City of Witches Chapter 271

Eloa watched Siwoo engaged in a fierce battle as she stumbled back against the wall.

The shadows filling the room.

The current Eloa could not see through the battlefield within them.

"Siwoo…."

She could only clench her fists tightly and cheer him on.

The occasional clashing of weapons proved that the intense battle was still ongoing.

"Hoo…."

Within the densely blooming shadows, Siwoo calmly regulated his breathing.

In truth, shadows created in this manner were nothing more than a deception.

Even if the Enemy Knight didn't push them away with a Distortion Field, they wouldn't cause much damage.

However, the Enemy Knight didn't know that yet.

As if cautiously responding to an unfamiliar innate magic, it maintained a Distortion Field of about 5 meters, pushing back the shadows.

Thanks to that, Siwoo could somewhat freely employ a hit-and-run tactic: engaging in close combat, then hiding back within the shadows.

-Krrrrrrr

The Enemy Knight, looking at the shadows surrounding it, growled with what seemed like annoyance.

If the Red Branch's ability were complete, if it had sufficient magic power stored, it could have blown away all these bothersome shadows.

No, in fact, even now, given a little time, it could make them all disappear.

"Haap!"

-Kwaaaaang!

But every time there was a sign it intended to expand its Distortion Field, the black-armored figure would rush in like a ghost to interfere.

It would recklessly clash swords and spears, making adjustments to the Distortion Field impossible, and when the knight tried to counterattack, it would dive back into the shadows like a flash.

When the knight tried to pursue, four strands of Ribbon would fly out to hinder the chase.

If it resolved to chase, it could probably catch up, but it sensed that those undulating Ribbons were quite threatening in its current state.

Possessing a firm physical substance, they were difficult for the Red Branch to perfectly counter—in other words, from the Enemy Knight's perspective, they were the 'only threatening attack.'

-Krrrrrrr!

The Witch clad in Black Armor was among the weaker ones it had faced so far.

Though annoying due to her use of peculiar miscellaneous techniques, she didn't instill a sense of crisis.

The Enemy Knight was already imagining tearing the Black Armor apart, killing her, and butchering the pink-haired Witch.

Yes.

That very thought was the carelessness Siwoo had induced.

Repeating the same pattern with no variation.

Forcing the opponent to learn it.

That was Siwoo's first ploy.

Siwoo calmly tapped away at the calculator in his mind.

The physical activity of 'rushing in, swinging a sword, and fleeing.'

The mental activity of 'computing the magic calculations for utilizing shadows.'

Performing these two actions Simultaneously was quite tricky.

In fact, Siwoo's mind was now heating up as if overheating.

-Hwiiiiik!

This time too, Siwoo, who had been briefly hiding in the shadows, rushed out the moment he sensed the Enemy Knight's intention to expand its Distortion Field.

An ordinary Witch wouldn't be able to react so nimbly, but Siwoo could.

Because he could read the flow of magic power.

-Kaoooo!!!

Then, as if waiting for it, the Enemy Knight turned around and raised its spear.

Having been annoyed several times, its irritation had peaked.

Therefore, seeing Siwoo rush in every time it tried to widen the Distortion Field, it had instead used that as bait.

The Enemy Knight waited in a stance ready to strike the charging foe with its spear.

-Kwaddeudeudeudeuk!

Siwoo planted his feet firmly into the ground, braking from his charging posture, and retreated.

The dynamic motion against inertia placed the full burden on his knees, and his posture crumbled.

-Koooo!

The Enemy Knight was not one to miss such an opportunity.

As if finally catching the rat that had been scurrying around hiding, it charged toward Siwoo, who was stepping back.

It was the long-awaited timing for a counterattack.

The Enemy Knight, who had been cautiously observing its foe until now, had moved first.

As if waiting for this, Siwoo manipulated his magic power according to his pre-calculated plan.

The shadows undulating around him all simultaneously took on a single form.

They coalesced and wove together, becoming Ribbons with a definite physical substance, no longer mere wavering smoke.

Like the tentacles of an anemone swaying in the current, hundreds of strands of Ribbon all surged toward the Enemy Knight at once.

Of course, Siwoo did not have the ability to create that many Ribbons.

The Ribbons, which required weaving strand by strand with great care using the Maiden's Loom, demanded control and computation far beyond imagination.

Even Ea Sadalmelik in her prime might have managed, but Siwoo still lacked the ability to utilize hundreds of strands of Ribbon.

However, just like when he defeated the mother dog before, it was possible to temporarily manipulate the large quantity of shadows he had already spread out.

In other words, it was a bluff.

If it could create even a momentary illusion of a threatening attack, that was enough.

For the Enemy Knight, unaware of this fact, there was no other way to interpret it than Siwoo having hidden a trump card.

Having charged in to deliver the final blow to prey that seemed to have exhausted its resources, what it faced was a spectacle of Ribbons spread wide like Peacock's Wings.

From several clashes, it already knew the power of those Ribbons.

Taking one or two direct hits might be acceptable, but the current situation was too unfavorable to face hundreds Simultaneously.

Seeing the Ribbons surging forward in an instant, the Enemy Knight hesitated, unsure whether to expand the Red Branch's Distortion Field or contract it.

It was a mere split-second gap.

But that was enough.

Siwoo charged toward the Enemy Knight along with the hundreds of fake Ribbons.

The 'carelessness' created by using the smokescreen of shadows to teach the same tactic amplified the 'bewilderment' caused by the sudden counterattack.

-Krrrrrr!!!

The Red Branch's Distortion Field, already spread to a diameter of about 10 meters.

The moment they collided with its boundary, the Ribbons made for bluffing shattered into nothingness.

Realizing it had been tricked, the Enemy Knight raised its spear in apparent fury, but Siwoo had already closed the distance and pressed in.

As the Enemy Knight belatedly thrust its spear, a barrier in the shape of tree roots shot forward like a lightning strike.

Following the pattern until now, Siwoo would have fled again at this point.

But this time, he didn't stop; he accelerated.

He poured all the magic power he had been using to control the shadows into Body Enhancement.The magic circuits, swollen to what felt like three times their normal size from the reckless expenditure of magic power, throbbed as if about to burst with every step he took.

The sensation of charging into the dense, layered barriers, their maws gaping like Venus flytraps, was akin to dousing oneself in oil and leaping into fire.

But Siwoo had the four-leaf clover.

According to Periwinkle, a talisman that guaranteed escape from death, at least once.

Praying its effect would be exceptional, he drove his knees—which felt ready to buckle at any moment from fear—to push off the ground with desperate force.

One step.

The barrier collided with his body without a sound.

In that instant, the 'Guardian's Contract' activated.

A semi-transparent defensive shield flickered into existence, warped violently in all directions, and then was nullified in a spectacular explosion of magic power.

It was sheer luck that the barrier, caught in that blast, dispersed and became somewhat unstable.

Another step.

Enduring the blurring of his consciousness, Siwoo lifted his foot into the air.

Fortunately, the barrier itself possessed no physical stopping power, allowing him to maintain his near-supersonic charge.

But a pain as if his entire body were being twisted apart—like being crammed into a dehydrator and spun for hours—shredded through him.

Armor capable of easily deflecting anti-materiel rifle rounds distorted like clay.

-KWAAANG!!

Perhaps not anticipating a suicidal charge straight into the heart of the barrier, the Enemy Knight's reaction was noticeably slow.

Siwoo's body collided with the Enemy Knight's armor, producing a deafening roar.

The pain from the barrier and the shock of the collision caused Siwoo's consciousness to flicker out for a moment.

Tearing his mind back from the brink of a stupor, Siwoo realized his body was entangled with the Enemy Knight's.

He slowly became aware that his shadow armor had been completely torn away by the barrier, leaving him exposed.

-Krr

He shifted his gaze downward.

Even as his consciousness had fled, his grip had remained firm. The shadow sword was buried up to its hilt in the Enemy Knight's solar plexus, piercing through the armor.

Through the sensation at the blade's tip, he could feel the Enemy Knight's life rapidly fading.

He had won.

Siwoo slowly stepped back with his battered body.

The Enemy Knight stood dumbfounded, staring at the shadow sword that had precisely pierced its 'core'.

Siwoo's blade had become a killing blow, severing the Enemy Knight's life.

-KIIIIIK!

The Enemy Knight dropped to one knee.

The motion was so eerily human-like in its depiction of death that a strange feeling washed over him.

-Krrrrr

Seeing the light in the helmet's visor, fading one by one, flare up like a final flash, Siwoo felt a chill.

The Enemy Knight had accepted its defeat.

Its long-standing mission to protect the 'Red Branch' it carried was over.

What entered his vision at that moment was the pink-haired Witch watching the battle from afar.

His longtime nemesis, who had tormented him time and time again.

Even facing death, the condensed fury gave it the will to squeeze out one last ounce of strength.

-CLACK!

The Enemy Knight, its body on the verge of collapse, barely supported itself.

The 3-meter spear spun in its massive hand.

In an instant, the Enemy Knight was ready to throw.

Siwoo realized the nature of the chill he'd felt.

The Enemy Knight intended to take Eloa with it in its final moment.

"Master!"

Siwoo reached out his arm.

It was an instinctive action, taken even though he knew it was futile.

He seized the shaft of the Red Branch spear, aimed and ready to fly towards Eloa.

His intent was to disrupt the throw.

And in that moment.

"————-!!!!"

The pain of grabbing a searing hot iron rod.

A horrific agony as if every muscle, bone, and cell were being torn apart.

Siwoo screamed like a dying beast.

Even that scream split into multiple layers, as if several people were crying out simultaneously.

The Red Branch was absolutely not something to be touched with bare hands.

Though its power had significantly weakened with its owner on the brink of death, it was still a dangerous object wrapped in layers of a Distortion Field.

For a Spirit Body, it was no different from a nuclear control rod saturated with radiation.

Grabbing such a hazardous object with almost no magic power left, it was only natural to feel this pain.

It was, quite literally, the pain of body and soul being torn asunder.

Yet, even while screaming, Siwoo held onto the Red Branch until the very last possible moment.

Even as the pain blurred his consciousness, the crisis that Eloa would be harmed if he let go drove him.

As the kneeling Enemy Knight slumped backward, the spear slipped naturally from Siwoo's grasp.

And he immediately collapsed to the floor.

"Si, Siwoo!!!"

Eloa, who had been watching, stumbled as she ran to him.

The sight of Siwoo collapsing weakly backward struck Eloa with unimaginable terror.

Along with regret and guilt.

She also knew why he had chosen to grab the Red Branch with his hand, even after winning the fight.

"Come to your senses! Siwoo! Siwoo!"

It was all because of her.

Siwoo had forced that absurd, reckless move to protect Eloa.

Was she going to lose a disciple like this again?

Was she going to have to send off even Siwoo, who had tended to her wounds, due to a mistaken judgment?

"Don't do this… please, open your eyes…."

Tears poured forth.

A pain as if her heart were being wrenched made even breathing difficult.

Then, a hand gently stroked Eloa's cheek.

Siwoo, cradled in her arms, wore a faint smile as he wiped away her tears.

"Master… I'm okay. I think I just blacked out for a moment."

She felt no shame at having shown her disciple the sight of her crying her eyes out.

Nor at having clung to him as if pleading.

She was just so immensely grateful and thankful that he had gotten up without major issue that, without thinking, she pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Thank you… thank you… I'm so thankful…"

The smile etched on Eloa's face was brighter and more dazzling than the sunlight streaming through a crack in the ceiling.

Author's Note (Afterword)

BBQ's Golden Olive flavor is delicious.

(Not a back-end advertisement)