Chapter
City of Witches Chapter 160
Della felt irritated.
The desire that had flared up so intensely had cooled off as if doused with cold water.
She had been planning to take Sharon to her room and thoroughly enjoy herself, but then some pesky fly had to butt in and ruin the moment.
Before Della could even perceive the danger of the ribbon, the Autonomous Defense activated, so she suffered no actual harm.
But that was just the perpetrator's perspective; the crime of hurling her noble body through the air was grave.
Della was determined to hold them accountable.
“........”
“........”
A brief standoff.
A kind of probing as each sized up the other.
Della thought the appearance of this sudden spoiler was not very witch-like.
Perhaps it was the armor, but their height was well over 180 cm.
Moreover, the full-body plate armor and helmet seemed to have little to do with Magic.
If forced to summarize in one word: Black Knight.
That expression would be most fitting.
But what witch would go around looking so tacky and unsightly?
With such a distinctive appearance, word would surely have spread, so they were undoubtedly some nobody.
And that judgment bolstered Della's confidence.
“I am Della Redcliffe. This duel occurred for a legitimate reason, and I have the authority to deal with Sharon Evergreen. So if you interfere any further, I will consider it a hostile act and respond with force.”
-Whoosh!
Simultaneously with her final word, a small flame ignited in Della's left hand.
The form, which might not even be recognizable as a flame, was like a tiny, faintly glowing ember.
But the heat radiating from it was not something to be compared to mere embers.
It was an ultra-high-temperature flame that, once set on something to burn, would not extinguish until it was completely reduced to ashes.
“.........”
But Siwoo gave no answer.
The moment he spoke, his voice would reveal he was a man.
Even if he managed to shake off the opposing witch and escape, the revealed truth would come back to haunt him later.
“An introduction wouldn't hurt, would it? And...”
However, Siwoo's dilemma didn't last long.
Della's arm slashed sharply through the air.
Something was coming.
-Clang!
Before Siwoo, who had thought that, could even assume a defensive stance, a sharp pain and a heat that lagged a beat behind raced across his forehead.
His neck snapped back, the helmet that had barely been covering his face flew off, and he felt his bangs singe.
“Guh!!!”
He had been mistaken.
His opponent was a witch capable of taking down Sharon without leaving a single wound.
She was not an enemy of a level where he could leisurely choose whether to flee or fight.
“It's only polite to show your face when meeting someone for the first time...”
Hair and eyes reminiscent of blazing flames, yet with an impression as cold and icy as the opposite—it made him break out in a cold sweat.
Siwoo belatedly regenerated his helmet from shadow, but judging by the opponent's reaction, it didn't seem to matter much.
“A man?”
“Haa... It's out.”
“A man who uses Magic?”
Judging by the scale of the magic power, she had thought it was around the 14th or 15th Hierarchy, but who would have guessed the identity was a man?
Della wore a rare, dumbfounded expression as she tilted her head.
“I showed you something interesting. Couldn't you just let us go?”
Then, Della's expression stiffened sharply.
Siwoo's existence was clearly something that shook the very foundations of common sense.
But the downturn of Della's lips was a matter entirely separate from magical curiosity.
A man who suddenly appeared and shielded Sharon.
It wasn't hard to guess what that meant.
Someone had already snatched away what she was trying to acquire.
“While I was running around paying off debts, you went and got yourself a male toy... Seems your legs are quite loose, huh.”
The sarcasm was directed not at Siwoo, but at Sharon, who lay collapsed and utterly exhausted.
Sharon seemed about to retort something, but perhaps her strength was completely drained, as she just let out a deep sigh.
Unaware of the detailed circumstances, Siwoo attempted conversation first.
“I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I'd appreciate it if you'd let us go.”
Siwoo raised his hand, showing the ring of the House of Gemernai.
Unlike with Ea, this opponent seemed somewhat reasonable, and if so, there was no need to take on danger with a head-on collision.
Della's ruby-like eyes glanced at Siwoo's hand.
But her reaction fell far short of Siwoo's expectations.
He had hoped for at least a slight hint of restraint, if not as much as Sharon's...
“So? Did you think I'd see a mere ring and say 'understood' and back off?”
“That's not it. But out of respect for Countess Gemernai's dignity...”
“What about my dignity?”
Della cut Siwoo off mid-sentence as if it wasn't even worth hearing.
“It was the Evergreen side who trespassed into my hunting grounds and attacked first. What's more, she seemed seriously injured, so I was even going to treat her. And you barge in and ask me to hand her over out of respect for Countess Gemernai's dignity? Isn't that a bit too arrogant?”
At first glance, it might sound plausible, but upon closer inspection, it was laughable.
Beat someone to this state and claim you'll take them away under the pretext of treatment?
Besides, would Sharon, who wanted to regain her citizenship no matter what, attack without any reason?
Even if not, between Sharon, whom he'd spent nearly a month with, and Della, trust naturally lay with Sharon.
“I will later ascertain the circumstances and prepare appropriate compensation. For now, I'd be grateful if you'd let us leave.”
“You can leave. Just leave Sharon behind.”
Look at this.
Even after saying he'd provide suitable compensation later, she stubbornly insists on leaving Sharon behind—that alone is incredibly suspicious.
Then, only one method remains.
“Well, then there's no other way.”
Buy time by confronting Della and evacuate Sharon.
He could think about the aftermath later.
As if that fighting spirit had been transmitted to Della, red lines of magic power began to coil around her.
“I won't stop you. As you said, out of respect for Countess Gemernai's dignity, I won't take your life, but I'll give you a taste of something hot.”
-Thud!
The moment Della stomped her foot, Simultaneously, the viaduct and the surrounding area began to glow with a blinding light.The magic power flowing from the Brand began to scatter and draw Magic Circles in the air.
And in an instant, the ambient magic power drifting around those Magic Circles as focal points came under Della's control.
It was an absurd level of magic dominance and spatial control.
Thickly, sometimes faintly, tangled clusters of magic power like heat haze had naturally drawn Magic Circles in the air before anyone knew it.
Even though it was clear the Magic hadn't fully manifested yet.
Just the radiant heat emanating from them conveyed a scorching intensity that felt like it could cook flesh alive.
You won't take my life?
That's no joke.
Siwoo, who hadn't even set up Autonomous Defense, had no way to block that level of heat.
If it fully activates, he'll die.
"........."
But Siwoo didn't shrink back or show a hint of fear.
Strangely, once he entered combat, such trivial emotions were pushed to the back of his mind.
Moreover, the current Siwoo was different from before.
When fighting Ea at Amelia's mansion, or the Homunculus at the Latifundium, he had to observe how the magic worked and reverse-engineer the form of the Magic.
But now, with no prior preparation, Siwoo's left eye clearly captured Della's Magic Formula.
The advantage of 'being able to see the flow of magic power' presented itself as an overwhelming merit in magical combat.
Her Magic Formula resembled a hearth.
Her claim about holding back seemed true—a simple Magic Formula where three lines connected in a wide-angled V-shape.
Judging by its shape, angles, and the surrounding environment, it was a type of shotgun that sequentially sprayed magic-powered flames in three stages over time.
While it might not have significant power on its own, the problem was the number.
At a glance, dozens of Magic Circles branched out around Della as if guarding her.
"Burn."
-Wheeeeeeng!
With Della's Incantation, the Magic Circles absorbed the surrounding magic power, emitting an overheated engine-like noise.
Even if Siwoo focused entirely on defense, he couldn't block an attack of that scale without taking any damage.
Therefore, Siwoo chose to attempt a dispel before the Magic Circles activated.
"Bloom!"
"What?"
The Black Ribbon stretched across Siwoo's back began to weave through the crisscrossing Magic Circles.
The moment just before perfect activation is when Magic is most vulnerable.
Thus, Siwoo pierced the 'core' of the Magic Circles visible to his left eye with the Ribbon, shattering them on sight.
Like a snake slithering through the air, the Ribbon shattered nearly half the Magic Circles before Della could even be surprised.
Since the 'particles of shadow' themselves adhered to the Magic Formula to induce nullification, it was far more effective than a simple dispel pin that created needles of magic power to disrupt the flow of Magic.
-Wheeeeeeng!!!!
However, he couldn't disable all the Magic Circles in time.
For one, there were simply too many.
So, while dispelling about half the Magic Circles, he raised a shield of shadow to protect his heart and head.
-Kwa-gwang! Kwang! Kwa-gwang!
What Siwoo glimpsed before covering his face were multicolored flames filling his vision and surging forward, like a shotgun blast or fireworks exploding right before his eyes.
Like hailstones mixed into a storm, the blazing flames of magic power scattered brilliantly each time they struck the shadow armor and shield.
-Thud! Thududududuk!
"Kgh!"
But the shadow shield wasn't immune to all magical effects.
The fiery embers, already manifested with temperatures exceeding hundreds of degrees, seared Siwoo's flesh as they grazed the armor.
It's hot.
Anxiety gnawed at his chest—the fear that the armor would heat up like this, turning him into a roast like a condemned man in a brazen bull.
"You're an amazing person."
After what felt like an hour but was only ten seconds, Della's voice reached him.
For someone who rarely praised others, her tone held a rare, genuine note of admiration.
"To instantly analyze and dispel my relays... What are you? Some kind of secret magical weapon created by the House of Gemernai?"
Della's specialty was fire Elemental Magic based on 'spatial control.'
Unlike most Witches who wield Magic purely using the magic power within their bodies, Della used Magic Circles as 'relays' to wield Magic using external magic power.
While precision suffered somewhat due to the relay process, the magic efficiency increased dramatically, offering the advantage of being able to use large-scale Magic multiple times once spatial control was established.
"More importantly, how did you do it? I'm sure I concealed them."
Since the Relay Formula formed the basis of Della's Magic, it was no exaggeration to say that concealing that Relay Formula was paramount.
Therefore, when installing a relay, she used an entire stroke for concealment.
She scattered an interfering heat haze around it to prevent identification, block interference, and erase traces.
But this man blatantly saw through that camouflage and attempted—and succeeded at—a dispel.
It was unclear if he had exceptionally sharp senses or possessed innate magic specialized in detection.
But it didn't matter.
She could easily make a few hundred more of these relays.
Della rolled her foot again, installing dozens of additional relays around her.
"Hooob..."
Siwoo caught his breath.
The armor had returned to its original temperature, but it didn't neatly dry out his sweat-soaked body.
Because of that, his entire body was drenched in sweat, making it unbearably hot and hard to breathe.
But he could see a chance of victory.
Based on his observation from the previous clash, the sequence of Della's Magic activation was as follows:
Pre-install Magic Circles in the air.
Send magic power from the Brand to the Magic Circles.
The installed Magic Circles manipulate external magic power.
Magic manifests.
That was the order.
So, what was the surefire way to seize victory?
In combat, his instincts always provided answers close to the correct one.
This time, his intuition was screaming.
Something Della lacked, but Siwoo possessed.
He had to maximize that advantage.
Use the armor's strength enhancement to close the distance and engage in close combat without giving her space.
Simultaneously, use the Ribbon to dispel the Magic Circles floating in the air.
"Hooob!"
Siwoo inhaled.
His leg strength, enhanced to its limit, crushed the softened asphalt like tofu.
Channeling all that force entirely into a leap, Siwoo charged toward Della with his shield raised.
Author's Note (Afterword)
Barely made it in time, lol
Ah, and it seems many of you think Redcliff's heart is love(...)I merely intended to express it as an act of greed and obsession...
It seems there are still many shortcomings.
You've all worked hard today! Sleep well!