Chapter 658: Demolish

On the slopes of Tian Ding Mountain, a hundred ghosts have established their encampment.

Sophie Lyra stood at the crossroad, gazing far off toward the mountain peak; though her face showed no obvious expression, her eyes occasionally betrayed traces of anxiety.

The young mistress has been on the mountain with those two priestesses all night, and still hasn't come down.

Although the Pure White Witch knew her young mistress's actual combat power far exceeded that little witch's magical level, and that the young mistress was accompanied by the mysterious Fan Ni senior, so even if those two priestesses had ill intentions, they wouldn't easily succeed.

But that didn't stop the Angel Witch from feeling anxious—she had always been the type to overthink everything.

And if it were just her own concern, that would be fine, but now there were two troublemakers beside her stoking the fire.

"Dorothy hasn't returned all night—this is outrageous."

Luo Xin Fu also stared toward the mountain peak, speaking with evident displeasure.

As her teacher, Noerose naturally worried about her disciple, especially since she immediately recognized how dangerous that Amaterasu Priestess was—a force even her true self couldn't withstand.

"What's there to worry about? The Priestess wouldn't eat the child, and worrying won't help anyway—we're all together and still no match for one arrow from the Priestess."

Eight-Foot Lady remained calm.

As a native witch of Nihon, Yaemurasaki understood better than anyone else the true strength of this island's nominal ruler—she was nearly Sage-tier.

If the Priestess truly intended to harm them, she wouldn't need any tricks at all, so there's absolutely no need to worry.

"Dorothy is a born Sage, and the Priestess's duty is to serve the Sage—she might even be serving her right now."

"Wait, Dorothy's still a child."

Luo Xin Fu looked utterly shocked.

"Exactly—that's why we can't let her go."

Eight-Foot Lady smiled mysteriously.

"Hss, haven't seen you in years, and now you're playing this dirty?"

"Nah, nothing compared to you—I still remember you alone in your dorm doing that thing to your puppet."

"Get lost—I already told you, that was just a five-senses test."

"Hehehe."

The two adult witches chatted about topics even young witches wouldn't dare listen to, and this made the Pure White Witch imagine all sorts of bizarre scenes.

Like the noble Priestess willingly undressing before the young mistress to serve her, or the young mistress smiling as she embraced both priestesses, one on each side.

As she imagined, two faint blushes appeared on the Pure White Witch's cheeks.

Impossible, absolutely impossible—that cowardly young mistress wouldn't dare—she wouldn't even take it if I handed it to her for free.

Sophie Lyra slapped her own cheeks, then shook her head, ending her wild fantasies.

She glared irritably at the two unbecoming elders beside her, then turned her gaze back toward the mountain peak.

Fortunately, she didn't wait long—soon three figures appeared on the descending staircase, but as soon as she saw them, the Pure White Witch's eyes sharpened.

Their positions had changed.

When they climbed up, the young mistress followed behind the two priestesses; now, the young mistress led the way, while the two priestesses walked one on each side behind her, subtly acknowledging her as their superior.

Something must have happened on the mountain—this young mistress's efficiency is truly impressive.

Sophie Lyra suddenly remembered this.

Still, she suppressed her inexplicable irritation and stepped forward to greet them.

On the other side, Dorothy also spotted her roommate waiting by the path and happily raised the file bag in her hand, offering it forward.

"Big Tengu, my mission's done."

The Home Witch said.

Though she'd casually accepted the Heavenly Scripture inheritance on the way up, she hadn't forgotten her purpose in coming to the Amaterasu Shrine—this righteous claim was now in her hands.

The Pure White Witch carefully studied this carefree young mistress and suddenly wondered if she'd misjudged her—perhaps the young mistress had genuinely been discussing matters last night.

But when she reached out to take the file bag and glanced at its contents, she was left speechless.

"Demolition order? Young mistress, this is your claim?"

Sophie Lyra had seen many things, but she'd never seen a claim like this.

Who issues a declaration of war under the guise of demolition?

The Pure White Witch's expression turned awkward.

My young mistress, can you please stop fixating on your stupid demolition hobby?

Sophie Lyra was nearly frantic.

But what could she do? She'd sworn allegiance to this ruler—fine, fine, fulfilling her sovereign's whims was a minister's duty, and upon reflection, demolition did seem like a surprisingly sound interpretation.

The Pure White Witch calmed slightly and fell into thought.

She'd originally planned for the young mistress to claim the legitimate rulership of Nihon directly from the Priestess, then restore order with full legitimacy.

But while this grand claim sounded good, it had one flaw: an outsider parachuted into power is hard to accept. The title "born Sage" sounds impressive, but the witches of Nihon are no longer the original generation—no one knows how many still honor ancestral vows and recognize a Sage as their master.

But if they followed the young mistress's demolition plan…

Hmm, the ruler of Nihon would still be the Amaterasu Priestess, and the Amaterasu Shrine has long held deep authority in the hearts of Nihon's witches—this would be easier to accept.

Acting under the Priestess's name would also allow them to cry "purge the traitors at court," firmly securing moral high ground.

And though demolition sounds absurd, upon closer thought, it actually works well.

For example, if they painted a single "demolish" character on the Tenshukaku, what would the Hua Clan do?

The Hua Clan centers their power around the Tenshukaku—if even their stronghold is torn down, how can they save face?

But refusing demolition means defying the Priestess's decree; witch lords hold absolute authority over their domains, and defying the Priestess's order is, strictly speaking, treason—then they'd be branded rebels, and anyone could kill them on sight.

With just this one "demolish" character, the Hua Clan witches seem truly unable to respond.

After a moment's thought, Sophie Lyra had to admit—this forced demolition order might actually qualify as a legitimate claim.

Dorothy also noticed her roommate's complex expression and spoke up.

"Sophie Lyra, I'm not fooling around—I'm serious. We must analyze each problem concretely, base everything on reality, and seize the primary contradiction."

"The main system in the witch world is still the lord system, and its primary contradiction is the land dispute between lords and commoners."

"And when it comes to land disputes, this character is invincible."

The Home Witch pointed to the bold red "demolish" character on the document, speaking confidently.

Even within the lord system, there are differences—other witch lords elsewhere have long entered the capitalist era based on employment relationships, but Nihon stubbornly clings to feudalism.

What century is this? How can anyone still believe "the word of a Hua Clan elder is law"? That won't do.

The Hua Clan witches now control most of Nihon's land and resources, monopolizing the means of production—this is the foundation of their privileged class. To break this class structure built on land ownership, land resources must be redistributed.

But taking land from the Hua Clan isn't easy—it requires overwhelming force, and outright theft would forfeit moral legitimacy.

But here, the advantage of the lord system emerges: witch lords hold absolute authority over their subordinates.

Of course, this is just talk—because if all benefits went to the lord, her followers would revolt; you can't have the boss feasting while the sisters who helped build this empire starve.

So in practice, witch lords gradually delegate management of their lands to their trusted allies, forming unbreakable alliances of mutual interest.

The Hua Clan of Nihon formed the same way.

Their ancestors' privileges came from the Three Noble Children's grants, but after Susano and Tsukuyomi died and Amaterasu weakened, the situation flipped into rebellion from below.

Once humble servants now seek to devour their masters.

To change Nihon's current state, the main task is to expel these traitorous servants.

What better method than demolition to drive them out? Just demolish.

Of course, demolition requires powerful means—the old Amaterasu Shrine may have wanted to demolish, but lacked the power; now, it's fine—professional work belongs to professionals.

The Witch House, as a professional architectural guild, excels at demolition; once the Priestess signs the demolition order, the rest is up to them.

As long as the Witch House holds the Priestess's demolition order, moral legitimacy is on their side—this isn't illegal forced demolition; we have all the paperwork. If you have complaints, please appeal to the Amaterasu Shrine.

The Home Witch was eager to see whether those traitorous dogs truly had the nerve to come to the shrine and appeal to the Priestess.

Hehe, if it were the weak Amaterasu of old, Kikyo, it might've been tricky—but now the Priestess is fully charged.

The former absolute ruler of Takamagahara has returned. If these rebels still refuse to submit, they'll have only themselves to blame.

The Home Witch elaborated her ideas in detail, and after listening carefully, the Pure White Witch finally nodded.

"Understood, young mistress. I'll arrange the next steps."

Sophie Lyra said.

"Mm, I trust you to handle it."

The Home Witch nodded happily, glad to be off the hook.

So the matter was settled.

Three days later, Nihon Security Bureau

"Director, disaster! Hurry to the Tenshukaku—it's about to be demolished!"

Konoe Mahiro was handling paperwork in her office when the door burst open and a figure rushed in, shouting these words.

Seeing who it was, the director frowned.

"Mahiro, what's with this reckless behavior?"

Konoe Mahiro scolded her younger sister who had barged in.

But she was puzzled—her sister was usually sensible and composed; why was she acting so uncharacteristically today?

Tenshukaku? What happened to it? It was perfectly fine—how could it be demolished?

The director thought this, then instinctively glanced out the window.

The Security Bureau wasn't far from the Tenshukaku; from her office, she could clearly see its towering silhouette.

But—

Konoe Mahiro hadn't looked—and then she froze, eyes wide in shock.

The towering Japanese-style castle was now surrounded by police tape, and a massive barrier curtain had been erected around the keep, upon which a huge, unmistakable circle was painted, inside it a giant character: "Demolish."

"Damn, who did this? Nice job."

The Police Bureau Chief stared in shock, then couldn't help but say this.

"Sister?"

The young female officer beside her, hearing her sister's involuntary remark, instantly widened her eyes, as if she couldn't believe what she'd heard.

After all, the Konoe family's name itself revealed their duty—they were the Royal Guard, and protecting the royal family was their ancestral responsibility.

Sister, how could you entertain such an act of treason? You're bringing shame upon the family.

Konoe Shinrin thought this to herself.

But Sister had always been the family's pride—how could she truly do something to disgrace them? She must have misheard.

The young officer began to doubt herself.

The Bureau Chief realized she had slipped in front of her stubborn sister; she covered her mouth and immediately regained her usual authority.

"Shinrin, go gather the team immediately—we're deploying."

Although Konoe Miki secretly wished the damn castle would be torn down right away, she couldn't let her true feelings show—not yet. The preparations weren't complete; it wasn't time to reveal their hand.

The guards are en route.