Chapter 401: The World of Curses

Boom...

Long after the lightning, flashing like wild silver serpents, had violently struck the rising Golden City, the deafening thunder finally rolled in.

In the sky, Dorothy hovered with wings spread, fierce howling winds guarding her sides, shrieking with sharp, mournful cries.

Above her head hung vast, sky-covering clouds, swirling like tornadoes or the imperial canopy of a monarch; within them, lightning and thunder radiated a terrifying majesty capable of suppressing all things.

"Tsk, didn't work?"

Dorothy looked down at the Golden City, now glowing even more brilliantly under the lightning's glow, and sighed regretfully.

Gold conducts electricity well—just now, the full force of that heavenly strike had been dispersed and channeled into the earth by this Golden Village; her lightning strike had landed on nothing.

But...

"Was it really necessary to go this far?"

Looking at Mia, her senior, seated at the center of the Golden Village, perched between the towering horns of the colossal golden dragon statue, the Home Witch also tugged at her lips, helplessly.

This rich senior really had high expectations of her—she hadn't unleashed this when fighting Sophilia, so why open it up right away now that it was her turn?

Damn it, isn't this bullying? Where's the fair duel we agreed on?

Dorothy couldn't help but seethe with rage.

But whatever—it's not a big problem. Even if Mia struggles today, it's all pointless. She said she'd crush the dragon with one hand, and she'd make it happen. After all, everyone knows Dorothy never lies.

Then...

"Rain... come."

Without acknowledging Mia's warlike caution below, without mockery or pressure, Dorothy softly chanted again—and a torrential downpour arrived as scheduled.

For her now, duels and enemies meant nothing. She simply reveled in the vast magic flowing through her body, freely manifesting the beautiful vision she had long planned but never had the power to realize.

If she weren't truly short on magic, how could a master of spellcraft possibly spend every day mingling with those crude warriors from the Armed Force?

God of War? Hmph—that was merely a desperate self-defense tactic when magic was weak. Wrestling sweat-soaked with enemies all day was hardly elegant. This world is ultimately a mage's world.

And now, she was the embodiment of magic, the divine of this world.

In her mind, decades of accumulated understanding of spellcraft exploded in a single surge; vast magic surged around her, and countless spells, under her will, became reality.

But it wasn't enough—not nearly enough...

When the decades of suppressed frustration finally had a chance to explode, the Home Witch's already weak self-control shattered completely. In her eyes now, there was only the endless mystery of magic.

As for the rich senior?

Tsk, what's more fun than learning magic?

On the other side, Mia had no idea her utterly shameless crush was already lost in ecstasy, having forgotten her entirely. The Golden Princess sat upon her golden throne atop the dragon's head, gazing raptly at the apocalyptic scene beyond the city.

Yes, yes—this was the feeling she wanted. This was what she longed to see.

Though the lazy little sprite was adorable, this majestic, godlike, demonic sprite made her heart race even faster.

"Ah..."

Her once dignified, noble beauty now flushed with an inexplicable crimson from excitement, appearing all the more alluring and enchanting. Mia's eyes, hazy and greedy, fixated on her beloved—who seemed to pay her no mind—and she unconsciously let out a low moan.

She adored this tormenting little sprite—so much she wanted to pin her down and rub her raw, staining that majesty and power with her own scent, imprinting her essence upon it.

At this moment, the Golden Princess could no longer suppress her greedy, demonic dragon nature. Her body and soul screamed one single desire:

To defeat this woman—and then crush her.

She rose from her throne; the fortress-like heavy armor on her body dissolved, revealing only a thin mage's robe. Drenched by the heavens-falling rain, the soaked fabric clung to her, outlining every curve unmistakably.

Moreover, this seemingly ordinary rain concealed lethal intent. Her expensive witch's robe lasted less than five seconds before its magical runes dimmed, and even the high-grade fabric rapidly corroded.

The rain concealed unknown spells—and like the earlier wind and thunder, this torrent was alive...

Soon, the Golden Princess's attire lay in tatters, with only a few ragged strips stubbornly clinging to her body—but even those wouldn't last many more seconds.

Yet Mia paid no mind. She even savored the faint burning pain as the rain's corrosive force ate into her skin, making her already peony-blooming face even more alluring.

"My little sprite... you're truly... so wonderful..."

The seductive beauty's words dripped with unhidden love, obsession, and a terrifying hunger.

Mia cast one final glance at her beloved, suspended in the sky, then dissolved into a pool of molten gold, merging into the colossal golden dragon statue beneath her feet.

In the next instant, the Golden Village, which had been sizzling under the magical rain, shuddered—and then blazed with golden light. Countless magical runes and arrays ignited across every corner of the city. The entire Golden Village awoke, for its master, the lord of the earth, the great Earth Mother, had awakened.

"Roar..."

The reborn, wingless golden dragon—its head, admittedly, resembling the pitifully weak Gargantua from Monster Hunter—raised its noble snout and let out a thunderous dragon cry. From its towering, glittering curled horns, magic began to glow.

The next moment, a searing breath evaporated everything. This time, the dragon's breath did not explode into flames engulfing the world—it condensed, focused, and shrank into a single point, like a colossal laser sword. It effortlessly shattered the wind, tore through the rain curtain, and split the sky.

The parted clouds could no longer obscure the heavens; brilliant sunlight poured through the gash across the sky, illuminating the Earth Mother below—the golden-scaled dragon, radiant with golden light, majestic and splendid, radiating divine majesty so beautiful it dazzled the eyes, so sacred it was unbearable to gaze upon.

Unfortunately, the magic-obsessed one completely missed the mood. Dorothy felt the agonized cries of the wind, thunder, and rain spirits she had awakened, and frowned.

Her magical research had been abruptly interrupted—the smooth flow had suddenly stuttered. The feeling was maddening.

But it reminded her: oh right, she was still in a duel. She sighed, exasperated.

"You idiots, still standing around gawking? Get moving! Don't block my inspiration!"

The shameless witch snapped at the several thought-entities still watching the show.

"Oh! Right away, right away!"

"Got it, I'm on it."

"You didn't say anything earlier—I thought you were going to show off solo, so I didn't dare interrupt."

"I'll do whatever you say, big sis."

In the next instant, two giant dragon masks—one weeping, one laughing—floated beside Dorothy. Then a bright moon hovered behind her head. Finally, a colossal dragon-serpent phantom rose from her back, no smaller than the opposing Radiant Dragon.

It resembled the form of her mother's spirit weapon—the ancestral form of her lineage: Ye Meng Jia, the World-Encircling World Serpent.

"Whoa, I'm so huge now! Finally, no more feeling cramped! All thanks to this pathetic body of yours—today, I'm finally gonna have some fun!"

The colossal dragon-serpent spoke for itself, then roared with thunderous laughter.

Dorothy: "???"

Watching this shameless sprite, who even mocked itself, the Home Witch's temple veins bulged.

"Shut up. Nobody thinks you're mute if you don't talk."

She scolded.

"Fine, you're the boss."

The Sprite King didn't care. She, too, just wanted to have fun. No need to calculate magic—why not enjoy it?

Thus, the colossal dragon-serpent phantom spread its wings, its vast feathered wings blotting out the sun and moon. Then its massive right foreclaw reached out and gripped the air.

The thunder spirit, already grievously wounded by the Radiant Dragon's breath-sword, was seized—and then violently expanded into a colossal thunder spear.

"Come on, senior, wanna trade blows?"

The black dragon laughed wildly, its voice thundering across the world, issuing an unapologetic challenge to the Earth Mother below.

The battle-ready Radiant Dragon naturally didn't refuse. She stomped her claw, opening the gates to the Golden Village's treasury. Instantly, countless dazzling, powerful artifacts surged upward, shooting toward the sky.

Each artifact was a rare weapon, hard to find outside, collected by Mia from across the universe.

Among them were divine weapons that survived world-shattering blows, weapons wielded by legendary saviors famed across the world, and the pinnacle creations of alchemical masters from the witch world. Any one of them was worth several Dorothys. Ordinary people who obtained even one would worship it as an ancestral relic, polishing it daily, treasuring it constantly.

But to the Golden Princess, they were merely decorations for her dragon hoard.

Yet these artifacts were not being mindlessly fired en masse—that would be less effective than a barrage of crossbow bolts. The Earth Mother could fully control every treasure in her treasury, so now, every artifact's power was pushed to its absolute limit, as if still held by their original masters.

In that instant, blades flashed, swords gleamed, dragon roars and horse neighs echoed; dazzling liberation powers blazed forth. Countless powerful forces, under a single will, rose to defy heaven—its might resembled an army of ten thousand heroic spirits.

"Tsk, senior, you should've stood on a streetlamp—or maybe taken up some hybrid cultivation."

The giant dragon spirit, transformed from the Sprite King, showed no fear. It merely raised its thunder spear and hurled it with full force.

"Lightning, come! Eat this—Sunlight Spear!"

The already furious lightning, amplified by the God of War's will, became even more terrifying. The searing thunder spear, upon release, transformed into an endless sea of lightning, conjuring the illusion of a heavenly palace filled with countless thunderous celestial soldiers.

No—this wasn't an illusion. Those lightning figures were lifelike; each contained one or two thunder spells within them. They were all manifest forms of spellcraft personified.

The next moment, the Thunder Celestial Soldiers clashed with the Heroic Spirits' army, fighting fiercely, locked in a brutal stalemate.

Inside the Radiant Dragon, Mia frowned. She sensed something wrong.

And soon, that ominous premonition became reality.

While the Sprite King was holding off the attack, Dorothy's true body hadn't stopped. She was still testing her hypothesis.

As a top-tier genius who learned nearly every spell instantly, mastered it immediately, and then innovated beyond it, Dorothy herself didn't even know how many spells she'd mastered. But sadly, learning more seemed to have no real use.

Most witches didn't learn many spells. They chose only a few they liked best—ones with decent power—and built a complete set: offense, defense, evasion, healing. They specialized in those few, ignoring others, even superior ones, until they reached a certain realm.

There was no choice—human energy was limited. Ten birds in the forest are worth less than one in hand. Focus on one point to reach the peak.

But Dorothy was greedy. She wanted it all.

Though her godlike inspiration and learning ability let her satisfy her greed—she knew everything, and knew it all fairly well—it still didn't help.

After all, she was only one person. Even with multiple thought-entities assisting, she couldn't cast all her spells at once.

Most of her spells, once learned, were locked away in storage, never used—like in her past life's gacha game: she spent big money pulling characters, raised them to max, graduated them, and they just sat in her warehouse. The ones she actually used daily? Still just the original few from launch. (You know who you are.)

Dorothy had always been frustrated by this—until recently, when she repaired the broken laws of the Moon Rabbit World and had a massive epiphany.

Back then, she barely understood the insight. But after two months of careful thought, a clear idea began to form in her mind.

"Why should I cast the spells myself? I've already learned them—they're mature magic. They should learn to act on their own."

Personal power has limits. But the power of the world is infinite. Wind, rain, thunder—all happening at once—is natural, ordinary.

So...

Forget casting. I'll use spellcraft to create a world—a world of spellcraft and magic.

"Then continue. Su Xing, my spell-spirits."

... The Home Witch is casting...