Chapter 1097 – #261_His Return (2)
#1091
1.
The day Siwoo, along with Sharon, sealed the gate of Hexennacht.
Gehenna was more boisterous than ever.
Just a few days prior, the atmosphere had been grim due to the Rehar Group’s attack on the border town.
But now, a refreshing cider truck had arrived, washing away that suffocating feeling all at once. How could they possibly remain quiet?
“Oh my, really? That’s amazing!”
“Those public enemies must be seething, right? They just welded the ‘gate’ shut?”
“That’s what I heard! Right in the middle of enemy territory!”
Even the premium subscribers of Dandelion, Gehenna’s top gossip magazine, were buzzing.
“Honestly, I was about to lose it with how slow Duke Erelim was moving. Let’s have a drink!”
“Cheers!”
“By the way, the Witch of Acorn is no joke either? Who thinks of using a nuclear warhead as a sacrifice to use fire elemental magic?”
“The Witch of Acorn… Ah, Sharon Evergreen? Who calls her that these days?”
“Then what?”
“The Witch of Uranium.”
“Wow, that’s cool, right?”
“For the Witch of Uranium and Shin Siwoo!”
“Hear, hear!”
The gossips who loved to sit in bars and cafes and whisper were also talking.
“It seems that Baron Shin Siwoo single-handedly defeating Urshura wasn’t just a rumor.”
“It’s been a while, but I heard that the Witch of Desire, Bianca, also fell by his hand?”
“Considering the Hesed Society incident and everything else, he’s definitely an extraordinary figure.”
Even the rigid witches who devoted their lives to magical research gathered to praise Baron Shin Siwoo’s achievements.
The Red Roof Salon, Gehenna’s top social club, was no exception.
“He’s set a great example as a Baron of Gehenna.”
“He’ll probably get a decent epithet soon.”
“They’re already calling him by various names. The Witch of Phallus, or the Witch of Righteous Education.”
“I refused a partnership before. It might be good to maintain a good relationship.”
“You too, Baron? I was thinking the same thing.”
“More than that, he’s a man, right? Instead of an epithet like the Witch of XX, how about this?”
“Do you have a good idea?”
“The Demon King.”
“Oh…. It’s audacious, but it fits?”
Amidst the lively atmosphere, word spread that Shin Siwoo had returned to Gehenna half a day after Sharon. Soon, unbelievable rumors began to ripple through the city.
“Did you hear? Shin Siwoo….”
“Another Shin Siwoo story? Let’s stop talking about him.”
“…killed the leader of the Rehar Group and the head of the Solidus Merchant Guild.”
“What? Wait, the Witch of War and the Witch of Gold?”
The bars, cafes, academies, and salons that had been buzzing about Shin Siwoo just moments before.
All of them froze at this news.
But the silence was short-lived, soon followed by snickers.
Disbelief followed.
“Don’t joke around. The Witch of War is a notorious mercenary leader, right? She’s not just any public enemy A, she’s a combat pro, a pro.”
“The Hexennacht thing is understandable. But Herja is too much.”
“If you saw her brute strength, you wouldn’t say that.”
It was only natural.
Gehenna isn’t just filled with witches who are cooped up inside Gehenna.
There are witches who frequently travel to and from the mortal realm, and witches who often clash with public enemies.
They explained more logically why this rumor was impossible.
“What kind of people are the Rehar Group? They’re crazy bitches who are experts at fighting. They even crushed the Witch Point Seoul branch this time.”
“They’re a pain in the ass. I got tangled up with them in business 20 years ago and immediately backed off. They’re like hungry stray dogs with no pride or sense of boundaries.”
“And what about their boss, Herja? I heard that even most public enemies lower their eyes in front of Herja.”
“She doesn’t move alone, she always has her subordinates with her. How could he kill her?”
“…But maybe it’s true? He’s a man who repeatedly does the impossible. He might have held the Rehar Group responsible for the Gehenna invasion and taken them down.”
“Come on. Even the Pink Duke couldn’t do that.”
Furthermore, the news that he killed Lydia was absurd.
Even the witches of Gehenna, who couldn’t stand being looked down upon, had their expressions harden at the weight of the name the Witch of Gold carried.
“Lydia Magnus. She’s a scary one. She’s in the 23rd tier and uses so many sacrifices in the conceptual realm.”
“And what about the Solidus Merchant Guild? Has there ever been such a well-organized large-scale public enemy group in the history of witches?”
“My late master told me never, ever to get involved with that woman, Lydia.”
“She’s been more reclusive since the Solidus Merchant Guild settled down, focusing on politics, but I heard she was even more terrifying before.”
“That monster is dead? I don’t believe it.”
Lydia Magnus was a big shot even in the public enemy society.
Her personal power was a given, and the power of the Solidus Merchant Guild she led was comparable to a large Gehenna academy.
In Gehenna terms, she was a leader in the position of the Three Dukes.
“Could Duke Tiferet beat her?”
“The Pink Duke is strong, but it would still be impossible, right? The Duke always moves alone. Duke Erelim and the elite of the Truth and Name Academic Society would have to step up to even have a conversation.”
Therefore, they didn’t even discuss whether the rumor that ‘Shin Siwoo killed Lydia’ was true or false.
It was simply impossible.
No one seriously believed that Lydia Magnus’s death was real.
A week passed, stimulating the witches’ innate curiosity.
The Hesed Society didn’t express any particular stance, and Shin Siwoo didn’t make any public appearances.
It seemed that the various rumors and nonsense were dying down.
“I heard from a source in the mortal realm… that Herja is dead?”
“I heard from a friend too. The Rehar Group has been quiet lately.”
The rekindling started with the Rehar Group’s movements.
The Rehar Group, befitting a mercenary group, often caused trouble in various parts of the mortal realm.
From various business disputes to conflicts of interest, if you got involved with them outside of Gehenna’s influence, they would appear like swaggering thugs collecting protection money.
Those thugs had disappeared from all over the world overnight.
The question about the meaningful timing was unexpectedly resolved simply.
‘Bring him to me.’
‘I’ll chew on that bastard Shin Siwoo’s heart.’
A public enemy was caught causing a disturbance at the Witch Point Ohio branch.
Her identity was the notorious vice-leader of the Rehar Group.
She shed tears full of vengeance and expressed her hatred for Shin Siwoo.
Furthermore, more facts were revealed during the interrogation, shocking Gehenna.
Shin Siwoo hadn’t just killed Herja.
He had mercilessly annihilated about half of the Rehar Group.
The process was also extraordinary.
He set up a scheme to pit the Solidus Merchant Guild against the Rehar Group, and then walked a tightrope between the cracks, attempting to defeat them individually.
He eventually led the Rehar Group to annihilation.
“…Is that even possible?”
“I, I, I…. I don’t know anymore.”
“Did he really take down the Witch of Gold too…?”
The witches of Gehenna were speechless.
The exhilaration they felt at the news of sealing the Hexennacht gate was diluted by an even greater shock.
Some felt fear, and some felt awe.
“Breaking News: Lydia Magnus Dead.”
What delivered the final blow to the atmosphere, which was mixed with countless doubts and confusion, was the funeral held by the Solidus Merchant Guild.
It was a secret funeral held with the executives of the Solidus Merchant Guild, but Gehenna had many eyes and ears.
“That nonsense was real?”
The blurry stories that had been out of focus were now taking on a frighteningly realistic resolution.
The unbelievable events were all becoming true.
“Then…. all the rumors were true?”
“I just thought it was a way to promote the son-in-law of Jemernai Ryu….”
“I heard Duke Tiferet is also in recovery.”
There were no conspiracy theories about ‘Duke Tiferet’ or ‘Count Jemernai’ being behind it, which usually came up whenever something happened.
It was too large in scale to be a fabricated event for the sake of a disciple or son-in-law’s honor.
Now they knew that he wasn’t a supernova that would shine brightly and disappear.
They also knew that he was a ‘legend’ who would carve a new name in the long history of witches.
They knew that the epithet ‘Demon King,’ which had been jokingly attached to him, was not something to be dismissed as a drinking joke.
At this point, the witches became curious.
Why did he commit such reckless acts?
The question that couldn’t be answered even by sending letters to Count Jemernai or visiting the Hesed Society directly was resolved in an unexpected place.
At the ‘Young Ladies Club,’ a social gathering for Gehenna’s apprentice witches.
“So…. Baron Shin Siwoo left to avenge his lover?”
“Mmm, isn’t that what I said?”
“To risk his life to reclaim the life of his beloved… how romantic!”
“It’s like a knight’s tale of fighting an evil dragon to save a princess.”
Ruelie, who had recovered from her sickbed in just a few days thanks to her monstrous magical power and innate resilience.
Ruelie, who often frequented the Young Ladies Club with Odile and Odette, took pity on the apprentice witches who looked at her with admiration and bestowed upon them the story of ‘Shin Siwoo’s Bizarre Adventure.’
“So, it’s true that he defeated the Witch of Gold and the Witch of War?”
“How else would he have returned to Gehenna? Hmm, anyway, I too faced the infamous villainess, Lydia Magnus.”
Ruelie subtly inserted her own heroic deeds and revealed the backstory.
The young witches, with their ears perked up and focused, listened intently to the vivid testimony of the person involved, not just rumors or circumstantial evidence.
“Wow…. You’re amazing. Oh? But then, it wasn’t the Queen who defeated the Witch of Gold?”
“Th, that’s not it. That day, I was feeling weak, hungry, and dizzy, so I wasn’t in my best condition.”
“Ah, so you ended up losing…”
“How dare you! I made the Witch of Gold use four strange gold coins. In the mortal realm, this situation is called burning with fighting spirit.”
-Bang!
Just as Ruelie was enthusiastically recounting her heroic tale.
The twins entered with terrifying expressions, opening the door.
“Hey! Ruelie! The master told you to keep your mouth shut!”
“Ugh! You airhead! How can you not change as a witch?”
“No! I was talking about how nice the autumn weather is in Gehenna!”
Ruelie, who had been showing off her queenly presence, flinched and made excuses, but her shamelessness wasn’t enough to deceive Odile and Odette.
“There you go again, lying!”
“You can’t help but blab. And what are you doing here? This is an apprentice witch club!”
“M, my vivid experiences are a lesson for the growing apprentice witches… L, let go of me!”
“That’s it. You’re going to get punished.”
“I can’t! I have a really important story to tell!”
“Everyone, you know this has to be kept a secret, right?”
Odile grabbed Ruelie’s arm and dragged her out, while Odette asked the apprentice witches to keep it a secret.
“As expected of Odile and Odette…. They’re so valiant….”
“I think I just had a strange dream.”
The growing apprentice witches felt confused about the power balance as they watched the 23rd-tier witch of the deep sea being dragged away by an apprentice witch….
And when they returned home, they told their masters and mothers everything.
“Master, this is a secret.”
“Mom! I heard this directly from the Witch of the Deep Sea…. You have to keep it just between us, okay?”
Rumors always spread from secrets.
