Chapter 83: Lies

“Olivia? Why would she be afraid of tentacles?”

The moment Samotush said that, the lively, bustling atmosphere of the barbecue shop suddenly plunged into dead silence, as if a witch had pressed the mute button.

The diners present couldn’t help but shiver; a chilling sensation spread around them, like a biting wind cutting through the room.

The sudden chill left the witches enjoying their meal puzzled.

When it was midsummer with cicadas chirping outside, why did it suddenly feel like winter?

Some sensitive witches put down their skewers and looked around, but found nothing unusual.

Seeing no change, the witches muttered a few “How strange…” and assumed some careless witch had miscontrolled her cooling spell.

They shrugged it off and went back to their lively eating, unconcerned.

But for Samotush and Anne, who were at the center of the conflict, the situation was more complicated.

A bone-deep chill ran up Samotush’s spine to the crown of her head, as if an icy claw were gripping her throat, making it hard to breathe.

The shadows around them no longer remained silent; they came alive, whispering frantic, chaotic words to Samotush and Anne.

Those fragmented sounds were like the vilest curses in the world, echoing in the witches’ ears.

An overwhelming, terrifying pressure radiated from Tunzuo—

The fury of someone whose reverse scale had been touched.

It pressed down on Samotush and Anne, making them break out in cold sweat and tremble with fear.

Samotush looked at Tunzuo sitting across from her in terror.

Tunzuo’s previously cheerful smile darkened at a visible rate, his face black as a rag that could be wrung dry.

The soul fire in his emerald-green eyes flickered violently, blazing as if it might burst out at any moment.

Even dull-witted Samotush realized she had said the wrong thing.

Her brain, muddied by sugar and grease, snapped awake under the shock of Tunzuo’s terrifying magical aura.

“Samotush, what did you just say?”

Tunzuo’s voice was cold, not loud, but his tone was as icy as a wind howling from the depths of the Underworld.

Seeing Tunzuo like this, Samotush stammered, not daring to answer.

Her eyes darted around as she desperately searched for an excuse to cover up her slip.

“Huh? I… I mean, young witches these days have great stamina, haha. You know, tentacles and stuff…”

“Answer me! That perverted dragon Olivia—is she afraid of tentacles or not?!”

Before Samotush could think of a good excuse, Tunzuo’s furious roar hit her.

With the roar, a violent surge of magic exploded from Tunzuo.

The raging shadow storm seemed ready to blow the entire street away, and the tables and chairs creaked under the impact of the magic.

Fortunately, Anne had anticipated Tunzuo’s outburst.

The moment she sensed the shift in atmosphere, she quickly erected a powerful magic barrier around their seats.

The sturdy barrier warped slightly under Tunzuo’s magic onslaught, taking a while to suppress hi sout of control dark shadow magic and prevent the destruction from spreading and causing unnecessary damage.

But seeing the fury in Tunzuo’s eyes—

The soul fire roaring and his eyes nearly splitting—

Anne knew she and Samotush were in deep trouble.

Since things had come to this, hiding it was impossible.

They had to tell the truth.

So Anne signaled Samotush with her eyes, urging her to explain quickly and stop playing dumb.

With no other choice, Samotush steeled herself and, under immense pressure, explained to Tunzuo:

“As the strongest genius of our generation, Olivia can’t possibly have such a fatal weakness as being afraid of tentacles! In Dunayala, summoning tentacles is a convenient life magic. The learning difficulty and cost are low, so almost every witch there can summon tentacles, using them as extensions of their limbs to fetch things or do chores…”

As she spoke, Samotush even summoned a few slick tentacles with magic, waving them in the air to illustrate.

Then, frantically, she added, trying to calm Tunzuo down.

“If Olivia were really afraid of tentacles, after all these years of being around her, I’d know. And in the Dueling Arena, if you exploit such an obvious weakness, you could definitely steal a few rounds of victory. There’s no way she could dominate like she does. Every time she beats me, it proves she’s not afraid of it.”

Watching the tentacles Samotush summoned dance nimbly in the air, Tunzuo’s pupils contracted sharply.

His body shook uncontrollably from anger and shock.

Memories of his time with Olivia began to flash and reassemble in his mind.

What was once a warm picture was now painted in an unfamiliar light.

Olivia’s weakness was an act.

She was lying to me.

Then what else did she perform for me?

Those moments of embarrassment I saw in her—

Were they all an act to cater to me?

A dry, raspy laugh escaped Tunzuo’s throat.

“Hah… Hah…”

Then, without giving any witch a chance to react, Tunzuo’s body exploded into a thick black mist and stumbled out of the barbecue shop.

All he left behind for Samotush and Anne was a cold sentence.

“You two eat. I have some business to attend to.”

Watching the unstoppable black mist, Samotush slumped into her seat, looking as if she had lost her soul.

She turned to Anne with a mournful face.

“It’s over. I’m done for. Am I going to die? Wuwuwu, Anne, do you think Olivia will kill me?”

Samotush turned her head and saw Anne with a grave expression, her fingers rapidly moving over her grimoire—

Clearly sending a message to someone.

Mistaking Anne for sending a warning to Olivia, Samotush asked curiously:

“Anne, are you tipping off Olivia? So she can prepare?”

But Anne shook her head and replied without looking up.

“No, I’m booking the best ward in Han Hai Cheng for you. Orthopedics, the kind with special care.”

Samotush: (ToT)

After leaving the barbecue shop, Tunzuo, now in the form of black mist, careened randomly through the shadows of the streets and alleys.

Bumping around.

The sudden truth and mental shock made Tunzuo lose his composure, his rational defenses completely collapsing.

At that moment, Tunzuo was like a wounded beast, wandering aimlessly in the darkness.

Scenes of his time with Olivia on the Golden Sand Beach replayed in his mind.

Memories that should have been warm now tortured his spirit like instruments of torture.

Olivia’s “exaggerated” flailing as she dodged his tentacle attacks.

The look on Olivia’s face, as if she had suffered a great injustice, when he bullied her.

And…

The gentle, reassuring hug under the moonlight.

Why…

Why did you lie to me…

You weren’t afraid.

Why did you pretend?

How much more have you hidden from me?

What role did I play in your script?

What is real?

What is fake?!

An immense sense of shame and the fury of being toyed with intertwined, until Tunzuo could no longer hold himself together and coalesced near a large tree.

“Ugh—”

On the verge of collapse, Tunzuo grabbed the rough trunk with one hand, his nails digging into the bark, leaving nine deep gouges.

He bent over, retching violently.

It felt like he had swallowed a mass of maggots—

Disgusting, nauseating.

Seeing Tunzuo in such pain, Naiya, hanging on his face, felt her heart ache.

She hadn’t expected Tunzuo to react so strongly.

In Naiya’s view, this was just a small incitement against the relationship between Tunzuo and Olivia.

Seeing Tunzuo’s condition worsen, Naiya quickly extended several transparent tentacles from the mask, gently patting his back, and used pure magic to calm the chaotic mental waves inside his head, trying to ease his suffering.

Under Naiya’s soothing, Tunzuo finally caught his breath.

Panting heavily, he glared coldly at Naiya, his voice sharp.

“Naiya, you asked that question on purpose, didn’t you?”

Seeing her trick exposed, Naiya fell silent.

Her nine tentacles froze in midair.

After a long pause, she spoke softly.

“That yellow lizard has been hiding many things from you, young master. I just didn’t want to see you being deceived like a fool.”

Hearing Naiya’s explanation, Tunzuo shook his head and let out a bitter laugh.

He really didn’t have the energy to blame Naiya now.

After all, she was right.

In front of Olivia, he had been acting like a fool.

All Tunzuo wanted now was to know how much Olivia had deceived him and what game she was playing.

So he pressed Naiya on his face and asked:

“How much do you know about Olivia? What has that perverted dragon been hiding from me?”

In response, Naiya chuckled softly, her smile somewhat eerie in the shadows.

“Words are not as good as letting you see for yourself, young master, aren’t they?

“All the secrets of that yellow lizard are hidden in her room. If you go in and examine it carefully, everything will be clear.”

Hearing this, Tunzuo, blinded by anger, saw a flash of resolve in his eyes.

He gritted his teeth and agreed, his voice hoarse.

“Fine. I want to see just how much that perverted dragon Olivia has been hiding from me!”

—

Some time later, in the dormitory area of the Witch Academy of the Vast Sea City.

Hearing the dormitory door open, Olivia, who had been waiting in the living room for Tunzuo to return, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She quickly stood up from the sofa and saw Tunzuo silently pushing the door open and stepping in.

But Tunzuo’s complexion didn’t look good—

Somewhat pale.

However, due to the dim evening light and the fact that Tunzuo was already unnaturally pale, Olivia didn’t pay it much attention.

Olivia greeted him warmly, her usual bright smile on her face.

“Hey, little ghost! You’re back? What did Samotush and Anne talk to you about? They didn’t give you a hard time, did they? I knew they were unreliable…”

Looking at Olivia’s smiling face, a complex emotion flickered in Tunzuo’s eyes.

It was anger, disappointment, and a hint of hurt he didn’t even want to admit to himself.

Tunzuo forced a smile, the corners of his mouth stiffly lifting.

“Nothing major. Just some trivial matters. I’m tired, so I’ll go rest. You should sleep early too.”

With that, Tunzuo walked into his room without looking back, slamming the door shut.

Watching Tunzuo’s reaction, Olivia’s smile froze on her face.

She instinctively sensed something was off about his behavior, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

‘Did he get into a fight with Anne and the others? I’ll ask that dumb dog tomorrow…’

Helplessly, Olivia assumed Tunzuo had had a bad conversation with Anne and Samotush and was just tired.

She didn’t dwell on it, turned, and went to her own room to rest.

—

The next afternoon, the slanting sun was setting, the breeze mild.

Olivia, Sally, and Huli planned to head to the music practice room together.

Tunzuo, however, excused himself by saying he had eaten too much dinner, felt a bit bloated, and needed some time to let his stomach settle.

He told the three witches to go ahead without him.

So, after reminding Tunzuo to rest well, the three witches left, leaving him alone in the dormitory.

When Olivia’s footsteps had completely faded away, Tunzuo walked to Olivia’s door with a conflicted expression.

He took a deep breath and first jiggled the doorknob.

Click.

As expected, the door was locked.

“Heh, it’s pretty well guarded.”

Tunzuo chuckled coldly, but this little lock was no match for him.

In an instant, his body melted like ink, turning into a pool of black liquid that seeped into the cracks in the floor and merged with the shadows.

Using the shadows as an extension, Tunzuo slipped through the crack of the door and smoothly entered Olivia’s room.

He emerged from the shadows, reforming his body.

He looked around, and the sight in the room made his eyes darken.

Olivia’s room was extremely tidy.

The posters and pillows bearing Tunzuo’s image—

The ones Olivia had mentioned—

Were nowhere to be found.

Aside from daily necessities and furniture, the only things in the room were the neatly stacked books on the shelf…

Piled high like a mountain.