City of Witches Chapter 151

“Equilibrium!”

The moment she pinpointed the Homunculus’s location, Sharon chanted an Incantation while tightly clutching her Wand.

The large green emerald adorning the tip of the Wand began to glow, emitting a Wavelength that spread outward.

The barrier’s Wavelength, which copied and overwrote the surrounding scenery as if melting it, soon engulfed the entire area.

It was my first time seeing a Witch use a Hidden Boundary, so it felt a bit fascinating.

Sharon glanced at the compass and immediately set her course.

Without a word, she leaped nimbly, kicking off walls and building exteriors before landing gracefully on a rooftop like an agile cat.

“What are you doing? We need to hurry!”

Well, how should I put it?

Watching her bounce around with such effortless movements made me think, ‘Could I ever do something like that?’

But I couldn’t keep her waiting any longer.

Siwoo, clad entirely in shadow armor, gathered magic power at his feet and leaped with all his might, landing beside Sharon.

Sharon spoke while looking at the compass.

“It seems to be near that parking tower.”

“But was it really necessary to change clothes?”

Siwoo asked.

In his case, the shadow armor provided defense and enhanced physical abilities, but Sharon, at a glance, seemed to have changed nothing except for her Wand.

“Evergreen’s innate magic is Elemental Magic manifested through consciousness. Formal attire is incredibly important—it’s practically part of the Magic itself.”

Was this the coolness of an expert?

Sharon’s face, shining resolutely beneath the wide-brimmed Witch’s hat, bore no resemblance to the tearful, penny-pinching debtor I’d seen before.

Instead, it radiated the seasoned authority of a Witch who had navigated the treacherous Mortal Realm.

It was reassuring.

“I’ll take the lead. Follow carefully.”

“Understood.”

Sharon stamped her foot and used Water Lizard Step (probably) to hop between rooftops and utility poles, heading toward the parking tower.

While using magic power to enhance her body was one thing, her sense of balance seemed truly exceptional on its own.

Meanwhile, a subtle tension hung in the air.

Siwoo was still unfamiliar with combat or hunting.

It was only natural, as he’d only been caught up in a few incidents so far.

Not knowing how dangerous the Homunculus they were about to encounter would be, he couldn’t help but feel a little afraid.

“...I’m the one who said I’d do it.”

But no one had forced him.

He was the one who had resolved to do what he could to prevent harm to civilians.

He had no intention of backing out now.

-Whoosh!

Large shadow wings unfurled from Siwoo’s back.

He glided swiftly through the night streets, following closely behind Sharon.

The wind whistling past his ears, the freedom of cutting through the night air like a bird freed from gravity—it stirred excitement in his chest.

But there wasn’t much time to savor the flight.

The compass could detect spatial distortions within a range of 150 meters, and soon enough, they encountered the Homunculus.

An elevator-type parking tower, built to maximize cramped land area in a bustling district with limited parking.

Just as Sharon had said, the Homunculus was hanging from the parking tower’s complex steel-girder structure as if it were a jungle gym.

Naturally, I thought Sharon would initiate the hunt first.

Instead, she stood still, dumbfounded, observing the situation.

There was clearly something odd.

“What is it?”

“Why?”

“Look at that.”

Siwoo turned his gaze to where Sharon pointed.

There, a Homunculus glared down at them, growling.

It looked exactly like the monsters they’d encountered at the civic park and on the rooftop of the history museum.

The memory of it devouring a man’s corpse in the civic park overlapped in his mind, and he unconsciously furrowed his brow.

“Huh?”

Squinting as he scanned the parking tower, Siwoo noticed the anomaly Sharon had spotted earlier.

There wasn’t just one Homunculus.

Three Homunculi in total were each shuffling toward Sharon from the parking tower.

“Three of them?”

“Now’s not the time to overthink things.”

“Can you handle them all by yourself?”

“Just watch.”

Sharon flicked the hem of her fluttering cloak aside and gripped something in her hand.

It was a 500ml PET bottle filled with water.

Of course, she hadn’t taken it out because she was thirsty.

It was an ‘offering’ to be sacrificed for using Elemental Magic.

Without the means to prepare expensive offerings like before, she had no choice but to lower the quality of the offering as a temporary measure.

“Aphas.”

As Sharon poured the water from the bottle onto the ground, a Magic Circle rose from that spot.

The water that fell to the ground vanished instantly, without even a chance to soak in.

It was a mysterious sight that science could never explain.

In the now tautly tense air, faint, watery reflections of magic power began to shimmer.

Simultaneously, from the bone-dry asphalt, water seeped out as if from nowhere, forming a massive puddle far larger than the amount Sharon had poured.

It was as if a small pond had formed beneath Sharon’s feet.

-Grrrr....

-Screech!

Perhaps provoked by the densely concentrated magic power?

Simultaneously, the Homunculi charged at Sharon like predators pouncing on prey.

“They aren’t the type to use complex Magic. Homunculi that rely solely on superior physical abilities to overwhelm aren’t difficult to deal with.”

As Sharon raised her Wand, a barrier as tall as a three-story building instantly rose from the puddle at her feet.

It was a massive wall, like a tsunami, formed from compressed water and magic power.

“All you need to do is hunt them with greater physical force.”

The Homunculi, charging like rabid dogs, collided with the suddenly rising barrier and tumbled back with a loud crash, but the water wall remained unmoved, only rippling with gentle waves.

Even Siwoo had lost his balance and tumbled to the ground when he took the first hit.

Yet Sharon, simultaneously attacked by three, didn’t even furrow a brow.

“And remember. No matter how insignificant a Homunculus may seem...”

Then, Sharon’s Wand traced a small circle in the air.

As if responding to a conductor’s baton, the water wall transformed its shape.

The massive water wall floated into the air and coalesced into a sphere.

Compressed and compressed again, the water pressure inside the sphere, now reduced to about half its original size, was likely higher than anywhere in the deepest oceans on Earth.

“...never let your guard down, and give it your all.”

-Swish swish swish swish

The moment the tip of her Wand tapped the ground, dozens of sharp, whip-like sounds echoed through the air.

Dozens of ultra-high-pressure water jets, extending from the compressed water sphere, lashed out like whips.If Siwoo hadn't possessed the eyes to read magic power, he wouldn't have been able to see the change that occurred in an instant.

The water blade, honed sharper than mercury and weighted with immense density, sliced through the homunculus's body as if carving it, shattering it into pieces.

So sharp and clean was it that even though the blade had deeply cut through the monster's body and the asphalt, there was no trace of dust, let alone a mark of the cut.

"Wow..."

Siwoo looked at the homunculus's corpse, slaughtered in an instant, with a dazed expression.

It wasn't hunting recklessly like Siwoo did.

It hunted with clean, refined Magic, producing exactly the necessary amount of efficiency.

Despite such a clean disposal, there was no hint of boasting or pride in Sharon's expression.

However, behind the composure as if she had done something natural, a trace of dissatisfaction was evident.

"Sorry, I wanted to teach you more about hunting methods. Something feels off."

"What is it?"

"Strange. No matter how I think about it, it's strange."

Sharon neatly reversed the summoning of the water floating in the air and stroked her chin.

Seeing the Hidden Boundary being lifted for the first time was truly fascinating.

What Sharon's strike had cut wasn't just the asphalt road surface and the homunculus.

The parking tower and streetlight standing in that direction had also been sharply severed.

Due to being cut with such a clean cross-section, they maintained their original shape without collapsing.

Of course, not long after, unable to bear the weight, they crumbled down like a poorly pulled Jenga block...

Anyway, the sight of one corner of the bustling street, which had become a mess, being restored to its original state as if rewinding as the barrier was lifted, even evoked a sense of awe.

It must be worthy of the great Duke Keter's Magic, as they say.

After rummaging through the homunculus's corpse to retrieve the crystal, Sharon and Siwoo changed clothes again and headed to a nearby pub.

"........."

Siwoo ordered two glasses of cold draft beer and chicken.

While waiting for the chicken to arrive, holding the beer that came out first, Sharon had a serious expression, resting her chin and lost in deep thought.

"What's such a big problem?"

There was no sign of Sharon, who had been as happy as winning the lottery when offered a late-night snack.

Seeing her seemingly troubled appearance, Siwoo cautiously asked.

"Huh? Ah, sorry. I was spacing out while you were sitting in front of me."

"That's okay."

"You said the homunculus you saw in the mountains looked exactly like the ones we saw earlier, right?"

"Yeah, is that strange?"

Sharon cheerfully drank about half of her draft beer and then tapped the table, tap tap.

"Originally, homunculi have different appearances for each individual. But I've caught six of those looking ones so far. Including today's hunt and the one you caught, that means over ten identical individuals exist?"

"Is that a problem?"

For Siwoo, who has just entered homunculus hunting, it's a question that doesn't feel particularly significant.

Is it that unusual for homunculi of the same form to exist?

"No, for now, I can only say something feels off. I might be overreacting... I should go to the Witch Point tomorrow and at least share information."

Witch Point...

I am curious about what kind of place it is.

But it's also true that I'm hesitant to go there myself.

I wonder if there's a need to set foot in a place likely teeming with Exiles first.

"Fried, spicy, soy garlic combo is here."

The long-awaited chicken arrived.

Sharon, who had been pondering the issue with utmost seriousness until now, opened her eyes wide at the savory smell of the fried coating.

As if she had become a different person, she looked at the chicken with sparkling eyes.

If Siwoo were Sharon's boyfriend, it would be a gaze so intense he'd feel jealous of the chicken.

Siwoo picked up a drumstick and placed it on Sharon's plate.

"No need to worry in advance, so let's just enjoy this deliciously for now."

"Yeah, yeah!"

Even though it just came out of the fryer and must be quite hot, she didn't mind at all and took a big bite of the drumstick.

Siwoo gave a wry smile at Sharon's appearance.

Because it simply didn't match the image of her effortlessly slaughtering the homunculus earlier.

"Wow... wow... wow...! So this is chicken... What I ate at convenience stores wasn't chicken...!"

For Sharon, who had been eating leftover drumsticks or scavenged ones until now, authentic Korean chicken was a fresh shock.

Honestly, the chicken sold piece by piece at convenience stores wasn't crispy, and the chicken smell was strong, so she didn't like it much.

But the chicken here, how perfectly it went with beer, she could understand why Koreans go crazy for 'chimaek' (chicken and beer) in groups.

A revolution in taste!

The drumstick, oozing with juices, was an El Dorado delivering the gold of flavor, and the ice-cold beer that made her head tingle was a gas station for her weary soul.

"Eat slowly."

"Thank you...! Thank you for buying me such delicious food!"

Siwoo subtly gathered all the drumsticks onto her plate, while Sharon exclaimed in admiration and munched on the chicken.

For this moment, the strange homunculus and the massive debt were pushed aside.

Siwoo ordered two more chickens for Sharon, and the two talked back and forth until late at night.

Perhaps because of the rare happiness?

Sharon didn't notice at all.

That an unimaginable tragedy awaited her tomorrow,

That this world is endlessly ruthless and cold to the weak,

She didn't yet know.

Author's Note (Afterword)

As the author lacks strength, I will recite words of gratitude for support and seek recovery.

To those who leave comments, those who recommend, and those who visit today—

Thank you all.

I will not forget that I can exist because of you, dear readers, and continue writing with a humble attitude.

-Thank you to Dancing Whale-nim for 100 coins.

As you said, I treated Miss Sharon to delicious chicken.

-Thank you for your support, Nickname.

You do it every day, lol.

-Thank you to Treni for 200 coins!

I will write good stories without going astray in the future.

-Thank you for your support, December!

As Part 1 ends and Part 2 begins, various episodes are planned to appear! Even if I can't reply to each one, I always read the comments well.

Thank you to Mr./Ms. Longtooth Grouper for 50 coins.

I've extended the serialization for you!