Chapter 754: Lord of the Swarm
“This is… an Awakening?” Evelyn exclaimed in surprise.
“Most likely,” Lily nodded. During the initial Awakening, magic converges into the body, akin to a backlash. The pain is far more intense than a mere scratch on the scalp. Many witches unconsciously manifest their abilities at this moment, making it the most vulnerable time. Two or three years ago, those who Awakened publicly would almost certainly face death.
The lightning flash quickly subsided, but the classroom floor and exterior walls were ignited by the bolt, leaving orange-red trails that gradually burst into flames, emitting thick smoke.
The girl, barely managing to stand, returned to her terrified companion, shouted twice, then grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the danger zone.
Lily raised her eyebrows in appreciation. The initial backlash, while not fatal, was an unprecedented experience, often leaving one feeling weak, drenched in cold sweat, and utterly drained. To maintain control in such a state, and not forget the companion behind, was remarkable for a girl in her teens.
The fire didn't spread rapidly. After all, the ignition point caused by the lightning was quite small. By the time the rear of the classroom was gradually engulfed in flames, everyone had evacuated the building.
Upon seeing the truth revealed, Aisha ended her Retrospection.
“Excellent, we have one more sister,” Lily’s lips curled into a smile. Moreover, she predicted that this sister would be quite good. Regardless of her abilities, she possessed both courage and willpower. Seeing her made Lily realize that not all witches were as dreadful as Mystery Moon.
Speaking of which, she deliberately glanced at Mystery Moon, only to find her looking utterly shocked, clearly oblivious to what Lily was saying.
Uh… What’s wrong with this idiot now?
“We need to tell Wendy about this immediately!” Amy suggested, “Another new witch has appeared in Neverwinter!”
“Agreed,” Evelyn nodded, “Let's head to the castle now.”
Wendy probably knows already, Lily shrugged. However, she didn't voice her thoughts. After the stroll, she planned to return to her bedroom to continue observing the microscopic bugs. It was on the way, after all.
“Mystery Moon?” As they reached the door, they noticed Mystery Moon still standing there, dazed.
“Ah… I’m coming,” she shook her head, following the others listlessly.
“Are you alright?” Evelyn touched her forehead.
“I’m fine…” Mystery Moon replied softly, a stark contrast to her earlier excitement.
What a strange character.
Lily clicked her tongue and took her hand, injecting the "Mother Bug" into her body. Even if idiots couldn't catch a cold… what if something happened?
The group boarded the magic barge and returned to the Witch Building. After excitedly reporting the matter to Wendy, they were met with the expected scolding, both amused and exasperated.
“Did you really need to investigate the truth yourselves? Sylvie detected the magical reaction in the Academy District from the castle. A simple question would have revealed everything.” Wendy tapped each of them on the forehead. “Sneaking past the security cordon, trespassing in potentially dangerous areas, you're emulating Lightning – do you want to be locked up and given three sets of comprehensive tests?”
Their expressions changed drastically, and they quickly shook their heads.
“Ah, I almost forgot,” Evelyn suddenly clapped her hands, “Before dinner, I need to check the tavern’s inventory.”
“I… I also have a difficult question to ask Isabella,” Maggie bowed deeply, “I… I’ll take my leave first.”
“Me too,” Vanilla hastily followed her out.
“Eh?” Amy pondered for a long time, unable to come up with a suitable excuse, and was eventually dragged out of the office by Aisha.
Lily sighed. If Wendy truly intended to punish you, did you think you could escape like this? Besides, three sets of tests only took one evening. Using them to reinforce the knowledge you’ve learned wasn’t such a bad thing.
After pressing Mystery Moon's head and apologizing to Wendy, she also returned to her bedroom.
“Now you can tell me, what exactly happened?” Closing the door, Lily rolled her eyes at her roommate, who wore a mournful expression. “Are you trying to make me not care about you?”
“Lily…” Mystery Moon sniffled, “The new witch can emit electricity!”
“So what?”
“Electricity is magnetism, magnetism is electricity. In other words… I am her, and she is me,” she said worriedly, “What if her ability is stronger than mine? What if His Majesty no longer needs me?”
“Pfft,” Lily almost choked on her saliva, “Are you really saying that? Even if both of your abilities are exactly the same, His Majesty wouldn’t deliberately abandon one of you.”
“But there will always be a comp…”
“But you’re always different –” At this point, Lily suddenly paused, always… different? “Wait, what did you say earlier?”
“Electricity is magnetism?”
“A little after that.”
“Uh… she is me.”
“I see!” Lily felt a boom in her brain, a brand new idea appearing in her mind. She no longer cared about Mystery Moon, ran to the table, and picked out a drop from a cup of stagnant water, placing it under the microscope, focusing intently.
“What do you mean, ‘I see’?” Mystery Moon protested, “Hey, can’t you comfort me a little more?”
“Don’t bother me!” She waved her hand, “If you don’t want to be surpassed by her, start studying seriously now – that way, there might be some hope.”
That's right, there are always differences. No matter how many patterns she drew of the microscopic bugs, making the Mother as similar as possible to the target, the Mother could never become the target - because of the observation xiànzhi, she couldn't see every detail of the bugs. If the magnification of the microscope was increased slightly, or if the bug moved its position, the Mother she squeezed out through comp would become vastly different.
If she wanted it to transform into a specific bug, the two should be one.
Lily quickly found a target – a transparent bug resembling a rotten grape. This type of bug was very common in stagnant water and was often her selected experimental object.
She gently touched the glass slide, summoning a Mother Bug invisible to the naked eye, suppressing its urge to assimilate the target. Using its tendrils, it approached the grape bug little by little, gradually overlapping with the target. Then the Mother began to seep into the grape bug’s body, occupying every corner of its body, until its entire body turned a faint purple.
The Mother is the bug, and the bug is also the Mother.
When she released xiànzhi, she saw for the first time that the Mother didn't instantly revert to its original form as usual, but moved in the shape of a grape bug. All the various bugs around it transformed into rotten grapes. This process quickly spread throughout the entire drop of water.
Half an hour later, Lily could no longer find any microscopic bugs other than grape bugs.