Tiyi’s gaze sharpened as clockwork familiars lunged at her. Silently chanting, she swept her slender fingers through the air. A trail of blazing runes erupted, each wrapped in flames that morphed into burning feathers.

She’d already vacated her original spot, yet the fiery wings trembled midair where she’d stood.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The burning feathers shot toward the familiars. They dodged frantically—but three still plummeted, shattered.

“Oh? Your shapeshifting magic’s quite refined,” Xialda remarked with approving amusement, still directing the remaining familiars to chase Tiyi.

Tiyi skidded to an abrupt halt, boots scraping the ground. She swung her greatsword.

*Thud!*

Two more familiars crashed down in one stroke.

“Tiyi, stay sharp!” Dilovei’s warning cut through the air as she charged, rapier flashing like silver lightning toward Tiyi.

Tiyi parried the thrust with her greatsword’s flat. The last two familiars retreated, hovering at opposite angles. Their jaws gaped, unleashing elemental spells.

As Tiyi raised an ice-crystal barrier against the magic, Dilovei’s blade spiraled toward her—a whirlwind of frost and stardust, blindingly fast.

*Clang!*

Tiyi blocked, but the impact sent her stumbling backward. The familiars fired again from behind.

In one fluid motion, Tiyi twisted her waist low, evading both blasts. Her heel snapped upward—a ripple in the air coalescing into an orange-red magic circle.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Twin wings of flame erupted.

“Hm?” Even Xialda’s eyes widened in surprise.

*Kaboom! Kaboom!*

The familiars exploded in showers of sparks and wild energy, smoking wrecks tumbling to the ground.

Below, the watching witches stood frozen.

*Alandiye… she’s grown this strong in mere months?*

*Holding her own against Lady Dilovei—and forcing Lady Xialda to intervene?*

“Alandiye… who *is* she?” whispered Itheci, newly promoted to full witch, her confidence crumbling.

“Sister Tiyi…” Yolea’s heart swelled with pride.

“Alandiye.” Dilovei activated her speed enchantment. Silver hair whipped like a phantom’s veil as her rapier carved arcs of glacial stardust.

Tiyi, seemingly off-balance, had already mapped Dilovei’s strike trajectory—even through the magic’s blur. In her mind, the perfect counter formed: one move to end this.

Yet… as she swung her greatsword, she abandoned the counter. Instead, she charged head-on, blade aimed at Dilovei’s core—leaving herself wide open.

*Whoosh!*

An icy gust scattered frost in all directions.

At the last heartbeat, both women pulled their strikes.

Tiyi’s greatsword hovered a hair’s breadth from Dilovei’s shoulder.

Dilovei’s rapier tip pressed almost tenderly against the swell of Tiyi’s left breast.

Their wind-tousled hair settled slowly.

“The trial ends here!” Xialda declared, raising a hand.

Technically, it was a draw.

But that no longer mattered.

Tiyi had earned their respect. She’d fought Dilovei while fending off Xialda’s familiars. To onlookers, her swordsmanship matched Dilovei’s.

This proved she was irreplaceable for the revenge plan.

No need to defeat Dilovei outright. Overpowering her might raise dangerous questions.

Crimson roses bloomed around Tiyi, crystalline and blood-bright. Translucent thorns snaked across the chapel floor, scattering rose petals like falling stars.

Every masked witch had voted to affirm her. These roses were the highest honor for a newly elevated witch—a silent promise from the sisterhood.

A witch’s glory.

Yet Tiyi’s heart churned with conflicted warmth.

“Next, we finalize the executor for our plan,” Xialda announced. She retreated through the archway behind the altar, descended the spiral stairs hidden in the chapel wall, and rejoined Dilovei and the eight masked witches at the sacred platform’s edge.

Tiyi remained alone on the dais.

This was the moment. Her pulse hammered—approval hinged on whims, not rules.

She’d swallowed her pride to join this underground coven. She’d endured dormitories thick with feminine perfume, accidental glimpses of bare skin in bathhouses, knelt before the Goddess of Night, studied forbidden magic… broken sacred laws for this chance.

Faith demanded no divine reward. Even without blessings, doubt was betrayal.

But for honor. For reclaiming what was lost. For vengeance against Selys. For Qingruo’s safety… she’d chosen this path.

All her sacrifices led here.

If denied this role, she’d have no choice but to seize the ring by force—a desperate gamble with near-zero odds.

She *had* to return. She *needed* that ring.

Her chest rose and fell. Faint white vapor curled from her pink lips. Her golden eyes, pupils dark as midnight, smoldered with hidden fire.

The masked witches murmured, nodding in unison. Xialda stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over Tiyi with playful cruelty. Tiyi’s breath hitched.

“The Goddess of Night has guided us,” Xialda proclaimed. “After long observation—and today’s trial—we unanimously affirm—”

“Alandiye is the one to execute our revenge!”

Tiyi’s soul seemed to float free, lifted by an unseen tide to heights she’d never known…

No cheers rose. No applause. This was the highest honor among witches—but all understood: being chosen meant walking a path drenched in blood. One woman, defying an Empire of unimaginable might.

A witch’s vengeance had begun.