## Chapter 1075 – #256_A Small War (2)
#1069
1.
The dazzling fireworks display was over.
Just before the gate completely collapsed, Siwoo and Sharon found a gap they had secured in advance and emerged into the mortal realm.
“Whew, that was exhilarating. So refreshing.”
Sharon’s white cheeks were flushed.
Although she had received various forms of assistance, she had completed such a grand magic spell together.
Moreover, she had delivered a satisfying blow in front of dozens, even hundreds, of public enemies who committed all sorts of atrocities, and most importantly, she had been of help to Siwoo.
More than anything else, the fact that she could finally stand side by side with him was a great joy for Sharon.
“Sharon, now, um…!”
“Ah, never mind, never mind, kiss first!”
Sharon suddenly grabbed Siwoo’s neck and gave him a bold kiss.
A couple who caused a large-scale bombing and then shared a passionate kiss was a strange sight, but Siwoo also felt relieved.
Herya’s rampage, which started with discord and even attacked Gehenna, had certainly brought benefits, but he didn’t want more than that.
If he justified all means for the sake of his goal, he would be no different from the public enemies Siwoo had loathed all along.
His teacher would surely say that being able to stick to a difficult path without crossing the line was also a form of courage.
Therefore, to quell the pro-war sentiment spreading in Gehenna, he had engaged in proxy retaliation at an appropriate level.
As a bonus, he had shoved the public enemies who would be obstacles in the future into the city and passed the troublesome cleanup to Lydia.
Having talked with her when he was kidnapped in the past, he roughly understood Lydia’s ideology.
If she wanted to avoid a pointless war, she would control the New Qliphoth well for a while.
The reason he had pressed the switch on a seemingly sloppy plan was because he trusted Lydia’s competence.
He believed that Lydia, the new generation leader who had created the massive public enemy group Solidus Trading Company, would be able to block the war well, even while suffering immense political losses and damages.
“Haa…. I’m dizzy.”
“You’ve worked hard, Sharon.”
“You’re the one who worked hard.”
Sharon, who had finished the long kiss, staggered as if she was out of breath.
Was it because they had overcome a major hurdle?
She seemed a bit relaxed.
But soon, Sharon’s face darkened.
“Sharon, you have to go back now.”
“…I don’t want to.”
Sharon’s mission in the mortal realm was now over.
Not only was her magic power depleted, but she also needed to give her heated magic circuits and overworked brain a good rest for a while.
“It’s your job. You have to go back to Gehenna quickly and sound the victory cry.”
“I know, but I’m worried about leaving you alone.”
“L’Riel is with me, you know.”
Now, Sharon would return to Gehenna and celebrate her victory.
Hearing it in the news and hearing it from the person involved had different impacts.
It was Sharon’s role to directly tell the story of the Siwoo-Sharon joint revenge drama and firmly quell the pro-war faction’s public opinion.
Most witches in Gehenna would be satisfied enough with this.
Even if there were those who were inciting war for personal gain, not simply out of emotion, saying, ‘Hey, we have to fight! Are you satisfied with this?’ the mainstream opinion would be, ‘This is enough.’
They had already been thoroughly beaten, and the witches of Gehenna were not so frivolous as to go all the way to the mortal realm and make a mess.
Since they were all spirits, they were all plump and ready for childbirth.
“……”
As expected of Sharon, who was full of tears and rich in emotional expression, her pure eyes were filled with dew.
The way she was trying hard not to cry was very much like her.
“You have to come back safely.”
“Of course.”
After giving Siwoo her final instructions, Sharon walked into the sea with her citizenship card and soon disappeared with a rippling distortion.
“Haa….”
Only then did Siwoo let out a sigh.
He had no injuries, but his head was throbbing.
It was beyond a simple fever of wisdom; it felt like someone had cracked open his skull and shoved a slightly cooled lump of charcoal inside.
It was doping, using not only Dorothy’s Angel Ring at full activation but also Linne’s ‘Stairs.’
This kind of backlash was to be expected.
After recovering for a while, Siwoo was about to take a step to join L’Riel… but stopped.
“…Huh?”
“…….”
What a coincidental coincidence.
It was a face he had seen countless times in Dorothy’s memories, but it was his first time seeing it in person.
A giant with a height of 190cm, taller than Siwoo.
The giant was thick not only vertically but also horizontally.
A mohawk style with rock-like muscles and shaved sides.
The leader of the Rehar Group, the Witch of War, Herya Balhiri.
The villain who swung a huge ax at Dorothy’s fallen neck.
The white cloth of the morgue, lifted with trembling hands.
The crooked stitches that barely held the cut together flashed before his eyes like a seizure.
His breathing became rough.
It wasn’t because of fear of the unexpected situation.
It was because of the burning rage that seemed to scorch his heart black, and the good fortune that the opponent to resolve that rage was right in front of him, that the cells in his entire body were boiling.
It was no coincidence that Herya was heading here.
There were a total of five places near here where the ‘gate’ kernel to Hexennacht was open.
However, even with a citizenship card, the gate did not open.
Thinking it was a minor malfunction, she was wandering around other kernels when she encountered a strange guy at the third one.
[Leader, that crazy male witch just attacked the city! It looks like a real war!]
“Really? What does he look like?”
The vice-leader’s report echoed over the receiver.
Herya looked down at Shin Siwoo on the deserted island beach with dry eyes.
Shin Siwoo, holding a spear and looking up at Herya.
The two met as if by a twist of fate.
[Um, black armor, red spear. Isn’t he already famous?]
“Ah, that’s him. I’ll call you later, something came up.”
[Huh? Huh? What is it?]
Herya nonchalantly used her signature move of hanging up first and tilted her thick neck.
Siwoo’s actions had been close to perfect so far.
Even if it was Lydia, it was almost impossible for Herya to grasp his identity, as he had left so few clues.
But Herya’s outstanding intuition connected a series of events like a puzzle.
Herya had killed the Witch of the Way not long ago.
The Witch of the Way had betrayed the city to smuggle the male witch out of Hexennacht.
Shin Siwoo and the Witch of the Way had a deep relationship.
The conflict between the Rehar Group and the Solidus Trading Company.
Shin Siwoo suddenly attacked Hexennacht.
“Could it be…”
It could be a coincidence, or it could be excessive confirmation bias.
“Was it you?”
Herya’s absurd-sounding chuckle echoed.
“……”
Sometimes silence means affirmation.
If that silence was accompanied by murderous intent and fighting spirit, there was no need to say more.
“I feel sorry for Mrs. Magnus.”
Herya scratched the bridge of her nose as if she was in trouble.
But soon, as if she had found a clear answer, she took out a huge ax.
“Okay, I’ve decided. I’ll have to cut you into two pieces first. Half will go to Talia’s tombstone, and the other half will be taken to Mrs. Magnus as an apology gift.”
The two, each raising their weapons, simultaneously thought the same thing.
I will kill you, no matter what.
2.
Lydia, with the vast open sea beneath her feet, quietly strolled across the surging waves as if taking a walk.
A beautiful dress and elegant gloves that covered her elbows.
Lydia’s figure, leisurely moving forward while feeling the waves that wet her ankles, was unreal and therefore beautiful.
“I think it was around here.”
Lydia, who had been humming a tune, stopped abruptly.
The coordinates she had received from Kiara were within 25km of this area.
It was difficult to say it was accurate, but it had narrowed the search area to a small dot on this vast sea.
“It’s quite seamless.”
She couldn’t feel any signs at all.
Even if the depth was deep, it would only be a few kilometers, and Lydia’s personal search magic didn’t catch anything.
A submarine would never be a small size, but it meant that it was thoroughly concealed.
Assuming that the Deep Sea Witch had not noticed the pursuit and fled, she could find her existence if she dived directly.
The reason she didn’t do that was because there was a better way.
“Ahem.”
Lydia cleared her throat and shouted loudly.
“Can you hear me? I’m the Witch of Gold!”
Even if the precision of Kiara’s search magic was beyond expectations, this could also be a trap.
Since Erelim had promised to block the Gehenna side, the possibility of a large-scale ambush was low, but if it was the thorough Shin Siwoo, the fact that Kiara had found the submarine could be a trap.
Nevertheless, the reason Lydia had appeared here alone was because she was confident.
She was confident that she could overwhelm the Deep Sea Witch, who was at the same 23rd rank as Lydia, in her home ground.
Even if Shin Siwoo was added to that, she was confident that she could defeat or escape, even if she was cornered by an unexpected ambush.
The creation of the Solidus Trading Company was not only due to Lydia’s political skills, her eye for reading the situation, or her cunning.
Overwhelming power made it possible.
“I know you’re here!”
As expected, there was no answer.
If they weren’t stupid, they would obviously hide.
“You were close to Dorothy, right? Like an aunt and niece? I’m sorry! I sincerely want to apologize! I accidentally ordered Dorothy to be killed! Let’s have a time to mourn the deceased together. Let’s reminisce and commemorate our memories with Dorothy!”
But Lydia didn’t stop.
“Do you know what? Dorothy was actually a huge coward, so she cried all day when she was captured by me? Just like you, who are so scared that you’re hiding in the sea right now! Maybe she died crying pathetically too?”
Provocation is sometimes better than any wide-area search magic.
Could an inexperienced young witch overcome this kind of provocation?
“I’ve said my part! Now it’s your turn!”
Instead of an answer, the sea parted.
A whirlpool that once gave nightmares to sailors who crossed the sea with sails and wind arose, and someone floated up in the empty space.
Deep blue hair and eyes that resembled the night sea.
There was a clear youthful air, but there was a cold calmness that was difficult to see as someone who had responded to provocation.
“I know Dorothy well. She is a witch who is bold and knows loyalty. I do not believe the lies you have spoken.”
Her cool voice was also as calm as the deep sea.
“However, I will respond to your petty provocation.”
With the queen’s anger, the sea surged.
From under her feet to beyond the horizon, which curved in a circle.
The entire vast sea came under the complete control of L’Riel Nukelavi.
“This, this, this, this is beyond my imagination…?”
Lydia looked at the shattering sea with her mouth slightly open.
The movement of magic power that even stirred the atmosphere seemed to prove that her reputation as an old witch was not in vain.
“I suddenly became curious.”
Lydia’s pink tongue licked her lips with a satisfied smile.
“How much is your value, I wonder?”
