Chapter 185: The Great Magic—O Village, Wave 7

“Granny, when you were at the Witch Academy, were there a lot of monsters like this?”

“The dorms were separate, so I only know that he was also at the Witch Academy.”

Sang Chu asked, “Sijin, let me ask you again, how did your father escape from there?”

“Heh, escape? There was no need. My father had some uncles and elders who were also failed witches, so they just stayed there. He said that recently, the magic in many households has weakened. Everyone made a hole in the magical barrier, and when magic was at its weakest during the coldest time of the night, they let the monsters out. As long as they ate enough, they could recover their original strength!”

Hearing this, everyone was stunned. Someone stared wide-eyed and said, “This… this is the work of our own people!”

Sijin gave a bitter laugh. “Of course I know it’s our own people, but what can I do? Other than trusting him, what else could I do? In O Village, almost every family has someone who became a monster. Everyone has a connection to this. That’s just how it is.”

Sang Chu asked, “L is one of your people?”

Sijin looked at Sang Chu for a long time before nodding. “Yes.”

“Weian, is there any way to save these people?”

Meng Weian walked over to the monster, examined it for a while, then shook his head at Sijin’s hopeful gaze. “If they had just turned into monsters, or if there was some method, maybe. But he’s eaten too many witches, the curse is too deep, there’s nothing we can do.”

Even if Granny Xiang was willing to cleanse the curse from the monster’s flesh, it would be useless. The curse left by the witches before death had already seeped into the bones. There was no saving them.

Hearing this, Sijin seemed to lose his soul and slumped to the ground.

Chao Hai said, “Then, then, maybe, maybe I can help? I’m a level five, after all. Why don’t you come with me to White City? I’ll do my best to save him!”

Sang Chu looked at the proud young man who had shared a guest room with her before. Chao Hai met her gaze, involuntarily took a step back, but still raised his chin stubbornly and said, “Don’t look down on me! What I said is true!”

“I know, but even if you’re a level five, you can’t cure the witch’s curse.”

Looking at Sijin, Sang Chu said softly, “You have two choices now. One, hand all these monsters over to me. I’ll handle everything here, and no one else will know. Two, I’ll kill everyone here—ordinary people and monsters alike—and then leave. That’s the end of it.”

Someone exclaimed, “You—you’re going to kill us all?”

Tian Meng said, “Yeah! It’s one thing to kill the monsters—they deserve it. But what crime have the ordinary people committed?”

Chao Hai ran over to Sijin, grabbed his hand and shouted, “Don’t listen to her! The Witch Academy exists to protect ordinary people, to protect the weak! You can’t use magic to do evil! You—you’re not worthy of being a witch!”

Sang Chu ignored him, looked directly at Sijin and said, “What’s your choice?”

“You—you’re really going to kill them all?”

Sijin knew very well that these monsters had already lost all reason. The remaining witches were no match for them. Other than being eaten, they had no power to resist.

And his father no longer recognized him. During the day, the monsters could only hide at home. At night, they came out to hunt. After all the witches were killed, the ones being eaten would be ordinary villagers.

He didn’t care if he lived or died—he had nothing left. But there were still so many ordinary people in O Village.

Chao Hai said, “How can you do this? He’s your father! Don’t you want to save him? I told you, I can save him! I’m from White City, a second-tier city!”

Sang Chu said, “Since you’ve made your decision, let’s begin.”

“Okay.”

Sijin crawled to the side, his eyes never leaving his father. At first, Sang Chu thought Chao Hai would give up, but the stubborn boy kept shouting at Sijin, “How can you call yourself his son if you’re going to kill your own father? I look down on you!”

Sang Chu’s eyes narrowed. In a flash, she grabbed him by the back of the neck and forced him to look closely at the monster.

“Look carefully. Is this still a person? Can you see any trace of humanity left? You say Sijin is heartless, but what right do you have to judge him? You’re just an outsider who only sees the monster, who lives apart from them, who knows nothing. What gives you the right to speak for him? The hardest choice is his, between his father and the villagers. You’re just a bystander who only sees the monster’s side!”

Chao Hai stammered, “I—I—I…”

The monster’s stench was overwhelming. Just getting close made him nauseous. Sang Chu pressed him even closer.

“If my group hadn’t come here today, you and your friends would have been eaten by this monster too. Do you still think he’s innocent? Do you think Sijin’s choice is wrong? Monsters eat people and leave nothing behind. Even your parents and siblings wouldn’t know where you went. They’d just know you disappeared, and wouldn’t even know where to collect your remains. This is happening every day. Young man, kindness and goodwill should be given to the living, not to monsters. The moment he became a monster, he was already dead. No matter what he was in life, that’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card. If you really want to do something, then bring him to justice, let him pay for his crimes, not plead for him here and let him keep making the same mistakes!”

Chao Hai was left speechless by Sang Chu’s words. He had never thought about it this way before. He only knew he was from a big city, and once he returned, he could take the magic exam again. He felt sorry for the monster, thinking it was pitiful that he had become like this, and that Sijin was cruel for wanting to kill him.

But he had never considered whether he could actually control the monster if he took it to White City, or stop it from hurting others.

He had never thought about how many people the monster had already harmed, how many families had been destroyed. Even if it wasn’t intentional, as the others said, he was already a monster.

“I—I…”

“Enough with your stories. Even the elders of my city can’t do anything. Do you really think a second-tier city like White City has a solution?”"