Chapter 1223 – #287_The Witch Of The Constellations (3)
#1217
1.
Red Tree.
This technique, which had granted Siwoo victory in the final clash against Great Lydia, was, strictly speaking, closer to an awakening skill.
Back then, he had merged with his subconscious to sprout a tree and used distortion to revive his body, which was breaking down every moment. This was because it was an improvised technique, and he had to endure the immense backlash on a body already exhausted from continuous battles.
Now, the situation was very different. He had reached a higher level than before, his physical condition was optimal, and his equipment was fully prepared.
The burden was on a different scale compared to back then, when he was distorting his spirit body and swallowing blood, feeling like he was patching up rags.
“Alright.”
As he focused his consciousness, his brain swelled. This wasn’t just Siwoo’s feeling.
The merging with his subconscious, combined with the parallel processing support from 56 witches, actually amplified Siwoo’s computational power immensely.
-WHEEEEEEE!!!
Mana erupted.
No, the expression “erupted” was insufficient.
The expression “exploded” was more fitting.
The three-pronged halo of an angel, combined with Siwoo’s specialty of repeated amplification.
This feat of pumping out enormous mana haphazardly, when combined with the resonance of the Red Tree, produced a rather interesting result.
-FZZZZZZT!!!
The brilliant golden mana turned red.
The mana had been transmuted into the concept of ‘distortion’ itself.
‘Distortion’ was emitted from the black armor like lava, like blades, like a storm.
Although its application was far from perfect, its destructive power alone far exceeded that of the Knight Commander.
If he were facing an ordinary witch, there would be no need to use magic separately.
Just by releasing the overflowing power and charging, the attack would be neutralized. Conversely, the moment they got close to Siwoo, their spirit body would lose its structure and crumble.
Yes.
If he were facing an ordinary witch.
“……”
He looked up at Blanche Erelim.
Half of it was to observe the enemy, and the other half was due to pure admiration.
Erelim’s magic was astonishing.
Two pairs of wings extended diagonally behind her.
Like the sails of a ship crossing the interstellar space. Just by unfolding them, they connected the sky and the earth with their immensity.
Each wing was made of a dimensional rift, and behind them, a universe with countless constellations was visible.
Surely, it was not the actual universe but the ‘Celestial Record of Emptiness.’
A noble dream that did not lose its brilliance even in eternal darkness, a night sky where the last wishes of countless witches were engraved.
———!!!
The wings flapped.
Perhaps because of their immensity, it felt like the scenery was moving.
No, considering the actual range the wings were traversing, it would be hard to call it an illusion.
At that moment, the spectacle of the celestial stars rushing towards a single point made him realize that the sky was originally a hemisphere.
His eyes, which had repeatedly expanded his computational abilities, transcending human limits and deciphering information more precisely than a high-performance radar, informed him.
The identities of the stars, blooming in full color, were magic that did not overlap in any way—lineage, system, origin, characteristics, or symbolism.
The number alone was in the four digits.
The power was ruthlessly at the level of a 25th-tier basic attack.
He couldn’t ignore it just because it was a basic attack.
Tiers were about size, and in a fight, size was king.
He knew well the power of the waves that R’lyeh wielded like basic attacks.
“Isn’t this cheating?”
He couldn’t hide his bitter smile.
Magic was generally something that would falter even if only one symbolic system overlapped.
Even an irregular like Siwoo suffered from overload when he overlapped symbols too much.
However, the Celestial Record of Emptiness, which recorded the history of departed witches, was a miracle that embodied the impossible.
Erelim was not modifying the laws of the world but had reached a level where she created her own rules.
He reflected on the philosophy of victory he had honed from his past experiences.
One.
Victory is not something you achieve by doing what you want.
It is a byproduct that naturally follows when you interfere with what the enemy wants to do.
Two.
You don’t always have to be stronger than the enemy.
If you can exploit a comparative advantage for even a single moment, the gap is as if it never existed.
Considering either of these, the situation required him to get close first.
If he didn’t secure at least the distance for a javelin throw, he would be swept away like a sandcastle in front of this tidal wave of firepower.
What choice did he have? He had to break through.
He was more than familiar with reckless charges.
“Bloom.”
-Wooooooom
It was true that the distortion field had often messed up his spirit body in his immature days, but the essence of distortion was not simply destruction.
It was just that its nature was too ferocious to be handled by a precise body, so it had an image like radiation.
Witches ‘modify’ the settings of the world.
If you change ‘modify’ to ‘distort,’ the meaning doesn’t change much.
In other words, if you have the ability to control it, distortion becomes a much more efficient material than mana.
He used the overflowing distortion like mana to shape the images in his mind.
Goal. Close the distance.
Means. Propulsion.
For propulsion, a jet engine was the way to go.
A red vortex formed behind the Titan.
It would provide explosive acceleration like an afterburner at the moment Siwoo desired.
This wasn’t enough.
He added one more gimmick.
-Wooooooom!
The spaces in front and behind the Titan folded and warped.
The space in front was crumpled and contracted, while the space behind was stretched out.
A type of warp technique called the Alcubierre drive in modern times.
[Aaaaaaah!! What is this!!!!]
A scream, lacking any tension, was transmitted through the link due to the amount of computation he was experiencing for the first time in his life.
Even with the help of the Box – Arca and his subconscious, his temples throbbed.
-Kkkkkkkk!
A terrifying infrasound echoed as it tore through the fabric of space.
The Titan’s body, which had been creaking as if it would break, leaped through space in a single bound.
It was something that was already too embarrassing to describe as speed or velocity.
It was a charge that even a witch wrapped in all sorts of miracles could not perceive.
And that overwhelming speed itself became destruction.
———!
But the opponent was Blanche Erelim.
The great sage of Gehenna, standing at the pinnacle of all witches in the modern era.
-WHEEEEEEE!!!
The ‘Mobius Ring’ floating above Erelim’s crown pulsed.
The ‘Mobius Ring’ was a doping device created by combining the Angel’s Ring, the concept of imaginary affirmation, purity and amplification, multi-dimensional replication, and a reverberation field. It was a perpetual motion machine that provided and amplified infinite mana to the user.
It was mana that even an ordinary witch couldn’t utilize even if it was handed to them, but it moved according to Erelim’s ‘Kotodama (言霊).’
In modern times, most users of Kotodama magic had died and it had been lost, but it was not a problem for Erelim, who had access to the Celestial Library.
“Forbidden Realm: Rhythmic Restraint Command (禁界：律律戒御令)”
A Kotodama used to prevent the chaos that occurred whenever the gates connecting the celestial and terrestrial realms opened.
A boundary was created between the two by the letters flowing like a waterfall.
A sparse rule connecting the laws of the heavens and the will of the earth restrained the charge.
Every time one of the letters of the Kotodama stuck to his body, Siwoo’s speed noticeably slowed down.
Within it, Siwoo felt a coercive force similar to his teacher’s ‘contract.’
The barrier created by the Rhythmic Restraint Command enforced an absolute rule that demanded peace, harmony, mercy, and unity.
It was the perfect magic for the current Siwoo, who had become an incarnation of violence, with every action causing destruction.
-Kugugugugu!!!
Siwoo, who had not completely closed the distance and had slowed down endlessly, was still being approached by various forms of destruction from above.
Beautiful deaths in the form of iridescent bubbles scattering, like finely crushed jewels scattered, like all sorts of geometric patterns beautifully twisted, and like the pure elements of fire, water, wind, and earth achieving destruction.
Even if he tried to twist dimensions, divert them to other spaces, and defend with all sorts of magic, the sheer ‘quantity’ would overwhelm Siwoo.
“Hoo!”
But Siwoo, who had honed his charge to perfection to exploit the advantage of gaining the upper hand once he got close, was still there.
He dispelled it.
The heavy flow of great compassion referred to peace, but peace that was unilaterally forced was no different from violence itself.
He pointed out the contradiction, dug into the gap between ideology and magic, and distorted it.
The letters that had embodied the concept of peace shattered, and Siwoo’s slowed-down figure re-accelerated.
Leaving behind the shattered and scattered strings of letters, he thrust his spear straight at Erelim, who had instantly gotten close.
He aimed for the heart.
Judging by her actions, there was a high possibility that she possessed some kind of ridiculous recovery or regeneration magic…
But it didn’t matter.
The red branch in his hand was pure distortion itself.
An irreversible blow that completely twisted the original with just one stab.
It was impossible to return to the original once it was broken.
His eyes met Erelim’s emotionless gaze.
For a fleeting moment, he felt a premonition of victory.
However.
A sword of light, which had somehow appeared in Erelim’s hand, drew a spiral.
It wasn’t just some imitation.
It was the principle contained in a sword that could only be realized after cutting down thousands of lives and thousands of deaths. The sword principle of a Yaksha.
-Kagagagagak!!!
With a motion that seemed to gather and sweep away the spiderwebs in the air, the spear thrust, which had been drawing a straight line, was deflected as if it had ricocheted, and Siwoo’s chest was left wide open.
Furthermore…
-Thud!
Erelim’s foot, which was floating in the air, forcefully pressed down on a non-existent foothold, and instead, she closed the gap.
-Whoosh!
The dimensional rift wings, which had been spread out like sails, contracted all at once, creating a subtle vibration.
The power created by the entire dimension pulsating was concentrated at its peak, fully loaded into her pure white fist.
The scale was so unrealistic that his thoughts momentarily stopped.
Ah, right.
This was a Fa Jin.
But he couldn’t fathom just how much power was contained in that small fist.
He had to endure it once.
A dimensional barrier that twisted the surrounding space-time to deflect the attack.
The Titan’s defensive power and the distortion overflowing around it.
Using the feathers of absolute power that had sprouted on his armor.
He couldn’t lose consciousness.
There was still a chance.
Siwoo widened his eyes and braced for the impact.
And then.
-Thud
Erelim’s blow, which had neutralized all resistance, struck the Titan’s body.
Along with the squishy sound of destruction echoing from inside his body, Siwoo’s heart was crushed like a rotten tomato.
