Chapter 921 – #200_Cyberpunk And The Witch (5)
#915
1.
Even propositions once considered immutable truths change with the times.
The same goes for the yardstick used to distinguish good from evil.
What was openly featured or said on variety shows just ten years ago would now be met with fierce backlash.
Just as applying labor laws from a hundred years ago would spark a revolution today.
Just as most countries no longer buy and sell humans.
Just as Gehenna, which treated humans as mere materials for magical research hundreds of years ago, now treats them with a semblance of humanity through a more humane agreement.
The yardstick of good and evil changes, and the way we view the world changes along with it.
It’s meaningless to discuss whether something is humane or inhumane based solely on the outcome, divorced from the prevailing mentality of the time.
Eloa had fought for humans for a very long time.
Being close means seeing things in greater detail.
That’s why she was an observer of history.
She had watched good and evil flip-flop with the flow of time.
Are humans good?
No, they are not.
Their selfishness, their self-justifications for their unjustly exploited gains, and sometimes their blatant desires without even that.
Eloa had felt disillusioned many times.
Are humans evil?
That’s not true either.
Their altruism, their sublime agape that transcends personal desires and benefits, their dedication and service to others.
Eloa had steadied her wavering heart.
With compassion for the humans who would die without knowing why, she continued Rapi’s legacy, establishing Witch Points and dedicating her life to subjugating the Public Enemy and Homunculi.
Witches firmly believe that they are special beings, different from humans.
But Eloa knew that in this regard, witches weren’t much different from humans.
There are Public Enemies and Exiles who grind up fellow witches, apprentice witches, and humans to satisfy their desires.
And at this very moment, there are witches fighting valiantly at Witch Points around the world to minimize the damage caused by the Flood.
The very act of dividing an entire group into good and evil is flawed.
“Master, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Siwoo. Don’t worry about me.”
Siwoo and the others left the Witch Road and headed back towards the central tower.
They had destroyed the security robots, but there were no further complications.
The three of them were moving smoothly towards the tower without any interference.
As Linne had said, their primary goal right now was to get their hands on the Floodgate.
Once they had the Floodgate, they could control the level of the Flood.
In other words, they could prevent humans from dying in the simultaneous attacks of the Homunculi.
Suddenly, Eloa felt an impulsive question arise.
Was it really necessary?
This world was one where humans had dominated witches.
And she had seen some of the results firsthand.
Should they protect them now simply because they were weaker than witches?
Was it necessary to save the seeds that might one day create such sins with their own hands?
If humans oppressed witches because they had gained great power, why should she be on the side of humans?
“I think I understand a little of what the Creation Witch was thinking.”
“I feel the same.”
The Creation Witch was wary of the possibility that humans could become a threat to witches.
Therefore, she programmed the ‘Flood’ to regress human civilization when humans awakened to the arcane.
However, she also left behind a device that could stop the Flood by creating a ‘Floodgate’.
And she left the Floodgate not in an ordinary pocket dimension, but in a cyberpunk metropolis.
So why did she choose this space as the location for the Floodgate?
The answer was clear.
Whether to stop the Flood with the Floodgate.
Or to cause an even more powerful Flood with the Floodgate.
The Creation Witch, who had arranged everything, was speaking through the space she had created.
‘The choice is yours.’
Eloa herself couldn’t say for sure what choice she would make.
Having left the pleasure district, Siwoo and the others had entered a street lined with high-rise buildings and offices.
Despite being only a few kilometers away, the atmosphere was completely different.
If the casino street and night street were like Las Vegas, this place felt like a futuristic Gwanghwamun.
The tall corporate buildings, the clean streets, and the cultural spaces like large stadiums made it clear that the real estate prices here were not cheap.
It seemed that they had put thought into the street design as well as functionality, with wide plazas and parks scattered here and there.
“Master, how about over there?”
Eloa blankly looked in the direction Siwoo was pointing.
“The Witch History Museum?”
Beyond the scramble crossing, the dome-shaped building, which was lower than the surrounding buildings, was surprisingly a museum.
In any case, the group didn’t know where the Floodgate was located in this space.
They were just vaguely assuming that it would be in the central, massive tower.
They had been wandering the streets while constantly spreading their senses to detect magical power, but Daejeon was not some backwater village, it was a major metropolitan city.
If they searched haphazardly, the Clifforths might find the Floodgate first.
Just as the Creation Witch hadn’t chosen the location of the Floodgate carelessly, she must have left clues about it.
Understanding what kind of world this was was the first step.
2.
“They’ve built some kind of theme park.”
“A, a, a crumbling ruin is hardly a theme park…”
At that moment, grave robbers had entered the scene.
Unlike Siwoo’s group, who had entered through the south gate, two Public Enemies had entered through the north gate.
The 22nd-tier member of the Heksen Nacht hardliners, who had recently performed the feat of sinking a US fleet.
‘The Witch of Reverse Heaven’, Urshula von Himmelslauf.
And ‘The Gluttonous Witch’, Priscilla Amaimon, who had been on standby as a reserve.
Also a 22nd-tier member of the hardliners.
The two Public Enemies, who had been amazed by the splendor they had seen from outside the outer wall, were now clicking their tongues at the sight inside the outer wall.
As Priscilla had said, it was a ruin.
It was as if a giant monster had picked at the buildings, leaving only their skeletons.
The skeletal steel frames and pillars had corroded, unable to withstand the passage of time.
Unlike the bright lights visible beyond the inner wall, there was not a single light to be found, and only desolate debris littered the streets.
“The inside will be a little more interesting.”
Urshula adjusted her eyepatch and leisurely inhaled opium smoke.
Not being naturally passionate or sensitive, she didn’t feel much emotion even when seeing a new landscape.
She was only thinking about how to use the Floodgate once she got her hands on it.
Priscilla, as always, seemed to be able to do nothing but stutter and didn’t seem to be thinking much.
Urshula had said she would make things fun, and Priscilla had just followed along, so it was unreasonable to expect anything more.
“It’s fascinating. Is this the present that has developed and declined? Since it’s a space left by the Creation Witch herself… It’s too futuristic for that, isn’t it?”
“C, can the Creation Witch even turn back time? That’s amazing, amazing.”
“We’ve got the whole place to ourselves. Let’s take our time looking around.”
“If it’s a date, I’d prefer a, a handsome man. Why, why does my escort partner have to be you…”
The two Public Enemies strolled leisurely through the streets, exchanging silly jokes and speculations.
Priscilla, who could be considered Urshula’s only friend, was quite busty.
However, her shaggy bangs, which completely covered her face, made one wonder how a witch’s beauty could be hidden so thoroughly.
“Convenience store. Urshula, let’s buy something to eat.”
“I should have just come alone.”
“W, what? I came with you because you said you were worried.”
Priscilla’s shortcomings didn’t end there.
She looked innocent and a bit dim-witted for a Public Enemy, and she was actually unsociable and a bit slow.
Not only was she not quick at calculating profit and loss, but she also had a severe stutter.
But she was a person who was more than qualified to be in the category of Public Enemy.
And she was not a witch to be taken lightly.
She naturally possessed the cruelty to burn hundreds of anti-witch protesters alive just because they had made her feel bad.
The reason she stuttered like that was because she had injured her head in a previous war between the Clifforths and Gehenna.
To have survived as a dimwit in a Public Enemy society where they would tear apart anyone who showed any weakness.
That proved how powerful Priscilla was as a witch.
“Wow, a, amazing. I like this kind of thing.”
“Of course you do. Magic engineering can develop this far.”
Having crossed the ruins and entered the inner wall, the two Public Enemies were amazed by the city, which was astonishing for something built by human hands.
Wasn’t it the humans, whom they looked down on, who had built such a society?
“I, is this a real space?”
“At least it doesn’t seem like an illusion. It feels real, and there’s no interference with the magic power in my body. I don’t feel any forced settings either.”
After that, the two, now in tourist mode, explored the city more freely than Siwoo’s group.
They didn’t feel the need to rush, and since they didn’t even realize that there were competitors, they came to the conclusion that they should search for the Floodgate while strolling leisurely through the city like a walk.
“U, Urshula! L, let’s ride this!”
“Yeah, yeah. You can do whatever you want.”
Priscilla pointed at the monorail, jumping up and down like a child.
The rails that were connected like spiderwebs between the tall buildings seemed to be seen as a kind of amusement ride by Priscilla.
Urshula, feeling like she had become a babysitter, grumbled but obediently accompanied her on the monorail towards the center of the city.
It was difficult to pinpoint where the Floodgate was in this ridiculously large space.
Wouldn’t the ridiculously large tower in the center of the city be a likely burial point?
Inside the monorail, where there were only the two of them.
The night view, which could be seen from the window with raindrops running down it, was a unique experience even for Urshula, who had lived for many years.
“L, let’s get off here!”
“Ah… What is it now?”
“T, traveling is more fun in places like this, you know?”
Among them, the glittering night street strongly attracted Priscilla’s attention.
“This is a city! This is desire! I like humans. They’re always honest with their desires!”
Urshula, following Priscilla, who was excitedly jumping around, eventually arrived at the Witch Road.
It didn’t take long for Priscilla’s tension, which had soared to the sky, to plummet into the dark mud.
“W, what is this?”
“……”
Brothels with signs that included the words witch or witch in every direction.
Priscilla’s eyes, which had been shining with innocent laughter, flared sharply.
Urshula also frowned and puffed smoke from the corners of her lips.
Transcendent beings who had thrown off the shackles of humanity, witches.
And the Witch Road, where humans dared to mock such witches.
This street itself was an insult to the divinity of witches.
At that moment, a soliciting drone approached Urshula with a clunk.
[Hey there, sister! Come check out our shop!]
[Our Witch Bitch is an establishment where you can experience augmented reality AV with the latest sex toys! We offer the best experience, as if you’re actually fucking a witch in bed!]
“Haha.”
Urshula realized that she could laugh when something was too absurd.
