The Warden of the Witches Chapter 172

 Chapter 172 - You Can Graduate Now

    "So... you're saying the cult wanted to send people into the prison to find out the secrets you used to know?" Veronica tried to summarize Aiden's rough account.


    "Yes, they have a technology that surpasses alchemy as we know it today. It can mass-produce highly efficient artificial humans who completely obey the cult's orders," Aiden carefully chose his words. "Like the inmate who died today, he was probably a pawn of the cult."


    "I see..." Veronica quickly accepted the explanation.


    From Aiden's perspective, revealing a bit about divine language and divinity to Veronica shouldn't be too problematic, considering he himself only learned about it through contact with the Witches' Gathering.


    But when it came to the existence of mephilia, imprisoned under the office, that was a secret he absolutely couldn't disclose, neither publicly nor privately.


    Mephilia's file was the highest level of classified information he knew. Even if he were to leak a small amount, the Inquisition would mercilessly arrest him and send him for trial, regardless of his past contributions to the Inquisition.


     Moreover, this information was crucial to his safety. Even trustworthy individuals couldn't be trusted with it. Sometimes, even those who knew could succumb to coercion or torture, revealing information. Regardless, the more people who knew, the greater the risk of it leaking.


     So Aiden tried to replace it with the term "beyond black magic, witchcraft, and alchemy," which wasn't entirely inaccurate, as human technology in this regard ultimately stems from divine power. And when mortals use divine words, the effect is only slightly superior to black magic.


    If one were to push black magic to its limits, they could almost touch the fringes of divine words effects. For instance, the secret techniques researched by Priscilla, while still lacking the full potency of wisdom authority, are capable of achieving the effect of "possession."


    If the other party were an expert in black magic research and well aware of the limits it can reach, they would certainly become suspicious after hearing Aiden's explanation.


    Luckily, Veronica was completely ignorant of black magic and almost unquestioningly accepted Aiden's words, believing him without doubt, so Aiden's explanation went smoothly.


    "So, you mentioned earlier that this cult is at war with the Witches' Gathering. What's going on there?" Veronica asked.


    "The organizers of the Witches' Gathering have something the cult wants, and a few major witches from the Witches' Gathering also want to snatch away their technology," Aiden an explained succinctly. "The cult has been using artificial humans as cannon fodder to attack the Sabbath Forest, while the Witches' Gathering has been tracking the cult's movements. I had contact with the Witches' Gathering In the case of Priscilla before, and now those witches have proposed cooperation with me."


    "With you? But you're..." Veronica paused, puzzled.


    "Yes, they want to use me as a former senior inquisitor. The Bountifull Mother Goddess Cult targeting this area is also their doing, diverting the cult's attention here,".


    Veronica fell silent for a moment, quickly organizing the information she had gathered in her mind, then she asked Aidan, "So... Chief, what's your plan now?"


    "Things have come to this point, and it seems inevitable to clash with the Bountifull Mother Goddess Cult. I've decided to agree to the Witches' Gathering proposal for cooperation," Aiden answered truthfully.


    "I see..." Veronica pondered.


    "Do you think it's not appropriate?" Aiden inquired.


    "No, I think it's a feasible plan, but... the risk is quite significant," Veronica remarked.


    Veronica was not unfamiliar with this situation. The mounted police sometimes used one gang to deal with another, guiding criminal groups to fight among themselves, and then seizing the opportunity to take down one of them.


     Sometimes, gangs would also gather evidence against their rival and find a way to pass it on to the police, using the mounted police to crush the opposing gang.


    However, if this approach was mishandled, it could lead to a lot of trouble, as in the case of the "Rampage" carmila incident in the past, where the mounted police almost became accomplices in turning silaine into a lich, putting them in an extremely awkward position.


    The mounted police could use gangs because they were still in a relatively strong position, but the Witches' Gathering  was an organization that even national-level Inquisition had to handle with caution. Cooperating with them could easily backfire if not handled carefully.


    Moreover, the members of the Witches' Gathering were all witches under the "Black Magic Management Convention," and some of the major witches were even S-class wanted criminals. Getting involved with them could lead to trouble in the criminal field, and even Aiden himself could be targeted by the Inquisition.


    The motive of the Witches' Gathering is also quite clear; they hope to use the power of the Autonomous State Inquisition to deal with the Bountifull Mother Goddess Cult. However, they themselves are not convenient to directly contact the Inquisition, so they want to use Aiden as a bridge.


    "But this risk must be taken. The Inquisition  will only take action against the cult after obtaining deeper evidence of their crimes. At the moment, we basically can't take the initiative against the cult on our own," Aiden said calmly.


    "Should we... use the prisoners then?" Veronica thought for a moment before suddenly suggesting.


    "Using prisoners for things outside the prison is fine occasionally... but asking them to confront external forces might be difficult," Aiden shook his head.


    "But chief, consider this: the two prisoners in Cell 12 are also members of the Witches' Gathering. They might be willing to participate," Veronica cautiously proposed. "In fact, the mounted police have a precedent of picking criminals from prisons to act as informants, but we don't know if the Inquisition has something similar..."


    Aiden paused for a moment, then began to ponder.


   The mounted police's approach, as long as similar procedures are used, theoretically, the Inquisition can also do it. 


    However, due to the extremely cautious atmosphere within the Inquisition regarding these dangerous criminals, they rarely consider using the power of prisoners in this way. Because there is no precedent for this in their memory, even Aiden himself hadn't considered it for a moment.


    If he were to handle the procedures and cooperate with the Inquisition, it might be possible to bring prisoners out for use.


    This incident is related to the Witches' Gathering. As long as the reward is sufficient, Dailey and Priscilla should be willing to participate... They could become powerful pawns for him to deal with the Bountifull Mother Goddess Cult.


    "That's a good idea," Aiden couldn't help but give Veronica an approving look. "It feels like you've already mastered the art here. You can graduate now."