The result? After three months of travel, they were still wandering around the southern mountains of the Western Continent.

  Of course, their slow progress wasn't just because Joshua couldn't handle hardship. They'd also gotten lost and had to avoid pursuers.

  They were used to living in the Wastes. The open desert made it easy for him to find his bearings, but the Western Continent was full of mountains and dense forests. They kept walking in circles.

  The Church's people were probably still searching towns in the southern kingdoms for him. They didn't dare ask anyone for directions, so they could only sneak through the wilderness, using the sun to navigate each day.

  Now Joshua was missing too. Just thinking about it made Aiden's heart ache.

  On his own, when would he ever reach that magic academy called Siria that his mother had told him about?

  ...

  Luo Wei had no idea that thousands of miles away, a boy had been screwed over by her unintentional actions. After handling Roman and Rosie's situation, she returned to her room to activate the teleportation array to Demon Island.

  Nearly two months had passed since her last visit. She really had kept Zachary locked up for quite a while.

  As Luo Wei thought about what to say when she saw him, she channeled magic into the rune's center. Blinding white light flashed, and her figure disappeared.

  In mid-May, Demon Island's vegetation was even more lush. The alpine meadows in the southwest were refreshingly green, while the fjord scenery in the southeast was deep with spring—absolutely picturesque.

  Remembering the temple her followers were building in the forest, Luo Wei changed direction and flew toward the southeast.

  Before she even got close, she spotted tall building spires in the distance, along with stone houses built around the temple and wide, flat streets.

  The temple's main structure wasn't finished yet. Luo Wei didn't know how large they planned to make it, but judging by the empty space reserved beside it, she guessed it was only one-tenth complete.

  When finished, this would be magnificent—twice the size of Siria's temple. The materials and craftsmanship weren't as refined, and it lacked some artistic finesse.

  But this was remote Demon Island, where supplies were scarce and people few. That they could build something this impressive was already amazing.

  Luo Wei cast an invisibility spell on herself and flew above the temple to observe the changes.

  Interesting. Last time she'd visited, the slaves' mud huts and the mercenaries' wooden houses had been clearly separated. Now the mud huts had been converted into chicken and duck coops. The slaves had built new wooden houses beside them, matching the style of the mercenaries' town.

  Luo Wei counted. The island's houses had increased from over a hundred to over three hundred. The cultivated fields had grown from thirty-some acres to over two hundred. The growth was almost unbelievable.

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  The island didn't have many residents—less than two hundred people total.

  And these people came from complicated backgrounds. Eight mercenaries she'd detained, ninety-nine slaves she'd bought from Zachary, fourteen herders she'd rescued from the frozen plains, believers Priestess Norma had recruited while preaching off-island, and a dozen or so slave traders who'd come with Zachary but been detained for labor reform.

  With such a mixed group living together, Luo Wei couldn't imagine how intense their clashes must be. They probably fought every few days and argued constantly.

  So she couldn't figure out how they'd cooperated to complete such a huge workload, especially when nearly half of them were old, weak, sick, or disabled.

  Even with three hundred undead working in shifts, it would be hard to achieve this much. After all, those undead would slack off at every opportunity—they'd rather fight each other with their own leg bones than work properly.

  Just thinking about those undead made Luo Wei feel melancholy. The undead didn't eat or drink, didn't pursue material pleasures, and completely ignored the carrots she dangled!

  Even Patrick, the island's most powerful necromancer, slacked off every day. With him setting that example, how could the undead below him learn good habits?

  Unfortunately, even after feeling melancholy, Luo Wei still had no solution for the undead's laziness problem.

  She'd probably have to wait until she got the magic stone mine and transported mountains of magic stones to the island before those undead would show even a little interest.

  After watching from the sky for a while, Luo Wei flapped her wings and descended, walking along the wide street paved with volcanic rock to observe up close.

  At this time of day, the islanders were either building houses or clearing land. There were almost no pedestrians on the street, and the houses on both sides were quiet. Only the chickens and ducks in the mud-walled coops were lively.

  She walked to the temple construction site and overheard the believers talking. That's how she learned Priestess Norma had left Demon Island again today to preach on the mainland.

  According to these people, every time Norma left the island, she brought back some unfortunate souls—sometimes seven or eight, sometimes just one.

  Most were women and homeless children, though some were abandoned elderly—it wasn't rare for northern herders to abandon their aging parents.

  The people Norma brought back had fanatical faith in Death and Time. That's because Norma told them the God of Death and Time would punish the bad people who hurt them, making their souls fall into hell to suffer eternal burning.

  She also said: As long as their faith was loyal enough, the God of Death and Time would grant their wishes—any wish.

  The God of Death and Time, Koevikros, who held authority over human souls and the cycle of space-time, the Dark God King, was a great deity.

  Their eyes could see the good and evil in souls, their hands could change past and future. They punished the wicked and guided the good. They were the embodiment of justice and order, the truth of the world. They gave every person a free soul!

  Who didn't want to change the past?

  These people's futures held only suffering. A deity who could change the past was a god they'd follow even unto madness.

  The believers building the temple walls worked enthusiastically. Two out of every three sentences mentioned the God of Death and Time.

  After listening for a while, Luo Wei suddenly heard strange, intermittent sounds in her ears—like countless people whispering right beside her, or like unclear murmurs from a dream.

  She knew this was believers praying to her. When their obsession and faith grew strong enough, their prayers would reach her ears clearly.

  Her first believer, Nick, had gotten her attention this way.

  Her ear canals itched. Luo Wei rubbed her ears and turned to walk elsewhere.

  After touring the now-substantial Demon Town, she discovered a tavern had actually opened here!

  Looking closer—oh, this tavern was called "McAuley's Malt Tavern." It belonged to McAuley Grey, the steward she'd hired from Sista Town.

  Merchants' minds really were fickle. Luo Wei remembered that when she'd first asked McAuley to purchase supplies for Demon Island, he'd trembled all over like he was attending a funeral. Only four months had passed, and he'd already opened a branch tavern on the island!

  Luo Wei was curious. Would anyone actually spend money at a tavern here? The islanders probably didn't have much money, right?

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