City of Witches Chapter 82

A sinuous black ribbon.

A ribbon brimming with malice as dark as its color coiled around Siwoo in a circle.

It took the form of a net meant to ensnare a fleeing bird.

Watching the ribbons sequentially twist and block the reception room door, Siwoo reflexively gauged their pattern.

Magic is a precise discipline.

Regardless of its purpose, even if it's an attack spell designed to dismember a human body, it has rules and principles.

What Siwoo read was the wave of magical power he felt the moment it was emitted.

The wave descending from top to bottom meant these ribbons would block the door from the top down.

"Fuck!"

Siwoo lowered his body like a base runner attempting a slide.

A razor-thin timing.

Watching the ribbon pass just above his forehead, he made a dramatic escape.

He hurriedly got up and looked back to see a wall of ribbons tightly wrapped around the door.

If he had hesitated or been even a moment slower, he would have been captured without a chance to struggle.

A Witch gone mad with magic.

An Exile notorious for being ruthless and merciless.

If caught, there was no telling what would happen.

Siwoo immediately dashed toward his room via the central staircase.

Escaping from a Witch without using magic was impossible anyway.

And on Siwoo's bed were one bottle of high-grade Magical Power and ten bottles of concentrated Magical Power the Twins had given him.

Frankly, using Water Lizard Step to shake off that wicked Witch was a long shot, but it would still be slightly more efficient than running barefoot, wouldn't it?

That Exile would never imagine a mere slave could use magic.

If he could exploit that carelessness and even activate the music box, he might at least buy enough time to call for help from the surroundings.

"Why now, of all times...!"

If the Exile had come looking for Amelia, it certainly wasn't with good intentions.

Moreover, she already had a history of instigating Amelia's kidnapping.

If only he had encountered her before Amelia ran out, he could have watched an epic magic battle fantasy and just clapped from the sidelines.

He didn't know how strong Ea was, but Amelia was also a Witch with considerable skill in magic.

"We're fucked... we're fucked...!"

Panting, Siwoo rummaged under the bed.

From far away, the sound of footsteps slowly approaching could be heard.

As expected, there was no sign of haste.

Like a cat toying with cornered prey, she was leisurely savoring the time for play.

He nearly flipped the bed over, lifting it to gather the items inside.

Since the Twins had given him so many things, he couldn't take everything. He only grabbed the Cloak inscribed with a grand magic spell, the music box, and the Magical Power.

Just then, the curtain billowed and swayed like a puffed skirt.

Had he left the window open?

There was no time to dwell on the vague doubt.

"Ta-da!"

"Assistant! I came to meet you secretly again today!"

Who else could it be but the person who bounced in through the window opened in the dead of night?

It was the Twins, who, just like last time when they secretly dragged Siwoo out, had planned to enjoy a secret rendezvous tonight.

Siwoo felt dizzy.

It was like the feeling of remembering a cat left behind while fleeing a fire in an apartment in the middle of the night.

Why did they have to come tonight of all nights?

The Twins might have just wanted to play with Siwoo without any sense of danger, but coincidentally, the current situation was the absolute worst.

"Lady Odil, Lady Odette, listen carefully. We're fucked. Originally, only I was going to be fucked, but it seems like we're all fucked together now? We need to run, fast."

"Wh-what? Did the professor catch us?"

"I even turned on the music box properly...?"

"It's not that...!"

He'd rather have been caught by Amelia.

It wasn't rare for an Exile to kill an Apprentice Witch and take her 'Vessel.'

If things continued like this, even the innocent Twins would get dragged in.

Seeing Siwoo's reaction, the Twins also became confused.

Although their illegal intrusion was a bit excessive, his expression and tone made it feel like a tiger was chasing them from behind.

"What's going on?"

"This isn't the time to explain! We need to escape through the window!"

Even that brief moment of hesitation, flustered and unsure what to do, was enough for Ea to quickly catch up to Siwoo.

On her back, strands of fluttering ribbons still undulated like wings.

"Planning to run away? I just wanted to have a little chat.... How disappointing."

Humming a tune, Ea entered the room, her pupils narrowing slightly.

What her eyes caught were two Apprentice Witches who, even at a glance, clearly looked 'young.'

The corners of her mouth stretched into a crescent moon like rotten cheese, grinning at the unexpected windfall.

Ea licked her lips as if she'd found a delicious dessert at a 1+2 promotional event.

"Have I been living right lately? I only came for a taste of one slave, but I get Apprentice Witches too?"

Siwoo's pale face.

A Witch they'd never seen before.

Plus, the magic behind her back that seemed full of malice.

In Gehenna, acts of killing between Witches were strictly forbidden.

Only then did both Odil and Odette realize the gravity of the situation.

"Don't tell me... an Exile...?"

"Correct~"

There was no context whatsoever.

A single black ribbon that had coiled once in the air rushed forward as if in lieu of a greeting.

There was no time to see it and react.

Siwoo instinctively held up the Cloak and spread it in front of them, not because he visually identified something, but because he sensed the danger.

-BOOM!

A deafening roar followed.

The defensive barrier deployed from the other side of the Cloak.

The dense, triple-layered Magic Formula shattered into pieces from a single strike.

The Cloak, literally torn to shreds like rags.

Through the scattered fragments of the Magic Formula, scattered like broken glass, Ea's face wearing a sinister smile was visible.

"You ran all the way here relying on that?"

Dozens of ribbons hummed and vibrated, as if responding to Ea's emotion, who grinned as if amused by the mouse's struggle.

"I'll block her! Assistant and... Kyah!"

"Block my ass! Run!"

Grabbing the waist of Odette, who was trembling, and the boldly stepping-forward Odil who tried to block Ea, he threw himself out the window.

A transcendent power awakened in the desperate moment made it possible.

Even in their confusion, the Twins used levitation magic to land softly on the ground.

"Wh-what are you doing! We can divide roles like last time! I'll buy time!"

"How are we supposed to block that monster! Running away together is the best plan for now!"

Calming down the energetically protesting Odil, Siwoo opened a bottle of Magical Power and drank it straight, then looked up at the window.There stood Ea, watching the three fleeing figures with not a hint of urgency.

"Shin Siwoo, was it?"

Even though there was considerable distance and Ea spoke in a languid voice, it was heard clearly as if right beside him.

She had likely imbued her voice with directionality, making it audible only to Siwoo.

"Stop this futile resistance and hand over the Apprentice Witch. If you do, I'll grant you supreme pleasure. You know... there's no way you can escape anyway, right?"

And then Siwoo saw it.

A translucent, thin membrane enveloping the entire area, something he couldn't see from inside the mansion.

Its form, resembling a water bottle, cradled the entire mansion.

"Sorry, but I think I'll run first and think about it later."

Siwoo tucked the Twins under his arms again, just as before.

The magic power flowing through his entire body.

Because a male body cannot contain magic power, the power that was being depleted far too quickly was channeled into his legs.

"Oh my?"

Ea's eyes widened at the sight of Siwoo using Magic.

There was no more time to hesitate.

In an instant, as if detonating it, Siwoo exploded all his magic power for escape, and his body vanished from Ea's sight with wind-like speed.

"Assistant...! Put us down now!"

"We can run too!"

Siwoo had moved as far from the mansion as possible and hidden within the garden.

It was a faint hope that the maze of flowering vines, grown to shoulder height, might divert Ea's gaze, if only for a moment.

Of course, it was a hope so feeble it was practically nonexistent.

Siwoo, drenched in sweat, set the Twins down.

He stopped here instead of hiding deeper because this spot touched the boundary of the translucent membrane.

"What is that? Is she an Exile?"

"Correct. More than that, it's the same situation as at the Latifundium. Is there any way to contact the outside?"

Siwoo asked Odil while breaking off a nearby twig and bringing it to the barrier's surface.

They wouldn't have erected such a membrane without reason.

He needed to at least confirm what effect it had.

-Fizzle...

And immediately, the twig began to melt away, soft and gooey.

As if touched by a highly corrosive acid, an unidentifiable liquid dripped from the tip of the twig.

What would have happened if he had run without checking and collided with this barrier?

Siwoo felt his hair stand on end.

"As expected... it seems we can't just go out."

"Are we trapped again?"

This entire situation was similar to being chased by the Homunculus at the Latifundium.

The difference was that the pursuer this time far surpassed the Homunculus in danger.

"Yes, so about contacting..."

"You could only make it this far? I gave you a whole ten seconds."

Siwoo's neck stiffened rigidly as he turned toward the source of the voice.

There, walking as calmly as if strolling atop a sturdy brick wall, was Ea, standing on a thin wooden vine.

The angle was such that her panties were clearly visible beneath her wind-fluttering dress.

"Filthy traitor! Do you know who our Master is?"

"I know, of course I know. You're the insolent brat twins of that meddlesome Gemernai who kept interfering with my business at every turn, right?"

Ea descended, stepping on Ribbons woven into the air like stairs, her face turning cold.

Watching her slowly approach, neither the Twins nor Siwoo could do anything.

The murderous intent she exuded, palpable even without words.

Her sadistic smirk and unnervingly composed tone radiated a terror too immense to ignore.

"But you know this, right? That we Witches, whom you call Exiles, are especially skilled in barrier Magic that isolates the outside world more than anything else?"

Exile.

Among them, Witches who harm other Witches or kill Apprentice Witches are called 'public enemies' and become targets for all Witch hunts.

The reason the notoriously wicked Ea can roam the modern era so nonchalantly is because she can wield barrier Magic rivaling the 'music box'.

"You're already inside my bottle. That means you're prey in my mouth, with only the question of how to chew and savor you left. If you doubt it, why not try shouting your Master's name at the top of your lungs?"

No matter how bold and spirited Odil was, the moment that piercing gaze turned toward her, she swallowed her breath and grabbed Siwoo's sleeve.

They could already tell the Exile's words weren't empty boasts.

That she could deploy such a large-scale barrier without a single other Witch in sight.

It meant this barrier not only served as an inescapable wall but also as a cradle that swallowed all commotion inside.

That's how she could commit such atrocities right in the heart of Gehenna, teeming with Witches.

"Which one is the older sister, and which is the younger?"

Odil faltered at the sudden question.

But she steadied her breathing and stepped forward, her voice trembling.

"I-I'm the older sister."

Odil had made a cold judgment.

The level of Magic she faintly sensed from Ea was not something to be overcome with momentary wit or tricks.

It was like shattering a top-grade protective coat with a single effortless strike.

Moreover, there were still dozens of those Ribbons that had unleashed such an attack.

"I have a proposal. Since you have far more talent than your lacking younger sister... if you need a Vessel, take mine and let the others go."

"Sis...! What are you saying?!"

If there was still room for negotiation and someone's sacrifice could secure an escape, she intended to be that one.

Ea, wearing an intrigued smile at Odil's display, smoothly rolled her tongue and spoke.

"That's a good idea, isn't it? I also find it bothersome to catch little brats hopping around. It's hard to catch ants without killing them, you know?"

Ea nodded amiably and flashed a cruel smile.

"Then, how about listening to my proposal as well?"

A word from the author (Author's Note)

Siwoo's day, spinning dizzily in a whirl of confusion and bewilderment....