Chapter 1111: The Truth?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1111: The Truth?
"What on earth is that Little Witch talking about?"
"Escape the Main World? Why?!"
"I... I recognize that person! Isn't he the Son of Holiness from the Holy Angel Academy? The genius who was said to be undergoing the Baptism of Holy Light?"
"I recognize him too! And I know those mentors as well. Aren't they... aren't they..."
As these remarks continued to spread, the truth seemed to be anchored to a predetermined point, being unearthed bit by bit.
The expressions of the Holy Angels stepping out of the Void Vehicles grew increasingly unsightly.
"What exactly are you trying to do?" the leading Holy Angel questioned in a low voice, his tone laced with a hint of malice.
This was practically dragging the unspoken rules of the Transcendent level into the light of day.
She was doing nothing but creating trouble for them!
If there were no people here, no audience, and if this Little Witch hadn't exposed everything...
Then no one would have known what happened here!
At worst, they would have just had a stroke of bad luck this time; they could have simply waited for the next Spark Migration Plan.
But if everything was exposed here, the resulting series of troubles would bring far too many things to the surface!
They didn't even dare to imagine the consequences. They would be branded as the murderers who destroyed the world, their pathetic state as they scrambled for their lives laid bare for all to see.
They would become the executioners who personally pushed ordinary people toward death.
The entire Main World would be shrouded in panic, and order would cease to exist...
But thinking it through to the end, it seemed it didn't matter much.
Because those ordinary people had neither the right nor the power to stop them from leaving.
Transcendent strength was their guarantee.
If... if the Witch race didn't exist.
The Main World was not their private domain, much less the backyard of the Three Top Academies. If you dared to do such things openly, the Witches would absolutely refuse to play along with those "understood" unspoken rules.
Thus, the only thing filling the minds of these Transcendent Holy Angels was: How does this Little Witch have the nerve?
Why does she dare to do this!
Does doing this even benefit the Witches? It will only make the Main World they care about perish faster.
However, they only thought of the immediate benefits and failed to see the endgame. Regardless, if things went according to their wishes, the Transcendent Witches would still gain nothing.
The Main World was destined for destruction.
So, rather than waiting in agony for the loss, it was better to go wild in the meantime.
The claim that Transcendent Witches needed the stability of the Main World was originally a deceptive narrative; the ones who truly needed stability were those Three Great Transcendent Races.
That was why they used the Staff of World Destruction Plan as a threat.
Those who seemed like madmen actually needed a stable environment the most to keep themselves calm.
And the stability the Witches needed was, in essence, waiting for an opportunity during this period.
An "opportunity"... what a hopeful-sounding word. Yet, how many people had stumbled over such a vague and ethereal concept?
"Listen to you... what am I trying to do?" I met the gazes of those Holy Angels, ignoring their nearly poisonous stares. "You've caused us such a massive headache, and a Transcendent Holy Angel even broke the rules by attacking me. I haven't even held you accountable for that, and you're asking me what I want to do? I want to help you become famous, of course!"
"You're lying! You were the one who attacked first!"
"So what? I've forgiven him." I shook the Book in the Box in my hand, a slightly cruel smile playing on my lips. "Actually, I quite admire you. After causing such a disaster, you still have the heart to argue with me."
"Shouldn't you be scurrying back to your Holy Angel Academy with your tails between your legs and your faces covered? After all, the other half you care about most is still there. That way, you can stay and die with them."
After I spoke, they fell silent.
They realized they had already returned to the Main World; the more they said, the more mistakes they would make.
Cutting one's losses is never too late, even—and especially—after making a mess of things.
"It seems you're unwilling to speak. Your silence makes my words less convincing... but I believe the facts will be more persuasive than I am."
Having said that, I turned to look at the "audience" that had gradually gathered behind me.
Feeling the weight of being the center of attention, I saw their gazes were burning with intensity. Under the weight of their expectations, I continued:
"The facts are laid out before you; I won't say much more. I'm sure you've felt the various movements within your academies lately—the disappearing students, the worried mentors, the declining quality of courses, and the 'sink or swim' attitude toward teaching."
"The Holy Angel Academy is definitely not the first, nor will it be the last. When a Void Vehicle crashes before your eyes in broad daylight, it already proves that countless people have abandoned you in the shadows."
"So... how should you conduct yourselves now?"
"I know a bit of the truth, but I won't tell you. I can only give you two suggestions: First... hurry up and promote to Transcendent, then leave this quagmire of a Main World. As for the second, heh~ you'll just have to rely on yourselves to find the reason they are fleeing the Main World, and then... stop it from happening."
"I've said my piece. I assume those of you who could make it here aren't fools, right?"
As soon as I finished, the silence among the crowd was even heavier than that of the Holy Angels—you could have heard a pin drop.
At this point, how could they not understand what this Little Witch was trying to do...
Mastering the World Navel?
All lies!
She simply wanted to come here and expose an unspeakable truth to them. And the most frustrating part was... she didn't reveal the whole thing, forcing them to investigate it themselves!
Since this truth and secret were related to the Transcendent academies themselves, how could they possibly wrestle with such entities?
Yet, this matter concerned their very lifeblood—their future lives, the continuation of their families, and even the survival of the Main World!
All of this forced them to act.
Those with quick wits began to connect this to the concept of the "World Navel" they had been guided to learn about earlier.
If the Main World truly faced a crisis, what else could affect the rise and fall of an entire world?
The World Navel of the Main World!
They felt like donkeys being led by the nose, forced to busily learn about a disaster they were almost powerless to resist.
"Time to go."
I moved toward the members of the Zero Combat Sequence and waved my hand.
I took a few steps and realized they were still dazed, standing in place. Only Lonafu had followed me for a few steps.
I looked back. Even without intentionally sensing it, I could feel the shock, panic, mixed emotions, and disbelief in their hearts.
"Time to go," I said again. Only then did the group step forward to follow me, as if by following me, they were chasing after hope itself.
"Sister Xiao Han..." Lin Xian stepped forward quickly. As one of the deputy leaders of the combat sequence, she also carried the expectations of the group.
"I know what you want to ask. I will only tell you that the Witch Academy will stand firmly on the side of the Main World," I said.
As for whether "standing on the side of the Main World" meant what they thought it meant, that was not within the scope of what I needed to explain.
"Really!" Not just Lin Xian, but many others had a spark of light in their eyes.
In fact, what Lin Xian had wanted to ask just now was: Is our world going to be destroyed?
Just moments ago, they had heard that all the Transcendent academies were fleeing the Main World. This explained many things. Those people could just leave, but this was their world!
Their relatives, their families, the homes they knew—even the homes they had never wanted to return to—became attachments they couldn't let go of at this moment.
It was as if everything else had become trivial.
If... if the Witch Academy truly stood on the side of the Main World! With the power of those Transcendent mentors, wouldn't that mean things were practically settled?
"Don't believe me? Then let me ask you this: have you seen any familiar mentors leave during this time? Have any exceptionally talented students disappeared from your sight?"
The crowd looked at me with fervent eyes, because it seemed that none of that had happened!
"Then Sister Xiao Han! What should we do next?"
"Yeah! What are we doing next? I want to help too!"
"You?" I turned back to look at them. "Get stronger and strive to promote to Transcendent."
"But... doesn't promoting to Transcendent mean we have to leave our world? We haven't seen many senior sisters come back after they promoted..."
"If a child stays in their swaddle out of fear of growing up, they are a giant infant who will never mature, only inviting ridicule."
After saying that, I spoke no more.
Many truths cannot be explained through words alone. Speaking them is merely so that at a certain moment in the future, a person might recall the sentence, allowing its educational value to come full circle.
Right now, everyone felt as if a breath was stuck in their throats. After all, a play that abruptly ends just as it reaches its climax leaves people feeling somewhat at a loss.
They wanted to vent, but there was no outlet.
* * *
After I returned to the Main World from the Emerald Forest, the members of the Zero Combat Sequence continued their self-breakthroughs under my arrangement.
My Life Clone, which possessed all the spellbooks, continued to engage them in high-intensity combat.
Surprisingly, the events that occurred within the Emerald Forest did not spread.
The Holy Angels who had stepped out of the Void Vehicles returned to their academy in silence. The students who had been there as spectators remained quiet, simply focusing on searching for the truth.
This matter didn't even spread to the outside society; even within the various Transcendent academies, rumors were scarce. Students from smaller Transcendent academies didn't even have the right to know about it.
They were still immersed in the joy of the Three Top Academies having stopped that Little Witch from seizing control of the Emerald Forest's World Navel.
From a results-oriented perspective, that was indeed correct.
However, within the Witch Academy at this moment...
A serious rift had suddenly formed within the United Club.
Faced with such a grave issue, the pursuit of profit was no longer in their eyes.
They collectively used various means—emotional appeals, threats, bribes—anything that might be effective to squeeze some intelligence out of the other party.
They no longer cared if the other party was lying to them, nor did they care if the other party had ulterior motives. They only wanted to know the truth!
And then they would question the validity of that truth, just to manifest their last bit of remaining value.
But they were facing Millian and Cleveland!
As long as those two didn't want to talk, these people wouldn't get a single shred of information.
"I am following Sister Xiao Han's will. Regardless of whether we know the full picture, we will not reveal any so-called 'truth.' You need to dig for the answers yourselves."
"Look at what time it is! You're still playing this game with us? You clearly know the truth but won't say it. You are pushing our world toward destruction!"
"I'm sorry, but if you're going to put it that way, then I have a response for you: you've clearly already guessed the so-called truth but refuse to believe it. It is you who are personally pushing the Main World toward destruction." Cleveland's tone was unyielding, her words shutting the other party down completely.
"I should also advise you: rather than wasting your breath here with us, you'd be better off doing something more meaningful. We represent Sister Xiao Han's will. Sister Xiao Han will eventually promote to Transcendent; she has a way out, but you don't," Millian spoke up.
"You... how can you say such a thing? You are betraying your own world! What's the difference between you and those birdmen! Do you not have even a shred of a sense of belonging to the world you live in?"
"Belonging? Belonging to what? For Sister Xiao Han, do you expect her to care about those terrible native families, or empathize with your suffering clans, or feel an attachment to this rotten-to-the-core society?"
"Then what about you! Do you not have people you care about?"
"I do. That's why we are working hard to get stronger so we can change all of this. While you are making trouble, the members of our Zero Combat Sequence are cultivating. While you are in despair and fear, we are studying. While you are running around asking questions, we are still strengthening ourselves. If pressure cannot be converted into motivation, you'll end up like yourselves—placing your hopes on others while complaining about them."
"We're different! Don't you understand? Why? Why are you doing this with such a clear conscience? Is there any point to these things!"
"Of course there is. This way, we won't cause trouble for Sister Xiao Han. Furthermore... the reason we can do this is that we believe Sister Xiao Han has the ability to lead us out of this dead end. She said it herself: the Witch Academy will stand on the side of the Main World," Millian said with a serious expression.
Even Cleveland, standing beside her, had no objection to this, simply because they believed in the Sister Xiao Han who led them!
"You... you're all insane. She's just a Little Witch! Why do you believe in her? Do you believe everything she says?"
"We don't know if Sister Xiao Han will succeed, but we can see that she is working toward it. Since you do nothing, you naturally have neither the right nor the ability to believe in her," Cleveland stated.
If Millian represented the type who gave Sister Xiao Han absolute, unconditional trust, then Cleveland represented the thoughts of the vast majority of the Baking House members.
Those who don't work hard are bound to fail. Sister Xiao Han was the only leader they followed and the only one they were constantly working for. Therefore, they naturally chose Sister Xiao Han!