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Thousand Fog Mountain, Ninth Peak

As Vaan and the others waited for the dragon lord to return, he started to ponder over the information he had learned.

\'If the universe is a bubble of existence, and everything out was Chaos and nothingness, then the Realm Fragments were, in fact, the fragments of that bubble of existence?\' Vaan mused.

In other words, the Realm Fragments contained the power of existence.

Realm Fragments were precious because they were filled with mana and could grant new abilities. But they didn\'t just give any random abilities; they simply unlocked one\'s innate talent in accordance with their rise in existence level.

\'Topaz didn\'t rise to a higher rank before because the Realm Fragment was full of pure mana; she rose because the power of existence raised her existence level,\' Vaan thought.

He seemed to figure out the truth behind the Realm Fragment\'s properties. That said, there were still parts that he didn\'t understand.

For example, where did the Realm Fragment\'s sharpness come from?

There was a possibility that the Realm Fragment contained not only the power of existence but a very thin trace of the power of nothingness.

That would explain its sharpness.

However, the Realm Fragments shouldn\'t have any power of nothingness if Chaos lies just outside the universe bubble before the endlessness of nothingness.

\'No, Chaos can be outside the bubble before nothingness, but that doesn\'t necessarily mean there is no gap for nothingness between Chaos and the bubble,\' Vaan suddenly thought.

After all, Chaos was unreachable prior to Gehenna\'s arrival.

Thus, there must be a thin layer of nothingness separating Chaos and the universe from coming into contact, thereby making them seem like separate dimensions.

\'It should be something like this,\' Vaan reached his conclusion.

Meanwhile, Vaan also engaged in idle discussions with Astoria, Hester, and Aeliana to pass the time as they waited.

Sometime later, a large tear in space appeared before the dragon lord emerged, returning from his short trip.

However, he did not come back alone.

Everyone was surprised to see the dragon lord return with a beautiful human woman—No, a witch, and not just any witch.

\'Fallen Witch!\' everyone quickly concluded.

The beautiful woman appeared young like many witches but possessed a mature yet seemingly ancient aura.

She wore a gothic-style black dress, had black-painted nails, purple lipstick, a pale complexion, knee-long black hair, sharp red eyes, thin brows, a tall nose bridge, and an hourglass figure with D-cup breasts.

Overall, she was plainly dressed with a touch of makeup. She didn\'t have any accessories or magic tools equipped and was even barefoot.

However, while she was ill-equipped for battle, no one underestimated her.

\'This person is too strong!\' Astoria and the others thought.

"Everyone can relax. This Lord has brought a friend to join our discussion. While this Lord understands your kingdom has prejudices against black witches, this Lord can guarantee she will not harm you," Lord Narvim assured them before adding, "Of course, this Lord doesn\'t recommend you attacking her either."

"She\'s a Pseudo-Transcendent Witch. None of you is her opponent," Lord Narvim stated.

\'Pseudo-Transcendent…\'

Astoria and the other ladies were stunned after they were informed about the Fallen Witch\'s strength.

While High Witches in the kingdom struggled to reach the middle stage, a Fallen Witch had already come close to the Transcendent Rank.

At the same time, the Witch Mother could sense their complicated emotions and sense of defeat. That said, their feelings didn\'t concern her.

As such, she simply smiled without a word.

Nevertheless, the dragon lord wanted both sides to become familiar. Thus, he asked them to introduce themselves.

"I am Ophelia Tempest, founder of the Black Witch Society. Many refer to me as the Witch Mother, but you may simply address me as Lady Ophelia," the Witch Mother introduced herself.

Shortly after Vaan and the others also briefly introduced themselves, Ophelia glanced at Vaan with interest.

She found it rare for a man to sit among them as their equal, given the state of the Black Rose Kingdom.

Nevertheless, Vaan turned his attention to the dragon lord and inquired, "May I ask why you\'ve brought Lady Ophelia here, Your Excellency?"

He figured the dragon lord might have struck some sort of deal with the Black Witch Society, seeing how the dragon lord didn\'t capture and return with the two missing escapees.

Given the dragon lord\'s great strength, he found it hard to believe the Black Witch Society had the means to harm him.

In other words, the Black Witch Society offered something the dragon lord simply couldn\'t refuse.

"This Lord and Lady Ophelia have entered an alliance. Thus, this Lord hopes the Black Rose Kingdom would cease any and all aggression against the Black Witch Society," Lord Narvim stated.

Astoria immediately frowned.

"This isn\'t something we can make a decision on," Astoria replied before saying, "If Your Excellency wants us to be friendly with the Black Witch Society, we can. However, we don\'t represent the entire kingdom. Only our ruler can make that decision."

"Your cooperation is enough for now. This Lord will discuss this matter with Lady Henrietta another time," Lord Narvim casually said.

"I\'m quite curious, Your Excellency," Vaan expressed his interest before inquiring, "Why did you ally with Lady Ophelia? What did she offer you?"

"Information, important information that can help us resist the threats of Gehenna. At the same time, the Black Witch Society is willing to join forces with us to resist the Great Devils\' invasions should the time come," Lord Narvim answered.

"The Fallen Witches will?" Hester glanced at the Witch Mother with misgivings and said, "It would be better if Fallen Witches weren\'t involved. Who knows if they would suddenly join the demons and stab us in the back or not."

"You don\'t have to worry about that. This Lord can assure you that Lady Ophelia can be trusted. She has already sworn it under oath using Contract Magic," Lord Narvim assured. "She is not our enemy."

"May I hear the exact words of Lady Ophelia\'s oath, Your Excellency?" Vaan suddenly requested before mentioning, "After all, the friend of a friend isn\'t necessarily a friend. She can be your friend and still be our enemy."

"If you\'re worried, I can swear a new oath under Contract Magic for you, Handsome," Ophelia slightly smiled.