Chapter 200 – #44_무신(2)
#198
1.
Tiferet, who was leaping between buildings as if flying, saw it.
The COEX, the largest convention and exhibition center in Seoul, was surrounded by a large circular barrier.
Within this other world manifested by the artifact, many people would still be dying.
Therefore, Eloa thought that she should destroy the flute first.
All barrier magic has a core and a catalyst.
In this case, the core would be Dagon’s flute.
It was obvious that the barrier had to be removed to prevent the spread of damage.
However, as it was now, she could not pinpoint the location of the flute.
This was due to the general characteristics of barrier magic.
Barriers are usually created to prevent observation or free movement from the outside to the inside.
This was natural, as the purpose was to separate the inside and outside to create a new world.
Perhaps the military, police, and reporters who were bewildered by the unidentified phenomenon would not be able to observe or enter the COEX either.
It could be said that it was fortunate for the Suah branch manager, who would be burdened with the aftermath of the biggest incident in nearly 100 years.
But that was not the important issue now.
Eloa chanted an incantation.
“I contract.”
A subtle magic power settled in her crimson eyes, and the ‘Light of Truth’ began to ripple.
Tiferet’s magnetic magic was ‘Contract Magic’.
A contract inherently involves a price.
From now on, her eyes would be able to see through all illusions and deceptions.
When the contract ended, she would lose her sight for about an hour as the price.
As the power gained from the contract settled in her eyes, the barrier that had been blocking her vision became transparent like glass.
“Ah….”
Eloa found the flute on the rooftop of the COEX Mall, several kilometers away.
As she continued to look around, her eyes became bloodshot.
There was a white knight who looked like a recolored version of the enemy knight she had been chasing.
If it had been just this, Eloa might have been puzzled, but she wouldn’t have been agitated.
However, Eloa felt a surge of emotion when she saw the black armor engaged in a fierce battle against the enemy knight.
Two ribbons extending from the back of the waist.
The colors were slightly different, but the shape was unmistakable.
The magnetic magic of Ea Sadalmelik, the enemy who had taken the life of her beloved Lapi, whom she had never forgotten for a single day, a single hour, or even a single second.
Both the shape and the method of use were ribbons woven from the ‘Maiden’s Loom’.
“That’s it….!”
Joy.
There was no other way to describe the explosion.
The exhilarating pleasure that burned her heart, blowing away the ennui, depression, and lethargy she had felt for the past few days like ashes.
“That’s it, that’s it, that’s it. I believed it. I believed that you couldn’t have died.”
She was alive.
Ea Sadalmelik was alive.
She was alive and well, doing her usual nonsense, just as Eloa had hoped.
The ecstasy flowing through her veins made every single hair on Eloa’s body stand on end, bringing her back to life.
But soon, Eloa’s face hardened.
Ea, who was uncharacteristically engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a sword and shield, perhaps due to the aftereffects of being defeated by Baron Marigold, was using swordsmanship.
The familiar parry of the familiar trajectory deflected the white knight’s menacing thrust.
The familiar upper cut of the familiar trajectory bisected the white knight’s body.
Even though she knew it was a ridiculous delusion, it was so similar that she couldn’t help but wonder if the witch fighting there was Lapi.
There was no doubt.
Tiferet could not forget that swordsmanship, that way of using the body.
The ‘Contract of the King of All Diseases’ that Lapi, whom she loved more than anyone, had inherited.
Ea was shamelessly wielding the contract she had stolen from Lapi as if it were her own.
Her mind, which had been filled with joy, was instantly thrown into chaos as if it had been plunged into a mud pit.
Eloa’s tightly clenched lips burst open, and blood flowed.
It was the most heinous insult and mockery.
She would kill her.
She would kill her.
No, she wouldn’t let her die easily.
She would thoroughly break her down, making her writhe in pain until she regretted her mistakes and begged for death.
Eloa’s feet kicked off the ground.
In the blink of an eye, Eloa arrived on the rooftop of the shopping mall and unhesitatingly smashed three white knights who seemed to be in the way.
It didn’t matter what they were or what their relationship was with the enemy knight.
Wasn’t the important thing right in front of her?
Wasn’t the witch, who could unleash all her 100 years of resentment, hatred, and grudge, waiting for her lovingly?
“I’ve come to keep my promise.”
Even the sight of her creating a grotesque armor out of shadows and imitating a knight was infuriating.
The Contract of the King of All Diseases was not for her.
It was a vessel and contract that Eloa had created anew only for Lapi.
She kicked off the ground.
Her body was strengthened by six contracts.
She stepped on the ground.
Her forefeet dug into the ground like soft mud, and her hind feet stood straight as if they had become one with the earth.
The essence of the explosive force (發勁), which had inherited the essence of all martial arts from East and West, shattered the crude armor like an insect’s exoskeleton and dug into it.
“You haven’t forgotten me, have you?”
It was a problem.
The vulgar smile on her lips wouldn’t stop.
2.
There was a satisfying feeling.
“Hoo….”
Looking at Ea, who was wearing black armor and falling backward pathetically, Eloa finished her after-action assessment.
It was the act of taking a breath and looking around after defeating an enemy without letting her guard down.
As the caster lost consciousness, the armor, which had been made of black smoke like a shadow, scattered.
Eloa, who had hoped to see the face of her long-awaited enemy distorted in pain, froze stiffly.
“A man?”
The identity of the person who was manipulating the ribbons and freely using the contract stolen from Lapi was.
Shockingly, it was not Ea Sadalmelik.
No, it was not even clear if he was a witch.
Despite the fact that his eyelids were torn and half of his face was covered in blood, he had a handsome face.
He was a man dressed in extremely modern clothes, jeans and a t-shirt.
Eloa was so taken aback by the reversal that she forgot what to do.
She checked to see if he was playing some kind of trick.
For example, if he was using illusion magic to deceive her.
However, the magic power within the brand was pure.
Moreover, Eloa’s eyes could see through illusions now.
“What… what is this….”
Eloa, dumbfounded, groped the man’s body.
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, so she tried to confirm it through touch.
It was an astral body.
Due to the nature of astral bodies, which maintain the body in its most perfect state, she could feel well-developed muscles even through his clothes.
Was there magic that could transform the bodies of men and women?
No, more than that, had a man ever used this much magic in history?
Was this another sophisticated deception by Ea?
Or perhaps it was bait she had thrown?
In the midst of extreme confusion, the person who could give her an answer was already unconscious.
“This, this… this….”
“Get out of the way!”
At that moment, a witch who had come up to the rooftop appeared.
She was a witch with dark green hair, wearing a witch’s uniform, leather riding boots, and holding a wand in her hand.
“Step back, I’ll attack if you don’t get out of the way right now.”
A flowing reflection of light was rising in her blue eyes.
The witch seemed to be related to the man lying down, probably an exile.
The fact that she hadn’t launched a preemptive attack seemed to indicate that she was worried about the man getting caught up in it.
“Did you do this?”
“What are you talking about! I would never do something like this… huh?”
The magic power that had been gathering and scattering from the emerald at the end of the wand disappeared as if a candle had been blown out.
“Ho, could you be… Duke Tiferet?”
“That is so.”
Among the witches, her unique pink hair and the artifact ‘Sword of Contract’ in her hand.
Sharon, who had rushed to COEX after hearing the twins’ message, had recognized the identity of the person who seemed to have attacked Siwoo.
The story of the duke who had been wandering the present world for revenge after a trainee witch was murdered 100 years ago was well known to the public.
“But… why did you attack Siwoo?”
But from what she had heard, she was a righteous witch.
She was also the person who had taken the initiative to establish a location point when the witches were neglecting the homunculi and public enemies, using their own circumstances as an excuse.
In any case, no matter how hard Sharon tried, she was a monster that she had no way of dealing with.
Therefore, Sharon tried to talk before acting rashly.
“It’s a good thing you’re here. Who is this man?”
Even though Sharon had shown that she had no intention of fighting, Tiferet was still not putting down her sword.
Not only that, but the atmosphere emanating from her whole body was such that she would cut down even Sharon, including Siwoo, if necessary.
“He’s my friend. He’s definitely not a bad person! I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding, but he was fighting here to stop this incident. A little while ago, the trainee witches from the Gemini family….”
“This man was using Ea Sadalmelik’s and my trainee witch’s magnetic magic. Do you think you can get away with saying that he has nothing to do with it?”
Sharon, who had been cut off, was speechless.
Who was Ea Sadalmelik?
She was a notorious public enemy who was infamous for killing Duke Tiferet’s trainee witch.
She knew that Siwoo had become a witch after surviving a near-death experience against her, but he was using her magnetic magic?
That was something even Sharon didn’t know.
But Sharon trusted Siwoo.
She didn’t know how this complicated twist had occurred, but Siwoo was definitely a good person.
There was no way that the evil deeds that the duke was worried about could have happened at Siwoo’s hands.
Her past experiences and memories told her so.
But that was only a judgment based on Sharon’s personal experience.
The duke, who had no such thing, did not simply believe a third party’s words and back down.
“I know it’s a strange situation, but it’s really not like that. Siwoo is a bit of a fool, but he’s a kind and good person. He would never harm anyone for no reason.”
“I don’t know who you are. But if you appeared to save a suspicious man in the midst of this chaos, I have no choice but to be suspicious. If you make even the slightest move, I will cut you down. Step back.”
As if to show that it was not just bluster, the duke firmly gripped her sword with both hands.
In the midst of the tense atmosphere, Sharon, who had met the duke’s eyes, discovered the confirmation bias that was coiled up inside them.
She had no intention of listening to Sharon’s words from the beginning.
She had no desire to resolve the misunderstanding.
She was not in a state where she could be persuaded no matter what she said.
“No, now that I think about it, you’re suspicious too. You must be an exile, right? Is this a trick to smuggle out Ea, who has disguised herself as a man or has been reincarnated? Were you ordered by someone? Or are you under some kind of charm without knowing it?”
“That’s not it….”
“The witch of Aquarius is a cunning one. She escaped from my hands three times with unimaginable methods. I have never let my guard down. If this man is somehow related to Ea, there is a possibility that you are being deceived as well.”
Eloa, who was speaking quickly, did not seem to have any composure.
Even though she was such a strong person, she began to talk as if she was being chased and cornered.
It was as if she was trying to convince herself, not Sharon.
“No… thinking about it again, it’s not a bad idea to end it like this. Wouldn’t that be cleaner?”
Eloa’s sword, which had been pointing straight, was now aimed at the fallen Siwoo.
She didn’t really intend to kill him.
It was a kind of bluff to observe the man’s reaction, who might be pretending to be unconscious, and at the same time, to test the reaction of Sharon, who had suddenly appeared.
She thought that if she threatened the life of the man who was hiding some kind of scheme, she would be able to get a clue to the truth.
“No!”
As expected, Sharon’s reaction was fierce.
The fire that had sprung up from her feet created a barrier that blocked her vision.
The vines that had sprouted from the cement blocked the tip of the sword that was aimed at Siwoo’s neck.
Sharon, who was entrusting herself to the sudden gust of wind and rushing to pull Siwoo out, was skillfully manipulating three types of magic at the same time, which was truly impressive.
But her opponent was bad.
“Kyaa!”
Sharon was grabbed by the collar by Eloa while still running.
Her legs, which had been pulled from the ground, floated in the air and then slammed into the cement floor.
Before she could even realize what had happened, the duke was gripping Sharon’s neck with a cold look in her eyes.
“I told you not to move.”
Once again, Sharon, who was face to face with the duke at close range, was convinced.
The shadow of madness and blind faith.
Even though her eyes were such a beautiful color, she could not feel any light in them now.
She was not in her right mind now.
She was just running wild, consumed by her desire for revenge.
“Now, do you see?”
The duke twisted Sharon’s neck to make her look at Siwoo.
A red line had been drawn on his neck.
The tip of the sword blade was digging into his flesh.
“If I put a little more force, this man will die. If you want to save him, tell me everything you know.”
