Wizard World Irregular

Chapter 771  Hecate’s And Joanne’s Adventure [Part 3]

The Painting of Enlightenment.

It was a mysterious painting Fortis Dud had bought through an auction before he founded Brynhildr Academy. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

No one knew who had painted it, and it had changed hands from one owner to another.

Because of this, many believed that it was a cursed painting.

Some said that the previous owners of the painting would mysteriously disappear, never to be seen again.

The rest who had gained possession of it would decide to sell it away for reasons only known to them after a short period of time

Before Fortus Rud, the owners of this painting had been ordinary people.

The Wizards and Witches called them the Ordinarius.

When the painting finally reached Fortis Dud’s hands, he finally solved the mystery behind the disappearances of the owners of the painting.

It was a painting that could give people enlightenment. However, their Karma in life also played a role n whether they would survive it or not.

If they had accumulated good karma, then the people inside the painting would do their best to save them to a certain extent.

But those who enjoy doing wicked deeds would have the same deeds done to them and would never be seen again.

The reason why Fortis Dud allowed Ethan to enter the painting was because he deemed that he would be able to get out of it safely.

Fortis Dud had an ability that allowed him to know that, so after seeing that Joanne and Hecate both had the potential to gain enlightenment from the painting, he decided to let them experience it for themselves.

“Listen good, and listen well,” Lyle said. “Just as the name of this painting suggests, it has the ability to give you enlightenment. It comes in many forms, but ultimately, it will give you a better understanding of yourself and others.

“However, there are dangers involved. If you fall into the corruption of the painting, you will never come out of it again. I know Fortis has his reasons for allowing the two of you to enter this painting, but be warned—even Ethan had a lot of trouble inside of it.”

Lyle looked at the two girls with a solemn expression on his face. He wanted to make sure that they fully understood what they were about to do.

“The span of time you spent inside the painting doesn’t automatically reflect the same way in the real world,” Lyle explained. “But there is one general rule. You mustn't spend more than a month inside of it.

“If within three weeks, the two of you still haven’t come out, we will send someone to get the two of you. Last but not the least, remember—not everything you will see is real. Although they feel, look, and even seem real, know that they’re not real.

“However, there are times when your memories will momentarily be removed the moment you enter the painting so that you will immerse yourself more inside the world.

“Well, since it's two of you who will challenge it at the same time, things might become easier… or harder, depending on the kind of enlightenment that the painting has decided to give the two of you.”

Lyle hadn’t explained this much to Ethan when he was about to go inside the painting. However, he was worried about the two girls, whom he wasn’t sure would be able to break free from the painting's enchantment.

When Ethan looked at the painting, the only thing he could see was rain.

But now, the painting had changed into the scenery of a hill overlooking a small town.

Lyle noticed this change a few days after Ethan left the painting and thought that this new scenery looked nicer than the world of eternal rain.

“Let’s go.” Joanne, who looked very excited, held Hecate’s hand, making the latter sigh helplessly.

“Okay,” Hecate replied as she held Joanne’s hand firmly.

She could feel great power coming from the painting, and it made her feel that they needed to be cautious after they entered the world inside of it.

When Joanne took the first step into the painting, her figure vanished alongside Hecate, leaving Lyle looking at the portrait.

There, on the small hill, he saw Joanne and Hecate looking at the town. They remained in that position for quite some time before the two of them left to head in the town’s direction, disappearing from Lyle’s sight.

“I feel like I also know this place,” Joanne commented as she looked at the town with a solemn expression on her face. “But let’s not stay here. We should go to the town. Maybe we will have a better idea about where we are.”

“I just hope you know what you’re doing, Fortis,” Lyle muttered. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

————————

“This scenery looks familiar,” Hecate said as she looked at the town in the distance.

“I feel like I also know this place,” Joanne commented as she looked at the town with a solemn expression on her face. “But let’s not stay here. We should go to the town. Maybe we will have a better idea about where we are.”

“You’re right.” Hecate nodded.

Joanne summoned her broom, but to her surprise, her broom didn’t appear.

“Oh! I remember my brother telling me that he was unable to use flight magic when he entered the painting,” Joanne said after remembering her brother’s story. “Before anything else, let’s check if our magic works.”

Hecate nodded and cast her body-strengthening spells.

Aside from these spells, any other spell that she cast would immediately summon an Elemental.

Seeing that her fighting ability wasn’t compromised, she felt a bit better because it meant that she could react to any situation.

When she glanced in Joanne’s direction, she noticed that the younger girl looked troubled.

“What’s wrong?” Hecate asked.

“I can’t hear my Other Half,” Joanne replied absentmindedly. “I can’t use the power of Darkness as well. But aside from that, all the spells I know seem to be working.”

Although she did her best to look calm on the surface, Joanne wasn’t anywhere as calm as she pretended to be.

Her Other Half had always been with her since she was born. For the first time in her life, she felt as if she was all alone despite the fact that Hecate was with her.

“The Saintess Diary had mentioned that you do have something like a dual personality,” Hecate commented. “So you can’t feel the presence of that other personality right now?”

“Yes, I can’t feel her,” Joanne said as she placed her hand over her chest. “It's as if she has never been here with me from the start.”

A hint of panic flashed in Joanne’s face, but Hecate pulled her close to a hug and patted her head.

“Calm down,” Hecate said. “You’re not alone. I’m here with you.”

Joanne slowly raised her hand to wrap themselves around Hecate’s back, but her trembling hands were more than enough to tell the Saintess that Joanne needed some time to recover.

“Let’s stay here for a bit longer until you calm down,” Joanne said. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

Joanne always had this fearless look on her face as if she could do anything and everything.

But right now, that confidence seemed to have vanished out of thin air. She now looked more like a frail girl who had gone out of her home for the first time in her life.

Hecate understood that the reason why she was feeling insecure and anxious was the disappearance of her Other Half.

However, since she couldn’t do anything about it, the only thing she did was hug her dearest friend until her body stopped trembling completely.