Two visitors in hooded black robes stood before the Academy’s wrought-iron gates.
A crow flew down from its perch atop a Gothic gatepost, landing on the arm of one visitor—an arm that looked less like flesh and more like a network of plant veins.
“Lord of the Origin, Decaying Aminata, welcome to you both,” the crow said, speaking with Wang Yue’s voice.
It was Decaying Aminata and Deca of Rules.
These two were the heavy hitters sent by the Explorers’ Guild to assist in the defense.
Only two?
Wang Yue felt a flicker of disappointment. However, she knew deep down that the Guild was already scraping the bottom of the barrel to provide even this much help.
Inside the Headmaster’s office, five Taboo-Name Witches had gathered.
Gwendolyn Elliot sat behind her desk. To either side sat Professor Tone, Professor Sabrina, the Occultism teacher Lila, and the newly appointed Glannar Cardipo.
Wang Yue led the two Lantern-Bearers into the room.
This was the sum total of the Academy’s defensive strength, from which three Taboo-Names were about to be removed as they deployed to the front lines. Once a Taboo-Name’s avatar lost its connection to the main body, it lost most of its higher intelligence, becoming little more than a puppet capable of basic tasks like teaching classes.
“Excellency Elliot, I have brought the ‘Tree Seed,'” Aminata said.
“Then we shall proceed as planned,” the Headmaster replied with a sharp nod.
Wang Yue’s gaze shifted to the woman composed of knotted, green, glass-like fungi and mushrooms.
Aminata reached toward her chest with long, crystalline fingers that resembled sporangiophore stalks. Before her fingertips even touched her skin, soft white fungal filaments burst from her chest as if possessed by a mind of their own. They reached out, presenting a withered seed that had been cradled deep within her body.
Wang Yue had done her research; this was the seed of the Delusional Demon Tree.
The Delusional Demon Tree was a truly malevolent form of plant life. It possessed incredible adaptability and a massive root system that bored deep into the earth to aggressively seize nutrients. Its intertwined roots and iron-hard trunk formed an airtight barricade, trapping and consuming every living thing within its reach.
Its roots were covered in venomous thorns, while its burls combined with bacteria to create highly toxic “bombs.” If accidentally triggered, everything within a hundred meters would be poisoned to death. The miasma exhaled by its aerial roots caused blindness and rotted the lungs of any who breathed it.
Even worse was its mental distortion field. It caused victims to sprout antler-like branches from their heads, connecting them to the Demon Tree’s will. Their minds were enslaved, turning them into feral believers of a cult that worshipped the tree.
According to the Explorers’ Guild’s records, a team of Lantern-Bearers once explored a “Forest Realm” formed by a Delusional Demon Tree. They found the ruins of vast villages where the inhabitants had either died in despair and madness or had become savages whose corpses were covered in lesions and strange rhizomes.
However, the seed brought by Decaying Aminata had been modified by Guild scholars. All of its malice was now directed outward.
It would form a dense wall of wood reaching from the ground to the sky, enveloping the entire school like a massive hollow tree.
“Have the students on extracurricular practice been recalled?” the Headmaster asked.
“The notices have been sent. We expect everyone to be back within twenty-four hours,” Sabrina answered.
“Good. This time tomorrow, I will lock down the school. Ensure we have sufficient food and water. During the lockdown, we will implement a rationing system and strict management.”
With that, the Headmaster stood and led Decaying Aminata toward Lhouctoug’s Aperture deep underground.
The Delusional Demon Seed would take root in that Outer God’s stoma, drawing power to grow into an indestructible divine tree with god-like regenerative abilities. It would act as a living sentinel, battling any invaders who dared approach.
Wang Yue did not follow them. She maintained her facade of ignorance regarding the situation underground—only a fool would openly admit to being a Faithless in front of such a crowd.
***
The lockdown notice was delivered by the housemother to every dormitory. The young witches, unaware of the true danger, were abuzz with speculation.
Among the students, only Wang Yue knew the full truth, though Loran and Lilith each knew about half of the story.
In their dorm room, Wang Yue sat quietly while her roommates discussed their emergency shopping plans.
“The notice says the lockdown will last two to three weeks. We have to stock up on food!” Dina reminded them.
“Didn’t it say they’re doing a rationing system to stop ‘certain people’ from eating everything?” Matcha asked, looking confused. “Surely the food will be enough?”
“What if the rationed food tastes bad? We need to prepare snacks and ingredients for cooking—flour, eggs, butter, milk powder, things like like that,” Dina said, being quite thorough. “And as for ‘certain people,’ don’t go stuffing your face like usual. This isn’t like normal times. If you finish your stash before the lockdown ends, you’re going to have a miserable time.”
“Ugh… Do you really have to guard against me like that?” Dorothy pouted, feeling personally targeted.
Hearing the little girls chirping about their shopping lists as if they were preparing for a holiday, Wang Yue felt a sense of surrealism.
She realized the massive information gap between them. The young witches didn’t understand the peril behind the lockdown; instead, they found it novel and exciting.
To them, the living fortress formed by the Delusional Demon Tree was just a fun treehouse—a place to hide and play, innocent and carefree.
On the final half-day of freedom before the lockdown, the young witches flooded out of the gates. The Quicksand Lowlands became incredibly lively as shops were picked clean, especially the food aisles.
Plans went out the window in the chaos. There was no time to pick and choose from a list; Wang Yue and her roommates simply grabbed whatever they could reach.
By the time they trudged back, they were all out of breath.
Back in the dorm, they dumped their bags and tallied their haul.
“I got beef jerky, dried sweet potatoes, and some konjac,” Matcha said.
“Nuts and licorice candy,” Wang Yue reported.
“Dandelion tea, elderberry wine, and mustard mint candy,” Cerceybe added in her usual ethereal voice.
“That’s weird. Why would you buy those things?” Dorothy asked, tilting her head.
“Want to try one?” The girl with the sorrowful ash-grey hair held out a green candy.
The name sounded terrifying, but hey, it was candy.
Dorothy shot an inquiring look at Wang Yue. After receiving a nod of approval, she snatched the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.
“Ugh…!”
Tears and snot began to run instantly. Her throat felt freezing yet spicy at the same time, but amidst the intense stimulation, there was a lingering sweetness that made it impossible to spit out.
The pink-haired girl refused to give in, scrunching up her face as she sucked on the bizarrely flavored treat.
The dormitory was livelier than ever as the girls sat in a circle, throwing out wild guesses about the reason for the lockdown. Before long, a sound like bamboo snapping echoed from outside.
Wang Yue’s crow sat atop a high spire, looking out over the Academy’s outer walls.
The first wave of massive, deep-purple rhizomes shot into the sky with incredible speed. Like Jack’s beanstalk, they didn’t stop until they were hundreds of meters high. Then, they converged from all directions, twisting together to form the shape of a colossal birdcage.
A second wave of purple-black roots grew to fill the gaps, pressing and stacking against each other to form a dense protective layer. Poisonous thorns erupted outward, coating the Academy in a coat of needles. From the outside, the school now looked like a cursed castle from a dark fairy tale.
On the grounds inside, the surface was likewise covered in a network of roots, forming a strange, organic floor.
The moonlight was completely shut out. The streetlamps shone brighter than usual against the darkness. The natural vault formed by the trees created a paradoxical sense of security—a silent, deep sanctuary held within a shadowed womb.
