City of Witches Chapter 159

Siwoo woke from a deep sleep.

Even as a Spirit Body, sleep truly enhances one's quality of life—people really do need to rest.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he stepped out into the living room, but Sharon was nowhere to be seen.

“Sharon?”

Sharon was always the early riser, usually up before him.

Normally around this time, she’d be sitting on the sofa, scrolling through delivery apps to pick breakfast.

No answer when he called. Worried, he knocked on her door and peeked inside, but there was no sign of her.

“What? Where did she go?”

Seeing her phone left neatly on the table, it seemed she’d just stepped out briefly.

Siwoo headed to the bathroom, quickly washed his hair, and changed clothes.

“...Feels kinda like a couple.”

Sitting on the sofa, pondering where she might have gone, he was struck by a strange feeling.

Waking up and instinctively looking for his female roommate...

And that roommate being a breathtakingly beautiful mixed-blood girl.

It felt like the fantasy of a teenage boy in the throes of puberty.

Well, even though they were living together, they were far from being lovers—there hadn’t been a single awkward episode.

“Wait. Actually, come to think of it, there have been quite a few.”

If he thought about it carefully, there were moments.

Like how, right before bed (or just after waking), Sharon would stroll around braless, making it hard to know where to look.

Or the time he found her underwear while taking laundry out of the washer to dry at the coin laundry downstairs, leaving him oddly flustered (incidentally, that’s how Siwoo learned Sharon was an E-cup).

Or how her humming during showers or baths would drift into the living room, making him feel strangely embarrassed.

Thinking back, there were several other incidents too.

Yet Siwoo didn’t classify these as ‘awkward episodes’ because they stemmed from one simple fact: ‘Sharon didn’t particularly see Siwoo as a man.’

“Giving it meaning would just be silly...”

Anyway, after drinking a glass of water, he decided to tidy up the room for once.

For reference, this ‘tidying’ was part of his training.

Somehow, the Ribbon of Ea Sadalmelik, the Maiden's Loom, was intertwined within Siwoo’s Brand.

This was a kind of training to master its use freely.

With the music box’s concealment effect maxed out, Siwoo tidied the room, four Ribbons fluttering from his lower back.

Having four extra Ribbons usable like hands should have made it feel like having two people helping, but the cleaning was painfully slow.

Handling one Ribbon was like gaining a third arm—not too difficult. But with two or more, they’d start tangling like arms getting crossed while juggling.

It was a reminder of how terrifying Ea must have been, effortlessly wielding dozens of Ribbons.

After a very long time spent cleaning, it was nearly time for Magic lessons, yet Sharon still hadn’t returned.

“Did she go to Witch Point?”

Sharon was always punctual, starting lessons right on time with clockwork precision.

She probably wasn’t late... She’d be back within 30 minutes, surely.

In the meantime, rather than just lazing around, he thought he might buy her some bubble tea.

Sharon had been really into bubble tea lately.

“Might as well take a walk and get it.”

Sharon wasn’t the type to teach more just because someone buttered her up, but who knows? Maybe offering a tribute would earn him a special Magic lesson she’d been holding back.

Hands in pockets, he shuffled outside.

Truthfully, Siwoo wasn’t a big fan of bubble tea.

During his slave life in Gehenna, surviving on rock-hard bread and watery soup that could double as weapons, his taste buds had been miraculously altered to appreciate almost any food—but bubble tea was a texture deal-breaker.

That slimy, frog-egg-like sensation...

He couldn’t understand why college girls, who’d probably recoil at actual frogs, slurped the stuff down.

Anyway, scrolling through his phone, he walked quite a distance to a café famous for bubble tea in the area.

With a bubble tea cup in the holder, he sipped an iced Americano as he walked.

“It’s hot...”

Maybe he should’ve just ordered delivery.

Walking this far, the ice might melt completely.

-Thrum!

Walking on the sun-baked pavement, Siwoo suddenly sensed a vibration.

A large tremor, like his heart squeezing tight then releasing—he immediately recognized its nature.

It was a Wave of Magical Power.

But this was no ordinary wave.

Muffled as if wrapped in thick cotton, the waveform itself wasn’t large, but its deep resonance subtly shook his body.

Something had happened.

“Now what?”

It felt like trouble just flocked to him whenever he walked around.

Siwoo quickly raised his eyepatch.

His golden eyes, reading the flow of magic power, scanned the surroundings.

If a shock strong enough to produce such a tremor had occurred in the Mortal Realm, the area wouldn’t be this quiet.

At the very least, there’d be commotion somewhere, as if a bomb had gone off.

But unlike Siwoo, sweating profusely with a stiff expression, the passersby showed no change in their faces.

Meaning, it was highly likely this Wave of Magical Power had leaked through a Hidden Boundary.

No matter how a Hidden Boundary replicated and pasted another world, ultimately, it was a space layered like a leaf and its reflection on water’s surface.

In less than a minute of looking around, he found a spot where the flow of magic power subtly frayed and broke apart.

Under an old underpass beneath railway tracks, allowing cars and people to pass through.

“Damn it.”

Siwoo hesitated.

He couldn’t help but hesitate.

Whatever it was, an incident had clearly occurred, and Siwoo wanted to avoid unexpected accidents if possible.

Moreover, Sharon, who should be his most reliable protector, was missing.

So, logically, the right move was to turn and run home without looking back.

Sharon was probably home by now; if needed, they could go together. No need to step into the whirlpool of trouble alone.

Yet, there was a reason Siwoo hesitated about heading toward the underpass.

Sharon’s sudden disappearance this morning and this incident happening nearby lined up too perfectly.

Meaning, the probability of Sharon being down there was extremely, extremely high.

“Why the hell does this stuff keep happening to me...?”

He seriously considered getting his fortune told at a campus divination shop once this was over.

Siwoo pulled the music box from his pocket.

Just a quick look, then I’m out.If it seemed like Sharon wasn't there or the danger was too immense to handle, he'd run away immediately.

"Bloom."

Siwoo chanted the incantation and simultaneously kicked off the guardrail.

And what Siwoo saw upon entering the Hidden Barrier was a world engulfed in flames, crimson as if wrapped in a phone call, and a sky turned black.

Sensing an unusual atmosphere, Siwoo peered through the gaps in his helmet, looking around.

Tall buildings were all burning.

If this had happened in reality, it would likely be splashed across the front page of newspapers with headlines about the "Great Fire of the Decade."

The epicenter of the destruction, reminiscent of hell, was, needless to say, the underpass.

As if a volcano had erupted beneath the underpass, the top was blown open, spewing red light and intense heat like a blast furnace.

"Cough! Cough! This is insane..."

Siwoo, who had inadvertently inhaled the heat, coughed violently.

Because a scorching hot wind, incomparable to entering a sauna, had rushed in.

Even from a good 100 meters away, the heat was this intense.

If he proceeded forward like this, it was obvious he'd burn to death before even figuring out what the problem was.

But that was only for a moment.

The flames, which had been licking out in all directions, quietly subsided.

The intense heat also calmed down as if it had been blown away somewhere.

Only then could Siwoo cautiously move forward.

In preparation for any potential combat, he clad his entire body in armor.

With Body Enhancement and minimal defensive measures in place, he cranked the music box's output to maximum to suppress his presence.

The asphalt, melted and not yet solidified, stuck to the soles of his feet with a sizzling sound.

The heat haze rising from the scorched ground made it hard to see clearly beneath the underpass.

And when he got within 20 meters, he discovered it.

A witch adorned in red, forcibly lifting and binding Sharon.

Encountering a witch is dangerous.

Given the circumstances, that witch had defeated Sharon.

Then she might be a public enemy, beyond just an Exile.

Moreover, the fact that she had reduced Sharon, who was of a higher Hierarchy than Siwoo, to that state likely meant she was a formidable opponent Siwoo couldn't handle.

"Bloom!"

But Siwoo had not a moment of hesitation or doubt.

Sharon was down.

Judging by the barely functioning Autonomous Defense, she hadn't lost her life, but she was on the verge of being kidnapped.

Siwoo wasn't the type of clever person to weigh conditions in such an urgent situation.

Weighing conditions was sufficient only in terms of how to rescue Sharon.

Throwing the Spear of Shadow risked Sharon getting caught in it, and charging directly to shake off the red witch risked Sharon being taken hostage.

The music box was operating, allowing for a surprise First Strike.

So, flexibly, what means could attack only the 'enemy' according to the situation?

A Ribbon woven from the Maiden's Loom mixed with shadow particles.

The instantly extended ribbon coiled around the red witch's wrist.

And then flung the witch to the opposite side of Sharon.

It was merely a thin ribbon tied around her wrist and swung, but the result exceeded Siwoo's expectations.

-KWAAAAAAANG!!!!

The moment her body flew through the air and crashed down with a menacing air, sparks showered down from the wall that had been glowing red-hot from the scorching flames.

The impact sound, echoing several times within the narrow underpass, made his ears ring.

"What the..."

Is she this strong?

Siwoo hadn't particularly infused a large amount of magic power either.

In terms of feeling, it was like swinging his arm with moderate force.

Yet, with just that amount of power, as if caught in heavy machinery, the witch's body flew away at an invisible speed.

"Are you okay?"

Siwoo immediately ran to Sharon, who was lying powerless on the ground, and checked her breathing.

Sharon's eyes, struggling to open with ragged breaths, slowly tracked Siwoo.

"Run... away..."

"Run away? What run away... Come here."

Without asking for further details, he immediately began deploying the coordinate transfer formula.

The Magic of spatial transfer is not that easy.

To escape to a desired location, he needed to buy at least 10 seconds or more comfortably.

So, the time until that witch crashed into the wall and regrouped was the only golden opportunity to avoid combat and flee.

-Whoosh!

But Siwoo's hope was dashed by flames erupting from the road surface where the coordinate transfer formula was being inscribed.

"How arrogant, so arrogant."

The red witch, starting to walk leisurely from the opposite side of the underpass.

Despite making such a loud noise, there wasn't a single scratch on her body.

Not even a scratch, her clothes weren't even wrinkled.

Autonomous Defense.

An automatic defense system that naturally manifests after reaching the 15th Hierarchy where mind and Magic become one.

Siwoo also knew that Autonomous Defense, which at full strength could even block a warship's main cannon, wouldn't collapse from just being thrown against a wall.

"Who on earth are you? It's a Magic I've never seen before."

The red witch looked down at Siwoo with crimson eyes.

Well, this.

It's a familiar situation.

It was a similar situation when facing Ea Sadalmelik for the Twins.

Praying not to repeat the mistake of that time, Siwoo amplified his magic power.

Author's Note (Afterword)

Today's scheduled update might be a bit late.