City ​​of Witches 267

Chapter 267 – #60_Drainage Tunnel(3)

#265

1.
Eloa, with her sword raised, glared at the enemy knight.
The enemy knight, also holding the red branch, met Eloa’s gaze, emitting an ominous snarl.

The enemy knight, who once had thirty eyes, now had forty, thanks to the Cowardly Witch.

That number was the same as that of the homunculus considered the most powerful and the greatest disaster in history.
The monster, which took the form of a giant serpent and was nicknamed ‘Jörmungandr,’ was killed by Duke Keter only after devouring three kingdoms, eight cities, countless villages, and 78 witches.

This was during the time when the Gehenna system was just being established.
Considering that the average rank of a witch at that time was 15, the death of 78 witches might not have been so shocking.
However, that was no reason to underestimate Jörmungandr’s strength or the enemy knight who had the same number of eyes.

Of course, just as the rank was not an absolute measure of combat power, the number of eyes was not an absolute indicator of a homunculus’s strength.

However, the enemy knight was a warrior who had accumulated experience by killing many witches over a long period.
The reason Eloa had not killed the enemy knight despite winning seven out of seven fights was not due to carelessness.
It was because the enemy knight was skilled enough to exchange spears and swords with Eloa while still having enough power to escape.

“……”
“……”

Eloa calmly faced the enemy knight, gauging each other’s strength.

First, the enemy knight.

The power of a homunculus clearly varied depending on what it contained.
For example, even a mediocre homunculus could become a formidable enemy if it had a tricky magnetic magic embedded in the ‘Gnosis Egg.’
In that sense, the enemy knight, wielding the extremely tricky ‘Red Branch,’ was a difficult opponent in itself.

A spear strike that twisted logic and reason.
A distortion field that hindered all kinds of magical actions and the functions of spirits.
A red barrier that manipulated the reality of objects it touched.

He wielded magic that was more versatile and difficult to deal with than that of most combat-type witches.
This was the reason why Eloa, despite having an overwhelming power difference in the past, had not been able to completely subdue the enemy knight.

Moreover, the enemy knight’s spear, which she had met again after a long time, was different.
The unusual red energy flowing through the spear shaft was on a different level than before.
It was more abundant, or perhaps it carried a deeper sense of unease.
The Cowardly Witch had not only strengthened the enemy knight but had also upgraded the performance of the Red Branch itself.

On the other hand, Eloa.

She had already consumed 30% of her magic power in the process of dealing with the White Knights and coming this far.
One of her twelve contracts had been used to protect Siwoo, the ‘Guardian’s Contract,’ leaving her with only eleven contracts to use.

If it had been before, it wouldn’t have been a big problem.
But could she win against the enemy knight, who was now in his best condition?
Eloa, who had faced countless enemies and homunculi, felt a sense of crisis for the first time in a long time.

“Stand back. Prepare to run.”

She moved Siwoo behind her and angled her contract sword forward.

“I contract.”

She activated two of the three remaining contracts.

The enemy knight was probably the best move the Cowardly Witch had.
He was not an easy opponent to face while saving strength, but if she used up all her power here, there would be no turning back.

Contract Nine, re-establish the concept of the body.

To minimize the effects of distortion, she re-established Eloa’s existence on the world.
This eliminated the risk of her existence being distorted or disrupted by the barrier.

Contract Ten, consume half of the remaining magic power and convert it into power.

The Cowardly Witch’s power was not limited to the enemy knight.
There were still about 600 White Knights left, and although their combat power was not high, the Cowardly Witch herself was also present.
If she allocated more magic power than this, it would be futile even if she won the fight against the enemy knight.

Eleven of the twelve letters engraved on the side of the contract sword shone, scattering a heavy wave of magic power around them.

-Clank!

The first to move was the enemy knight.
He threw the witch’s corpse he had been holding by the hair to the side and stepped forward with a sliding motion, thrusting his spear.

At first glance, the movement seemed less powerful than that of the White Knights.
The sound of cutting through the air was not loud, and the power contained within seemed insignificant.

But that was a misconception.
Just as a deep river flows calmly, the concentrated power did not make a loud display; in reality, it was moving with several times more speed and strength.
The surging spear tip was already reaching for her heart, piercing through the gaps in her defenses.

“Hah!”

Eloa’s body half-rotated, deflecting the spear tip.
Or, more accurately, she tried to deflect it.
However, an unexpected suction force occurred, and the tip of the spear blade and the side of the sword stuck together.

Her strength was lacking.
The enemy knight’s strength was much greater than before.

-Clack! Clack clack!

Eloa, not flustered by the unexpected result, immediately engaged in sword wrestling.
It was so natural that it seemed as if she had been aiming for it from the start.

‘Binding,’ which involved grabbing and pulling the opponent’s weapon to stop their attack.
‘Winding,’ which involved turning the weapon to subdue the opponent by targeting their weak points.
Broadly speaking, sword wrestling, which consisted of these two concepts, was literally like wrestling.

She sensitively perceived the pressure and changes in force transmitted from the weapons that were touching, predicting movements and rhythms.
It was also a fierce battle of wits, adjusting the pace and strength to deflect the enemy’s weapon and inflict fatal damage with her own.

-Clack! Clack clack! Clack!

With the sound of breaking hard walnuts, the red spear blade and the white sword body twisted and crossed continuously.
Like two dragons twisting and fighting, the sword and spear, which were frantically intertwined, spewed out intense sparks of magic power each time they collided.

Neither of them gave an inch.
In terms of pure strength, the enemy knight surpassed Eloa, but Eloa had the upper hand in terms of skill.

-Clack! Clack clack!

The sword and spear, which had been entangled in the air for several seconds without separating, fell apart.
It was Eloa who broke this stalemate first.
She shook off the enemy knight with a rough sword strike that could only be described as forced.

The spear, swung in an arc, and the sword, swung up in an arc from the opposite side, collided.
A shockwave that was incomparable to when they were simply wrestling reverberated, ruffling Eloa’s bangs.

-Kwaaaang!

“Kuh!”

Eloa let out a troubled groan.
Even if there was a difference in strength, the difference in skill was still significant.
Originally, she had planned to suppress the enemy knight’s spear tip with a spiraling sword strike and stab him in the heart.

But what created the variable here was the ‘Red Branch.’

-Kwaaang!

Eloa, who parried the spear that was swung again, felt her insides twist.
It wasn’t that she had allowed a direct attack.
Nor was it that an intense shock that she couldn’t withstand had been transmitted.

It was just the power of distortion concentrated in that red spear.
The shockwave of that distortion was turning Eloa’s insides into a mess every time their weapons clashed.
This was also the reason why Eloa, who was confident in close combat and sword wrestling, had avoided close combat first.

Eloa swallowed her groan and repeatedly swung her sword.
Each time, the surging shockwave spread from the tip of her sword to her toes.

Her sense of balance was ruined as if her semicircular canals had broken, and her vision was wavering as if submerged in water.
Her breathing, which should have been regular, became erratic, and even her heart began to beat irregularly.
At first, it was just nausea, but as the battle dragged on, the sensation was slowly moving into the realm of pain.

-Whooong!

A spear swung horizontally, aiming for her head.
Eloa bent her back to avoid it.
The moment the spear blade brushed over her head, a red barrier appeared as if tracing the trajectory of the spear, pouring down on Eloa.

Eloa, already off balance, desperately twisted her body to avoid it.
Despite her efforts, the barrier that grazed her shoulder caused a pain that felt like her body was being torn apart from the inside, piercing her brain.

“Ugh…!”

Eloa endured the pain that made her head feel hazy and barely pushed herself away.
She created some distance and examined her wound.

“Haa… Haa…!”

The wound itself was very shallow.
She thought her arm had been torn off, but the wound itself was at the level of a scratch from a tree branch.
However, this short probing battle was enough to urge Eloa’s vigilance.

She had strengthened herself with several contracts and even established her existence to avoid being manipulated by distortion.
Now, Eloa’s body had a durability close to a walking fortress, both magically and physically.
Yet, that spirit had been injured by a barrier that she had treated as a mere byproduct.

Come to think of it, it was strange that she was being so heavily affected by the distortion field.
She had clearly felt the distortion field during the previous clash, but at that time, it had only caused dizziness similar to seasickness.
It was not at a level where she could no longer clash swords and had to push away like now.

“Hoo…”

The enemy knight she had met again had become a much more difficult opponent than she had expected.
All of Eloa’s magic and attacks were specialized for close combat.
Therefore, the Red Branch, which imposed a huge burden simply by exchanging blows, was not a good match for her.

Eloa took a deep breath and steadied her wavering mind.
Her mind, which had been rippling with agitation, became as clear as a still mirror.
After all, nothing would change by being agitated.

She would just assess the situation and make the best judgment.

To minimize the contact of their weapons, she would inevitably have to use her feet more.
She wouldn’t insist on holding her ground; she would give way when pushed and dig in when pulled.
Should she consume another contract?
Was it the right decision to pour all her remaining magic power into fighting the enemy knight?

The enemy knight, despite having a clear initiative, did not push Eloa and retreated.
Instead, he stood in place, raised his spear, and began to shout.

“D—-D——Drivat—-!”

Eloa was shocked in another sense.
From the dark space under the crimson helmet, a sound similar to human language could be heard.
Homunculi that had lived for a long time gradually developed a clearer ego.
However, it was unheard of for them to use language with meaning and structure, not just simple cries.

“Drivat—- Lajak—-!!”

An unintelligible language with a mix of guttural sounds.
Or perhaps it was closer to a song?
With a harsh sound like scraping steel, a bright red barrier extended from the Red Branch.
At first, she thought it was an attack and tried to respond, but the barrier seemed to take root in various places, as if it was piercing through Eloa’s shoulders.

“This is…!”

Eloa looked around.
The space was distorting.
Reality was being encroached upon.

Even though it was a place where five tunnels met, the underground space was limited in size.
But now, it had changed to an enormous size, as if looking at an image refracted through a lens.

What was even more bizarre was that she could not observe the process of the change at all.
It was as if it had always been this place; when she came to her senses, it had been transformed.
Eloa looked around the rainwater tunnel, which had become wider and taller than a domed soccer stadium.

“——-Yatholot!”

The moment the enemy knight struck the floor with the tip of his spear.
The barriers that had extended into every corner disappeared all at once.
Silence fell.

“Siwoo…”

Sudden silence always accompanied an ominous future.
Eloa turned to look at Siwoo, who was probably preparing to escape using teleportation.
It was to make him escape first.

But Siwoo was not there.
Considering that there was no sign of magic being used, he probably hadn’t run away first.

Another anomaly was caught in Eloa’s eyes as she panicked.
The White Knights she had defeated so far.
The ones that had become debris and were rolling on the ground began to assemble as if being played in reverse.

-Gurgle… Gurgle… Gurgle Gurgle…!

The enemy knight laughed again, making an unpleasant sound.

The power of the Red Branch was ‘distortion.’
It was an artifact of defiance that twisted even the determined past and defied fate and providence.
The Red Branch, whose potential had been pushed to the limit by the Cowardly Witch by sacrificing thousands of humans and five witches, had reached the point of reviving the replicated homunculi.

The bizarre phenomenon that transcended cause and effect completely restored the homunculi that had already been destroyed.
Almost without any time difference, hundreds of White Knights poured out of the passage.

Clank clank clank clank clank clank.
Clank clank clank clank clank clank.
Clank clank clank clank clank clank.
Clank clank clank clank clank clank.
Clank clank clank clank clank clank.

The sound of boots and weapons clashing, filling the wide space with a steady rhythm.
With a noise that was deafening, almost all of the White Knights possessed by Sochitl gathered in one place.
Only to hunt Eloa Tiphereth.

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Fan art provided by Quemon…!
It’s Duke Tiphereth, grieving and calling for Lapi!
You can also check it out at Quemon’s art studio!