Chapter 994

“Yay! I never thought I’d actually get a Demon Eye too.”

Dorothy’s heart was already dancing with joy.

She had envied the power of Demon Eyes countless times—after all, which otaku hadn’t gone through a chuuni phase? That cool, lethal gaze that could kill with a single look was pure aesthetic perfection; no young person could resist such temptation.

Now that she was truly in the Witch World, even ignoring fashion value alone, the sheer power of a Demon Eye was enough to make anyone envious.

If one merely wanted to show off by killing with a glance, various ocular magic techniques could achieve that—Dorothy’s spell collection already held many powerful ocular arts.

But pure ocular magic was never as effective as ocular talent, let alone those rare abilities worthy of being called Demon Eyes, which were the strongest among all ocular talents of their rank.

Most Demon Eyes were born from innate talent, so if one didn’t have one at birth, they likely never would.

But exceptions always exist—though rare, post-birth awakening of Demon Eyes was not unheard of.

For example, the legendary Yagyū Jūbei of the Eastern Isles awakened his single Kenkiri Demon Eye in a moment of crisis, or like Matilden from the previous Duel Tournament, whose race’s core ability was the Demon Eye and could evolve one post-birth.

Of course, the most convenient and fastest method was direct transplantation of another’s Demon Eye—though such surgery came with many side effects and minor issues, and the power was far weaker than the original owner’s, it was simple: if you had money and found a good surgeon, you could grow Demon Eyes all over your body and become the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord without much trouble.

But Dorothy clearly had no intention of doing such a thing.

After all, Demon Eyes were expensive—even now that she had some wealth, after pouring all her main resources into the shipyard, her liquid funds were minimal, barely enough to buy a low-grade Glass-level Demon Eye, which the otaku witch clearly looked down upon.

But higher-grade Demon Eyes carried astronomical prices—once, an auction sold a Diamond-level Demon Eye for a sum equivalent to several Great Worlds, which was terrifying.

But upon reflection, it made sense: when pushed to its limit, a Diamond-level Demon Eye’s power could trouble even peak witches, and its strength grew in tandem with its owner’s—using game terminology, it was a scalable, percentage-boosting divine artifact; it being cheap would be strange.

Moreover, wealth stirs the heart—behind any high-profit industry lurked shadows, and Demon Eyes were no exception.

Given their high cost, demand naturally bred murder, giving rise to a profession called Demon Eye Hunters—these scum loved hunting weak Demon Eye users, ripping out their eyes to sell on the market; most Demon Eyes on the market originated this way, their cores infused with the original owners’ resentment, making them harder to refine and more potent in side effects.

Dorothy had no desire to aid such evil, nor did she like those bloody Demon Eyes brimming with resentment.

Besides, she simply had high standards—even the Diamond-level Demon Eye worth several Great Worlds didn’t impress her much, since her sisters already possessed one Jade-level and one Gold-level Demon Eye.

In truth, even Diamond-level Demon Eyes were priceless rarities; Gold-level ones were beyond mention—any witch who awakened a Gold-level Demon Eye was a heavenly prodigy, and Demon Eye Hunters would be nothing but prey if they dared approach them.

But while Demon Eye Hunters couldn’t, some noble houses could—yet they would never sell them; they kept them for themselves.

Alas, possessing something valuable invites danger—just as Dorothy once hid her beauty for fear of exposure, possessing a high-grade Demon Eye as a weakling was never a blessing, especially in a world where strength ruled.

The otaku witch had seen many cases in the Tribunal archives: murders to steal eyes, bone consumption, even direct soul possession. Though officially forbidden, the loose Lord Council system of the Witch World ensured such darkness never ceased.

Sophie and Audrey were lucky indeed—the Pure White Witch had Long Ma’s protection, and the little fox was born into nobility.

Fortunately, Dorothy had no high-grade Demon Eye; otherwise, her childhood might have taken a different path—she’d have been forced onto the traditional protagonist route of rising from obscurity through relentless killing.

Or maybe it would’ve been a “Dad Lit” trope—Adam picks up the Hero’s Legacy and starts cutting down enemies left and right, cleansing this filthy world to protect his daughter’s growth.

Either way, transplanting a Demon Eye was out of the question—if it happened, it’d be the clichéd plot of a beloved sister’s death, the protagonist weeping as he inherits her eye, vowing to see the world through her eyes—Dorothy would kick that tired, third-rate drama straight into oblivion; family heroes couldn’t stand such nonsense.

Fortunately, by accident, she stumbled upon the rare post-birth Demon Eye opportunity—she finally obtained the Demon Eye she had long dreamed of.

“Hmm, though I didn’t intend it, others might think otherwise—tch, tch, tch.”

Thinking she’d just fallen into the clichéd cliff-drop-and-find-a-treasure trope, Dorothy felt a bit resigned.

Though her close friends meant her no harm, the feeling of being orchestrated still felt unpleasant.

“Hey, why do you look so unimpressed? Don’t you know how powerful my Dragon Emperor Eye is? Let me tell you, this is one of the strongest Gold-level Demon Eyes below Jade-tier—do you even know what a Jade-level Demon Eye is? That—”

Seeing the otaku witch frowning in thought, the floating Archer of a Hundred Heads, Patemela inside the bow, grew annoyed—she prepared to give this tiny human girl a lesson.

Hmm, even a Heroine is still human, still young—how could she possibly understand the dominance of the Western Universe’s Catastrophe races? Let this bow-dwelling big sister teach you how to climb to the pinnacle of the world.

Lady Serpent Emperor Dragon thought to herself.

But before she finished speaking, Dorothy reached over and pulled Sophie beside her, then pried open the Pure White Witch’s eyes and displayed them before her.

Patemela: “????”

Damn, a living Jade-level Demon Eye? And the design—

“Fate Eye? Wait, isn’t that Gabrielle’s old bastard’s eye?!”

The Serpent Emperor Dragon panicked, coiling her serpent head tightly with her hundred others, shrieking in shock.

No wonder—Gabrielle’s name echoed too loudly across the Western Universe; she was universally recognized as invincible, the true number one beneath the gods.

Even if Patemela had been dead for countless years, her soul fragment barely holding on, even if she were alive, she wouldn’t last more than a few blows against Gabrielle.

Sure, she was a dragon nearly becoming a Dragon God—but even among Dragon Gods, there were differences; she and Typhon had once vied only for the last seat among the Eight Dragon Gods, how could she compare to the First Angel King?

Gabrielle the old bastard was rumored to have existed since the dawn of creation.

But if that was true, how could that old bastard’s eye be on a human girl?

Wait—is this even a human girl?

Only now did the Serpent Emperor Dragon take a proper look at these peculiar, fated companions.

Hmm, first impression—wasn’t this team way too feminine? Where were all the men?

She distinctly remembered the strongest Heroes of the past were mostly male.

No, I need to look closer.

Damn, Primordial Magic?

When did humans become this terrifying? Primordial Magic wasn’t something only Gold-race beings could wield!

Patemela was stunned again, squinting hard, then fell silent.

She couldn’t understand—she had no idea what these human girls were.

This white little girl had not only the Fate Eye but also angelic power; the nine-tailed fox beside her had a Demon Eye too—a Gold-level one, damn it, this looked exactly like the Dominion Eye—wasn’t that the eye of the Dominion Demon God? She indeed had demonic aura; the succubus beside her did too—tch, and now there’s a vampire-werewolf hybrid? Aren’t those two natural enemies?

The others carried the familiar scent of dragons.

“How many years have I been dead? How has this world become so incomprehensible?”

Even when she saw her old rival Typhon turned into a bow, Patemela hadn’t been this bewildered—now she stared at Dorothy, questioning her own existence.

To this, the otaku witch nodded.

“I don’t know how many years you’ve been dead, but the world has changed drastically—we’re not pure humans anymore, we’re witches. You can think of us as an evolved form of humanity.”

“Nowadays, our witch race is the foremost race of the Western Universe, the leader of the Four Catastrophes.”

She explained to this long-isolated elder.

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You’re joking! Though I don’t remember how long I’ve been dead, if my soul fragment still hasn’t faded, it’s at most less than a billion years—every Catastrophe race’s history is measured in eons! Even if your so-called witches truly became a new Catastrophe, how could a race less than a billion years old possibly become the leader of the Catastrophes? You’re joking!”

Patemela shouted in protest.

Hmm, “eon” was the Catastrophe races’ time unit—their histories were too ancient for ordinary years to be practical.

Worlds had lifespans—without plundering to extend life, a standard Great World lasted roughly a hundred quadrillion years, so a hundred quadrillion years equaled one standard eon.

The old three Catastrophes had histories spanning thousands of eons—how could she believe that the three dominant forces, having reigned atop the world for so long, had been surpassed by a young, newly risen race?

Tell me—is that reasonable? Is that magic?

The Serpent Emperor Dragon’s worldview had been shaken.

Yet even if her emotions rejected it, her reason looked at these self-proclaimed witches before her—and she felt her conviction waver.

After all, the two older witches beside her were terrifyingly strong.

Normal human Heroes weren’t this powerful—and human Heroes usually lived only a century, yet these two were already nearly two or three hundred years old.

But still, only two or three hundred years.

Come on—even the most talented dragon needed millennia to reach such power.

Damn it—past Heroes grew terrifyingly fast, but their lives were short, nothing to fear; now you’re telling me there’s a race that inherited the Hero’s growth speed while also being immortal?

Hmm, if such a cheat-race truly existed, then yes, becoming the leader of the Catastrophes might be possible—but this was outright cheating! Creator, I’m reporting someone for cheating!

Patemela thought to herself.

In response to the Serpent Emperor Dragon’s protest, Dorothy shrugged and said nothing more.

After all, the hunt was over—they should return. Once they left the Pasture World and returned to the Witch World, this elder Serpent Emperor Dragon would naturally understand the witches’ power.

Actions speak louder than words—then she’d only need to look up at the sky’s four suns—ahem, well, ignore the extra little sun—just look at the three Kings’ three suns and understand true greatness.

“Mevise, mobilize all Longqi Army units. Prepare to accompany Dorothy on the colonization mission in a few days.”

Before leaving, Euphelia turned to her most trusted junior and gave the order.

The Mechanical Wasteland was a Nine-Star Jinqi World—critical to secure. Her Destroyer Fleet currently had five fully manned fleets, but despite the number, most had assigned missions and couldn’t be freely moved.

But no mission mattered more than her daughter’s safety—so after much thought, Long Ma decided to send the Longqi Army to aid her.

Though the Longqi Army wasn’t a fleet, its combat power rivaled one—and with Mevise, a top-tier peak commander, its total strength ranked second in the Radiant Domain, just behind Euphelia’s personal First Fleet.

But the First Fleet was the legendary dream fleet granted by the Dragon King himself, filled entirely with legends—this was an imperial gift; though she commanded it, she couldn’t freely deploy it for personal matters—she’d need official military procedures, which would draw too much attention.

“Understood, Lady Euphelia.”

Mevise was puzzled by her senior’s order—she didn’t understand why such a task required Euphelia to personally dispatch her. The Pasture World was Ye Meng’s ancestral stronghold, which was why the Longqi Army had been stationed here—could assisting the Young Lady in colonization really be more important than guarding the Pasture World?

Tch, tch, tch—didn’t you just say you wanted to train the child? Isn’t this a bit too indulgent?

Mevise thought to herself.

Still, she didn’t object—she was genuinely curious about the Young Lady now.

“Then gather in four days.”

After making arrangements, Long Ma summoned her Dragon-Serpent Spirit Form again.

As the massive Dragon-Serpent Spirit Form appeared, Patemela inside the bow widened her eyes in shock.

Damn, what the hell is this power?

But this was only the beginning of her astonishment.

When the group rode the Dragon-Serpent through the clouds, leaving the Pasture World and returning to the Witch World, the Serpent Emperor Dragon faced the three large suns and one small one—her gaze slowly glazed over.

Dragon’s worldview being reshaped

Time to depart—tch, not the final volume, but the second-to-last.