Chapter 189: The Hypocrite
Alisa turned around, staring at Clinton with a face full of doubt and confusion.
She simply couldn’t believe it—Clinton, of all people, had actually pushed her?
But the faint smirk now curling at the corners of Clinton’s mouth made it unmistakably clear:
That push hadn’t been an accident.
He must’ve known something about her true identity.
Could it be… Clinton knew she was a witch?
But why would he expose her like this? Didn’t he like her?
“No… That’s impossible. This has to be a misunderstanding!”
Alisa clung to denial, her heart in chaos.
But this was no time to get lost in her thoughts.
The moment she was pushed, she slammed directly into the protective barrier, and immediately, the power within her reacted to it.
In an instant, a surge of green energy burst from her body like a dam breaking.
Even more terrifyingly, the collision between her magical energy and the protective barrier triggered a massive explosion, causing a chain reaction of violent energy.
BOOM! A thunderous sound echoed through the air.
Alisa was blasted off her feet, flung violently to the ground.
Her reaction was drastically different from that of normal people who had passed safely through the barrier.
Instantly, all eyes turned toward the disheveled, fallen Alisa.
When they saw she couldn’t pass through the barrier—instead being repelled and injured by it—everyone understood at once:
The witch they’d been hunting… had finally appeared.
“It’s a witch!”
“She’s the witch!”
The once peaceful square erupted like a calm lake hit by a boulder—chaos spread like wildfire.
People began to panic, pointing at Alisa and shouting hoarsely:
“Burn the witch! Burn her!!”
Alisa, lying on the ground, looked up in disbelief at Clinton.
Her eyes were wide with betrayal.
“Why… Clinton? Why?”
Her heart clung to one last shred of hope.
But at this moment, if she still chose to lie to herself… then she truly was beyond saving.
It was obvious now:
Clinton had known all along.
This entire setup… was to expose her to the world.
She stared at him with a broken gaze, eyes filled with tears.
“Clinton… why?” Why would you betray me? Wasn’t our love enough to overcome what I am?
Clinton finally dropped his act, his face twisting into a cold sneer.
“Oh please. Don’t tell me you seriously thought I was in love with you, you filthy witch.”
Those words hit Alisa like a thunderclap.
Then, Clinton raised his hand—where a blinding light energy began to gather.
“I am a devout follower of the God of Light. The enemies of the Light are my enemies. Everything I said to you before was a lie—just bait to find out if you had any witch accomplices.”
Looking at the holy light blazing in his hand, Alisa finally saw the full, cruel truth.
Her heart felt like it had been pierced by a thousand arrows.
She had loved him with all her soul.
But it had all been a lie—not betrayal, but an outright, calculated deception.
And just then, Su Ning’s words echoed in her mind.
“Do you even know who he really is?”
At the time, Alisa had been lost in her romantic daydreams and ignored the warning.
All she had cared about was Clinton’s affection.
Now, looking back, it was obvious Su Ning had tried to warn her.
But she hadn’t listened.
A flicker of bitterness rose in Alisa’s heart.
“Why didn’t Su Ning just tell me Clinton’s identity outright? If she had, I wouldn’t be in this nightmare now…”
(Su Ning, if she had heard her:)
“Love makes people blind. If I had told you I liked Clinton, you’d think I just wanted to sabotage your relationship.”
Meanwhile, the crowd’s screams only grew louder:
“It’s really Alisa?! I can’t believe it—she was the witch?!”
An elderly woman stood trembling, as if she’d seen a monster.
“I was sick for so long and never got better… Then I drank a potion she gave me, and I was fine the next day. Was it a curse? Did she make me ill just so I’d owe her when she ‘cured’ me? Am I going to die now because of her magic?!”
The old woman began vomiting uncontrollably—clearly terrified out of her mind.
Alisa looked over.
This woman was her neighbor, bedridden for years.
When Alisa had heard her coughing night after night, her heart ached, and she had kindly given her a healing potion—out of compassion.
She never imagined that this same neighbor would now turn on her, accusing her of being the reason for her illness.
How tragic.
And then came more voices—neighbors, acquaintances—all turning on her.
“I drank one of her weird soups too! It was disgusting! What if she cursed me too?! She’s a menace—burn her!”
“Yeah! Burn the witch!”
Alisa stood frozen in horror, as if struck by lightning.
Her whole world collapsed in an instant.
“Ha… hahaha…”
She laughed bitterly.
“I gave you medicine. I saved your lives. Now you say that was the crime?”
Some of the people accusing her lowered their eyes in shame.
But they were afraid—afraid that knowing Alisa might make them guilty by association.
So they joined in the condemnation, throwing dirt on her name.
Clinton, meanwhile, continued gathering his sword of holy judgment, planning to execute Alisa in front of everyone.
But just as he raised the blade, Alisa sensed the danger.
Her heart was in shambles, but her survival instincts screamed:
“Run. Or die.”
She had to escape—now.
But before either of them could make a move, a massive explosion erupted in the sky over the southwest corner of Hurricane City.
BOOM!
A deafening blast tore through the sky—like thunder striking from nowhere.
Everyone turned toward the sound in shock.
“What’s going on? Why did something just explode?!”
People looked around, confused and alarmed.
And then came the unmistakable sound of holy light magic attacks.
Amid the chaos, a strange, charming laugh echoed from the sky—light and musical, yet strangely chilling.
Its hypnotic tone sent ripples through the minds of ordinary people, making them feel dizzy and dazed.
Then came a voice:
“Oleni… I didn’t expect you to go this far—sacrificing all of Hurricane City just to find me?”
“You’d let all these people die for your petty crusade?”
“Typical. Just as I thought—followers of the God of Light are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites in righteous clothing!”
As the smoke from the explosion faded, two figures floated in the sky.
One was Oleni, a high-ranking member of the Church.
The other was—the Venom Witch herself.
And Oleni… wasn’t about to let her escape and ruin his reputation.
