Chapter 716: Farewell and Goodbye

"Huh? No way, after all this time, it's still not died down?"

After hearing Christina's words, Dorothy frowned slightly, puzzled.

They'd been hiding on Yingzhou for so long—she'd even become its de facto ruler—so why hadn't the heat died down? Wasn't the Magic Web supposed to have no memory?

The Magic Web's trends always come fast and vanish faster; even months aren't enough. Some things are trending nationwide today and forgotten by tomorrow.

Dorothy's past life was often called an era of entertainment unto death, but the witch world now surpassed it tenfold—humans couldn't possibly imagine the witches' antics or joys.

Even something as trivial as whether to add MSG to stir-fried noodles shouldn't stay on the top list this long.

Beside her, Sophilia paused, then seemed to ponder deeply.

"Is it because the angel witches of the God-King Sect still won't let go?"

The Pure White Witch asked.

"Yeah, because you, Headmistress, were just a little too brutal."

Christina nodded, then spoke delicately.

It was truly diplomatic—after all, what Headmistress did wasn't just "a little brutal." She shattered the last pillar of the angel witches, accelerating the collapse of a royal house already on its last legs.

Though the angel witches had always been weak, the God-King Sect's ancestral temple still managed to keep them loosely united—after all, they were still family.

But before, Sophilia, as leader of the Apocalypse Legion, had drawn the God-King's Sacred Sword and become the legendary God-King's Holy Child.

Though she was immediately killed by the Joker afterward, that didn't matter—the crucial point was that she had drawn the sword, proving she was truly recognized by the God-King as the true Holy Child.

This mattered immensely to the angel witches.

No one knew how many years it had been since the God-King had issued any divine decree; everyone said He had long grown weary of the God-King Sect and abandoned them.

For devout believers, nothing is more despairing than being forsaken by the god they worship.

The decline of the angel witches began precisely then.

Kings do not rule by bloodline; bloodline gains glory from kings.

Angel witches aren't valuable or noble—after all, witches can freely choose their evolution templates; theoretically, any witch who selects the angel template and evolves an angelic talent can call herself an angel witch.

But the angel witches of the God-King Sect held high status because they were the God-King's followers, His descendants, the so-called Witch Wang Zu.

The God-King Sect united scattered angel witches through faith in the God-King, grew immensely powerful through this unity, and eventually became one of the top three witch clans.

Once the so-called royal bloodline was declared extinct and faith collapsed, this once-great clan was inevitably headed toward disintegration.

After all, people became angel witches for the God-King's protection—if you can't offer that, why not choose to become a Dragon Witch or a Demon Witch?

That's what shallow believers think.

True believers reflect on their own sins, wondering what caused their god to withdraw favor.

As for fanatics, they descend into madness, becoming extreme—they'll spare no cost to reclaim divine favor, to restore past glory, and will do anything in the name of the god.

Fanatics are hardly different from madmen.

The departure of the God-King's favor marked the beginning of the angel witches' decline centered on the God-King Sect.

Now, the God-King has manifested again—He has sent down a Holy Child.

Good news: the birth of the God-King's Holy Child proves He hasn't completely abandoned His followers.

Bad news: the God-King's Holy Child isn't from the God-King Sect, meaning we've all been worshipping a false religion.

So the shallow believers keep fleeing.

The true believers suddenly realize—what the hell? Is the sect wrong?

And the fanatics—

What nonsense! How could the God-King Sect be flawed? We've devoted everything to the Great God-King—how could it not be enough? The problem can't be us—it must be that so-called Holy Child.

No, more precisely, it's not the Holy Child—it's the heretic who deceived the Holy Child: the vile Apocalypse Legion, that so-called God-King Puritan Sect.

Crush the heretics, reclaim the Holy Child, restore the glory of the God-King Sect.

Yeah, more or less that kind of logic.

Right now, the angel witches are in total chaos—young witches with ideas have joined the Apocalypse Legion, swelling its ranks manyfold in mere months, while stubborn old-timers cling to the God-King Sect's ruins, preparing to launch a holy war against the heretics under the banner of "Purist Faction."

The impact was so huge that even ancient angel witches who had long retired were stirred—they've all come out of seclusion.

Over these past months, both sides have clashed constantly, fighting daily.

As a result, the public outrage over the Holy Child's assassination—which should have faded quickly—has remained stubbornly high, growing even more intense.

That's why Christina was so anxious when she saw the Young Lady and Headmistress return—if these two parties reappear, the already dire situation might escalate further, possibly triggering a full-scale religious civil war among the angel witches to determine legitimacy.

Of course, it might also be that the two sides have caused too much chaos, angering the Sage Council and the Demon King, who've sent the Inquisition to arrest and forcibly suppress both factions.

If that happens, the angel witches as a clan are finished—the three great witch royal houses will be reduced to two.

At the thought of this possibility, the new Inquisitor, the Elemental Empress, glanced sidelong at her superior.

Yay, Joker, your chance to earn merit is here again! Come on, my magic is already starving—not because I've been mooching off your points since following you, absolutely not, even though that one mission earned me more points than months of work.

Unfortunately, the Joker Inquisitor was currently pulling out a spellbook and scrolling through the web at lightning speed, catching up on what had happened during their absence—and didn't notice her penniless subordinate's hopeful gaze.

"Holy crap, this is truly a total mess. But weren't we supposed to just hide out for a while and let someone else handle the rest?"

After learning everything, Dorothy couldn't help but feel speechless.

She recalled her earlier conversation with the Grand Inquisitor of Justice—he'd said something like, "Adult matters are no concern for little witches," and now this?

The Home Witch rolled her eyes.

She knew, of course, that her and Sophilia's affair was merely the spark that ignited the powder keg—the God-King Sect had long been rotten; this collapse was simply the culmination of accumulated problems.

The conflicts here were far deeper than what had surfaced—there were likely far more hidden struggles beneath the surface, possibly stretching back to the sect's founding and the Thirteen Apostles themselves.

This is a Sage's dispute—it won't be easily settled.

Ugh, anyway, it's too dangerous to provoke. The witch academy sits right in the angel witches' territory—it's risky. Better leave quickly before getting dragged into trouble.

Besides, in a few days they're heading to Venus City—that's demon witch territory; even if the angel witches fight to the death, it won't touch them.

But—

"Young Lady, please forgive me—I must leave for a while. I won't be accompanying you to Venus City."

Sophilia fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and looked at Dorothy.

The Home Witch: "."

Dorothy blinked, instantly understanding her roommate's meaning.

She too fell silent for a moment.

Honestly, she wanted to scream at Sophilia—how could she be so reckless, knowing how dangerous this was? But she held her tongue.

Just as no one understood her refusal to inherit Long Ma's position, no one understands Sophilia's choice now—but these are their own decisions.

"Are you sure?"

Dorothy asked once more.

"Yes."

Sophilia nodded.

"No regrets?"

"No regrets."

"Then go. Good luck. If anything happens, just call me."

Dorothy nodded in agreement.

The Pure White Witch rose immediately, glanced around the dormitory where she'd lived for years, then entered the adjacent room she once occupied.

Opening the door, as Christina had said, she hadn't entered these rooms in months—everything remained exactly as before.

Sophilia gazed at the room with nostalgia, gathered up the uncollected medals, trophies, and certificates, and packed them into her bag.

She probably wouldn't return to this dorm in the Shining Tower ever again.

In her golden eyes, flames began to burn—she'd spent too long lounging beside the Young Lady, growing lazy and complacent. Now, the rest was over—time to return to work.

After packing, Sophilia returned to the living room. She gave one final look at the Young Lady, still lounging on the sofa playing with the cat and the dragon, said nothing, and simply locked eyes with her. Then, without a word, she walked straight to the balcony, unfurled six pure white wings behind her, and vanished into the night sky as a streak of light.

Just as the winged Pure White Witch was about to leave the witch academy, a streak of light shot from the Headmaster's office toward her.

Before it reached her, another red-haired figure intercepted it.

It was Maria, Deputy Provincial Military Commander of the Apocalypse Legion.

The Peak Witch had appeared beside Sophilia without notice.

"Maria, give me the item."

Sophilia extended her hand to her subordinate.

Maria obediently handed over the intercepted object.

But Maria, the eight-winged redhead, glanced curiously at it—it seemed to be a booklet.

"Heh, I never expected I'd actually graduate."

Sophilia looked at the elegant diploma in her hand, surprised, then bowed respectfully toward the Headmaster's office.

"Grandmother, thank you for your care during this time."

She carefully placed the diploma into the last empty slot of her trophy display cabinet.

"Maria, are you ready?"

As Sophilia raised her head again, Kai Beast Angel had transformed into a noble, magnificent golden battle armor, covering her former academy robe.

Her student life had ended—now she must march to the battlefield, as the God-King's Holy Child, to fulfill her dream.

"Of course. The Apocalypse Legion is fully assembled and awaits your inspection, Lord Apocalypse."

The red-haired assistant bowed respectfully.

The two stepped outside the witch academy, where a vast fleet had already gathered—its countless warships cast shadows that blotted out the sky, leaving nearby onlookers trembling, too afraid to speak loudly.

"Then let us leave. The final battle has not yet arrived. When we return, glory and honor will accompany us—and then, fate's judgment will settle every sin of the past."

The Pure White Witch ascended to the throne beneath the flagship of this vast fleet and spoke thus.

On the other side, atop the Tower of Radiance.

"Ah, Miss, have you and the Chairman broken up?"

Christine had been watching everything unfold beside her, but the atmosphere had kept her silent, playing the invisible woman until now—only when she could no longer sense the Chairman's presence did she finally exhale and cautiously ask her superior.

Her voice carried gossiping curiosity and a hint of quiet delight.

Though the Joker was her true superior, and Sophilia, the former Chairman, had no authority over her as the current Chairman, the Original Witch always felt immense pressure when facing the Pure White Witch—while with the Home Witch, well,

she felt close.

Perhaps that was the difference between overwhelming authority and overwhelming authority.

"Senior, I can tell you're thinking something disrespectful. Stop scheming about your superiors, or I'll make you write a self-criticism."

Dorothy spoke with a touch of annoyance.

Speaking of self-criticism, she still owed the Grand Inquisitor one—she'd have to write a half-hearted one later.

The Home Witch reached out to play with the black cat and the hatchling dragon beside her; now that it was just the three of them, it felt strangely unfamiliar.

"Alright, I don't have anything to pack up, so I won't disturb your rest. Goodbye."

With a faint sense of weariness, she rose to take her leave.

"Actually, Miss, you don't have to leave—this dorm is spacious, and I rarely stay here. You can just live as you did before."

The Original Witch suddenly said this.

Yes, as the new Student Council Chairman, she had the duty and obligation to inherit everything left by her predecessor.

Dorothy: "."

The Home Witch sized up the Original Witch senior.

Since she was at home and just preparing to rest, Christine wore a loose, light robe—and even so, her superb figure still stubbornly revealed a few hazy curves.

One word: lush.

Though her rainbow hair was a bit Mary Sue, what if this were a true princess?

This was a princess who had stepped straight out of a fairy tale—beautiful and dreamlike.

Wow, which official could withstand such a test?

"Oh? Isn't this my Chairman's Lady? What brings you back? Didn't you stay with the new Chairman?"

As Dorothy returned to the Witch House, a teasing voice reached her.

The Home Witch turned toward the sound and saw a pure-black witch smiling at her from a swing hanging beneath the treehouse.

"Welcome home, my lady. Would you like to bathe first, dine first, or enjoy some special service from your maid, Lucifer?"

Though she bore the exact same face as Sophilia, this raven-haired beauty, seductive and demonic, clad in a maid's uniform, greeted her master thus.

In the time of the Fallen Angel

(End of Chapter)