City ​​of Witches 708

Chapter 708 – #142_The Golden Witch (4)

#708

1.
Using a portal, she rushed to Ars Magna Town in one go.
Eloa’s steps were incredibly rough as she hurried towards the Errelim Duke’s residence within the Truth and True Name Academic Hall.

It wasn’t just her steps that were rough, it seemed.

The academic hall was so vast that it was sparsely populated.
Every witch she encountered gasped at the sight of Eloa.

Eloa herself couldn’t gauge how fierce her expression was as she ran.

-Knock knock knock!

Eloa, who had ascended the stairs with rough movements, resisted the urge to kick the door open and instead knocked.

Even as she tried to suppress it, her anger flared like wildfire.
On her way to Siwoo.
The impulse to cut down any obstacle that held her back was raging like a hungry beast.

“What is the matter?”

The door opened.

Blanche Errelim, whose height was more than half a head taller than Eloa’s, with her fine black hair and silver and white eyes that contrasted sharply, was calm despite Eloa’s sudden visit, wearing a loose nightgown.

It was as if she had expected her to come.

“I apologize for the late hour. But there is something I must discuss.”

The eyes of the two people met in the air.
Eloa’s eyes, filled with explosive passion, and Blanche’s eyes, which were utterly indifferent.

“Please, come in.”

Blanche opened the door without a word and welcomed Eloa.
Then, she spoke towards the bedroom.

“Count Kohab.”
“Yes.”

There was a rustling sound from beyond the wall, and then Yvonne Kohab’s voice was heard.
It was well known that the Errelim Duke and Count Kohab were lovers, so it was not strange that they were together in the bedroom late at night.

“Please prepare some black tea.”
“I don’t need it. This is a matter of urgency.”
“The conversation will be lengthy.”
“It won’t be lengthy. What on earth are you thinking, interfering with me?”

Magic is greatly influenced by emotions.
Around Eloa, traces of magic were already rising like a heat haze, enough to make most witches unable to even lift their heads.

“This way.”

However, the Errelim Duke was not at all intimidated and offered Eloa a seat.

“If this is a waste of time, you will not escape my wrath.”

Eloa suppressed her anger for now and sat down.
The Errelim Duke was also known as the Great Sage of Gehenna.
She was not someone who would take such measures without thinking.

“Let’s cut to the chase. Allow my departure.”
“I cannot.”

-Bang!

Eloa’s fist slammed down on the table like a blade.

The solid wooden table collapsed like a cookie, and the scattered pieces of wood floated without dispersing, thanks to the Errelim Duke’s telekinesis.

“I won’t charge you separately.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“I said I cannot. You came here to ask me why, didn’t you? Or am I wrong?”

The Errelim Duke released a light burst of magic, and the wooden table was restored to its pre-broken state.
However, the atmosphere, which had become as sharp as broken glass, could not be restored to its original state.

Eloa glared at Blanche, not even glancing at Kohab, who was bringing the black tea.

“Tiferet, the world has changed. It is still changing.”
“I don’t have time for riddles…”
“I know why you are trying to go to the mortal realm.”

Blanche paused for a moment before continuing.

“It must be because of the male witch, isn’t it? He is your disciple and lover.”
“That is so.”

Kohab, who was standing behind the Errelim Duke, was surprised, but Eloa remained calm.

It was not surprising.
The Errelim Duke was the head of the Truth and True Name Academic Society and had more followers than anyone else.
She had many ears and eyes, so it was expected that she would have that much information.

“First, I offer my sincere condolences for the current situation. But it is precisely for that reason that I must dissuade you even more.”
“Don’t beat around the bush.”
“The growth of Hexennacht is explosive. They have already reached the power of the Clifoth at their peak and are becoming a great threat to Gehenna.”
“I know that.”

However, there was also a part that Eloa had overlooked.

“Tiferet, your influence is not insignificant in Hexennacht’s growth to this size.”

Eloa’s brow furrowed.
Since losing Lapi, Eloa hated the public enemy more than anyone else.
She swore to the heavens that she had never done anything to help them.

“You are strong. And you are hostile to both the public enemy and the evil-aligned exiles.”

Only then did Eloa realize what Errelim was trying to say.
At the same time, she scoffed.

“Are you saying that my large-scale purges triggered their unity?”
“That’s right. An external enemy leads to internal unity. The more fiercely you act, the faster and more firmly the enemy will solidify. Even more than now.”

Certainly, if one only considered the cause and effect, the Errelim Duke’s words were not wrong.

“It’s laughable. If you’re going to start there, I’d point out that your public acknowledgment of Keter’s will was a rash mistake.”
“It was just a matter of timing. They would have finished interpreting the prophecy eventually.”
“But there could have been sufficient preparation.”

If the Errelim Duke had not announced the interpretation of the prophecy during Amelia’s trial, the launch of Hexennacht would have been delayed.

Also, there would have been no simultaneous attacks on location points around the world,
and Eloa would not have needed to take such strong measures to calm them down.

But Eloa held back many words.
This was not a place to argue about right and wrong.

“Yes, even if it was a mistake, I did the right thing. Is it wrong to build a group that abandons human morality for the sake of magic?”
“……”
“Are you saying that I should have left the location points in danger and watched the wicked enemies run rampant in the mortal realm? That if I had, Hexennacht’s unity would be less than it is now? There’s a limit to jokes, Errelim Duke.

You also saw with your own eyes how World War II broke out. What was the result of the Allied powers of World War I appeasing the Nazis, who were preparing for war, because they feared the outbreak of war? Answer me.”

Eloa, who was about to launch into a tirade, felt disgusted by this pointless exchange and covered her eyes.

“I don’t want to waste time with this kind of meaningless conversation. If you don’t allow my departure, I will break through by force.”
“I had no intention of belittling your dedication to the witch society.”
“The apology is unnecessary. You can tell your followers that this was my unilateral action, just let me go.”
“I cannot.”

Count Kohab, who had been watching from behind, stiffened.
This was because magic, containing blatant hostility, was swirling out of her small pink frame like a whirlwind.

“Please understand, Tiferet.”

Eloa, as if she didn’t want to hear any more, jumped up from her seat.
If she stayed in this place any longer, she was not confident that she wouldn’t draw her sword.

“If you go to Hexennacht, a war will break out.”
“……”

The Errelim Duke’s confident tone succeeded in stopping Eloa in her tracks.
No matter how angry she was, she couldn’t ignore those words.

“Hexennacht is currently divided into two factions.
The hardliners, centered around the former Clifoth, and the moderates, centered around the newly emerging Solidus Trading Company. Currently, the two are in sharp conflict, but the moment you step into Hexennacht, the balance will be broken.”
“I’m just trying to save my disciple.”

“Whether you succeed or fail, the result will be the same. The former will create a justification because a duke-level figure launched a preemptive attack, and the latter will embolden the hardliners with the exhilaration of having purged Tiferet, who has been the fear of the public enemy for a long time.”

Eloa was not aware of the detailed internal situation.

“To be honest, I am in contact with the Golden Witch, the head of the Solidus Trading Company, and am coordinating a mutual non-aggression pact.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think they want true peace?
They are evil. They are pure evil that must be excluded without room for compromise. If your goal is to make a peace treaty with those wicked bastards, then I have more reason to go to Hexennacht.”

A non-aggression pact with the public enemy.
For Eloa, whose resentment was deeply rooted, this was an outrageous statement that she could never overlook.

“You mentioned World War II. You also know why France feared war. In World War I, 1.3 million soldiers and 400,000 civilians died in France. A quarter of men in their twenties died in the war.

Humans, even if they die so much, quickly finish breeding, but witches are not like that.
Even if Gehenna goes to war with Hexennacht, it will win. But is there a need to wage a war where the spoils are only wounds?
Without Keter, the damage would be uncontrollable. Twice the number of innocent witches who died in the last war would have to die just because they were part of Gehenna.”
“……”
“I don’t mean to simply condone their recklessness. I will limit attacks on fellow witches or apprentice witches.”
“……”
“Compared to 7.7 billion humans, witches are just a handful. With a little more adjustment, a smooth compromise will be possible without collapsing the infrastructure.”

Eloa stopped speaking.
She was not persuaded by Errelim’s words, nor was she trying to criticize her remarks.

The witches’ supremacy over witches was not a story of just one or two days.

“The rules created by Keter were too idealistic and human-friendly. The growth of Hexennacht proves her failure. It clearly shows what happens when ‘one person’ is missing from a rule that has been maintained by relying on only one person.”

In fact, she knew that many orthodox witches thought like the Errelim Duke.
Eloa had been like that too, before she lost Lapi.

Just as the tragedy happening in a distant island nation she didn’t even know the name of had no effect on her daily life, most witches were not interested in the chaos of the mortal realm.

Even if the mortal realm was on the verge of annihilation, the witches had the power to survive on their own.

The Errelim Duke was saying.
Is there a need for witches to kill each other for the sake of humans?

“Enough, I understand.”
“Do you understand?”

Eloa looked at the Errelim Duke, who might have been her past self.
And she opened her mouth as if making a decision.

“Convene a meeting and banish me. Announce that this was all my unilateral action.”

It was not a complete solution, but it was a solution that could prevent war as much as possible.
That was for Eloa to give up her duke title.

“I have devoted myself to the stability of the witch society for over a hundred years. This time, I will act for my own desires.”
“……”

With those words, she left the mansion.
Errelim also did not stop Eloa.

Someone appeared before Eloa, who was about to go straight to the mortal realm and prepare for her incursion.

A blonde witch dressed in clothes suitable for traversing rough terrain, just like Eloa.
Wearing thick jeans and a windbreaker, she was pulling a large carrier.

“I will help too.”

It was Amelia Merrygold, who was the most reliable ally at this point.