City ​​of Witches 158

Chapter 158 – #34_Redcliffe(2)

#156

1.
Della Redcliffe, the Witch of Cinders, had always loved things that glittered, ever since she was young.
Rings crafted with extravagant jewels, glass ornaments, and intricately decorated brooches.
She especially loved luxury items that shone brilliantly and flaunted their beauty when illuminated by a soft light.

There was no particular reason.
Like a crow that decorates its nest with shiny objects, Della had simply piled all sorts of things in her bedroom since her days as a novice witch.

If she wanted something, she always made sure to get it.

She had always coveted the mark her predecessors possessed.
The Redcliffe family’s inherent magnetism magic, accumulated over generations, and the baronial title that came with inheriting it, she wanted it so badly.
She studied, researched, and devoted herself to her craft.
She cut the expected 20-year apprenticeship period in half and proudly inherited the mark.

After becoming a witch, she coveted all sorts of artifacts and ornaments in Gehenna.
Della gathered them by any means necessary.
She would buy items that were not for sale by offering three or four times the price.
If they still refused to sell, she would create external or internal pressure, making it impossible for them to refuse, establishing a hierarchical relationship.

Eventually, not long after becoming a witch, everything was in Della’s hands.
The largest and finest mansion in Ars Magna Town.
Ancient grimoires, of which not a single manuscript existed.
A cursed diamond auctioned off at the Red Roof Salon.
The finest liquor that induced a dizzying ecstasy with just a single drop on the tip of the tongue.
The unblemished, fresh body of a pretty and cute witch, and so on.

Whatever she desired, it didn’t take long.
Della Redcliffe was a chosen baroness among many witches, and a great witch of the 20th rank.
The things Della wanted soon rolled into her hands.

‘How boring.’

However, the value of the things she acquired would soon disappear.
The thrill of longing for it, lusting after it, indulging in it, obsessing over it, and pursuing it, was quickly covered by the stale dust of boredom.
The initial excitement, thrill, passion, joy, and satisfaction became distant memories.
This soon meant the loss of value.
How could something that didn’t send a shiver down her spine be precious?

Therefore, Della turned her gaze to the present world.
Even if she was tired of most things in Gehenna, she thought that the wider world, the secular world filled with sensual pleasures and amusements, might quench her thirst.

The first few years were enjoyable.
She crushed ignorant exiles, hunted achievements, and built homunculi.
She crossed the ocean on a massive cruiser, or wallowed in all sorts of pleasure and debauchery in a desert city full of casinos.
The novelties of civilization she had never seen or heard of filled Della’s hungry stomach with a false sense of satiety for a while.
Yes, ‘for a while.’

‘This is boring too.’

It was a repeat.
In less than a decade, Della’s thirst and hunger had awakened again.
Around that time, Della had resigned herself.
Her boredom and tedious days were an inherent quirk within her.
She thought she would never be able to fill it.

That is, until she met a witch from a divided nation in the East, a place she didn’t even know existed.

‘This was my hunting ground!’
‘So what? From now on, I’m going to take over this place.’
‘Are you… crazy? Is being a baroness everything?’
‘How frivolous… shouldn’t witches speak with magic?’

She used her power to crush the witch who boldly attacked her.
It wasn’t that difficult.
The witch’s rank was only around the 17th level, so she was no match for her.

However, Della felt an instinctive pull.
Her slender and delicate face, and her unwavering spirit even in defeat.
Her dark green hair, with streaks of bright turquoise mixed in.
Most of all, what she liked most were her eyes.

Her jade-like light blue eyes were more alluring and valuable than any jewel Della possessed.
Della felt the arrow of desire that always drove her was now pointing towards Sharon.

And she immediately started investigating her.
Sharon Evergreen.
A debt-ridden witch who had been exiled for causing a major incident in Gehenna.
An immature witch who had incompletely inherited the mark from her predecessor.
When she heard that information, she expected things to go very smoothly.
A deficient human with nowhere to turn and nothing to cling to was the easiest to seduce.

‘What? You’ll give me 100 million if I help you with your bath?’
‘Yes, it’s a kind of charity. I know your pitiful situation.’

Della, who had found Sharon again, offered to help her with her bath in exchange for a large sum of money.
Of course, she wasn’t really planning on just having Sharon bathe her.
First, just help with the bath.
Then, natural physical contact.
Then, a night of ecstasy in bed.
She would lower the hurdles one by one.

Right now, she was still clinging to her pathetic pride, doing part-time jobs and making small change with homunculi, but that was just a facade that would soon be stripped away.
If she let Sharon taste the ease of making money, she would surely not forget it and come back.

Therefore, from the very first offer, Della was already imagining herself freely caressing Sharon’s naked body.
But Sharon’s response was cold.
It was an immediate answer without a moment of hesitation or thought.

‘What are you talking about? Get lost.’

Sharon glared at Della with her eyes narrowed, as if she was genuinely disgusted.
It was a funny expression, but.
Her eyes were so beautiful and noble.

And at that moment, Della realized.
If she didn’t get Sharon by any means.
If she didn’t cover her clear eyes with clouded pleasure and turn her into a toy.
This thirst would never be quenched.

2.
The clash lasted only a minute, but it was enough to devastate the area.
The inside of the red-hot underpass had turned into a furnace, emitting residual heat of hundreds of degrees.
The completely destroyed ceiling had iron rails hanging down like taffy, dripping hot molten metal.
The asphalt on the road had melted into a sticky mess, emitting a pungent smell of petroleum.
And Sharon was lying on the equally hot pavement.
Her face and robe were covered in scorch marks, and she was gasping for breath.

A fight between a 17th-rank and a 20th-rank witch.
Della had toned down her power to match Sharon’s level, but even with that, the aftermath had burned down the underpass and all the buildings within the otherworld barrier.

“Haa… huff… ugh…”

The pipe she had offered as a sacrifice to use the fire element broke weakly.
Sharon met Della’s gaze, who was looking down at her with arrogant eyes.

“Still haven’t figured out your place?”

The air inside the underpass was so hot that a normal human’s lungs would be cooked instantly.
But Della opened her mouth naturally and began to calm the surrounding heat.
The temperature inside the underpass quickly dropped to around 60 degrees.

In fact, Sharon knew this would happen.
Redcliffe was the witch who had achieved the highest level in fire elemental magic among the witches that existed.
There was no way she, a mediocre half-wit, could compete with her.

“Still, you’ve gotten much better than last time.”

Della said, glancing at the slightly scorched hem of her red dress.
It seemed that she hadn’t been playing around for the past 10 years, as she had put up quite a struggle.
Thanks to that, about 70% of the magic power she had accumulated in her mark had been consumed.
Of course, more than half of that magic power was wasted in controlling her strength.

“Hh… uh… uh…”

Sharon seemed to be trying her best to get up, but she didn’t even have the strength to move her lips, and could only open her eyes with difficulty.
Della’s shoe pressed down on Sharon’s chest as she barely tried to get up.

“Oh my, don’t try to get up like that. What if you get hurt more?”

Della licked her lips slightly, enjoying the sensation of the soft breasts under her shoe.
How could she make such a lovely expression?
Her fiery anger was soaked in cold powerlessness.
Her pure white pride was stained with humiliation and disgrace.
The thought of how much she had suffered to see this face made her feel like she could have an orgasm standing there.

“Hmm, hmm… you really have a pretty body.”

Della removed her foot after stepping on her chest a few times without putting her full weight on it.
She thought that if she continued, Sharon would lose consciousness.

“Since I won again this time, I should take the spoils of victory. Don’t hunt in this area anymore. I’ll take over your territory.”
“Nonsense… shut… up…”

The anger and jealousy that had been reignited in Sharon’s hollow eyes.
But it wasn’t enough to become the driving force to lift her exhausted body.
Della squatted down on the spot and brought her face close to Sharon’s.

“If that happens, you won’t have anywhere to earn money, will you? If you don’t pay your dues properly, you’ll never get your citizenship back, right?”
“……….”

She reached out and gently, very gently, stroked Sharon’s cheek.
Her slightly rough skin tickled the back of her hand.

“So, I’ll give you a job. Since you don’t have anywhere to stay anyway, you can stay in the hotel room where I’m staying. I’ll give you money every time you do something cute. Look at this.”

Della held her finger right in front of Sharon’s mouth.
At the same time, she took out two of the thick stack of bills from her wallet.
They were marked with numbers and the words “Ten Million Won.”

“If you suck on it like a baby sucking on a nipple, I’ll give you this. It’s a kind of contract. A contract that you’ll listen to me and work hard to earn money from now on.”

Sharon had no home now.
Her hunting ground was as good as gone.
The easiest option among the choices to repay her massive debt of 58 billion was to give up her pride and accept Della’s offer.

“……..”

Sharon’s mouth slowly opened.
Della put her finger in her mouth so that she could suck on it easily.

“That’s right, you’re doing well.”

Della smiled with satisfaction.
No matter how strong her pride and dignity were, she was ultimately a slave to debt.
Now that she had isolated and brought her down to this point, she planned to start with the easy things and gradually consume her.
Her ultimate goal was to buy Sharon’s debt from Count Jemena and play with her like a doll, making her dependent on her.
This was the first step towards that grand pleasure.

-Crunch!

However, it didn’t take long for Della’s satisfied eyes to narrow.
Sharon had bitten the tip of Della’s finger with all her might.
It seemed like she was trying to cut off her finger with her spirit, but the pain she felt was at the level of a puppy teething.

But the pain wasn’t the problem.
The fact that Sharon was still resisting and not giving up.
Sharon’s bright blue eyes glared at Della.
Della didn’t like that.

“……..”

An inexplicable sense of humiliation stabbed her chest, and she felt the limiter in her head click off.
How dare that half-wit witch, after all the consideration she had given her, still try to defy her.

She would take her to the hotel as she was.
If she had almost exhausted all her magic power to activate her self-defense, she wouldn’t be able to lift a finger no matter what Della did.
She would take her body by force and watch her pant.
She would think about the rest later.
That’s what she decided.

“I’ll treat you. Let’s go to my room first.”
“L-let… go…”

Sharon tried her best to shake off Della, who was grabbing her by the collar and trying to lift her up.
But Della didn’t budge and lifted Sharon with a cold gaze.

“Don’t keep resisting. It’s annoying.”
“Ugh!”

Should she just knock her out for now since she was being annoying?
Della pushed a wave of magic power into Sharon’s stomach, turning it into a mess.
Sharon, unable to resist the magic power that was digging into her body, slumped down.

-Whirr!

Then, she felt something wrap around her wrist.

“Huh?”

Della shifted her gaze at the sudden sensation.
A black ribbon was wrapped around her wrist, which was exposed outside her crimson dress.