Chapter 893 – #194_Typhoon(6)
#887
1.
The news of the events unfolding in the mortal realm, specifically the story of the army led by the Homunculus King, didn’t particularly move the witches of Gehenna.
Reactions were lukewarm, like, “Did you hear the news?” “Oh, that? Yeah, I heard. So, what do you want for dinner tonight?”
They knew it was unusual, and they knew it was serious, but so what?
No matter how great the army was, the moment they set foot in Gehenna, they would be completely annihilated in less than an hour.
The fact that the Great Council, where the Tree of Sephirot, the decision-making body of Gehenna, and the high-ranking witches of each academy gathered, disbanded in just two hours was in the same vein.
Countess Yvonne Kohav, who had returned from the meeting, was lost in thought while organizing the minutes.
She was so deep in thought that she didn’t even notice her housemate, Duchess Blanche Erelim, entering the room.
“Yvonne, what are you thinking so deeply about?”
“Oh, when did you get here?”
“I just arrived.”
Seeing Duchess Erelim calmed her hazy mind.
Kohav could still not forget the moment she became romantically involved with Duchess Erelim.
To be in a loving relationship with Duchess Erelim, one of only three dukes in Gehenna, the head of the Truth and True Name Academic Society, and a great sage called a wise man for the wisdom she had accumulated over a thousand years of life.
It had been quite some time, but just thinking about it made her feel so happy that she was often dumbfounded.
After a light kiss, Duchess Erelim asked,
“I’m curious why you’re so spaced out.”
“Actually, I feel a little empty.”
“Empty?”
“Right now, many witches have gathered to stop the army from landing. Duchess Tiferet is among them.”
It was a story that didn’t need to be mentioned in detail, as it had been discussed at the meeting.
“A Homunculus is just a familiar created by the Witch of Creation, and yet a 23rd-level duchess has stepped up to stop such a familiar. And they’re still crying about how difficult it is.”
“Because she’s the Witch of Creation.”
“Still, when I feel that her level, which disappeared so long ago that no records remain, is far beyond what we have accumulated over centuries, I feel very empty.”
In witch society, the Witch of Creation is mythologized.
But for such a figure, there is very little information.
It is unclear exactly when she appeared, how she achieved such great feats from nothing, why she created the Homunculus, and why she suddenly abandoned them.
For this reason, unlike Duchess Keter, who still has devotees who live and eat in front of the Ivory Tower, the Witch of Creation has become an absolute and natural religion.
“Of course, if you think about it, the Witch of Creation isn’t perfect.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Faith makes one forget doubts and questions, and creates quiet obedience.
Therefore, Countess Kohav’s opinion was quite rare in the current witch society.
“In the end, she couldn’t completely control her familiars. Even if it was inevitable to use the witch’s mark as a power source. After the number of witches decreased, they started attacking humans. And she couldn’t prevent a large-scale incident like this, so I don’t think she’s ‘perfect’.”
Kohav, who had nodded and come to her own conclusion, looked at Duchess Erelim, confused by the lack of response.
She wondered if her words had offended Duchess Erelim.
“I was talking too excitedly. I’m sorry.”
“No, Kohav. But let me tell you one thing. The Witch of Creation doesn’t make mistakes or failures.”
Her tone was assertive.
At this point, Yvonne thought that Blanche’s statement stemmed from a blind faith, like a religion.
Not all witches are the same.
There are cases where values are completely different depending on how long they have lived.
“Everything is the Witch of Creation’s arrangement. Keter noticed her arrangement and was just trying to protect humans.”
“…Blanche?”
But what followed was a story she had never heard before.
Even considering Blanche’s usual way of speaking, which was fond of riddles, she couldn’t understand the meaning.
“I see.”
But she didn’t do the uncool thing of prying.
It was very undignified, and besides, she wouldn’t get a proper answer anyway.
Instead, she found a topic to continue with.
Once, Blanche had casually said, “Humans are scary.”
It was probably a joke that was very much in her style, but if Duchess Keter tried to protect humans, what answer would Duchess Erelim, who claimed to be “afraid” of humans, give?
“Then, Blanche, do you have no intention of watching over humans?”
Duchess Erelim didn’t answer, but laughed dryly and silently.
But it wasn’t hard to see that the meaning of her smile was a mockery of a vain fantasy.
2.
Teacher Sua headed to Korea, not the East Sea.
She had separated from the group and was setting up a large-scale barrier in Korea, the landing point of the army.
“Amelia, Sharon, and R’lyeh. I’m glad you came.”
“We couldn’t just sit still while things are turning out like this.”
“Where’s Siwoo?”
“He was told to stay put and not worry.”
However, even without Teacher Sua, the support of the three great witches was more than reliable.
If necessary, she was planning to have Rinne deal with the three monsters and reorganize the guerrilla unit.
With the people gathered here, they could reorganize the reserve unit and use a two-pronged strategy with the witches gathering in Seoul.
The participation of three high-ranking great witches was a game-changer.
“I’ll tell you about the plan. We’ll continue to attack the flanks of the army, as we’ve been doing, to prevent them from landing. We’ll buy time until as many witches as possible gather at the Seoul branch, and then we’ll join the main force and wipe them out.”
“There’s no need to be so troublesome. I’ll clean up those trash myself, so wait.”
“Sharon, try to stop R’lyeh.”
“Hey! Why are you always picking on me! Didn’t you just see my prowess!”
R’lyeh spoke boldly.
But even with this group, that was impossible.
Witches certainly wield great power, but there is a limit to their magical power.
Even if they returned after having their magic recharged by Siwoo, the fatigue and durability of their circuits would hold them back.
It was impossible to fight against such a large number.
“R’lyeh, if even one of us gets hurt, Siwoo will be sad. You don’t want that, do you?”
“Do you think those trash can even scratch my precious body?”
Even amidst Sharon and R’lyeh’s bickering, Eloa saw hope.
The flow was good.
At this rate, it didn’t seem like a vain dream to stop the army before they landed.
“Everyone, get ready. He’s coming.”
Then, the root of all the trouble, the King of Monsters, appeared.
The stag, who had been moving silently in the middle of the army, kicked off the surface of the water and walked alone.
Despite being a Homunculus, he was draped in dignity and majesty, but it was an act that could only be seen as suicidal.
Even if the Red Knight who had cornered Eloa came back to life, he would have been torn to pieces in less than five minutes in front of this much power.
Again, it was impossible to win.
The stag stopped about 2km away and tilted his head as if howling, letting out a long cry.
-Wooooooo!!!
The mysterious cry, which didn’t feel like it belonged to a monster, continued like a long woodwind instrument.
And then.
-Crack, crack, crack
Space was torn apart.
More precisely, cracks began to appear in the entire landscape behind the stag.
“That’s…”
What the stag did was simple.
He just “called” them.
The Homunculi that had been hibernating, sleeping in subspace.
-Crack, crack!
They emerged from the cracks in the dimension as if breaking out of eggs.
One, two, then more than ten.
Ten, a hundred, then hundreds of other groups of monsters woke up from their long sleep and twisted their bodies.
-Kieeeek!
-Kaaaaaa
The cacophony pouring from the mouths of various shapes engulfed the surroundings.
They were not as carefully selected elite monsters as the army.
But their sheer number was enough to put a damper on the morale of the Location Point, which was already suffering from a lack of manpower.
“This is absurd…”
“Let’s run, let’s run together.”
The helpers who had been encouraged by the new reinforcements’ performance all ran away.
It was understandable.
Even Eloa, who had a lot of combat experience, couldn’t come up with a solution right away.
[Duchess! Duchess Tiferet!]
A hysterical radio transmission came from the emergency headquarters through magic.
[Are you there right now? We’ve detected multiple Homunculus dimensional distortion reactions! There are over a hundred of them!]
“I’m watching it right now. Was there any response from Gehenna?”
[There was a Great Council… but they said there are no special plans for support… Duchess! This is a disaster! The Location Point, which promised support, has replied that it’s difficult to help if the situation gets this bad…!]
Just as the exiles had fled, this was also expected.
The witches who had been gathering also turned their backs when they saw that there was no chance of winning.
Just when hope was about to appear, it turned out like this.
Eloa couldn’t hide her despair.
If this happened, they wouldn’t be able to stop the landing.
It was when everyone’s faces were dark that someone in black armor appeared in the distance.
There was no other witch with such a tall stature and black armor.
“I’m sorry, am I a little late?”
Of course, it was Shin Siwoo.
“…Siwoo, I told you that you shouldn’t come here.”
Eloa was speechless, then sternly rebuked Siwoo in a voice tinged with subtle anger.
“I was worried about you, but I went against your advice.”
Siwoo, who had taken off his helmet, smiled confidently.
“This is not something to smile about!”
“It’s okay. I didn’t come alone. Let’s see… the coordinates are here, right here.”
For some reason, Siwoo, unfazed by Eloa’s loving scolding, calmly took out his smartphone and communication crystal.
As soon as he manipulated something…
-Whoom! Whoom! Whoom!
The unique distortion that occurred when a ‘door’ was activated occurred in succession.
“Ah, I still feel nauseous when I go back and forth…”
“Wow… there are a lot of them.”
“How long has it been since I went out?”
“Wow! There are so many prey!”
At the same time, one by one, those who appeared were none other than the witches of Gehenna.
The witches, who rarely moved, appeared in the mortal realm not one or two, but in droves of dozens.
They were not just any witches, but high-ranking officials of various academies, barons of Gehenna, and even witches who rarely engaged in activities in the mortal realm.
Even the orthodox nobles who didn’t care about things outside of Gehenna, and the librarians of the Secretary’s Office, including the librarian Metis Gremory, were among them.
-Whoom! Whoom! Whoom! Whoom!
The number of witches summoned, filling the sea with endless distortion and the feeling of being summoned, was truly worthy of being called an army.
“Teacher, is it okay for me to come out now?”
Amidst the distortion spreading from all directions, Siwoo shrugged his shoulders.
