"That’s right."

The fierce battle below the High Tower seemed to have no effect on the Witch’s mood.

She gave a slight nod, then stepped forward, studying the pulsating Magic Core before her with keen interest.

"That... Witch Demon?"

The Purple-haired Witch spoke as she slowly extended a finger toward the core’s surface.

With a faint SIZZ, the swirling Magic Elements instantly scraped a red mark across her fingertip.

But the sting didn’t make her frown. Instead, she slowly closed her eyes.

"He isn’t the true master of this Demon City. He merely happened upon some device that can operate this High Tower."

"This also means he doesn’t have complete control over the High Tower—the core of the Demon City. Therefore..."

She pulled her finger back and casually put the reddened tip in her mouth, her voice slightly muffled as she continued.

"All it takes is a trivial bit of interference to sever his connection to the High Tower. And even... Mr. Roland, you could claim control of this High Tower for yourself."

Hearing this, Roland’s brow furrowed even deeper.

Although he had been traveling with this mysterious Witch for some time, unlike his other companions, Roland had always remained wary of her.

However, given the current situation, it seemed there was no better choice.

With that thought, Roland took a deep breath and, no longer hesitating, asked directly,

"So, Miss Vanessa, what... exactly do we do?"

"It’s simple..."

Although she had long been aware of Roland’s decisiveness, seeing him remain composed in such a crisis, a flicker of approval still crossed the Purple-haired Witch’s eyes.

"The Slime Toads come from the Chaos Plane, which is outside the Prime Material Plane. Therefore, their creation, the ’Control Gemstone,’ naturally possesses the Traits of Chaos."

"So, before you use it, you must first... hmm..."

Vanessa pondered for a moment before finding a suitable word.

"Tame it. Make it serve you. As for the method..."

Noticing the growing anxiety in Roland’s eyes, she abandoned her deliberate attempt to build suspense, shook her head slightly, and said directly,

"Use the Spiritual Energy you command."

"Spiritual Energy?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Before Vanessa had even finished speaking, a thought stirred in Roland’s mind.

An icy Energy instantly surged from the depths of his soul.

Only then did Vanessa’s warning leisurely follow.

"Of course, I must remind you, Mr. Roland, that touching Chaos with Spiritual Energy could trigger some... unpleasant..."

Roland ignored the Purple-haired Witch’s warning.

Though he didn’t know much about Chaos, he understood it was a Domain with the same origins as the Abyss, full of unpredictability.

Using Spiritual Energy, the very essence of the soul, to connect or communicate with it was bound to carry enormous risk.

But he had no other choice.

If he couldn’t stop the Witch Demon, this would be the day he died. There would be no future to speak of.

Compared to the slim chance of success in destroying the Magic Core with a Flaming Arrow, Vanessa’s proposal at least offered a clearer path forward.

So, before Vanessa could finish her sentence, Roland had already pulled the Control Gemstone from his pouch.

The cold Spiritual Energy, like an invisible tendril, unhesitatingly reached for the gemstone’s surface.

The moment the tendril of Spiritual Energy touched the gemstone...

Chaos erupted.

Not a sound, but a purely disordered impact.

Roland felt his soul being thrown into a roiling primordial soup, a billion chaotic screams, colors, and forms wildly tearing at his consciousness.

He let out a muffled grunt, his jaw clenched tight.

The barrier constructed from his Spiritual Energy vibrated violently.

This wasn’t an attack. It was the very state of being for Chaos, the essence of the Slime Toads’ creation.

Primitive, amorphous Chaos directly assaulted his ordered thoughts.

The gemstone pulsed and twisted in his palm like a diseased heart, its form flickering between solid, slime, and smoke.

His cold Spiritual Energy struggled to seep into this mass of Chaos, trying to establish a connection, but it was like trying to set an anchor in quicksand.

Whispers of Chaos gnawed at his sanity.

He forced himself to focus, condensing his Spiritual Energy into a sharp cone of will and thrusting it deep into the Chaos.

It wasn’t empty in there.

There was a core, a constantly shifting node driven by a will of pure disorder.

’Found it!’

His Spiritual Energy abruptly locked onto the seething core.

A connection was forcibly established.

Just then, Vanessa’s red lips moved silently.

’Such a... reckless man.’

Her purple eyes glinted with the light of a pure researcher, as if observing a Magic Potion boiling in a crucible. The words she had left unsaid finally, belatedly, arrived.

"When a mortal’s soul-essence directly touches a creation from the Chaos Plane, the usual outcome is... mental dissolution, or transformation into a writhing slab of chaotic flesh."

Her voice carried a lazy, playful tone, more like she was stating the expected result of an interesting experiment than issuing a warning.

But Roland obviously couldn’t hear her at this point.

Intense pain!

The Chaos Energy surged backward, madly pouring into his soul along the link of Spiritual Energy.

This wasn’t destruction; it was contamination.

It twisted his senses, inverted his logic, and tried to assimilate his mind into a part of the Chaos.

Illusions sprouted everywhere.

Writhing mires, screaming geometric shapes, meaningless explosions of color.

Roland’s body tensed like a Bowstring, and it felt as if countless slimy tentacles were wriggling under his skin.

His knuckles creaked, as if about to sprout inhuman structures.

The Slime Toad’s creation was trying to reshape him, to make him conform to the Laws of the Chaos Plane.

But just then...

A Power, similar to Spiritual Energy yet fundamentally different, suddenly rose from the depths of his being.

Will of Steel!

Fear? Chaos? Charm?

Immune!

The tide of contamination, strong enough to destroy a mortal mind, crashed against the unshakeable Iron Wall of Roland’s will.

The whispers of Chaos were snuffed out.

The twisted Illusions disintegrated.

The writhing sensation of mutation was forcibly suppressed.

The core of his being, the part that was "Roland," remained unmoved.

His Spiritual Energy was no longer a connection, but a shackle.

The cold Energy transformed into countless tough threads, binding the seething core of Chaos tightly, ignoring its frantic struggles and screeches.

He wasn’t trying to understand or communicate.

He was conquering.

Using the brute force of his absolute will to pin down and tame this mass of Chaos.

The gemstone’s pulsing suddenly intensified, then abruptly stopped.

Its twisted form solidified for a moment, the chaotic sheen on its surface collapsing inward.

The feeling of rampant, reverse-flowing contamination receded like a tide.

Noticing the change in the Chaos Gemstone, Vanessa’s lazy posture stiffened slightly.

"This is..."

A nearly inaudible whisper escaped her lips.

Her deep purple eyes stared at Roland’s unwavering hand gripping the gemstone, and at the creation that had already submitted.

Her playfulness and curiosity were instantly replaced by a layer of genuine, sharp surprise.

But the surprise vanished in an instant, as fleeting as an illusion.

His consciousness returning to reality, Roland gasped for air, his back soaked with cold sweat.

The Control Gemstone in his palm, which had been constantly changing shape, now exhibited a strange stability.

A pure black Crystal core was enveloped by countless tiny Chaos Energy Threads, like living worms, pulsating faintly and emitting a dangerous yet submissive aura.

Connection established.

"That was... impressive, Mr. Roland."

The Purple-haired Witch finally spoke, her voice softer than before, almost breathy, the last syllable subtly drawn out.

Roland ignored her praise. He wiped the blood-streaked sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, took a deep breath to forcibly suppress the turmoil deep in his soul, and asked directly,

"What now?"

"Simple."

Vanessa raised an eyebrow, a mysterious curve playing on her lips as she made an elegant tossing gesture.

"Mr. Roland, even on the calmest lake, a single light stone..."

The Purple-haired Witch’s gaze shifted to the pulsating Magic Core, her voice carrying a mysterious rhythm.

"...is enough to stir up unstoppable ripples."