Setting aside for now how the Witch had managed to unlock [Madness], when Yaxiu saw that Black Demon's final personality trait was [Despair], he breathed a sigh of relief.
He could not imagine at all what could ever drive the Witch to despair. Even if he died, it might not necessarily cause this princess, who had leapt from the high tower, to lose all her faith. In this world brimming with miracles like "returning to the past" and "resurrecting the dead," regrets could be redeemed, and losses could be retrieved.
As long as a sorcerer had a desire, they were bound to find a way forward.
Even if the knight was not by her side, the princess would not lose her way.
However, just like "Dead Frenzy," the trait effects of "Black Demon" were exceedingly enticing: avatars, shared skills, simultaneous spellcasting—it clearly followed the route of a one-person army, a sorcery artillery battery. Yaxiu recalled the dreamscape in the Void Dimension; he remembered how the colossal miracle storm unleashed by Black Demon could almost drown everything within sight. If Dead Frenzy was a battlefield meat grinder, then Black Demon was a walking carpet-bombing machine.
Although he would never let the Witch drift toward Black Demon, this sorcery artillery route could serve as a career reference for Diya, guiding her to develop the potential abilities of her fellow witch sisters. Much like the Sword Princess, the Witch's Demigod-tier Time faction had plenty of water in it, but her Fist and Claw faction and Space faction had both advanced to Legendary, which genuinely defied Yaxiu's expectations.
The speed was utterly absurd.
Fist and Claw was one thing, but the Space faction was notoriously obscure and difficult to comprehend. Time and Space had always been exceptionally demanding arts on par with the Three Mystical factions.
On second thought, Yaxiu vaguely guessed the crux of the matter: the witch sisters had always learned faster than anyone else. After all, normal people studied alone, whereas the sisters could study separately and share their knowledge with each other, multiplying their learning speed several times over that of an ordinary sorcerer. Moreover, in the dream trials of Hell, he had progressed alongside the witch sisters. Perhaps for that very reason, the shortcut-derived sorcery experience they acquired far exceeded anyone else's; otherwise, it would be difficult to explain how she had pushed the Space faction to the Legendary realm.
As for the Sanctuary-level Soul realm, that was the true fruit of the Witch's efforts over the past half-year. Now, with the guidance of the "Black Demon" route, she could conveniently develop miracles like soul avatars.
Yet the higher the Witch's Soul realm reached, the closer the day came when she would separate her sisters. They didn't even need to separate them all; they only needed to split Lisi out, and those remaining would all be sisters capable of sharing joy with Diya.
Yaxiu's feelings were rather mixed. He naturally anticipated what a massive shock the separation of the witch sisters would deal to their already fragile interpersonal dynamics, yet he still sincerely hoped to see that day arrive soon.
Because once the Secret Princess was no longer tangled up with the White Queen, Black Butler, Red Dead Disciple, and Little Witch, they would also completely break free from the [Solitude] that had pursued them ever since the high tower, and formally... make peace with their past and destiny.
He looked forward to the day they truly grew up.
Though it would be even better if their celebratory ritual didn't require him to become a shared sacrifice...
["Innate Talent · Witch (Vacant)": Easier to summon four-winged Time sorcery spirits, possible to independently hatch new Time gods, can actively trigger the chimes of the Chiming Bronze Dragon (Talent level can be unlocked as strength increases).]
It was precisely by relying on the power of the Chiming Bronze Dragon that the Witch could temporarily turn back into a young woman. Yaxiu was actually somewhat puzzled by this, because in the Void Realm, the soul body condensed by the Witch took the form of a young woman. Reasonably speaking, a soul body shouldn't change, yet upon returning to reality, she reverted to a little girl. The most likely explanation was that Diya subconsciously believed the little girl was her true self and the young woman was merely a special form. Consequently, even her soul body was affected, only reverting to the young woman's form in the Void Realm.
Wear a mask for too long, and you can never take it off. Though Diya had become childish because of it, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing—or perhaps she had simply always been this childish.
Next was Youlan Weise's report, though Yaxiu noticed her name had changed.
["Eternal Night Silver Lantern's Growth Report: 10.17–3.27"]
["Bond Level: 4 (75% Experience Sharing)"]
["Sorcery Mana: ??? → ???"]
["Evaluation: SSS!"]
["Having achieved an SSS evaluation, Eternal Night Silver Lantern receives the Sorcerer Handbook's class enhancement: Mirror Master!"]
["Mirror Master · Class Traits: Gradually unlocks three traits as personality drifts."]
[Ruthlessness: For all biological units affected by you, emotional impulses and cognitive faculties will gradually decrease until they lose all emotion and become unable to think. If the target attempts to generate more emotions or accelerate their cognitive processes, the duration of Ruthlessness is extended.]
[Evil: Your attacks will destroy the target unit's emotions and thoughts.]
[Obsessive Love: You resolve to fiercely burn your emotions and thoughts. All of your subsequent attacks will inflict slight soul tremors on the target unit. In the intervals between each soul tremor, your emotions and thoughts will infiltrate the target's mind, continually erupting and transcribing until they overflow the target's heartsea.]
["Due to the increase in sorcery mana, Youlan Weise's talent has strengthened!"]
["Having achieved an SSS evaluation, Youlan Weise receives the class evaluation quest: 'Mirror Master'!"]
["Mirror Master: No time limit. When personality drifts to the critical point and unlocks all traits, the Mirror Master class traits can be permanently solidified. Current progress: (0/3)."]
Yaxiu blinked, then rubbed his eyes again.
Progress: (0/3)? For real? Was Weise really this considerate?
He had assumed everyone would unlock at least one trait. After all, to be completely honest, none of them were flawless people. But he hadn't expected Weise to outshine all the other operators—her personality hadn't drifted toward Mirror Master in the slightest. Yaxiu almost wanted to award her an Outstanding Operator medal!
While he was thrilled that Weise was so mentally healthy, Yaxiu couldn't help harboring a slightly bashful thought: [Ruthlessness] and [Evil] were certainly bad, but even if the [Obsessive Love] trait unlocked, it probably... wouldn't hurt, right?
However, given that it was one of the three major traits, this [Obsessive Love] was likely no ordinary romantic affection, but rather an extremely distorted, morbid emotion. Judging by its effect, [Obsessive Love] crammed one's own emotions and thoughts into the other person's mind, probably hinting that the Mirror Master wished to remold her lover into whatever shape she desired. The past Youlan Weise might truly have done something like that.
Yet after going through her self-sacrifice in the Silent Spiral, Weise had undergone a metamorphosis and rebirth. She had become far more rational and grounded now, no longer inclined to extremes. Thinking of this, Yaxiu stopped fretting over Weise's zero progress.
Still, the three traits of "Mirror Master" were quite intriguing; they represented an entirely distinct offensive system. If Dead Frenzy aimed to mutilate an enemy's body, Mirror Master aimed to wreck their brain.
Under the twin strikes of [Ruthlessness] and [Evil], an enemy's mind would run slower and slower, to the point where they might forget a thought from one second ago in the next. Soon, they would be reduced to an imbecile. Even if they possessed world-shattering combat power, they could only be pummeled by the Mirror Master like a Lalafell. And even if they could resist such cognitive degeneration, [Obsessive Love] could thrust the Mirror Master's thoughts directly into their mind, making them increasingly confused until their own thoughts and feelings vanished entirely, leaving only the false emotions the Mirror Master had planted—turning them into an obedient slave.
Treat them to a feast, cut off their heads, and take them in as dogs. Compared to Dead Frenzy and Black Demon, Mirror Master's method of fighting was stealthier, more vicious, and far more impossible to guard against.
["Innate Talent · Master of Fate (Vacant)": A chance to attract the favor of Truth sorcery spirits, easier to grasp the authorities of Truth and Fate, able to actively travel through the mirrors of the Samsara Phantom Mirror Dragon (Talent level can be unlocked as strength increases).]
Unlike the others, Weise's current talent had shifted toward making it easier to master divine authorities; after all, she was still a god rather than a sorcery spirit. And actively traveling through the mirrors of the Samsara Phantom Mirror Dragon was presumably how she could emerge from his portable mirror.
That reunion was something Yaxiu could likely never forget. Within the crumbling Cage of All Stars, before his eyes stood Stars wielding apocalyptic authority, yet it was the Silver Lantern who descended from the heavens to guard him, demarcating an insurmountable forbidden domain of silver light and buying him the vital time needed to summon the Fifth Pillar God. Just like in the Silent Spiral, she had been the one to block the apocalyptic storm that annihilated everything.
Clearly, it had always been him chasing after the Silver Lantern before, yet that time, she was the one who caught up to him.
Lastly came Vichy. Although Yaxiu had a faint premonition, seeing it still made him lose his composure.
["Demon Maid's Growth Report: 10.17–3.27"]
["Bond Level: 3 → 4 (75% Experience Sharing)"]
["Soul Faction: Demigod → Demigod"]
["Prophecy Faction: Demigod → Demigod"]
["Mind Faction: Legendary → Legendary"]
["Fire Sorcery Faction: Legendary → Legendary"]
["Dream Faction: Legendary → Legendary"]
["Spear and Halberd Faction: Legendary → Legendary"]
["..."]
["Sorcery Mana: Legendary Zero-Wing → Demigod Zero-Wing"]
["Evaluation: SSS!"]
["Having achieved an SSS evaluation, Demon Maid receives the Sorcerer Handbook's class enhancement: Nether Demon!"]
["Nether Demon · Class Traits: Gradually unlocks three traits as personality drifts."]
[Cruelty: Your effective attacks will leave soul scars on the target. Soul scars can accumulate indefinitely; the more scars there are, the higher your damage, and the target's sensitivity to pain is drastically amplified, so that even a gentle breeze feels as though their soul is being slowly flayed and bitten.]
[Frenzied Desire: Each time you kill a living creature, you obtain an evil spirit. Evil spirits can enhance Soul faction effects and serve as substrate materials for summoning sorcery spirits. Evil spirits can accumulate indefinitely.]
[Immortality: You have no attachment to fleeting years, seeking only eternal imperishability. Your soul's willpower is terrifyingly formidable. Upon death, your soul shatters and scatters, fleeing madly. If the soul contains evil spirits, your soul fragments will flee while sweeping along the evil spirits. Driven by your frenzied will, your soul fragments will actively seize mortal souls and grow in secret; soul fragments fused with evil spirits can even usurp sorcerer souls. All your soul fragments possess a convergence property, automatically gathering toward stronger individuals. When the convergence of soul fragments exceeds 10%, your will gradually awakens; when convergence exceeds 30%, you gradually regain your memories; when convergence exceeds 50%, you reclaim your sorcery realms; when convergence exceeds 80%, you can trigger "Immortality" again even upon death.]
["Due to the increase in sorcery mana, Demon Maid's talent has strengthened!"]
["Having achieved an SSS evaluation, Demon Maid receives the class evaluation quest: 'Nether Demon'!"]
["Nether Demon: No time limit. When personality drifts to the critical point and unlocks all traits, the Nether Demon class traits can be permanently solidified. Current progress: (3/3) (Completed)."]
Yaxiu nearly spat a mouthful of old blood.
Before he could even do anything, Vichy was already at 100% resonance with Nether Demon!
Chapter 1045