Awakened talent, which gave her strength far surpassing her peers, she gradually developed a bit of a delinquent streak, scaring Fiona into bringing her home for homeschooling.

After that, she directly entered the ranks of Awakened Ones and no longer needed to study.

Even when she read later, it was mostly novels, unlike now, where she had to look up all kinds of information, full of dry, boring, and difficult words.

Although she quickly learned the corresponding language with the Puppet Ballad ability, even if she knew it, she still didn’t want to read these things…

It was much more enjoyable to go out and kill a few enemies.

However, this was Miss Luo Ling’s order. Even if she was reluctant, she had to obey.

“Good, compile it into a memory packet for me,” Luo Ling nodded slightly and said.

“…”

After a moment of silence, Linna nodded with difficulty.

Sigh, what a hard life.

Next time, when Miss Luo Ling became unresponsive again, she would make her compensate her properly.

Thinking about the next time’s activities, Linna finally felt a bit better.

Of course, Luo Ling wasn’t ordering Linna around because she was lazy. It was because she didn’t have much energy now.

Not to mention that analyzing Jingwei’s complex injuries required a lot of mental effort, she also had to constantly monitor Elsa’s situation, and even Xuanyuan Linglong would occasionally chat with her, intentionally or unintentionally revealing some intelligence from the Xuanyuan clan.

Xuanyuan Linglong seemed to have noticed Luo Ling’s situation, but she intentionally showed goodwill, and the shared intelligence was quite helpful to Luo Ling.

In this case, she really couldn’t spare the energy to read through the Doomsday Messengers’ database, so she could only have the uneducated Linna do it for her.

After receiving the memory packet from Linna, Luo Ling diverted some of her attention from other matters to see the results.

But upon opening the memory packet, Luo Ling fell silent.

“What is this?”

Why was Miss Knight all over her?

And holding her hand, her fingertips…

Wait!

Luo Ling immediately closed the memory and looked at Linna seriously.

The exhausted Linna, wanting to relax, saw Luo Ling’s sharp gaze from the corner of her eye.

Her heart skipped a beat, and then she realized she had accidentally included some inappropriate memories in the packet.

“Oh no…”

It seemed she had been completely exposed.

However, the scolding she expected didn’t come. Instead, she heard Luo Ling’s helpless voice, “Don’t let this happen again. Besides, this is just an avatar I casually created, you… forget it.”

“Hmm?”

Linna looked up in surprise, but only saw Miss Luo Ling’s serious profile as she continued to read through the Doomsday Messengers’ information.

Could it be… tacit consent?

She seemed to have heard “Don’t let this happen again,” but what was more important was the latter part, “Forget it!”

“In that case, she shouldn’t mind, right?” Linna stroked her chin, but quickly gave up. “Forget it, next time… we’ll see.”

She stared at Luo Ling, a smile appearing on her lips.

Yes, the focused Miss Luo Ling was also very beautiful.

“……”

Although Luo Ling’s expression remained calm, her face was burning hot. She was just using the Puppet Ballad ability to conceal her physical changes.

After just a few glances, Luo Ling immediately destroyed the memory.

Miss Linna was truly… too dangerous!

However, seeing Linna’s exhausted expression, and recalling their past interactions, Luo Ling couldn’t bring herself to scold her.

Forget it, she would just pretend nothing happened.

Luo Ling selectively forgot, although her ears were burning hot, especially with Linna now staring at her intently, making Luo Ling flustered.

“Let’s look at the information Linna compiled first…”

Luo Ling forced herself to focus, her attention on the information at hand.