## Chapter 1170 – #278_Skirmish (4)
#1164
1.
Erelim recalled.
A conversation with Psyche Teagarden, the Aries Witch, before meeting Orcelia.
It was because she believed that Psyche, who had devoted herself to Gehenna and Erelim more than anyone else, deserved to know the truth of the world.
She had dedicated herself to upholding the order of Keter more than anyone else.
She had become a ‘public figure,’ covering herself in ash to infiltrate the crows.
She had lived a life on thin ice, without glory or pride, abandoning herself.
All for Erelim.
It was perhaps natural for Erelim to feel pity for Psyche.
Both had seen the same illusion and firmly believed it was the entirety of their lives.
Therefore, she told her.
The true nature of Keter’s order and the limitations of all witches.
Furthermore, she declared that she would turn her back on Gehenna, join Hexennacht, quickly end this war, and lead the age of witches.
‘Psyche will rebel against Blanche for the first time in her life.’
‘Sister, you’re going down the wrong path.’
Psyche was greatly shocked but ultimately refused Erelim’s offer.
Erelim understood Psyche, so she freed her from the old leash that had bound her.
“……”
Erelim silently contemplated the path she had to take.
Erelim’s mission had always been one thing.
To create a world for witches.
But until now, she had relied solely on Keter’s order as a methodology for her mission.
However, Keter’s divine mandate was not to create a world for witches.
The witches of the current era, who sought to catch up with God’s achievements, were pitifully like failures with predetermined limitations.
Keter did not lead the failures but abandoned them.
With cheap justice filled with self-righteousness and arrogance, they even neglected the ‘human’ disaster that would come to the witches in the future.
In the end, what Keter wanted was not to lead the witches but to wait for a single witch to be born anew.
Therefore, Keter is not the queen of witches.
Then, what should become of those who are left behind, not led, these abandoned beings?
What is truly the path for witches?
She will shatter the outdated order that Keter clung to and establish a new order.
She will dismantle Keter’s only hope to find a new path for witches.
Even if it means getting her hands dirty, she will gladly become the queen of the abandoned.
“……”
Erelim realized that she was no longer wavering or hesitating.
More than when she was silently carrying out orders under Keter, orders she didn’t understand why she had to follow.
More than when she first heard the truth of the world from Keter.
The conviction engraved in her heart does not waver.
It cannot be helped.
Blanche Erelim had found the answer.
2.
As far as Siwoo knew, Periwinkle was a witch who knew no fear.
In this critical situation, the words ‘let’s run away together’ were not something a great witch would say, even if it was just for pride.
However, Periwinkle’s following words, regardless of their truth, made her sudden actions understandable.
“Did you say Duke Erelim betrayed us?”
“Yes.”
“No, what do you mean by betrayal? Does it mean she joined Hexennacht?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
She didn’t seem to be joking.
Although Periwinkle had some silly aspects, she was not the type to joke about such important matters.
Siwoo’s subsequent deduction naturally led him to guess the source of the information Periwinkle had mentioned.
Information that no one knows yet.
Considering the importance of the matter, the great witches who remained on the Hexennacht side should have been the first to know, but there was only one way Periwinkle could have known.
“Did she tell you?”
Psyche Teagarden, the Aries Witch.
She was notorious as a public enemy and is currently one of the high-ranking officials of Hexennacht, but in reality, she is an undercover agent for Gehenna.
She’s an old witch who’s doing her own thing.
This was a top secret, but Cybele had been friends with Psyche for a long time, so she knew her identity.
Siwoo also found out about it when he went to the present world to find Periwinkle.
“…Yes.”
She readily admitted it and then closed her eyes tightly.
With a choked voice, barely holding back tears, she confessed.
“I received an encrypted warning through the hotline I’ve been using. It was her last message.”
“Last message?”
“That crazy bitch Erelim killed Psyche. To use her as proof of her defection.”
Siwoo hugged her, who was in despair.
Periwinkle, who was always so confident, had no strength in her body.
“…She was a good one.”
Periwinkle, burying her face in his shoulder as if lamenting, murmured quietly.
Blanche Erelim, the ‘Constellation Witch’ who reached the 25th rank alone.
She had warned about the dangers of humans since long ago.
The reason why many orthodox witches are still hesitant to join the war, watching Hexennacht’s recklessness, is probably because they are influenced by Erelim’s consistent claims.
No matter what anyone said, she was the great sage who had worked the hardest for Gehenna and a leader who was deeply trusted by the Truth and True Name Academic Society.
Duke Erelim had remained silent about the current situation, but her very existence had been a deterrent to the war.
There was a suspicion that Duke Erelim would step in if Hexennacht became too reckless, and it was easy to predict that if she moved, the Truth and True Name Academic Society, which had been silent, would join the Gehenna Allied Forces.
What if such Duke Erelim turned to the enemy’s side?
“It’s a great war.”
Gehenna would be more shaken, and Hexennacht would become more arrogant and reckless.
An inevitable great war would soon break out.
The attack on the Anchorage temporary branch, which had the potential to escalate into an all-out war, was not a reckless probing but an act done with a ‘war? Fine, let’s do it’ mindset.
“We need to prepare. More thoroughly.”
“Siwoo, Psyche’s message isn’t over yet.”
“Is there something more important?”
Periwinkle took a breath and revealed the most important information.
“Psyche said that Erelim is targeting you, Amelia, and Malika. You need to stay out of the war.”
3.
Psyche’s last message soon turned out to be true.
Erelim, wearing a cloak with the symbol of Qliphoth, a black tree on a white background, appeared on the official Hexennacht line.
What she said was obvious.
That humans are too dangerous and that now is the time for change.
That the world has changed, so the Gehenna witches should not be bound by the old-fashioned rules of the past but join the flow of the new era.
That they should not be caught up in past grudges but join forces for the witch empire.
That was the gist of it.
Hexennacht openly used the defection of Gehenna’s next leader as propaganda.
They even made a video of this short speech and spread it everywhere.
It was only a short video of about 30 seconds, but its impact was not negligible.
Gehenna was in complete chaos.
It was not just because Gehenna’s strongest force had left.
Erelim was a symbolic figure in Gehenna.
She was one of the few founding members who had maintained order since the founding of Gehenna and a great sage who had been respected by many witches.
“Is it really… that dangerous for humans?”
“Then, is there no need for witches to fight each other now?”
“Isn’t Hexennacht’s way right?”
Amidst the anxiety in the voices coming from the academic alliance, the witches of the Truth and True Name Academic Society, who had been supporting Erelim, expressed reactions close to screams.
“Why did the head of the academy make such a choice…”
“Why didn’t she tell us?”
“This can’t be happening! It can’t be happening!”
Duke Erelim abandoned the close aides of the Truth and True Name Academic Society.
Even Count Kohab, who was known to be her lover, was left alone without even a hint.
None of them could understand Duke Erelim’s actions.
They only superficially thought, ‘Duke Erelim thinks humans are that much of a threat.’
But Siwoo knew.
What her purpose was.
“…You did well.”
In Siwoo’s arms, Malika, wrapped in a bundle, was asleep.
Although a full-scale war between the two cities was imminent, what would a baby know?
She just ate a lot, slept well, and occasionally woke up to smile brightly.
Even in the midst of all the despair, he could smile for a moment when he looked at his daughter.
According to Psyche’s last message, Erelim’s true purpose was to get her hands on Malika.
The secondary goal was to secure Siwoo and Amelia.
In other words, Erelim’s siding with Hexennacht was ultimately to secure Siwoo’s family.
It was such an urgent message that he couldn’t hear the reason why…
“But it doesn’t feel so unfamiliar.”
It was a familiar thing.
How many witches and organizations had targeted him just because he was the first male witch in witch history?
In fact, Siwoo was a specialist in kidnapping even after becoming a witch.
R’lyeh, Linne, and even Lydia.
Even when he was captured by Hexennacht, he showed the difficult skill of being captured by Lydia again while being held by Linne.
Malika might have caught Duke Erelim’s eye in a similar context.
However, the scale was too different from then.
She was a powerful enemy that could not be compared to any enemy he had faced so far.
It was a dangerous situation that could not be compared to any situation he had faced so far.
“……”
Siwoo quietly kissed Malika’s forehead and laid her back on the bed.
He was afraid of dying.
If it was just his own problem, he might have run away after much deliberation, as Periwinkle had said.
In his own judgment, Shin Siwoo might be a special person, but he was not the material to become a hero.
He was timid, timid, and secretly held grudges, and he tended to avoid gambling if possible.
But what he feared most was that this small and precious peace would be trampled by the purposes of others.
He abandoned the last remaining weakness.
The same weight of resolve and determination as when he lost Dorothy appeared in his eyes.
He didn’t have the courage to fight for world peace, but he had the courage to give his life for his loved ones, for his family.
“I will never let that happen.”
That was the weight of being the head of the family.
