City ​​of Witches 933

Chapter 933 – #203_Crossroads(2)

#927

1.
The old subway line 3 looked like a scene cut out from an apocalypse movie.

The remains of buildings that had collapsed and crumbled, unable to withstand the passage of time.

Dark, murky wastewater filled up to half of the tunnel.

The fortunate thing was that even though it was sewage, the stench rising from the wastewater wasn’t that bad.

One would expect to see drowned rat corpses and fly larvae floating around, but perhaps the shock of the ‘Ark’ making a dimensional leap had killed them off without a trace.

All the lights were broken, so the dark, winding passage had no light, and the four had to rely on decorative lights to move forward.

-Thud! Thud thud!

Every now and then, vibrations and loud noises would be heard, and pieces of stone would fall from the ceiling.

This feeling was like…
Being a special forces unit infiltrating the enemy’s rear through a tunnel during a war.

Continuing on, they came to a platform between tunnels.

The railroad tracks where the train should have been were filled with rainwater, making the platform look more like a wide two-rail swimming pool.

“Just a moment.”

The group was about to pass through the platform without safety doors faster than an express train, but Siwoo stopped for a moment.

“Time is of the essence. My lord.”

As Linne said, it was true.
It wouldn’t be just Siwoo’s group trying to take advantage of this chaos.

If Urshula and Priscilla got their hands on the gate first, all their plans would be ruined.

“Yes, I know. But I think it’s better to check the route properly.”

With that, Siwoo headed towards the lonely, neglected, rusty vending machine.
Next to it were the route map and a map.

The others followed, as if they finally understood.

“How dreary.”

Lydia shook off the wastewater that had splashed on her shoes with magic and took out a handkerchief to cover her mouth.
Lydia, who was always so relaxed, seemed to hate dirty things.

Her tension was quite low.

Of course, Siwoo had no reason to care about her condition, so he ignored her and looked at the map.

“It seems like a very old map… But the central tower was around here, right? Then… we shouldn’t just follow this line.”
“Smart, aren’t you?”
“There’s a transfer station three stops away, so we can transfer there and then go straight.”

If they followed the line after that, they could reach a point just 100 meters away from the building.
As a modern person and a commoner before being a witch, Siwoo could come up with this idea immediately.

“Let’s move again.”

To transfer, they left the platform, stepped on the old stairs, and entered a place that looked like an underground plaza.

It was a dilapidated subway station now, with no one around, but it must have been quite a hotspot at one time.

A wide space that felt open despite being underground, and empty shops with ‘For Rent’ signs.
The transfer station with overlapping escalators reminded him of Seoul Station.

It seemed to show that this place was once the center of urban transportation.

And as things always go, things don’t always go as planned.

Just as it’s a cliché that there’s a secret underground passage to the Demon King’s castle, it’s also a cliché that there’s an unidentified monster guarding that secret passage.

A deer stood majestically, illuminated by the shattered light from the mosaic glass windows that decorated the ceiling, like stage lighting.

The deer, which exuded an aura that was too sacred to be a monster and too ominous to be a divine spirit, looked at the group with black eyes that had no whites.

“Why here…”

There was supposed to be a fierce battle going on.
Why was the stag, who should be the center of it, suddenly appearing underground?

In this case, the most suspicious person was Lydia, who had suggested the shortcut.

“What is it?”

But Lydia had already disappeared without a trace.

Just until they were climbing the stairs, she had been complaining, “I hate the dark,” “It smells,” “It’s dirty.”

-…….

The stag didn’t show hostility, but it firmly blocked the path of Siwoo’s group.
Looking at the horns where magic was starting to gather, it didn’t seem like it was going to be resolved through conversation.

“I’ll take care of this place. Linne, take care of Siwoo.”
“Understood.”
“Wait a minute! We don’t even know what’s going on…”
“I don’t know either.”

Eloa quietly took out her contract sword and said.

“But the fact that we need to get the gate hasn’t changed, has it? If we get caught here and waste time, it’ll be a long shot.”

Unlike Siwoo, who was in confusion, Eloa and Linne were thinking of the best way to deal with the situation and trying to put it into action.

“I’ll take care of it and join you, so do what you have to do.”

They didn’t know what the situation was.
In other words, it might be a trap.

But as Eloa said, if they fought here, it would cause a big commotion, and they didn’t know what kind of trouble that commotion would bring.

“Master, absolutely not. Let’s deal with it together here and move together.”

Of course, if they wasted time like that, the gate might fall into the hands of the hardliners, or perhaps even Lydia, but…

“Siwoo.”

Eloa cut off Siwoo’s hesitation with a gentle smile.
Eloa looked at her beloved disciple with kind eyes.

“Don’t you trust me?”
“……”
“Don’t worry and trust my judgment. I’ll definitely join you.”

Siwoo bit his lip once and hugged Eloa.

“You promised?”
“When have I ever broken a promise?”

Eloa smiled as if tickled and stroked Siwoo’s head.
There was no time to waste.
Siwoo and Linne immediately rushed to the sides of the stag.

-Oooooo!!!

As could be seen from its unusual presence, the stag gathered dense magic and launched an attack on the backs of the fleeing figures.

-Kwaang!

Eloa blocked the wave that spread out like a heartbeat with a punch.

“Where are you looking? Your opponent is here.”

There was enough justification for Eloa to take on this battle alone.

She was an expert in hunting homunculi.
She was the strongest of the group, so she had a chance to get through even if she was isolated.

Thus, the justification based on individual abilities.

If the gate fell into the hands of the hardliners, it would be a tragedy for humans.
The same was true if the gate fell into Lydia’s hands.
So, for the sake of the time attack, it was necessary to send Siwoo and Linne ahead.

Thus, the justification based on the war situation.

Yet, in truth.
She still didn’t know.

The reason why she was wary of the gate falling into the hands of the enemy.
The reason why she was reluctant to see humans suffer because of it.
The reason why she was helping them, who might cause a terrible tragedy someday.

She still didn’t know.

Nevertheless, Eloa was here.
As Lydia had said, was it just that the actions she had repeated for a long time had become a habit?

There was no time to indulge in thoughts and inertia.

There was a stag that was immediately charging at her with its huge horns.

-Uooooooo!!!!
“I contract.”

The pink magic reflection and the dark green magic began to intertwine.

2.
“How lucky.”

Everything was going too favorably.

Lydia’s decision to cut her losses was quick.
As soon as she entered the transfer station to change lines and saw the king of the monsters, she used her stealth magic to leave the area.

There was nothing particularly treacherous about it.

Siwoo’s group didn’t trust Lydia, and Lydia didn’t trust them either.
They were just temporarily traveling together under a shared interest.

The fact that there were still subway tracks in the closed subway was something that could have been noticed if one had looked around the city a little more carefully.
The fact that Lydia had easily noticed it meant that Urshula and Priscilla were also likely to use this underground passage.

Leading Siwoo’s group to the subway was also to use them as bait in case they encountered any obstacles.
She had given them a shortcut in return, so she had no pangs of conscience.

The best situation she could hope for here was for the battle between the king of the monsters and Siwoo’s group to drag on as long as possible.
And for Urshula and Priscilla to get caught up in it, creating a three-way battle.

With everyone caught up in the commotion, she would enter the skyscraper where the gate was located without bloodshed.

Lydia had initially entered the pocket dimension to get the gate, but at this point, there was only one thing she wanted.

That was ‘Angel’.

A mass-produced weapon that could fight against a great witch.
She didn’t know how long it would take to catch up with the latest technology, but if she could get her hands on a sample first, it would be a high-value new technology that couldn’t be compared to anything else.

The gate, and even the male witch Shin Siwoo, paled in comparison to Angel.

Lydia, who had a tendency towards cleanliness, hated this gloomy ruin.

But now, she was heading towards the tunnel faster than anyone else, with a more willing step than ever before.

3.
Perhaps it was because the 1st subway line was at a slightly higher altitude than the 3rd line.
Or perhaps it was because there was a drainage pump that was still working properly.

The tunnel was not submerged in water.
There were some collapsed debris blocking the tracks here and there, but they could go around to the next track or break through with the physical strength of a spirit.

It wasn’t much of an obstacle.

Nevertheless, their steps were much heavier.

-Woo! Woong!

The sound of magic colliding, echoing from behind, was like a shackle dragging at their ankles.

“My lord, do not worry. Tiferet is strong.”
“Yes. We’ll come to help as soon as we get the gate.”
“They might join us before we get it.”

Seeing Linne encouraging Siwoo with an unusually light tone, his expression must have been terrible.

After running silently for a while, they arrived at their final destination, Central Tower Station.
Like a twist of fate, Linne and Siwoo faced two witches who appeared on the opposite track.

“Ah, so this is how it is.”
“W, wow…! A, a male witch…!”

It was Urshula and Priscilla, who had been guided by Lilith and had started from the opposite station.