City of Witches Chapter 87

The Witch of Aquarius, Ea Sadalmelik.

Her cruel disposition and danger are notorious even among the Exiles.

She takes pleasure in brutal tortures unrelated to Magic and has no qualms about killing innocent humans.

If one thinks the reason she has survived until now, after killing the apprentice witch of 'Duke Tiferet' who entered the fray a hundred years ago and becoming a 'public enemy' beyond a mere Exile, is simply because she is a high-ranking Great Witch, that would be a miscalculation.

Sadal Melik was a thorough hunter.

Her method of driving prey into a corner without discrimination was meticulous and tenacious, and if she sensed even a hint of being cornered, she would flee without a moment's hesitation.

Afterward, she would wait, watching for another opportunity, biding her time for the moment of the hunt.

Like a leopard slowly pursuing a herbivore fleeing with blood trailing behind.

"Shall we see what level of skill the 'Witch of Perfume' possesses?"

Ribbon strands begin to multiply from Ea's back.

One ribbon splits into two, two into four, and four into eight.

The dozens of undulating ribbons multiplied into tens of thousands in less than three seconds.

Each and every ribbon contains energy concentrated enough to collapse an entire building.

This is the combat power of a High-Rank Witch, comparable to a natural disaster.

According to investigations, Amelia Marigold's Hierarchy is the 22nd.

In contrast, Ea is the 21st Hierarchy.

One might think there's little difference based on simple numbers.

But how much effort and talent is required to raise a single Hierarchy?

To give a crude analogy, it would be comparable to the effort of a single human, without anyone's help, repeatedly conducting research to build a rocket capable of launching a satellite.

That is how vast the gap of a single Hierarchy is in Magic.

Yet Ea knew.

She had achieved her rise from the 18th to the 21st Hierarchy—three steps—solely by seizing the Brands of Witches.

Among them, she had even hunted Witches of higher Hierarchies than herself.

Ea Sadalmelik, who has hunted over ten Witches in 300 years.

Amelia Marigold, who has holed up in her room and never hunted a single Homunculus.

Ea, who has developed her Magic in a direction optimized for combat, had the experience and confidence to overturn a single Hierarchy gap.

Moreover, Ea did not take her superiority for granted to that extent.

Variables can always exist, and minimizing those variables was Ea's surefire method when hunting Witches.

Magic is a highly intricate discipline.

It is nearly impossible to perform at one's usual level after witnessing the tragedy of a cherished person being slaughtered before one's eyes.

Especially if they died cruelly by a hair's breadth.

Amelia merely sat slumped on the floor, holding Siwoo, showing no hostile reaction.

Though the reflective light burning in her eyes suggests she is activating Magic, there is no sign of any actual attack.

Then Ea saw it.

Countless particles extending from Amelia's body enveloping Siwoo's tattered form.

This senseless Witch is sitting there without any resistance, trying to revive a human who has already become a corpse.

"Surely you're not trying to save him now?"

".........."

Amelia, with tears streaming, looked at Ea without a word.

Reading the despair in her hollow, emptied eyes, Ea let out a hollow laugh.

"I had hoped for at least a somewhat interesting fight."

Like a guillotine rising to behead a condemned prisoner, tens of thousands of ribbons began to twist simultaneously.

A tense, taut sound, as if tuning tens of thousands of string instruments at once, made the air tremble.

-Plip

It began with a single drop.

Ea raised her head at the damp sensation on her cheek.

The late autumn sky, radiant under the moonlight, was weeping.

-Plip, plip, plip

Autumn rain falls from the obsidian-black, glittering sky.

Upon the leaves of fallen trees, upon the trampled grass.

Gently pattering upon the Witch who lost her precious person and the Witch who took that precious person away.

Ea, blankly letting the raindrops fall on her body, suddenly felt a chilling cold seep into her.

The intuition honed over centuries traversing limbs screamed at her.

To flee from this place.

But there is prey before her eyes.

Prey that has given up resistance and offered its neck due to despair.

The disconnect between the reality visible to her eyes and the sense of crisis felt on her skin created a flaw in Ea's resolve.

A very brief moment of carelessness—'Shouldn't I finish this one in front of me first?'

"Huh...?"

Simultaneous volley.

After all, only the Brand and the Womb need remain.

It didn't matter if the rest turned to mush or not, so Ea issued the attack command to the ribbons spread wide like a grand peacock's tail.

However.

They don't budge.

'Maiden's Loom,' which had faithfully carried out Ea's commands more diligently than her own limbs, had become unresponsive.

Even when she issued commands to each part, her magic power was being siphoned away somewhere.

Sprouts bloomed.

Wherever the autumn rain touched, purgatory-colored life silently burst forth everywhere.

Upon the mound of soil that had been torn open, upon the fountain, upon the roof, upon the building's exterior walls.

Wherever a raindrop touched, they sprouted without discrimination.

"Melt it all!"

The sight, too peaceful for the situation, instead provoked terror.

Her absolute confidence vanished, and in the anxiety she hadn't felt for centuries, Ea recited a spell to activate her innate magic.

Her Aquarius barrier does not exist merely for concealment.

It is Ea's digestive organ, meant to dissolve everything within.

Normally, an acid that decomposes everything inside the barrier should have been secreted, melting all existence except Ea...

"What is this..."

Similarly, it does not obey.

Now is the time to flee.

She must return to the Mortal Realm through the escape route secured earlier.

As Ea tried to leap away in panic, she saw her feet, now utterly unable to move.

Green sprouts were embroidered like needlework even upon her shoes.

These did not grow from the shoes.

Sprouts that took root in her flesh and stretched out had merely pierced through the shoes to grow.

Upon the shoulders revealed beneath the pitch-black dress, upon the slender hands and arms as well.Ea felt fear at the sight of the sprouts blooming relentlessly.

The ribbon that had spread wide behind her back was now densely covered in thick, verdant green leaves.

The raindrops falling from the sky were not the whims of a sudden downpour.

Nor were these sprouts, emerging from the rain, ordinary sprouts.

The moment they took root, they began sucking up all magic power, growing like tumors.

"Wait! Just wait!"

Is this the power of a 22nd hierarchy witch?

And one without proper combat experience at that?

It couldn't be.

She had already attempted several times to wrest back control of the magic power.

But all such attempts were meaningless.

The more magic power she emitted, the faster the sprouts grew.

Ea had experienced this sensation before.

The overwhelming despair she felt when she once clashed with Duke Tiferet of the 23rd hierarchy.

The helplessness she felt when all resistance proved futile, when she had to abandon everything she had built and barely managed to save her own life.

Amelia had broken through the wall.

She had shattered the limits that had confined her for decades and once again created a vast, insurmountable gap.

The only difference from that time when she barely escaped with her life was that Ea's reaction was not as agile as it had been then.

Amelia's magic had already deeply eroded even Ea's physical body.

"W-wait! I'm sorry. I was wrong!"

"........."

"I'll make amends! I'll apologize! I'll give you all the slaves I have!"

Whether the terrified Ea screamed or not, Amelia, as if her business was concluded, rose from her seat holding Siwoo in her arms.

"Wait! I said wait!"

The spot where Amelia had been sitting was now in full bloom with wildflowers, as if decorating a queen's throne.

Tiny flowers of myriad colors, unseen anywhere before, swayed gently in the breeze.

Amelia turned her back to Ea and began to walk.

With each place her foot lightly stepped, a bouquet of wildflowers bloomed from the sprouts.

From there, a wave of life began.

Like raindrops falling on a still, clear pond, starting from Amelia's footsteps, the grown wildflowers simultaneously began to burst into bloom.

"Please... spare me..."

Flowers bloomed in every place where sprouts had emerged.

The wildflowers covering the mansion and the surrounding area flooded over without discrimination—over Ea's arms, legs, stomach, chest, eyes, nose, and tongue.

The fragrant floral scent passed judgment on the recklessness of Ea Sadalmelik without even granting her time to utter a final lament.

All that remained upon the collapsed pile of flowers was silence.

The rain had stopped.

Odil and Odette, who had successfully escaped thanks to Siwoo's dramatic efforts, returned to Amelia's mansion along with Gemernai.

Sophia, startled by Amelia's intense magic power, flew over from the cottage in her crow form.

What met the eyes of Sophia, Gemernai, and a few gathered onlookers was a beautiful flower garden reminiscent of a heavenly paradise.

A dense carpet of multicolored wildflowers with no space to step, and flower petals falling like rain, shimmering as the fan-shaped structure crumbled and scattered.

Amidst that lovely scene, a blend of splendor and simplicity, was Amelia, holding Siwoo and screaming.

Upon spotting Siwoo, the Twins rushed over, vying to reach him first.

Realizing his condition, Odil stood frozen in place like a statue, tears streaming down her face, while Odette knelt down and wept bitterly.

Countess Gemernai could not stop sighing in sorrow, and Sophia, trying to restrain Amelia, had her arms flung away several times.

This was the first time since the war with the Exiles that an Exile who had crept into Gehenna had caused such a major incident.

Being a significant event, the 'Aquarius witch assault incident' became a hot topic of discussion, receiving keen attention at the 'First Red Roof Salon' and the 'Levana Grand Bathhouse,' to the extent that the citizens of Taro Town were all talking about it.

They said that fearsome Exile had targeted an apprentice witch of the House of Gemernai.

They said Baron Marigold, outraged by the Exile causing trouble in his own mansion, subdued the Exile in a matter of days.

Thanks to that, fortunately, casualties were limited to just one slave.

They heard that slave performed valiantly, evacuating the Twins.

They said Countess Gemernai intended to bestow upon that slave the position of Honorary Witch in recognition of that merit.

They said a meeting was convened at the 'Tree of Sephirot' to prevent such unfortunate incidents in the future.

They said that while ten Barons, two Countesses, and one Duke were seated, Duke Keter of the Ivory Palace still did not show his face.

But no rumor stays hot forever.

The public, after all, is not that persistent a lot.

The 'Aquarius Assault Incident,' which had kept Gehenna abuzz for a while, also faded with the flow of time.

A Word from the Author (Author's Note)

The Twins color rough has been posted in the announcements!

Hehe

Since many mentioned they look too young, I made a sliiight adjustment.