Chapter 2143: Soulless
Many parts of her organs had crystallized due to Origin Stone Erosion, but compared to those miners, the degree seemed less severe. Furthermore, countless tiny vines grew within her body, entwined with the Origin Stones.
“Are these vines absorbing the energy from the Origin Stones?” A researcher keenly noticed the relationship between the vines and the Origin Stones. They were intricately intertwined, extending into the Origin Stones like tree vines burrowing into cracks in rocks in the wilderness.
The researcher put on gloves, reached into their lungs, and extracted a piece of Origin Stone from their alveoli. This Origin Stone had lost its luster. They explained, “This is an Origin Stone depleted of Magic Power. The gray Origin Stone fragments represent the loss of Magic Power. These vines are absorbing the Origin Stone’s Magic Power.”
“It’s true,” I said, looking closely. Indeed, where the vines attached, the Origin Stones that had grown on the organs had lost their luster. It was likely precisely because of this that the woman’s mutation was not severe.
“Are these vines preventing the Origin Stone from eroding her? Or, did she implant the vines into her body to utilize the Magic Power produced by the crystallized Origin Stones?” another researcher speculated.
“We don’t know yet, but I can confirm where these vines started to spread from. It’s here.” I cut downwards until I opened her uterus. Inside, a charred tree branch could be seen; all the vines grew from this point.
Strangely, the vines did not directly penetrate the uterine wall and parasitize her entire body. Instead, they extended along the vagina and then began to creep across her body from her lower half.
“Indeed, how disgusting. This looks like the work of a Demon,” a Fallen Rioter said with loathing. They understood demons’ actions best, especially this kind of bizarre sexual insinuation towards women.
“This brings up a question: this woman, who seems to be related to demons, is wearing a noblewoman-style dress and can use Magic. What do you think her identity is?” I asked.
“A Witch,” Karina said immediately. Women who made transactions with demons and gained the power to use magic are collectively called Witches. In a broad sense, she herself was one, but Karina felt that a Saintess fit the definition of Witch better.
“That’s right,” I nodded. The noblewoman’s dress alone had already made me suspect she was a Witch, and now I was just more certain.
Judging by the trench coat she wore on the outside and the gas mask on her face, she clearly cared about her attire during actions. Protective and convenient clothing was the priority. The throwing knives and sword at her waist also indicated this.
However, she wore a dress inside that was highly unsuitable for mining. Forget being inconvenient for movement; what was the point of all the gaudy decorations she deliberately put on? No one could see them under her trench coat anyway.
There could only be one explanation: this outfit had practical significance. I once pretended to be a Witch on Halloween and discovered that a Witch’s costume could indeed grant me buffs, so the symbolism of the clothing was meaningful.
Her noblewoman’s dress was also a common image for Witches, especially those wealthy noblewomen who wished for eternal youth and Immortality, and thus signed contracts with Demons.
Further examination of her clothes confirmed this. We found Spellcasting Materials in her pockets and waist pack, such as ground ore, tree roots cut into short pieces, and special seeds.
Moreover, based on the Spellcasting Materials, we could determine what kind of Magic she excelled at. With these materials, she was skilled in Earth and Wood-based Magic.
However, there were also some items that were neither materials nor Magic Apparatus, such as a small piece of cheese, a silver spoon, and a small pocket watch, among other personal belongings whose purpose could not be determined for now.
Her sword was also interesting; it was a short sword suitable for women. The hilt had a spring mechanism that allowed the short sword to pop out quickly by pressing a trigger. The material was an alloy, a modern sword produced through Industry, not forged by a traditional Blacksmith.
“So, the next question is the key point. If she is indeed a Witch, why would a Witch be in a mine?” I raised the question.
“Indeed, and there were other people in strange clothing, who certainly didn’t look like miners. When did they get in, and are they related to the sudden surge in Magic Power?” Karina was also contemplating the connection.
“I seem to have heard of this attire before. It seems that in neighboring countries, there is an assassin organization with this kind of dress. They wear masks and trench coats, and use Magic and swords. They are said to have a very high success rate,” a researcher stated.
As expected, the Infinite Obelisk Research Society members knew a lot. Karina immediately asked, “What is the name of that assassin organization?”
To her surprise, the researcher shook their head and said, “I don’t know. I just heard someone mention it, and I’ve forgotten. Our Research Society doesn’t usually deal with any assassin organizations.”
“If we want to figure out what happened, we’ll have to summon her soul. I hope she still has her soul,” Karina sighed and waved for the Glutton believers to come forward. Via also walked over, ready to personally preside over the summoning Ritual.
The best way to find out a person’s origin and identity is to ask them directly. Soul summoning has always been an important method for solving Occultism incidents, and the Research Society often uses it, so none of the researchers present questioned it.
However, whether a soul remained was another matter. Since this method was well-known, there were naturally many ways to counter it, to prevent one’s soul from falling into others’ hands and suffering torment after death.
Basically, most Churches claim that as long as one devoutly serves their God and prays and repents diligently, when one dies, their soul will be received by God into the Divine Realm, to enjoy life after death or to be reincarnated.
This is real and effective. Whether it’s the departure of the soul after death or reincarnation, there are examples to prove it. Because most souls depart after death, Spirit Body type Undead are overwhelmingly fewer than Corpse type Undead, as only corpses can be resurrected, while souls have long since left.
The most basic clause of a Witch’s contract with a Demon is usually selling their soul to the Demon. This is considered the most classic clause, and it is usually the first item in every Demon contract, so much so that it can be directly written into a template.
Therefore, in this world, Witches’ souls are extremely rare, even rarer than Heroic Spirits. One would either have to extract the soul directly before death, or consider if the Demon who hasn’t received the final payment would send someone to forcibly collect the debt.
But before they could begin, Giselle poured cold water on their efforts: “No need to bother. She has no soul at all. Not just her, but the mutated miners and mutated animals I killed earlier also had no souls.”
