The Warden of the Witches Chapter 199

 Chapter 199 - The Heaven's has it Ways

    In the distance, Priscilla and Dailey exchanged glances—the direction in which Sister Nawei had fled was towards the abandoned mine. That mine connected to a route leading out of the autonomous region, where Lamia and her group seemed to be at the moment.


    Veronica also heard the conversation clearly. She did not fully understand parts of the dialogue, but she could see one thing: Aiden was in control of the standoff.


    She felt a little relieved and sighed softly.


    "Your mother?" Upon hearing the priest's confession, Aiden was momentarily stunned and then realized something. "Could it be... the Queen of the old Reiss Kingdom?"


    The priest's goat-like face twitched violently a few times before he finally nodded with difficulty. "Yes."


    Aiden's suspicion was confirmed. The Queen of the old Reiss Kingdom, who was supposedly assassinated by the nameless witch, did not actually die. Instead, she continued to exist through the inheritance of her powers to her offspring. At that time, Aiden had speculated that the one who inherited the Queen's will was Father Bales.


    "I see..." Aiden stared at Father Bales for a moment. "It seems very difficult for you to talk about this. Is betraying that mother of yours a heavy psychological burden for you, or is it due to the influence of her powers?"


    From the priest's expression and tone, Aiden could see that confessing was extremely challenging for him, as if he were engaged in a fierce internal conflict.


    "It's because of her powers..." Father Bales  replied. "The power my mother holds can influence the will of her descendants. A Direct offspring will become her puppets, completely under her control. While Children born from the fusion of another's bloodline have independent wills... but are still influenced by her. She does not allow me to do anything that would harm her."


    "But you are still able to disclose her information."


    "I am somewhat of an exception," Father Bales sighed. "Because my bloodline is unusually impure."


    "A chimera?" Aiden examined the priest's body, which seemed to be a patchwork of various creatures.


    "Yes, it was one of her experiments. She wanted to obtain a bloodline as powerful as that of the dragonborn but couldn't find an opportunity. So, during her pregnancy, she ingested the blood of magical beasts and demons, using her powers to fuse these bloodlines with the child inside her. The result was that I turned into this half-human, half-monster form."


    Father Bales used his shackled hands to grab the horns on his head forcefully. Aiden could hear the resentment in his voice.


    "But in a way, this form saved me," the priest continued. "I was born looking like a half-human, half-beast. She was so disgusted by my appearance that she didn't designate me as her heir."


    Aiden recalled the priest's conflicting behavior during battles—reluctant to engage yet unable to retreat fully. It seemed clear that Sister Nawei had ordered him to stay behind and cover their retreat.


    "So she eventually chose your daughter as her heir?" Aiden asked.


    "Yes, for convenience and to avoid suspicion. Before Nawei, she had chosen another daughter she had given birth to, my sister. But that daughter was killed when she tried to escape. Eventually, she decided to have me father a daughter who lacked the monster bloodline, to use as a sacrificial pawn. I couldn't resist her."


    Father Bales lowered his eyes. "She wanted me to step into the spotlight as the leader of the cult, even giving me a portion of her divinity and powers. Meanwhile, she continued to play the role of Nawei. Even within the cult, our official relationship was that of father and daughter."


    Aiden thought to himself, no wonder Qimora hadn't uncovered anything suspicious. Father Bales and Sister Nawei were indeed posing as father and daughter, both in public and behind the scenes. On the surface, they were father and daughter, but in reality, they were mother and son.


    Sister Nawei communicated with the priest through "suggestions," which he would always "adopt," leading the cult according to her will. This allowed Sister Nawei to act as the queen behind the scenes. Although those targeting the priest would also target his "heir," the danger was significantly reduced. It was a classic insurance strategy.


    For their enemies, facing an unexpected saint of authority without adequate preparation would likely result in a gruesome demise.


    Considering this, the direction Sister Nawei fled to seemed to be towards the mines. If his earlier guess was correct, Lamia and Qimora who was dealing with hordes of chimeras in the mines, likely to encounter Sister Nawei. 


    Moreover, according to the plan, Lamia's target was originally Sister Nawei. 


    The witches group wanted to trick him into engaging the main enemy force so they could pick up the leftovers, but instead, they fell into the trap set by the cult.


    Could this be... A Karma?


    Such good fortune!


    Aiden suddenly felt a bit like laughing.


    But reason told him this wasn't entirely a cause for celebration. Sister Nawei was a saint of the "reproduction" authority, meaning the cult's main combat power was still intact, and there was certainly another heir.


    After pondering for a while, he spoke to the priest, "I can spare you, but you must agree to a few conditions."


    The Bountiful Mother cult had already offended both the black and white factions and believed he was connected to the Flying Spaghetti Monster cult. From Aiden's perspective, this cult needed to disappear.


    "You speak," Father Bales responded immediately.


    "First, give me all the divinity you possess." Aiden gestured between the priest and himself.


    "Divinity... Giving it to you is not an issue," Father Bales did not hesitate on this matter. He knew that opposing would be meaningless and that refusal might make Aiden consider killing him to obtain the divinity from his remains.


    Aiden nodded, then presented his second demand, "Second, tell me who your mother’s true heir is."


    "Are you planning to kill my mother?" Father Bales asked.


    "If necessary," Aiden answered bluntly, then probed further, "What about you? Do you intend to protect her?"


    "...No, I actually hope she can die," Father Bales replied after a moment of silence. "That way, I might finally be free."


    Aiden raised an eyebrow but wasn't particularly surprised. The undercurrent of Bales' earlier confession hinted at this sentiment. It seemed that from the moment he was born with the blood of a monster, he harbored resentment towards his mother. The queen, who continuously used her offspring as vessels for her will, and hadn't spared even a fraction of affection for him, treating him solely as a tool to manage the cult.


    Just as Veronica felt sorrow for the nuns, Aiden recalled what he had said himself: people cannot choose their parents.


    Perhaps... this can be used, Aiden thought.