City ​​of Witches 266

Chapter 266 – #60_Drainage Tunnel(2)

#264

1.
During the walk of about 1km, Eloa never yielded the vanguard to Siwoo.
Unlike the initial thirty-two that rushed in all at once, only eight to ten at a time attacked, with much more passive numbers, yet she still didn’t.

“Stay back.”

Outwardly, she had said she would allow Siwoo to join the fight, but in truth, she was anxious.
She feared that Siwoo, still inexperienced, might suffer an irreversible injury from a momentary mistake or carelessness.
If Siwoo didn’t have to participate in the battle, she intended to postpone it until the very end.

“Haaap!”

Already the tenth clash.
Eloa, having cleanly cut down nine White Knights, once again caught her breath.

There was no need to use magic extravagantly as she had in the first fight.
Just as the Cowardly Witch had gauged Eloa’s power, she too had grasped the level of the White Knights.
Even if they were Red Knights, the White Knights, being merely their inferior counterparts, were no match for Eloa in terms of either strength or skill.
All that remained was to subdue them with minimal force, being mindful of efficiency.

“Something’s strange.”
“What is it?”

Siwoo responded to Eloa’s mutter.

“The worst-case scenario I had envisioned was either a simultaneous attack by Red Knights accompanied by White Knights, or the depletion of magic due to the continuous influx of numbers. Even someone not particularly skilled in strategy would know that this kind of attrition is not good…”

Looking at the situation itself, it was going very smoothly.
She had already killed a total of 150 White Knights with almost no effort.
She had eliminated more than 10% of the enemy’s forces without any cost.
At this point, the fact that it was too easy became a source of unease, scratching at her spine.

“Could they have gone outside? To remove the barrier?”
“That’s unlikely. The core of Sochitl’s plan is this drainage tunnel. It’s a crucial point that must be defended by any means.”

To divert forces outside when the highest power of the location point was pressing a knife to their throat?
It was nothing short of a gamble with almost no chance of success.
Eloa muttered to herself, tapping the hilt of her contract sword with her finger.

“By now, the Cowardly Witch must have realized it too. That a mere number of White Knights like this cannot stop our advance.”

There would be more than enough data accumulated between them to call it an exploratory battle.
At the very least, she would have known that she couldn’t stop Eloa unless she allocated her forces more aggressively and sent out Red Knights or powerful homunculi.
Were the two witches who had entered through other vertical shafts doing a good job of carrying out a diversionary tactic?

“Why are they throwing away troops in such ambiguous numbers… This is only enough to slow us down…”
“Isn’t slowing us down the goal itself?”

Siwoo, who had been standing behind her like a screen, wiped the sweat from Eloa’s brow and said.

“Tell me your thoughts.”
“No one knows what role the altar plays. There’s a possibility that they’re just buying time because they have a way to completely seize the initiative the moment the ‘altar’ is completed.”
“That makes sense.”

As soon as Eloa finished speaking, the eerie wailing that had been intermittently ringing out from before filled the tunnel.

-Ooo—ooooo—ooo—

As the distance closed, it was definitely louder.
The unpleasant reverberation that dug into their nerves, even more so than the sound of nails on a chalkboard, made both Eloa and Siwoo wince.

“That’s so annoying.”
“Indeed.”

Della had been listening to that sound up close for months and had managed to stay sane?
Siwoo couldn’t help but admire her mental fortitude.
If it had been him, he would have gone mad by the third day.

“I’ll hurry. And as I’ve said repeatedly, be ready to retreat at any time. I can buy time.”
“Yes, I understand.”

-Ooo—!

There were no more White Knights blocking their way.
Siwoo and Eloa, who were running through the passage, feeling a sense of unease, stopped simultaneously.
The long, drawn-out scream that had been going on seemed to have been cut off in the middle, like a cassette tape that had snapped.

It was an unpleasant noise that they had wondered when it would end.
But now that such an unnatural silence had fallen, they felt like they would rather have kept hearing it.
Either way, it meant that the situation had changed.

The place where Siwoo and Eloa stopped was a crossroads where five tunnels converged.
Following the second tunnel from the right was where the altar was supposed to be.

“Prepare yourselves.”

Eloa picked up her contract sword again.
She was expecting a full-scale attack to begin soon.

If they wanted to push with large numbers, it would be more suitable to do so in a wide open space to take advantage of their numerical superiority.
This place, where the five tunnels converged into one, would be the perfect spot.
Whatever had happened, dealing with the immediate danger was the priority.

“This time, you’ll have to use your strength too.”
“I understand, Master.”
“Please be careful.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t hold you back.”

-Clank!

Unlike before, the sound of metal echoed from all directions, and White Knights began to crawl out of the tunnels.
Endlessly, endlessly they came.
At first glance, there were hundreds, a number that was by no means small.

“Good.”

If they were unleashing this much force at once, it could be said that the Cowardly Witch had made her move.
But Eloa’s expression was calm.
It was seemingly the greatest danger since entering the rainwater tunnel, but in reality, it was the opposite.

The White Knights were much more manageable than Eloa had expected.
Eloa’s magnetic magic and fighting style were like a sports car with high output but not very good fuel efficiency.
If the White Knights had been deployed in increments of 50 to 100, it would have been troublesome.
Magic would have been continuously wasted in the process of braking and re-accelerating.

In that sense, the fact that the White Knights, without any Red Knights, had gathered in such numbers was very beneficial in terms of conserving magic.

However, even for Eloa, it would be difficult to face them all with only six contracts.

“I contract.”

Therefore, she made two additional contracts.

Contract Seven: Pay one-quarter of total magic to convert it into pure power.

She supplemented her insufficient power with the seventh contract.
The White Knights gathered here were at least more than half of the total force.
She thought it was best to control her power and set restrictions, thinking that it was the best-case scenario to clear them out while only consuming one-quarter of her magic.

Contract Eight: Obtain ‘Transcendent Knowledge’ to sense all space within a 30-meter radius.

With the eighth contract, she eliminated blind spots in a situation where she was surrounded by many.
In particular, the eighth contract was intended to cover the blind spots that inevitably occur in a one-versus-many battle situation, as well as to immediately help Siwoo if he was in danger behind her.

The White Knights rushed in all at once, making the wide passage feel cramped.
Eloa, wielding her contract sword, faced them without a single step back.

-Clang! Clang! Clang!

Eloa, with long trails of pink magic reflection, danced as she unleashed sword energy in all directions, like a wolf leaping into a flock of sheep.

She swung her sword to cut.
She swung her leg to split torsos.
When they got too close, she even resorted to physical attacks using her shoulders or elbows as she advanced.
Even the White Knights, who could tear apart an ordinary witch, were broken like straw in the face of Eloa’s fierce onslaught.

Coincidentally, the compatibility between the White Knights and Eloa was very good.
The red branch’s reverse field, which interfered with and defended against various magical effects, did not have a significant impact on Eloa.

This was because her contracts were imbued into her bones and muscles, not her exterior.
Since it was not something that was emitted externally, and it had a definite physical substance, it was not greatly affected by the distortion field.
Of course, it took a little more force to cut through, as the reverse field’s defense was solid.

Eloa glanced at Siwoo’s condition while simultaneously cutting down four White Knights.
Even for her, it was impossible to face this many at once and not miss a single enemy.
About seven or eight White Knights had evaded Eloa’s attacks and were rushing towards Siwoo.

At first, Eloa was worried and anxious, but soon her worries turned out to be unfounded.

“Hap!”

Siwoo swung his sword as if spinning in place.
Due to the difference in innate magic and skill, he did not possess the explosive destructive power that Eloa had.
Nevertheless, he was calmly facing the White Knights that were rushing at him.

A realization once gained does not disappear with time.
Siwoo’s sword was still beautiful, and the coordination with the ribbon that fluttered and sharply cut through space had become much more natural.

It was refined swordsmanship.
It was polished swordsmanship.
It was also beautiful swordsmanship.

It was clear that he was calmly reducing their numbers one by one, even though far more enemies were rushing at him at once than when he had faced five White Knights before.

-Clang! Clang! Clang!

Siwoo’s movements vaguely followed Eloa’s slashes.
A more accurate and more powerful strike cut through the waist of one White Knight in an instant, as if wrapping around it.
The result of his training, the contract of the King of All Diseases inherent in the brand, was gradually blossoming as it met real combat experience.

He was getting stronger and stronger.
It was no longer as difficult to face the White Knights as it had been before.

The blood that flowed fiercely through the blood vessels of his entire body, the sense of unity as if every single tiny muscle was moving according to his will, the hand that felt as if it had become one with the sword, all felt very vivid.
Siwoo suppressed the urge to smile and split the White Knight who had been thrusting a spear at his heart from the crown of his head to his crotch.

“Hoo… hoo…”

The battle was one-sided.
Siwoo caught his ragged breath.
Eloa also wiped the sweat from her forehead and retied her disheveled hair.

A total of 598 White Knights were shattered by Eloa’s hands, and the 22 that had slipped through were finished off by Siwoo.
Of course, Siwoo’s assistance was very minimal compared to the overall numbers, but it was clear that he had become incomparably stronger than before.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. How about you, Master?”
“Don’t worry, these small fry are nothing to me.”

Eloa’s expression was much more relaxed, and Siwoo was smiling slightly with pride and joy.
Perhaps they had been too afraid.
Maybe the Cowardly Witch was flustered by the unexpected surprise attack?
Even though the real enemy had not yet revealed themselves, such optimistic thoughts even crossed their minds.

Then.

-Clang!

A roar echoed.
Not long after they looked around among the debris of the broken White Knights…

-Clang!

Again, a noise like striking an iron plate was heard from far away.
This time, it was accompanied by a tremor as if an earthquake had occurred.
Not knowing what was going on, Eloa cautiously gripped her contract sword, and Siwoo looked towards the tunnel where the sound was coming from.

-Clank clank clank

Soon, heavy footsteps, as if soaked in blood, followed.
What appeared in front of the crossroads illuminated by the decorative lights was a knight, slightly larger than the White Knights, clad in blood-red armor.

“That’s a Red Knight…”

The atmosphere was different.
There was only the difference that it was slightly larger and a different color, but from the moment it appeared, Siwoo’s instincts were sounding an alarm.
‘That guy is not someone I can handle.’

His height had increased by about 0.5m since before he was captured by the Cowardly Witch, now reaching 2.5m.
In his right hand, he held a red spear, a red branch, that was easily 2m long.
Thanks to absorbing all sorts of sacrifices and completing the awakening ritual on the altar, both the Red Knight and the red branch had a much deeper crimson hue.

“……!”
“……!”

Siwoo, who was examining the Red Knight with a tense gaze, and Eloa, who was preparing to cross swords, simultaneously gasped.
The two were able to tell where the two consecutive roars had come from.

The Red Knight was holding two witches by their hair, dangling them.

Evelyn, the witch of agriculture with healthy brown skin, who had flirted with Siwoo.
Her upper body, with her lower body cleanly gone, had half-cut intestines flowing out in a squiggly mess.
It seemed that she had been dragged along the cement floor on the way here, as the bright red flesh was covered in dust.

Patricia, the witch of glass with white hair and pretty gray eyes.
She was probably stiff with an expression filled with fear and shock.
The reason for the qualifier ‘probably’ was that only half of her head remained.

Of course, both were dead.

-Gulp, gurgle, gulp, gulp

While both Siwoo and Eloa were speechless.
A sound like scraping metal flowed out from between the Red Knight’s helmet.

Humans and homunculi were different races and had completely different physical structures.
Naturally, they could not use the same language.

However, even if words were not spoken,
even if not a single sentence was exchanged,
they could tell what emotion was contained in that unpleasant tone.

It was a laugh filled with joy.
He had become incomparably stronger than the opponents who had pushed him back several times, and was facing them again.

That long-standing resentment.
Obsession.
Rage.
He had found the perfect opportunity to resolve it.

That was why the Red Knight was just laughing, and after laughing, he opened his eyes.
The ‘twenty pairs’ of eyes that densely covered his helmet were curved, emitting a red light as if a human were smiling.