City ​​of Witches 701

## Chapter 701 – #141_The Silent Witch

#701

1.
Siwoo had a lot of combat experience.
Apart from the boiling rage, Siwoo’s actions were concise and swift, not swayed by emotions.

In an instant, his physical abilities were raised to a combat-ready state.
In his slow-motion combat vision, a series of movements appeared as if in slow motion.

-Thud!

First, he leaned his upper body as if covering the table, stepping on the ground while still seated.
The key point, considered the alpha and omega of any martial art, was to load weight into the movement.

And Siwoo, who had mastered the extreme of explosive force, could unleash a full-power blow even while seated.

To ensure a swift strike, his equipment was minimized.
He manifested only the gauntlet of his black armor and swung it.

The moment his eyes met Rosie’s, who was chattering excitedly and then looked slightly surprised, his fist collided with Rosie’s face as if digging into soft mud.

At that moment, Rosie’s instincts, sensing hostility, activated her autonomous defense.
A thin layer of green magic spread beside her cheek.
A green shield, reminiscent of snake scales, tried to block the attack.

However, a blow enhanced by magic from a spirit that transcended the human body could not be stopped by autonomous defense alone.
The black gauntlet shattered the snake scales and continued forward.

-Crack!

Her cheekbone was crushed, and the blood vessels in her eyes burst simultaneously.
Rosie’s head rotated at an angle that was normally impossible, with the sound of bones breaking.

While the sound of her cervical vertebrae breaking was buried in the impact, Rosie’s body, shocked, rotated half a beat later, following her head, and rose up.

-Thud!

The moment Rosie, who had been sent flying far away, breaking the sofa, bounced off the ground like a skipping stone and was buried in a pile of dolls in a corner of the playroom,

The time that had been stretched out returned to normal.
At that point, Siwoo’s entire body was enveloped in black armor.

“Hoo.”

Siwoo lightly composed his breathing and drew his spear.

No matter how powerful a witch was, if her neck was turned 270 degrees and her vital nerves were damaged, she could not survive.
Nevertheless, he was preparing for battle for a final confirmation, just in case.

Even though it was a successful surprise attack, the thought of ‘this easily?’ wouldn’t leave his mind.

Because for a witch, a workshop was not only a place of research but also a battlefield that was usually most advantageous to its owner.

This was natural.
A workshop was the last bastion that must be protected and a refuge.
Therefore, it was common for it to be filled with all sorts of magical traps and complex pre-set spells.

This suggested that Rosie could display power beyond the 20th level in this workshop.

As if to meet Siwoo’s expectations, Rosie rose from the pile of dolls.
Siwoo, who was about to launch an additional attack before her recovery was complete, had no choice but to hesitate.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch…”

The reason was that Rosie’s neck was still twisted as she groaned.

According to Alice, the ‘Silent Witch’ was at the 20th level, and her main attribute magic was curses.
She didn’t know the detailed specifics.
It was natural to be wary in the face of such bizarre phenomena.

A pile? Dolls? A trap?
While Siwoo was exploring the possibilities.

-Crack!

“What the hell are you doing? That hurt like hell.”

Rosie’s face, which had been half-rotated, quickly turned to face forward.

Just a moment ago, her eye socket had been sunken, and her eyeball was about to pop out.
Now, although her face was heavily contorted, she was perfectly fine, licking the blood from her nose.

“Are you throwing a tantrum because you lost the game? Do you even know the rules here? Huh?”

Rosie tilted her head and moved her tongue in her mouth, mumbling.

“Ah, damn it… I lost a tooth. Spit!”

White, broken pieces of teeth scattered on the ground with a spray of blood.
Rosie looked at Siwoo with a dissatisfied gaze.

The victim’s expression, as if she had no idea why she had been attacked, added to the disgust.

“……”

Siwoo had no intention of continuing the conversation.

He had talked enough.
The fact that she was a monster with no room for understanding would not change.

No matter how great her regenerative power was, if he cut off her head or broke her seal, she wouldn’t be able to revive.

It would only take one step to close this distance.
Siwoo’s body became a black wedge and crossed the playroom.

-Thud!!!

The spear strike, which had broken the sound barrier, was blocked by the green smoke that erupted from the wall of the playroom.

“Why are you angry? At least let me hear the reason.”

The spear was swung again.
Inevitably, green smoke poured out from the playroom.
Each time a certain amount of impact was applied, it created a solid barrier, blocking all consecutive attacks.

Even amidst the deafening roar, Rosie continued to babble.

“Are you angry because I teased you when I was changing clothes?”

-Thud!

“Or are you really doing this because you lost the game?”

-Thud!

“Ah… Could it be that you’re angry because of what I said about Pina?”

Rosie, who had been repeating her self-questioning, wore a gloomy expression as if she was regretful.

“I thought we could be good friends… You’re good at the position board too, but why are all men perverts controlled by their sexual desires?”

As Rosie clicked her tongue and raised her magic power, a boundary that perfectly matched the size of the playroom unfolded.
In response, fog filled the entire boundary.

The color was reminiscent of a neglected fish tank where ornamental fish had died, with a cloudy green algae.
The contrast of this color scheme with the childish design of the playroom created a grotesque atmosphere.

“Well, anyway, things have turned out this way. It can’t be helped. And you won’t even answer me.”

Rosie’s gloomy face changed as if a mask had been removed, and a grinning smile replaced it.

It was the same smile, but the hue was different.
It was a sticky smile, thickly filled with deep hostility.

“I’m asking just in case, but you’re confident you can take responsibility, right? For some reason, everyone sees me as a pushover.”
“Bloom.”
“Okay, whatever. I don’t mind this kind of game either.”

Although it was a battlefield advantageous to Rosie, it was such a narrow space.
For Siwoo, who was specialized in close combat, it was an extremely advantageous battlefield.

Ignoring Rosie’s smile, he activated the Angel’s Ring.

-Whiiirrr!

The black ring created above his head spun repeatedly, drawing in a vast amount of magic power.
An overwhelming power that far exceeded the output of a great witch dwelled in his entire body.

Unfazed, Rosie began to sing in a cheerful voice.

“Let’s have fun! While dancing! Freeze right there! Guwek!”

Rosie, who was swaying her hips and clapping her hands to the beat, was struck by the spear, which tore through the barrier of smoke and accurately pierced her defenseless neck, sending her flying from one end of the playroom to the other as if hitting a long shot.

Like an exaggerated technique often used in cartoons.
Rosie, who had flown at an unrealistic speed, bounced off the floor and walls like a rubber ball, scattering blood.

Siwoo was certain.
This time, it was a direct hit.
If someone was hit with this much force without any defense, not even Rinne could withstand it.

However.
Contrary to his thoughts, Rosie got up abruptly.
Even though she had been hit by a spear without a blade, Rosie’s tattered neck was restored as if rewinding with tremendous force.

“Hahaha! That really hurt! You’re incredibly strong!”

Rosie’s voice, which had been laughing like a madman’s cackle, stopped.

“But you cheated again. I clearly told you to freeze. And not to dance either.”

Not taking it seriously at all.
Rosie’s atmosphere was as if she had started a new game rather than a fight.

“Rules are important in games. Since you broke them, the penalty is a set of three: weakening, incapacitation, and depletion.”

Siwoo felt an alien energy enveloping his body.
A sensation of interlocking, as if a ring was being tightly fastened.

It was similar to when he had been granted a contract magic by his teacher in the past.
The difference was that this magic was a curse.

In an instant, even though he was not maintaining the Angel’s Ring, the magic power of his spirit was rapidly draining.
His body, which had been full of vitality, became heavy like that of a sick person.

The weight of the armor, which he had not even been aware of wearing, now pressed down on his entire body.

“How is it? Can you still move?”
“……”

Siwoo roughly knew about the characteristics of curses.

He had read about it with some interest when he was organizing the library of Trinity Academy.

Originally, curses were magic unsuitable for combat.
They required complex rituals and sacrifices, and even if the complex conditions were met, the effects were often not immediate.

Then, how could this instant curse be explained?

The most important thing about curses was the ‘rule,’ that is, they only activated when certain preconditions were met.

It was right to see that Rosie had brought curses into the game as a means of play.

Just as a penalty was given to Siwoo for moving when he shouldn’t have, she forced the preconditions that should have been established through a complex process by fitting them into childish and absurd rules.

It wasn’t difficult to recall what was helping Rosie’s ‘game.’
Since it reflected the mental image of establishing a magical symbolic system, it was intuitive.

This playroom must be acting as a cheat map for Rosie.

He collected information one by one.
He hadn’t expected it to be an easy fight from the start.

“Since things have escalated this far… Even if I make you my collection, Rinne won’t be able to say anything. Should I call this a blessing in disguise?”

Rosie spread her arms wide to the left and right.

-Grrr

Along with a low-frequency sound that shook his lungs, the forms of beasts appeared on either side of her.
They were a pack of green dogs, their ribs showing as if they were emaciated.

“Then, shall we play tag this time?”

Their numbers were in the dozens, and just by scattering in all directions, they were enough to cover the playroom in darkness.

“It’s feeding time, guys. You were hungry, right?”

The identity of the pack of dogs, drooling from their muzzles and eyeing their prey, was a type of Gu technique called Gyeonggo (Dog Gu).

They buried dogs in the ground, leaving only their heads exposed, making them unable to move.
Then, they placed food right in front of them, making them writhe in hunger and the desire to eat until they died.

Later, the dogs, resurrected by Rosie, became evil spirits that rushed at people to satisfy their hunger.

But the scary thing about this Gyeonggo was not their sharp teeth and claws.
The brains of the rabid dogs, whose eyelids were sewn shut with wire to prevent the corrupt spells from escaping, were filled with various curse packages.

Judging from his combat style so far, and the fact that Tiferet and Rinne had taken him as a disciple, Siwoo was a witch specialized in close combat.

To face the Gyeonggo at close range, he would inevitably be exposed to curses that were no different from poison.

Unlike ordinary humans, the spirit of a witch, full of magic power, had a basic immunity to curses, but things would change if they were layered ten or twenty times.

Just the curse of weakening alone could stop his heart.

His defeat had been decided the moment he had fought in Rosie’s playroom without thinking.
Rosie, with a confident smile, declared.

“If you become my puppet, I’ll make you violate Pina in front of Mama next time. You disgusting hypocrite.”

However.
Siwoo had predicted all of Rosie’s intentions.

“There is no next time.”

He took off the armor that was no longer needed.
The Red Branch, which usually consumed over 30% of his magic power and calculation power, was no longer something he needed to worry about.

Therefore, he invested all of his available magic power into magic for magical combat.

-Whiiirrrrr!!!!

Ribbons fluttered and rose, and brilliant golden magic formulas were engraved on them.
The air trembled as if it would shatter from the magic power of a great witch that twisted the natural order and defied the laws of the world.

Suddenly changing his combat style in the middle of a battle was as dangerous as a right-handed swordsman wielding a sword with his left hand.
It required many trials and errors and risks.

But Siwoo already had an excellent reference and model.

The Black Knight who had overwhelmed Bianca by using his own magic without relying on physical abilities.
The Shin Siwoo in his subconscious.

“You will die here today.”