City of Witches Chapter 166

The Altai Mountains.

This mountain range, meaning "Mountains of Gold" in Mongolian, begins in the Gobi Desert and stretches 1,600 kilometers to the West Siberian Plain, traversing four countries—Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and China—from southeast to northwest.

A crooked, newly formed river meandered across the vast land, while sparse birch and larch trees scattered along its banks rustled in the fierce wind sweeping through the valley.

The mountain peaks piercing the dazzlingly blue sky were crowned with eternal snow like hats, and wild goats frolicked on the untamed slopes along the ridges.

Amidst the majestic grandeur of nature that could make even a non-believer praise God, stood a petite woman.

Her appearance, contrary to her mature aura, was youthful—more of a girl than a lady, as if she had just reached adulthood.

However, anyone seeing her for the first time would take a moment to notice this fact.

Because the girl's hair and eyes were more mystical than the natural landscape of the Altai Mountains.

Her lush, pale peach-colored long hair and magenta eyes were bewitching, like those of a seductive fox.

But it wasn't just her appearance that was bewitching.

This was rugged terrain, dozens of kilometers in a straight line from any nomadic settlement.

Yet here she was, without a proper guide, dressed in light clothing as if out for a stroll, standing on the surface of a frigid lake formed by melting glaciers.

And if she was holding a pure white sword longer than her own body, the peculiarity would only double.

"........"

A wave of magical power began to emanate from around her.

The magenta reflection of magical light clinging to the corners of her eyes.

The mirror-like, ripple-free surface of the water churned as if facing a storm from the dense eruption of magical power.

The Hidden Boundary, which had begun expanding from her in a small spherical form, gradually started to devour the surrounding scenery.

10M, 20M, 100M, 500M, 1KM, 5KM, 10KM.

Even if it was a Hidden Boundary simplified for distribution by Duke Keter, deploying it on this scale would normally consume a considerable amount of magical power.

Yet, belying her cute impression, her straight eyebrows, devoid of any charm, showed not a hint of disturbance.

"You've come."

Muttering softly, the girl stomped on the water's surface.

The lake erupted with a thunderous roar and a spray of water, as if a torpedo had exploded.

Surprisingly, it wasn't due to any magical effect.

The pink-haired girl had simply stomped on the water's surface with all her might.

The sheer physical force generated from her leg alone had caused such a violent breach of physical laws.

With a single leap, the girl cleared the hundreds-of-meters-wide lake and surged toward her destination.

With each step, the ground exploded beneath her feet.

Her supersonic sprint merely grazed an unfortunate larch tree, shaking it to its roots, and shattered the lake's surface.

After running for about ten seconds, she came to an abrupt halt on a high mountain meadow thick with wild grass.

She had found the Homunculus, the "Enemy Knight," who had fled and buried itself in Subspace.

"........"

Its height was approximately 2M.

True to its name, it was covered from head to toe in ominously deep red armor.

As if sensing the girl's presence, it glanced in her direction.

Despite the injuries inflicted earlier, it seemed to have fully recovered inside Subspace, already in perfect condition.

Most Homunculi do not have individual names.

Since each entity is unique and, once discovered, is promptly hunted down, making unique names inefficient as they would never be used again.

So, what does it mean for a Homunculus to have a name?

It signifies a notorious Homunculus that has survived for a very long time.

Just as Exiles who harm Witches and humans are labeled "public enemies," that hideous red-armored Homunculus bears the unique title of "Enemy Knight."

A monster created by the Witch of Creation, discovered in the Apennine Mountains 500 years ago, responsible for hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and having hunted down seven Witches who came to hunt it in return.

-Clank!

The Enemy Knight raised its red spear, matching its armor.

Simultaneously, the eyes hidden beneath its helmet opened.

Fifteen pairs of eyes, curved in a disturbingly mocking manner, turned toward the girl.

Unfazed by the ominous gaze, she gripped her sword.

-Crack!

The grip groaned under immense pressure from her terrifying grip strength.

"You tiresome creature. Let's settle this here."

The girl, gripping the hilt with both hands, tilted her body diagonally.

Before the divine strength attained through a "Contract," human tricks like Half-Sword were unnecessary.

All that was needed was a preparatory stance to channel all her power into a single strike.

"I Contract."

With a short Incantation, the pure white sword began to manifest the terms of the Contract as Fairy Script appeared along its blade.

Contract One: Enhancement of full-body muscular strength.

Contract Two: Enhancement of full-body muscular explosiveness.

Contract Three: Reinforcement of full-body muscular flexibility.

Contract Four: Conversion of all paid magical power into a single Slash.

Contract Five: Negation of mutual distance.

Contract Six: Sever all things along the Sword Path.

With each additional Contract, the oppressive weight of magical power doubled, crushing the surroundings.

The Enemy Knight, not intending to stand idly by, aimed its "Red Branch" at its opponent.

"I shall sever you."

The girl's legs, firmly planted on the ground, exuded the stability of deeply rooted ancient trees.

Her front foot, fixed like a pivot to prevent her body from lifting, shook the very earth, while her rear foot pushed off, sending soil exploding outward as if erupting.

A strike that seemed to cleave space itself.

So clean that it produced no sound, no wind, the sword split the void at an invisible speed.

Simultaneously, a crimson barrier began to spread vine-like from the tip of the Red Branch confronting the girl.

The Hidden Boundary, which had been deployed on a massive scale, was withdrawn.

As it shrank from the edges like a tightening noose, the traces of destruction left by the Slash were restored.

The lake, completely swept away by the aftermath of the Sword Wind.

The mountain range, sliced as crookedly as cheese within the Slash's range—all returned to their original state.

What remained after the barrier disappeared was the peaceful, pastoral appearance of the high mountain meadow, as usual.

Duke 'Eloah Tiferet' carelessly Reverse Summoned her Ceremonial Artifact, the "Contract Sword," and clicked her tongue.

"Tch."

She had let it get away again.The slash that had cleaved through the enemy knight along with the mountain range hundreds of meters away still failed to pierce the barrier created by the "Red Branch."

"Were you planning to escape from the start...?"

I thought you'd finally decided to fight since you suddenly leaped out of subspace.

Immediately after defending against the slash, the enemy knight tore through a dimensional rift and vanished.

Homunculi possess an innate ability to traverse dimensions.

During inactive periods, they lie dormant within subspace, and when active, they roam across the world causing havoc.

Especially the distortion ability held by the "Red Branch" allowed for more precise use of this escape method, and the highly intelligent enemy knight, being humanoid, utilized it perfectly.

This was why, despite clashing with the enemy knight seven times during a year of pursuit and winning all seven encounters, Eloa had been unable to claim its head.

Even if she won the fight, the slightest gap would allow it to slip away and escape.

This time, an entire month of arduous wilderness living had become meaningless, but Eloa wasn't particularly irritated.

A prey that runs away can simply be chased again.

Generally, tracking a specific Homunculus in this vast world would take an immense amount of time, but Eloa's case was slightly different.

After the fifth clash, she had prepared a means of pursuit.

She had consumed one of her twelve "Contracts" to establish a connection with the enemy knight.

The contract's content was "to confirm each other's location."

Thus, Eloa could vividly sense the presence of the enemy knight, now far, far away.

Although there was an error margin of several tens of kilometers, the mere narrowing of the search range was already a gain.

Based on experience gained from hunting hundreds of Homunculi, their spatial leaps have limitations.

There is a cooldown, and that cooldown lengthens as the leap distance increases.

The enemy knight, which had been hopping short distances to escape, had this time fled a considerable distance in one go.

Meaning, for the time being, cheap tricks like slipping away would be impossible.

Eloa immediately crouched and began to sprint.

As she ran, her body gradually accelerated, nearing the speed of sound and covering several kilometers per minute.

[Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!]

Suddenly, her phone alarm rang, and Eloa stopped running.

Having lived in remote areas for a while, arriving where a signal was available meant all the piled-up emails had arrived.

"........."

And after checking the email subject, the duke stood there blankly.

[Lord Tiferet, Ea Sadalmelik, who invaded Gehenna, has been killed by Baroness Amelia Marigold]

[Public Enemy Ea Sadalmelik Death Notification]

[Sadal Melik Death]

Dozens of emails with similar content had arrived.

Duke Tiferet was the founder of Witch Points scattered across the globe, and accordingly, all information regarding Homunculi and public enemies gathered to her.

Moreover, for Eloa, who was determined to hunt down Ea, reports about Ea took higher priority than any other matter.

Though there were dozens of emails, what they signified was the same.

That the public enemy, Ea Sadalmelik, who killed Eloa's apprentice witch a hundred years ago, was dead.

Dead?

That cockroach-like woman who kept running away.

That woman whom chewing to death from the fingertips wouldn't be satisfying enough.

Just up and died like that?

Eloa felt the thread that had barely been holding her together snap.

Simultaneously, two scenes surfaced.

Herself, granting permission to her apprentice witch "Raphi," who had begged to be allowed to go to the Mortal Realm for fun.

Herself, embracing Raphi's cold, lifeless body in a shabby warehouse and screaming.

She had sworn that day.

To live for the sake of avenging the villain who killed her innocent apprentice witch, who knew nothing, and stole her Vessel.

But her revenge was over.

No one can hold the dead accountable.

Without any atonement, without any requiem.

Burning with emotion, the right to truly be angry—stolen away—it just abruptly ended.

"Raphi... Raphi..."

Eloa, her legs giving way, slumped to the ground and called the name of her beloved disciple.

After muttering blankly for a while, Eloa barely managed to get up.

Nothing is certain yet.

It might just be a rumor.

She must verify the truth immediately.

Eloa took out her Citizen Card, infused it with magic power, and then threw herself into the nearby blue river to return to Gehenna.

=====

Received fan art after a long time!

Its identity is... none other than Della Redcliffe, drawn for the second time by the user "Mentally Shattered Madness Fighter"!

I've felt it before, but you really draw slightly scary women so well!

Another piece of fan art can be viewed in the fan art gallery in the announcements.

Once again, thank you so much!!!

Author's Note (Author's Review)

Originally, if I had done a double update today, the development would have been a bit more refreshing...

Lately, I keep getting migraines, so it's tough ㅜㅜ