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1.

Siwoo’s mind completely went blank.

As if he had swallowed a ball of fire, his insides were burning with anger.

“Takasho…”

He uttered the name of his friend, the guy who stood by his side through his five years as a slave.

The one who broke free from the life of a lowlife and chased his dreams harder than anyone.

And now, that same guy had been reduced to rags.

All because of some lowlife Criminal Exile acting up.

The video being played from the long-distance communication orb that Bianca sent him was showing the endless hours of torture he had experienced.

When Siwoo snapped out of his daze, he could taste blood in his mouth.

Apparently, he had been biting his lip without even realizing it.

“Your friend is truly something. He hasn’t said a single word even up until this point. Even though all he’s doing is meaningless.”

Watching how Takasho was tortured by her…

How she mocked his loyalty and resolve…

Gave Siwoo the urge to kill her.

For the first time in his life, he felt a fierce, overwhelming urge to kill someone.

It wasn’t just a vague urge, he felt an actual murderous intent in the rawest sense of the word.

In his hand was the ‘Criminals’ Record’, the book he had picked up when he and Diana had visited the library.

While the video was playing, he opened the massive book.

Even though it felt like his brain would explode from rage, his mind tried to analyze the situation clearly.

He knew that running around in an emotional frenzy would only make things worse.

This whole thing was bigger than just brutal bullying.

It was clearly a trap meant to lure him out.

Hence why it was crucial for him to know everything about the opponent he was about to face.

The record itself was written in 1972.

In other words, it was over 50 years old, but he easily identified the person in the video thanks to the faded black-and-white photo attached to it.

The Witch of Desire.

Bianca Belleli.

The godmother of Mexico’s biggest cartel and a Criminal Exile with ties to Qliphoth.

A 22nd ranked witch that had been active as a Criminal Exile since the 1860s.

“What I want is the Red Branch and you, Shin Siwoo. Surely, you’re going to come and save Takasho, who’s been enduring all this pain for your sake, right?”

Her self-essence magic was called ‘Covetousness’.

She was a collector who possessed over a thousand artifacts and five Mystic Codes.

Most witches believed that there was a clear limit to magical engineering, but the Witch of Desire didn’t think so.

Not only was she a collector, she was also a skilled artisan who could ‘customize’ and modify the artifacts and Mystic Codes she acquired.

“The place is…here. Busan’s Yeongdo Shipyard. As for the time… Hmm… I’ll give you plenty of time, so, noon.”

Page after page, the list of artifacts and Mystic Codes she possessed went on and on.

There were dozens of pages in this large book solely dedicated to describing the dangers that she possessed. And all this information was from over 50 years ago.

“But, there’s one important condition. You can’t tell anyone, and you have to come here alone.

“When it comes to hostage situations, one-on-one negotiations are the basic rule, no? If you let another witch know, or if I notice a single hint that you aren’t alone, I will kill Takasho. Immediately”

Siwoo flipped through the pages listing Bianca’s magical tools and their effects.

But, he didn’t have the luxury to read everything carefully.

So, he just crammed each page into his mind instead, as if taking mental snapshots of them.

“Oh, by the way, don’t think this is the last time I’ll be doing this. If you fail to show up, I’ll just go after your other loved ones. Like those twin apprentice witches. Or Sharon Evergreen.”

He forced himself to control his emotions.

His anger slowly cooled down.

And he became able to see things a little more clearly.

“I’ll be waiting for you. Good luck.”

The Witch of Desire knew far more about his situation than he had expected.

Unlike the sudden ambush by Ea Sadalmelik, this time, Bianca had done her research and was luring him in with full knowledge of his situation.

And she wasn’t some small-time threat either, but a 22nd-ranked Criminal Exile at the very least.

Even from the 50-year-old records, it was impossible to gauge how powerful she really was.

There was no way someone who was willing to resort to such a cruel method would be inviting him over for a pleasant chat.

In his now-cleared mind, anxiety about his future started creeping in like mold.

If he wanted to, he could just run away.

No one would fault him if he were to turn his back.

“…Takasho…”

But he couldn’t just ignore his friend who had suffered so much, yet remained so loyal.

He had to go.

With that resolution, he erased all the ‘safe’ options from his mind.

Closing his eyes, he analyzed the information he had stored and started forming a plan.

Every plan he could form to face the Witch of Desire in battle.

Even if he were to confront her alone, there was no guarantee Bianca would keep her promise.

To ensure Takasho’s safety, he had to prepare himself for a full confrontation with her.

He checked the time.

Five hours left until the scheduled time.

Depending on how he used it, it could be long or short.

It was likely that she accounted for the possibility of him checking the communication orb late, and the time needed to pass through Gehenna’s checkpoints.

Also, the fact that she gave him this much time and was ‘waiting with the hostage’ implied something.

She was confident that she could easily escape, even if he were to bring in reinforcements.

In any case, these few hours were crucial for him, as this was his last chance to prepare himself.

Letting even a second slip away would be a waste.

Siwoo immediately grabbed the Red Branch.

Feeling the heavy weight of the Mystic Code that was wrapped in the black ribbon, he began calculating the coordinates he had in mind.

“Just wait a little longer. I’m coming to save you, Takasho.”

Even though he knew his dear friend couldn’t hear him, Siwoo muttered softly as his body disappeared in a flash of blue mana.

2.

The 20th rank, a rank where a witch turned into a grand witch and became able to twist the natural order and defy the world’s logic.

Bianca Belleli was at least two ranks above that.

She was stronger than any enemy Siwoo had ever faced before.

Even though he had learned elemental magic from Sharon to strengthen the Laws of Shadows…

And had learned close combat from his master and was now able to push the ‘Myriad Weapons Mystery’ Covenant to its limits…

At the end of the day, he was still just a rookie witch.

If he just pushed forward as he was, his chances of winning would shrink to zero, and he’d just end up dead for nothing.

Hence why he needed to make extra preparations.

He headed to the address he had saved earlier; the house where Cybele Periwinkle was staying.

Periwinkle, leisurely seated in her mansion while attending to her tasks, greeted Siwoo warmly, despite his unexpected arrival.

“What brings you here?”

“It’s been a while, Ms. Periwinkle.”

The lucky four-leaf clovers that Periwinkle made…

Not only could they bring good luck to the owner, they could even steer them away from death.

In a fight where his life might be on the line, those clovers would be his best shot at surviving.

“You should’ve called me first. Are you here to keep your promise?”

Siwoo didn’t waste time and walked straight up to Periwinkle.

Periwinkle stood up, ready to embrace him, but he gently stopped her.

“Sorry, but tonight’s not really a good time.”

“What? You didn’t come here for sex? Then why are you here?”

Periwinkle tilted her head, confused by Siwoo’s serious tone.

She thought that he was here for another consultation regarding the host club’s matter, but his stiff attitude clearly meant that her guess was off.

“Can you give me as many of those four-leaf clovers as you can?”

“Huh?”

Confused by his sudden request, Periwinkle poked his chest with her finger

“Hey, do you think I’d just give those out to anyone?”

“Please. I’ll do whatever you want in return.”

“What happened? Why are you acting all serious like this?”

“Please.”

Periwinkle’s gaze scanned Siwoo from head to toe.

As if she was gauging his worth while also reading the situation.

The tense expression and nervousness on his face failed to escape her notice.

Not only that, she also caught the dark undertone deep in his eyes.

“Four times.”

After a brief silence, Periwinkle’s mood shifted completely.

She let out a deep sigh and continued.

“That’s the limit of how many times I can intervene with someone’s fate. Do you understand what that means?”

“It means I’ve got three chances left.”

“Haaa… It pisses me off that you’re talking as if it’s a done deal, but… Well, it’s not a bad offer.”

Periwinkle closed her eyes.

A faint rainbow-colored glow radiated from her clenched fist, accompanied by a pulse of powerful mana.

When she opened her hand, three ordinary-looking four-leaf clovers lay in her palm.

Having drained her mana, Periwinkle shook her head as if trying to shake off her exhaustion.

“Do you even know how valuable each of these clovers is?”

For most people, just having one of these would be enough to attract incredible luck.

Whether it was love, financial, business, all kinds of luck would be attracted to them.

And in her hands, there were three of them.

With these things, Siwoo could open up a random chicken shop, and it would probably turn into a global franchise in a short time.

Even if he only had an average look, women would flock to him like bees, and it wouldn’t be weird if he won the lottery every time he played.

“To cast magic, one needs a subject and an object. Casting one’s self-essence magic on others as the object is much harder than casting it on oneself as the object. But, I’ve long mastered such a thing.”

“Yes, I know.”

“This is why I’ve never given these clovers to just anyone. If they fall into the wrong hands, I’ll be in danger if I were to face them. You’ve probably known this, but identical self-essence magic would cancel each other out when they clash.”

Despite saying that, she used her mana to weave the clovers into a bracelet.

She slipped it into Siwoo’s wrist, before standing on her toes and kissed him gently on the forehead.

“I won’t ask what’s going on, but make sure that no bad apples get their hands on these, okay? Come back safely.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it. Just make sure you pay me back properly later.”

After giving him a playful smack on the butt, she stood back as she watched him bow one last time and Dimension Shifted to Flora’s boutique.

There was one last preparation that he had to /genesisforsaken