Chapter 33: Welcome Home
The green flames spread gradually. At first, only a few commoners came to extinguish the fire, but they quickly discovered that water couldn't put out this green flame at all.
Hades had three burning stages. If it wasn't extinguished in the first two stages, by the third stage, it was completely impossible to put out.
Currently, Hades was in its first stage. At this stage, Hades didn't have terrifying temperatures but possessed strong adhesion and spreadability.
When the commoners realized they couldn't extinguish the green flames, they began to flee outward.
"Don't run, put out the fire first."
"Water can't put out this flame."
"Go get seawater!"
As the fire grew, the commoners abandoned their efforts to extinguish it and fled toward the beach area on the outskirts of West Port.
"Stop running! Whoever dares to flee, I'll burn them to death!"
A sharp shout rang out, and the commoners heading toward the beach halted. A witch stood blocking their path.
Looking at these terrified commoners, the witch stomped her foot in frustration. Suppressing the urge to kill these people, she approached the blazing green flames.
This witch showed no panic as she looked at the green flames spreading toward her feet. She was a fire-type ability user; controlling flames was second nature to her.
The witch pressed one hand to the ground, and an invisible wave spread outward. A small patch of green flame landed on the back of her hand. The witch paid it no mind, closing her eyes as she attempted to use her incarnation to control the green flames.
Suddenly, the witch's eyes flew wide open. Her right hand had begun to burn fiercely. Before she could react, the green flames had already spread to her upper body.
"Ahhh!!"
After a piercing scream, this witch, who specialized in controlling flames, was burned alive. Watching this from a distance, Su Xiao couldn't help but admire the witch's courage. The second stage of Hades was something he himself dared not touch. This substance was essentially uncontrollable, which was why he rarely used Hades.
When a 'god' bleeds, it ceases to be a god. This fire witch was a perfect example. She was burned alive right before the eyes of those commoners. Some timid women and children fainted from sheer terror.
After a few screams, the crowd surged once more toward the beach area.
Melody stared blankly at the burning green flames. She had imagined Su Xiao would kill many witches at West Port, but she never expected he would directly burn down the entire port—and do so immediately upon arrival.
Su Xiao did this for two reasons: first, to drive away the commoners, and second, to force out the witches. There was no telling how many witches were hiding in West Port, and searching for them one by one would be far too troublesome.
The green flames surged like a tidal wave, sweeping upward toward the buildings above. Everything in their path turned to charcoal. Hades had prematurely entered its third stage, leaving no possibility of extinguishing it.
Meanwhile, by the coast, Amu stepped forward toward the cliff face.
Inside the tallest building in West Port, a woman with flowing golden hair stood before a window. Bathed in sunlight, her golden hair seemed to be ablaze.
The sound of hurried footsteps came from behind the woman.
"Milady, an enemy has infiltrated the rear."
A witch knelt on one knee. The golden-haired woman turned her head to look at her.
"I saw it."
The golden-haired woman's tone was calm. She wore a golden gown. Though her features were stunningly beautiful, she exuded an aura of authority more than anything else.
"Milady, that was... the front."
The kneeling witch's voice grew quieter. Her queen was nearly perfect in every way, except for one flaw: a complete lack of sense of direction.
"So it was the front."
The golden-haired woman smiled, seemingly unconcerned about the stone houses being consumed by flames.
"Your subordinate suggests we immediately gather forces to extinguish that green flame..."
"No need."
The golden-haired woman stepped forward until she stood before the kneeling witch.
"Have everyone gather in the castle. Everyone."
"But those buildings..."
The kneeling witch looked up. Those civilian homes had been built over generations of slave labor, giving West Port its current scale.
"Those don't matter. Burn them down and rebuild. Even if all the slaves die, it's fine. You are what matters."
The golden-haired woman placed her hand on the witch's head. The kneeling witch's pupils trembled.
"Yes, Milady."
The witch stood up. Her hands were shaking—not from fear, but from genuine excitement.
Watching the witch hurry out of the room, the golden-haired woman smiled. Human hearts were such interesting things.
On the outskirts of West Port, Su Xiao stood atop a civilian house. This area hadn't yet been affected by Hades. Judging by the fire's progression, the green flames likely wouldn't reach here.
Adjusting the scope of the Duke of Annihilation, Su Xiao frowned. He hadn't seen any witches trying to put out the fire. His plan in setting the blaze was to lure the witches out and then pick them off one by one with sniper shots.
The current situation was clearly different from what he had anticipated. Not only were no witches coming to fight the fire, but the commoners had also scattered in all directions.
Just as Su Xiao was about to abandon his plan to snipe witches, a suspicious figure appeared in his scope. It was a young witch, about twelve or thirteen years old.
This young witch wove through the crowd. Instead of fleeing toward the beach, she was running toward the castle at the highest point.
Realizing this, Su Xiao understood why no witches had come to fight the fire. Clearly, the leader of West Port had ordered all witches to gather.
Putting away the Duke of Annihilation, Su Xiao was no longer in a hurry. If Hades managed to spread up to the castle, that would be an unexpected bonus—he could then snipe them as they fled like drowning dogs. Even if the flames didn't reach that high, the witches were now gathered together, saving him the trouble of searching for them.
Just as Su Xiao lit a cigarette and observed the fire's progress, a spatial fluctuation came from behind him.
Clang.
The Dragon-Slaying Flash slid from its sheath. Su Xiao rushed several steps to Melody's side and swung his blade.
Pfft!
Blood splattered. A sickly green arm was severed. Unfortunately, the other sickly green arm had already grabbed Melody by the back of the neck.
"Hehehe..."
A cold, sinister laugh echoed. The space behind Melody twisted, and she was dragged into an alternate dimension.
"Witch Hunter, you'll die a miserable death just like her..."
With a swoosh, a blade light flashed through. The cold voice was cut short. A nearly shattered head was expelled from the alternate dimension.
[Space-Time Dominator]
Quality: Legendary
Type: Pendant
Equipment Effect: Spatial Slash (Active). Consumes 10% of mana. The next slash can penetrate alternate dimensions, spatial rifts, eleven-dimensional spaces, etc., dealing 500 points of damage plus any damage attached to this slash, and forcibly expelling the enemy from their current alternate dimension.
...
With one slash, the old witch who had been showing off from within the alternate dimension was killed by Su Xiao. He scanned his surroundings. Melody should have been expelled from the alternate dimension as well, but she wasn't here. She was likely at the starting point of the alternate dimension.
Inside the castle at the highest point, Melody crashed to the floor with a thud. The smell of blood spread.
A headless corpse lay on top of her. Lying on the cold marble floor, Melody pushed the body off. At that moment, she found over a dozen pairs of eyes looking down at her from above.
"Say... if I told you Cassandra wasn't killed by me, would you believe it?"
Looking at these 'familiar faces,' Melody, sitting on the floor, swallowed hard. These familiar faces all sneered coldly. Of course, they believed her—given Melody's combat ability, it would be strange if she had actually killed Cassandra.
"Welcome home."
A gentle female voice came from nearby. Hearing this voice, Melody shuddered.
"Q-Queen, long time no see."