Chapter 370 – #80_Hero
#368
1.
Bianca Berilli leaned back leisurely on the sofa, gracefully swirling her wine glass.
The crystal ball before her tracked Jack’s battered form as he was being dragged away by the witch.
“Oh, is that all?”
Bianca was undeniably powerful.
Whether it was through her magnetic magic, her influence, or the countless enchanted items she possessed and created.
No ordinary witch could rival her.
In fact, Bianca had personally buried dozens of witches, seizing their enchanted items and artifacts.
But what made Bianca an even more formidable foe was her meticulousness, even when facing the weakest, most powerless witch.
Bianca would never gamble with her own life.
Taking risks was for others.
Even if her opponent wasn’t a great witch, even if it was just a male witch, she wouldn’t let her guard down.
She would thoroughly analyze her opponent and prepare for the hunt, accounting for even the slightest chance of an unexpected variable.
That was why she had given a homunculus-sealed orb to a slave named Jack.
It was an orb containing a possession-type homunculus that would enter a human body and take over their consciousness.
It wasn’t as troublesome as a named homunculus, but she had thought it was still quite useful.
Yet, Shin Siwoo had easily defeated it.
It seemed he had learned martial arts from Duke Tiferet, and it was paying off.
“He’s stronger than I thought.”
“Ugh… ugh… ugh….”
Ea, who had been staring at the crystal ball with eyes burning with hatred, stood before Bianca.
Her reason clouded, her intellect degraded, Ea had become a well-behaved pet, drooling but never taking her eyes off the man in the crystal ball.
Even in this state, she couldn’t hide her hatred.
How much must she hate him to be like this?
“Ugh, how disgusting. Come here.”
“Eugh… ugh…. Mas, Master….”
Bianca took a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped the drool from Ea’s chin.
Ea instinctively clung to Bianca, burying herself in her arms.
It was a sad affair.
Ea Sadalmelik had completely broken down recently.
Her red eyes, once gleaming with fierce venom, had turned dull like an autistic child’s, and now she was nothing more than a vending machine, conveniently dispensing sexual desire at the push of a button.
Perhaps removing her self-defense mechanisms and flooding her with drugs had been a mistake?
Bianca, who had found even her sharp, biting side endearing, couldn’t hide her bitter feelings.
She had thought there was still so much to enjoy.
But for now, she liked Ea in this state too.
“If I get tired of her later….”
That was a problem for another time.
In any case, the power analysis was complete.
For a male witch, he had quite the abilities.
She wanted to collect him even more.
If she could just separate him from Duke Tiferet, who was always by his side, it would be a smooth process.
It would probably be a fun event.
“Ea, come here. Shall we go to bed together?”
“Yes, yes, Master….”
Bianca took out a syringe, grabbed Ea’s wrist, and headed for the bed.
2.
The series of events that had occurred today.
The incident, dubbed ‘Jack the Knife’s Uprising’ in the daily edition of the Border Town’s makeshift newspaper, Kanar, was simply concluded.
The outline of the incident was as follows:
Jack the Knife was possessed by a homunculus and killed a fellow Decemvir, and in the process, a novice witch of the Yesod family was attacked but was defeated by the Count of Yesod.
As you can see, there were some discrepancies from the truth.
First, the reason for attacking Diana, which was for rape, was omitted, and it was stated that the Count, not Siwoo, had suppressed the incident.
The reason was simple.
‘We have to keep it a secret from Mom….’
‘Huh? Are you sure that’s okay?’
‘What if my mom becomes a public enemy….’
‘Ah….’
It was because Diana had stopped Siwoo.
If the incredibly doting Count of Yesod found out the whole truth, he would undoubtedly turn Border Town upside down, regardless of the circumstances.
In fact, as soon as Siwoo handed over the half-dead Jack to the Count, he threw him into the dungeon with a terrifying look on his face.
He said he was going to subcontract other witches to find out who was behind it.
The Count, who was crumpling his fan and grinding his teeth, saying, ‘Those managers…,’ was so chilling that no one dared to speak to him.
Also, Siwoo decided that the sensational term ‘attempted rape’ attached to the novice witch of the Yesod family would not be good for Diana, who would be left with bad memories.
For that reason, the two, after agreeing on a story, decided to pretend that the ‘kidnapping and attempted rape’ had never happened.
The second matter was something Siwoo had directly asked the Count.
‘Please keep it a secret that I was the one who did it.’
Just being a male witch was enough to draw attention, and he didn’t want to add to the chaos.
It was enough to realize that his training hadn’t been in vain and to gain the confidence that he could crush a homunculus with 17 eyes.
He had also gotten a strangely shaped hairband, so he should be satisfied with that.
In any case, it was clear that a big incident had almost happened.
The Count of Yesod canceled all his schedules and went into Diana’s bedroom, busy comforting his beloved daughter.
The tears the Count shed at that time could have filled half of his personal bath.
“Haa….”
In fact, Siwoo couldn’t be completely at ease either.
It was clearly an accident.
Even if Border Town was known for its poor security, that was only for ordinary people; once you became a witch, you wouldn’t be harmed anywhere.
This wasn’t the current world where homunculi and public enemies roamed.
But in any case, it was Siwoo who had taken Diana to Border Town, which led to her being attacked by a homunculus.
Siwoo sighed, worried that the Count’s anger might reach him.
3.
“My daughter…. Are you really okay on your own?”
“It’s okay, Mom, I’m really okay now. Look! I’m not hurt anywhere.”
“Heeheehee… sob… I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you….”
“It’s really okay…. It’s not your fault, Mom.”
As soon as she heard about Diana, the Count of Yesod’s anger soared.
Her roar of magic was so loud, like a mother dragon roaring after losing her baby dragon, that the roof of the building where she was working was blown away.
Count Lucy had been about to reprimand the managers of Border Town and eliminate the very existence of Border Town, which was the cause of the problem, but now she was hugging Diana and crying.
“Let’s sleep together tonight.”
“…Yes. But I want to take a nap. I’m going to rest.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone? Should I stay with you?”
“No, nothing really dangerous happened. I’m okay.”
“Okay, my daughter…. You’re so brave! You’re amazing!”
Diana managed to stop the Count’s tears and sent her mother away with the excuse that she wanted to be alone.
Diana sighed in relief after confirming that her mother had left.
Her mother’s suffocating embrace was heartwarming, but it was physically exhausting.
“…….”
Today, Diana had narrowly escaped death.
As a witch, she had almost died, and she had actually been stabbed in the neck by a sharp dagger and almost killed by a homunculus.
She remembered the scene of the foul-smelling men’s hands pressing her body down on the cold, rough floor, the grinning yellow teeth, and the stench of lust pouring over her.
She also remembered the homunculus she had only heard about, the one with 17 eyes, trying to take her life.
Diana was timid.
When she was younger, she couldn’t even sleep alone, and she still sometimes had trouble sleeping on days with thunder and lightning.
She was aware of that herself.
Given her nature, she should have been much more scared than this.
She should have been much more shocked and horrified.
She should have been trembling with fear, her chest still tight with terror, and she should have been crying and seeking her mother’s embrace.
But.
“…….”
Diana felt that she was strangely calm.
And she was also keenly aware that it was thanks to the back of a man who had appeared in the moment of crisis.
Shin Siwoo.
Just before Diana crossed the point of no return.
A hero who appeared like a prince and defeated the vicious bandits.
It was a series of unexpected developments.
The location of the mark was not the womb but the left eye.
A novice witch with no inherited mark (but now skilled with the location board).
That was Diana’s impression of Shin Siwoo so far.
He should have been shot and thrown down next to Diana.
“…….”
Diana recalled the scene at that time.
The situation was so urgent, and Diana was half-panicked, so she couldn’t remember exactly, but….
The first line he had said when he came in….
‘How dare you?’
‘If you lay a finger on this young lady. You will lose your life to my magic, you vermin.’
Was it something like that?
Well, it was roughly similar.
After that, there were some sounds of bones breaking and a few brutal scenes of blood splattering.
When she was taken hostage by the most vicious of the group.
Siwoo had said.
‘Miss Diana, please trust me. I would give my life to save you.’
It was something like that.
Siwoo’s performance in using magic to save Diana from the vicious criminal didn’t stop there.
After that, the criminal became a homunculus by some means.
Diana was completely terrified at that point.
She might be able to deal with ordinary thugs with magic, but a homunculus was a different story.
Then, a cool black armor suddenly appeared on his body.
It wasn’t the crude, old-fashioned armor that you often see in books or illustrations.
It was a sleek and beautiful armor that naturally clung to the body, allowing the joints to move smoothly.
He covered Diana with his broad back, blocking the man who was trying to threaten her with dirty words, and uttered some gem-like lines.
‘No, I’m not curious at all. The only thing that matters to me is how long your head will stay on your shoulders.’
‘Is that all you’ve got? Then it’s my turn.’
He handled the homunculus with dazzling movements.
In fact, all Diana could see was Siwoo moving at a speed that didn’t even leave afterimages and the homunculus flying away, but it was clear that it was an overwhelming situation.
Can you believe it?
A man who was thought to be just a novice witch was swinging a huge spear and beating up a homunculus, a terrifying one with seventeen eyes.
“Hoo….”
Her face flushed when she remembered being held in his sturdy arms and crying after everything was over.
It was embarrassing, but she also remembered that all her fears and worries had melted away at that moment.
As she thought that all the ups and downs of the day had been completely resolved, her eyelids began to close.
It had been a very difficult day, both mentally and physically.
“…….”
It was a terrible and frightening memory.
She had never been exposed to such intense malice before, and she had never been in such a dangerous situation.
She also learned for the first time how horribly ‘sexual desire,’ which was unfamiliar and frightening, could break through the human shell.
But she wasn’t afraid.
Because behind Diana’s closed eyelids, she could see a large back that dispelled the deep darkness.
Even if she had a nightmare, he would appear and save her.
Soon, only the soft breathing of Diana could be heard from her bed.
Kamen Rider Black! Henshin!