City of Witches Chapter 170

How can night and day be so different?

Even though it's the same space—the first floor of the department store—the darkness staining the brother-in-law heavily weighs down on my shoulders.

No, perhaps it's the monsters, who, even after completing their encirclement, aren't rushing in but are prowling around, that are pressing down on my shoulders.

Siwoo muttered.

The standoff continued, making him wonder if this time was truly necessary.

The longer the standoff dragged on, sweat as heavy as a doe trickled down his spine.

The red eyes surrounding them from all four directions blinked like warning lights, heightening the tension, but they showed no movement, as if waiting for something.

Yet, this deadly standoff was also a time to exchange words with Sharon.

“Do you have any guesses?”

“None. But something’s off... If there were this many, even if Homunculi usually hide their bodies in pocket dimensions, we would’ve found them during our search.”

Siwoo agreed with Sharon’s opinion.

This wasn’t just one or two.

Perhaps dozens, or even hundreds, considering the size of this building.

And we never detected them even once?

“Are Homunculi generally intelligent?”

“It varies depending on the number and shape of their eyes... but you’ve seen them. They’re no different from beasts.”

“Then what’s this? It feels like someone’s commanding them.”

“Commanding...?”

Siwoo began explaining what he assumed Sharon already knew.

“First, they hid to avoid detection during our searches so far. Second, they lured us while maintaining a 150-meter distance to keep themselves hidden.

Lastly, they maintained that distance until we reached the very center of the department store, where there’s no escape, and then simultaneously tightened the encirclement. Doesn’t that seem odd?”

It’s too methodical.

Creatures no different from beasts moved in perfect unison, as if they were one body.

Homunculi, commanding...

For a moment, a Witch flashed through Sharon’s mind.

“Ah... Could it be?”

“Do you have an idea?”

But Sharon immediately dismissed her own hypothesis.

It couldn’t be.

If that ‘public enemy’ were here, a much bigger commotion would’ve erupted by now.

A great calamity would have struck.

Since they first encountered these black dogs roughly three months ago, if the mastermind behind this series of incidents were the ‘Cowardly Witch,’ she wouldn’t have caused such a small-scale incident.

Moreover, wasn’t the last time the Cowardly Witch showed herself during the Chernobyl incident?

She’s the one who’s been hiding even from the Mortal Realm for decades.

“No, let’s focus on getting out of here first.”

“How many can you handle with your remaining magic power?”

“About twenty. You?”

“...I’ll only know once I try.”

If there was any consolation, it was that Siwoo was far calmer than expected.

Even for Sharon, who has gained considerable hunting experience, this situation is quite perilous.

In action movies, it might be different, but in real fights, numbers can overturn even overwhelming skill gaps.

Even without knowing that fact, the pressure of being surrounded and seeing monsters growling from all sides should instill fear.

But Siwoo showed no such signs.

If Siwoo weren’t here, wouldn’t Sharon be the one panicking instead?

His calmness was contagious, making her own mind feel cooler.

“You’re reliable, huh?”

At the words that slipped out unintentionally, Siwoo looked at Sharon with slight surprise, then chuckled softly.

“These things are increasing in number.”

“Are you saying we should move now?”

“I’m saying it’s better to move as soon as possible. But there’s a problem. The encirclement near the entrance is suspiciously loose.”

Sharon looked around upon hearing Siwoo’s words.

Indeed, there was an area where the number of gleaming eyes was slightly fewer.

“I have an idea. Want to hear it? If it sounds wrong, ignore it. You have more experience, after all.”

“What is it? I’ll listen.”

Siwoo told Sharon the conclusion he’d drawn from his observations.

Perhaps sensing they didn’t have much time, he spoke at a very rapid pace.

“Compared to the loose encirclement at the entrance, the encirclement around the escalator leading underground—another escape route—is incredibly tight. I think they’re deliberately driving us toward the entrance. Assuming their intelligence reaches that level.”

“So you’re saying we shouldn’t flee toward the entrance?”

“Given the circumstances, we’re prey lured here. They have no reason to let us go easily.”

Sharon nodded.

Siwoo’s opinion made a lot of sense.

If their only intention was to chase us out, they wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of setting up such an elaborate encirclement.

“So, my idea is to escape through the Underground Shopping Mall toward the subway. What do you think?”

Usually, in such situations, people act based on what’s immediately visible.

But Siwoo combined the given information to accurately diagnose the situation.

“Let’s go first. I’ll break through the front, so you only cover me if I can’t react. Conserve your magic power as much as possible. If, by any chance, a major threat appears, we’ll need your power more than mine then.”

Moreover, without showing any fear, he positioned himself in the direction with the most gleaming eyes.

Sharon inwardly admired him.

“Alright, let’s do as you say.”

“Right now...”

Siwoo’s foot stamped the ground.

Perhaps because it was an acceleration so swift even Sharon was caught off guard, the group of black dogs that had slightly revealed themselves near the ornamental flame flinched.

“Run!”

Shadowy particles gathered densely in Siwoo’s right hand, forming the shape of a sword.

Simultaneously, a single Ribbon sprouting near his spine sharply whipped around.

-Grrr grrr!

-Kieeeek!

The department store interior, which had been enveloped in tense silence, instantly descended into chaos.

There were no exceptions to the destruction—clothing, cosmetics, jewelry display cases.

Some were sent flying dozens of meters by the Ribbon’s strike, others charged fiercely with bared fangs, and some chased after Sharon and Siwoo as they ran.

“Ah!”

Sharon let out a short scream and tried to swing her Wand.

She had spotted three black dogs leaping simultaneously to block Siwoo’s path ahead.

Their speed was so fast they were almost invisible to the naked eye.If you imagine a motorcycle charging at full speed to hit a person, the speed and force would be roughly similar.

If it had been Siwoo until now, even if he blocked it, he would have been pushed back.

However, through the battles so far, Siwoo had analyzed his own weakness.

Namely, the Law of Shadows, which handles Siwoo's Close Combat, is a Magic that is physically very weak.

While it may be strong against anti-Magic combat due to the particles of the microscopic Magic Circle that disrupt Magic clumping together, its physical destructive power itself is not particularly outstanding.

Moreover, it's the same even in the face of pure, dense magic power.

What compensated for that lightness was the elemental Magic he learned from Sharon, specifically the earth attribute.

Using the heavy and ponderous nature of the earth element, he added weight to the shadows and increased their density.

If the weapons Siwoo had fought with until now were cotton bats, now he was swinging an iron bat packed solid.

-Thunk!

Simultaneously, a sound like being hit by a truck echoed.

A Homunculus, turned into a lump, flying off and falling through the air.

It wasn't an everyday sight.

After all, a normal human body doesn't have that level of athletic performance capability.

But the feel of the hit proves it.

Even with the same force, just adding weight significantly increases its destructive power.

-Kyaooo!

Before Siwoo could even recover his stance, the monster that had slammed into the ceiling plunges down at him like an air-to-ground missile.

It's too late to correct his posture.

Because he had swung from right to left with a large motion, raising the shield in his left hand to block horizontally wouldn't be in time either.

In that split-second gap.

Siwoo, without hesitation, modified the form of the sword he had just swung to strike down the Homunculus.

Instead of a Longsword, the shadow transformed into a straight spear, which he sets diagonally against the Homunculus flying at him from the air.

The monster that charged into the rigidly erected spear met a miserable end.

-Kieeeek!

Leaving behind a horrific scream, Siwoo immediately released the spear to reduce the impact and advanced again.

It was a movement as natural as flowing water.

It's strange.

Siwoo hadn't particularly learned how to handle his body outside of magic combat.

Even Taekwondo academies, which every Korean man has attended at least once, were someone else's affair for Siwoo.

So, wasn't he swinging his sword clumsily when hunting Homunculi in the Mortal Realm for the first time?

No, to describe his appearance back then, it would be more accurate to say he was being swung by the sword.

Yet, his body moves.

As if memories were imprinted on his body, even before the thought of 'how to take down the enemy' arises, he naturally creates a weapon and kills the enemy by targeting the sharpest opening.

His body movements and actions had become much more natural than even during his fierce battle with Della.

-Kieeeek!

Sharon was watching Siwoo's back as he broke through the encirclement, half-dazed, as if running.

At first, worry was the strongest feeling.

No matter how much combat experience Siwoo had with Homunculi, it fell far short compared to Sharon.

Moreover, facing this many numbers in a single engagement... an ordinary person would likely panic and get their limbs tangled up...

-Vwoosh!

A single Ribbon, swung like a sharp whip, simultaneously strikes down two Homunculi attacking Sharon from behind.

At the same time, with a shield blow weighted with his body mass, he knocks one down and then stomps its head, bursting it.

Without even looking, he strikes down a Homunculus charging at Sharon while simultaneously dealing with a monster rushing from the front.

Seeing him like that, Sharon recalled a single word.

unhindered

A four-character idiom meaning thoughts or actions flow without obstruction and are free.

To that extent, his movements were unimpeded.

There wasn't even a moment's hesitation or a break in the flow.

Like a seasoned hunter, he skillfully used his Magic, ceaselessly changing the form of his armaments, slaughtering the Homunculi.

Thanks to that, Sharon didn't have to swing her Wand even once while escaping the encirclement.

In the blink of an eye that Sharon was lost in untimely distracting thoughts, Siwou killed three more Homunculi.

Although Sharon walks the Magic Path, she felt a sliver of awe at Siwoo's appearance, breaking through difficulties using techniques that could only be described as martial arts.

Because his techniques were ultimately something one could only obtain after being driven hard for a long time, through training bordering on abuse.

With that level of skill, couldn't he defeat Della despite the difference in magical capability?

Could it be that Siwoo really did defeat Della?

Even the same absurd delusion arose.

Siwoo, silently carving a path amidst the scattering bodily fluids and screams of the Homunculi.

The entrance to the Escalator, which had seemed utterly unreachable, came into view.

-Grrrrrr....

"Hoo...."

However, far from actively rushing to block Siwoo, the Homunculi maintained a certain distance, preserving the initial standoff.

Thanks to that, Siwoo, who could catch his breath, wiped the sweat flowing down his chin and looked around.

And he was surprised.

Because the number of monsters that had filled the interior to a bustling degree had decreased enough to be roughly countable by eye.

All those numerous, pesky creatures were tucking their tails and backing away.

How to put it.

There wasn't as much emotion as expected.

When Siwoo first defeated a Homunculus, he had jumped around, dragging his aching body due to the side effects of overusing Magic.

Because it felt like the results and efforts of that time were being fully rewarded.

But if the fight becomes this one-sided and overwhelming, rather than feeling joy from a sense of achievement, it's more like, 'Did I really do this?'

"In that case, maybe we don't even need to run away?"

After all, Siwoo and Sharon had roamed every night to hunt Homunculi.

Having succeeded in hunting so many in one go, Siwoo's opinion was whether they really needed to run away.

"Still, you never know. They might have more lying in ambush."

Unexpectedly, Sharon also didn't express a cautious stance.

While there were many suspicious points, including the ones added mid-way, the number of Homunculi Siwoo had caught was roughly around 80.

If they took care of the remaining ones, it would be about 100 in total.

Even if it's only 1 million won per head, that's 100 million.

100 million, impossible to earn in a short time through ordinary work, could be earned just by rummaging through some corpses.

With just 100 million, she wouldn't have to rely on Siwoo.

Of course, Sharon had no intention of claiming ownership over all these spoils either.Although there was a pact between Siwoo and Sharon: 'The ownership of crystals obtained from hunting together belongs to Sharon, and Sharon will compensate with Magic lessons,' she wasn't that shameless.

But even if they only hunted the remaining 20 monsters now, it would be at least 20 million won. They could easily cover the minimum payment for the next quarter.

Such thoughts momentarily robbed Sharon of her ability to judge reality.

"Then I'll take care of the rest."

Sharon raised her Wand.

Author's Note (Afterword)

I'll go write the next chapter~