City of Witches Chapter 286

Amelia Marigold was gazing at the landscape of her dream.

It was hazy, like an old album covered in dust, but it was a truly precious memory.

In fact, considering her long life, if judged merely by time, it might not feel like such a distant memory.

But the reason why even this series of peaceful scenes felt so remote, even in a dream, was likely because it was a cherished moment for Amelia that could never return.

One day, when young Siwoo said he wanted to eat kimchi jjim, Amelia rolled up her sleeves and challenged herself to cook a new dish.

Cabbage, ginger, red pepper flakes, salted seafood….

Since all these ingredients were unfamiliar in Gehenna, where Western cuisine was preferred, Amelia had to go shopping all the way to the contact point in Border Town.

But she never felt annoyed or reluctant.

After all, Amelia had a history of keeping Siwoo from returning to his homeland.

If he missed the food from his hometown, she wanted to at least get that right for him.

She had gone to great lengths to gather all the ingredients, but as it turned out, even Siwoo didn't know the exact recipe.

In the end, after putting all the prepared ingredients into a large pot and boiling them thoroughly, it turned into something indescribable—an unidentified concoction with a hard-to-define taste.

‘I’m sorry. I wanted to make it tastier for you.’

After taking the first spoonful, Amelia immediately put down her utensil and apologized to Siwoo.

The bizarre soup, unpleasantly sweet and spicy with a faint, lingering fishy smell from the salted seafood, was far from what she considered a success.

‘No, it’s really delicious! It’s just like what I used to eat at home.’

But Siwoo showered it with praise and finished every last bit of the food, enough for at least three servings.

Including Amelia’s portion.

‘Is… that so…?’

At the time, Amelia felt relieved.

Siwoo’s actions, attitude, and expression seemed to suggest that the kimchi jjim had been a success.

She thought it was just that the rustic flavors were too strong for her own palate.

But now she knew.

From his gaze, his eyes, his expression in the memory she had revisited countless times.

That bizarre taste wasn’t something where cultural differences could explain a mere difference in preference.

It probably didn’t suit Siwoo’s taste either.

Yet, for Amelia, who had worked so hard to prepare it, Siwoo had finished every last bit of that pitiful dish.

And he had even complimented it, saying it was very delicious.

The wind blew.

The desert night was cold.

The desert heat that had blazed like a furnace during the day cooled down as the sun set.

Fine grains of sand, swept up by the wind, brushed past Amelia’s cheek as she lay curled up with her eyes closed.

“Mmm… hmm….”

Her long eyelashes fluttered, and her strikingly beautiful sky-blue eyes gently opened.

Her dazed gaze regained its clarity after a few blinks.

Amelia looked around, pointlessly.

But as always, a dream was just a dream.

What surrounded her was not the cozy cabin but a desolate expanse of desert.

The fine white sand, reflecting the moonlight, shone faintly in the dry darkness as if embracing the night sky.

Amelia wandered the remote corners of the Mortal Realm, carrying Duke Keter’s Death Ledger.

After thoroughly scouring the Arctic and hunting down four Homunculi, she had moved to a vast desert in the African continent and continued her extermination at a terrifying pace.

Without eating or drinking.

Without resting.

As if she couldn’t endure unless she immersed herself in something, she focused solely on the hunt and pressed forward.

And when she grew exhausted enough to collapse, she would often fall asleep right on the ground, curled up like a shrimp, repeating this cycle of life.

It was no longer something that could be called a ‘hunt.’

Like a monk undertaking penance to cleanse their sins, Amelia was walking a thorny path of her own volition.

It was reminiscent of the time when her Master passed away, when she had buried herself in thick Magic Research materials to suppress her grief.

This time was no different.

After defeating a Homunculus said to inhabit the Sahara Desert, Amelia fell asleep as if collapsing the moment the battle ended.

The durability and efficiency of her Spirit Body were remarkable, but they were not infinite.

Burden and fatigue had steadily accumulated in Amelia’s body, and this time, it became a significant disadvantage.

The giant scorpion-shaped Homunculus had left clear injuries on Amelia’s body.

“Ugh…!”

As she tried to sit up, Amelia furrowed her brow at the pain she felt in her left arm.

Her reason, awakened from the futile dream, slowly processed her current situation.

“…….”

Amelia looked down at her left arm, where the pain throbbed.

Her white skin was torn as if slashed by a box cutter.

It wasn’t the first time she had been injured.

But she had never sustained such a severe wound in her life.

Thanks to the hemostasis from her Autonomous Defense, there was no additional bleeding.

But the wound was so deep that not only the skin but also the severed muscles and glimpses of white bone were visible.

“It hurts….”

Staring blankly at the wound that seemed to belong to someone else, Amelia muttered softly.

Her voice was rougher than the desert wind.

At the same time, a meaningless thought, like the dream from moments ago, surfaced.

What would Siwoo think if he saw her like this?

If he saw her suffering and struggling like this, wouldn’t he feel even a little pity for her?

Wouldn’t he look at her with eyes filled with compassion and sympathy?

Amelia stopped her train of thought.

Dwelling on it any further would only bring more pain.

Instead, she calmly submerged her turbulent, muddled heart.

For the current Amelia, complex thoughts were a luxury.

There was still so much left to do.

Habitually, unconsciously, she repeated another act of avoidance and ignited her magic power.

Just moments ago, she had been too exhausted to heal her wounds, but she couldn’t leave them unattended.

As the horrific wound closed as if slowly rewinding, she took out the Death Ledger.

A book as thick as Amelia’s duty.

Mechanically postponing her thoughts, she prepared for the ‘next.’

-Flip!

Every Homunculus she had faced so far had been a formidable opponent, a tricky and challenging foe.

Practical experience was absolutely not something to be underestimated, and for Amelia, who had devoted her entire life to research, it posed an even greater difficulty.

Getting injured was commonplace, and there were moments when, had she made even a slight mistake, her life would have been on the line.

But never before, when opening the Death Ledger, had she felt her heart sink as much as she did now.

Because what was written on it was not ‘Homunculus’ but ‘Witch.’

“Stop! I surrender…!”After killing the 'Black Scorpion' wandering in the desert.

Amelia had no difficulty finding her first public enemy.

If she deployed too powerful magic power, the opponent would instead go into hiding.

Therefore, she maintained a wavelength around the 16th to 17th hierarchy, disguising herself as 'easy prey' to lure out the enemy.

This was the wisdom Amelia had accumulated as a hunter from her recent hunting experiences.

The effect was outstanding.

While wandering in the middle of the desert, disguising the concentration of her magic power, her prey boldly initiated the first attack.

A public enemy of the 20th hierarchy.

'The Witch of Scorching Heat,' who wielded troublesome Magic using sand.

Her resistance was no easy feat.

Controlling sand within several kilometers around her as if it were her own limbs, she tried to swallow Amelia using an immeasurable amount of sand.

The sand, compressed to its maximum hardness, surged toward Amelia like tentacles.

The massive mound of earth floating up like a legendary island in the sky tried to crush her with murderous intent.

Amelia was not in perfect condition.

Fatigue still accumulated in her body from various injuries and exhaustion, and due to excessive consecutive battles, the magic power within her Brand was not fully replenished.

However, the difference of 3 hierarchies was powerful enough to negate all such handicaps.

Even though Amelia had broken through the wall of the 23rd hierarchy but had not fully internalized it.

It took only about three minutes to seriously engage and incapacitate the Witch of Scorching Heat.

What remained afterward was the public enemy, severely wounded and rolling on the sand mound, and Amelia looking down at her.

Around them, magic power particles responding to Amelia's will shimmered.

The particles enveloped Amelia and the Witch of Scorching Heat, covering a radius of several hundred meters.

"I surrender! Please, just let me go this once. I didn't recognize you!"

"……."

Finally realizing her complete defeat, the Witch of Scorching Heat declared her surrender.

The Death Ledger detailed all the atrocities committed by this public enemy.

She was a villain who had not only killed an Apprentice Witch in the past but also attacked humans and killed fellow Witches.

"Please… I'll live quietly and well from now on. I won't cause any trouble at all. I'll properly compensate for the attacks too!"

Even though she was the one who attacked first.

If Amelia had been as weak as she judged, she would have shamelessly devoured her.

But now, with death looming before her eyes, the Witch of Scorching Heat begged for her life.

With just a flick of a finger, blood would flow, and that mouth begging for life would never move again.

The eyes, showing the whites as they gauged the situation, would lose their light.

Given the chance, that body trying to cling to Amelia's skirt would return to sand.

The opponent was not an innocent life.

She was an 'public enemy,' utterly evil and steeped in madness.

However, it was difficult to feel no stress when harming another intelligent life form.

The burden of fratricide and moral and ethical repulsion existed even for most arrogant Witches.

Amelia was no exception.

"Please… just spare me once. If I die, my Brand will disappear too… At least let me take an Apprentice Witch and complete the Magic… Then I'll die obediently…"

Noticing the hesitation of the terrifying Witch who had suddenly appeared, the Witch of Scorching Heat began begging even more desperately.

Amelia bit her lip, unable to do anything.

Amelia had already experienced killing.

The incident where she turned Ea Sadalmelik into a heap of wildflowers.

But back then, her emotions were at their peak because she had lost Siwoo right before her eyes.

Her hostility toward the Witch of Aquarius was more than overflowing.

There was neither time nor energy to leisurely discuss the pangs of conscience.

But…

This Witch was different.

An opponent who realized the futility of resistance and pleaded.

Killing an opponent who could cause no harm to Amelia felt more like an execution than the enforcement of justice.

Was it really true?

If she lived quietly from now on, was there really a need to kill her?

If she passed her Brand to an Apprentice Witch, wouldn't that be no different from killing her?

Before the difficult decision, an easier and gentler compromise flickered before her eyes.

She didn't want to kill unnecessarily.

If killing public enemies was justice, she wanted to leave such enforcement to someone else's hands.

Conflict and anguish bred carelessness.

The hand of the Witch of Scorching Heat wrapped around Amelia's ankle, which she had never intended to allow any distance.

-Thud!

Amelia, who had been standing dazed and stiff, flinched in shock and flicked her fingertip.

She interpreted the sudden contact as an attack or a counterattack.

"Plea…"

With that, the situation concluded.

The seeds of magic power that had already penetrated every corner of her body resonated with the wavelength Amelia emitted and bloomed all at once.

The seeds, sprouted in an instant, devoured the Spirit Body and magic power entirely, using them as nutrients.

Thus, without even the time to utter a final scream, the Witch of Scorching Heat lost her life.

"Ah…"

Amelia looked at the hand wrapped around her ankle.

Perhaps because it was far from the center of the body, compared to other parts that had entirely turned into flowers, the wrist retained a relatively recognizable form.

Although flowers had pierced through the skin and covered it densely, making it seem like it would fall apart if she looked away even for a moment.

Only after seeing it did she finally realize.

She had killed.

It was an opponent she had to kill.

Duke Keter demanded the proxy execution of the Death Ledger in exchange for sparing Siwoo's life.

If the Contract was not properly fulfilled, she would take Siwoo's life again.

Duke Keter's actions so far were cold, fair, and an absolute being who showed mercy to no one.

From the beginning, there was no room for ambiguous compromise.

"Ugh…! Ugh…!"

Even so.

Tears she thought she had forgotten long ago assaulted her body along with nausea.

Amelia forcibly tore off the hand gripping her ankle.

The hand that still wouldn't let go of her.

The sensation remaining on her ankle felt like it was dragging her into a bottomless abyss.

For a while, Amelia vomited bile onto the sand.