City of Witches Chapter 145

The aimless nighttime stroll now had a purpose.

Namely, to locate the presence of the Homunculus.

He was aware it was an overstepping, dangerous act.

There was no guarantee he could handle with his own hands all the Homunculi that had killed countless Witches.

But isn't this better than sitting idly by and doing nothing?

Thinking negatively all the time won't make anything better.

"Think positive thoughts, positive thoughts."

Homunculi drop new magical knowledge with a certain probability.

For Siwoo, who had hit a wall trying to break through on his own, this could be a new breakthrough.

Forcing himself to be optimistic, Siwoo adjusted his sunglasses.

One might wonder what kind of madness it was to wear sunglasses on a nighttime stroll, but to accurately pinpoint the Homunculus's location, reading the flow of magic power was crucial first.

He couldn't exactly go around with his eye exposed, advertising 'I have a Brand in my left eye,' so wearing them was a temporary measure.

"It's annoyingly hard to see, though."

Do celebrities endure this kind of inconvenience when they go out?

Pushing aside the trivial thought, he began walking wherever his feet took him.

Truthfully, there wasn't much to gain.

Even after scouring every nook and cranny for about two hours a day, the most he learned was the new fact that even in this bustling, crowded neighborhood, there were plenty of secluded spots.

The deserted alleyways of the one-room apartment village, the nearly abandoned civic park, the unused underground parking lot and parking tower left to decay.

In the rotary in front of the university district, three large buildings stood idle for a long time, their ownership rights in dispute, and there was even a commercial building with all its shops vacated, just waiting for demolition.

"Is this enough, then?"

Like some sort of neighborhood watch, he scoured every corner from Sinchon to Hongdae, but no proper signs of anything unusual appeared.

Whether it was fortunate or not, the feeling was quite unsettling.

Relief that he no longer had to risk his life fighting for the sake of some complete stranger.

Discomfort from the doubt that perhaps he was failing to discover something because his search method was wrong.

Those two feelings mixed together, making it incredibly unsettling.

Siwoo sat down on a nearby bench.

It seemed he had contracted a disease in Gehenna where he'd die if he didn't drink cola, as he was now inhaling 5 liters of it a day instead of water.

Flapping the collar of his sweat-heavy shirt, he put a cigarette in his mouth.

Before his eyes flowed the modern scenery, like a Sleepless City.

Now he could see office workers who had just finished overtime scrambling to catch the last bus, and female university students heading from the library to their nearby rented rooms after finishing their exam studies.

"I wonder if the Twins are doing well?"

It was a bit regrettable that they had to part ways without spending enough time together due to Countess Gemernai's intervention.

About four months had passed since he came here, meaning he'd have to repeat this about fifteen more times before he could maybe see the Twins again.

At first, they were unmistakably fierce little brats, but he'd grown quite fond of them.

They were basically good-natured at heart, and above all, they had a sparkling cuteness.

Even compared to the Mortal Realm, the number of people he'd become that close with could be counted on one hand.

He had already made a long list of restaurants to take them to once the Twins officially inherited their Brands and came out to play.

After all, there were plenty of dessert shops around here that the two would love.

It was a bit ironic.

The self who used to gaze at the vast grasslands and yearn for this very scene was now sitting within that scenery, missing connections from Gehenna.

"Again..."

As various things came to mind, many memories surfaced.

He also thought of Yebin, who, right before he returned to the Mortal Realm, had offered sticky intercourse with her sexy body and aggressive appeals...

Thinking about it now, she seemed like a really good woman.

Opening a clinic for the citizens of Gehenna?

What Witch would think of such a thing?

He missed Takasho a bit too, secretly.

With cockroach-level adaptability, Takasho would do well no matter where she was or what she did.

He didn't know the time difference, but if the time was the same as here, she was probably having a blast in some Witch's bedroom right about now.

Tossing the empty cola can into a distant trash bin, Siwoo suddenly confronted the memory of one person he had been suppressing.

Amelia Marigold.

Even thinking about her again was enough to make his head spin.

When he was captured by a slave trader and ended up as the caretaker of Trinity Academy, she showed up out of the blue and demanded he serve her at night.

When a flustered Siwoo refused, she threw all sorts of fits and harassed him relentlessly.

The most outrageous was when she ordered him to catch a deer in the southern deer forest of the Academy.

He couldn't openly use Magic, and his only tool was a shovel.

In the end, he spent the whole day grinding his teeth while chasing the leisurely fleeing deer's hindquarters.

If Sophia, who happened to be passing by, hadn't heard the situation and caught the deer for him, he probably would have gotten additional scolding from Amelia.

Over the next five years, experiencing this and that, Amelia gradually changed too.

The most dramatic change was when Siwoo was beaten half to death by Ea Sadalmelik and reverted to his childhood.

She treated the memory-less Siwoo kindly, as if he were her own Apprentice Witch.

They watched stars together, drew pictures, went swimming.

They spent their days together in the hut in the oak forest, creating happy memories day by day.

And the moment Siwoo's memories fully returned.

Those memories shattered into pieces, becoming sharp fragments.

Fragments named betrayal and love-hate.

There was one thing Siwoo found most unforgivable.

Her despicableness in asking if he couldn't forgive her even after regaining his memories.

Of course, he knew.

From Siwoo's sense of time, they had been together since childhood, so it was natural.

That the Amelia who always seemed so haughty and fastidious was actually a very clumsy person.

That she hadn't said those things with the intention of toying with the clueless Siwoo.

But there was a gap between accepting something rationally and emotionally.

Not knowing how to face her, he hesitated, left a note, and announced his departure.

She had probably read it by now.

How she received that note was up to her, he thought.

"This is why I hate it."

Siwoo folded up the wings of his thoughts.

Thinking of Amelia for no reason just made his heart restless.

Seeing all sorts of thoughts popping up, he guessed he really did miss the person.

-Tap tap plop

Feeling a damp sensation on his head, he looked up to see raindrops falling on his cheek.

"Ah, I didn't bring an umbrella."

The wind had seemed unusual earlier, and now it looked like a shower was starting.At first, the ashen sky sprinkled a few thick droplets, but before long, it began pouring down rain as if weeping.

"Talk about a mood killer."

How long had it been since I last had a conversation with someone—not just calculating, casting spells, or talking to myself?

I felt a little lonely.

People hurriedly pulling out umbrellas, others waiting under shop eaves for the downpour to pass.

They all must have somewhere to go.

Right now, Siwoo was in an awkward state.

The feeling of not belonging anywhere was beginning to irk him for no reason.

"Huh?"

A distortion entered Siwoo's gaze as he looked up at the sky.

Across the rotary was Sinchon Gyeongui Line Station.

Next to it stood a five-story station building connected to the train station.

Though it seemed like prime real estate, the vacancy rate was so high that, except for the cinema operating on the top floor, the building had turned into something like an abandoned property.

It was a building Siwoo had frequented multiple times, suspecting a Homunculus might be lurking there.

Now, he saw a black shadow, writhing as if crawling up the station's outer wall, crossing over to the rooftop.

Siwoo sprang to his feet.

Found it.

He immediately started running.

Though it was a place with many eyes, he didn't use Magic but sprinted at full Combat Power toward the station building.

Passing through containers placed at the entrance for protests, he began dashing up the emergency staircase.

From here, there was no need to worry about prying eyes.

Actively utilizing the Water Lizard's Step, he practically flew up to the rooftop.

Only as the distance closed and he passed through a translucent membrane did the city noise from the open stairwell window vanish.

From here on was the domain of the Hidden Boundary naturally generated by the Homunculus.

"Bloom."

Simultaneously with Siwoo's Incantation, the shadow armor extending from his back coiled around his body like a snake.

Still, having done it a few times now, it felt much more natural compared to before.

He grabbed the rooftop handle with his clanking Gauntlet.

It seemed locked since it wouldn't turn, but that wasn't a problem.

If Siwoo borrowed just a bit of the armor's strength, he could tear through a steel door of this thickness like cardboard and step out onto the rooftop.

The real issue lay elsewhere.

Whether this Homunculus actually possessed enough Combat Power for Siwoo to catch and kill it.

No matter how much he disliked innocent citizens losing their lives and took on the role of a vigilante, if asked whether he was prepared to face death... he wasn't sure.

-Clank!

"If things go south, I can just run."

Nevertheless, Siwoo twisted the locked door open.

With the satisfying feel of the lock breaking, the door swung open.

The rooftop structure didn't look particularly special.

He saw a circle enveloping the entire station building.

That circle was spreading out from around the Homunculus, causing a commotion on the rooftop.

"Grr... ugh... ugh..."

The Homunculus, groaning like a puppy needing to relieve itself and incessantly licking its body, looked incredibly familiar.

It was exactly the same as the monster he'd seen on the walking path in the citizen's park last time.

Its appearance resembled a large hunting dog.

It even perfectly mimicked the texture of its skin, so black it seemed molded from sticky mud.

But didn't I definitely kill that one last time?

I even confirmed it dying, leaving only a crystal behind before disappearing.

I thought all Homunculi had different forms—was that knowledge wrong?

Flustered, Siwoo firmly equipped his arms.

As before, it was the combination of full-body armor, helmet, shield, and Longsword.

If the opponent was similar to last time, there was no need for him to flee first.

He just needed to face it calmly.

Siwoo crept forward slowly.

But even after advancing for a while, the Homunculus showed no sign of charging at him, merely licking its own body intently.

When the distance between Siwoo and the Homunculus narrowed to about 5 meters, Siwoo finally saw it.

The Homunculus's flank was split wide open.

From the gap, tar-like bodily fluids gushed out, making the floor sticky.

Moreover, even as he got closer, it only growled but remained docile, seeming already half-dead.

Naturally, he felt no pity.

He was only pondering whether this might be a trap.

Then, a sharp voice rang out from behind.

"Hey! I don't know where you crawled out from, but that's mine!"

It was a very high-pitched, irritable woman's voice.

Author's Note (Afterword)

A frustrating 2-minute tardiness ㅜㅜ