Despair comes to us all, but few see the encroaching darkness surrounding the despairing. Shame, pity, pride—these things prevent the despaired from asking for help. All they want is someone to take notice and offer a hand to pull them out of the dark.

~Arianrhod, Goddess of Rebirth and Fate

Zoe stared at the enigma of a man beneath her. A month ago, she’d never have given herself or her coven to any man. Trusting her vision and instincts as a witch, she followed her savior. In some ways, she felt like a failure as a High Priestess because her coven has suffered. Abused. Betrayed at every turn.

There weren’t enough words to explain how much she hated and loathed Unhulde. If not for her grandmother, Zoe would have run away from this place long ago. Her grandmother insisted she stay, and she was adamant to the point of making Zoe vow. Looking into Crow’s gold-rimmed emerald eyes, things finally fell into place. She understood why her grandmother made her suffer through it all. Her powerful visions were part of her bloodline, and supposedly, she could view beyond Heavenly Fate.

“What nonsense are you speaking?” Zoe asked, flicking Minnie’s head.

“You…” Minnie looked at Zoe with wounded eyes while she rubbed her forehead. A sly grin crept across her face before Minnie burst out laughing. “By the gods, husband, I’m forever your woman as long as you teach me your ways. I want to be the biggest bandit ever known.”

“I’m afraid that title is taken.”

“What? By who? You?”

“Nope. By my wife Mara, but I can let her take you under her wing and become her protégé.”

“Big sister Mara? She’s a Bandit Queen?”

“She calls herself Pirate Mommy,” Crow chuckled, thinking about how young they were back then. He was still young, but her way of acting out was unique. Now, she hadn’t changed, but her methods had matured. Minnie’s eyes were glowing with anticipation.

“Trading me off so soon?” Zoe sighed and flicked Minnie’s forehead again. “You really robbed them?”

“Who else would leave that behind?” Crow chuckled.

“Oh, right! Forget about your gift. What did you leave behind?” Minnie asked, and even Leila was paying attention now.

“There are formations that can increase the potency and reach of potions. I rigged their vault with one and left all their aphrodisiacs in the middle of it.”

“That’s it?” Minnie frowned but seeing Crow’s smile stiffen, her eyes lit up again. “It isn’t. What was the real trap?”

“Little whelp, who made you so cunning?” Crow grumbled.

“You try living in this sect and see if you can come out of it without becoming a vicious and cunning bitch,” Minnie stated without shame. Crow wondered if he should let her study under Mara. Mara might enjoy acting the bandit, but she lacked the cruelty he could see in Minnie’s eyes. No, that wasn’t fair to Minnie. She wasn’t cruel to her loved ones, but this sect had made her cold to outsiders. It was surprising she accepted him so readily. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I hated you at first because you made Zoe your servant.”

“That wasn’t me, and I did not know her role with your group. She offered to be my servant.”

“Like I’d have believed that. I believe it now, but not when she first told us. Besides, after you jumped in front of a beast tide for little Leila, I’ve already fully accepted you.” Minnie laughed while teasing Leila, who turned a bright shade of red and looked away from Crow’s probing eyes.

Zoe flicked Minnie’s head again. “You are so easily distracted. What did you lace the aphrodisiac with?”

“Black Thorn Venom,” Crow winced after he said it. “If the target can abstain from sex for a week, it’ll wear off.”

“And if they don’t? Why have I never heard of this venom?” Minnie asked.

“Impotence,” Zoe said. “So what you painted on the walls, you were…?”

“Taunting them. Combining the two will ensure those people won’t be able to have sex in the short term. Maybe forever if they can’t afford the treatment.”

“Three-pronged attack? Are you fucking kidding me?” Minnie laughed. “Not only are those bastards fornicating like crazy, which means in a few days they’ll become impotent, but you took all their treasures. They say I’m evil, but you… fuck, I’m not worthy.”

“You really shouldn’t curse like that,” Crow sighed. “Go back to acting like a sweet girl with a cunning smile.”

Minnie gaped at Crow, and for the first time, she was stunned into silence. Seeing her unable to speak, Zoe laughed her heart out.

“On a serious note, what you did is so…” Zoe muttered.

“Awesome,” Leila said. She’d remained silent the whole time while listening, but hearing what Crow did, the little spark of feeling she had toward him had ignited into a small blaze. “Their cultivation requires constant fornication because they are suppressing their stolen cultivation. Over time, if they can keep it suppressed, it’ll eventually become part of their own power. By the time they realize what you did, you’ll have set them back months, possibly years, if you didn’t eradicate their cultivation. Maybe some elders might recover quickly because I’m sure they still have money and treasures to fix it, but the others…”

“What do you mean?” Crow didn’t have time to read through Durex’s cultivation manuals that he stole, which were currently in his Shield. So he did not know what Leila was talking about.

“You might have single-handedly destroyed that clan’s foundation. Ignore what you stole from them for a second. Their dual-cultivation method is like a lien against Soul. They’ll be fine if they keep making payments—stealing cultivation from their victims. However, even their Shield level is also based on their borrowed power. If they don’t have a payment method, their current power level falls. What happens if their Origin energy can’t support their Shield’s rank?” Leila explained to her stunned audience.

All of them knew. The Shield would crack or even collapse if the change is drastic enough. Either way, a cracked Shield made it almost impossible to keep ascending. At the very least, they might climb to a higher floor, but they wouldn’t be able to surpass the next zero floor. They’d have to abolish their current cultivation entirely and start from the bottom again if they wanted to rise again. It is essentially what Song Lin had to do.

“How do you know all this?” Minnie asked, looking at her sister with new respect. Leila took the initiative to join them since Crow rescued her outside the wall. Minnie and Zoe would never say it aloud, but they were grateful for what he’d done. Not only did he rescue her outside, but he somehow saved her from her depression. The entire coven worried about Leila, as her story was the most tragic. The woman almost committed suicide five times, but now she seemed different. More alive. Zoe nearly cried when Leila asked to join them of her own volition.

“Th-those men. Th-they t-talked a lot,” Leila’s face flushed, and Crow wouldn’t let her turn away. He grabbed her chin and gently tilted her head to look into her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stared at Crow, her light in the darkness. “I-I’m dirty,” she whispered.

“No,” Crow smiled at her. “You are beautiful. They are weaker than you, and I promise they can’t ever hurt you again.”

“You—what did you do?” Minnie asked, wondering when Crow pulled all this off. Unless he was never that seriously injured and faked it. No one paid much attention to the wounded once they were treated. Cultivators didn’t get sick or infections like mortals unless they were poisoned.

“I made sure they didn’t come back from the beast tide,” Crow explained, his eyes never leaving Leila. “The three men you saw that day after I pulled you through the wall. You were shaking and unable to look away while they were sneering at you. It was easy to guess they were the ones that hurt my little wife. It was easy to send them through the Mana Wall once I realized I could phase through it effortlessly. Especially at night. No one even noticed they were ground up and devoured by those beasts, but I watched and made sure of it. Those beasts are more noble than those fucking losers.”

“Why?” She whispered.

“Because I want you to promise me something.”

“Wh-what?”

“You won’t leave me.” Crow’s response was direct, like an arrow piercing her heart. Leila’s body trembled, and she eventually nodded. “Good. I do not think you are tainted, dirty, or whatever stupid thought you have about yourself. The woman who fought beside me in front of a beast tide was not weak. Those who can fight beside me will never be weak, and I won’t allow them to bow their heads in shame. All you need to do is believe in me, and I’ll give you everything you need to fight against assholes like them. I can ensure you have the power to be a paragon of justice and prevent people like that from harming others. Kill them all, no matter who it is or what power they belong to. I’ll support you with my life. Understand?”

Leila smiled, and even with her tear-stained face, Crow found it hard to breathe while facing that radiant smile. Zoe and Minnie watched the entire drama as it played out and looked at each other in amazement. Years they tried to help dispel this woman’s darkness, and Crow took five minutes to rock her entire world.

What the fuck kind of power was this? They both asked this in their heart, but being so close, they knew they were thinking the same thing.

“So where is my share of the ill-gotten loot?” Leila giggled, and Minnie fell off the bed, unable to contain the shock.

“We’ll help you take down more vaults, but my coven gets half!” Zoe claimed while giving Leila a knowing look. Minnie chortled from the side of the bed, making Crow feel uneasy.

These women are fucking extortionists! He cried out silently.