Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 682 - 75: Hunger

"...I never wrote the letter."

"Finally, you're here."

Before Ave could speak, Valerie suddenly changed her tone.

The strange feeling grew stronger, as if Ave saw the shadow of another person in Valerie; she experienced two thoughts simultaneously, similar to the descriptions of possession in "100 Dark Creatures."

"Go, get out!"

Valerie was somewhat out of control, her eyes filled with anger, her right hand swung fiercely, sweeping the Sheepskin Book off the table, rolling it to Ave's feet.

Ave bent down to pick up the Sheepskin Book; it was evidently intentional by Valerie. Her teacher was never one to lose control of emotions. The only explanation was that she was in a terrible state now, and the notes on the Sheepskin Book were a clue left for her.

The two shadows seemed to merge into one at this moment, warning her to leave immediately.

Ave cradled the Sheepskin Book, retracing her steps back. Little Bellamo was still waiting at the entrance of the wine cellar, having heard the roaring from the dungeon, he confirmed, "Is she still alive?"

"Alive."

"That's good."

After a simple confirmation, he pressed the switch behind the barrel; as the dark door closed, the sounds from the other side were completely blocked behind the door.

At this moment, in the dungeon, Valerie seemed possessed, her body contorted and nailed to the chair, both arms pulled back by invisible forces, the range of the candlelight shrinking, shadows creeping up along her ankles, a dark hand plastered on her face, almost distorting her entire face.

"Human, you are disobedient."

A voice identical to hers echoed from the shadows, "You wrote a letter. This was our agreement."

"I... did not."

Valerie found speaking difficult, she clearly saw shadows crawl onto her right hand, instantly losing control over it. Her hand slowly moved to the feather pen on the table, picking it up, quickly writing on the table, "I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong..."

One after another, until the dense writing occupied the entire tabletop.

The voice echoed in her ear, "See, now you should remember."

Fragmented memories surfaced in Valerie's mind; late one night, as she had fallen asleep, she saw her own body, originally lying in bed, suddenly rising, turning over and getting out with eyes tightly shut. She came to the table, tore a blank page from the Sheepskin Book, furiously writing on it.

This eerie scene persisted for more than ten minutes; once completed, she walked to the cell front, bent down, and slipped the finished letter through the bars.

Outside the cell was empty, yet a pair of hands emerged from the darkness, clutching the envelope, pulling it into the shadows.

"Human, the only reason you can still breathe is that he wants you alive."

The voice beside her ear said, "But if you cause me any more trouble, I'll snap your neck."

...

The first thing Ave did after returning to her room was lock the door. She sat on the bed, lighting a lantern emitting a blood-red glow, revealing the words on the Sheepskin Book.

According to the timeline provided by Van Fleet, Teacher Valerie left the village a year ago, heading alone to the territory of the "Red Eyes," which meant she had been imprisoned in the dungeon for a year.

This was contrary to the behavior of ghouls; they did not treat Valerie as food or tried to convert her, instead they provided her with a good living environment... The only explanation Ave could think of was that the noblewoman needed something from her, and they made some kind of agreement.

In the Sheepskin Book, Ave learned the noblewoman's name for the first time.

Ms. Morganna-Blackref.

The last heir of the Blackrave Clan, during the reign of Henry III, the Blackrave Clan was one of the most prominent in the Imperial Capital, yet due to conflicts with the Church, they were persecuted, after falling into decline, the descendants of Blackrave lived a struggling existence in the Imperial Capital, until the day Morganna-Blackref was born.

The infant's birth brought about a prophecy. During a prayer, a High-tier Priest of the Church saw the apocalypse brought by Morganna — the sky engulfed in darkness, people driven insane wandering the streets, devouring each other's flesh.

This became the last straw for the downfall of the clan, the final Patriarch of the family was condemned by the Church for secretly conducting rituals for the Evil God, when Morganna was merely a month old, her parents were tied to the pyre by Julius.

Before their deaths, her parents spent all the remaining family fortune to send Morganna out of the Imperial Capital, entrusting her to a friend for upbringing.

Regarding this, Teacher Valerie made corresponding annotations.

She investigated the history of the Blackrave Clan, from her viewpoint, it looked more like a political struggle under the guise, rumors claimed the Blackrave Clan provided venues for anti-Church members to operate, they offered their old residence as a meeting room for those individuals.

After the truth was exposed, the followers of Julius came up with a reason to execute Morganna's parents.

Benevolence towards the Evil God was a universal excuse, the Church used it to sentence anyone they wished to death. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Valerie believed that to uncover the events in Dark Furnace City, one must investigate the grudge between the Blackrave Clan and Duke Bellamo, there is substantial evidence pointing to Duke Bellamo being the friend of Morganna's parents, he adopted Morganna and had her live under a different name.