"Where did you go, Vanta?" Li Ming asked angrily.
"He just followed to ensure the mission's success," May defended.
"He was more of a liability. He broke my mace," Zhang Lei added.
"Enough. Do you have the bags?" Li Ming asked.
May stretched out her hands and gave them to him. He opened the bags, and light flickered from within them. He then informed the old lady.
"It's here," he said.
"Vanta, come along with us," both Li Ming and the old lady said together.
"May, come along with us too. We need to cure Vanta."
"What? Wait! So I risked my life and almost died to get this for a guy I don't even know?" Zhang Lei asked angrily.
"Enough blabbering," Master Li Ming replied.
As we got to my room, it had already been arranged like a shrine. Spells had been drawn on almost every part of the walls. Li Ming placed something that looked like a diamond from the bag May had brought into the room, while the old lady placed the other one outside in the middle of the spell she had drawn there. It was similar to all the ones drawn inside the room—on the walls, floor, and ceiling.
About twenty or more ladies surrounded the spell outside. May was asked to keep her distance and was forced to leave the area. Wei perched on a nearby tree.
Master Li Ming stood aside after shutting the door and locking me inside.
The room was covered in complete darkness, as if every source of light had been sealed away.
"Strike with everything you've got, and don't stop unless I tell you to," the old lady warned the other ladies.
Immediately, the diamond in the room began to glow brighter and brighter. The spells on the walls also started glowing.
I stared around before, all of a sudden, a massive amount of white light flashed from every part of the room.
The room was covered in extreme brightness.
I groaned in pain as the lights intensified. It was even brighter than the sun.
I screamed loudly and cried in agony. It felt as though my flesh was being torn apart molecule by molecule.
As the lights continued to intensify, the pain gradually reduced, but I couldn't find my body. Maybe it was because of the overwhelming brightness.
Then I began hearing the voices of the ladies outside, each of them screaming.
"Don't stop! Don't stop! Even if it drains you, don't stop! Even if it tears you apart, don't stop!" the old lady continuously warned them.
The noise outside gradually began to die down.
The light inside the room also slowly dimmed.
As soon as the light disappeared completely, darkness covered the room again.
The noise outside had almost vanished.
The only voice I could hear was Li Ming's.
"Did it work?" Master Li Ming asked.
"I don't know... but I hope so," the old lady replied tiredly.
Li Ming opened the door.
I still couldn't find my body. I felt as though I was everywhere inside the room. I could see every angle at once.
Then I forced myself out of the darkness.
"Vanta... Vanta..." Li Ming called as he walked in with a lantern.
My body slowly formed again from the shadows.
"Master," I replied.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"Better... I guess," I answered.
"Then I suppose it worked," Master Li Ming said after hesitating for a moment.
As I walked outside to observe the surroundings, I saw the corpses of the ladies being carried away by temple monks on stretchers.
Each corpse looked completely drained, empty of all life, without even the slightest spark remaining in their eyes.
May quickly ran toward us.
"Are you okay?" she asked me.
"Yes," I replied.
"What happened to the ladies? And the diamonds... they lost their glow too," she asked.
"They all sacrificed themselves to help Vanta," Li Ming answered.
"But I thought they were supposed to help us defeat the Claws," May said.
"I thought helping Vanta first would be necessary," Li Ming replied.
"And I promise to honor their sacrifice by defeating the Claws on their behalf," I added.
They all smiled.
"Oh man... these were the most powerful witches across the continent," May said while looking at the corpses.
"Were the gemstones involved too?" she asked.
"The gems are dead as well," Li Ming answered calmly.