City of Witches Chapter 287

The Sahara Desert, covering most of North Africa, spans an area of 10 million square kilometers.

Even excluding the fact that it expands each year due to ongoing climate change and resulting desertification, its size already rivals that of the contiguous United States.

Though its social and environmental infrastructure is incomparably poor.

For public enemies who simply wanted to keep themselves safe, the vast desert provided an excellent hiding place.

Had Amelia ventured out empty-handed without any plan, she might still be wandering the desert searching for the Witch of the Scorching Sun.

In fact, one reason even Duke Tiferet, with his immense military power, struggled in hunting public enemies was the difficulty of finding foes who were determined to hide in such remote places.

But Amelia held the Death Ledger.

The Death Ledger, which marked the hiding places of public enemies with almost no error, helped Amelia's "hunt" proceed smoothly.

Even after killing the Witch of the Scorching Sun, Amelia roamed the desert and hunted three public enemies in quick succession.

'I know I did wrong! But this is going too far...!'

There was a public enemy who, in a final desperate struggle, tried to bite Amelia's heel.

'Hic! Heeek! P-please, spare me...!'

There was a public enemy who lost the will to fight upon seeing Amelia's skill, tried to flee, and lost their life.

But she killed them all.

Amelia, at least outwardly, did not hesitate.

Like a snowball that, once it starts rolling down a slope, does not stop.

Having crossed the line she herself had drawn, there was no more hesitation in Amelia's steps.

She was fully aware of the consequences her actions brought.

Taking another's life.

That meant not just ending a present existence, but completely shattering a 'wish' that had spanned hundreds, thousands of years.

That reality gnawed at Amelia's heart like a potent poison.

Her lack of hesitation was not because she felt no sensation or emotion.

It was because she was paralyzed by guilt and a sense of sin, like a body part frozen to the brink of necrosis.

Amelia allowed herself to become emotionless, or to appear that way.

"I heard some Witch was hunting Homunculi and public enemies on sight... So it was you?"

And now, before Amelia, was a Witch calmly accepting her death.

Hair like dull, faded gold, like herbs withered due to the nature of Magnetic Magic.

The 'Witch of Poisonous Herbs,' whose lower body had scattered into flowers after the fierce battle with Amelia, leaned against a sand dune and gave a bitter smile.

A series of consecutive fierce battles in a short period.

Although Amelia had not suffered any significant wounds while dealing with three public enemies, today.

Pushed into a corner both psychologically and physically, she had allowed a single, regretful blow.

"Cough!"

Amelia, with one knee buckling, coughed violently.

A dark red stain of blood spread on the sand.

The reason was the intangible poison energy used by the Witch of Poisonous Herbs, which had already invaded her body.

But the outcome was clear.

The Witch of Poisonous Herbs had lost half her body.

Though her tenacious Spirit Body kept her alive, she would breathe her last within ten minutes even without any further action.

In contrast, Amelia was poisoned, but it was hard to call it a fatal wound.

Thanks to her Autonomous Defense, the poison energy could not reach vital organs like her heart, brain, or Womb at all.

Amelia barely managed to get up.

"......"

"From the rumors, I thought you'd be a spirited young lady like Tiferet. Well, I'll be..."

The Witch of Poisonous Herbs, Mayrilly, wore an expression beyond absurdity, bordering on disbelief.

She had taken the lives of other Witches under the pretext of Magic.

At the same time, she had never forgotten the resolve that she too could lose her life someday.

But this end was far different from what she had imagined.

She thought she would face the arrogant, merciless gaze of an enemy.

Or a contemptuous stare filled with the conviction of having realized justice piercing her body.

Instead, what she met was a pathetic face that looked like it was holding back tears.

The most pathetic thing was herself, utterly defeated by a greenhorn who hadn't even properly steeled her resolve.

Perhaps she had let her guard down because of that indecisive demeanor.

Throughout the fight, she had worn that expression.

"What's your name?"

"......"

"It's my final journey, don't be so stingy and keep me company."

Was that why it evoked not anger, but a hollow laugh?

Mayrilly, rather, felt her tension drain away and spoke in a playful tone.

She held no naive expectation of being spared.

Seeing someone hunt while in such a state, there must be a story.

Moreover, this desert had no facilities to heal a Spirit Body damaged to this extent.

"...Amelia Marigold."

"Good heavens... That Marigold? The Witch of Perfume? The Baroness?"

When Amelia nodded silently, Mayrilly was genuinely surprised.

Baroness Marigold was a comfortable Witch who sat in a back room in Gehenna, leisurely making perfumes.

If she ever ventured into the Mortal Realm, it was just that—she was absolutely not a belligerent Witch who would actively participate in hunting.

"...Yes."

Meanwhile, Amelia found Mayrilly's familiar attitude strange and awkward.

To act so casually toward someone who was about to take your life.

Did she think that would make her spare her?

Or did she want to show a composed face at the very end?

Unable to understand or know either, Amelia was simply perplexed.

"The world has changed a lot while I was holed up... By the way, got a cigarette? Mine were in my pocket, as you can see."

Mayrilly gestured toward her lower body, which was not just crushed but had vanished without a trace, and made a jest.

Amelia, while keeping her guard up, took a cigarette from her pocket, placed it in Mayrilly's mouth, and lit it with Magic.

Mayrilly, wearing the most satisfied expression in the world, inhaled the smoke.

"Inhale... Haa... It's been a while. Good. Local cigarettes should be just tasteless enough. Cigars are passably good, you know."

Amelia wanted to run away immediately.

Even though she was the one who survived to the end.

Even though she was the victor, she felt overwhelmed and suppressed.

She didn't even want to converse anymore.

While feeling that burden and aversion.

Amelia realized it had been a very long time since she had a conversation with another person.

And seeing a being who did not show hostility toward her.

That too, had been a very long time.It was different from the time when I had lost my Master and shut myself away in the cabin without a plan.

Unlike back then, when I endured by suppressing everything deep inside, Amelia now knows what warmth is.

She knows how happy and precious it is to have conversations with others, to have joyful moments, and to truly feel the reality of being together.

And therefore, she also knows what loneliness is.

She feels it even more piercingly.

To the point that even in this uncomfortable conversation, a tiny flicker of gladness stirs in a corner of her heart.

"So, why is that esteemed Baron Marigold wandering the Mortal Realm hunting down public enemies?"

"I have no obligation to tell you."

"That's harsh. It's true I've lived a life of wrongdoing... but I'd at least like to know why I have to die."

For a moment, Amelia felt a sensation as if an ice-cold blade had been plunged deep into her chest.

It was the weight of guilt for taking a life.

The sense of culpability she had tried to ignore until now.

This kind of conversation, after all.

I should have ended it quickly.

Just as Amelia couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"You really... aren't much of a talker, are you..."

Watching Maylily, who began nodding off as if sleepy, Amelia's lips twitched.

Even at this moment, she herself didn't know what she was trying to say, what she hoped to gain from this conversation.

Was it to dilute the guilt of killing her by becoming this public enemy Maylily's final conversation partner?

"If I don't kill you... someone precious to me... will die."

Maylily's eyes, flickering with the last of her life like a dying cigarette, crinkle into a smile.

The cigarette butt that falls from Maylily's lips scorches the petals of a flower blooming lushly at her feet.

She laughed, not directed at anyone in particular.

After laughing for a long while, Maylily opened her mouth.

"What's this? You're just like me, aren't you?"

Amelia's body stiffens, jolted by the stinging sneer.

Because she intuitively understood what the other woman was getting at.

Maylily, who dueled and killed three Witches for Magic.

Amelia, who kills Witches to pay the price for Siwoo's life.

To Maylily, perhaps both actions seemed the same in that they took another's life for a purpose.

"That's...!"

There were plenty of words she could have used to refute it.

It was a shallow self-pity and accusation that could easily be dismantled with time and a calm rebuttal.

No, perhaps it was only Amelia who perceived it as an accusation.

Maybe Maylily was merely stating what she felt.

Perhaps she was just sharing her own impression, devoid of any accusation or negative emotion.

"......"

But Maylily had already slumped her head forward.

Not even the slightest movement could be seen.

Only sticky drops of blood fell from her half-open mouth.

Even if she had made a desperate rebuttal, there was no chance of hearing a reply.

The fight was over.

The one who survived was Amelia.

Yet, while Maylily died with a relieved smile, having left nothing behind in the end, Amelia was merely alive.

Amelia could not answer whether this could truly be called a victory or a success.

The unspoken rebuttal twisted and coiled, turning back to pose a question to Amelia.

It was something far too burdensome for an Amelia who had become endlessly weak, and weaker still.

Wasn't this murder?

If one only considered the results, what exactly was the difference between the four public enemies Amelia had killed and Amelia herself?

"Rather..."

If only everything could end here.

If, like Maylily, she could give up everything and close her eyes in peace.

Would this pain also end?

Her magic power began to stir.

The particles that had occupied the area flickered like warning lights and gathered around Amelia.

When a Witch surpasses the 15th Hierarchy, her Magic and instincts become one.

In response to Amelia's will that desired an end.

Her magic power was answering her intense despair, strong enough to defy the survival instinct.

Amelia did not try to stop that flow.

She was too tired.

She just wanted to rest now.

That single thought was everything.

"Wait a minute!!!!!"

At that moment, accompanied by a voice of tremendous volume, someone burst through the swirling torrent of particles.

Someone who wrapped their arms around her waist, like tackling someone attempting suicide from a rooftop with full combat power, tumbled with Amelia, rolling noisily across the sandy ground.

Naturally, it was an extremely dangerous act.

Throwing oneself into the midst of Magic of unknown nature, especially Magic clearly possessing lethal capability, was an action that could easily cost one's life.

Lying on her back on the sand, Amelia dazedly looked up.

"What are you trying to do?"

There stood a Witch with a youthful face.

Her deep blue eyes gazed at Amelia with a look full of concern, and her auburn hair, tied back in a ponytail, was so long it reached her ankles.

"Life has its good moments too, you know. You have to hang in there!"

The appearance of someone who had just passed through puberty, still studying the basic theories of Magic among the Apprentice Witches.

But a mere Apprentice Witch shouldn't have been able to break through Amelia's Magic.

"Don't think bad thoughts. Let's go to my nest."

Amelia tried to say something, but the auburn-haired Witch simply grabbed her arm and pulled.

She still didn't know exactly who the other person was.

Perhaps she was one of the public enemies listed in the Death Ledger.

But right now, it didn't matter.

Amelia followed the lead of the suddenly appeared Witch and headed towards her workshop.

Author's Note (Afterword)

This concludes the interlude.