Chapter 936 – #203_교차로(5)
#930
1.
Silence falls.
The crimson branch had clearly torn through the space where Urshula had been standing.
A full-power strike at this distance would be impossible to block with mere autonomous defense.
Siwoo gave a bitter smile.
“Blocking that is a bit too much to ask, don’t you think?”
“Block? I hit you squarely.”
“To call that a hit is….”
The eyepatch covering one of Urshula’s eyes slipped off.
Along with the trickle of blood and a few strands of black hair scattering.
All of that was the result of this attack.
Siwoo widened the distance again.
The spot where he had been standing just moments ago was now deeply gouged, as if struck by a giant sledgehammer.
-Kooong! Whoong! Kwang!
Now, it wasn’t just an attack from above, but attacks coming from various angles.
Evading with dazzling footwork, he replayed the scene from moments ago.
Even witches who freely wield all sorts of sorcery would mostly die if their heads were cleanly severed.
All the more so if the crimson branch, riddled with distortions that are fatal to spirits, were to accomplish that.
Therefore, the spear, having found an opening, was clearly aimed at Urshula’s neck.
And the moment the crimson branch grazed her skin.
The spear’s trajectory shifted, drawing an abnormal angle and shooting upwards.
As a result, it only slightly grazed her temple.
Leaving a wound far from being a decisive hit.
It had been ‘bent’ by an unknown force.
The scene was reminiscent of Siwoo’s new technique, the distortion barrier, developed with Teacher Sua.
Using a distortion field to warp space.
A defensive technique that creates a curved surface to deflect the impact outward.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen blood. It hurts quite a bit. Refreshing.”
As the distance widened, Urshula calmly took out a spare eyepatch.
She lifted her hair to regenerate the wound, then leisurely tied it on.
“It’s a real shame. If I had just a little more leeway….”
Urshula looked at Siwoo with a deeply bitter expression.
The emotion in her lonely eyes wasn’t pity or sympathy, but rather regret.
The kind of regret one might feel when a large pie falls to the dirt without even a single bite taken.
-Kugugugugung!
In truth, he had somewhat expected it.
Urshula was undeniably strong.
The destructive power of her swings, as well as her ability to flexibly adapt to rapidly changing situations, were impeccable.
But that was all.
There was no terrifyingly strong aspect to her.
No absolute strength that seemed impossible to resist.
And this sense of unease, combined with his past experiences, led to one conclusion.
Most of the witches Siwoo had faced so far had hidden their true power.
In other words, phase 2 starts now.
“If you see this, I can’t let you live…. That’s what’s so regrettable. If it weren’t for Priscilla, I would have wanted to capture you alive.”
A wave of magical power emanated from behind Urshula.
Its power and majesty were on a different level than before.
A chilling sensation that made one shudder just by facing it.
As if shedding a skin, the black magical shell crumbled.
Shedding her shell and revealing her true colors, Urshula’s hue was a deep, dark purple, almost black.
“Do you know what the essence of gravity is?”
“Is this a quiz all of a sudden?”
“Yes. If you get the answer right, I’ll give you a passionate kiss.”
The essence of gravity.
Unlike the usual forces that exist in the natural world, it only has one type of force, ‘attraction.’
The medium through which the force is transmitted has not been identified.
In fact, these basic facts were all that Siwoo, not being a physicist, could immediately recall.
“You’re more clueless than I thought? Fine, the essence of gravity is ‘bending’.”
-Kigik! Kigigigik!
With that quiet declaration, a massive force was concentrated in front of Urshula.
A world that was warped, twisted, and condensed with magical power.
In fact, even without using his magic eye, it wasn’t difficult to grasp the essence of the dark purple magic.
The purple twist soon elongated, taking the form of a spear.
-Gugugugugu
“This is my greatest magnetic magic. The Spear of Inverse Heaven.”
Urshula’s slender fingers grasped the twist.
The density and scale of the power sent shivers down his spine.
A grand tremor, as if she held the axis of a planet’s rotation in her hand.
The spear, with its slow rotation, was already distorting even Urshula’s appearance, like a misaligned lens.
Finally, Siwoo understood everything Urshula had said.
The phenomenon of gravity itself is easily reproducible and predictable.
But the essence of gravity is ultimately the phenomenon of a mass warping space-time.
The magic Urshula had been using so far was merely a partial implementation of gravity, borrowing the symbol of ‘bending.’
Just as a witch using fire elemental magic might use the symbol of ‘Phoenix’ or ‘Bennu’ to implement healing magic.
“Urshula von Himmelslauf, the 17th Witch of Inverse Heaven and Countess of Hexennacht.”
Having revealed her true power, Urshula met his gaze directly and placed her hand on her chest.
Quite unexpectedly, she even gave a polite bow.
“…What is this?”
Siwoo was wary, wondering what kind of scheme this was.
“Isn’t it basic etiquette to introduce ourselves before a duel?”
Her friendly tone made him realize that she was showing a favorable reaction.
From her attitude to her tone, it couldn’t be called genuinely friendly, but at least the subtle contempt and the air of disdain that seemed to be a part of her were gone.
She was simply smiling, as if overjoyed that she could now compete with an equal witch in a life-or-death struggle.
“…Shin Siwoo. I don’t have a witch name or an alias.”
“A good name. If I kill you and survive, I’ll remember it.”
Urshula’s sudden change in attitude was not easy to understand.
But there was no need to try to understand it.
Either way, the result of the fight would be either death or killing.
In response to Urshula entering phase 2, Siwoo also prepared for the final battle.
-Woooong!!!
In an instant, he activated the doping angel’s halo into a ready state.
At the same time, red lines, like veins spreading across a leaf, appeared on his black armor.
It was the process of enveloping his body with a distortion field from the crimson branch.
This method was optimal to counter Urshula’s magnetic magic, based on what he had observed so far.
Ribbons, fluttering like a peacock’s tail, spread out.
Unlike his two hands, the ribbons, of which he could produce dozens or even hundreds if he wanted, were excellent combat aids.
Moreover, the fact that he could engrave magic formulas on them and apply them was also advantageous.
He engraved an inverse field magic formula on one of the ribbons, then wrapped it around the spear shaft, allowing him to amplify or suppress the distortion field at any time.
“Are you ready?”
“Well, roughly.”
Urshula leisurely waited for about three seconds.
As if giving her opponent time to prepare before the duel.
“May we both clash with all our skills without a single regret.”
Urshula’s arm, holding the purple spear, slowly extended to the side.
The true battle was about to begin.
Just as that intuition flowed over the taut tension.
“Twist.”
Urshula’s lips moved.
2.
The king of the beasts created by Lilith was strong.
Just as his appearance suggested, he was like a king of spirits.
The magic that applied the water and earth attributes of the four elements was so sophisticated that it was hard to believe it belonged to a mere homunculus.
The explosive power emanating from his majestic figure was so strong that even Eloa could not withstand it head-on.
If compared to a witch’s combat power, it was roughly at the beginning of the 22nd rank.
He was capable of forming a ‘legion,’ and yet he possessed this much combat power on his own. He wasn’t as formidable as the time he was a knight, but he would be a handful for most witches.
But a fight is always relative.
-Gooooo….
The giant deer’s head, rolling on the ground, was now embedded in a pool of blood.
Its proud antlers were cut off, and its eyes were gouged out, with sticky fluids flowing out.
The king’s eyes, which had been twitching even after his head was severed, were now clouded with a hazy opacity.
Though his reign was short, the king’s end was futile and insignificant.
“…Haa….”
Eloa wiped the blood from her cheek with her sleeve.
As she swung her arm, the blood that had been on the surface of her contract sword fell off in droplets.
The contract’s consumption value was 6.
She had used about half of her magical power.
Her injuries were minor, just a slight tear near her eye.
This was a good result, considering the circumstances.
But Eloa’s expression did not lighten at all.
Just as machines need power, humans need motivation.
The reason Eloa could always throw herself into battle without hesitation.
The reason she had silently walked the path of a monk, carving away at her life.
It was because there was an unwavering belief in one corner of her heart.
The belief that all of this was for Lapi.
The belief that her actions would ultimately save many people.
It was this belief that allowed Eloa to pick up her sword without hesitation.
But this city had revealed too much.
Throughout this battle, Eloa had merely swung her sword in a trance.
Her heart was as good as empty.
What should she fill this empty space with?
If she filled it with her beloved Siwoo, would that be enough?
Could she really fill the void that reached the extreme of emptiness?
“I have to… move.”
Eloa picked up one of the horns that remained among the ashes of the homunculus’s corpse and put it into her subspace.
Just as Lydia had said, even if it was just inertia, it was fine.
Now was the time to move.
First, she had to join Siwoo….
-Clack clack clack
The sound of sharp heels echoed through the half-collapsed underground shopping mall of the transfer station, a result of the battle.
“In some ways, hatred is like love.”
A voice she had never forgotten, not even for a single day.
Eloa slowly turned around.
“Because it makes you harbor a passionate heart that thinks of the other person, rain or shine.”
A slanted escalator.
A witch appeared like a heroine in the neon lights, shining with a sharp glow.
A dress as black as pitch and short black hair.
Cursed eyes, more red than rubies, torn vertically.
Like a snake slithering in the dark.
Black ribbons writhed slowly, following the sound of her heels.
A vulgar, greedy chuckle, flowing from the perfect opportunity, resonated in her chest.
“You missed me too, didn’t you? Eloa Tiferet.”
“Ea Sadalmelik.”
Red and pink gazes intertwined in the air like a waltz.
The two, who hated each other more than anyone else, and who wanted to kill each other more than anyone else, understood each other naturally, as if they had always known each other.
There was no choice other than fighting.
There was no answer other than killing each other.
The end of a tenacious 100-year-long feud.
Without an audience or applause.
It was about to begin right here.
