Chapter 114 You, you are not dead? ! - Stop Hypnotizing Me, Villainous Princess!

Time rewinds to ten minutes earlier. Inside the Pantheon. Upon hearing the Witch Lady's explanation, Lynn was about to ask something further when he suddenly sensed a subtle repulsive force surrounding him. "The shattering of the Chains of Order has triggered a certain warning reaction within the Pantheon," the Witch Lady calmly explained. "It's time for you to leave." "But before you go, repeat the task I just assigned you." Wrapped in a blanket, Lynn hung his head reluctantly. "After returning to the imperial capital, I should quickly establish contact with Silina and the others, sparing no effort to gain their trust, and then use the Mark of Decadence on them." Seeing his dejected appearance, the Witch Lady felt a slight impulse. He looked like a homeless puppy, crouched before her with an air of despondency. Though this thought crossed her mind, her expression remained perfectly composed. She only subconsciously tightened her slender fingers. "You're somewhat reluctant?" She looked down at Lynn. "I recall Silina being acclaimed as the most beautiful woman in the entire empire at the time." "Even without mentioning Silina, every one of them, including the Saintess of the Silent Church, is uniquely beautiful. You should be grateful to make them your servants." Her voice was utterly calm, as if she were casually bringing up a trivial matter. This question was a challenge of sorts. Glancing at the Witch Lady's slightly tilted head, and the snow-white hair cascading over her shoulder, Lynn hesitated not even a fraction. "In my heart, there are only three kinds of women in the world." "Oh? And what are they?" the Witch Lady inquired, nonchalantly. "You, the most beautiful; my mother; and other women." Lynn's expression was serious. Of course, he tailored his words depending on who's asking. If Evester posed this question, Lynn wouldn't even dare include "my mother" in his answer. The Witch Lady, however, did not display any joy upon hearing his words. Instead, she coldly asked, "The most beautiful me?" "Which me are you referring to?" He couldn't tell if it was an illusion. It seemed the Witch Lady was behaving peculiarly today. Though she maintained her usual aloof and world-weary demeanor, she definitely seemed more talkative than usual. And it seemed as though she was intentionally marking a separation from her past self. This thought lingered in Lynn's mind. Yet he knew how to answer this question. If he were the typical clueless harem protagonist here, he would say, "All of you are my wings." But that would be the dumbest response. There's only one reason for this. Damn it, the princess isn't here. If he didn't seize this opportunity to flatter the Witch Lady mercilessly, he'd be a fool. Lynn didn't hesitate, instantly giving a thumbs-up: "Of course, it's you, Witch Lady!" "Slick talker." Upon hearing his response, the Witch Lady snorted softly. But it seemed her mood had improved. "Come here." The Witch Lady gently lifted her snow-white arm, signaling Lynn to come closer. "I will seal your memory." "To minimize the sense of disjunction, I'll slightly adjust your memory. But don't worry, it won't affect your personality, and in two months, the lost memories will return." Lynn obediently approached. As the Witch Lady's cool, delicate hand gently covered his forehead, he felt an all-encompassing solace. But in the next second, Lynn suddenly realized something. Due to his high degree of trust in the Witch Lady, he had forgotten something crucial. The system and his past life's existence! Moreover, she was probably unaware that the hypnosis back then was actually fake. Instinctively, Lynn wanted to pull away from the Witch Lady's hand. But then, a system notification suddenly echoed in his ears. [Detecting an invasion of the host's memory, a solution is being devised for you.] [Solution successfully devised!] Accompanied by an indescribable force, Lynn suddenly felt that the memories he didn't want the Witch Lady to access were concealed by this invisible power. He stared blankly at the silent Witch Lady, trying to detect any hint of peculiarity on her face. Then he saw her brows furrow slightly. Did she notice the system’s covert adjustment? Lynn felt a twinge of anxiety. Fortunately, in the next second, the Witch Lady spoke softly, "Stop staring at me." Okay then. I guess I was overthinking it. Relief washed over Lynn, and he obediently averted his eyes. Yet, he was left with a faint sense of puzzlement. The system's priority was actually higher than that of the Witch Lady? Logically, she was supposed to be one of the most powerful entities in this world. And yet, she remained unaware of the system's existence. Pondering this confusion, Lynn suddenly felt engulfed by overwhelming sleepiness. Then everything went black. With a slight sting in his mind, it seemed his memories were both missing something and yet gaining something new. My name is Lynn, I'm 17 years old, and the heir of the Bartleon family. Exiled from the imperial capital to Orland City, my heart seethed with hatred, burning with the desire to retaliate against those who slandered me. However, stripped of my divine factor, I became incredibly weak. No one would aid me, as everyone delighted in kicking the Bartleon family when it was down. Thus, to seek vengeance and regain power, I turned my gaze toward those wicked and forbidden means. I prayed to an unknown entity, pleading for the power to exact my revenge. Even if it meant offering up my soul, I was willing. And then, I succeeded. Within that Pantheon, I encountered the most beautiful woman I've seen in both my lives. The Witch of the End, Evester. I said, "Great entity, please accept my soul and make me your servant. Grant me the power for retribution!" She replied, "Servant? I don't need one of those, but I'm missing a playful little dog for amusement." And so I became her dog. With her assistance, my strength surged, and through completing the trials she assigned, I established connections with various people and forces, including the Augusta Manor and the Tirus Family. Eventually, I even successfully quelled the riot of a level-zero sealed object, delighting the Witch Lady in an unprecedented manner. Unfortunately, in that catastrophe, as I was possessed by two great demons, my memory seemed to have been jumbled, leaving me with a feeling of forgotten fragments. But since the Witch Lady said they weren't important, I didn't bother to delve further. Now, today she has set forth two new trials. One involves using the Mark of Decadence to take revenge on the protagonists of the original narrative. The other is to return to reality, find her from 100,000 years ago, prevent her from developing extreme ideas of revenge against the entire empire, and alter the tragic future. Speaking of which, the Witch Lady from 100,000 years ago should still be the third princess of the St. Roland Empire. What kind of person could she have been? In the real world. Feeling the dull pain of falling from a height, Lynn stood up while rubbing his backside. At this very moment, he had only a blanket covering his body, resembling nothing more than a streaking lunatic. In hindsight, he should have asked the Witch Lady for some clothes before leaving. Tightening the blanket around him, Lynn furtively glanced around. And speaking of which. As if to affirm his sleepy musings, fate seemed to answer with an unexpected surprise. "Lynn, Young Master Lynn?!" A voice suddenly called out from behind him. "Is that you, Young Master Lynn?!" "Thank goodness! You're alive!!!" The voice trembled slightly, carrying an overt tone of ecstatic relief. Lynn instinctively turned back to look. It turned out to be one of the personal guards from Augusta Manor, someone Lynn had once reduced to tears. At this moment, the guard, alongside three rough mercenary-like brutes, was wielding a lantern-shaped sealing object, seemingly searching for any signs of life. It seemed that after successfully completing the trial to stop the wish-jar riot, the people from Augusta Manor had never given up searching for him. Lynn breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worrying about how to get back to the city. Seeing the excited expression on the guard’s face, Lynn smiled, "Yes, it’s me—" Before he could finish his sentence, an unexpected situation unfolded. "Schlick—" Accompanied by the sound of flesh being pierced, Lynn's eyes narrowed slightly. In his astonished gaze, behind the manor guard, one of the burly mercenaries suddenly drew a blade and thrust it through his body. The guard looked utterly bewildered, blood spilling from his mouth as he glanced down at the blade protruding from his chest. Clearly, he had no understanding of what had just transpired. At the behest of Master Greya, the manor had allocated all their scarce resources to the search for Lynn. They’d even gone to the trouble of hiring a band of mercenaries to assist them, sending them together into the surrounding mountains. But just when they finally found Lynn, the guard was inexplicably slain. What on earth was happening? As the guard's lifeless body collapsed to the ground, the burly mercenary flicked blood off his sword's tip. "Well done," he said, advancing with the other two mercenaries towards Lynn, "We finally found you, Lynn Bartleon." The leading burly mercenary was a second-level Transcendent, roughly at the novice level. The other two unsmiling mercenaries were first-level Transcendents. Their beliefs and supernatural abilities, however, remained unknown at present. It seemed these individuals had been planted in the search team by some ill-intentioned party, with the sole goal of ensuring he truly perished in the accident. Seeing him alive, this was their direct answer. Feeling the cold killing intent radiating from the three men, Lynn gazed at them calmly, "Who sent you?" At this moment, the aura Lynn emitted was that of an ordinary person. The burly mercenary pressed the blade against Lynn's throat, revealing a menacing grin. "The Mosgra family and the Church of Divine Justice asked me to pass on their regards."