City of Witches Chapter 239

Periwinkle set down her phone and examined the condition of the two individuals.

Siwoo, who had been knocked unconscious by the powerful mental attack of the Drowned Witch, and Sharon, who had collapsed with a severe injury that had pierced her lung.

First, she laid them side by side on the bed, which had been restored as the Hidden Boundary lifted.

A Spirit Body does not die easily from ordinary injuries.

Even if limbs are severed, they regenerate given sufficient time, and even if the body is pierced, it can recover with proper treatment.

However, even considering the durability of such a Spirit Body, Sharon's wound was severe.

The harpoon used by the Drowned Witch was made of seawater.

The problem was that this seawater wasn't just ordinary seawater given substance by Magic.

It was an extreme poison concocted from fear and despair.

While it might not place a great physical burden, there was likely accumulated mental damage...

Of course, given that Periwinkle had intervened, the 'worst outcome' would be avoided.

True to the glorious title of the Witch of Fortune, Periwinkle's actions mostly flowed as intended, and she didn't particularly wish for Evergreen to die.

"Well, it's not really my business, though."

As Periwinkle, seated on the sofa, let out a slow yawn, the person she had called flung the door open and rushed in.

It was Eloah Tiferet, who had been frantically combing through Seoul looking for Siwoo.

Knowing that Tiferet had stood as Siwoo's Public Attestation and having her contact in her phone, Periwinkle had contacted her immediately.

She must have rushed over in such a hurry; her peach-colored hair was thoroughly disheveled from the sprint, and her wide-open eyes were bloodshot.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Kibele Periwinkle... Oh my...?"

Without even hearing the full greeting, Eloa passed by Periwinkle to check on his condition as he lay on the bed.

"Siwoo... Is he alright?"

Periwinkle lowered the hand she had extended for a handshake and shrugged her shoulders.

Ignoring a greeting upon first meeting was somewhat rude, but considering the feelings of a guardian, it wasn't entirely unforgivable.

Eloa looked at Siwoo, who lay unconscious, pale as a corpse, and checked his physical state.

Fortunately, he didn't seem to have suffered any major injuries.

However, her relief was short-lived, and she couldn't help but become gloomy again.

Because Sharon lying next to him had clearly suffered a serious wound.

"They're both fine. They got a bit hurt, but they won't die. Well, it's all thanks to me, though."

"What happened?"

In response to Tiferet's question, Periwinkle calmly explained.

Of course, she omitted the part about stalking them to watch them have sex, focusing mainly on her own heroic deeds.

"Care for a drink?"

Finishing her explanation, Periwinkle leisurely walked over and handed Tiferet a can of beer from the refrigerator.

Instead of taking the beer can, Tiferet firmly grasped Periwinkle's hand.

And bowed her head.

"Thank you... Thank you... Truly, thank you..."

"No need for this. Witches should help each other survive. But if Your Grace is truly concerned, I wouldn't refuse a small token of appreciation."

"I will prepare sufficient compensation. I will never forget this."

"Don't mention it."

The handover was complete.

There was no need to stay in such a dreary place.

Periwinkle took a business card from her product and handed it to Eloa.

"It's a matter of personal dealings."

"Dealings?"

"This time, please don't forget to contact me. I'll be going now."

"Dealings? What do you mean by that?"

Sensing it was related to Siwoo, Eloa pressed persistently.

But Periwinkle left the room without looking back, saying:

"You'll understand well enough when you hear it~"

The night filled with chaos had ended.

Eloa, who had almost experienced another loss, had no time to blame herself for her mistake.

She immediately had to take care of Sharon and Siwoo and head to the Witch Point Gwanghwamun branch.

"It seems it's not an urgent situation, which is fortunate amidst the misfortune."

Sharon, stripped of her upper garment, lay on the neatly arranged bed.

Long silver needles were embedded all over her body, and moxibustion was being applied.

Since it was the treatment of Teacher Sua, who knew how to handle Healing Arts reasonably well, they could at least be relieved for now.

It was a small comfort to Eloa, who, unable to keep her wits about her, had almost repeated the same mistake.

Sua, having straightened her disheveled hanbok, approached Eloa, who was seated before the tea table.

Of course, Sharon's healing was an important matter, but the fundamental reason Eloa had come directly to Witch Point was because Teacher Sua had personally summoned her.

Naturally, the agenda was a meeting regarding last night's attack.

"Thank you. Because of you, I have at least a little face left to see Siwoo."

"This maiden is also glad to have been of help."

A deep shadow was cast over Sua's face, which showed the virtue of humility.

Last night, when Eloa, Siwoo, Sharon, and Periwinkle were attacked.

The horde of Homunculi employed by the Cowardly Witch simultaneously attacked Witches residing in Seoul.

Out of a total of 12 Witches, 4 had lost their lives overnight.

Sua had also repelled an attack, but at the cost of her left arm being half-paralyzed.

"What in the world is this calamity..."

Eloa murmured.

With the attack on Dagon's Flute becoming an established fact as the Cowardly Witch's doing, an even greater incident had now erupted.

From the strangely connected series of events, a sound of fissure seemed to emanate.

Like the precursor to a storm.

"It is this maiden's fault for failing to take proper measures."

"There's no need for self-blame. No one would have thought the Cowardly Witch would cause this level of disturbance."

Add to that the fact that Duke Keter wouldn't step in even in this situation.

No one could have predicted it.

"Is she still out of contact?"

"I have sent word to the Ivory Tower several times already... but I have not received a single reply."

It wasn't that she intended to entrust all problems to Keter.

But it was true that Witch society's peace depended to a very large extent on Duke Keter.

It was solely because of Duke Keter's existence that those powerful, dangerous, greedy, and ambitious public enemies lay prostrate, seeking a compromise between desire and risk.

Looking back at historical precedent, the Cowardly Witch had already crossed the line twice.They massacred a large number of civilians without even a Hidden Boundary and attacked numerous Witches simultaneously, taking their lives.

Yet Duke Keter did not move.

For some unknown reason, if her restraint were to disappear or weaken...

Seeing the case of the Cowardly Witch, it's even frightening to predict how much terrible damage a single small thought like, 'Huh? Maybe it's okay to cross this line?' could inflict.

For the public enemies, it might be a minor incident to test the waters, but countless Witches and civilians would die.

"Let's sort this out."

But there's no energy left to worry about future events now.

It's time to discuss countermeasures against the Cowardly Witch.

Sua spread out the documents of the Witches who were attacked last night with a rustle on the tea table.

"Most of the Witches who were attacked were closely related to Witch Points."

"Witches who were active in hunting Homunculi were targeted."

The commonality among the attacked Witches was easy to find.

Because the target selection was far too blatant.

They all had received quite large sums in bounties exchanged for decisions at Witch Points.

That meant they were Witches who, whether for money or personal conviction, actively hunted Homunculi without avoiding them.

"It seems they intend to use this incident as an opportunity to reduce the number of Witches staying in Seoul."

"The Witches will leave."

"Yes... Already... more than half of the Witches have left Seoul."

Four Witches died in a single night.

Moreover, if the perpetrator is the notoriously troublesome and dangerous public enemy, the Cowardly Witch, then there's no reason for Witches to remain in Seoul.

Not only the Witches directly attacked, but also those who usually avoided battles with Homunculi would all disappear.

They must have secretly known that this wasn't all the perpetrator wanted, that something even bigger was about to happen.

"What do they want...?"

Eloa sank into thought.

Acquiring a massive amount of magic power through Dagon's Flute.

The disappeared Enemy Knight and the newly emerged inferior copy White Knight.

And now, driving out the Witches through this attack incident...

The most puzzling thing is that most of the combat power the perpetrator possessed was exhausted in this attack incident.

Notorious Witches like the Drowned Witch and the Nightmare, as well as various troublesome Homunculi, all died in a single night.

"If it wasn't a rampage... then it's correct to see this as part of the plan as well."

Eloa muttered.

The perpetrator is clearly a mad Witch, but that doesn't mean she's a foolish Witch.

She could sense that disposable pieces had been discarded.

"Have we still not found the perpetrator's whereabouts?"

"As she is originally skilled at hiding her body... I apologize."

"No need for apologies. I too am in no position to be of any help..."

It's not like Sua has been sitting on a cushion drinking tea.

Originally, she took the position of Gwanghwamun branch head for the safety and security of her hometown, and wanting to eliminate any variables beyond expectations as quickly as possible, she had been running around searching for the perpetrator's whereabouts since before.

However, most public enemies are adept at hiding themselves.

Among them, the Cowardly Witch, who doesn't directly enter battle but controls Familiars, would be nearly impossible to find if she decided to hide, so there simply haven't been significant gains.

"Additionally, Redcliff's whereabouts are unclear."

"The Witch of Embers?"

"Yes, upon investigation, she was a classmate at Trinity Academy and was close with the Cowardly Witch before she became a public enemy. However, coincidentally, she went into hiding just before the incident occurred... I find it suspicious and am currently trying to locate her."

Her head throbbed.

How many more people would die or get hurt beyond this...

"What about requesting assistance from Gehenna or other Witch Points?"

Even as she said it, she half gave up.

Would the Witches of Gehenna, immersed in leisurely Magic Research, come to the Mortal Realm to stop a rampaging public enemy whose brakes have failed?

Moreover, Witches from other Witch Points likely wouldn't move unless absolutely necessary.

"I will discuss with the government to secure the necessary funds for persuasion."

"Thank you."

"It is only to protect the land where I was born and raised."

That day's meeting ended without reaching any sharp conclusions.

If only the enemy were visible in front of us, we could cut them down...

But with their whereabouts completely unknown, there's simply no way.

Eloa let out a deep sigh.

A gloomy autumn rain fell from the sky, dark as if painted with ink.

Author's Note (Afterword)

Sorry for being late!

From now on, if I think I'll be late, I'll definitely write a late notice!

To make a small excuse, I had gastritis and suffered a bit during the dayㅜ