Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

It is true that Vivian and Sophia, mother and daughter, are both witches. For ordinary people, "witch" itself is a very unusual identity, but this "unusual" is still far from "special" enough and still cannot serve as a reasonable explanation.

Sophia also hesitated for a moment.

"I've thought about this question and have had my doubts about it, but Grace hasn't been able to explain it clearly..."

"Really? Is she unwilling to speak, or is she unable to speak? Actually, I haven't found any relevant memories in her memory. Her memories are very chaotic, and I'm not very proficient in the use of mental magic. But what's suspicious is that Grace's current behavior looks like she has been hypnotized long ago."

Elsa's words made Sophia feel inexplicably cold all over, and she couldn't help but quicken her pace. But perhaps because she was distracted, or perhaps because the ground was wet and too slippery, Sophia stumbled, and Elsa quickly supported her.

"Please pull me."

"Thank you, thank you..."

It was not easy to refuse at this time, and Sophia felt Elsa holding her hand, which was very cold and soft. A strange feeling was pounding in her chest - she regretted it at this time. Being pulled by Elsa, she could not mobilize her magic power at all. Now she really became a complete "blind person".

But Sophia didn't care about that. Instead, she held Elsa's hand tightly and asked nervously:

"Are you saying... that Grace isn't actually acting on her own volition?"

Sophia seems to be particularly concerned about matters concerning Grace.

In other words, Sophia actually wanted to hear an explanation from Elsa that would not disappoint or frustrate her. At least, she didn't want her best friend to actually fall to this point on her own initiative.

Elsa glanced at Sofia.

"Sorry, I'm not sure. I don't know much about this. If possible, I'd like to ask Tricia to take a look—the Mystic Sage. Her attainments in mental magic are far higher than mine."

“Ah? S-Sage…?”

Sophia was a little confused.

She wanted to ask something else, but Aisha had already taken her hand and led her up the stairs, leaving the prison area together. At this time, Hannah, Buck, Vivian and others had been waiting outside for a while.

"Elsa..."

Vivian immediately came over with a worried look on her face. She saw Elsa carefully pulling Sophia, and her heart couldn't help but warm.

It's great that Mother and Aisha can get along so well...

"Lady Faris! And Lady Trawins."

Hannah and Buck followed suit.

"Awaited."

"Lady Faris, we found something new while cleaning up the wreckage of the Magician Corps explosion."

Hannah said quickly.

"It looks like a sacrifice to the Abyssal Magic, so we'd like to ask Madam Trawins to check it out..."

"It's about the necromancer, isn't it?—Can I go?"

Elsa asked, surprising and delighting Hannah and Buck.

"No problem at all!"

With Elsa here, I can’t say anything else, but at least safety can be guaranteed.

……

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227. Behind Sophia is...

Grace's appearance and interrogation was just a small episode. Since Grace really had nothing to do with those undead puppets, her matter was temporarily put on hold.

Sophia, on the other hand, had mixed feelings.

To be honest, the current development of things made her feel tired. The new troubles had not been resolved, and Grace's appearance was also unexpected. As a result, Sophia's mood became calmer.

Several people arrived at the Magician Corps' headquarters. The once mysterious and majestic building had now become a chaotic ruin. The Knights, the Lord's Mansion, and the Church were assisting in maintaining order and treating the wounded.

"This attack was premeditated. No one knows when the Mage Corps buried so much explosive magic underground. Presumably, even if it's not today, it will be detonated one day... The only good news is that no one on Renee's side was killed. Although the adjutant was injured, he was rescued in time and his life is not in danger for the time being."

Hannah gave a brief introduction to the current situation, while Elsa paid attention to the damage to the base.

"What are the casualties?"

"Seventeen people have been confirmed dead, and fourteen are missing... The explosion happened too suddenly, and many people died on the spot. Fortunately, Lady Faris arrived in time, and many people were saved by your Holy Light. Otherwise, given the situation at the time, many more people would have died from their injuries. Please allow me to express my gratitude."

Only then did Elsa notice that the area outside the Magicians' Corps' headquarters was crowded with people, some of whom were covered in dust, and some had dried blood on their clothes.

They looked at this side with gratitude - no one was allowed to enter the base now, so they waited outside.

"Thank you, hero!"

Someone shouted, and immediately there was a noisy wave.

"There are many people who thank you, Lady Faris."

Hannah said.

Hannah, Buck, and Vivian, this was not the first time they had seen this scene.

But not Sophia.

She couldn't see, but she could feel it. The people around her weren't very close, but Sophia could almost feel their glaring gazes. The less she could see, the more she felt like a thorn in her back.

At this time, a soft and gentle voice appeared beside Sophia. It was Elsa's voice, and Sophia could recognize it.

"Sophia, are you okay?"

Elsa calmly came to Sofia's side and took her hand. For a moment, the flow of magic disappeared, and the originally amplified perception suddenly receded like a tide. The noisy sound did not disappear, but it was much lessened. Elsa's warm palm held her hand, which was sweating due to nervousness. The only sounds in the air were her own relieved breathing and the cheers of the people.

The uneasy feeling disappeared because Sophia knew that Elsa blocked the sight of those people for her.

"Thanks……"

Sophia pursed her lips and said to Elsa.

For the first time, she took the initiative to move a little closer to Elsa and held her hand tightly.

This feeling of being protected reminded her of the first time she entered the Witch Club. Everyone's palms were so warm, just like Elsa's now - Later, Sophia stood on the side of the protector. She hadn't felt this protected and cared for in a long time.

Elsa's fingertips brushed across Sophia's palm intentionally or unintentionally, and each time she moved up and down with her steps, it made Sophia feel a little itchy - she didn't know if it was an illusion, but the tense palms made her feel less nervous.

Elsa simply observed Sofia's expression—a tactic she used on dates to ease the other person into a more natural state, usually only when she was proactive. Of course, Elsa didn't intend to actually "take the initiative" with Sofia; after all, she wouldn't go after straight women, but using it as a small gesture to ease Sofia's nerves was just the right move.

Who says dating skills can only be used on dates?

"Vivian."

Aisha reminded Vivian quietly, and signaled with her eyes—

Vivian also ran to Sofia and obediently took Sofia's slightly tense hand, which scared Sofia a little - she was feeling a little strange about holding hands with Elsa, but Vivian's appearance immediately eased this feeling in her heart.

"Mom, you and Aisha have such a good relationship~ I'm really envious."

Vivian chuckled.

Only in front of Sophia would Vivian say such witty remarks, which made Sophia's cheeks blush slightly. She then realized that she seemed to be too close to Elsa, so she quickly moved a little closer to Vivian.

"Are you feeling better?"

Elsa's gentle voice seemed to be right beside her ear, bringing Sophia back from her thoughts.

"Um... S-Sorry... I'm fine. Thank you, Aisha and Vivian."

Elsa just smiled and said, "But you don't look like that. Your heartbeat is a little too fast - although it may be a bit nosy to say this...Sophia, are you blaming yourself?"

Elsa's words made Sophia purse her lips unnaturally and smiled dryly, "This... there's nothing I can do about it... After all, those puppets were targeting me, but in the end I'm standing here unharmed, while those innocent people are..."

Aisha interrupted her: "If you think so, then I am unforgivable for not being able to save everyone."

Sophia was shocked - if it weren't for Elsa, there might be a few living people standing here. Those magicians, as well as her, Hannah and Buck, would probably die here.

She said hurriedly, terrified: "This is different, Aisha...you saved all of us, how can you say that...the real culprits should be the evil people behind those puppets-"

At this point, Sophia almost refuted herself.

Sophia was speechless for a moment, and then she heard Vivian's chuckle.

"What are you laughing at—"

"Um, I didn't..."

Sophia pinched Vivian's face, and Vivian subconsciously dodged.

Elsa was holding Sophia's hand. She looked around and saw that they had already come to the depths of the camp, which was probably quite a distance away from the crowd. So Elsa changed her hand to hold Sophia - and her other hand went around Sophia's waist and poked Vivian's wrist.

Vivian tilted her head to look at Elsa with a sense of something, and saw Elsa also tilting her head, looking at Vivian with a meaningful smile. Vivian tilted her head back again and saw Elsa's hand - that slender white hand, with her fingers playfully raised, as if calling her.

Vivian was stunned, and Sophia pinched her cheek.

But Sophia didn't know that behind her, her daughter and her daughter's friend had already gently hooked their fingers together.

……

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228. Underground Magic Circle (2K5)

Although the appearance of the undead puppets was a very serious matter, it actually had nothing to do with Sophia. Hibern invited Sophia to come in order to borrow Sophia's knowledge of abyss magic to investigate the incident involving Luther and the abyss magic user behind Luther. As for the affairs within the necromancy and magician corps, there were naturally magicians specializing in this area who participated in the investigation.

But Hannah still asked Sophia to come over, and the reason was self-evident - the clue of the abyss magic appeared.

"We've discovered something here that 'shouldn't be here.' After preliminary confirmation, it's undoubtedly a rune of Abyssal magic. However, it seems to have been embedded into the wall through some means, so I've ordered my men to guard that area. I'll lead the way now, and I'd like to trouble Lady Trawins and Lady Faris to confirm it with their own eyes."

At this point, the station and surrounding areas were already being directly guarded by the Knights, with knights everywhere. Also present were priests and Holy Light Mages from the church, setting up magic arrays and conducting surveys. Hannah's investigation team, led by Renee and the others, arrived immediately after recovering from their injuries.

"Everyone who comes here now must undergo an identity verification, including those from the Knights and the Church. This is to ensure that those undead puppets don't sneak into our ranks again. After all, we have the precedent of the Magician Corps. Now, the Knights, the Church, and the Lord's Mansion are all conducting internal verification."

Hannah actively cooperated with a church priest holding a magic device to verify her soul and magic power. She placed her palm on the stick that looked like a staff, and the magic crystal on the top of the stick shone with white light.

"If it were a dead puppet, this magic stone would appear black."

The priest explained to Aisha and the others. She looked a little nervous and kept stealing glances at Aisha.

"I've seen this kind of thing before, but it was a long time ago."

Buck looked thoughtful and put his hand on it, white.

Sophia and Vivian are also white.

As for Elsa, she placed her hand gently on it, but the Philosopher's Stone did not show any color.

"what?"

The pastor was stunned.

"S-Sorry... There seems to be something wrong... Please let me take a look..."

The priest hurriedly retracted the staff for inspection, but when he put his hand on it to try, it was white. Elsa controlled her power and did not damage the magic device, but she did not deliberately conceal her magic power.

But the color is not displayed.

The pastor looked embarrassed.

"...Perhaps it's because your soul, Lady Faris, has far exceeded the limits of what the Philosopher's Stone can explore..."

Maybe it's like reading too much data at once causing a crash?

Or is it incompatible?

Elsa tried to explain it to herself in a way that she could understand, but it didn't matter what happened. She was not an undead puppet, and this did not need to be proven specifically.

"But if it's Lady Faris, there won't be any problem. Everyone, please go in."

The priest made up a reason - anyway, no one would doubt Elsa.

It was a somewhat amusing episode, and Elsa wasn't unhappy about it.

"It's right in front."

Hannah quickened her pace and led everyone through the ruins.

There are magicians who specialize in controlling stones. Under normal circumstances, ruins of this scale can be cleared quickly, and even all parts of the building except for reinforcements and defense magic circles can be rebuilt within a week.

But this is not happening now.

When Elsa and others arrived at the Magician Corps' headquarters, it still looked like it had just exploded. After rescuing some magicians buried under the buildings, no one had touched the place. This was also to preserve the scene for the convenience of investigation. This situation will probably last for a long time before the investigation here is completed. During this period, the Magician Corps will probably temporarily carry out a large-scale reorganization.

"By the way, have you found the cause of the explosion?"