Chapter 721 – #155_Party(2)
#721
1.
As with any sentient being, but especially for a witch, life is an irreplaceable asset.
For a witch, life is not just for one person, but a legacy accumulated over generations under the calling to develop magic.
If only life can be saved, loyalty and allegiance to a colleague can be easily abandoned.
Therefore, Randa told Linne everything she knew without any special torture.
The schedule of the Solidus Merchant Guild, Lydia’s schedule.
Even without being asked, she volunteered to hand over the architectural blueprints of the Almak Club, which recorded secret passages and various boundary spells.
“I, is that enough now?”
Randa, who was sweating profusely while holding her pierced hand.
Linne was just silently scanning the blueprints, but Randa felt her mouth dry up.
“……”
It wasn’t because of the pain.
Linne had already crossed the line.
This was the first time a violent act had occurred in Hexennacht.
As the shattered rules had to be restored and an example had to be set, both Clifort and the Solidus Merchant Guild would step forward to punish Linne.
The problem was that the punishment would happen whether Linne killed Randa or not.
In other words, the cleanest way for Linne was to kill Randa, the only witness, to eliminate the evidence.
“I’ll pretend today didn’t happen. I’ll quietly leave Hexennacht.”
Therefore, Randa desperately tried to persuade Linne.
However, Linne only scanned the third blueprint with a dry gaze.
“Really, I won’t say anything about what you did. I’ll live like a witch who never existed from the beginning.”
“It doesn’t seem to have been tampered with.”
“Of course! It won’t be difficult for you to infiltrate.”
Randa nodded her head vigorously, clutching her pierced hand.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Linne turned her back.
She lived.
A brief moment of relief.
At the same time, a thin diagonal line was drawn in front of Randa’s eyes, then disappeared like a phantom without leaving a trace.
The subtle afterglow of the magic power that had been compressed to its extreme point touched her skin.
“Huh?”
Randa lowered her gaze.
The greatsword, which had been shining so fiercely, was neatly sheathed as if nothing had happened.
Something happened.
Randa’s eyes couldn’t even properly follow what that something was.
“My, my eyes…?”
Her eyes were strange.
She wasn’t trying to look up, but her eyes slowly rolled upwards as if all the whites below would be visible.
The office, half-darkened by her eyelids, slowly tilted to the side.
-Thud!
Randa’s body fell, and the chair caught on her leg tumbled noisily.
Linne, who had swung her sword and cut off Randa’s neck, neatly sheathed her short sword and left the mansion without looking back.
“……”
She was lucky.
It seemed like she could rescue Shin Siwoo quite early.
Tonight, a secret auction would be held at the Almak Club.
After that, a short ball.
After attending the ball, Lydia was scheduled to participate in the Hexennacht Grand Assembly.
No matter how much the hardliners and moderates were in conflict, they had a common denominator of wanting the best for Hexennacht.
They also agreed that baring their teeth at each other would only lead to mutual destruction.
Therefore, top-tier witches were holding a grand assembly to discuss future policies.
In two hours.
While the meeting was being held, the Almak Club would be unguarded.
Of course, even if luck had come at the right time, rescuing Shin Siwoo alone had several difficulties.
No matter how detailed she knew the geography, she didn’t know where he was hidden.
If Lydia had any sense, she would have placed at least a minimum number of people at the Almak Club. These were the immediate obstacles that came to mind.
Rescuing him and then escaping Hexennacht would also be a long journey, but that part was to be considered later.
For Linne now, the most important thing was to rescue Shin Siwoo.
“Follow me.”
Linne, who had arrived at Hyangwolru, smuggled out Alice, Yebin, and Red Branch.
It wasn’t an act of pure goodwill.
It was not difficult to predict that if Linne caused an incident, the first thing that would happen would be a house search.
Yebin Smirna was an excellent doctor, so she would be helpful in escaping and fleeing.
Alice Ibn Hayyan was also a great witch, so she could be released from her leash and receive help.
The fact that there was no close witch who could take care of the two witches while avoiding the surveillance of others and provide a hideout was surprisingly easily resolved.
“You just have to keep them with you, right? Wow! With this, I can play and eat for three years without doing business.”
Zlata, the free witch who had taught Linne how to cook, was grinning as she looked at the leather sack full of gold bars.
Zlata’s apothecary was located in Dignity Town, the closest to the ‘door’ that would be the escape route, but it was in a secluded alley, so it didn’t attract attention.
Since she had no contact with Linne until yesterday, she wouldn’t be on the suspect list under the guise of a collaborator.
It was also suitable as a safe house for later use.
“That’s right. Until I come back, you must watch them so they don’t escape, and you must never tell anyone about this.”
When Linne warned sternly, Zlata readily replied.
“Okay. Of course. I promised to keep it a secret.”
The reason why this answer could come out was because Linne had not told Zlata the whole truth.
Zlata thought that Linne’s actions were only to leave the mansion for a hot love affair with Shin Siwoo.
Like a newlywed couple leaving their child with their parents and burning with passion alone.
She had also learned how to make dishes that were good for stamina, so she wouldn’t suspect it even more.
By the time she realized the truth, she would already be in a situation where she had no choice but to cooperate with Linne as an ‘accomplice’.
“Have a good time.”
Leaving Zlata, who was unaware of anything and happy with her unexpected gain, Linne immediately headed to the Almak Club.
2.
The Almak Club was a building in the shape of a rough red box lying down, unlike its antique and luxurious interior.
It was originally a converted armory that stored military supplies, so it had an extremely closed structure.
The infiltration routes were extremely limited, and strict security was in place using various magic devices.
Armor-type automatons were on guard 24 hours a day, and almost invisible pressure-sensitive carpets and orbs that sounded an alarm as soon as a barrier was deployed were placed everywhere.
Some of them were installation-type artifacts that used attack magic the moment they detected an illegal intrusion.
Of course, no matter how great the security was, it couldn’t hurt a great witch like Linne.
However, Linne couldn’t ignore the witches who would rush in from all directions the moment the alarm went off.
Since the Almak Club was located in the most bustling part of Arcana Town, she would be instantly forced into an impossible one-versus-many fight.
However, the information that Randa had revealed included detailed guidelines on the security system.
Based on this, Linne decided to infiltrate through the roof of the Almak Club.
Although the security was more thorough than other places, it was closest to Lydia’s workshop, and the escape route after the rescue was also reasonable.
-Ting!
Linne drew the sword from her waist, lightly cut the latch hanging on the window, and gently landed in the hallway.
A new figure wearing black martial attire blended into the darkness of the hallway.
Linne’s movements, which were walking as if running on well-polished marble, were reminiscent of a spider crawling silently without a sound.
When a floor that shouldn’t be stepped on appeared, she walked along the wall without any hesitation.
The crystal ball, which slowly floated in the air and recorded the intruder’s magic pattern, was shattered like fragile glasswork by a sharp sword strike without even sounding an alarm.
The long, dark hallway was similar to a hotel room, with one side being a window and the other side being a room.
Linne, who didn’t know which room he was being held in, had no choice but to check them all.
It was impossible to use large-scale search magic in the current situation of stealth infiltration, and even relying on her sense of smell had its limits.
-Ting!
The sword strike, which was precisely swung through the thin gap between the door and the door frame, cut the reinforced lock without any resistance.
Open the door and check, if there was nothing unusual, immediately move to the next room, and then repeat.
There was also a warehouse storing expensive auction items, and a room left empty for important guests. There was also a room that was left as it was because the interior construction was not finished.
However, there was no sign of Siwoo, nor his smell.
The fact that Siwoo’s scent had permeated Lydia’s body meant that the two were likely in close contact.
Considering that the most frequent place for close contact between men and women was the bedroom, Lydia’s workshop was the most likely place of confinement.
However, as usual, the level of security was different from the workshop.
Even Randa was unable to grasp the security system of the workshop.
In short, the moment she touched the workshop, it meant that it would become an even more urgent time-attack rescue operation.
“……”
However, Linne decided to trust her intuition.
In the first place, it was uncertain whether it would be possible to search all the empty rooms.
If he was such a skilled technician, Shin Siwoo would not have been thrown into a confinement place after being used once.
She judged that he would be leisurely in Lydia’s bedchamber, taking the position of a gigolo.
Linne immediately changed her destination to Lydia’s workshop and turned the corner.
However, no matter how meticulously she collected data before infiltrating, she could not cope with all the variables.
“Huh? The Sword Witch?”
She encountered a witch holding a lamp at the opposite end of the long hallway.
It was Lydia’s secretary, who had been pushed by Linne’s ferocity a little while ago to call Lydia.
As you can see from the fact that the lights were not on in the hallway, the top floor of the Almak Club was a space only for Lydia.
Any witch who had not been granted permission was considered an illegal intruder just by setting foot there.
Therefore, the secretary felt a chill down her spine as soon as she discovered Linne.
According to Lydia, she had left to find the male witch who had committed a crime and disappeared, so why was she here?
“Why are you here…?”
“Cut her down.”
“A-are you crazy?”
Along with the incantation, black magic power spread around Linne like ink.
The scenery of the hallway, which was as splendid as a long gallery, transformed into a watercolor painting soaked in water.
Linne’s figure, running on the carpet of the hallway, also looked like an extension of a blurred ink line.
This was the best strike Linne could unleash.
‘Black and White World’, which erodes the unique characteristics of magic power and confines it to a black and white, bland world.
The secretary had hastily deployed a powerful barrier, but the barrier that had lost the power of ‘magnetic magic’ was no different from easily broken plastic.
-Swoosh!
The pure white blade, swung like a brush, scattered black blood like ink on the wall.
