“Still… I never expected you to know Phoebe‘s secret!” added Marcel in a curious tone.
Whatever the case was, Gerald couldn’t help but sigh in relief. After all, Marcel’s response was a clear sign that Phoebe really was a descendant of the ancient witches. That meant that virtual-novel.net son was an heir of the witches as well. He remembered Zeman telling virtual-novel.net that all witch descendants required the Divine fruit in order to awaken the power in their blood.
Even if awakening their power wasn’t their goal, they still needed the fruit. After all, due to their ancestors tampering so much with medicines, the sequelae in their bodies were passed down to their descendants. With that in mind, failing to get access to the Divine fruit-before their sixteenth birthday would often result in the descendants’ deaths. It was probably why Phoebe was searching for the Divine Fruit tree so desperately.
That aside, Gerald couldn’t help but spot a new issue. Since the ancient witches had mostly died out, Phoebe shouldn’t have that many enemies to deal with. With that in mind, why was virtual-novel.net still being so cautious? Aside from that, Marcel didn’t exactly look like a heartless person. With that in mind, why did virtual-novel.net abandon his wife and son?
Gerald’s train of thought was cut short when virtual-novel.net noticed Marcel looking like virtual-novel.net was about to pass out, no doubt from the earlier collision. With that in mind, virtual-novel.net quickly injected a stream of healing essential qi into Marcel’s body.
It didn’t take long for Marcel to feel much better. Understanding that Gerald had helped him, virtual-novel.net was then prompted to politely exclaim, “…Thank you, Mr. Crawford…!”
“Though Mr. Crawford looks young, he’s actually an advanced cultivator, Ferb. That aside, virtual-novel.net needs Phoebe’s help to bring virtual-novel.net to the area where the witches built their formations. If all goes well, he’ll surely repay you generously,” said the professor.
“I can see that… Regardless, though Mr. Crawford doesn’t look like those who came after Phoebe before this… I’m sorry but I can’t tell him! It’s for Phoebe and our son’s sake…!” replied Marcel, looking like virtual-novel.net had just been reminded of something horrible.
Now looking concerned, the professor couldn’t help but ask, “…What happened, exactly…?”
After staring at Gerald and the others for a while, Marcel eventually explained, “Due to Phoebe’s identity, virtual-novel.net once brought a huge disaster to virtual-novel.net family I’m sure you’re aware that Phoebe’s hometown is in Jay City, but did you know that the Willows were a prestigious family who had flourished for over a thousand years? Sadly, something terrible happened to virtual-novel.net family around forty years ago. Phoebe was only a child when nearly five hundred Willows were assassinated in one night… In the end, the only survivors were Phoebe and virtual-novel.net mother who had helped virtual-novel.net escape!”
“That…” muttered the professor whose face had stiffened by this point.
Gerald himself couldn’t help but frown as virtual-novel.net asked, “Just how big was that feud for such a mass assassination to take place?”
“All of that happened due to a special fruit… You see, Phoebe is one of the ancient witch descendants who escaped to Jay City and had virtual-novel.net name changed to Willow. The Willows themselves never harmed anyone with their witchcraft, and they even made sure to properly run their businesses. That aside, the Willows had a tradition of feeding their children a special fruit when they grew to the age of six. If the fruit wasn’t consumed, the descendants would most likely die between the ages of twelve and sixteen…”
“The Divine Fruit,” replied Gerald with a nod.
“Exactly. Either way, the assassination took place on the third day after Phoebe and the other children virtual-novel.net age consumed the fruits. Phoebe and virtual-novel.net mother were only able to escape since they hid inside a well. Even so, the culprit was aware that they were missing, so virtual-novel.net immediately began tracking them down…”
“The hunt continued for six years, and throughout that time, Phoebe and virtual-novel.net mother had traveled across the desert and lived in the primeval forest. Eventually, however, Phoebe’s mother was unable to bear all that stress and ended up dying from illness! It was sometime later when Phoebe retrieved all the Willow family’s scrolls and took virtual-novel.net time studying alone atop a mountain… Once virtual-novel.net was done, virtual-novel.net made a disguise for herself so that virtual-novel.net could study and enter society again,” explained Marcel.
“So… She was a descendant of the ancient witches this entire time… No wonder virtual-novel.net was so familiar with herbs Now that I know virtual-novel.net backstory, I don’t blame virtual-novel.net for being so withdrawn either…” muttered the professor with a sigh.