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→ Salvation (1) ←

1.

Siwoo didn’t look excited.

He didn’t cheer nor run wild out of joy for his victory.

Instead, he was feeling the lingering sensation in his fingertips.

His heart was still pounding wildly.

The sensation of him cutting through metal as if it was paper remained faintly amidst the rush of adrenaline.

It felt like those two things were the only thing accompanying him in this night street.

He couldn’t even feel the sensation of the sword he was gripping.

No, rather than couldn’t feel it, it was more like he had become one with his sword. The sword had turned into an extension of his limbs.

The techniques that he thought only existed within his head, could only feel through his instincts, materialized in reality through his body. Even when the battle was already over, he still felt the thrill that he experienced during it.

It was a clean execution without any flaws.

But he knew it wasn’t the result of his own actions.

Rather, it was the manifestation of ‘someone else’s talent’ that was lying dormant inside the Myriad Weapons Mastery Covenant. He was just there to pull it out of its slumber.

“Siwoo!”

As he was immersed in the feeling, reminiscing about the fall of his enemies, basking in the afterglow of the fight, Eloa came running toward him.

She stopped right in front of him, showing an intense joy, as if she was the one who achieved this.

“Excellent! That was excellent, Siwoo! You’ve applied things that you’ve learned in our training properly!”

Things like the reason why Della was there or why the White Knights were chasing after her to begin with…

Eloa stopped caring about any of those.

She was too overtaken by joy for her disciple’s achievement and growth.

“I…did that…?”

“Yes!”

That was when Siwoo finally realized what he had done.

The sense of accomplishment over cutting down five of the foes he was barely able to beat before came rushing in.

I have a feeling that I could still take them on even if there were more than five!

“Come here.”

At that moment, Eloa stretched her hand upwards.

He only watched her silently, wondering what this was all about. Her expression gradually turned from that of joy, surpassing even his own, to that of frustration.

“Bend your knees a little.”

“Like this?”

“Good.”

Then, she stroked his head, as he had taken off his helmet a while ago.

Is this her way of rewarding me?

Siwoo felt embarrassed and awkward at the same time, but seeing her bright smile, he simply didn’t have the heart to tell her to stop.

“I’m so sweaty though…”

“Doesn’t matter, I can just wash it off later if I need to. Come closer, let me pat you more.”

But, after this went on for more than a minute, he really thought that it was time for her to stop.

“Master, I understand your feelings, but there’s a more pressing matter… Um, we need to get Redcliffe out of here…”

He pointed at Della, whose body was still lying on the ground.

That was when Eloa finally got back to her senses. She took a deep breath and…

“R-Right. I-I forgot…”

For a witch, Della’s injuries weren’t actually grave enough to kill her.

If she was a human though, she might as well be washing her feet in the Sanzu River with that kind of injury. The only thing that would wait for her was her inevitable death.

Instead of Eloa, who had just come back to her senses, Siwoo was the one who carried her unconscious body.

The two of them then headed to the Witch Point.

2.

As it wasn’t really an appropriate time for a visit, the Witch Point was eerily quiet.

They had contacted Branch Manager Sua in advance, so Della was able to receive first aid immediately when they arrived.

Siwoo had to wait outside though since they needed to take off her clothes as there were serious injuries all over her body.

Inside the room, the Branch Manager Office, Sua and Eloa were having a conversation.

“Phew…this subject is going to embarrass herself…injuries of such magnitude… It has been a long time since this subject even witnessed it…”

Numerous gold and silver needles covered Della’s body, which were lying still on the bed.

Below the bed, there was a magic circle in the cross of a shape that let out a soft glow.

“How is she?”

“While the injuries look grave, they aren’t as bad as they look. Seeing that there’s no sign of necrosis and all her organs are functioning properly, the Cowardly Witch must have taken care of her quite well.”

The terrible wounds and the burn marks which purpose was to stop the bleeding made Della’s injuries seem worse than they actually were. Her internal organs were all in good conditions.

One could even say that she was in a better state than Sharon.

But if one were to see it in a different perspective, this just showed how skilled the Cowardly Witch was when it came to torture. Only a skilled person could torture someone without actually threatening their life like this.

None of Della’s limbs were cut off and above all, her internal organs weren’t afflicted by mana contamination.

After a week, she should be completely healed.

There was a good chance that she’d regain her consciousness later today.

“Assume that she was detained by Xochitl, there is a good chance that she knows what that woman is up to. But, we can’t ignore the possibility that this is all a ruse and they are working with each other.”

“Indeed. One fortunate thing is that her condition is well enough that an interrogation could be conducted immediately after she wakes up.”

Sua folded her sleeve after she took out a golden needle out of it before asking Eloa a question.

“Your Ladyship, can you please recount the situation when you encounter the Witch of Ashfire?”

“Yes.”

Eloa told her of how she and Siwoo encountered Della when they were driving off somewhere after their training had ended.

Though, she added that, rather than encountering her, they hit her with their car by accident.

Shortly after, five White Knights appeared.

And Siwoo dispatched them all beautifully.

“It was an amazing spectacle! My disciple is really amazing, isn’t he? Yes, he inherited the covenant, but it hasn’t even been half a year since he started training! I can’t believe that he achieved this much in such a short period of time!”

“Is that so?”

“It was like I was looking at Ravi. I wish you were there to see it too, Miss Sua…”

“Such a shame.”

Sua only smiled softly seeing Eloa rambling on and on about Siwoo’s sword dance.

She knew that a great danger would approach them soon.

But, this was the first time in a century that Tiphereth ever showed this childlike excitement. She had been wandering around the world gloomily, trying to fulfill her desire for revenge obsessively. The sight made the Branch Manager forget about her worries for a moment and let out a soft smile.

After a long time had passed since she started bragging about her disciple, Eloa finally came to her senses. She rubbed her cheek awkwardly.

“That was unsightly of me, wasn’t it? I’m sorry.”

“Please, don’t be. When this subject witnesses such joy in you, Your Ladyship, this subject also shares your joy. However, the Witch of Ashfire’s treatment hasn’t ended yet, so if you may, Your Ladyship, this subject needs a little time by herself.”

“Alright. Please tell me when she wakes up. I will be waiting upstairs.”

“She should wake up in around four hours. Please take a good rest in the meantime.”

Since Sua declared as such, Eloa decided that she shouldn’t impose on her any longer.

So, she nodded and went to the hallway where Siwoo was waiting.

Since the lights were turned off, the hallway was dark. As if matching his surroundings, Siwoo’s expression looked stern.

There was nothing in his hand, but it seemed as if he was gripping something, probably trying to remember the sensation that he felt during the battle earlier.

Even from Eloa’s perspective, his movements back then were without flaws.

“Ah, Master.”

Since he seemed to be concentrating, Eloa didn’t call out to her, but he seemed to have noticed her and called out to her.

“Is everything alright?”

“She doesn’t have a serious injury, so no need to worry about her too much.”

He nodded without any hesitation.

In his eyes, Della was an evil witch who made Sharon’s life a living hell. They also fought each other once.

He didn’t have a good relationship with her.

However, he was the one who rammed into her with a car when she was clearly injured and was running away from her pursuers, so he felt a little guilty over that.

That was why he felt a little relieved when he heard that she was okay.

At least he wouldn’t have trouble sleeping over this.

“So, what happened, really?”

“We don’t know that yet, but we’ll interrogate her once she wakes up.”

What exactly was the Cowardly Witch planned, they didn’t know.

So far they only had suspicions on the scale of the incident she was going to cause, but there was nothing concrete yet.

That was how good she was at hiding her tracks.

In that sense, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that whatever Della had to say would become the piece that could solve all the puzzles.

At the very least, the situation would change in one way or another.

Even Eloa’s instincts were telling her that this was the last moment of peace they’d have for a while.

So, what should they do before that turbulent time finally arrives?

It would be to take a proper rest.

She pulled Siwoo’s sleeve.

“In any case, there’s nothing we can do at the moment, so let’s take a rest.”

“Ah, are we going upstairs?”

“Where else would we sleep?”

Finally they returned to the penthouse after a long time.

The only difference was that Sharon was no longer there, as she was already in Gehenna.

He wasn’t worried about her though since Countess Gemini offered to take care of her while she was there.

It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Has she woke up already?

Siwoo couldn’t help but wonder over her well-being.

Both Eloa and Siwoo finished their baths in different bathrooms and changed their clothes.

Eloa was wearing loose pajamas, while Siwoo just wore something comfortable.

After they were done, they went to the living room.

As usual, there was a bottle of whiskey, two empty glasses and some chocolates on the table.

At this point, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that them drinking together was their end of the day routine.

“Phew… I’m exhausted…”

“You immediately got into a battle right after practice, of course you’d be tired.”

As soon as his back touched the sofa, such words came out of his mouth naturally.

Morning training, sparring in the afternoon, then a real fight in the evening.

No matter how strong his body enhancement was, after going through all that, it wasn’t a wonder that his muscles would be screaming in pain.

“You did really well today. As someone who watched your progress from the side, I’m very proud of you.”

“It’s all thanks to your teaching, Master.”

“How is it thanks to me? I was just guiding you, you were the one who put in all the effort and refused to give up.”

-Ting!

They tapped each other’s glasses lightly.

Seeing Siwoo having such a pleasant smile despite his tired eyelids, a smile also appeared in Eloa’s face before she realized it.

An indescribable tingle tickled her heart.

Ever since she lost Ravi…

She had been suffering.

The only reason why she drew in her breaths was so that she could cut her enemies. Longing for a life that had shattered all while shouldering the pain of losing someone precious to her.

Even she herself couldn’t call that ‘living’.

The only thing that kept her together was her desire for revenge.

Her hatred for Ea Sadalmelik, who had taken her most precious thing and toward herself, who allowed herself to lose that precious thing to begin with.

And then she met Siwoo.

Even though their first meeting wasn’t one that could be called a ‘good first meeting’.

There was a misunderstanding between them and she ended up punching him in the gut, rendering him unconscious. Now that she reminisced about that time, she couldn’t help but curl up in shame.

“Master?”

“You know…”

“Yes?”

Even when she started teaching him, she still thought that he was just pretending to be docile.

That was how deep the scar in her heart was.

She genuinely thought that it was a karma she had to pay, something that would follow her until the day she breathed her last.

Eloa got up from the sofa and approached him.

“You…”

But…

His strong will, never giving up despite his shortcomings, his diligence to follow through her arduous training without even uttering a single word of complaint…

When he managed to recreate Ravi’s sword dance, something she thought she’d never see again…

“…Are my salvation.”

For Eloa Tiphereth, that was like a ray of light amidst the darkness surrounding her. He was her salvation.

Her tone was serious, her eyes moist.

Siwoo couldn’t understand what she was trying to say.

But, he knew what he should do in this situation.

He gently opened his arms and she immediately dove into his embrace, her pink hair shook in the air.

As if she was something precious, he put his hand behind her back and her waist, hugging her tightly.

“I want to be the one who embraces you, but you’re too big.”

“Well, I am a man…”

In response to his familiar curt response, Eloa giggled a little.

“I want to promise you something.”

“Yes, Master.”

Eloa lifted her head to look at him.

“Even if everyone in this world becomes your enemy, I will become your sword and cut them all. I swear in the name of Tiphereth.”

“…M-Master, that’s a little cheesy, don’t you think? Still, thank you very much. I have no intention of doing something that would make the world turn on me though…”

Turning the world into my enemy? No way.

I don’t even have the power to do so.

He let out a bitter smile before patting her back.

“I know, but I still meant what I said.”

She wasn’t admonishing him for his reply though, instead, she buried her face in his chest once more with a gentle smile.

But, she didn’t notice that they were a little too close to each other.

Siwoo had been having trouble breathing since he didn’t want her to notice that he was breathing from his mouth.

This was a vulgar way to describe it, but he could feel her breasts rubbing against his lower abdomen.

“Should I take you to bed?”

“No? I can walk on my own…”

“No, you look tired, I’ll take you.”

Siwoo didn’t listen to her answer as he just lifted her in a princess carry.

Her eyes widened to the point that he could see the entirety of her magenta-colored pupils.

“…Do as you like.”

She suddenly lowered her gaze and curled up in his arms like a docile cat.

He expected that she’d tease him and they’d end up walking with a playful atmosphere, but her response created an ambiguous one instead.

Though he was embarrassed, he could hide it well. He then laid her down on the bed.

“Guess I’ll get some sleep too.”

“Sleep well, Siwoo.”

“You too, Master.”

Lying side by side on the same bed, with a little distance between them, the two of them quickly fell asleep after they said their good nights.

After four hours of sleep, dawn had finally arrived.

At that moment, their phone rang.

It was a message from Sua, notifying them that Della had woken up.

Here’s Eloa when she was pretending to sleep a few chapters ago.