City of Witches Chapter 144

A raw, visceral disgust churned through his insides.

This was an uncle he'd never met before.

Just a stranger he happened to encounter in the civic park.

If not for this situation, they would have ignored each other's existence and gone their separate ways to attend to their own business.

But when the Homunculus, its snout stained crimson with that stranger's blood, bared its fangs at Siwoo...

Siwoo felt an intense surge of killing intent.

It was a natural thing in nature.

All beings in nature eat to live and flee to survive.

Because advanced civilization has separated the dining table from the slaughtering space, few modern people today would viscerally feel that truth.

And precisely because of that, the inhuman dining spectacle unfolding before his eyes struck Siwoo with tremendous shock.

The civic park, more like a modest hill.

This uncle probably came here thinking of his health.

Maybe a family member had nudged him, telling him to go out and lose some belly fat.

Right about now, someone might be worried about the head of the household being so late.

There was a life.

There were stories.

Could a human life, such a thing, really be allowed to end as just a single meal?

"Haap!"

The Spear of Shadow, released from Siwoo's hand, flew faster than his shout.

Its afterimage was like a single black line slashed across the void with a brush.

The Homunculus's reaction to it was agile.

It twisted its body nimbly, evading the attack.

It was a fluidity unimaginable for such a massive frame.

Perhaps having clearly identified Siwoo as a hostile target from that strike, it kicked off the ground with its hind legs, closing the roughly 20-meter distance in the blink of an eye.

-BANG!

"Kgh!"

A collision occurred.

Siwoo, bracing with his shield held forward, was sent tumbling backward.

The shadow armor and shield created by Magic.

Their performance was fundamentally different from ordinary Plate Armor.

They actively dispersed and redirected external impacts, and even possessed a partial nullification effect against Magic.

Yet, having merely been rammed by a body slam, he was sent flying back as if hit by a truck.

Siwoo was freshly reminded that his opponent was a Homunculus.

Though it might look like just a large dog, it was a combat weapon created by the Witch of Creation.

Gasping, he got up and readjusted his grip on the shield.

His spine tingled.

If the armor supporting his entire body hadn't been there, wouldn't his spine have snapped backward?

"Grrrrr...."

On the other hand, Siwoo's resistance seemed to have surprised the Homunculus too.

Unlike its earlier momentum of pouncing on defenseless prey, it now crouched low, growling as it watched him.

Was it because he had been living steeped in lethargy and inertia for so long?

The sound of his heart pounding painfully fast rang with peculiar clarity in his ears.

Siwoo raised his shield to chest level to protect his neck and heart while changing the form of his spear.

The effective attack range of a spear is limited to the 'point' of a thrust.

Meanwhile, that monster bounced around like a rubber ball, attacking with swift speed.

He judged that in such a situation, a weapon with a wider attack area capable of 'line' attacks would be more efficient.

The optimal form for that was a sword.

A long blade extending over 1 meter.

A cross guard to prevent the hand from slipping onto the blade.

Siwoo had not only never learned Western swordsmanship, he had never even held a real sword.

But that wasn't a problem.

Shadows had no weight anyway.

As long as he could stab or slash the opponent with the sharply honed edge, that was enough.

Then.

The Homunculus, which had been crouching low, initiated its attack again.

It moved dazzlingly through the darkness, not just running along the ground but also leaping, kicking off trees, moving freely even along the Z-axis.

It was fast indeed.

It was like a motorcycle ignoring gravity, revving at full throttle and bouncing around everywhere.

"Hwoop...!"

Siwoo calmly observed its movements, then swung his shield at the Homunculus diving down from directly above.

It wasn't just a swing.

If Siwoo, who had no tricks like strengthening his body with magic power, tried such a thing, his arm would break or his shoulder dislocate instead.

Therefore, he infused the armor itself with magic power, as if wearing powered armor, to increase its hardness and strength.

-BANG!

"Yelp!"

Unlike the pitiful tumble from before, Siwoo didn't budge an inch from his spot.

On the other hand, the Homunculus, which had thrust its snout forward only to take the shield blow head-on, yelped like a dog on Boknal day and plopped down to the ground.

This was exactly the moment Siwoo had been waiting for.

He powerfully swung the Longsword he had prepared earlier.

-Thud!

The blade of the Longsword, swung with all his might, dug dully into the monster's neck.

It was a truly bizarre sensation.

Was it because of its appearance? It felt like slicing through thick rubber.

The heavy vibration transmitted through the hilt was unpleasantness itself.

"Gurgle... gurgle...!"

Looking at the Homunculus foaming at the mouth and dying, Siwoo pressed the blade down even harder.

It was the shadow sword that had already dug deep into the cut surface.

The pressure added by the armor sliced deep into the Homunculus's head, like an industrial cutter.

"Hoo... hoo..."

The Homunculus, even after being beheaded, convulsed its limbs like a fish for a long while before finally dying.

Siwoo, still calming his pounding heart, dismissed the armament enveloping his entire body.

He killed it.

He won.

"Fuck..."

He plopped down on the spot.

It wasn't as strong as he'd feared, but it wasn't something he could kill easily either.

If Siwoo's shield bash had missed and he'd been crushed under its weight and speed, no one knows what would have happened.

His whole body felt heavy, as if soaked with lethargy.

Even a fistfight from a street argument drains your energy, let alone a life-or-death hunt.

He swept back his bangs, drenched in cold sweat, and caught his breath.

It seemed he still needed a moment to think.

As he sat there, calming his mind, the bizarre corpse of the Homunculus began to peel away layer by layer, soon leaving behind only a stain like charcoal soot before vanishing completely.

Amidst it, something like an empty crystal was visible.

Siwoo silently picked up the crystal.

At a glance, it looked very similar in shape to Gnosis's Egg.

The difference was that he felt no magic power, no magical effect whatsoever.

Like this, it was just a glass marble.

"........."Siwoo roughly stuffed it into his pocket and turned his gaze toward the observatory.

Given the gruesome state, with entrails dragged out in a trail, the possibility of the man being alive was slim.

Nevertheless, he had to check.

Because there was that one-in-a-million chance.

Because if he took action now, he might still be able to save him.

Staggering, Siwoo arrived at the observatory.

There was nothing there.

Not the corpse that had been torn apart by the Homunculus just moments ago, nor even the bloodstains that had dyed the ground crimson, nor the shreds of entrails.

Nothing was visible.

As if it had never existed from the start, it had vanished cleanly.

Instead, only a scarlet light illuminated the empty road surface.

".........."

He didn't know what to say.

Would it be too trashy to consider it fortunate that he didn't have to see the gruesome corpse?

"Hah... hah..."

For some reason, laughter escaped him.

It was an empty laugh.

As soon as Siwoo returned home, he took a cold shower.

The clothes, dirtied by the soil and sand that had seeped into his armor while he was rolling around, were placed in the laundry basket.

"Homunculus..."

Siwoo didn't know much about Homunculi.

Guardians that protect the legacy of the Witch of Creation.

Normally existing in a crystalline state, they randomly awaken and wander the world enveloped in a Hidden Boundary.

Because each individual uses different Magic, they are extremely difficult to hunt, so hunting them is not recommended for most Witches.

That was all.

The books Siwoo had read contained only this much information.

But what was the scene he witnessed today?

A Homunculus was devouring a human.

Moreover, in the brief moment he looked away, the corpse had cleanly evaporated.

"Hah..."

Siwoo let out a hollow laugh.

According to Count Gemernai, the number of Homunculi in the Mortal Realm was increasing exponentially.

Siwoo also received an additional warning to be especially careful since he now bore a Brand.

He didn't know why that Homunculus was hunting humans instead of Witches.

However, it was difficult to believe that the scene Siwoo accidentally encountered today was something special.

It meant similar events were occurring all over Korea, all over the world.

Then why hadn't people noticed this until now?

"Obvious."

Deduction based on the given information led to a conclusion more easily than expected.

Hadn't Siwoo himself experienced it long ago?

Being devoured by a Homunculus, his ties severed, becoming a being that never existed in this world.

Losing even the right to be mourned, becoming mere prey for a beast.

Siwoo turned off the shower, roughly dried himself, and came out to his room.

He plopped down on the sofa and popped open a beer can.

It was the first time he had seen someone die.

Since it was akin to seeing it from afar, it wasn't particularly shocking.

No, perhaps it wasn't that there was no shock.

His mind just went blank, and he could only recall the sound of the Homunculus tearing and chewing entrails.

Siwoo suddenly remembered.

The dark, murky form clinging to the department store's electronic billboard when he returned to the Mortal Realm.

By the time he rushed over, it had already disappeared.

"Was that also a Homunculus?"

How many Homunculi still remained in this world?

Were that many people really dying because of them?

If so, what could he do now?

".........."

In the past, he wouldn't have known.

Even if he had known, it wouldn't have mattered.

But now was different.

Siwoo had eyes that could see Homunculi and the power to confront them.

He possessed too much to remain a mere bystander.

Then shouldn't he rightfully hunt down and kill the remaining threats?

"Other people's business."

Conversely, Siwoo wouldn't fall prey to an ordinary Homunculus.

He could avoid them adequately and had the power to resist.

At the very least, the choice of 'not hunting Homunculi' carried no disadvantages.

Moreover, Siwoo was currently in seclusion in the Mortal Realm.

If he were to stir up trouble trying to catch them and ended up catching the eye of another Witch, he couldn't fathom how things might get complicated.

Siwoo glanced at the ring on his index finger.

It was a form of black and white dyed silver twisted together.

A ring symbolizing that he was a guest of Gemernai.

It might resolve most troubles, but...

"Let's drop it."

Siwoo shook his wet hair.

Maybe he should get some long-overdue sleep tonight.

Taking on risks out of a trivial sense of justice, based on information that wasn't even certain yet, and at a point where there were ways to circumvent it, was the kind of action only heroes in textbooks performed.

Siwoo didn't consider himself that great of a person.

Siwoo returned to his room and lay down on the bed.

"........."

He should just think of those people as victims of a natural disaster.

He should just think they were people with a bit of bad luck.

Of course, what happened to the man today was regrettable, but what could he do?

To someone else, it might be a cowardly excuse and self-justification, but for Siwoo, it was a matter of life and death.

"Damn it, I must be crazy."

In the end, Siwoo got out of bed, muttered a curse, and headed toward the hill where he had caught the Homunculus earlier.

A Word from the Author (Author's Note)

Dear readers, please don't fight too much ㅜㅜ

It's all my fault for lacking virtue

If I hadn't felt the need to make revisions, even if you came to my house instead of commenting, I would have proceeded as is...!

Please, stop the fighting!

By the way, can I write one more chapter in three hours?

Challenge accepted.