Chapter 25: Can We Make Peace?

But Chitian Ai’s strike didn’t hit Serafica.

Instead, the theater seats behind Serafica were instantly reduced to powder.

“Hey, hey, this body belongs to your beloved teacher, you know.”

This time, Chitian Ai didn’t answer.

She lowered her head, her bangs covering her eyes.

Silence spread through the air.

“That’s no fun.”

Serafica had wanted to see Chitian Ai’s face twisted in fury.

“I’ll kill you…”

“If you beg me… What did you say?”

Serafica was a bit surprised.

“I’ll kill you, and then I’ll kill myself to accompany my teacher.”

“Quite the big talk. Then let me teach you a lesson on your teacher’s behalf!”

An immense surge of magical power erupted from Serafica as the center.

Chitian Ai crushed the crystal bottle containing the Omega Energy Fragment.

A strange wave of energy burst forth, instantly spreading to every corner of the theater.

Serafica’s body suddenly stalled. 

The magic within her felt like it was stuck in a swamp—the harder she tried to condense it, the deeper it sank. 

She couldn’t use it at all.

‘Holy crap, there’s actually a Silence.’

“You fool, it looks like your disciple came prepared!”

“Look at what you’ve done.” Su Wanyue was getting anxious.

“Don’t worry, I have another plan.”

“Oh? You have a plan?”

“Just watch me!”

“Really? Seriously…”

Watching the murderous Chitian Ai approach step by step, Serafica could already feel the chill of the blade in her hands seeping through her.

Then, the omniscient and almighty Great Witch Serafica did what she thought was the most correct thing.

‘I’m out of here.’

Su Wanyue regained control of her body, but this time she felt no joy.

“So? Wicked witch, any last words?” Chitian Ai’s cold voice came through.

“Can we make peace?”

No answer.

“Wait, Xiao Ai, I’m your teacher! I’ve taken back my body!”

“Oh? To save your own skin, you’d even impersonate my teacher? Hopeless.”

-Swoosh!

Chitian Ai swung the Judgment again. 

The black Tang Dao carved a sharp line through the air.

Before the tearing screech of the air could even spread, a crack split the floor beneath Su Wanyue’s feet.

“Prove it. Stand right there and prove it.”

‘So it seems my disciple still hasn’t given up on me.’

Su Wanyue felt very gratified, ‘Good disciple, all that affection I gave you wasn’t wasted!’

“Let me think… Oh, the night I saved you, you cried and said you wanted to be my wife.”

“You even read my teacher’s memories! Die!”

But Su Wanyue saw that Chitian Ai, her cheeks slightly red, didn’t immediately cut her down.

‘There’s hope!’

Chitian Ai’s blade still hung in the air, but her arm was trembling uncontrollably.

“Wait, there’s more! The first time I brought you to the Hunter Association base, you told everyone you were my wife.”

“Xiao Ai, don’t you really remember all those days? Although there are things I can’t say, the person standing in front of you right now is really me!”

Su Wanyue looked at Chitian Ai again.

This time, there was no anger on that face.

Only red-rimmed eyes, tears swirling inside, but she bit her lip hard to keep them from falling.

“Teacher… it’s really you…”

“After you left, I’ve been looking for you all along.”

Chitian Ai’s voice was very soft, and finally, the tears couldn’t hold back and streamed down.

“No, don’t cry!”

Su Wanyue, who had almost been cut down by her own disciple moments ago, was the one who wanted to cry!

“Tsk, human emotions are such a pain,” Serafica muttered.

“Xiao Ai, leaving you behind and disappearing was my fault, but you know what I’m like now.”

Regardless, Su Wanyue couldn’t stand seeing a girl cry in front of her.

Su Wanyue walked slowly toward Chitian Ai, wanting to give her sad disciple a comforting hug.

Well, at least the master-disciple reunion was a success.

“Xiao Ai, since the misunderstanding is cleared up, let’s go home first. We can talk about everything later, okay?”

“Thump!”

A dull, heavy sound. 

Su Wanyue’s vision suddenly went black.

Just before she collapsed completely, she heard Chitian Ai’s obsessive voice.

“Teacher, I won’t let you run away from me again. Whether it’s the witch or anything else, I will definitely turn you back into someone who belongs only to me.”

‘Why? Didn’t we already reconcile properly?’

Then, without even a grunt, Su Wanyue fell straight to the ground.

“Ugh…”

Her head was spinning, her whole body limp.

Su Wanyue felt like her bones were about to fall apart.

The last memory she had was trying to hug Xiao Ai and getting knocked out by her own disciple?

Su Wanyue tried to open her eyes.

No use. 

She couldn’t see anything.

Everything was pitch black.

‘So my eyes are covered by something. A blindfold? Or a cloth?’

Su Wanyue then tried to move her body.

No use either, her limbs were firmly tied to the bed.

Her wrists and ankles were bound by something smooth—she couldn’t tell what.

“Serafica!” Su Wanyue called out in her mind.

“I’m here, I’m here.” Serafica’s lazy but clear voice immediately replied.

“Can you undo these?”

“These are all specially made to suppress a witch’s magic. I can’t do anything right now.”

Serafica waved her hand.

‘So what awaits me next? Interrogation? Human experimentation?’

The next moment, the door was gently pushed open, and someone walked in.

“Xiao Ai, what is the meaning of this?”

“Teacher, I’ve been looking for you all along.” A familiar voice came to her ears.

“Then why…”

“No matter where I go or who I talk to, it all sounds like your voice.”

The girl continued, speaking as if to herself.

“From the day you saved me, the way I laugh, the way I walk—they all already had traces of you.”

She moved closer, her fingertips gently brushing through Su Wanyue’s hair.

Su Wanyue suddenly sensed something was wrong.

‘What kind of development is this? Something seems off.’

“Without realizing it, I started chasing after you.”

“No matter how far I go, even if I close my eyes, you’re always there.”

A warm touch landed softly on her cheek—probably Xiao Ai’s hand.

“Teacher, I’m strange like this, aren’t I?”

A teardrop fell with a “plop” onto Su Wanyue’s face.

“Why?” Su Wanyue could only weakly utter those three words.

“Why? Because I love you. Teacher, you are my everything.”

The girl’s voice was now thick with sobs.

“So, Teacher, I hope you won’t leave me anymore. I won’t hurt you. Teacher, I will protect you. I will find a way to turn you back into a human.”

“Xiao Ai, this isn’t right. I still have things I have to do.”

“I don’t care! I don’t care! I don’t care!”

“I just want to breathe the same air as you, hear the same sounds, spend the same time together—that’s all!”