Page 264

→ Salvation (3) ←

1.

By their nature, witches would never take orders from anyone.

At best, they’d only do their assignments within an already established system.

Even the grand titles of the Duchess of Gehenna or the Branch Manager of a Witch Point wouldn’t give them qualifications to command other witches.

The seven witches that Sua Agatha called only came because they had promised to help in case of emergency.

Those witches were now sitting comfortably on the sofa inside the Branch Manager Office.

If someone who didn’t know any better were to see this scene, they’d probably think that those women were trying to compete for a beauty award or something.

Each of the witches had different hair color, eye color and skin tone, but all of them were objectively beautiful.

“Hoaahm~ The wind has been stirring lately.”

The 170 cm tall witch, the ‘Witch of Harvest’, let out a yawn as she leaned her back into the sofa.

She had a healthy tanned skin and her revealing dress looked disheveled due to her sitting posture, but she didn’t seem to mind it. Instead, she twisted her healthy thighs around, trying to show them off.

The rest of them didn’t say anything, but they exuded a similar atmosphere.

‘Do I really have to do this?’, ‘Annoying,’ and so on. It was clear from their expressions that they were trying to say that.

If anything, they seemed to be more interested in Siwoo than the reason why the Branch Manager called them.

“Hello? I’ve heard a lot about you, but I believe this is the first time we met.”

The Witch of Harvest, Evelynn Imhotep, kicked her heels and winked at Siwoo, trying to flirt with him.

“Hello.”

Like it or not, he had to return her greetings.

He didn’t really appreciate this kind of flirting, especially when it was a day like today.

Della’s story still shocked him.

To use an easier to understand analogy, it was like hearing the news that a large-scale terrorist attack by an armed religious group would occur in the heart of Seoul.

This wasn’t a laughing matter for him.

After all, ten million people’s lives were in danger.

It was like the massacre the other day, just on a much wider scale.

Even now, Siwoo could still vividly remember the sight of blood and intestines scattered around the floor, painting it red. Just thinking about it made his stomach churn.

“Firstly, this woman would like to express her gratitude for everyone who has gathered here.”

Sua, who had been preparing the data for her briefing, entered the room while carrying a blackboard with her telekinesis.

“You should, considering that you can just talk about this over an email or phone.”

That rather curt answer came from the ‘Witch of Glass’, Patricia Khazad.

With pure white skin and pale complexion.

If yuki-onna actually existed, it would probably look like her.

“Apologies for the short-notice, but the situation is rather urgent.”

“Oh, c’mon, cut her some slack. It isn’t like you’re doing anything but scribbling randomly in that small room of yours anyway.”

“I guess it’s hard for a witch who wasted her life away for pleasure to understand the importance of time.”

Patricia and Evelynn immediately hurled those words toward each other. It seemed like they knew each other well enough.

The two of them weren’t the only ones who did this, so the atmosphere inside the room turned chaotic rather quickly.

It made Siwoo think that grade schoolers during a class meeting would be more disciplined than them.

“Right now, Seoul is facing an unprecedented crisis, bigger than any other disaster, a treacherous scheme more meticulously planned than any other threat that ever existed.”

And so, Sua told them what Della had told her.

How the Cowardly Witch was planning a massacre.

And how she had already finished her preparation.

She also didn’t hide the details about the White Knights; their origins and strengths.

Moreover, she even emphasized the danger if they were to intervene in the situation.

The witches didn’t gather here to fight for justice or anything.

They were more like mercenaries.

If Sua were to hide something or lie to them, they wouldn’t hesitate to leave midway.

That was why it was better to tell them the truth and ask for their sincere cooperation. This way they wouldn’t need to deal with deserters during the actual thing.

“…”

“…”

While Sua calmly explained the situation, the chaotic atmosphere was subdued.

In place of it, the witches were staring at Sua with different expressions on their faces.

Some wore an indifferent look, some looked annoyed, and some sent out a bitter smile.

“I heard you. Let’s pretend that our talk the other day never happened.”

A witch, who was wearing a very old-fashioned witch attire, left the room without hesitation.

She was a member of the Emerald Tablet, someone who even Gehenna would have trouble inviting.

Maybe she thought that the White Knights’ abilities were too hard for her to handle, that was why she left so decisively.

“Sorry, the matter is different from what I expected, so I’ll have to sit this one out. See you…”

One witch, a member of the Witch Point even, who had been looking around, hesitating, got up from her seat.

That left five witches staying in the room, excluding Siwoo, Sua, Eloa and Della.

“I want to hear what your plan is. You can’t expect us to agree without hearing the details, can you?”

Evelynn asked while crossing her legs. To this, Eloa stepped up.

“Before the ‘altar’ created by the Cowardly Witch is completed, we’ll snuck into the waterway where she set up her workshop.”

If they only sat around without doing anything, they’d fall into Xochitl’s hands eventually.

But, as Della said, no matter how strong Eloa was, she still couldn’t stop the rain with just her palm.

Della herself didn’t know what exactly the purpose of Xochitl’s altar was.

What she knew was that it was related to Xochitl unleashing her White Knights and if she were to do that, there would be countless casualties. That was the one thing both Sua and Eloa didn’t want to happen.

“That sounds like a dangerous plan. There’s no way the Cowardly Witch will stand still if we enter her lair. I myself would go on a rampage if I were in her position.”

“Miss Sua has already prepared a countermeasure for that. She will spread a barrier throughout Seoul. Unlike a normal barrier, this will prevent anyone from going in and out easily.”

Prior to this, Sua had placed her magic over certain locations in the city.

The Cowardly Witch’s goal was to kill the people.

So, if she were to send her White Knights out and found out that there were no people around for them to kill, she’d definitely command them to break through the barrier Sua set.

The problem here was the barrier was just a standard one, the scale was just bigger than usual.

“This one will do her best to maintain and protect the barrier.”

Still, it was her role to prevent the barrier from collapsing and to prevent the civilians from being caught up in it.

“Then, what are we gonna do?”

“No matter how strong I am, I still can’t face all those White Knights by myself. So, your duty would be to enter the waterway and try to take out as many of them as you can.”

“So, just go there and face them head on? That isn’t much of a plan.”

Patricia, who had been listening in silence, shook her head as she said that.

Her hair, as white as the snow, swayed around as she did.

Though their words sounded reasonable, in the end, they didn’t provide any safeguards or deploy any special measures.

Realizing this, three witches in the room exchanged glances and left.

Now, the only ones remaining inside was Evelynn, the Latina witch, who was still sitting boldly…

And the Slavic witch, Patricia, who wore an expression that was as cold as ice.

Both of them were witches who had great confidence in their skills and wielded physical magic.

Though there were fewer people participating than planned, it wasn’t like there was anything that they could do.

It wasn’t like they could try to look for more manpower either because the ‘altar’ might just be completed during the time they did that.

The only thing they could do was to strike quickly so they could catch Xochitl off-guard.

“Thank you for staying.”

Eloa bowed her head politely to the two witches remaining.

“Well, you paid me already, so I should at least pretend to work, shouldn’t I?”

“Please don’t expect too much from me. If I feel that my life is in danger, I will retreat right away.”

The two witches replied dismissively.

After they said their words, Siwoo finally spoke up, albeit in a rather quiet voice.

“I will also participate.”

“Not happening!”

To no one’s surprise, Eloa immediately interjected him.

She didn’t stop at that, she moved in to grab his collar with trembling hands.

“Come here, you!”

She then dragged him to the hallway and only let go of his collar after that.

Her small body quivered like a bird in the rain, a complete contrast to a while ago when she could perfectly maintain her composure.

“Did you even understand what you were saying?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve received that ominous divination, haven’t you? It isn’t guaranteed that you’ll survive even if you just stay still and now you’re telling me you want to get involved in the mess? Do you think you’re so strong you can just jump in like that? Huh?”

Eloa was afraid.

She didn’t want to repeat the same mistake again, she couldn’t afford to lose him.

That was why she tried to dissuade him from going with a rather strong tone that didn’t fit her usual tone at all.

“But, this is the situation where we need every help we can get.”

Usually, Siwoo would follow her words, even if they would only affect the most trivial things, but this time it wasn’t the case at all.

He looked at her straight before conveying his thoughts.

“I am strong enough to handle a few White Knights, besides I have Ms. Periwinkle’s clover and your ‘covenant’, Master, I will be fine. You don’t need to worry, I won’t push myself. I know my limit and I promise I won’t overdo it.”

“No. I will not allow it. Never.”

“Master.”

“I won’t listen. Whatever you say, you won’t change my thoughts.”

Eloa blocked her ears, refusing to hear any words from him.

So, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder,

Eloa wasn’t stupid.

She knew that he had already made up his mind and she wouldn’t be able to dissuade him from thinking otherwise.

After all, this was the reason why he wanted to get stronger in the first place; To protect the innocents.

“Master, you really don’t need to worry about me too much. My self-essence magic allows me to move to a coordinate I specify whenever I want. I also have the music box to hide my presence. With you protecting me, we should have enough time to run away when it comes to it.”

He said as such, not knowing this was the reason why she wished to stop him from going so desperately.

Eloa vividly remembered the last conversation she had with Ravi, who insisted that she wanted to fight to protect the innocents.

She knew very well that Siwoo had grown stronger again and he would be a strong asset to fight against the White Knight, but her trauma deterred her from letting him go.

And so, she held onto his sleeve, trying to plead desperately.

“Why do you want to go so badly…? No one will criticize you even if you run away… Just look at what happened just now! Even witches who are more experienced than you backed away without any hesitation!”

She wasn’t wrong at all.

Though his words about how they needed every help they could get was true, it was doubtful that he would help much to begin with.

At most, he’d take care of a few White Knights and leave.

“I know very well that I can just run if I want to.”

The situation was different from the times when he was abruptly sent into the battlefield and had to risk his life.

Perhaps, his courage was nothing but his foolish naivety.

“Then…why don’t you just run? You don’t need to risk your life…”

“Master.”

Siwoo stared at Eloa’s magenta eyes with a serious look.

He didn’t think of himself as special.

More than anyone, he knew how clumsy he was, how many mistakes he made and all the stupid things he had done.

Some of them would even make him laugh out loud due to how idiotic they were.

Shin Siwoo was a coward.

He was a coward who wished for nothing but to close his eyes and turn his back around whenever he had to face a crisis. To cover his ears and pretend not to hear when someone was asking him for help. Someone whose legs would shake violently in the face of death.

But, one single unshakable and clear conviction had always remained in his heart.

A belief that was taught to him by life itself.

“If I kept on running away whenever I got the chance to, I wouldn’t be here.”

Had he chosen to succumb to the life of a slave, where food and clothing was scarce, where the place he lived in could barely even be called a ‘shelter’, he wouldn’t be able to use magic as he was.

If he had chosen to flee back when he faced the fearsome Homunculus for the first time, he probably would have fallen prey to it alongside the twins.

It wasn’t like he didn’t feel fear.

He did, but in the moment where he coulda give in to his fear, he decided to brave it and take a step forward. That was the reason why he could stand here today.

The one time he completely succumbed completely to his fear…

He almost lost his and Sharon’s life to the Drowned Witch.

In his life so far, there wasn’t a single moment where running away ended up becoming the correct choice.

“I understand what you’re worried about, Master, but… I just can’t let the innocents die. Sorry, but I have the power to do something, so I want to do everything that I can.”

Eloa couldn’t stop him.

She felt a deep sense of deja vu from his words.

There was a lingering fear that if she were to still dissuade him from going at this point, history would repeat itself again and she’d end up losing him just like when she lost Ravi.

She refused to repeat the mistake of her foolish and immature self.

Eloa closed her eyes.

Her long, pretty eyelashes trembled heavily.

“Fine. But, don’t stray away from my side.”

“Thank you—”

“And!”

Right before Siwoo was trying to bow his head in gratitude, Eloa grabbed his hands.

“If you feel even the slightest danger, run away immediately.”

“Yes. That’s my plan from the very start.”

Though her hand felt too small to cut down the mighty enemies they might face, Eloa tightened her grip on his hand.